The Senate on Thursday passed the National Disaster Management Bill, 2010 to provide for the establishment of a National Disaster Management System for Pakistan. The Bill passed by the National Assembly was moved by the Advisor to the Prime Minister Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gul.
In its statement of object and reasons, the Bill stated that the need for strong institutional and policy arrangement was fulfilled with the promulgation of the National Disaster Management Ordinance, 2006, after passage of resolution by all the four provinces under Article 144 of the Constitution. The promulgation of the ordinance led to the consequential establishment of the National Disaster Management Commission (NDMC) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Likewise, establishment of the commissions and authorities at provincial as well as district level has been notified. The bill passed by the Senate will now be called National Disaster Management Act 2010 and extend to the whole of Pakistan.