PEMRA Bill passed in violation of rules: Rabbani
ISLAMABAD, June 17 2006: The Senate mediation committee passed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2005 without following the rules, said Raza Rabbani, leader of the opposition in the Senate, on June 16. He said the quorum was not complete when the meeting was held on May 31. “According to the constitution, the meeting of the committee on May 31 was short of quorum, and so, it never took place. Therefore, the pretension that the said bill has been passed as aJ.1 ‘agreed bill’ is incorrect,” Rabbani claimed in a letter addressed to Dr Sher Afghan Niazi, urging him to call a fresh meeting of the committee to pass the bill according to the rules.
He said that a majority of members (eight from both houses) must be in attendance to pass the bill, but only five members out of 16 attended the meeting on that day. “Strict compliance with the rule is necessary as the mediation committee has stepped into the Shoes of the joint sitting of the parliament, as was prior to the 17th Amendment. Even the minutes of the committee have not been drafted so far,” he added. “It will therefore be appreciated if fresh notice of a meeting of the committee is issued under your instructions so as to enable it to pass the bill in terms of the rules of conduct of business of the mediation committee,” he said in his letter.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/17/2006
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