Opp gets resolution on rallies passed in Senate
ISLAMABAD:
The opposition on Friday managed to get a resolution regarding allowing peaceful demonstration by political parties, in the Senate, while the government successfully thwarted an attempt to table another opposition resolution against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
The upper house of parliament met here with Senator Sherry Rehman in the chair. The house passed three bills, while Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, on behalf of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, laid a copy of the Money Bill, "The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Hidayatullah protested against denial of permission for holding a rally. On that Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz presented a resolution, saying that permission should be given if there was a peaceful rally was held anywhere in the country.
"A peaceful rally is the right of all political parties, including the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf]," he said. However, Law Minister Tarar opposed the resolution, saying that granting permission was related to the Punjab government and "we cannot force the provincial government".
He said that the draft of the solution should incorporate "subjected to the law and the Constitution". The PTI senators, however, rejected the law minister's proposal. Faraz said that the text had been prepared by Senator Hidayatullah.
PTI's Ali Zafar said that there was no restriction on the government and the allied parties from holding the political gatherings but only the PTI was being subjected to the ban. "The text of this resolution will not be changed," he stated categorically. Later, the resolution was passed.
The opposition members protested and raised slogans after not getting the floor. They also protested that Senator Ijaz Chaudhry was not being brought to the house despite the production order issued by Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Just before the PTI could present a resolution against PECA, the law minister point out the lack of quorum, after which the session was adjourned. The house would meet again on Monday morning, the chair ruled.
Earlier, during the session, Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan assured the Senate that toll tax would not be collected on incomplete sections Mirpurkhas-Khokhropar Highway - a 17 kilometre part of the highway from Rajarasti to Umerkot.aaaa
The chair referred the matter to the relevant committee and set a three-month deadline for its resolution.
Also, four reports of the various standing committees were tabled, pertaining to the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Service Tribunals (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and a report regarding appointments in the Agricultural Development Bank in the last 10 years.
The bills passed by the house were related to severe punishment for those Involved in human trafficking, begging abroad and sending young girls abroad for abuse. All the three bills were Introduced by Law Minister Tarar and the house passed the bills Unanimously. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
SHC orders opening of Governor House for acting governor
The Constitutional Bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), comprising Justice K.K. Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, heard Acting Governor Owais Qadir Shah's petition challenging the locking of Governor House offices. The court ordered the immediate reopening of these offices and directed the principal secretary to submit a compliance report by June 23. During the urgent hearing, the bench granted acting governor immediate access to the Sindh Governor's official residence. The court specifically ordered the unlocking of all offices (excluding private residential quarters) and restrained the principal secretary from obstructing the acting governor's access. The court also directed that a copy of the judicial order be transmitted to the President of Pakistan and the Principal Secretary of the Governor's House, Sindh. In the petition, it was averred that since assuming charge, the Acting Governor, Owais Qadir Shah, has been denied entry to the Governor's House for official duties which is a violation of Article 104 of the Constitution. Governor Kamran Tessori has been abroad since June 2. Acting Governor of Sindh, Owais Qadir Shah, informed the court that a meeting on law and order in the was scheduled for today, specifically to discuss matters related to Muharram. The home minister, secretary, IG Sindh, and other officials reached for the meeting. However, the principal secretary stated that the governor had taken the office keys with him. Owais Qadir Shah stated that this was an act of considering the Governor's House as their personal lounge. He cited the Constitution, which clearly states that in the absence of the governor, the acting governor can perform duties. Owais Qadir Shah said, he would write to the chief minister, highlighting that this was a mockery of the Constitution.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan budget for 2025-26 to consolidate economic gains, NA told
ISLAMABAD: Amid criticism from opposition lawmakers, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani on Friday said that the budget is aimed at further consolidating economic gains, providing relief to the people, and continuing the reform process. He said the reforms would also extend to tax fraud investigations, with new safeguards to prevent arbitrary arrests. Under the new policy, arrests during investigations would only occur in cases of sales tax fraud exceeding Rs50 million, and only after approval from a three-member Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) panel. The opposition lawmakers; however, sharply criticised the budget, saying it lacked vision and heavily favoured the handful elite. They decried the increase in allocations to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which rose from Rs592 billion to Rs716 billion, arguing it came at the expense of education, whose allocation remains comparatively low. PTI says 'federal budget favours elite, ignores masses' The opposition also slammed what they termed a symbolic 10 percent salary raise for government employees and a seven percent hike in pensions for retired government employees. They noted the budget failed to increase the minimum wage, allegedly due to pressure from industrialists. The Finance Ministry did announce some tax relief for salaried individuals, a promise previously made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. But opposition members ridiculed the tax relief for those earning above Rs1.2 million annually, calling it a 'cruel joke.' At the outset of the session, Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb laid four Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) before the House, issued under the Customs Act and Income Tax Ordinance. He confirmed to the speaker that he would conclude the budget debate on Monday. Several lawmakers belonging to both opposition and treasury participated in the ongoing debate on the Finance Bill for 2025-26, voicing a wide range of concerns and suggestions. