Bill Proposing Reserved Seats in Parliament for Overseas Pakistanis Rejected

The Law and Justice Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan recently rejected a bill proposing the allocation of reserved seats for overseas Pakistanis.

During the meeting, a bill presented by Noor Alam Khan was also discussed, which called for parliamentarians with dual citizenship to renounce their foreign nationality. Khan suggested that overseas Pakistanis or individuals with dual citizenship could be granted reserved seats in the parliament.

However, Aalia Kamran from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) opposed the proposal, arguing against its implementation. The committee also reviewed another bill put forth by Noor Alam Khan concerning the powers related to contempt of court.

Khan claimed that former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar had misused his authority. In response, Barrister Gohar from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) argued that rather than abolishing the contempt of court law, a more refined legal framework should be introduced.

Latif Khosa, a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), expressed that the contempt of court law, initially introduced under an authoritarian regime, should be replaced by a law developed by an elected parliament. Following these discussions, Noor Alam Khan decided to withdraw his bill on contempt of court.

In addition to these bills, the committee also voted to reject a proposal to extend the quota system. This bill, presented by Aalia Kamran from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), was opposed by members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). However, the proposal received support from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), JUI, and one member from PTI.