ISLAMABAD: All senators will be required to undergo test for Covid-19 before attending the Senate session on May 12.

The session has been convened by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on a requisition submitted by the opposition a day after the government announced summoning the National Assembly session on May 11.

The opposition members had submitted the requisition notice under Article 54(3) of the Constitution with a five-point agenda, mainly seeking discussion on the situation related to coronavirus and its impact on the country’s economy.

Under the Constitution, Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani is bound to convene the session within 14 days — by May 20. However, the chairman promptly acted this time to convene the session on May 12, a day after the National Assembly will meet for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A testing facility for the senators has been established at the parliament lodges.

Mr Sanjrani, before convening the session, consulted parliamentary leaders at a business advisory committee meeting. It was decided that the session would continue for a week and effort would be made to limit each sitting to two hours at the maximum.

No one will accompany lawmakers to the Parliament House

Mr Sanjrani said arrangements had been made in the Senate hall under social distancing SOPs and seats to the members would also be allocated in the galleries.

The parliamentary leaders will decide the mechanism for phased participation of their members in the session. Minimal staff of the Senate Secretariat will attend the office during the session.

Under the SOPs, all senators will use masks, gloves and sanitisers to be provided at their tables.

No individual will be allowed to accompany the senators to the Parliament House, while only one person will be allowed to accompany ministers and state ministers.

Only one officer of grade-20 or above from the relevant ministry or division will be required to ensure presence in the galleries.

All individuals entering the Parliament House will go through thermal gun screening.

Seats have been allocated only for the leader of the house, leader of the opposition, ministers and parliamentary leaders. All other members will assume available seats as and when they come, without a pre-allocated seating plan.

Meanwhile, PPP leader and Senator Rehman Malik on Friday submitted a resolution and calling-attention notice to the Senate Secretariat for a debate in the house that in view of weak economy, the government might be advised not to take new foreign loans from international creditors to avoid extra burden on the national economy.

“In future, we will not be in a position to sustain our economy due to heavy economic burdens,” he said.

Earlier this week, Senator Malik had submitted a resolution seeking a discussion on his suggestion to the government to invoke a force majeure law to get foreign debts of Pakistan written off from the IMF, World Bank and USAID and other international financial institutions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020