ISSN# 2414 Parliamentary Research Digest · government departments. Committees in the House of Lords concentrate on five main areas: Europe, science, economics, communications and

Parliamentary Research Digest M A R C H , 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 0 3

INS IDE TH IS

ISS UE :

OPINION

The Punjab

Protection of

Women Against

Violence Act 2016:

An Appraisal

Page 22

Editorial

The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) held an absorbing national conference on harmonization of rules of procedures on March 30-31 that delved into best practices of oversight and legislation so that they may be implemented at National parliament as well as provincial assemblies and legislative assemblies in the country. PIPS also held a parliamentary seminar on climate change for Members of standing committees of Senate and National Assembly and stakeholders in addition to outreach parliamentary education program at Grafton College on Constitution, Parliament and State Building. This March 2016 issue of the PIPS Parliamentary Research Digest also comprises an analytical piece on Comparative analysis of Rules of Procedure on Parliamentary Com-mittees of Germany, UK, India and Pakistan, an opinion piece on Economy of Paki-stan – a budgetary perspective as well as an appraisal of The Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016. All articles in this issue are most relevant in con-text of forthcoming budget as well as the last Speaker’s Conference and hopefully Members of Parliament and Secretariat functionaries will find absorbing aspects of topics under discussion. Kindly send your suggestions to help us enhance our services at [email protected]. Profound Regards and Happy Reading!

Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka Director (Research and I.T)

ANALYSIS

Standing

Committees:

Comparison of

Pakistan, India,

UK and

Germany

Page 01

OPINION

Current Economic

Challenges

and

Way Forward:

A Budgetary

Perspective

Page 16

ISSN# 2414-8040

mailto:[email protected]

Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services 2016

PIPS Parliamentary Research Digest- Volume: 3, Issue: 3 Page 1

ANALYSIS

STANDING COMMITTEES A comparison of Rules of Procedures of Committees of Parliaments in Pakistan, United Kingdom, India and Germany1

Compiled By Ms. Tehseen Khalid (Senior Research Officer, PIPS) & Ms. Fakiha Mahmood (Research Officer, PIPS)

Standing Committees

Committees are universally found in parliaments across the world. A parliamentary committee is a group of parliamentarians appointed by one house (or both houses, in the case of joint committees in a bicameral parliament) to undertake certain specified tasks. Committees offer a setting which facilitates detailed scrutiny of draft legislation, oversight of government activities and interaction with the public and external actors. A significant part of parliamentary work is now conducted in committees rather than in the parent chamber.

a. Pakistan In Pakistan both houses i.e, Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan separate Standing Committees have been constituted for each Ministry of the Government. In Senate in addition to the Standing Committees, functional committees such as Government Assurances Committee, Committee on problems of less developed areas, Rules of Procedure & privileges, House committee, Library committee and Business Advisory committee are also established. However in National Assembly Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Government Assurances, House and Library Committee, Committee on Rules of Procedures and Privileges and Business Advisory committee have been constituted in addition to the Standing Committees. In Senate and National Assembly, Honourable Chairman/Speaker (of the respective House) in consultation with Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs and the Minister concerned can issue directions, for reallocation of the existing Standing Committees or the modification in their nomenclature and election of the new Standing Committees.

b. India In Rajya Sabha the Committees are classified into two types

i) Ad hoc Committees- These are appointed from time to time to enquire into specific subject. They are not named as such in the Rules of Procedure of Rajya Sabha but come into being on a specific motion and become functus officio immediately after reporting to the House on matters assigned to them. Ad hoc Committees are generally Select Committees and Joint Select Committees on Bills2.

ii) Standing Committees- Standing Committees can be divided in four broad categories on the basis of their function. A. Committees to enquire

(a) Committee on Petitions; (b) Committee of Privileges; and (c) Ethics Committee.

B. Committees to scrutinise and control (a) Committee on Government Assurances; (b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation; and

1 Note: The rules are directly quoted from the Rules of procedures of Germany, UK, India and Pakistan and relevant websites in most of the places in the article. 2 Introduction to Committees, http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/committees/general_introduction.asp, retrieved on March 29, 2016.

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/committees/general_introduction.asp



(c) Committee on Papers Laid on the Table. C. Committees relating to day-to-day business of the House

(a) Business Advisory Committee; and (b) Rules Committee.

D. House Keeping Committees (a) House Committee; (b) General Purposes Committee; and (c) Committee on Provision of Computers to Members of Rajya Sabha.

There are some Financial Committees of Lok Sabha with which Members of Rajya Sabha are associated. These are: (a) Committee on Public Accounts; and (b) Committee on Public Undertakings. Similarly, in Lok Sabha Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds: Standing Committees and Ad hoc Committees. Standing Committees are permanent and regular committees which are constituted from time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. The work of these Committees is of continuous nature. The Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees and some other Committees come under the category of Standing Committees. Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Railway Convention Committee, Joint Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex etc also come under the category of ad hoc Committees. Broadly, the Parliamentary Committees may be classified into the following categories:

(a) Financial Committees (b) Departmentally Related Standing Committees; (c) Other Parliamentary Standing Committees; and (d) Ad hoc Committees3.

iii. There are also Joint Parliamentary Committees on which members of both the Houses are represented in which the proportion of number of Members of the two Houses on these Committees is approximately in the ratio of 2 Members of Lok Sabha to 1 of Rajya Sabha. iv. Departmentally Related Standing Committees There are 24 departmentally related Standing Committees with the Ministries/Departments allocated to them out of which 8 are placed within the jurisdiction of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha and 16 within the jurisdiction of the Speaker, Lok Sabha. These committees consist of 31 members, 10 from Rajya Sabha and 21 from Lok Sabha. These Committees are entrusted with the following functions:

a) to consider the Demands for Grants of the related Ministries/Departments and report thereon. The report shall not suggest anything of the nature of cut motions;

b) to examine Bills, pertaining to the related Ministries/Departments, referred to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and report thereon;

c) to consider the annual reports of the Ministries/Departments and report thereon; and d) to consider national basic long term policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred

to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and report thereon. Provided that the Standing Committees shall not consider matters of day-to-day administration of the related Ministries/ Departments.

3 Introduction Parliamentary Committees, http://164.100.47.192/Loksabha/Committee/CommitteeHome.aspx, retrieved on March 29, 2016.

http://164.100.47.192/Loksabha/Committee/CommitteeHome.aspx



The term of Office of these Committees does not exceed one year. c. Germany

In German Bundesrat there are standing committees for running its business. It can set up additional committees to deal with specific business. In German Bundestag there are permanent committees for preparation of its deliberation which may set up special committees to deal with specific question. Study Commission: The Bundestag has a special Feature of setting up ”study commission” for the preparation of decisions on wide-ranging and significant issues upon a motion of one quarter members, whose members are nominated in line with agreement of Parliamentary groups and appointed by the President. The Study commission submits its interim/ final report in time for a debate on it to take place before the end of electoral terms. Committee on Research, Technology and Technology Assessment: In addition there is a committee on Research technology and technology assessments responsible for commissioning technology assessment and for analyzing and elevating them for the German Bundestag.

d. United Kingdom House of Commons Select Committees are largely concerned with examining the work of government departments. Committees in the House of Lords concentrate on five main areas: Europe, science, economics, communications and the UK constitution4. In UK House of Lords and House of Commons „Select Committees‟ are appointed by the House to perform wide range of Functions on behalf of the House. While in House of Lords certain committees are appointed on sessional basis that is, their orders of appointment remain in force from one session to the next throughout the Parliament until House orders otherwise. In House of Lords Select committees are generally divided into three categories

1. Investigative Committees 2. Domestic Committees 3. Legislative Committees.

In addition, there are ‘Joint Committees’ of House of Lords and Commons. These are formally composed of separate Select committees appointed by each House to work together. Procedurally as two committees, they operate as single committees with a single Chairman. However, uniquely members of Commons Joint Committee on statutory instrument sit separately while considering statuary instruments. A Backbench Business Committee has been established with the ability to schedule business in the Commons Chamber and in Westminster Hall on days, or parts of days, set aside for non-government business. General Provisions related to Committees

1. Composition & Membership of a Committee a. Pakistan

In Senate of Pakistan a member cannot be a member of four Standing/Functional Committees at a time and each committee consists of not less than twelve members and not more than fifteen members to be elected by the Senate. In National Assembly a member can be a member of more than one Standing Committees and each Committee consist of not more than 20 members which are elected within thirty days after the ascertainment of leader of the House from amongst the member of the National Assembly.

b. India In both Houses the Departmentally Related Standing Committees consists of not more than 31 members, 21 members are nominated by the Speaker from amongst the member of Lok Sabha and 10 to be nominated from Rajya Sabha (council).

