The National Assembly (NA) on Thursday passed the Election Act, 2017 Amendment Bill, which repealed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s amendments to electronic voting machines and the right of overseas Pakistanis to vote.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was asked to initiate pilot projects for granting the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis as well as for using EVMs, according to changes made to sections 94 and 103 of the Election Act.
In addition, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Bill was introduced in the NA.
NAB law was used to conduct a political witch hunt
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar expressed regret that the NAB law had been used to target political opponents. “We have suffered greatly as a result of this.” But we don’t want others to suffer,” he said, assuring that any laws passed by the coalition government would be within the bounds of the constitution.
He wondered why, when suspects in other cases were granted bail, those nominated in NAB references were not given the same opportunity. “Under one of the proposed amendments to the NAB law, the practice of remanding a suspect in 90-day police custody will be eliminated,” he explained.
Tarar stated that no media campaign would be launched against the accused until they were proven guilty.
He went on to say that Imran Khan, the former prime minister, did not want the parliament to pass legislation. “In fact, he relied on ordinances,” he added.
The Prime Minister congratulates Raja Riaz on his election as opposition leader.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Raja Riaz on his appointment as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly on Thursday and assured him of the Treasury benches’ support.
“We will bury ill traditions of the past by demonstrating a positive attitude toward the Opposition and giving them space to express their point of view,” he said on the House floor.
Raja Riaz responded to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks.
said the opposition wanted the government to disregard conspiracies and attempted chaos and hold the general election after its five-year term was up.
He assured the government of his full cooperation, playing a positive role in opposition and highlighting the government’s shortcomings.
Meanwhile, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi moved a motion seeking House approval to suspend question hour and prioritize other agenda items. As a result, the question period was halted.
