PTI govt won’t back divisive legislation: Shibli Faraz

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said on Monday the PTI government wouldn’t support any legislation that could create sectarian divide in the country.

Talking to The News, he said he couldn’t comment over the clauses of bills passed by the Punjab Assembly as he hadn't gone through them, but added there should be legislation that brings people of all sects together.

Sources revealed that after the recent passage of the Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill 2020 by Punjab Assembly, eyebrows have been raised in the circles of PTI which has come under criticism for not consulting all stakeholders over the passage of this bill.

Speaker Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who has played a key rolebehind the passage of the bill has also been under criticism in the PTI whose stalwarts believe that the bill could also seriously damage the party politically.

After its passage, the bill was sent to the governor who is also unwilling to sign it unless consensus is evolved over it. When a bill is passed by the provincial assembly (PA), it is referred to the governor under Article 116 of the Constitution. Under the Rules of Procedures 1997 of PA, clause 109 and 111 that deal with the passage of the bills, the governor has to gives approval to the bill after which it becomes Act.

However, if the governor does not sign it, the bill is referred back to the Standing Committee by the governor within 10 days. If the assembly sends the Bill back to governor, he has to sign it within 10 days after which it becomes law.

The interesting aspect related to the bill is that after many dissenting voices in the PTI cadres, the Tehreek-e-Isnaf leadership is likely to consider withdrawing its support to the bill. Then PML-Q, the mover of the bill, would require PML-N’s support for the bill’s passage. This scenario could be testing for the PML-N leadership.