4 Official Website UK House of Commons



c. Germany In German Bundestag the composition of the Standing Committees is kept in proportion to the strength of Parliamentary groups. Every member of Bundestag in principle serves on a committee. The appointment of committee member is made by parliamentary groups while President can appoint nonattached members who participate in deliberation without having right to vote. In addition one staff member from each other Parliamentary group is permitted to attend committee meeting to assist committee member.

d. United Kingdom In House of Lords the names members of select committee are proposed to the House by the Committee of Selection. There is no rule to fix number of members. However, the Chairman of the committee has discretion to propose the names without references to committee on selection to fill casual vacancies of the committee. In order to secure a regular turnover of membership, a „rotation rule‟ applies where by Lord who have been appointed for three successive sessions (or part of session) may not be reappointed in the following two sessions. In UK House of Common member of the select committee other than chair are nominated by a motion in the House in the name of the members which are made on behalf of Committee on Selection only by chair or other members of that committee. Motion to nominate members of Liaison Committee, the Committee of Selection, the Committee on Standards and Privileges and any other established under a temporary standing order are tabled and moved by the government. The Select Committee has maximum 11 members.

2. Chairman of the Committee a. Pakistan:

In Senate and National Assembly, Chairman of each committee is elected by the committee from amongst its member‟s with in thirty days after the election of the committee. Chairmanship is ceased if he/she is appointed as Minister / Parliamentary Secretary/Advisor. In Senate chairmanship is allocated by Chairman by proportional strengths of political parties and independent groups in the House.

b. India In India Chairman of each committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from amongst members of the respective committee and by the Speaker from amongst the members of committee.

c. Germany The Bundesrat selects the chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the committees from among their members for each parliamentary year. The committee appoints their Chairperson in accordance with the agreements reached in the Council of Elders in German Bundestag.

d. United Kingdom The Chairman of a committee in the House of Lord is appointed on the proposal of the Committee of Selection. In his absence deputy chairman take the chair. In the absence of an appointed chair the committee may appoint a substitute alternatively, in case of a Joint Committee; the committee is given power to appoint its own chairman. In UK House of Commons the chair of select committees related to government department, the environmental audit committee, the petition committee, the select committee on public administration, the committee of public accounts, the procedure committee and committee on standards are elected by the House by secret ballot. Ballot are held 14 days after the House has a motion allocating chairs to party proportion in the House which are communicated by the speaker of the relevant party leaders on the day after Speakers election and start of the Parliament. A candidate must be nominated by 15 members of the same party or 10% member of that party which



is ever the lower. No member may be a candidate for more than one Chairs under standing order No. 122B. In House of common term limit for the chair if select committee is also defined and it is stated that select committee may have its chair of that committee for the two previous Parliaments or a continuous period of eight years, whichever is greater period.

3. Quorum of the Meeting a. Pakistan

In Pakistan Quorum to constitute a setting of a committee is one fourth of the total membership of the committee in Senate as well as National Assembly.

b. India In both Houses quorum to constitute a sitting of a Committee is one third of the total number of members of the Committee.

c. Germany In Bundesrat the committees can only form a quorum if more than half of the Lander are represented. Rule no 67 of the ROP the German Bundstag state that a “quorum exist if the majority of committee members are present…”.

d. United Kingdom In House of Lord the quorum of committee is three while in House of Commons the quorum of select committee is three or a quarter of number of its member whichever is greater. In calculating the quorum fractions are to be counted as one.

4. Resignation of members from a Committee a. Pakistan

In Pakistan a Member may resign his membership of a committee by writing under his hand address to the Chairman in Senate and Speaker in National Assembly.

b. India In Lok sabha same procedure is followed but template of the resignation form is also provided in the Rules of Procedures. The resignation takes effect from the date of resignation specified in the letter of resignation. In case no date is specified in the letter, the resignation takes effect from the date of letter and if the letter does not have any date, the date of receipt of letter in the Lok Sabha secretariat is noted. Moreover, an objection can be raised on any member to membership of the committee on the grounds that the member has personal, pecuniary or direct interest of such an intimate character that it may prejudicially affect consideration of any matter to be considered by the committee.

c. United Kingdom In UK House of Commons once nominated a select committee may subsequently be enlarged by adding members. But the total size of the committee cannot be increased beyond such numbers as the House may have agreed upon, unless a motion has previously been agreed by the House, that the committee shall consist of large number of members. A member of the committee (other than chair) cannot relieve himself from his obligation to obey the commands of the House by declining to serve the committee. Understanding Order no 121(1),

“any member intended to propose that certain members be member of a select committee, or be discharged from a select committee, shall give notice of the names of members whom he intends so to propose, shall endeavor to ascertain previously whether each such member will give his attendance on the committee and shall endeavor to give notice to any member whom he proposes to be discharge from the committee”.



Often a single motion is used to discharge one member and add another member. Members may under certain circumstances, when they have become Ministers or accept an official position, he can cease to take part in any part of committee proceedings

5. Resignation of Chairman United Kingdom Under standing order no 122C, in UK House of Commons, the chair elected by the House may give notice to Speaker of their wish to resign from chair. When such notice is given or the chair has ceased to be a member of the House, the Speaker declares the chair vacant and announces the date of election which must be 10 or more sitting days after the announcement of vacancy. The Chair can also be removed by the committee by a resolution that it has no confidence in the chair. At least 10 days‟ notice must be given for this motion. No confidence motion must be agreed to without a division or the majority of the membership of the committee including at least two members from the largest party represented on the committee and at least one member from another party, must vote in favor. A motion expressing no confidence in the chair cannot be made in a committee in the six months following the election of a chair by the House or in the year following a vote on such a motion on that chair.