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) MNA Nafeesa Shah called for greater support to the agriculture sector. Saba Talpur echoed this sentiment, urging the government to cut prices of seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides to support farmers. Junaid Akbar Khan of PTI said the budget had nothing for the people and called attention to sacrifices made by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the war on terror. Agha Rafiullah of PPP demanded that the government review proposed family pension reforms and remove limitations affecting spouses and disabled children. Sahibzada Hamid Raza of SIC criticised the apparent neglect of health and education sectors in the budget. Minister for Religious Affairs Muhammad Yousaf described the budget as balanced and praised the government's handling of Hajj arrangements, noting that over 115,000 Pakistani pilgrims participated this year. Saudi Arabia awarded Pakistan for its management, and planning for next year's pilgrimage has already begun, he added. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Minister for the Board of Investment, said macroeconomic indicators were improving, with inflation falling and remittances rising. He urged all political parties to agree on a Charter of Economy to attract investors. Minister for Public Affairs Rana Mubashir Iqbal said Rs250 billion had been allocated for Balochistan, including Rs100 billion for road infrastructure and further allocations for dams, agriculture, energy, education, and health. Minister of State for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Kesoo Mal Kheal Das stressed that no new taxes had been imposed on agriculture and reaffirmed the government's commitment to completing the Sukkur-Karachi motorway. Murtaza Mahmud lauded the government's steps toward economic stability, while Pullain Baloch called for tax relief for the public. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar reiterated Pakistan's stance against Israeli aggression – whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or elsewhere – stating that the country will continue to oppose and condemn such actions. Other lawmakers who took part in the debate included Fayyaz Hussain, Azimuddin Zahid, Shaharyar Khan Mahar, Osama Sarwar, Noor Alam, Farah Naz and Zulfiqar Ali, Zahra Wadood. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
PTI counsel says no time violation in 15-day window for independents
ISLAMABAD: The counsel of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) asserted that there is no violation of time-line in the majority judgment by granting 15 days to the 41 independents to join the PTI. The judgment of eight judges in reserved seats has straight way declared that 39 independents, out of 80, were PTI candidates, while for 41 candidates laid down the mechanism for their joining the PTI. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and the ex-CJP Qazi Faez also ruled that 39 independents, who in their nomination paper mentioned PTI, are the PTI MNAs. Justice Yahya Afridi also had similar view. Salman Akram Raja, representing the PTI, said that 11 judges had accepted the reality that injustice was caused to the PTI candidates in the general elections 2024. Defending the majority judgment, he argued that 15 days were given to 41 candidates to inform that on February 8, 2024 of which party they were member, and not to join a political party, adding the majority judgment did not give relief to the PTI, but to the people of Pakistan. An 11-member Constitutional Bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, on Friday, heard the review petitions of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The proceeding was live-streamed on SC's YouTube channel. During the proceeding, Justice Musarrat Hilali questioned why did Hamid Raza, who is chairman of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), contested election as an independent candidate. Raja clarified that Hamid Raza in his nomination form instead of independent wrote the PTI-SIC alliance. Justice Mandokhail asked Raja that if his argument is accepted then 11 judges' judgment was wrong, and review should have been filed by the SIC rather than the ECP, the PML-N and the PPP. He said the Court cannot compel anyone to join such and such political party. Justice Hilali also questioned whether voting is the fundamental rights? Her objection was that after birth a person does not have voting right automatically, rather he had to wait till the age of 18 years. Justice Baqar Ali Najafi said right of vote is subject to the law and a person can cast vote after attaining the age of 18, and he/she polls vote only when there are elections in his/her constituency. Justice Najafi observed that there had been constitution deviation and the fundamental rights were violated in the past as well. He inquired from Raja what deviation did he see in the last elections, adding if the elections were non transparent and fair then why not the entire process of general elections 2024 declared null and void. Raja responded that instead of striking down the elections the Court laid down the mechanism to rectify the wrongs committed. He submitted that in the past whenever the constitutional scheme was violated or deviated the apex court played its role to bring the situation back to normal, adding if the matter is of general public and the fundamental rights then it can invoke the jurisdiction under Article 184(3) and Article 187 of the constitution, and under these provisions it has much greater and wider power. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar did not agree with him and said the High Court under Article 199 has greater power than the Supreme Court as it has power of habeas corpus and quo warran to. Raja also contended that there was no issue that the election symbol was taken, but the worst thing happened was that the PTI was derecognised, the candidates were told that if they would write PTI in their nomination forms then those would not be accepted and forced them to write independent in the nomination papers. The violation was committed by the ECP under Article 51 of the constitution that a party was not recognised and its candidates were not allowed to contest election on PTI ticket. These things completely destroyed the sanctity of the elections, he added. The PTI lawyer argued that the reason for joining the SIC was that they had the precedent of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which neither contested elections nor had any seat in the Assemblies despite that reserved seats were allocated to it. Earlier, Raja argued that review petitions could be filed if some facts or provisions of law are overlooked, while the erroneous judgment is no ground for review. Similarly, no technical aspect comes in the way to challenge the judgment in review jurisdiction. He contended that a party has to establish that the fact or provision of law was overlooked. The case is adjourned until Monday (June 23). Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
