Daily Times

The joint session of Parliament Thursday passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2022, returned by President Arif Alvi.

The Elections (Amendment Bill), 2022 has abolished the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the elections, while the NAB bill has formulated a post-retirement procedure for its chairman, among other changes.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented both the bills, which the president had returned to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif as he “was not informed” about the legislative proposal under Article 46 before they were tabled, says a news report.

But after the joint sitting’s nod, the bills will be sent once again to the president for approval. If he does not sign them within 10 days, it will be considered that his assent has been given.

Article 75(2) reads: “When the president has returned a bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in joint sitting and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the votes of the majority of the members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both Houses and shall be presented to the president, and the president shall give his assent within 10 days, failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given.”

The law minister, speaking on the floor of the NA criticised the NAB for keeping politicians incarcerated for prolonged periods and said: “In Islam, it is a rule that the person who blames another person has the burden of proving the crime. We had sent the NAB law to Islamic Ideological Council (ICC). The IIC also noted that the burden of proving the crime was on the person accusing the other,” Tarar said.

The law minister added NAB was used for “political engineering” and the person who was accused had to prove his innocence – as opposed to the teachings of Islam.

The law minister added that in several Western countries, the burden of proving the crime also falls on the person accusing the other. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said legislation was the sole prerogative of parliament and the president could not dictate the legislature. The joint session of both the houses of parliament offered fateha for the departed soul of Aamir Liaquat Hussain. Also, Pakistan University of Engineering and Emerging Technologies Bill 2022 will be presented in the meeting. The Protection of Parents Bill will also be presented in the joint session of the Parliament for approval. The Protection of Parents Bill was passed by the National Assembly, but it could not be passed by the Senate within 90 days.