ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice criticised the absence of Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Naseem at a committee meeting on Thursday.

The committee, chaired by Senator Javed Abbasi, met to discuss a number of constitutional amendments tabled by Senators Mian Raza Rabbani, Sirajul Haq, Syed Mohammad Sabir Shah and Naseebullah Bazi, as well as an amendment to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Act tabled by the minister himself.

The committee also had to discuss the implementation status of its directions to abolish the blacklist that bars people from exiting the country, on the establishment of new and expansion of existing courts throughout the country, the number and nature of pending court cases, major reasons for the pendency of cases and so on.

A March 26 committee meeting was rescheduled for April 4 on Mr Naseem’s request, but he did not attend Thursday’s committee meeting either.

After asking other members for their opinions, Senator Abbasi decided to call the meeting off, saying that the minister’s absence was an indication of his lack of seriousness and that of the government.

The minister gave a statement a few days ago that parliament was not cooperating with the government on legislation, Senator Rabbani added, but the meeting had made it evident that the lack of cooperation was on the part of the government.

The committee appreciated the regular presence of the law and justice secretary and his team but observed that opinions on policy decisions could not be taken in the minister’s absence.

The discomfort caused to senior office bearers of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, who attended the meeting for the IHC Act amendment agenda item, was also noted.

The committee said that the minister was a member of the Senate and should do his best not to embarrass the upper house and its committee.

On Jan 25, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had ordered the filing of a written complaint with Prime Minister Imran Khan against his cabinet colleagues for their continuous absence from proceedings.

The direction came after criticism and a boycott by opposition members, who believed that ministers do not take Senate proceedings seriously and it is mostly Leader of the House Senator Shibli Faraz who responds to their questions.

During the discussion, Senator Abbasi, who is from the PML-N, had said it had become routine for ministers not to bother to attend Senate proceedings.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2019