MUZAFFARABAD: The joint sitting of the AJK Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council, convened in connection with a constitutional amendment bill, was adjourned within half an hour on Wednesday, in the absence of a mandatory consent from Islamabad for amendments to some sections of the interim constitution.

The 13th constitutional amendment bill, aimed mainly at stripping the council of its administrative and financial powers, was tabled by the government in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, while passing over objections by the opposition that no amendment could be made in sections 31, 33 and 56 without the prior approval of the government of Pakistan.

On Tuesday noon, the AJK government issued a presidential order to convene the joint sitting on Wednesday, as it was hopeful of getting the requisite nod from Islamabad, where the federal cabinet meeting was scheduled to discuss this and several other issues, the same evening.

However, much to the dismay of the AJK government, the federal cabinet could not take up this issue, even though it figured, reportedly, in the middle of some 30 items on its agenda.

However, an AJK minister claimed that the item could not be discussed due to the “overloaded agenda.”

He said it would be approved in the last meeting of federal cabinet on Thursday.

On Wednesday, when the joint session started with Legislative Assembly deputy speaker Sardar Farooq Ahmed Tahir, there was no presence of the opposition, which has 11 members in the assembly and 3 in the council.

Interestingly, Ch Siddique Batli, one of the three PML-N members in the council, was also conspicuous by his absence.

Mr Batli and three opposition council members had filed a petition in Islamabad High Court on May 23 to restrain the federal government from allowing the AJK government to make amendments for ‘abolition of the council’.

They were granted interim relief, which came to end on Tuesday with the dismissal of the petition.

Law minister Chaudhry Javed Akhtar moved a motion in the joint sitting to refer the amendment bill to the ‘committee on bills’ which was approved by treasury benches in the absence of the opposition.

However, shortly afterwards, PTI lawmaker Abdul Majid Khan entered the house and reiterated his earlier stance that the bill could not be moved without prior approval from the federal government.

Criticising the government for the ‘unnecessary haste’, he also pointed out that the committee lacked opposition’s representation as its member from the PPP - former premier Chaudhry Abdul Majeed - was out of the country.

On this, the house got Mr Khan included in the committee in place of Mr Majeed.

Jamaat-i-Islami MLA Abdul Rashid Turabi, who is ally of PML-N, pointed out on the occasion that since the draft bill was in English, the government should also provide its Urdu version to all legislators.

Later, the session was adjourned by the chair to meet again at 2pm on Friday.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2018