ISLAMABAD: The Senate adopted on Monday a pro-democracy resolution, calling for the establishment of a national democracy commission as envisaged in the charter of democracy to promote and develop democratic culture in the country, but voted out a motion for leave to introduce a bill seeking powers for parliament to ratify all foreign agreements.

The pro-democracy resolution, moved by Sehar Kamran of the Pakistan Peoples Party, called upon the government to make democratic civic education part of the curriculum and educational activities. It stressed that extra- and co-curricular activities at the national campuses should include themes related to parliamentary democracy, fundamental rights and constitutionalism in Pakistan.

The resolution emphasises that the future of Pakistan and its 200 million people depends on the continuity of democratic governance embedded in the supremacy of the Constitution. It points out that half of the country’s population is under twenty-five and not all young people are able to get formal school, college and university education and that core concepts of constitutionalism, federalism and representative parliamentary institutions are missing in the textbooks taught in the classrooms.

The leave to introduce the bill seeking ratification of all foreign agreements by parliament had been sought by Shibli Faraz of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, but Law Minister Zahid Hamid opposed it on the ground that a similar bill moved by Shirin Mazari was pending before the National Assembly.

House scuttles bill on parliamentary oversight of foreign accords

Mr Faraz was asked by the chair to withdraw the bill, but he refused.

The house did not allow Shibli Faraz leave to introduce a bill suggesting amendment in Article 91 of the Constitution providing for the National Assembly speaker to perform functions of the prime minister in case of death or dismissal of the country’s chief executive. Under the proposed bill, a session of the National Assembly was to be convened within seven days to elect a new leader of the house and the cabinet was to perform under the speaker’s leadership during the time.

A bill seeking addition of a new section to address a lacuna in the Constitution which provides no mechanism for an immediate substitute of the prime minister in case of his death, disqualification or inability to perform his functions was referred by the chair to the relevant standing committee of the house.

Farhatullah Babar of the PPP raised the issue of forcible eviction of some poor residents by the Cantonment Board authorities in Loralai in Balochistan on the ground of ‘bad reputation’. Speaking on a point of public importance, he said that four of the victims had travelled all the way from Loralai and were sitting in the lobby of the Senate to petition the upper house.

He said the courts had also exonerated the evicted residents of the charges, but they were still not allowed to return to their homes which had been locked by the authorities.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2017