ISLAMABAD: Seven government laws, including the National Anti-Money Laundering have been approved by the National Assembly.
Hina Rabbani Khar, a minister of state for foreign affairs, was the bill’s primary mover on Thursday.
The legislation would ensure that Pakistan never placed on the FATF grey list again.
According to Hina Khar, the law calls for the creation of a national agency to fight the financing of terrorism. As well as money laundering.
She added that the SBP governor, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan chairman. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general. Anti-Narcotics Force director general, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman. Financial Monitoring Unit director general, and NACTA national would all be members of the authority. The authority’s chairman, she said, would be chosen by the prime minister.
The house also approved other government bills on Thursday, including the “Gun and Country Club Bill, 2023”. The “National Logistics Corporation Bill, 2023,” the “Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2023,” and the “Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (Amendment) Bill, 2023.”
A salvo of measures to establish more than two dozen private educational institutions and colleges in various parts of the nation earlier in the National Assembly’s proceedings drew discussions and protests.
Opposition’s stance
Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of Jamaat-e-Islami questioned whether National Assembly members had consented to the establishment of private universities and the passage of legislation on their behalf.
“A single member of the house is the mover of the bill for setting up 10 private universities in Islamabad and other parts of the country while compromising on quality of education,” he claimed.
In an effort to avoid the passage of proposals that would cause the adjournment of proceedings, he also drew attention to the absence of a quorum in the House.
The House could only approve one private member’s bill, the Institute of Gujrat Bill, 2023 proposed by Armaghan Subhani.
Rana Tanveer Hussain, the federal minister for education, concurred with the JI legislator’s viewpoint and stated that certain lawmakers desired to have Acts of Parliament authorised the charter of institutions.
He said that in the past, the Punjab Assembly had accepted the charters of 11 universities without completing the necessary processes, and that as a result, the Higher Education Commission no longer attested the universities’ degrees.
Rana said that legislation that stalled in Senate standing committees passed by the National Assembly.
He concurred that the mushrooming of private institutions in the economy would not be able to raise educational standards. He concurred that rather of a university, the National Assembly may approve legislation for the creation of an institute.
The PML-N’s Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, attempting to introduce the Kings institutions Bill, 2023, stated that he would withdraw his legislation provided its guaranteed that legislation for institutions without a HEC NOC would not also passed.
Another law pertaining to the establishment of a private institution was also stopped from passing by Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali. Islamabad is the name given to the university that is being established in Lahore, he claimed.
