ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has rejected a bill presented by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for land reforms.

Apart from mover S.A. Iqbal Qadri, only the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz members attended the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information on Thursday and rejected ‘The Redistributive Land Reforms Bill, 2017’ on the grounds that it may not be passed by the National Assembly.

Committee chairman Pir Mohammad Aslam Bodla of the PML-N said that the bill seeking to forcibly reduce land holdings would not be accepted by the parliamentarians and sought the opinion of the members.

The bill presented in September this year called for land reforms in the country by limiting family agricultural landholding to 36 acres of irrigated land or 54 acres of unirrigated (barani) land.

Members say limiting landholding is contrary to Constitution

The bill stated that the government would pay compensation to the landowners at the rate determined by a commission to be established in this regard.

Speaking on the matter, Mr Qadri said the ownership of thousands of acres of agricultural land by one per cent of the population was creating discrepancy in society.

But members of the committee belonging to the PML-N, including Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, Mohammad Khan Daha, Mian Mohammad Farooq, Tahir Iqbal Chaudhary, Ms Zeb Jaffar and Chaudhry Mohammad Tufail, opposed the bill.

They said that limiting the landholding was contrary to the system and the Constitution as the individuals had a right to hold properties or wealth in any form.

Dr Fauzia Saeed, Executive Director of Lok Virsa, briefed the committee on the steps taken by her organisation for promotion, preservation and protection of cultural history and national heritage.

The committee chairman lauded the efforts made by the management of Lok Virsa for uplift, promotion and protection of cultural heritage, including national languages, and asked for a powerpoint presentation at the next meeting.

The committee recommended that the short video clips from Lok Mela or other events organised by Lok Virsa for the promotion of culture should be uploaded on social media for easy access to the public at large.

It also proposed that Lok Mela festivals should be held at the district level across the country so that the young generation could be well aware of the cultural history of the country.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2017