6. Adjournment of Committee: a. Pakistan

In Senate of Pakistan, If, at the time fixed for any sitting of a Committee or at any time during any such sitting, less than one fourth of the total membership of the Committee is present, the Chairman of the Committee can either suspend the sitting until at least one fourth of the total membership of the Committee is present or adjourn the sitting to some future day. If the sitting of a Committee is adjourned on two successive days, the Chairman of the Committee reports the fact to the Chairman. While in National Assembly If, at the time fixed for any sitting of a Committee or at any time during any such sitting, the number of members present is less than the quorum, the Chairman of the Committee can either suspend the sitting for a time not exceeding one hour or adjourn the sitting. If after the suspension of sitting for an hour quorum is not complete, the meeting is adjourned.

b. India In India, if quorum is not present, the Chairperson can suspend the sitting or adjourn the meeting to some future date. In case the sitting is adjourned on two successive dates fixed for the sitting of the Committee, the Chairperson reports the fact of such adjournment to the Council in Rajya Sbha and House in Lok Sabha. If the Committee was appointed by the Speaker, the Chairperson reports the fact of such adjournment to the Speaker.

c. Germany In German Bundestag Rule 67 of Rules of procedure states that

“…A quorum exists unless prior to a vote, a member of the committee demands to ascertain the presence of a quorum. The chairman may, for a specified period of time, postpone the vote prior to which a count to ascertain the presence of a quorum was demanded and, if there is no objection, continue the debate or call another item on the agenda. If, after the lack of a quorum has been ascertained and the meeting has been suspended for a specified period of time, there is still no quorum after the meeting has been resumed, the third sentence shall apply.”

d. United Kingdom In House of Lords a committee may adjourn from one sitting to another, or it may be reconvened at the discretion of the Chairman. A Committee can sit at any time during a recess without special



leave. Sessional Committees and their sub-committees continue in the same form notwithstanding prorogation, until they are reappointed in the next session. If Ad Hoc Committee has not completed its inquiry it can be reappointed in the following session. In this case the order may be made to refer the evidence taken before the original committee to its successor. In UK House of Commons, a Select Committee cannot proceed to business unless a quorum is present and if at any time during the sitting of a Select committee a quorum is not present, the clerk of the Committee brings this fact to the notice of the Chair, who may either adjourn the committee sitting or suspend the proceeding until a quorum be present.

7. Discharge of Members absent from sittings of Committee a. Pakistan

In Senate of Pakistan if a member is absent from three or more consecutive sittings of a Committee without the permission of its Chairman, such member cease to be the member of the Committee and he shall be informed accordingly by the Chairman. In National Assembly of Pakistan, if a member is absent from three or more consecutive sittings of a Committee without the permission of its Chairman, motion may be moved by any member in the Assembly for the discharge of such member from the Committee.

b. India In Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha India, if a Member is absent from two or more consecutive meetings without the permission of the Chairman of the Committee, he can be discharged from membership of Committee on a motion moved by any Member in the Council/ Assembly. In Lok Sabha, a member nominated by the Speaker can be discharged by the Speaker.

c. United Kingdom In UK House of Commons, the House has endorsed a recommendation of the select committee on Reform of the House of Commons that “there should be clear consequences for unreasonable absence from select committees.” And directed that where the attendance of any member of a select committee in any session is below 60 percent of the committee‟s formal meetings, at the end of that session the Speaker may invite the chair of the Committee of Selection to propose to the House that any such Member should be discharged and that election to fill that vacancy should be held within two weeks of the beginning of the next session.

8. Power to appoint Sub-Committees a. Pakistan & India

In Senate, a Committee can appoint only one sub-committee consisting of three members which have the powers of the whole Committee to examine any matter that may be referred to it. The order of reference to a sub-committee clearly states the point or points for investigation. The report of the sub-committee can be presented not later than two months from the date of reference to the whole Committee and, when approved by the whole Committee, be deemed to be the report of that Committee. The sub-committee stands dissolved at the expiration of two months irrespective of presentation of the report. In National Assembly a Committee can appoint one or more Sub-Committees, each having the powers of the whole Committee, to examine any matter that may be referred to them. The order of reference to a Sub-Committee clearly states the point or points for investigation. The report of the Sub-Committee is considered by the whole Committee and when approved by the whole Committee, be deemed to be the report of that Committee. Similar rule is provided in the Rules of procedures of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.



b. Germany In German Bundestag a committee can appoint sub-committee from among its members to prepare its work, unless one third of its members object. In exceptional cases Parliamentary groups can also nominate Members of Bundestag who are not members of the committee. In appointing the chairperson of a sub-committee, the Committee takes the relative strength of parliamentary groups into account. The committee may dissolve sub-committee at any time, unless one third of the committee members object. Each parliamentary group must, upon the demand, be represented by at least one member on the subcommittee. When an item is referred to several committees or if a particular item falls within the terms of reference of several committees, these committees can form a Joint Sub-Committee.

c. United Kingdom In House of Lords a committee cannot appoint sub-committees or delegate its powers to sub-committees without an order of the House. The maximum number of members on a sub-committee is 12, except for the European Union Committee, for which the maximum number is 14, or where exceptional circumstances apply. In House of Commons the committee requires permission of the House to formally establish sub-committees and to apportion its function among such sub-committees or to delegate to a sub-committee any of the authority delegated to it by the House. This authority is commonly provided by either the standing order or the order of the House under which a committee is appointed.

9. Sittings of Committees a. Pakistan

The rules which are similar in Senate and National Assembly are given as under

The Chairman of the Committee in consultation with the Secretary decides the date of sitting. While for the election of Chairman of Committee Secretary fixes date in consultation with the Speaker.

Meeting is held ordinarily within the precincts of the Assembly (Senate)

Proceeding of the meeting is suspended while a division is being called in the Assembly (Senate) enabling the members to vote in the division.

The Chairman of the committee calls a meeting on a requisition made by one fourth members of the Committee within fourteen days of requisition. If chairman is unable to convene the meeting, the same is submitted to Speaker who may order to call the meeting.

Same procedure is followed in Senate of Pakistan with following exceptions.

A Committee cannot sit without the leave of the Chairman at a time when the Senate is sitting.

Meeting of a Committee for election of its Chairman is fixed by the Chairman, Senate.

Committee has to seek approval of the Chairman for holding its meeting outside precincts of the Senate for justifiable reasons.

If Chairman of the Committee on the requisition of one fourth of members is unable to convene a meeting of the Committee, the secretary will call the meeting within three weeks of receipt of requisition.

b. India In Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha

Chairman of the Committee and in his absence Secretary-General can fix the date of meeting.



In case of Select or Joint Committee on a bill, if chairman is not available the Secretary General can fix the date in consultation with the Minister concerned with the Bill.

Committee meetings are held within the precincts of the Council (in case of Rajya Sabha)/Parliament House (in case of Lok Sabha), and if it is necessary to change the place of sitting outside the Council/ Parliament House, Chairman/Speaker‟s decision is final.

A committee can sit while the Council/Assembly is sitting. However, the Chairperson suspends the meeting if a division is being called in the Council/Assembly.

c. Germany In Bundesrat Committees can hold meetings within its precincts. Exceptions require prior approval of the President. The Chairperson convenes the meeting without any delay at the request of a member of the Committee. In Bundestag the committee meetings are held within the precincts of Bundestag. The Chairman can convene committee meetings on his own authority within the scope of the time table drawn up by the Council of Elders. The Chairman is also obliged to convene a meeting on the next possible date within the timetable if parliamentary groups on the committee or one third of its members demand so. However, a chairperson can only convene meeting outside the time table, or at a place other than the permanent seat of the Bundestag if a parliamentary group or five percent of the Members of Bundestag demand or if the committee has reached a unanimous decision to that effect and the President has given the permission.

d. United Kingdom In House of Lords and House of Commons select committees have power to adjourn from place to place. A committee can sit at any time during a recess, but no committee can sit during prorogation or dissolution. Sessional Committees and their sub-committees continue in the same manner notwithstanding, until they are reappointed in the next session. Other committees cease to exist at prorogation. All committees cease to exist on the dissolution of Parliament. In House of Commons, all committees other than committees of the whole House, have leave to sit at any time on any day on which the House sits but cannot sit during its adjournment without the leave of the House.

