Pakistan passes 33 new bills including Kulbhushan Jadhav's 'Right To Appeal'

On Wednesday, the Pakistani administration passed 33 bills in a joint sitting of Parliament, with the opposition rejecting the legislation, claiming that the Treasury benches bulldozed the bills. One of the bills passed grants India's Kulbhushan Jadhav the opportunity for review and reconsideration. Pakistan also passed a bill to amend the Elections Act, 2017, authorising the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) to allow Pakistanis abroad the right to vote in general elections.

The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill, 2021, grants India's retired Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, detained in Pakistan, the opportunity for review and reconsideration. According to the bill's statement of objects and reasons, the Indian government initiated proceedings against Pakistan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding alleged violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963 in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian national, Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by the Military Court in Pakistan in April 2017.

"Pakistan is under an obligation to provide by means of its own choosing effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav, so as to ensure that full weight is given to the effect of the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, taking account of paragraphs 139, 145 and 146 of this judgment," the ICJ noted on 17 July 2019.

Babar Awan, the adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, introduced the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021, to implement the necessary changes. The move to consider the bill was approved by a majority vote, with 221 MPs voting in favour and 203 voting against it. The modifications proposed by opposition legislators, including MNA Mohsin Dawar, Senator Taj Haider, and Mushtaq Ahmed, were rejected by Pakistan Parliament.

Bill to allow overseas Pakistanis to vote in general elections

Following the passage of the Elections Second Amendment Bill, 2021, the Election Commission of Pakistan shall, with the technical assistance of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and any other authority or agency, enable overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote during general elections in the prescribed manner, subject to secrecy and security, The Dawn reported. The bill also gives the ECP the authority to purchase electronic voting devices for use in general elections. The bill's vote was previously postponed at the request of the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, who emphasised that the Opposition desires to address the Parliament. After that, it was placed to a new vote.

Following the bill's passage, the opposition staged a walkout, claiming that National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser was dismissing their concerns about the government's lack of the necessary votes to approve the bills. The opposition MPs later returned to the House ahead of the Pakistani Prime Minister's planned speech. There were 60 items on the agenda, according to the orders of the day posted on the National Assembly website. A total of 29 legislation appeared on the orders of the day, of which the joint session passed 28 and the House discussed five as additional agenda. Only one bill, the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was postponed, while the rest 33 bills were enacted.

List of Bills passed in Pakistan Parliament

• The Elections Second Amendment Bill, 2021
• International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill, 2021
• The Islamabad Capital Territory Charities Registration, Regulation and Facilitation Bill, 2021
• The SBP Banking Services Corporation Amendment Bill
• The National College of Arts Institute Bill
• The Muslim Family Laws Amendment (Amendments in Section 4 & 7), Bill
• The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021
• Hyderabad Institute for Technical and Management Sciences Bill
• Islamabad Rent Restriction Amendment Bill
• The Criminal Law Amendment Bill
• The Corporate Restructuring Companies Amendment Bill
• The Financial Institutions Secured Transactions Amendment bill
• The Federal Public Service Commission (Validation of Rules) Bill
• The University of Islamabad Bill
• The Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes Amendment Bill
• The Companies Amendment Bill
• The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission Amendment Bill
• Pakistan Academy of Letters Amendment Bill
• The Port Qasim Authority Amendment Bill
• Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Amendment Bill
• Gwadar Port Authority Amendment Bill
• The Maritime Security Agency Amendment Bill
• The Emigration Amendment Bill
• The Privatisation Commission Amendment Bill
• The COVID-19 (Prevention of Hoarding) Bill 2021
• The Al-Karam International Institute Bill, 2021
• The Islamabad Capital Territory Authority Food Safety Bill 2021
• The Unani, Ayurvedic And Homoeopathic Practitioners Act
• The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill
• The Provincial Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill
• The Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill, 2021

(With inputs from agencies, Image: PTI/AP)