NA refers four bills to Committees, condemns desecration of Holy Quran in Norway

ISLAMABAD, Dec 04 (APP): The National Assembly on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution to denounce desecration of Holy Quran in Norway and also witnessed introduction of four government bills which were referred to the relevant committees for further consideration.

The joint resolution was tabled by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan which was adopted by the House unanimously.

It condemned the desecration of Holy Quran in Norway and paid tributes to Umar, who showed courage to check this blasphemous act.

Meanwhile, the bills introduced in the House included the Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the Surveying and Mapping (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The House passed a motion to elect Standing Committee on Power and it authorized the Speaker to nominate its members.

Another motion was also adopted by the House for constituting Parliamentary Committee to protect rights of persons with disabilities and suggest legislative measures and amendments in the existing laws.

FO calls Norwegian ambassador to condemn Holy Quran’s desecration

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swat laid the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority Ordinance, 2019 which was also forwarded to the relevant committee for further deliberations.

Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui moved a resolution to extend the National Information Technology Board Ordinance, 2019 for a further period of one hundred and twenty days with effect from December 22, 2019.

The House adopted this resolution after voice voting after being opposed by the lawmakers from opposition benches.

Chairman Standing Committee on Interior Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz presented the report of the Standing Committee on the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019.

Chairman Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs presented report on the Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 while Chairman Standing Committee on Federal Education, Professional Training, National History and Literary Heritage Mian Najeeb ud din Awaisi presented report on the University of Islamabad Bill, 2019.

Chairman Standing Committee on Energy presented the report about the Calling Attention Notice regarding difficulties being faced by the residents of Islamabad due to ban on new electricity and Gas connections and meters.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan presented the annual report on the state of the economy which includes the review of fourth quarter on the state of the economy for the year 2018-19.

Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) President Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti also took oath as Member National Assembly who won the NA-259 seat in re-polling. In his opening speech after taking oath, he highlighted the issues of Balochistan and miseries being faced by people in its various areas.

During the proceedings, the lawmakers from Balochistan National Party protested against the abduction of women in Balcohsitan. They sat in front of the dais of the Speaker but ended their protest on the request of Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan.

The entire sitting was chaired by the Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Sur and was adjourned after taking up almost entire agenda.