ALI HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: Former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has said that caretaker government has no mandate to agree upon a 15-month action plan with Financial Action Task Force (FATF), putting Pakistan on its grey list during the said period.

He expressed these remarks here at a meeting of Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation on Wednesday. He also suggested that a new set of rules need to be framed to clearly define mandate of the caretaker government.

“This is the right of an elected government, and not the caretaker government, to reach an understanding with global organisations like FATF. Pakistan will be on its grey list for the next 15 months…that’s what the caretaker government has agreed with the FATF while implementing its plan of action during the said period,” Rabbani said.

Referring to the prevailing political situation of the country, he feared that the upcoming Parliament coming into existence as a result of the July 25 general election will be an ‘ineffective Parliament.’ “I fear that it would be as an ineffective Parliament which would be nothing but a laughing stock,” he said, adding that the one can hardly predict that the democratic institutions would run properly.

The committee, earlier, observed that the subordinate legislation framed by the executive has to be in consistency with the parent legislation passed by the Parliament and cannot be ultra vires to it.

The sense of the committee that executive cannot have unbridled powers in exercising its power on delegated legislation, was endorsed by the caretaker Minister for Law Barrister Ali Zafar who observed that there is a need for having structured discussion on the framework of scope and time of shaping the subordinate legislation that includes rules, gazette notifications and statutes among others.

The first meeting of the committee was held with Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq in the chair which was attended among others by senators including Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Dr Asad Ashraf, Azam Khan Swati, Mian Raza Rabbani, Rukhsana Zuberi, Kalsoom Parveen, caretaker Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Ali Zafar, Law Secretary Abdul Shakoor Paracha, Senior Legislative Advisor Hakam Khan and Additional Draftsman Sheikh Sarfaraz Ahmed.

The chairperson of the committee apprised the members of functions and significance of committee on delegated legislation and observed that the committee is becoming more and more functional in the parliaments around the world as the need for focusing on efficacy of subordinate legislation is as important as the original legislation passed by the Parliament.

Rabbani who pioneered the idea of having the committee in the Senate observed that in Canada and other countries, the legislature puts a sunset clause while passing the acts under which framework and time deadlines, the executive has to undergo the process of formulating relevant rules under the Act.

The committee had a unanimous opinion that oversight of delegated legislation in no way affects the trichotomy of powers as prescribed by the Constitution of Pakistan.

The chairperson of the committee remarked that the panel can learn a lot from international practices in the area of delegated legislation.

Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo stressed upon the need for framing rules in a timely manner.

Earlier, the committee was given a comprehensive briefing by the Ministry of Law and Justice about the concept and need for delegated legislation, which is the power conferred by the Parliament to the executive to ensure that subordinate legislation is carried out as a result of and in accordance with the interpretation of the acts passed by the Parliament.

Besides other achievements of the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation, the chairperson apprised the members that on committee’s recommendation, the Establishment Division has amended Rule 9 of the CSS Rules according to which people with disability are now allowed to compete on equal basis in the competitive examinations for all the 12 service groups of the civil service.

The members also deliberated in detail upon the future work plan of the committee with Senator Azam Swati suggested that ministries and associated divisions should be given the task and responsibility of reviewing their subordinate legislation to ensure it to be in line with principal legislation and to remove any anomalies by amending such rules or regulations as required.