Opposition parties show their numerical power

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties showed their numerical power by disapproving a bill moved by the government, which though had early been cleared by the concerned standing committee with the support of the opposition MPs.

“Under the law, a bill disapproved by either parliamentary chamber through a resolution dies an instant death, nailing efforts to legislate,” prominent lawyer Barrister Omar Sajjad told The News. He said that both the National Assembly and Senate enjoy equal powers to disapprove a bill moved by the government or anybody else.

Three years back in 2016, the opposition led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Senate had also disapproved a bill sponsored by the then Nawaz Sharif government. Similarly, next year the same opposition had trashed another bill sponsored by the same regime.

A presidential ordinance issued by the government has to be laid before the parliamentary chambers as they start their session. As they begin their sittings, no ordinance can be issued under the Constitution.

Although the opposition parties suffered a defeat in their bid to vote out Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani after facing defections from their ranks, they continue to have a firm grip over the Senate that they demonstrated by disapproving the government bill two days back. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance was turned down. The government side made efforts to push it through the Senate, but the opposition parties were adamant in rejecting it.

Leader of the opposition Raja Zafarul Haq asked the government side not to table the report of the concerned House Standing Committee on the bill. However, leader of the House Syed Shibli Faraz and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Swati said that the report carried signatures of all the opposition members of the standing committee. It was established that it was not necessary that the opposition parties would vote for a bill that their representatives had earlier supported in the standing committee. This reflected the ongoing confrontation between the two sides. In 2016, the Senate passed a resolution disapproving the Company Ordinance, tabled by the Nawaz Sharif government. The resolution was moved by Senators Saleem Mandviwalla, Aitzaz Ahsan, Taj Haider, Sardar Azam Khan, Mohsin Khan and others.

The then Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid had urged the legislators to read the ordinance and give their suggestions on its flaws. He said the government was changing 32-year old law to make it more effective for the business community. He said there were many beneficiary provisions in the amended law and that the disapproving resolution should be referred to the committee concerned for detailed discussion.

However, Aitzaz Ahsan had said that the ordinance contained 1,224 pages, and it could not be passed as an ordinance. In 2017, the same opposition had disapproved the National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance. The resolution was moved by PPP Senator Taj Haider. Zahid Hamid had asked opposition to withdraw the resolution. He said the Supreme Court, taking suo motu notice, had suspended the plea bargain and voluntarily return sections of the NAO. He said the ordinance was laid to present government’s stance and it had public support too.

The then Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani had remarked that a comprehensive accountability law should be devised under which judiciary, civil and establishment could be made accountable under one roof. Since then, the NAO provisions relating to the voluntary return and plea bargain have not been amended. Now, the government is doing so through a package of amendments in the NAO.