bills were adopted by the Senate and Then transmitted to the National Assembly but were not passed by the Lower House within 90 days of their laying in that House.
The first bill that was referred to the joint session was the Privatisation Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2013 that seeks to bring transparency in the privatisation process. The amendment requires that all officials involved in, or overseeing, the privatisation process must be free from any personal interest, prejudice or conflict of interest otherwise the entire privatisation process will become an exercise in controversy.
The other bill referred to joint sitting pertains to murders in the name of honour and seeks to make amendments to overcome the loopholes in the existing laws. The third bill referred to the joint sitting aims at strengthening the law against rape. The Anti-Rape Laws Amendment Bill seeks amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code and the Qanoon-e-Shahadat to make rape prosecution free of loopholes.
Meanwhile, the government in the Senate expressed hope the government of Saudi Arabia will share the finding of the probe into the Mina tragedy, as lawmakers questioned why Pakistan was needlessly trying to defend the Kingdom over the unfortunate incident.
A treasury legislator called on the government to facilitate bringing bodies of pilgrims to Pakistan and what exactly was the policy of the Saudi government should be shared with the nation. Muslim countries were asked not to play politics on the tragedy, as the Senate met for its 120th session with Mian Raza Rabbani in the chair.
Some senators raised the issue of piled up bodies of pilgrims on the media and described it sheer disgrace of humanity, which they insisted was against the teachings of Islam. A proposal was floated that a committee of Muslim countries should furnish proposals on how to avert such tragedies in future during pilgrimage.
The senators expressed their views after State Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Aminul Hasnat presented a report on the tragedy and briefed the House on this count. The minister said the number of martyred Pakistani pilgrims stood at 76 besides injuries to 47. He noted that the martyrdom of 29 pilgrims had been confirmed by the Saudi authorities. Of them, 28 had been buried in Makkah while the body of one, Asad Gilani, had reached Multan on Monday.
He pointed out that according to eyewitnesses, there were 47 other martyrs, adding that seven Pakistani pilgrims were still under treatment in hospitals while 40 others were discharged after treatment and another 60 Pakistani Hajis were still missing.
The minister said the personnel of Pakistani Haj mission initially participated in rescue and relief activities but the access was denied once Saudi law-enforcing personnel reached the scene of the tragedy. He said police personnel were deployed outside their mission.
Senator Chaudhry Tanvir of the ruling PML-N decried what he called the bid by some countries to adopt a harsh position against Saudi Arabia and urged Pakistan to play its part in stopping such attitude. He proposed that a committee of Muslim countries should thrash out recommendations so that in future Mina-like tragedies could be avoided. He noted that Iran and Lebanon had unleashed severe criticism on Saudi Arabia.
Senator Kenneth Williams of the PTI regretted that the role the government of Pakistan should have been playing was actually played by the media in projecting various aspects of the tragedy and plight of the loved ones of the martyrs. He also said media reported that the top officials of Pak Haj mission were lodged in expensive accommodations.
Some senators criticized the Saudi authorities for not making proper arrangements for the pilgrims. The House offered Fateha for the martyrs of the Mina tragedy as well as for two former senators, Justice Javed Iqbal and Gulzar Ahmad Khan.
The Senate also unanimously passed two separate resolutions condoling the deaths of retired Justice Javed Iqbal and Gulzar Ahmad Khan. The House eulogised their services as parliamentarians and said they made valuable contribution to the proceedings of the Senate.