May 06, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 5: The government on Monday withdrew a bill moved by a treasury lawmaker seeking to restrict parliamentarians’ foreign tours when opposition demanded that it be put to vote. Another private member’s bill seeking to regulate advertisements ‘against the dignity and honour’ of women was referred to the House Standing Committee.

Leader of the House Raza Rabbani said that although the government did not agree with the bills moved by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F and Jamaat-i-Islami lawmakers, it wanted them to be referred to the house committee for discussion.

The bill calling for restricting parliamentarians’ foreign tours was moved by Kamran Murtaza of the JUI-F and it was criticised by the opposition when Raza Rabbani consented to send it to the standing committee.

The bill said: “In a country where most of the population is without access to clean drinking water and one-thirds of the population is living below poverty line, millions of rupees are unjustifiably being spent on foreign tours of the parliamentarians.”

Leader of the opposition Kamil Ali Agha said: “This bill not only violates fundamental rights but it also seeks to usurp the rights of parliamentarians … apparently because he (the mover) holds a personal grudge for not having gone abroad himself along with an official delegation.”

He said the proposed legislation also violated international law, parliamentary traditions and democratic norms.

Referring to the bill submitted by Dr. Kausar Firdaus of the JI which sought to regulate advertisements, Mr Agha said it was ‘in line with constitutional provisions’.

The bill said: “The electronic and print media … is depicting women in an improper manner in magazines and signboards which tantamount to breach of dignity and honour of women.”

Terming the bill insulting and derogatory, Anwar Bhinder of the PML-Q called for its immediate withdrawal and said that foreign tours were part of a ‘healthy tradition’ and parliamentarians ‘learnt a lot about democratic practices’ and it should not be discouraged.

The leader of the house and other lawmakers later persuaded Kamran Murtaza to withdraw the bill.

The house referred most of the bills to the house standing committee on law and parliamentary affairs, except those which were deferred for further vetting by the law ministry.

Speaking on the JI lawmaker’s bill, federal Minister for Information Sherry Rahman said the Constitution did not restrict women from working in advertisements and if anything was done to discourage this it would amount to violation of women’s rights.

She admitted that exploitation of women by advertisers was an international concern but if the state banned them from appearing in advertisements, it would also be against their basic rights.

When the bill was unanimously sent to the house committee, Dr Firdaus Kausar said that during the previous government she had tried to submit the bill several times but it had never been referred to the house committee and she was happy that she would be able to debate her case in the committee.