Due to one PTI member being absent from the meeting when the committee sought input on the plan to redraw Punjab’s map
ISLAMABAD:
A proposed constitutional amendment to carve out a new province in southern Punjab dominated a Senate panel on Thursday, with deliberations on the bill postponed after a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member skipped the meeting, even as the committee sought input from the province on the plan to draw Punjab’s administrative and parliamentary maps.
The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice met under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq H Naek.
The committee also adopted a constitutional amendment proposal that seeks to make higher education compulsory for holders of the country’s top constitutional offices.
The Committee reviewed a private member’s constitutional amendment proposed by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri proposing amendments to Article 62 of the Constitution to introduce minimum educational qualifications for key public offices. After deliberation, the committee decided to obtain formal statements from the provincial governments.
During the meeting, it was revealed that the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab had rejected the proposed amendment, while Sindh and Balochistan were asked to present their views at the next meeting.
Under the proposed amendment, a bachelor’s degree recognized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will become mandatory for the offices of president, prime minister and chief ministers. The proposal also seeks to expand the education requirement for governors, speakers and the president of the Senate.
The bill also proposes the insertion of a new paragraph (h) in Article 62 and includes amendments requiring federal and provincial ministers to have at least a master’s level qualification.
While debating the bill, Senator Farooq H. Naek recalled that a similar bill had been introduced during former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime, saying such legislation was aimed at blocking the political path of the late Benazir Bhutto.
“Musharraf did not even know that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had graduated,” the committee chairman remarked.
The committee also passed a PTI bill proposing the creation of a new South Punjab province. However, the bill was postponed due to the absence of the concerned PTI member.
The committee decided to give the member one last opportunity to attend the next meeting.
