ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly and the Senate will begin a general discussion on the federal budget for the financial year 2016-17 when the two houses of parliament will go into separate sessions after a two-day recess on Monday evening.

As per parliamentary traditions, a general debate on the federal budget is always initiated by the opposition leaders in the two houses and both of them have unlimited time to speak.

Although the Senate does not have the powers to do legislation on money bills, after the passage of the 18th Amendment, its members can participate in the budget debate and send their recommendations to the lower house within 14 days. The recommendations, however, are not binding on the government or the National Assembly.

The recommendations are prepared by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. The senators are required to give their recommendations in writing to the committee.

While the National Assembly Secretariat has issued only a one-point agenda, the senators will be taking up a five-point agenda for Monday’s sitting which includes three adjournment motions. Out of these motions, the chairman will allow debate on only one after hearing arguments from the movers on their admissibility.

One of the motions moved by PML-N Senator Javed Abbasi has sought a debate on the “recent test of intercept missile by India contributing to an unhealthy arms race in the region”.

Mian Ateeq Shaikh of the MQM has submitted an adjournment motion seeking a debate on “the report of the National Commission on Human Rights about more than 1,300 deaths of infants and children in Thar during last 30 months”.

Another motion moved by Jamaat-i-Islami chief Senator Sirajul Haq regarding a “six-day long protest of nurses of Nishtar Hospital, Multan”, is also on the agenda.

Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar will give a policy statement on the decision of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan for an eight per cent increase in the prices of medicines.

In the National Assembly, the speaker will allocate time for parties for participation in the debate on the budget according to their number of seats in the house.

Due to the absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it will be a test case for the second tier of the party leadership to ensure presence of maximum number of members in the house at the time of voting on the Finance Bill.

The federal budget is expected to sail through the National Assembly by the third week of June.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2016