• Govt opposes bill introduced by PTI member, backed by some PPP, PML-N & BAP senators
• Ministers say govt consent required to amend SBP law; movers insist it’s not a ‘money bill’
• House also clears bill meant to increase parliamentarians’ salaries

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the Senate staged a protest after the chair set a new precedent, withholding the results of the count after hesitantly allowing voting on a motion for the immediate consideration of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill.

The bill, moved by PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz, proposes to raise the minimum credit limit extended to the private sector by banks in each province.

Objecting to the bill, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik said Article 74 of the Constitution clearly states that the consent of the federal government is required for any bill seeking to amend the SBP Act and wondered how the bill came on the agenda without government consent.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also endorsed the view. Sen­a­tor Mohsin Aziz, however, asser­ted that it was not a money bill.

The bill aims to address the concerns of private businesses from smaller provinces, which are at a disadvantage when compared to their counterparts in Punjab, for example.

The bill proposes that the minimum credit limit of commercial banks should not be less than 60pc of their total deposits from that particular province.

Senator Aziz said the draft law would not affect the federal consolidated fund and does not involve a single penny from the government exchequer, adding that Khyber Pakhtu­nkhwa and Balochistan collectively get less than 2pc of the total loan portfolio of private banks.

At the request of the law minister, Deputy Chairman Syedal Khan Nasar announced the decision to defer the bill, but a strong protest from the opposition forced him to reverse the decision. “Take your seats and let us go for voting,” he told the opposition senators who had gathered close to his podium chanting slogans and throwing torn copies of the agenda in the air.

To the government’s surprise, senators from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), JUI-F and ANP and voted in favour of the bill. But more surprising was two PPP and one PML-N senators voting in favour of the motion opposed by the government.

Sardar Umar Gorgaij and Nadeem Bhutto of the PPP, who voted in favour of the motion, however, stood again during the head count of those opposing the bill after PPP parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman explained the bill to them. Dostan Domki of the PML-N, however, left the House after voting in favour of the motion. BAP senators, including former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, Manzoor Kakar, Danesh Kumar and Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Kamran Murtaza of JUI-F and Hidayatullah of ANP were also among those to have voted in favour of the motion.

‘Not a matter of provincialism’

The law minister reiterated his position, stating that it was not a matter of provincialism, but a constitutional issue. He suggested that the bill be deferred and a consent from the government be sought before bringing it back to the House.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Syed Shibli Faraz insisted that the bill had nothing to do with Article 74 of the Constitution, demanding that the chair declare the count.

Claiming that the bill was against scheme of the Constitution, the minister asked the chair to refer the bill to the house committee with a ruling that it may be decided with reference to Article 74 of the Constitution.

PPP’s Shahadat Awan referred to a letter written by him to the Senate chairman on Nov 4 to point out a glitch in the procedure pertaining to the Introduction of Private Member Bills falling under the provisions of Article 74 of the Constitution.

He read out the letter stating, “…no such procedure is found within the Senate Secretariat or Rules of Procedure & Conduct of Business in Senate 2012, to deal with the Private Member Bills, comprised of requisites provided in Article 74. Additionally, the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) constituted under rule 17 (2) of the Rules of Business, 1973, also lacks such provision to deal with Private Members Bills. This results in rejection of the Private Members Bills dealt under Article 74.”

Mr Awan said the secretariat should assist the private members in dealing with such bills, and coordinate with the Cabinet Division for getting nod from the federal government before their introduction in the House.

The opposition members continued demanding declaration of voting result and staging protest, but the deputy chairman abruptly adjourned the House to meet again on Tuesday (today).

Salaries, allowances bill

Earlier, the Senate also passed the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which would pave the way for the senators to draw over Rs500,000 in monthly salary.

The bill had already been adopted by the Senate, but the National Assembly had passed it with a minor amendment. The bill empowers the finance committees of the two houses of parliament to determine salaries of parliamentarians.

The NA Finance Committee had already increased the salary of MNAs from less than 200,000 to Rs519,000m and they have already received their enhanced salary for the month of January. The Senate is set to follow suit.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025