Five private members’ bills passed, 16 new introduced in ongoing NA session

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday passed five private members’ bills and introduced 16 new bills during its latest on-going session.

The Lower House passed five bills: the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the National Institute of Health (Re-organization) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2024; the Reservation of Special Seats for Deserving Persons in Universities Bill, 2024; and the Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

According to the statement of objects and reasons for the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2025, “Bar Councils play a pivotal role in upholding constitutional supremacy, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. Therefore, it is deemed judicious to introduce a robust mechanism and transparent criteria for becoming office holders of Bar Councils. These amendments aim to ensure that candidates possess the requisite expertise and experience to fulfil these critical responsibilities effectively. Furthermore, the amendment allocates seats for the newly merged districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as prescribed in the group of districts listed in the Schedule under sub-section (2)(b) of section 5 of the Act.”

According to objects and reasons of another The Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2024, “acid throwing and burn crimes are increasing year by year. Hundreds of women and children fall victim to this horrendous crime, with no possibility to seek justice and support. Due to the socioeconomic circumstances pertaining to victim, the fear and stigma they are facing as well as the highly complex nature of acid and burn injuries, a specific and comprehensive legislation is needed. This will result in perpetrators facing effective deterrent, victims accessing and obtaining justice, availing free relevant medical and psycho-social rehabilitation services.”

The Reservation of Special Seats for Deserving Persons in Universities Bill, 2024 of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) described that the universities shall reserve at least 15 percent seats for poor students of undergraduate and postgraduate on merit base. The universities shall ensure the students enrolled against the special seats shall fulfil one of criteria; (a) financial need, (b) social or ethnic background, (c) disability status, (d) academic merit, where applicable and (e) other criteria as determined by the university’s admission policy.

According to objects and reasons of Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2025, “the proposed amendment aims to remove outdated terminology and align the language of the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980.”

The bills which were included the Islamabad Capital Territory Food Fortification Bill, 2025, the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill,2025) (Section 498D and Schedule II), the Public Interest Disclosures (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Articles 1, 51, 59, 106, 154, 175A, 198 and 218), the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Section 498D and Schedule II), the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Articles 140A and 160A), the Guardians and Wards (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Prevention of Obscenity and Indecency in Digital Media Bill, 2025, the Allied Institute, Multan Bill, 2025, the Service Tribunals (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Islamabad Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2025, the Multi-Vendor Electricity Distribution Bill, 2025 and the Toll Plaza Rationalization and Equity Bill, 2025.

The bills were introduced by Shaista Pervaiz, Shazia Marri, Dr Sharmila Faruqui, Muhammad Riaz Fatyana, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Awais Haider Jakhar, Nosheen Iftikhar, Shahida Rehmani, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Sohail Sultan, Sehar Kamran, and Syed Abrar Ali Shah in the House.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025