No specific legislation on agenda in today’s NA session

ISLAMABAD: The summer session of the National Assembly (NA) is starting today (Monday) with no specific legislation on the agenda of the coalition government in its first regular session. The Lower House of the Parliament may only see laying down ordinances and presentation of reports of the standing committees that were mostly chaired by the ruling coalition parties.

Though the coalition partners of the PTI include the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) that has three members and the PMLQ that was also divided in two groups. One group is led by Moonis Elahi and Hussain Elahi, and the other includes Salik Hussain, the son of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, also a federal minister in the coalition government, and Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema, who is also a federal minister as well as the General Secretary of the PMLQ.

Though the dissident members of the PTI that have the numerical strength of 22 members are also claiming to have the slots of opposition members yet it will be a one-sided affair during the current session of the National Assembly.

The re-composition of the standing committees of the National Assembly is linked to the fate of resignations of PTI members as once the decision was taken on the matter of resignations of PTI, then the re-composition of the standing committees would be started.

The agenda that was released for Monday sitting of the National Assembly includes Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal to lay down the General Statistics (Re-Organization) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 before the National Assembly.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail to lay before the National Assembly the Fiscal and Debt Policy Statement, January, 2022, as required by sections 6 and 7 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act, 2005 and the Mid-Year Budget Review Report FY 2021-22, as required by Section 34(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2019.

Chairman Standing Committee on Communications Ibadullah Khan will present the report of the Standing Committee on the bill to amend the National Highways Safety Ordinance, 2000 [The National Highways Safety (Amendment) Bill, 2021]. Chairman Standing Committee on Aviation Division Imtiaz Ahmed will present the report of the Standing Committee on the Bill to provide for the establishment of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Authority for Pakistan [The Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Bill, 2021].

Chairman Standing Committee on Federal Education, Professional Training, National Heritage and Culture Mian Najeeb Ud Din Awaisi to present the report of the Standing Committee on the Bill to establish the Iqbal Academy for promotion of the thought of Allama Iqbal [The Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bill, 2022].

Besides these, two calling attention notices regarding non-increase in the pension of EOBI beneficiaries by the government that relates to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistani and Human Resources Development and other is regarding non-payment of stipend to Post Graduate Trainees (FCPS), inducted by the PIMS hospital in January, 2022, that relates to Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.