The Senate on Monday unanimously passed three resolutions, including the promotion of electric vehicles (EVs) and the establishment of related infrastructure, including charging stations, across the country.
The resolution was moved by Senator Seemee Ezdi. Speaking on the resolution, Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said the government had already approved the Electric Vehicle Policy that would help tackle environmental issues and save billions of rupees oil import bill.
He said people were importing luxury and hybrid vehicles and there was a need to promote the friendly transport system in the country.
Shibli Faraz said the incumbent government had also given incentives on the import of parts of electric vehicles and other related machinery, and decreased duty from 25 per cent to 10 per cent on the import of electric vehicles.
The house unanimously passed another resolution, moved by Senator Kamran Murtaza, to ensure representation of all federating units in the Federal Public Service Commission.
Another resolution passed by the house called upon the government to take special measures for implementing the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2017, in letter and spirit. The resolution was moved by Seemee Ezdi.
The house also deferred a resolution, moved by Senator Mohammad Humyun Mohammad, that sought necessary constitutional and administrative steps to declare FATA a ‘rural area’ of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to protect the quota of the erstwhile tribal region in government jobs and educational institutions on a permanent basis as was being practiced in rural Sindh.
Commenting on the resolution, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that three per cent job quota had been reserved for the people of erstwhile FATA till 2030.
He said that the resolution should be referred to the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for consultations.
Leader of the Opposition in Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani endorsed the point of view of Ali Muhammad and said that the house should take the opinion from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on the issue.
The Senate also passed three bills, including the Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2021, aimed at resolving issues that usually emerge after the expiry of agreements between landlords and tenants, without undue delay.
The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2021, introduced by Senator Mohsin Aziz, was unanimously passed after clause-by-clause reading by Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani.
Mohsin Aziz said the amendment would help resolve the issue of prolonged litigation due to some flaws in certain laws and provide relief to petitioners at the earliest.
“This bill will be useful in an early evacuation of any rented premises and put it on next lease after the expiry of the tenancy agreements,” he said.
The house also passed the Trade (Amendment) Bill, 2021, that was moved by Senator Fawzia unanimously.
Another bill titled ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was also passed. It was moved by Senator Shahadat Awan.
Meanwhile, the house held a thorough debate on a bill meant to amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 [the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021], and referred it to the Council of Islamic Ideology.
The amendment to the bill described that “attempt to suicide was a sickness and not the crime”, suggesting proper treatment of the person, attempting suicide, instead of giving punishment.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan was of the view that committing suicide was “forbidden” in Islam, and due to sensitivity of the issue the proposed amendment needed further ‘in-depth evaluation.
“There are a lot of ifs and buts, so its thorough evaluation is needed by scientific and religious aspects,” he said, asking the house to take the point of view of religious scholars and scientific experts.
Earlier, the Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021], the Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021, were introduced and referred to standing committees concerned.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Monday assured the Senate that the government would not take any step that could harm the country’s education system.
Winding up the debate on a motion moved by Kamran Murtaza and Mushtaq Ahmed to discuss the placement of educational institutions situated in the Islamabad Capital Territory under the administrative control of the Municipal Corporation Islamabad, he said education of children was an important issue for the government.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was a staunch supporter of education, which was reflective from the fact that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had focused on health and education sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The minister said the issue was being discussed in the standing committees of the National Assembly and the Senate.
Ali Muhammad said teachers had started performing their duties and negotiations were going on to remove their concerns.
Earlier, speaking on the motion, Senator Kamran Murtaza said it was not only the issue of 250,000 children but also the matter of 14,000 employees associated with the education sector.
Separately, Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem said the local government system had an important role in national development and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was determined to introduce a vibrant local government system.
“We have transferred the powers to the local governments as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.”
Senator Faisal Javed gave credit for a strong local government system to Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the incumbent government believed in empowering the masses of the country.
Senators Irfan Siddiqui, Mehr Taj Roghani, Ijaz Chaudhry, Dinesh Kumar, Fida Muhammad and Ata-ur-Rehman also spoke on the motion.
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