Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice considered various bills, including the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (Amendment to Article 209), the National Commission for International Law and Commitments Bill 2016 and the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduced by senators Zaheeruddin Babar Awan, Karim Ahmed Khawaja and Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, respectively. The committee met at the Parliament House on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi. It deferred for further consideration the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (Amendment to Article 209), as Senator Babar Awan, the mover of the bill, was not present during the meeting. Besides, discussion on the National Commission for International Law and Commitments Bill 2016 was also deferred, since Senator Karim Ahmad Khawaja; the mover of the bill, was not present.

Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati’s bill – the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2016 – was rejected. The committee was of the view that adequate representation of women in judiciary was already being ensured through merit, and there was no need for legislation at the moment in this regard. Regarding the autonomy of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and the issue of representation from all four provinces, senior official of the Statistics Division informed the committee that the PBS enjoyed functional autonomy as per law and that the governing council had representation from all the four provinces. The committee, while expressing satisfaction over the reply of the Statistics Division, disposed of the matter under consideration. Senators Saleem Zia, Nehal Hashmi and Ayesha Raza Farooq, as well as Law Minister Zahid Hamid attended the meeting. Law Secretary Karamat Hussain Niazi and officials of other relevant departments were also present.