Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui Thursday demanded inquiry into how come a bill had gone missing when sent for presidential assent.
“This is a mockery of legislative process,” Senator Siddiqui said in a letter sent to Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf.
The Senator asked the Speaker to order an inquiry on how a bill that was approved by both houses of the parliament had gone missing when sent to the president for assent.
The letter also asked the Speaker to identify the culprits behind the act. The PML-N leader said that the NA Speaker still holds the constitutional position despite the fact that the assembly has been dissolved after completion of its term. “It has been 14 months that there is no clue about the whereabouts of the bill,” he said.
Senator Siddiqui asked the Speaker to once again send the bill to the president for assent. Prepared by Senator Siddiqui, the bill pertains to the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary.
The bill was unanimously passed in the Senate on May 23 and then by the National Assembly on June 8, 2022. It was then sent to PM Office to be forwarded to the President for the approval on June 21.
According to the official procedure, the secretariats of the National Assembly and Senate send a bill after passage by both the houses to the ministry of parliamentary affairs which then sends it to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