10. Meetings in Camera a. Pakistan

In Senate and National Assembly the meetings are held in camera if determined so by the committee.

b. India In Rajya Sabha, Members who are not members of committee can sit during deliberations of the Committee but do not address the Committee nor sit in the body of the Committee. A Minister may with the permission of the Chairman of the Committee address the Committee of which he may not be a member. In Lok Sabha meetings are held in private and all persons other than members of Committee and officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat withdraw whenever the Committee is deliberating.

c. Germany In Bundesrat committee meetings are private unless the committee decides otherwise. In German Bundestag the committee meetings are not open to public in principle. The committee may decide



to admit the public during discussion on a particular item of business or parts. Member of Bundestag not belonging to a committee can attend non-public meetings without taking part into deliberations unless the Bundestag, in setting up the committees decides about restriction. The committee in consultation with the Council of Elders and in agreement with the committees asked for an opinion can conduct public debates in the course of which the recommendation for a resolution and the report of the committee responsible is adopted.

d. United Kingdom In House of Lords meetings at which evidence is being taken are, by custom, held public. However, the committee, at any time orders that a meeting or part of a meeting be held in private, the public then requires withdrawing from the meeting. Meetings at which committee deliberates are held in private. In House of Commons when committees are deliberating, it is practice to exclude the public. The rule does not apply to appropriate officers or staff of the House. A select committee and its sub-committees have power to admit public during oral evidence session. The effect of this standing order is that, unless a resolution is passed to allow the admittance of the public, evidence has to be held in private.

11. Participation by Non-Members

a. India In Rajya Sabha Members who are not members of a Select Committee may be present during the deliberations of the Committee but cannot address the Committee nor sit in the body of the Committee. However a Minister may with the permission of the Chairman of the Committee can address the Committee of which he may not be a member. Uniquely, in Lok Sabha all persons other than members of the Committee and officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat withdraw whenever the Committee is deliberating.

b. Germany In Bundesrat the members of the Federal Government have the right, and on demand the duty, to participate in meetings of the Bundesrat and of its committees. They have the right to be heard at any time but they don‟t have right to vote. In German Bundestag, the President may appoint non-attached Members of the Bundestag as committee members who can participate in the deliberations without having right to vote.

c. United Kingdom In House of Lords, Members of the House who are not members of a select committee may attend and speak when evidence is being taken but they cannot attend any meeting while the committee deliberates, unless invited by the committee to do so, they do not count towards the quorum, and they do not vote. Members of the House who are not members of a committee or sub-committee do not receive papers on a regular basis. In House of Commons some committees have the power to invite members who are not members of the committee to attend its meetings in special circumstances such as examination of witness, considering proposals for national planning policy statements etc.

12. Agenda and notices of meetings of Committees a. Pakistan

In Pakistan, the time table of business of a committee and agenda is determined by the Chairman of the Committee in consultation with the Minster concerned.

b. India In India, the Chairperson of Committee fixes the date and time of sitting. If Chairman is not available then the Secretary General in consultation with the Minister concerned with the Bill fixes the date and time of sitting.



c. Germany In Bundesrat the chairperson convenes the committee without delay at the request of a member of the committee. The chairperson prepares the meetings of the committee and presides over them. The agenda is delivered to Land representative at least six days before the meeting, it not delivered then it is transmitted to Land representative and simultaneously through fax/telex, to committee members. In German Bundestag the date and the agenda is determined by the Chairman unless the committee has taken prior decision. The committee can modify this agenda by a majority; it may, however, place additional items to it only if a parliamentary group or one third of the committee members do not object. The agenda is communicated to federal ministries concerned and to the Bundesrat.

13. Functions of Committees a. Pakistan

In Senate and National Assembly the functions of Standing Committees are: a. A Committee can examine a Bill, subject or matter referred to it by the Senate (Assembly in

case of National Assembly) or the Chairman (Speaker in case of National Assembly) and submit its report to the Senate (Assembly) or to the Chairman (Speaker), with recommendations including suggestions for legislation. In the case of a Bill, the Committee can also examine whether the Bill violates, disregards or is otherwise not in accordance with the Constitution.

b. The Committee may propose amendments which are shown in its report along with original provisions of the Bill.

c. A Committee may examine the expenditures, administration, delegated legislation, public petitions and policies of the Ministry concerned and its associated public bodies.

d. Public petitions may be presented on a Bill which has been introduced, or any matter connected with the business pending before the House, or any matter of general public interest which is primarily the concern of the Government, provided that it is not one which falls within the cognizance of a court, nor it relate to a matter pending before any court or other authority performing judicial or quasi-judicial functions.

e. If a Committee does not present its report within the period prescribed, or the time allowed, the Bill, subject or matter referred to it may be considered by the Senate (Assembly), without waiting for the report, upon a motion made by any member or by the Minister concerned and such Bill, subject or matter is treated as withdrawn from the Committee.

Suo Moto: In Senate of Pakistan a Committee may examine suo moto the expenditures, administration, delegated legislation, public petitions and policies of the Ministry concerned and its attached corporations and public bodies and may call for views of the Ministry. After examining the views of the Ministry, the Committee makes a report to the Senate, which may make recommendations. Public Sector Development Program: In National Assembly each Standing Committees can scrutinize and suggest amendments, if necessary, and recommend Ministry‟s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the next financial year before the same is sent to the Ministry of Finance for inclusion in the Federal Budget for the next financial year. Each Ministry has to submit its budgetary proposals relating to the PSDP for the next financial year to the relevant Standing Committees not later than the 31st January of preceding financial year and Standing Committees can make recommendations thereon not later than the 1st March of preceding financial year which if, are not made by 1st March, the same is considered to be endorsed by the Standing Committees.

b. India In India each of the Standing Committees has the following functions in both Houses:



i. to consider the Demands for Grants of the related Ministries/ Departments and report thereon. The report cannot not suggest anything of the nature of cut motions;

ii. to examine Bills, pertaining to the related Ministries/ Departments, referred to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and report thereon;

iii. to consider the annual reports of the Ministries/Departments and report thereon; and iv. to consider national basic long term policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred

to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and report thereon. v. Standing Committees cannot consider matters of day-to-day administration of the related

Ministries/Departments. c. Germany

The committee is obliged to attend to matters referred to them without delay. As bodies responsible for preparing the decisions of Bundestag, they are under a duty to recommend to the Bundestag definite decisions that may relate only to items of business referred to then or to questions directly connected to them. They may however take up other questions falling within their terms of reference.

14. Powers of Committee a. Pakistan

In Senate and National Assembly committees have been given following powers; i. to appoint sub-committees ii. to take evidence or call for papers, records or documents iii. Evidence on oath and examination of witness

b. India

In Rajya Sabha Committees are vested with following powers: i. power to appoint sub-committees ii. power to take evidence or call for papers, records or documents iii. power of chairman to give directions for regulating its procedure and the organization of

its work iv. to make suggestions on procedure

In Lok Sabha Committees are vested with following powers: i. power to appoint sub-committees ii. power to send for persons, papers and records iii. power Evidence on oath and examination of witness iv. power to make suggestion on procedure relating to that committee for the consideration

of Speaker v. power to make detailed rules c. Germany

In Bundesrat i. Committees may hold joint meetings. If a matter under debate is of equal importance to

several committees, the President may order a joint meeting. ii. The committees may appoint sub-committees. iii. The committee may conduct hearing of experts or of other persons as they deem

necessary. In addition in Bundestag a committee can summon a member of Federal Government to committee meetings.

d. United Kingdom In UK House of Lords committees have following powers:



i. A committee can co-opt other members of the House as members of Committee or sub-committee.

