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37 ordinances likely to lapse by 28th

* Senate scheduled to meet next month, cut-off date for ordinances is Nov 28

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

ISLAMABAD: The government is unlikely to adopt any of the ordinances mentioned in the Supreme Court’s July 31 decision before November 28.

According to the SC decision, the ordinances would lapse if they were not passed by parliament before November 28.

“If one goes by the schedule of the National Assembly, it is highly unlikely that any of the 37 ordinances will get through parliament and becomes a law,” sources in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs told Daily Times on Monday.

Sources said the NA would be prorogued on November 16, while no session of the Senate was scheduled before December 2.

“However, if the government wants to legislate and pass some of the ordinances, it has to call special sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate, and that also seems highly unlikely,” the sources said.

They said the government was considering calling a joint session of parliament this month to get approval for the Balochistan package after taking all the political parties on board.

A meeting between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif is scheduled for November 12.

“There is no proposal under consideration for special sessions of the Senate and the National Assembly to legislate and pass even a few select ordinances. The government has not even called meetings of the respective standing committees to review the ordinances,” the sources added.

In its July 31 decision, the SC had declared the November 3, 2007 actions of former president Pervez Musharraf unconstitutional and had directed the government to get the 37 ordinances, including the National Reconciliation Ordinance, passed by parliament as required by the constitution.

In his proclamation of removal of the emergency order, Musharraf had exempted these ordinances from parliamentary approval.

Of the 37 ordinances, the government has so far tabled 27 in parliament.

The federal government on Wednesday confirmed that the NRO was a “closed transaction” as far as its status in parliament was concerned, adding that the draft bill stood withdrawn.

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