ISLAMABAD:
The government is determined to keep the Pakistan Protection Ordinance
(PPO) enforced and for the purpose it has evolved a strategy which has
three tiers.
The government is confident that it will sail through the legislation even if it is blocked by the Senate provided its allies stand by it in the two houses.Highly-placed sources told The News on Thursday that the ruling PML-N will take the piece of legislation to the joint sitting of the two houses of parliament once blocked by the Senate.
The government’s procedure would be in line with the Constitution. The Article 70 of the Constitution deals with the subject under the title of “Introduction and passing of Bills,” the sources reminded. It says as under:
(1) “A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List may originate in either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment, by the other House also, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(2) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is passed with amendments it shall be sent back to the House in which it originated and if that House passes the Bill with those amendments it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within ninety days of its laying in the House or a Bill sent to a House under clause (2) with amendments is not passed by that House with such amendments, the Bill, at the request of the House in which it originated, shall be considered in a joint sitting and if passed by the votes of the majority of the members present and voting in the joint sitting it shall be presented to the President for assent.”
The sources reminded that the ruling alliance enjoys the support of 251 members of the two houses. And it needs 223 votes out of 445 members of both the houses.
The comfort enjoyed by the ruling alliance will fizzle out in case the JUI-F opts not to support the government. Maulana Fazlur Rehman has already announced his opposition to the legislation as during the passage of the PPO in the National Assembly, his party had supported the opposition.
The ruling alliance has enough support in the joint house for the PPO in case it decides to opt for a joint sitting, the sources said.
According to sources, the PML-N has 206 members of its own in the two houses of parliament while its ally PML-F 6, Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) 5, National Party 2, NPP 3, PML-Z 1, APML (Pervez Musharraf) 1 and Independents 15 will support the government for the adoption of the PPO, the sources said.
The other option is also available to the government in the shape of promulgation of the same legislation with a different title and some reshuffle in the text of the original law. This option would be the last resort if the idea of holding a joint sitting is ruled out, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the government is also considering discussions with the opposition parties to make the legislation acceptable to the whole house through amendments. Mian Raza Rabbani, the leader of the PPP Parliamentary Group in the Senate, has already hinted at bringing amendments to the bill passed by the National Assembly, the sources reminded.
The government is confident that it will sail through the legislation even if it is blocked by the Senate provided its allies stand by it in the two houses.Highly-placed sources told The News on Thursday that the ruling PML-N will take the piece of legislation to the joint sitting of the two houses of parliament once blocked by the Senate.
The government’s procedure would be in line with the Constitution. The Article 70 of the Constitution deals with the subject under the title of “Introduction and passing of Bills,” the sources reminded. It says as under:
(1) “A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List may originate in either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment, by the other House also, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(2) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is passed with amendments it shall be sent back to the House in which it originated and if that House passes the Bill with those amendments it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within ninety days of its laying in the House or a Bill sent to a House under clause (2) with amendments is not passed by that House with such amendments, the Bill, at the request of the House in which it originated, shall be considered in a joint sitting and if passed by the votes of the majority of the members present and voting in the joint sitting it shall be presented to the President for assent.”
The sources reminded that the ruling alliance enjoys the support of 251 members of the two houses. And it needs 223 votes out of 445 members of both the houses.
The comfort enjoyed by the ruling alliance will fizzle out in case the JUI-F opts not to support the government. Maulana Fazlur Rehman has already announced his opposition to the legislation as during the passage of the PPO in the National Assembly, his party had supported the opposition.
The ruling alliance has enough support in the joint house for the PPO in case it decides to opt for a joint sitting, the sources said.
According to sources, the PML-N has 206 members of its own in the two houses of parliament while its ally PML-F 6, Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) 5, National Party 2, NPP 3, PML-Z 1, APML (Pervez Musharraf) 1 and Independents 15 will support the government for the adoption of the PPO, the sources said.
The other option is also available to the government in the shape of promulgation of the same legislation with a different title and some reshuffle in the text of the original law. This option would be the last resort if the idea of holding a joint sitting is ruled out, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the government is also considering discussions with the opposition parties to make the legislation acceptable to the whole house through amendments. Mian Raza Rabbani, the leader of the PPP Parliamentary Group in the Senate, has already hinted at bringing amendments to the bill passed by the National Assembly, the sources reminded.
No comments:
Post a Comment