PPP moves Senate against poll process in capital

ISLAMABAD: PPP parliamentary leader Senator saeed Ghani submitted a privilege motion in the Senate Secretariat regarding the on-going poll process in Islamabad Capital Territory without passage of the related bill hitherto from the Senate.
The Islamabad Territory Local Government Bill, as the title suggests is the legal course of installation of a local bodies system in Islamabad after holding polls.The bill in question was passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to the Senate of Pakistan in terms of Article 70 of the Constitution, 1973. Under Rule 98 of the Rule of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, the said bill was referred to the Standing Committee concerned and remained pending there.
In the motion, the senator contended that no steps could be taken or orders passed or action taken on the basis of or the strength flowing from any of the provisions of the bill because at the instant time it was only a proposal for legislation as it was pending before the concerned Standing Committee.
He pointed out that Clause (3) of Article 75 provides that a Bill will become law and be called an Act of Parliament only when the president has given assent. “The reliance on various sections of the legislative proposal which is still pending before the Senate amounts to a breach of privilege of the House,” he noted. “I would like to move that Ministry of Interior, government of Pakistan as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan, despite being conscious that so far Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill, 2015 has not yet been passed by the Senate, have commenced the process of election, by demarcating and declaring the local governments of Islamabad, vide notification dated 26-3-2015, as well as by notifying delimitation of the same, vide notification dated 15-6-2015, respectively, under the powers proposed to be given under the ICT LG Bill 2015, hence undermined the authority of the Upper House (Senate), as the Bill has yet to be deliberated upon to inter-alia consider its validity qua existence of duly promulgated laws:
i. Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance, 1979:
ii. The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance, 2002:
iii. The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Election Ordinance, 2002, mentioned in section 129 (Repeal Saving) of the ICT LG Bill, 2015.
It is also pertinent to mention here that in the “Statement of Objects and Reasons” of the bill, the federal government has tried to mislead the Senate by stating that there is a “lack of any Local government system in ICT since 1996”, whereas Section 129 of the bill provides for repeal of the three existing laws on the subject.
Article 70 of the Constitution, 1973 provides for a matter in the Federal Legislative List, a bill may originate in either House, if it is passed by the House in which it originates, it shall be transmitted to the other House.