NA unanimously passes bill seeking more seats for tribal areas

The National Assembly passed on Monday the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill seeking an increase in the number of seats for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the NA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

Speaking on the floor of the Parliament, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his happiness over the consensus between all parties on recommendations for the bill. He said that the FATA people have been living a difficult life and this bill will tell the people that they are as Pakistani as everyone in the country.

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser called for a vote on the bill. The government and the opposition members jointly voted on the bill today. In order to jointly vote for the passage of the bill, two-thirds members of the NA is required.

The NA passed the bill with 278 members who voted in favor of the motion of the Amendment Bill.

The bill had been introduced by an independent lawmaker from the tribal areas Mohsin Dawar. The bill sought an increase in the number of FATA seats from six to 12 in the NA and from 16 to 24 in the KP Assembly.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has already issued the schedule for the elections which will be held on July 2.