Amendment to Army Act: Following parliamentary procedure victory for democracy: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday said following of procedure for amendment to Army Act was a victory of those who battled for Parliament’s supremacy and this is a positive development that the Parliament that has been dormant for over a year is ready to legislate.

“All institutions that derive powers from Parliament have asked us to pass legislation and accepted parliamentary supremacy and these are important victories for those who have always battled for parliamentary supremacy and democracy,” he said in a tweet.

Bilawal said he was pleased all have now agreed that the bill will go back to the National Assembly committee, will also be reviewed by Senate committee and follow procedure of both houses. “This is a positive that Parliament that has been dormant for over a year is ready to legislate,” he said.

The PPP chairman said when he landed in Islamabad the PML-N and PTI had agreed to unconditionally pass the Army Act on Friday in both houses, ignoring parliamentary procedure, not even circulating the bill to all members or sending the legislation for committee oversight. The National Assembly is set to vote on the bills tomorrow (Monday) as the bill was already approved by the Defence Committee on National Assembly on Friday.

Meanwhile, Bilawal convened an emergency meeting of central executive committee of the PPP today (Sunday) to formulate party's strategy for tomorrow’s (Monday) sitting of the National Assembly where the amendment in Army Act will be presented for passage. The meeting of the central executive committee will be held in Karachi at Bilawal House.