ISLAMABAD – The joint session of parliament on Friday lasted only 18 minutes, during which the treasury took nine minutes to pass four bills before the speaker adjourned the session until February 12.
The session started an hour late, with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq presiding. Attendees included Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, and others. Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived after the session had concluded. Members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) were also present.
PTI members protested throughout the session, carrying placards and vocally opposing proceedings.
SPEAKER DENIES OPPOSITION LEADER THE FLOOR
Opposition members requested permission to speak on a point of order, but the speaker refused to allow the opposition leader to address the session. In protest, opposition members raised slogans against the PECA amendment, stood on seats, and threw copies of the agenda on the speaker’s desk. They also demanded the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.
During the session, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal presented the Trade Regulations Amendment Bill 2021 and the Import and Export Regulation Amendment Bill 2023, both of which were approved. Senator Manzoor Kakar introduced the National Excellence Institute Bill 2024, which was also passed, alongside the National Institute of Technology Bill 2024, approved by majority vote.
According to the session’s agenda, eight bills were scheduled for presentation, but only four were tabled and passed. The postponed bills included the National Commission for Human Development Amendment Bill 2023, the NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology Multan Amendment Bill 2023, the National Skills University Islamabad Amendment Bill 2023, and the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science, and Technology Islamabad Amendment Bill 2023.
