ISLAMABAD: Senate on Friday passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2017,which is related to the Khatam-e-Nabuwat clauses for voters following the National Assembly (NA) motion on Thursday.
President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain will now sign the bill.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2017 was also set to be discussed today but due to the lack of senate’s sessions attendees ie minimum number of members required to vote on a bill, the delimitation bill amendment could not be passed.
Reportedly less than 50 percent senate assembly members were present in the house on Friday.
The bill relates to the fresh delimitation of constituencies keeping in view the provisional results of the recently conducted census with respect to the upcoming general elections in 2018.
Law Minister Zahid Hamid presented the Elections Amendment Bill 2017 in the house and while addressing the senate he said, “we are all Muslims and believe in the finality of the Prophet (PBUH)”.
Speaking during Friday’s session, Senate Deputy Chairman Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who hails from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F, said that the Ahmadis’ status is the same as it was back in the 1973 Constitution.
The newly-passed bill restores the Khatam-e-Nabuwat declaration for voters to its original form and makes sections related to Ahmadis more effective. The sections are 7B, 7C of the Conduct of General Elections Order 2002.
Earlier on Thursday,the minister was quoted as saying “My family and I are ready to lay our lives for the honour of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),” the law minister told his critics, some of whom had sought his resignation for his alleged role in the affair. “I firmly believe in Khatm-e-Nabuwwat and can’t even think against it,” he cleared, stressing that he was wrongly quoted in the matter.
