The National Assembly (NA) Monday decided to continue budget session of the assembly till June 29, 2019 which will be initiated from June 14. This decision was taken in the House Business Advisory Committee of the NA which met here under the chairmanship of Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser. The panel also decided that Adviser to the Prime Minister (PM) on Finance and Revenue Dr Hafeez Sheikh will wind up the general discussion on the budget followed by discussion on appropriation in respect of charged expenditure 2019-2020 on June 25, 2019.
It was further decided that discussion and voting on cut motions and demand for grants in respect of voted expenditure 2019-2020 will be taken up on 26th and 27th June, 2019. It decided that the consideration and passage of Finance Bill 2019 will take place on June 28, 2019, whereas the discussion on supplementary demands for grants and appropriation 2018-19 in respect of charged and voted expenditure and laying of schedule of authorised expenditure 2018-2019 would take place on 29th June, 2019.
The committee agreed that the sittings of the NA session will also be held on Saturdays. The committee was informed that the question hour and other non-legislative business will remain suspended during the budget session. The speaker NA also constituted a six-member panel to chair and conduct the proceedings of the House in the absence of speaker and deputy speaker.
The speaker, in pursuance of sub-rule one of rule 13 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of business in National Assembly announced that Syed Fakhar Imam, Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitralily, Munaza Hassan, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Syed Kshureed Shah and Amir Haider Azam Khan would chair the House proceedings in order of precedence during his as well as the deputy speaker's absence.
The meeting was attended by Ministers Syed Ijaz Shah, Fawad Hussian Chaudhary, Pervaiz Khattak, Shafqat Mehmood, Azam Khan Swati, Dr Shireen Mazari and Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, and MNAs Malik Amir Dogar, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, Khalid Khan Magsi, Riaz Fatayna, Hasan Baloch and Shazia Marri.