Pakistan National Assembly passes two bills
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly passed, 'The Special Technology Zones Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025' and 'The National Commission for Minority Rights Bill, 2025'.
The Special Technology Zones Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposed that the independent members of the Board of Governors of the authority shall be appointed by the Prime Minister on recommendation of the secretary of the division concerned.
'The National Commission for Minority Rights Bill, 2025' says that the state is bound to promote respect of Religious Diversity and create favourable conditions, in which, followers of Minority Religions are enabled to freely practice, express and develop their own culture as it is guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.
Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry presented 'The Special Technology Zones Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025' in the house of passage. The House passed the bill with majority. The bill already passed by the Senate.
According to statement of objects and reasons of the bill, 'in order to delegate the authority from the federal government to lower appropriate authority in the proposed law it has been proposed that the independent Members of the Board of Governors of the Authority shall be appointed by the Prime Minister on recommendation of the Secretary of the Division concerned.'
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar tabled 'The National Commission for Minority Rights Bill, 2025' in the House for passage. The House passed the bill with majority despite of rising objections by the opposition members on it. The opposition members of the PTI and JUI-F said that the bill passed by the Senate with amendments as it was referred to the Senate after passage form the National Assembly. They said that the Senate made some amendments in the bill so it should be referred to concerned standing committee of the House for further deliberation.
On the objections of opposition members on the bill, Federal Minister Khawaja Asif said that we need to show unity in the house at this time. According to objects and reasons of the bill, 'Whereas the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a state party to various International Instruments on Human Rights, including the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of the United Nations which require measures for the protection of the Religious Minorities and their promotion; whereas the state is committed to protect, empower and develop underrepresented Communities, including Religious Minorities, to ensure their effective participation in economic, political and public life; whereas, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a judgment dated 19.06.2014 in Suo Moto Case No. 1 of 2014, on the protection of Minorities, has directed that Federal Government should constitute a statutory body for monitoring and making appropriate recommendation for realisation of the constitutional and legal safeguards guaranteed to the religious minorities under the constitution and the law.'
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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