Four key bills to be tabled in NA today

The National Assembly would take up as many as four bills including "The Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 21019" for passage today (Monday).

According to legislative business agenda of the Lower House of the Parliament, four bills including 'The Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019, The Federal Public Service Commission (Validation of Rules ) Bill, 2019 and The University of Islamabad Bill, 2019' would be tabled in the house for passage.

According to objects and reasons of the Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, regulatory supervision of all non-banking institutions including National Investment Trust Limited (NITL) has been brought under the regulatory purview of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

It is therefore necessary to exclude NITL from purview of the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974. Further, Small Business Finance Corporation (SBFC) and Regional Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) were merged and SME Bank Limited was formed, therefore, exclusion of names of SBFC and RDFC from section 11-A is also proposed.

Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul would also introduce "The Global Change Impact Studies Center (Amendment) Bill, 2019' in the National Assembly. Two calling attention notices regarding charging fee for extension in visa from Malaysian citizens in Pakistan and delay in laying of electricity transmission lines in union councils of Chitral.

Meanwhile, it also learnt that the government may also table a bill regarding National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in ongoing session of the National Assembly.

According to the sources, the government may bring unanimous bill regarding NAB as it agreed to curtail powers of the chairman NAB as well. The sources said that two federal ministers in their contacts with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have agreed to bring a unanimous bill regarding the anti-graft body while the ministers also praised a bill presented by PPP Senator Farooq H Naek in which amendments have been suggested to curtail powers of the chairman NAB.

The government has asked the opposition to provide the draft of Farooq H Naek bill so that a unanimous bill could be introduced after further amendments in the bill.

Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice has already approved an amendment bill in NAB ordinance which suggested that power of arrest should be given to courts instead of chairman NAB while reference should be filed on assets which were made illegally. The NAB courts should have powers to grant bail and accused will be given right to cross-question an approver.