The Senate on Monday passed a resolution demanding that the general elections for the National Assembly (NA) and all the provincial assemblies should be held simultaneously for strengthening the federation. The resolution moved by Tahir Bazenjo noted that the House firmly believes that political stability is important for economic stability.

It said that according to the spirit of article 280, the general elections for all the assemblies must be held simultaneously on its stipulated time under neutral caretaker setups to bring true political and economic stability. The resolution noted that holding separate elections in Punjab will inevitably influence the outcome of general elections to the National Assembly's seats in Punjab which will trample upon the role of small provinces in the federation. Earlier, speaking on the floor, Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Marri said government is working to provide relief to poor people.

She said the government has given four hundred and four billion rupees for Benazir Income Support Program. Shazia Marri opposed the resolution on the Federal Ehsaas Rashan Riayat Program saying the previous government did not make any budgetary allocations for this program.Meanwhile the Upper House passed three bills on Monday which include  National Disaster Management Amendment Bill, 2022, Export Processing Zones Authority Amendment Bill and Pakistan Environmental Protection Amendment Bill.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP