ISLAMABAD: The parliamentary business, the calendars of sittings of the National Assembly and Senate and committee system have been greatly affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.
The meetings of all the committees of the two Houses, which are considered the backbone of the parliamentary systems as per time-tested traditions, have been cancelled by the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker because of the outbreak of coronavirus.
The obvious objective is to avoid gathering of parliamentarians under one roof as a precaution so that they come in touch with one another. The pandemic has brought several holidays for the parliamentarians that will mostly keep them confined to their constituencies for a long time because even the foreign travel is hazardous as many countries have banned entry in their areas.
The National Assembly, which, according to the calendar that is firmed up at the start of every parliamentary year so that the lawmakers have a clear idea of the sittings, was scheduled to have 12 working days in March, but it was prorogued on Friday after meeting just for five days due to the fear of spread of coronavirus.
Already, the present National Assembly has not been able to transact any worthwhile legislative business due to the unending, ever-rising tensions between the government and opposition parties. The law-making scenario in the Senate is also hardly impressive as this opposition-dominated chamber blocks any government attempts to legislate that its rivals disapprove. The ruling coalition has been shy of bringing any meaningful legislative business before the Upper House of Parliament for the known reasons.
After the cancellation of the meetings of the House bodies, whatever little lawmaking business they had before them stands suspended.
In the previous meeting of the National Assembly standing committee on law last week, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law had come under discussion with a view to remove its draconian provisions. The opposition moved around 20 amendments to it with the government declaring that it will come out with its response shortly.
After the suspension of the parliamentary business, the efforts to drastically change the NAB statute will also slow down. The government wants to make some amendments, including those it had promulgated through a presidential ordinance, while the opposition has its own agenda to take away the severe provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999.
Parliamentary observers say that neither the National Assembly nor the Senate is unlikely to be summoned any soon as per their respective calendars till the time coronavirus pandemic is controlled to a large extent or at least the fear it has created greatly evaporates.
As per yearly parliamentary calendar, the National Assembly is scheduled to have 12 working days each in April and May and 24 sittings in June for the passage of the federal budget.
Similarly, the Senate has planned to begin its new session on March 20 to continue till April 6 to have 18 sittings. Then, it is planned that it will meet on May 8 till May 19 for 12 days. The next session will begin on June 5 to continue till June 22 for 18 days. The following session will start on August 10 to last till August 31 to have 20 days’ sittings.
A total of 24 meetings of different House bodies and sub-panels of the National Assembly were scheduled from March 16 to March 27, which have now been cancelled.
The committees on climate change, cabinet secretariat and power had fixed the dates of deliberations apart from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and 17 sub-panels of PAC. Besides, the special committee on rules of procedure and privileges, sub-panel of the special committee on finance, revenue and economic affairs and another sub-panel of the special committee on narcotics control had scheduled their meetings.
Similarly, 18 meetings of various standing committees of the Senate had planned their meetings from March 16 to March 27. They included the panels on maritime affairs, problems of less development areas, privatisation, poverty alleviation and social safety, national health services regulations & coordination, defence, aviation, planning development and special initiatives, cabinet secretariat, problems of less development areas, information technology and telecommunication, finance, revenue and economic affairs, information and broadcasting, power, protection of minorities from forced conversions, human rights, petroleum and interior.