Senate meets tomorrow with 36-item ‘orders of the day’

ISLAMABAD: The Senate meets here tomorrow (Monday) for the 287th session and the opening day is the private members day with 36-item orders of the day, including a crucial bill to amend the law pertaining to the exit control list (ECL).

The bill says that a person whose name is ordered to be placed on the ECL should be informed within 24 hours and those who are placed on the ECL should be able to file a review of the decision within 15 days and if there is no decision on the review in the given time, then the name should be considered removed from the list.

Moreover, the piece of proposed legislation also says that the interior secretary should not have the authority to place names on the ECL and that the authority to place names of persons on the list should be with the federal cabinet.

The Exit from Pakistan (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2018, was moved by former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani several weeks back, and it was approved by the House standing committee concerned while the government had opposed the proposed legislation. The bill seeks to amend the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1981.

The bill has already been cleared by the House standing committee by majority vote, and the House will now take up it for consideration and passage.

“I don’t think the government will support the amendment bill as it had opposed it at stage of the Senate standing committee concerned,” Rabbani said when The News approached him on telephone regarding the proposed amendment bill.

Given the numerical strength of the treasury benches in the 104-member upper House of Parliament, joint opposition, having majority, apparently, will face no problem in getting the bill through.

Senator Rabbani will also move the bill further to amend the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 [The Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018], as reported by the standing committee, be taken into consideration, at once. And after consideration, he will put it for passage. The proposed legislation relates to trade union activities.

Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq has his bill on the orders of the day, which seeks to prohibit the business and practices of private money-lending and advancing loans and transactions based on interest [The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2017]. He will move that the bill as reported by the standing committee be taken into consideration and passage.

MQM-Pakistan Senator Khushbakht Shujat will seek leave of the House to introduce a bill to provide for establishment of the Pakistan Courier and Logistic Authority (The Pakistan Courier and Logistics Regulatory Authority Bill).

Besides, some resolutions are also part of the orders of the day, which include one by PPP Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi that says, “This House recommends to the government to shift the Headquarters of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) from Lahore to Islamabad”.

Another bill filed by PML-N Senator Chaudhry Tanvir Khan recommends to the government that necessary steps should be taken to improve health and educational facilities in rural areas of Islamabad.

Senators Sherry Rehman, Islamuddin Shaikh, Imamuddin Shouqeen, Gianchand, Keshoo Bai, Anwar lal Dean, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, bahramand Tangi, Robina Khalid and Mir Muhammad Yousaf Badini have their joint resolution on the orders of the day, which says, “this House recommends that the government should retain the Headquarters of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Karachi, rather than relocating it to Islamabad.”