ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) opposition members protested when the National Assembly passed four bills on Monday, one of which, “The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024,” was passed to comply with the IMF’s requirements with some modifications. The House approved four measures: The Pakistan Postal Services Management Board (Amendment) bill, 2024; The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) bill, 2024; The National Highway Authority (Amendment) bill, 2024; and The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) bill, 2024. Amidst the legislative session, the opposition members chanted anti-government slogans, surrounded the speaker’s dais, tore up copies of the measures, and threw them into the air. “Black law unacceptable” was the slogan they held up.
Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, the minister of law and justice, introduced the bills, and MNA Aqeel Ahmad offered some amendments to the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, among other bills. The house incorporated the bills’ modifications. As per the objectives and justifications of “The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024,” the State-owned Enterprises (Government and Operation) Act, 2023 (SOE Act, 2023) has been implemented to enhance the governance and functioning of State-owned Enterprises, which includes Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), in compliance with the IMF structural benchmark and performance criteria.
It was necessary to bring the PBC ACT, 1973 into compliance with the terms of the SOE Act, 2023 to meet the requirements of the IMF. Consequently, the applicable provision of the SOE Act will take precedence over any provision in the PBC Act that conflicts with any other law. The PBC Board’s constitution has been amended to increase the number of independent directors/private members from four to nine, giving them a majority over ex-officio members by the SOE Act’s requirement that they be more in number than ex-officio members on the Board of State-owned Enterprises.
The Board used to consist of just four independent directors or private members, one for each province. In addition to the four provinces, representation has been expanded to include the Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir by increasing the number of independent directors and private members. The PBC Board now plays a crucial role in choosing the organization’s director general. The director general will be appointed by the federal government based on the board’s recommendations.
To ensure the seamless operation of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Karachi’s official business, it is suggested that the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Ordinance, 1979 be amended, as stated in the statement of objects and reasons of “The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024.” “The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 includes the powers of the Federal Government as envisaged in Act ibid.” The National Highway Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2024’s statement of goals and reasons states that the proposed NHA, Ordinance, 2023, incorporates the federal government’s authority as outlined in Act ibid. To ensure the seamless operation of the National Highways Authority’s (NHA) official functions, this legislation may be changed to the NHA ACT, 1991.
