Press Release Title: Senator Taj Haider, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs Presiding over a Meeting of the Committee at Parliament House Islamabad

Press Release Date: 26th January, 2024

A Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Senator Taj Haider was held today at the Parliament House. Present at the meeting were Senator Kamran Murtaza, Senator Abida Muhammad Azeem, Senator Walid Iqbal, Mr. Murtaza Solangi, Federal Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and senior officials from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The committee engaged in a detailed discussion on the Public Petition regarding the status of "The Protection of Family Life and Wedlock Bill, 2023." Various aspects of the proposed legislation were thoroughly examined, with committee members actively participating in the deliberations. The Chairman of the committee emphasized the distress that families face when spouses are posted in different cities, noting that this situation instills fractures in family institutions. Three petitioners pleaded their cases, asserting that they and their families have been adversely affected by deportation for the past 25-30 years. The Committee assured the petitioners that both Houses of Parliament empathized with the issue. He further mentioned that in pursuance of  Article 75 of the Constitution, the status of said bill should have been cleared after its passage from both Houses of Parliament. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs also outlined the timeline of the bill, from its passage in the Parliament to its submission to the President wherein it was also stated that the "The Protection of Family Life and Wedlock Bill, 2023"  was not assented to and has now been returned by the President to the Parliament for reconsideration under Article 75(1)(b) of the Constitution. During the meeting, committee members extensively discussed the matter, taking Article 75 of the Constitution, the Rules of Business, 1973, and the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012 into consideration regarding the procedure currently adopted for forwarding Bills to the President for Assent. Senator Kamran Murtaza advised the committee to involve the legal team in the next meeting to discuss the said Rules and scrutinize the matter for any violations. Senator Walid Iqbal, in agreement with Senator Kamran Murtaza, added that the Bill was not missing but was in the process in different divisions. Senator Taj Haider, the Chairman of the committee, concluded the meeting by emphasizing that the intention is not to further delay the matter regarding the passage of "The Protection of Family Life and Wedlock Bill, 2023", which might be taken into reconsideration in a Joint Sitting of both Houses of Parliament, but to identity and rectify the reasons causing the procedural delay.