June 9, 2008 to Dec 12, 2012: 111 bills adopted by NA

NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: As many as 111 bills were adopted by the National Assembly from June 9, 2008 to December 12, 2012 during its five-year tenure.

Only one session is likely to be held in the first week of January 2013 - its fifth parliamentary year before dissolution. The National Assembly approved important Constitutional amendments most of them to restore 1973 Constitution which included “The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, 2012, The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010, and The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010”.

National Assembly has to complete 130 working days in a parliamentary year. The Assembly has completed 88 working days of its current parliamentary year. A total of 42 working days remain.

As many as five bills were passed in the joint sitting of the parliament. The National Assembly also passed more than 51 resolutions on various issues facing the country while it discussed more than 63 adjournment motions. The government had introduced as many as 80 bills while the members had introduced 171 bills on private members’ day up to December 12, 2012.      

During the ongoing fifth parliamentary year (March 17, 2012 to March 16, 2013), the National Assembly has passed as many as 15 bills so far. The bills included The Finance Bill, 2012, The National Commission for Human Rights Bill, 2012, The Special Economic Zone, The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Bill, 2012, The Contempt of Court Bill, 2012 and others.

In 4th Parliamentary year (March 2011 to March 16, 2012), 27 bills were passed from the Lower House of the Parliament. The Bills are The Industrial Relation Bill, 2012, The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, 2012, the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2011, Carriage by Air Bill, 2011, Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2009, Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2011, The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, etc.

According to data available with Business Recorder, in 3rd Parliamentary year (17th March, 2010 to 16th March, 2011), the National Assembly passed as many as 30 bills including The Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2010, The Federal Board of Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2010, The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2010, The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2010, The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 (December 22, 2010), The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 (April 8, 2010) and others.

In 2nd Parliamentary year (17th March, 2009 to 16th March, 2010), 31 bills including The Anti-Money Laundering Bill, 2009, The Competition Bill, 2009, The Stock Exchange (Corporation, Demutualization and Integration) Bill, 2008, Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2008, etc, were passed.  In first parliamentary year (17th March, 2008 to 16th March, 2009) as many as five bills were passed.