The National Assembly has deferred The Public Defender and Legal Aid Offices Bill, 2009 designed to provide legal assistance to the poor of the poorest due to the reservation of the opposition. Minister of State for Law and Justice Muhammad Afzal Sindhu tabled the bill in the House on Friday.
The opposition members expressed reservation on the proposed bill which according to them would be interference in the provincial matters. The Speaker National Assembly deferred the bill and referred it back to the concerned Standing Committee so that consensus could be evolved on the legislation. Pakistan Muslim League-N Zahid Hamid said that it was a provincial matter.
He said that there was similar legislation in the provinces as well so the bill presented in the National Assembly would be interference in the provincial matters. Riaz Hussain Pirzada expressed similar views and opposed the bill.
The opposition parliamentarians said that the bill would create confusion in the affairs of the provinces and wanted all the stakeholders including provincial bars should be taken into confidence before adoption of the legislation. The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said the government would have no objection if the bill is referred back to the Committee to evolve a consensus on it. The bill was referred to the Standing Committee concerned for further deliberations.