ISLAMABAD: Members of a parliamentary body on Wednesday were divided over the Protection of Parents Bill 2021, and its chairman referred it back to the law ministry for improvement.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice, met for the second consecutive day to discuss amendments to various bills, including the Protection of Parents Bill.

The purpose of the draft government bill was to give respect and honour to parents as ordained.

The committee was informed that while it was ingrained in the teachings of Islam that a child was obligated to care for and be dutiful to parents, there had been cases where parents were abused, abandoned or expelled from their homes by their children.

The senior government official explained that such cases happened particularly when parents transferred ownership of their properties to their children.

“There is now a dire need to bring legislation to ensure that parents should not be evicted or expelled from the houses owned by their children and in case the ownership is with the parents they must be able to evict the disobeying and abusive children from the houses without recourse to a court of law,” Law Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar told the standing committee.

However, MNA Naveed Qamar argued that some clauses in the bill were too harsh and needed to be softened.

MNA Aliya Kamran was completely opposed to the bill. She said such family issues should be settled by the families instead of children and parents being dragged to police stations and courtrooms. It would be too humiliating, she argued.

Similarly, MNA Dr Nafisa Shah suggested a specific bill that focused eviction and protected the rights of both parents and children. She also recommended improvements in definitions for absolute clarity.

Other members felt burdened by stories and examples of parents being driven out of their homes by their children, and found it unbelievable.

They gave references from religion, which commanded to honour parents, obey them, respect their opinion and extend kindness. Some of them felt that the bill would do good than any harm.

Half a dozen other bills moved by various members of the National Assembly such as MNAs Mohsin Dawar, Mehnaz Akbar Aziz and Kesoo Mal Khel Das, to mention some, were deferred.

The committee chairman, Riaz Fatyana, was critical of the law ministry for its “unimpressive” conduct.

“We are trying to bring improvements in law. We have repeatedly emphasised that the law ministry consolidated laws, assisted the committee in recommending judicial reforms and helped in bringing dedicated legislation. Instead the ministry has been slacking,” said Riaz Fatyana.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2021