On Friday, the joint sitting of Pakistan’s parliament swiftly passed four bills within eight minutes, concluding the session in just 18 minutes. The government presented the bills amid loud protests from the opposition. Notably, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Aseefa Bhutto, and JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman were absent during the session.
The bills passed included the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Imports and Exports (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the National Institute of Technology Bill, 2024, and the National Excellence Institute Bill, 2024. Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, MNA Zehra Wadood Fatmi, and Senator Manzoor Ahmed presented the bills.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq pointed out that no members of the opposition raised objections to the bills. The session was adjourned until February 12, 2025.
Additionally, another set of four bills, including the National Commission for Human Development (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology Multan (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the National Skills University Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were deferred upon the request of Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
