ISLAMABAD: The Senate Secretariat said on Monday that the Missing Persons Bill has been returned to the National Assembly after it was passed by the Upper House of Parliament with some amendments, The News reported.
The Secretariat said the Missing Persons Bill had not been lost or discussed.
In January 2022, then Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the bill had disappeared in the Senate. The missing person issue was highlighted again amid a demonstration staged by protesters in Islamabad seeking a response from the government on the whereabouts of their loved ones.
The Secretariat issued its clarification with certain deadlines in which it was processed. The statement said it was alleged in the apex court that efforts by a federal minister to get the bill passed were thwarted by the Senate President.
However, the Supreme Court rightly observed that it would not be appropriate to deal with the allegations leveled against the President of the Senate. The Senate Secretariat said: “There was still a false impression in the media that the bill had actually disappeared and that the Senate President or the Senate Secretariat had a role in it.
“The nonsensical disappearance of the bill or alleged interference by the Speaker was at odds with the factual details.” The statement claimed that the bill was introduced by the then Minister of Home Affairs in the National Assembly on 7 January 2021 and passed by the Lower House of Parliament on 8 November 2021.
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It added that in accordance with the constitution and legal requirements, the bill was sent to the Senate on November 10, 2021. It said that the bill was presented to the Senate on July 29, 2022, and that it was the prerogative of the government to decide on the timing of the introduction of the bill in the house by placing it on motion for orders of the day provided by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
The statement clarified that the Senate is not authorized to put the government’s bill on the agenda by itself and that after its presentation in the Chamber, the bill was referred to a standing committee to discuss and submit a report. The bill was approved by the Senate with some amendments on October 20, 2022.
“In accordance with Clause (2) of Article 70 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and Article 125 of the Senate Rules of Procedure and Business, 2012, the Bill was returned to the original House, i.e. the Assembly of Pakistan on 20 October 2022,” it explained. The secretariat emphasized that the factual position “states that the bill in question has never been absent and is not being discussed at the Senate Secretariat. Rather, it was returned to the National Assembly after approval by the Senate, as required by the Constitution and Senate Rules.
It was found that in fact the bill was passed by the National Assembly once again on 21 October 2022, just a day after the Senate passed it with amendments and returned it after removing the controversial section regulating the punishment of those who file false complaints. According to the rules, once the NA Bill is passed with an amendment, the Senate is required to re-pass the Bill to become an Act of Parliament after the assent of the President.