ii. to adjourn and meet without special leave; iii. to confer with committees of the House of Commons; iv. to send for Papers or persons; v. to report from time to time; vi. to adjourn from place to place/ meet away from Westminster; vii. to appoint specialist advisors; viii. A Committee cannot hear witness by counsel unless authorized by order of the House. ix. A committee cannot appoint subcommittees or delegate its powers to sub-committees

without the order of the House. In House of Commons the Select Committees are customarily given some or all of the following Powers. i. To Send for papers, persons and records; ii. To appoint specialist advisors iii. To report from time to time; iv. To meet on days when the House is adjourned; v. To meet away from Westminster; vi. To appoint sub-committees; vii. To exchange papers and or meet concurrently with other select committees (including

committees of House of Lords) 15. Evidence or information to be kept Confidential a. Pakistan

In Pakistan, evidence is kept confidential or secret unless the committee decides to make it public.

b. India In Rajya Sabha the evidence tendered before the select committee under rule 85 is made available to all members of the Select Committee. The evidence is treated as confidential unless Chairman in his discretion directs that report is made available confidentially to members before it is formally laid on table. In Lok Sabha evidence, report and proceedings are treated as confidential. However Speaker while exercising discretion can issue directions of evidence to be made available to members before it is formally laid on table.

c. Germany Annex 3 of German Bundestag provide rules on document security. Documents are classified as Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential and restricted. Documents are kept confidential.

d. United Kingdom In House of Lords a committee, if thinks fit, can publish evidence in advance of its report. In House of Commons all select committees who have power to send for persons, papers and records have power to publish the names of persons who have appeared before them, and to authorize the publication by the witnesses concerned or otherwise of written evidence submitted by them. The Speaker has the power to authorize such publication in the case of any such Select Committee which is no longer in existence.

16. Record of proceedings of Committees a. Pakistan

In Pakistan, a record of proceedings of Committee is maintained by the Secretary.



b. India In India record of decisions of a select committee is maintained and circulated to members of the Committee under the directions of the Chairman of the Committee.

c. Germany In German Bundesrat Bundestag minutes of every meeting are prepared in writing. They atleast contain all motions and the decisions taken by the Committee and are not open to public unless otherwise decided.

d. United Kingdom In House of Commons formal minutes are recorded. The formal minutes are reported to the House during the session to which they relate, unless the Committee proposes to bring them up with a report in a following session of the same parliament. A complete version of formal minutes for the session is also published on the internet.

17. Report a. Pakistan

In the Senate of Pakistan there is no fixed time for the presentation of the report, however, the report has to be “presented within sixty days from the date on which reference was made to it by the Senate.”5 The exception to this rule can be made through a motion to this effect, or in case the House is not in session and is not likely to assembly until the expiry of stipulated time frame. Same rules exist for the National Assembly of Pakistan with the exception that the report has to be laid before the House within thirty days from the date on which reference was made to it in the House.6

In both the Houses of Pakistan, Chairman of the committee or any member of that committee, acting on behalf of the Chairman can present the report.

In both the Houses of Pakistan after the report has been presented in the House the Chairman or a member of the committee will put forward the motion for the report to considered or adopted. After the motion, the Chairman Senate or the Speaker of the National Assembly may allot time for discussion. In the National Assembly, the Speaker can permit for a maximum half an hour debate on the report before putting the question to the House. In the Senate of Pakistan, the decisions of the House shall be communicate to the concerned Ministry. If the Ministry remains unable to implement the decision, it has to inform the House within two months, and if the Ministry is unable to do so the decisions of the House will be considered binding.

The Rules of Procedure of both the Houses of Pakistan allow the printing, publication or circulation of report of the committee, with the permission of the Chairman or Speaker, before being presented in House. In such a case the report will be presented at the earliest during the next session.

b. India

In Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the report is based on broad consensus. Any member of the Committee may record a minute of dissent on the report of the Committee. The Report together with the minutes of dissent has to be presented to the Houses.

In Lok Sabha, a Committee can make a Special Report on any matter that arises or comes to light in the course of its work which it considers to bring to the notice of the Speaker or the House notwithstanding that such matter is not directly connected with, or does not fall within or is not incidental to, its terms of reference.

5 Rule 194. 6 Rule 235.



In the Indian Lok Sabha, where the House has not fixed any time, the report of the committee has to be presented in the House within one month of the date on which reference was made to it in the House. In order to extend the time period a motion to this effect would have to be made in the House. In both the Houses of Indian Parliament, the Chairman of the Committee or a member acting on his behalf presents the report in the respective House.

In Rajya Sabha, for the discussion on the report, the Chairman or a member of the committee will have to move the motion for the report to be considered.

In the Indian Lok Sabha, in case the House is not in session, the Speaker, on a request, can order the printing, publication or circulation of the report of the committee although it has not be presented to the House. In this case, the report would be presented in the house at the earliest during the next session.

c. Germany In the German Bundesrat Rules of Procedures, according to rule 41, the committee report has to be presented orally unless the committee decides otherwise. Furthermore, rule 45 talks about the committee recommendations and states “The secretary of the lead committee shall compile the committee recommendations on each item and transmit them to the Land representations.” In the Bundestag, written reports of the committee have to be presented, complemented with oral presentation.

d. United Kingdom In the House of Lords, there can be two types of motions to debate the report in the House, (1) “take note” of the report (2) “agree to” report. The first one is considered neutral because amendments cannot be made for such a motion which can be made for the second type of motion. The report can also be debated as the subject of a question for short debate. In the House of Lords, according to standing order 11.36, an order has to be moved in order for the committee report to get printed. Furthermore, according to standing order 11.39, the government is bound the respond to the committee report within two months of publication. Only the “Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee” is an exception to this rule.

References 1. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), August

2013. 2. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. Fifteenth Edition 3. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in The Senate 2012 (Amended on August 11,

2015) 4. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in The National Assembly (As modified on

January 29, 2013. 5. Rules of Procedures of German Bundesrat 6. Rules of Procedures of German Bundestag 7. Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords 8. Standing Orders of the House of Commons 2015 9. Erskine May Parliamentary Practice, 24th Edition



OPINION

Current Economic Challenges and the Way Forward: A Budgetary Perspective Dr. Wasim Shahid Malik1

Assistant Professor, Quaid-e-Azam University Introduction Performance of an economy can be evaluated from long run as well as short run perspective. In the long run policy makers try to achieve a high living standard through sustained high GDP growth rate and improved social indicators. In the short run, policies aim at stabilization of the economic activity to avoid cyclical unemployment, interrupted economic growth and cyclical budget deficit. The ultimate objective of the stabilization policies, however, is also the improvement in living standard in the long run. Annual budget is prepared for the income and expenditures of the government for one fiscal year and annual targets for different economic and social indicators are set in line with the long term targets and priorities of a nation. Annual budget is a statement of receipts and expenditures of the government for one fiscal year. It is worth considering that any government cannot achieve all desirable objectives in one fiscal year or even during the five years. Therefore, expectations from any government should be rational keeping in view the following issues. First, there are trade-offs in different policy objectives. For instance, achieving a higher GDP growth rate is possible at the expense of high inflation rate and some output has to be sacrificed to achieve price stability.2Similarly, stabilizing exchange rate is possible by letting foreign exchange reserves deplete and disturbing exports and imports due to over or under valuation of local currency. Second, a very big share of expenditures is pre-committed which cannot be changed significantly. For instance, salary bill, interest payments on debt and return of principal, defense expenditures, financing of ongoing projects, etc. cannot be changed much in one budget. Due to these issues government has limited liberty to change budgeted amounts for different activities.3 Keeping in view these issues some challenges, which the Pakistan economy is facing, are discussed. GDP4 Growth Rate and Inflation Rate5 The average annual GDP growth rate of Pakistan economy remained below 5% (less than 3% in per capita terms) over the last five decades. Though this performance is not so poor but it is less than the rate which is required (7 to 8%) to absorb unemployed youth of Pakistan6. Besides the low GDP growth rate, Pakistan economy has been facing too much fluctuation in the economic activity. For instance, in the last three decades, it happened only three times when the GDP growth rate was above 5% in two consecutive years and only once when it was for three consecutive years (Figure 1). This fluctuation can be explained by political instability, too much dependence on external flow of capital, inconsistency of domestic policies, and the factors that are beyond control of domestic policies. For instance, GDP growth rate was much volatile in 1990s due to political instability; it was quite low after the nuclear blast; much higher after 9/11 due to increased remittances and therefore the monetary expansion; historically at the lowest level in 2009 after oil price hike, financial crisis, and monetary contraction due to depletion of foreign exchange reserves. It is, therefore, important to take measures, in future budgets, for achieving a high GDP growth rate along with its sustainability. This is possible by making domestic policies time consistent and aligned with the long run objectives and priorities of the nation. Institutional reforms are needed to increase the autonomy of government organizations, making their policy actions transparent, and holding them accountable for not

