Due to a PTI member being absent from the meeting, as the committee sought input on plan to redraw Punjab’s map
ISLAMABAD:
A proposed constitutional amendment to carve out a new South Punjab province dominated a Senate panel on Thursday, with deliberations on the bill deferred after a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member skipped the meeting, even as the committee sought provincial input on the plan to redraw Punjab’s administrative and parliamentary map.
The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice met under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq H Naek.
The committee also took up a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to make higher education mandatory for holders of the country’s top constitutional offices.
The committee reviewed a private member’s constitutional amendment bill moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, proposing changes to Article 62 of the Constitution to introduce minimum educational qualifications for key public offices. After deliberations, the committee decided to seek formal opinions from the provincial governments.
During the meeting, it was disclosed that the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab had rejected the proposed amendment, while Sindh and Balochistan were directed to submit their views by the next meeting.
Under the proposed amendment, a bachelor’s degree recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would become mandatory for the offices of president, prime minister and chief ministers. The proposal also seeks to extend the educational requirement to governors, speakers of assemblies and the chairman of the Senate.
The bill further proposes the insertion of a new paragraph (h) in Article 62, and includes amendments requiring federal and provincial ministers to hold at least a graduate-level qualification.
While discussing the bill, Senator Farooq H. Naek recalled that a similar proposal had been introduced during the regime of former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf, 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 was a graduate,” the committee chairman remarked.
The committee also took up a PTI bill proposing the creation of a new South Punjab province. However, the bill was deferred due to the absence of the PTI member concerned.
The committee decided to give the member a final opportunity to attend the next meeting.
