By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill on Wednesday to amend the country’s election law, giving more powers to the caretaker government that will oversee the next general election due in November.
The bill, approved by both houses of parliament with some changes, allows the caretaker government to take actions or decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements or projects that have already been initiated under certain laws.
The bill faced resistance from some lawmakers who feared it would undermine the constitutional role of the caretaker government, which is supposed to be neutral and impartial.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had initially proposed a broader amendment that would have given the caretaker government more leeway to deal with economic issues and foreign relations.
The most contentious amendment was related to Section 230 of the law, which deals with the functions and powers of the caretaker government that takes over for two months before an election.
The original draft of the amendment had given the caretaker government sweeping powers to take decisions on bilateral or multilateral agreements, public-private partnerships, and privatization projects.
However, after objections from some of Sharif’s coalition partners and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former prime minister Imran Khan, the amendment was revised to limit the caretaker government’s role to implementing existing agreements or projects that had already been initiated.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the government had prepared a new draft of the amendment after consulting with the allies and opposition members.
“The caretaker government can only look into urgent matters,” Tarar told the joint sitting of the parliament. “We have tried our best to empower the caretaker government while remaining within the framework of the constitution.”
Tarar said that the amendment had 100% consensus on all the other amendments, except for Section 230.
He said that the caretaker government would not be awarded any new authority and would only be responsible for day-to-day affairs. He added that the caretaker government would only intervene where the federal cabinet had already approved some deals that required consequential work.
Tarar said that the changes to Section 230 were proposed five days ago via WhatsApp and email to members of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and were examined again on Thursday.
He said that a new draft of the amendment, to simplify Section 230, had been shared by Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar.
“The rest of the amendments that have been circulated are those on which there is 100% consensus,” Tarar added.
Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) welcomed the revision but said that he still believed that the caretaker government should not have any powers beyond holding free and fair elections.
“I believe that the powers, no matter what the exigencies that are existing, these powers should not be with the caretaker government,” Rabbani said.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar said that the caretaker government could not replace an elected government, and should only run the routine administrative affairs of the country.
“The only job of the caretaker government is to hold free and fair elections,” Zafar said, warning that the Supreme Court would strike the amendments down for being in violation of the constitution.
The amendments will now be sent to President Arif Alvi for his assent.
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