The government will today (Friday) seek approval of the National Assembly (NA) for tabling Election Act Amendment Bill in the joint session of the parliament, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan will present the motion in this regard.

Details of tax collected from Karachi presented at NA:

Earlier during the day, giving details of the tax collected from the people of Karachi, the country’s largest revenue-generating city, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin told the NA that total Rs2, 737 billion were collected in tax from the city during the last financial year (FY), 2020-21 while the figures stood at Rs2, 223 billion in the preceding year,2019-20.

The minister, on the occasion, also gave details of the development funds released for the port city under the PSDP.

He said that funds of over Rs43 billion were released for Karachi during the last FY, 2020-21 while over Rs8 billion were released in the preceding FY.

MNAs pay tributes to late Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Geelani:

A resolution was unanimously passed in the NA today in which tributes were paid to one of the most vocal voices in the Kashmiris’ struggle against the Indian occupation, late Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Geelani.

The text of the resolution reads that Geelani was the driving force behind people of the occupied Kashmir’s struggle for freedom. “By serving prison terms just for raising voice for independence, he infused a new spirit into the movement,” reads the resolution.

The resolution concludes on making a demand from the international community to take notice of the Indian forces’ atrocities in the held valley.

JUI-F member writes to NA speaker on closure of Press Gallery:

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Shahida Akhtar Ali has written a letter to Speaker Asad Qaiser in which she has raised the issue of the closure of Press Gallery in the House.

In the letter, the MNA says that free media is one of the pillars of the state, and that she is realizing now that media in the country is in chains. “The recent example is that of the closure of Press Gallery during the joint session of parliament,” she says, and questions the speaker when he is the custodian of the House, why was the gallery closed, and on whose orders?

In the letter, the JUI-F MNA stresses the need for holding an inquiry into the matter so that members of the assembly could know the truth.

Later, the NA session was adjourned till 5PM on Monday.