ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday passed three bills amid a thin attendance, after which the House was adjourned due to the want of quorum.
The House passed “The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The bills were moved by Federal Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh. The House passed the bills by majority vote.
After passing three bills, Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah took up a calling attention notice moved by Anjum Aqeel Khan, when opposition member Alia Kamran of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) raised a quorum issue, prompting the Deputy Speaker to order a count of members. The House was found not in order, and proceedings were briefly suspended. When the session resumed after fifteen minutes, the Deputy Speaker was forced to adjourn the House due to the continued lack of quorum.
The National Assembly on Friday passed the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introducing amendments to the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation Ordinance, 2002 (LXXX of 2002).
The bill was moved in the lower house by Federal Minister for the Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh. It will now be laid before the Senate for consideration.
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, “the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (APPC) operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and functions as the state news agency under the APP Ordinance, 2002.
The amendments follow the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Mustafa Impex case, after which the federal cabinet directed ministries and divisions to amend relevant laws, rules, and ordinances in consultation with the Law and Justice Division to replace references to the “Federal Government” with the appropriate authorities.
The cabinet reiterated these directives in subsequent decisions in 2018 and 2022 to reduce its burden of routine administrative matters.
In line with further cabinet directions issued in July 2025, the process to amend the APP Ordinance was re-initiated.
The draft amendment bill was subsequently approved by the Cabinet Committee for Legislative Cases (CCLC) and later ratified by the federal cabinet before being presented to parliament.
According to the objects and reasons of “The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026”, after the major amendments through the PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2023, certain changes regarding the replacement of the words “Federal Government” with “appropriate authorities” could not be properly addressed; therefore, in compliance with the directions of the Federal Cabinet, issued that the process to replace the words “Federal Government” with “appropriate authorities” in the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002, as amended by the PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2023, was re-initiated. Subsequently, the draft PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2025 was approved and ratified by the CCLC and the Federal Cabinet, respectively.”
According to “The Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, “In compliance with the directions of the Federal Cabinet issued dated 16-07-2025, the process to replace the words “Federal Government” with “appropriate authorities” in NECOSA, 1973, was re-initiated. Subsequently, the draft NECOSA (Amendment) Act, 2025, was approved and ratified by the CCLC and the Federal Cabinet, respectively.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026