ISLAMABAD: After about 24 years, the Senate approved on Thursday new rules of business, making it mandatory for ministers to be in the house during the question hour, introducing ‘prime minister’s question hour’ and abolishing discretionary powers of chairman to appoint the leader of opposition.

Tahir Hussain Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, head of the Standing Committee on Rules and Privileges, tabled the revised rules which were unanimously approved by the house.

‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate’ which were approved in 1988 have been repealed and the new rules took effect immediately.

The term of the present Senate is ending on Sunday and new members will take oath on Monday.

The revised rules give more powers to standing committees and now every department or division of ministries will be bound to obey their orders and directives. The presence of ministers concerned in meetings of the committees has been made mandatory.

According to Rule 62, “last half an hour of a sitting shall be utilised as Zero Hour to take up matters of urgent public importance.” However, the members will be required to give a notice in writing to the secretary, one hour before the commencement of the sitting. A new chapter (No VIII) has been introduced in the rules to state conditions for raising issues during ‘Zero Hour’.

The ‘Zero Hour’ has been introduced to stop the misuse of ‘points of order’. For a few years, members in almost every sitting have made it a practice to speak on any subject, even personal issues, on a ‘point of order’ which can only be raised by a member to point out some violation of rules.

The perennial issue of ministers’ absence from the house, particularly during the question hour, has forced the members to amend the rules and make it mandatory for ministers and ministers of state or advisers to remain present in the house during the question hour. Now they cannot leave the house till the business concerning their ministries has been disposed of.

The prime minister is required to respond directly to questions in every session. Rule 47 states: “In every session that exceeds seven days, there shall be one hour which shall be called ‘prime minister’s hour’.”

The chairman has no more discretionary powers to nominate the leader of opposition and he will now be required to seek written applications from members nominating their leader of opposition and after verification of signatures, he shall declare a member having the support of greatest number as leader.

Last year, the Senate proceedings during the budget session were marred because of the boycott by a group of opposition members in protest against Chairman Farooq H. Naek’s decision to nominate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as the leader of opposition.

It has now been made mandatory for independent members to either join the treasury or opposition benches within 15 days of taking oath.

They have also been allowed to form their parliamentary group and nominate a leader.

A no-confidence motion against the chairman or deputy chairman will not be entertained if it does not carry the signatures of at least one-fourth (27) members of the house. Previously, even a single member could have moved a motion seeking removal of the chairman or his deputy.

Like the National Assembly, the annual reports of the Council of Common Interests, the National Economic Council, the National Finance Commission, the Auditor General and the Council of Islamic Ideology will also be tabled in the Senate for discussion.