Daily Times

National Assembly passed nine private members’ and two government bills on Wednesday and referred four bills to joint sitting of parliament.

Sponsored by PPPP lawmakers including Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto and Syed Agha Rafiullah, the House passed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022. The House also passed the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Bill, 2022 which was sponsored by Syed Agha Rafiullah.

The House also passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was moved by PML-N MNA Mehnaz Akbar Aziz. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abassi moved two bills which were considered as supplementary agenda in the House. These bills were the National Assembly Secretariat Bill, 2022 and the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Oath and Fees) (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The House also passed six other private members’ bills which were the Islamabad Community Integration Bill, 2020; the Pakistan Courier and Logistics Regulatory Authority Bill, 2019; the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Limitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

The National Assembly referred four bills to the joint sitting of the Parliament for consideration which were the Pakistan Psychological Council Bill, 2021; the Protection of Parents Bill, 2021; the National Information Technology Board Bill, 2022 and the Pak University of Engineering and Emerging Technology University Bill, 2022.

Minister for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel thanked the National Assembly for repealing two controversial acts passed by the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Speaking on a point of order in National Assembly, he said the repealing of two black laws including Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Act and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Act were welcome step. Due to the PMDC Act, over 55 percent Sindh seats in medical college remained vacant. While over 18,000 students preferred getting admissions abroad to pursue medical education. Another PIMS Act made Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences as a private entity. Certain favorites were getting Rs 01 million, 2 million and Rs 800,000 salaries with the consent of the government. He said the current government was concentrating to show performance and providing optimum facilities to the masses.

The House also referred four private members’ bills to the relevant committees for further consideration. These bills were the National University for Security Sciences, Islamabad Bill, 2022; the Pak China Gwadar University, Lahore Bill, 2022; the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Smart Institute of Sciences and Technology Bill, 2022.