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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday gave assent to the seven bills passed by parliament, including some controversial bills, turning them into laws, before leaving for the United Arab Emirates on an official tour.
Last month, the president had returned the bills unsigned when they were passed by the Senate and the National Assembly.
According to the Presidency, the approved legislation includes The National Tariff Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Export Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Transfer of Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2026; the Daanish Schools Authority Bill, 2026; the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and the National Commission for Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
A joint sitting of parliament, which was summoned last week after the bills were returned unsigned, passed the three bills including Daanish Schools Authority Bill, 2026, Domestic Violence Bill, 2026, and the Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Although the domestic violence bill was introduced by a lawmaker from his own party MNA Sharmila Faruqui, the president refused to sign it in December apparently considering the objections raised by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F). Similarly, the human rights bill was also opposed by the JUI-F.
About the Daanish schools bill, the PPP was of the opinion that education was a provincial subject and the centre should not lay a network of Daanish schools across the country.
The PML-N addressed the PPP concern before tabling the bill in the joint session.
After signing the seven bills, President Zardari, accompanied by a high-level delegation, left for the UAE on an official visit from Jan 26 to Jan 29.
During the visit, the president would hold high-level meetings with the UAE’s leadership to review the full spectrum of bilateral ties, especially in the domains of trade and economic partnership, defence and security, and people-to-people ties.
The discussions would also focus on regional and international issues of mutual interest, the Foreign Office spokesperson said.
“The visit of the President, subsequent to the recent visit of the President of the UAE to Pakistan, reflects the deep brotherly ties between the two nations and reaffirms commitment to transforming the strong friendship between Pakistan and the UAE into a mutually rewarding partnership,” he added.
Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026