1The author is assistant professor at School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. 2This trade-off is there if supply side factors like oil price are not changing. Currently, Pakistan’s GDP growth is gaining momentum without increase in inflation rate. This favorable combination is due to decreased oil prices in the world market. 3 This does not mean however, that government cannot make budget according to its priorities and cannot achieve its targets. Rather it means that there are limits on the ability to achieve targets given different constraints and trade-offs among different objectives. 4 GDP is defined as market value of all goods and services newly produced in one year in the economy or sum of private sector and government sector incomes. 5 Inflation rate is defined as the percentage growth rate of a price index that measures average change (compared to base year) in prices of goods and services. 6The average GDP growth rate of Asian Tigers was about 6% over the period 1960 – 90.



achieving the objectives. Along with the export promotion government should also focus on domestic commerce, especially the small businesses, and policies should be designed to minimize cost of doing business. Powers of the government must be decentralized and devolved to local level so that public service delivery can be improved. Cities should be planned so that they become engines of growth. Domestic policies should be designed to make economy less prone to external shocks. There should be gradual increase in investment in human capital by enhancing literacy rate and providing better health facilities. The solution to the problem of energy shortage should be given priority.

The average inflation rate during the last three decades has been 8% and it remained volatile, fluctuating between 3% and 17%. The average inflation rate was not too high if we compare it with the high inflationary regimes of Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Russia and Brazil, but was quite high compared with the 2% inflation rate of industrialized countries during the same time period. Inflation hurts purchasing power of the people if their incomes are not completely inflation – indexed. Inflation also arbitrarily redistributes the wealth between borrowers and lenders and increases the tax liability of the salaried class. A low but positive inflation rate, on the other hand, is required to keep economic activity accelerating; however, high and volatile inflation rate creates uncertainty and therefore impedes economic growth. In Pakistan, inflation rate has been much dependent on monetary expansion/contraction and on the external factors like exchange rate and oil prices. Inflation rate was higher during the 1990s due to currency devaluation; rising inflation rate after 9/11 was due to increase in remittances and ensuing monetary expansion; price hike of 2009 was observed due to unprecedented increase in world oil prices; and current inflation rate is considerably low due to decreased oil prices in the world. Price stability in Pakistan can be achieved by increasing autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by decreasing budgetary borrowing, making monetary and fiscal policies transparent, holding SBP accountable for not achieving operating targets; and removing price controls of the government. Public and Private Investment Investment which was used to be 15% of GDP is now about 13% for the last five years (Figure 2). Capital-output ratio in developing countries is lower than that in developed countries; therefore, capital is more productive in developing nations. More capital expands business activity, enhances labor productivity, and supports learning by doing. According to economic theory, investment is dependent on interest rate, share prices in stock market, and growth rate of GDP; low interest rate, high GDP growth rate, and high share prices give firms incentive to invest more in physical capital. Interestingly, interest rate is currently at 40 years lowest level and stock market is also performing well. But despite lower interest rate investment is not picking up. This indicates that there are factors, other than interest rate and stock market performance, that are more important determinant of investment in Pakistan. Following are possible explanations of low investment to GDP ratio.

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First, in Pakistan rent seeking activities are preferred over wealth creation activities. An economic agent earns income either by innovation/creation or by extraction from the existing resources and knowledge in the economy. Historical evidence suggests that countries developed by innovating business ideas and not by extraction and rent seeking. The incentive structure, and policies and institutions, in Pakistan, discourage innovation and encourage rent seeking activities; it is better to be a real estate agent or civil servant than to be an entrepreneuror scientist. In such a situation lower interest rate would not lead to higher investment. Second, the cost of doing business is quite high in Pakistan. For instance, a businessman can get electricity connection not before 3 months if he or she opts for regular procedure of getting connection. For some of the utilities the procedure is even lengthier. Similarly, small businesses cannot find place to do business as there is limited availability of commercial land in the cities due to over-regulation of government departments. Third, public investment as ratio of GDP, though much lower than that until early 1990s, is still high and is crowding out private investment. Running businesses should not be the business of government but in Pakistan government is still involved in the provision of private goods that can efficiently be provided by the private sector. This involvement also makes public service delivery poorer. Fourth, government sector borrowing from the banking sector has replaced private sector credit. Government is a client who takes loan in bulk and carries no risk of default. Therefore, it is easy for banks to lend to government rather than involving in risky lending to retail clients inprivate sector. Fiscal Issues Pakistan experienced a budget deficit (government expenditures minus revenues) of about 5.3% of GDP in the last fiscal year which is somewhat below the 6% average over the last three decades while it is well below the level observed in 2012 (8.78%). Pakistan economy went through booms and recessions in the past history but the budget remains in deficit. This implies that there are structural issues because cyclical budget deficit would have been zero at the time of boom. The recent decrease in budget deficit is because of decrease in government expenditures coupled with increase in revenue to GDP ratio (Figure 3).There are some issues related to budgeting process in Pakistan which are worth mentioning.

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First, revenue targets are mostly missed which are not because of the poor performance of revenue collecting agencies. The problem lies with the target setting process. In this process, first of all, the plan of expenditures is set, then expected aid/grants are estimated, then target of budget deficit is set, and finally the residual (planned expenditures minus grants and budget deficit) is set as revenue target. In reality, revenues are collected against economic activity but their target is set as a residual. That is why revenue target and in turn the target of budget deficit are missed most of the times. So it is important to set rational revenue targets. Missing the revenue target has serious implications for expenditure priorities. When revenues are not collected according to target then expenditures are adjusted and re-prioritized. The expenditures which are almost impossible to change (like salaries) are paid first and most of the development expenditures are cut to a level that is consistent with the actual revenue collection. This wrong practice of setting targets disturbs the well intentioned fiscal policy announced in the annual budget. Moreover, it adds to credibility loss of the annual budget. Second, the ratio of development expenditures to current expenditures was above 0.3 in early 1990s but gradually declined to 0.11 in 2002, started picking up in 2003 and now it is again close to 0.3. Development expenditures play important role in the development of an economy through improvement in human capital and physical infrastructure. Third, after the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award the provincial share from the federal divisible pool has increased significantly to 57.5% and after the 18th amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan some taxes like GST on services are supposed to be collected by provinces. This increased share, to some extent, gives an incentive to provinces to put less effort to generate their own resources. This decreased effort coupled with poor revenue target setting at the federal level has serious implications for provincial budgets. For instance, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) target was set at Rs 2810 billion which was revised to Rs 2605 billion. Due to this, expenditures had to be revised from Rs 3936 billion to Rs 39.2 billion while transfer to provinces had been revised from Rs 1720 billion to Rs 1575 billion. This Rs 145 billion cut in transfer to provinces disturbed the well intentioned and (supposedly) optimal decisions taken by provincial governments in their annual budgets. External Accounts External accounts deal with the real sector transactions like imports and exports of goods and services and financial flows like grants and portfolio investment. External accounts are linked with domestic real sector and monetary sector. Moreover, external sector flows determine exchange rate which is considered an important macroeconomic indicator. Pakistan has been experiencing continuous trade deficit which reached to $ 19.91 billion last year and this year it is expected to be above $ 26 billion. This is because of the increase in imports bill while a continuous decrease in exports for the last five years (Figure 4). It is worth mentioning that imports bill is increasing despite huge decline in oil payments. While increase in importsmight be a healthy sign but decline in exports is the point of concern. Whenever a country starts growing at a higher growth rate its demand for imported raw material and machinery increases which is a healthy sign for the economy. But exports are decreasing despite commerce policy’s focus on export promotion. One possible reason of this imbalance between imports and exports is the over valuation of domestic currency. During last three decades Pak Rupee depreciated against US Dollar by an average of 6.7% per year while inflation rate during the same period was on average 8.6% per year. This difference of increase in goods prices and increase in Dollar value made Pak Rupee over valued which in turn created trade imbalance.

