Islamabad, 02nd December, 2021; 17th meeting of the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs was held today under the Chairmanship of Mr. Mujahid All, MNA at 02:00 P.M. in Committee Room No. 07 (4th Floor). Parliament House, Islamabad.

2) The meeting started with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Before proceeding with the agenda, the Committee expressed its condolence on the sad demise of the mother of Moulana Abdual Akbar Chitrali and offered "Fateha" for the departed soul. The Committee welcomed the new member Mr. Qadir Khan Mandokhail MNA.

3) The Committee confirmed the minutes of its previous meeting held on 26th August 2021 and also expressed satisfaction with the implementation status of the previous recommendations.

4) The Committee did not consider the Bills. "The Elections (Third Amendment)

Bill, 2021 (Ordinance No XX of 2021) (Government Bill) The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Moved by Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, MNA)" and deferred the same till next meeting.

5) The Committee considered the Bill "The Bio-Metric Electoral Voting Bill, 2020 (moved by Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, MNA)". During detailed deliberations, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan, opposed the Bill being violative of Article 226 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It was further elaborated that the proposed amendment does not only impose a financial burden on the voters but also will violate the secrecy and confidentiality of the votes. The Committee unanimously recommended that the Bill may not be passed by the National Assembly.

6) The Committee considered the Bill "The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Moved by Syed Javed Husnain, MNA)". During detailed deliberations, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan, opposed the Bill being violative of Article 17 (2) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Committee unanimously recommended that the Bill may not be passed by the National Assembly.

(7) The Committee recommended that the Bill "The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Moved by Mr. Ali Gohar Khan, MNA)". During detailed deliberations, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan supported the Bill.

Hence, the Committee unanimously recommended that the Bill may be passed by the National Assembly.

8) Hon. Members/MNAS/Movers Ms. Rukhsana Naveed. Mst. Shaheen Naz Saifullah. Ms. Zill-e-Huma, Ms. Fouzia Behram. Ch. Mehmood Bashir Virk, Rana Mubashir Iqbal. Mr. Abdul Rehman Khan Kanju, Mr. Aftab Shahban Mirani, Mr. Mahesh Kumar Malani, Ms. Shams-Un-Nisa, Mr. Qadir Khan Mandokhail, Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, Syed Javed Husnain. Mr. Ali Gohar Khan and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs besides the Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan along with their staff attended the meeting.