ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: The next National Assembly is likely to be run under a new set of rules and procedures, recommended by a 17-member special committee in its report presented to the lower house on Wednesday.

The report was presented by chairman of the Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges Nasrullah Dreshak.

The special committee, headed by federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi, has recommended some important changes in the 15-year-old assembly rules, including introduction of Zero Hour and changes in the rules relating to the appointment of leader of the opposition. The committee has recommended stern steps against a member disregarding the speaker's authority and lodging protest on the floor of the house.

Under the new rules, a member or a minister can move a motion for suspension of a member for one session for "abusing the rules or sanctity of the house". At present, this power lies with the speaker only. The new Rule 20 (2) also suggests that the suspended member would "lose his pay and allowances for one month".

Opposition members Syed Naveed Qamar and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan of the PPP and Khwaja Asif of the PML-N have submitted a "note of dissent" with the report and termed it a government effort to "mould the rules in such a way that the opposition could be further browbeaten".

They state that in a democratic society, dissent and protest are considered part of the process of democracy. Members of parliament in all countries have used various forms of protest to illustrate a point in a forceful manner. “Even filibustering is seen as a legitimate tool of parliamentarians even though it may seem annoying to other members."

The opposition members believe that "these rules are being modified in the backdrop of protests of the opposition against unlawful amendments in the constitution created through military decree". They say that Rule 19 already provided power to the speaker to ask any member to withdraw from the chamber. "This rule, which is universal in nature, is prevalent in many parliaments, but is rarely used. However, under the new Rule 20 an elaborate procedure has been put in to suspend a member after naming him, forfeiting his salary and allowances, and preventing his presence for the whole session on a motion moved by a minister or member," the opposition members state, adding: "This will be a tool not only to punish members for raising their voices in dissent, but it will also disenfranchise the electorate of that constituency as they will not be represented in the parliament. The punishment of forfeiture of salaries and allowances is a unique rule with no precedence in any other civil institution in the world."