Lawmakers, on Wednesday, made history by deciding to form an Ethics Committee to scrutinize Upper House members for the first time in Pakistan.
Raza Rabbani headed the Senate session where this proposal was put forward.
The said committee will have the power to take action against senators in lieu of any complaints filed against them after a thorough review.
A code of conduct is to be decided by the committee and the responsibility of its implementation will be on the heads of the committee.
A copy of the ‘Draft Rules on the Procedure for the Committee on Ethics’ was acquired by a local news agency and it suggests that a common citizen can lodge a complaint against a Senate member as well. The rules also suggested that a senator can lodge a complaint against another senate member.
Once a petition has been passed, the committee will conduct a thorough investigation against the offender and then provide a report to the Senate.
These reports could also contain a recommendation for punishment, as suggested by the victim, against the offender if he or she is found guilty.
Deputy Senate Chairman, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, will be chairing this committee and it will include members of Senate’s Business Advisory Committee.
In case of the absence of the deputy chairman, the committee is to be chaired by the Leader of the House, Raja Zafarul Haq. Furthermore, if Haq is absent, then the committee session will be headed by PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan, who currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
Via Dawn
