Senate approves amendment bill allowing CM's advisers to attend provincial assembly sessions

• Senator Zafar lauds Senator Sadia Abbasi for proposing some major constitutional amendments concerning public interest.
• Committee approves bill for the protection of national heritage sites.
• Rejects the proposal to make bail a fundamental right by majority.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice has approved the amendment bill seeking to provide advisers of the chief ministers the right to attend provincial assembly sessions.

The meeting, chaired by Senator and Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, took up several constitutional amendment proposals on Wednesday.

At the outset of the meeting, Senator Zafar lauded Senator Sadia Abbasi for proposing some major constitutional amendments concerning public interest and remarked that there should be no discrimination between the Centre and provinces.

"The advisors of the chief ministers should be allowed to attend sessions of the provincial assemblies like the advisors to the prime minister," Senator Zafar said.

The committee then unanimously approved the inclusion of a new article, 17A, under the Constitutional Amendment, that provides advisers of the chief ministers the right to attend sessions of provincial assemblies.

Committee approves bill for the protection of national heritage sites

Meanwhile, conferring the inclusion of Article 38A as proposed by Abbasi under the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2021, Senator Zafar noted that the fact that heritage sites are national assets and have to be protected and preserved at all costs is unquestionable.

He said that heritage sites are historical monuments that not only reflect a country’s history but also represent the culture of a nation and can be a source of huge tourist attraction.

"Under the 18th Amendment, the subject of heritage has been devolved upon each province but due to the lack of funds and technical know-how, heritage sites are being damaged due to human and natural causes."

Senator Zafar said that it should be the constitutional duty of the state, therefore, to ensure the safety and preservation of such sites the responsibility of protecting and preserving heritage sites should be shared by the federal and provincial governments.

The session continued with a debate over the Constitutional Amendment seeking to make bail a fundamental right.

The majority of the members noted the Article 9 of the Constitution already guarantees the right to bail.

They maintained that the proposed amendment would restrict Article 9, particularly with the many other liberties like protection against bonded labour.

The majority agreed that Article 9 should not be tampered with. Instead, the bail laws, as contained in CrPC and National Accountability Bureau laws, should be further strengthened to ensure the right to bail.

The committee by majority rejected the proposal to make bail a fundamental right.