**National Assembly Law Committee Postpones Key Constitutional Bills, Presses Political Leaders for Input on Local Governance**
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice has deferred consideration of several significant legislative bills due to the continued absence of bill sponsors and a lack of response from political leaders regarding reforms on local governance. The Committee, under the chairmanship of Ch. Mahmood Bashir Virk, warned that further delays by absent members would prompt decisions on pending bills without their input and called on political parties to urgently submit their positions on constitutional amendments.
During its latest session at Parliament House, the Committee began by approving the minutes from its previous meeting. Members then reviewed the status of two important private member bills: The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Article 25) by Ms. Nafeesa Shah, and The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Section 54-A) by Ms. Sofia Saeed Shah. Both were deferred yet again because their respective sponsors were not present. Expressing dissatisfaction at the repeated absences, the Committee resolved not to permit further deferments. It was decided that if the sponsors remain unavailable in the next meeting, the bills will be considered and decided without them.
Attention then turned to The Qanun-e-Shahadat (Amendment) Bill, 2025, presented by MNA Ms. Shazia Marri. Ms. Marri explained that the bill had been redrafted after broad consultations, but members noted that substantive changes required more time for review. In light of these concerns, the Committee agreed to postpone its consideration until members have had an opportunity to thoroughly evaluate the updated draft.
A key focus of the meeting was deliberation on The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Article 140-A), introduced by Mr. Muhammad Jawed Hanif Khan, which addresses issues of devolution and local governance. The Committee expressed concern that, despite previous instructions, input from provincial governments and parliamentary leaders was still lacking. Directing the Secretariat to issue formal reminders, the Committee urged all political parties to provide their feedback without further delay to facilitate meaningful discussion on the bill.
The meeting was attended by a wide representation of parliamentarians, including Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Kiran Haider, Syed Ibrar Ali Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar, Syed Hafeezuddin, Mr. Hassan Sabir, Mr. Ali Muhammad Khan, Mr. Umair Khan Niazi, Mr. Changaze Ahmed Khan, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, Ms. Aliya Kamran, Ms. Shazia Marri, and Mr. Jawed Hanif Khan, as well as the Minister of State for Law and Justice and senior officials from the ministry.