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Remittances from abroad have increased at a tremendous rate during the last 15 years. Until 2001 remittances used to be below $ 2 billion per year but now reached above $ 18 billion. These remittances are an important source of financing trade deficit. This huge inflow of foreign exchange contributes to exchange rate stabilization coupled with monetary expansion which encourages economic activity. Exchange rate is currently stable at a value marginally above 100. Huge remittances, IMF loan, and decrease in oil prices contributed to accumulation of foreign exchange reserves which in turn helped stabilize exchange rate. Social Sector Though the average GDP growth rate over the last five decades is less than the required rate necessary to absorb unemployed youth but the performance of Pakistan economy is not so poor. The economy neither experienced growth miracle but at the same time growth disaster also did not happen. However, the performance in terms of social indicators remained quite poor. For evaluation of the performance in terms of achieving targets for social indicators, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are taken as benchmark (Table 1). In education sector, target for literacy rate was set at 88% but still we are able to achieve 58% literacy rate which is quite lower than the target. Moreover, strong inequality exists for literacy rate in different regions; areas like Balochistan and South Punjab are lagging behind in this regard. Moreover, female literacy rate is noticeably low in these areas. The target for net primary enrollment rate was set at 100% but Pakistan could achieve only 57% which is slightly higher than the half of the targeted rate. For headcount poverty the target was set at 13% of the population living below poverty line. According to official statistics 22.3% of Pakistani population is living below poverty line. However, this average figure is not representative of all regions in Pakistan. There are areas where this figure is above 40%. For health sector three indicators are taken viz. infant mortality rate, under 5 years mortality rate, and maternal mortality rate. The targets for these three indicators, respectively, were 40 per 100 live births, 52 per 1000 live births, and 140 per 10,000. The achieved numbers for these indicators are, respectively, 69 per 1000 live births, 85.5 per 1000 live births, and 170 per 10,000. Again there is inequality in health indicators in different regions of the country. For instance, at the time of delivery about 33% of the women are attended by doctors in Pakistan while this figure is about 16% for Balochistan and about 10% of the women are attended by family members in Pakistan while this figure is about 30% in Balochistan. Table 1: Millennium Development Goals: Targets and Achievement

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Concluding Remarks Pakistan is a developing economy with per capita GDP of about $ 1500. Moreover, the growth rate of GDP that stood behind, on average, 4.5% per year remained volatile throughout the history of economy of Pakistan. The inflation rate has been on average 8% per year but historically fluctuated between 2% and 30%. Exchange rate which was less than 4 rupees per US dollar in the late 1940s is now above 100 rupees. Literacy rate is 58% which is below the MDG of 88%, Infant Mortality rate is 69 per 1000 live births well above the MDG of 40, and the fertility rate is 3.8 compared to MDG of 2.1. Besides these indicators, Pakistan economy has been facing severe energy crisis and terrorist attacks. However, due to low oil prices, current inflation rate is low and exchange rate is stable. GDP growth rate is picking up after a long recession started in 2008 and, thanks to Zarb e Azb operation initiated by Pakistan Army, terrorists’ activities are also limited. Given this encouraging state of the economy, it is a golden opportunity for policy makers to focus on the long run growth promoting reforms initiatives. Throughout the history of the economy of Pakistan policies have been focusing heavily on the stabilization of the economic activity and short term management of the economy. However, a small increase in growth rate of GDP, through improving human capital or developing social infrastructure, which is sustained for a longer period of time can bring significant changes in living standard in the future, whereas, huge but unsustainable gains in growth rate of GDP, through expansionary policies, have only little impact. Potential reforms include making organizations like educational institutes, hospitals, research institutes, State Bank of Pakistan, law enforcement agencies etc, independent of political pressure; making policies transparent so that public support for policies can be increased and uncertainty can be minimized; holding policy makers accountable for not achieving the desired targets and goals; improving software of the economy through building human capital and improving social infrastructure especially through discouraging involvement of private agents as well as government officials in rent seeking activities; reforming civil service and decentralizing concentrated political powers to improve public service delivery; providing enabling environment to private businesses, especially small units, to flourish and planning cities to make them engines of growth; minimizing government control in price setting of private commodities and minimizing the role of government in providing private goods. This list gives only a flavor of reforms but it does not exhaust the potential reforms that can be stated to make Pakistan a fast growing economy. All this, however, cannot be done immediately but the reform process can be atleast initiated in the next budget.



ANALYSIS

The Punjab Protection of Women against violence Act 2016: An Appraisal Mr. Kashif Mahmood Tariq (Deputy Director Legislation, PIPS)

& Ms Saadia Bashir (Legislation Officer, PIPS)

1.1 An Overview of the Act Introduction The Punjab Assembly recently passed the long-awaited Protection of Women against violence Bill 2016, which contains remedies for victims of violence, criminalize all forms of violence against women and also provides them with special centers which remove the usual red tape hurdles that complicate a woman’s quest for justice. Salient features The bill, which has 31 clauses, provides a system for complaint registration as well as penalties for offenders. Section 2 (r) This Bill includes a broad definition of violence, Violence, itself has been redefined to mean any offence committed against the human body of the aggrieved person including abetment of an offence, domestic violence, sexual violence, psychological and emotional abuse, economic abuse, stalking and cybercrime. Section 4 Under the law, a family court would fix hearing within seven days from receipt of the complaint. The defendant will have to show cause in court in the same week. All complaints would be decided within 90 days from the day of the receipt. Section 5 The law provides that victims of domestic violence cannot be evicted from their homes without their consent. If they are evicted, the court can intervene. Section 7, 8, 9, 13 It introduces for the first time an in-built implementation mechanism through the district Violence Against Women Centers (VAWCs), court orders (residence, protection and monetary), introduction of GPS tracked electronic bracelets-anklets to enforce protection orders and power to enter any place to rescue the women victims. It also encompasses cybercrime, domestic violence, emotional, economic and psychological abuse within the ambit of ‘violence against women’ crimes. Section 11 A ‘District Women Protection Committee’ will supervise the centers and shelter homes, ensuring that all VAW cases registered in any of the district’s police stations are referred to these centers. The District Women Protection Officer (DWPO) will have power to enter any place to rescue the aggrieved with her consent. The officer can also file a habeas corpus case on the basis of any credible information of wrongful confinement of an aggrieved person. Section 13 This bill aims to solve the problem of FIRs registration through establishment of 24 hour women run VAWCs where the case flow process would be streamlined by bringing all the needed facilities under one roof first aid, police reporting, FIR lodging, prosecution, medical examination, forensics and post-trauma rehabilitation. Besides, the centers will provide facilities like legal assistance, immediate protection to the aggrieved, evidence collection within due time to facilitate investigation, audio-visual record of all actions. Section 18, 19, 20 Several penalties (imprisonment and/or fine) have been laid out in the Bill, including those for obstructing a protection officer, filing a false complaint and breach of court orders or tampering with the GPS tracked system. Section 18 Penalties include six months imprisonment or R500, 000 fine for obstructing the district woman protection officer from performing her duties. Section 19 Filing of false complaints may lead to imprisonment up to three months or Rs100,000 fine. A universal toll-free helpline will be set up to contact the protection centers and shelter homes. Section 20 Violation of interim, protection, monetary or residence orders or illegally interfering with the GPS tracker could result in imprisonment up to one year or impositions of a Rs200,000 fine. Repeat offenders may attract double the imprisonment and the fine.



