ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has constituted a special committee for the disposal of legislative cases submitted by ministries and divisions for the cabinet’s approval.

The move, which many consider late by almost half a term, is being welcomed as the government’s awakening to the critical need for legislation – an area that has almost completely been neglected by the current setup since it came to power in June 2013.

The committee, according to an official memorandum dated Jan 14, “will examine cases of fresh legislation as well as amendments to existing laws and recommend whether they should be introduced in parliament or otherwise”.

The six-member committee, headed by the minister for law and justice, Senator Parvez Rashid, “will make recommendations that will subsequently be ratified by the cabinet”. According to the memorandum which has been flagged as immediate, the committee “will finalise its recommendations within one month”.

The cabinet division will act as secretariat to the committee while Mr Rashid will primarily act as formal spokesperson for the prime minister and the federal minister for information and broadcasting.

Other members of the committee include Zahid Hamid, minister for climate change, Ashtar Ausaf Ali, special assistant to the prime minister on law, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, special assistant to the prime minister for human rights and the federal secretaries for law and cabinet divisions. Ministers of other ministries concerned will be invited by the committee whenever need arises.

Since June 2013, the parliament has passed 31 bills, the most important being the controversial 21st Constitutional Amendment which allowed the formation of military courts.

There are, however, a number of legal issues pertaining to the 18th Amendment, the National Account­ability Bureau (NAB), and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which the PML-N had committed to resolving after coming to power, a ruling party office bearer said in response to a question.

Speaking to Dawn, a senior official of Prime Minister’s Office admitted that the government had not been able to pay adequate attention to legislation thus far. He reasoned that due to the “extraordinary security situation of the country, the government focused on implementing the National Action Plan (NAP). And then there was the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which too has been the top priority of the government because of its desired impact on electricity production”.

Initially, the official said, the committee will focus on pending legislation that various government departments had worked out over the last two-and-a-half years.

According to a source privy to the development, the committee is “basically meant to assist the federal cabinet, where legislative business often does not receive attention [and is] hence, deferred. After the committee’s recommendation, it will become easier for the cabinet to accept or reject the proposed legislation”.

At the same time, a law reform committee, headed by Mr Zahid Hamid, and with Barrister Zafarullah Khan as convener, is working to bring legal reforms for speedy justice at the grassroots level.

One of the recommendations made by this committee, which will soon be sent to the PM Office, pertains to civil suits in which the losing side will be made to pay the case costs incurred by the winning party.

“If approved by the prime minister and subsequently by the parliament, it will be a major development. This proposed change is meant to discourage habitual and false petitioners,” said a committee member.

Critics are of the view, however, that several such initiatives have been announced in the past but have ended up nowhere. A PTI lawmaker recalled that when his party had camped on Constitutional Avenue, the prime minister had announced a review of the cabinet’s performance and take action against ‘failing’ ministers. The rest is history, said the PTI lawmaker, adding that, “it seems the prime minister found the performance of all his ministers satisfactory because we haven’t witnessed any action”.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2015