ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday passed The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2022 with a majority vote despite the treasury’s opposition.
The bill, tabled by Mohsin Aziz of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was passed through the vote count.
The bill sailed through a majority vote of 26 against 20 while 02 legislators abstained. State Minister of Finance and Revenue opposed the Bill saying let’s not change the law as the constitution not allowed this.
The bill seeks to rectify unjustified and inequitable credit lending that has been the long-standing demand of the smaller provinces. The bill will ensure that the minimum credit/lending of commercial banks to the private sector for establishing industry and commercial activities in smaller provinces is at par with those provinces’ total deposits.
According to the statement of objects and reasons, the private sector of smaller provinces of the country especially Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a long-standing demand to eliminate improper, unjustified, and inequitable credit/lending by the commercial banks in their provinces which is leading to continuous deprivation, disparity and slow progress of industrialization and commercial activities in those provinces.
Senate Standing Committee on Finance in its report laid in the Senate on March 10, 2021, observed that commercial banks can not be forced to extend loans unless a law exists that demands the same, hence, recommended bringing legislation in this regard.
Moreover, the Senate of Pakistan on May 31, 2021, also unanimously passed a resolution demanding immediate and result-oriented steps including the introduction of new legislation or amending the present laws/rules/regulations to ensure that the minimum credit /lending of the commercial banks to the private sector for establishing industry and commercial activities in the smaller provinces is at par with those provinces’ total deposits in the banks.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed moved five bills including the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022) (Amendment of Article 203D of the Constitution); the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan [The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022] (Amendment of Article 19 of the Constitution); the International Islamic University Ordinance, 1985 [The International Islamic University (Amendment) Bill, 2022]; the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 [The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022]; the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 [The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022].
Similarly, the other bills referred to the concerned standing committees included Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2022) (Amendment of section 55 of CrPC), moved by Senator Zeeshan Khan Zada; Copyright Ordinance, 1962 [The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Faisal Javed; the Elections Act, 2017 [The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Fawzia Arshad; the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 [The Pakistan Environmental Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Seemee Ezdi; the Federal Investigation Agency Act, 1974 [The Federal Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur; the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 [The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Seemee Ezdi; the Easements Act, 1882 [The Easements (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Seemee Ezdi; Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, 1996 [The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur; the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and the Qanun-e-Shahadat order, 1984 [The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by the Rana Maqbool Ahmad; the establishment of the Harbour Institute of Management, Sciences and Technology [The Harbour Institute of Management, Sciences and Technology Bill, 2022] moved by the Senators Kauda Babar and Dilawar Khan and the International Islamic University Ordinance, 1985 [The International Islamic University (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senators Naseebullah Bazai and Kauda Babar.
The four bills that were deferred include the Pakistan Halal Authority Act, 2016 [The Pakistan Halal Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur; the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 [The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senators Zeeshan Khan and Faisal Saleem Rehman; the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975 [The Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill, 2022] moved by Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur and the establishment of the International Institute of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences [The International Institute of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences Bill, 2022], as passed by the National Assembly that was moved by Senator Kamran Murtaza.
Similarly, the Pakistan Penal Code,1860 [The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2022] (Amendment of section 498A of PPC), moved by Senator Fawzia Arshad was withdrawn by the mover for further improvement.