1.2 An Appraisal of the Act The Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act, 2016, is gaining more attention than what it really deserves in print and electronic media. This is all due to a heated debate on it from various sections of the society. There are precisely two main camps which are sharply divided on the law’s authenticity from Islamic perspective. The religio-political parties are of the opinion that the law violates Islamic principles and sanctity of family, and hence, should be repealed straightaway. On the other hand, the provincial government is of the view that the law has not gone against any provision of Islamic Law and that is why it merits to be brought into execution. But due to hue and cry made by the religious segment of the society, the government has shown willingness to review some of its provisions which have been claimed to violate Islamic Law. This apparent leniency on the part of the government seems to be a political move to bring the religious parties on table and preclude them from coming out on roads and streets for protests. Irrespective of the prevailing political scenario, the law is an important piece of legislation which should be analyzed from various perspectives. One may point out many issues with the law from theoretical to its practical implementation and unintended consequences. It is need of an hour to analyze laws from a bigger canvas rather than squeezing the analysis to the black letters of any law. It is from this perspective the author has made an endeavor to highlight some complexities of the law and of those aspects which at least seems difficult to execute. From theoretical perspective, at the root of this piece of legislation, there is an issue of legislative competency of a State; whether a State could enact a law which penetrates into a private sphere of a family. The religio-political parties of Pakistan are not willing to accede that a legislature can enact any law in this sphere unless the same has been explicitly mandated by the religious texts, i.e. the Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The ulema are adamant that their opinion must be treated as final in matters of family laws. Moreover, there is a wide spread suspicion among the religio-political parties that any interference in a family sphere would ultimately disrupt its peace and destroy the family institution. Surprisingly enough, demarcation of family laws from the rest of the laws was initially introduced by British colonial government of Indian Subcontinent for their own purposes which is still endeavored to be protected by the religio-political parties by splendid religious zeal. There is an entirely false assumption on which the law is founded. That assumption is our present legal system, if not condones, at least tolerates violence against women. There is no need to point out that women are included in definition of ‘person’ provided in our penal laws. Similar to any aggrieved person, they could initiate all legal remedies prescribed by the legal system. If this is so then why are we determined to protect women against violence through a new legislation exclusively? Though the law has established a new protective system for women, but in many respects it has relied on present legal apparatus for its execution. Now a question to ponder is: if present legal apparatus has failed in protecting women under present legal system, how would it start protecting them through a new piece of legislation? Another important aspect of the law is its hasty enactment with little debate and scrutiny at all levels. This aspect is evident from the ill-thought structure of the law and its confusing provisions which seem to interfere and conflict with other settled principles of law. For example, definitions of the law have not been arranged in a logical sequence. Normally, those words should have been defined earlier which are used in other defined words for avoiding any absurdity and confusion. This has not been done while enacting the law. For example, word ‘domestic violence’ has been defined earlier than word ‘violence’ itself. The word ‘resident’s’ definition is dependent on word ‘shelter home’, but the latter is defined after the definition of the former. An important phrase ‘complaint’ has not been given any special connotation and one has to speculate about it despite the fact that it is at the very foundation of all processes carried out in a court. According to Section 7(e), an owner of a house could be expelled from his/her own house on violence. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 provided an aggrieved wife an option of getting her marriage judicially dissolved on the basis of cruelty/violence more than 70 years ago. Interestingly enough this law



steps backward by enacting that the perpetrator of violence would be expelled from his house and the marriage will remain intact. How the marriage will remain intact in this situation and who will take care of that aggrieved wife’s maintenance are some of those questions which needed to be contemplated and addressed appropriately by the Provincial Legislature before enacting the law. Coming back to the issue of expulsion from one’s own house, someone can be punished for committing an act of violence, but that punishment can be in form of expulsion from his own house seems somewhat tricky. This provision may not appear inappropriate when someone is subjected to this treatment after a thorough investigation, but the mode of investigation mandated in the law is summary procedure only. Does this provision not undermine the property rights of an owner protected and sanctified under the Constitution of Pakistan? The law envisions compulsory wearing of ankle or wrist bracelet GPS tracker for offenders of violence which appears to be quite innovative. But again the issue which needs to be analyzed from the Constitutional perspective is whether by doing so his personal liberty is not jeopardized or compromised? The State can inflict punishments on offenders but they should not be inhuman and against the dignity of the culprits. Let us go beyond the constitutionality of this provision and refresh in our minds that the same mechanism of wearing wrist bracelets GPS trackers was contemplated for suspected terrorists sometime back. Have we achieved our goal and made all the suspected terrorists to wear such bracelets? If that target is stilling crying for its execution, how would it be implemented in a familial sphere is a question worth considering. A legal system based on adversarial system which is unable to deliver justice to those who sufficiently prove their grievances in courts is being burdened with a parental responsibility of protecting a woman who could likely to be subjected to violence through a new legal regime. This protective arrangement is not less than a legislated fantasy of the provincial legislature. Shifting towards a parental system of protection requires a thorough evaluation of the present legal system: whether it possesses those characteristics which are bedrock for newly introduced system? At the moment, we are experiencing parental system of protection for children in matters of their guardianship. How far the system is effective and efficacious in this matter is an open secret. Therefore, the system which has disappointed in one respect, can that be expected to deliver in other respects? The answer to this question is not difficult to discover. Piece meal medical treatment of a chronic patient may psychologically satisfy someone, but that would not be enough to raise the patient on its legs. The law lays down for appointment of protection officers and then promises to provide them with requisite training for their sensitization to gender related issues. Why do not we sensitize the available State machinery, including police officials and workers of basic health units, to make it more caring in matters of violence against women? If newly envisioned establishment is not expected to deliver goods without formal and extensive training, then the same sort of training to the present machinery may also bring some benefits if we make ourselves willing to get out of fantasy of brand new and fanciful enactments. Establishing shelter homes in far fringe areas of the province is a noble desire which must always be praised at all levels. But before thinking about its phased implementation, we as citizens have a right to ask: how many hospitals in Punjab have a state of the art burn centers? No need to refresh in our minds that majority of burn victims in our society are women. How accessible are maternity facilities to women in various areas of the Province? Have women been provided universal free education in the province so that they become aware of their rights under prevent legal system? Many of such questions would revert back to us with satanic silence. The author wants to clarify that he does not argue that we should not enact a new law before implementing the mandates of present legal regime. The purpose of these questions is to give a wake-up call that first there is a need to enhance the capability and competence of the State in terms of delivering goods and executing laws, before entrusting it with delicate issues such as domestic violence. Imaginary provisions of stretching jurisdiction into four walls of a house may appear fanciful, but would remain elusive because of the reality that our State has so far been unable to effectively establish this kind of writ in public spaces. And in this dismal reality talking about extending its arm of justice to inaccessible places of a house seems not less than a fairy tale which could only appease some worthy legislators of Punjab.

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