Pakistan

All eyes on President Arif Alvi’s address to joint session of parliament

Published

6 months ago

Farwa

Under Article 56, president must address Parliament after each general election and first session of the parliamentary year.
So far current NA has passed 156 bills, including private members’ bills.
After President Alvi’s approval 122 bills of current Parliament have turned into acts.

ISLAMABAD: The last parliamentary year of the current National Assembly will begin today with President Arif Alvi set to address a joint session of parliament, Geo News reported.

Under Article 56’s clause three, the president must address the Parliament after each general election and the first session of the parliamentary year to inform the lawmakers of the “causes of its summons”.

This will be the shortest parliamentary year since it would consist of 310 days, if the NA isn’t dissolved earlier.

President Alvi was to address the joint session on August 14, but due to the apprehensions of the coalition government, the address was postponed.

However, sources informed Geo News that all the matters have been settled after the president’s meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

On the other hand, sources told The News that the president is expected to throw light on the performance of the government in the past year, while identifying the goals of for the following year.

This will be the fifth and the last presidential address to the Parliament.

The first presidential address to the incumbent assembly was made on September 17, 2018, second on September 12, 2019, third on August 20, 2020 and fourth on September 13, 2021.

NA sources say, so far, a total of 156 bills, including private members bills, have been passed by the incumbent lower house. Of these bills, 10 were passed during the first parliamentary year, 30 during the second parliamentary year, 60 during the third parliamentary year, 54 during the fourth parliamentary year and remaining two during the fifth parliamentary year, which formally started on August 14, 2022.

A total of 122 bills have become Acts after the approval of the president during this tenure.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Sindh revises school, college timings

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Sindh School Education and Literacy Department on Monday announced the revised timings for all the educational institutions in the province during the holy month of Ramadan.

All the government and private schools in Sindh will now start at 7:30am and continue till 12pm (noon) from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the school timings on Friday will be from 7:30am to 11am.

Office timings

On Monday, the federal government also notified timings for public offices during the holy month.

In a notification, the Establishment Division said the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 1:30pm from Monday to Thursday.

Moreover, the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 12:00pm on Fridays.

First Ramadan expected on March 23

Meanwhile, The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast that there is a strong possibility that the crescent for Ramadan 2023 will be sighted on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday).

The update was shared by the Met department’s Climate Data Processing Centre. This means the first of Ramadan is likely to fall on Thursday, March 23 in Pakistan.

Pakistan

Cleric shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

A cleric was shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday after morning prayers.

According to police, Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi, was going back home after Fajr prayers in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block-9 when assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire at him.

The police said that Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi was a member of the Pakistan Ulema Association and a prayer leader at Mohammadia Noorani Islamic Centre.

There were no further details available about the incident.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Minimum Nisab set at Rs103,159 for Zakat deduction

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has fixed the Nisab for Zakat deduction for the ongoing year.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, Zakat will be deducted from saving accounts, profit and loss sharing accounts and other similar accounts having a minimum balance of Rs103,159 or above, on the first of Ramadan.

The Nisab was fixed at Rs88,927 in the previous year.

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Under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980, no Zakat would be deducted in case a bank account has a lesser amount than the value announced by the ministry, added the statement.

“All the Zakat Collection Controlling Agencies (ZCCAs) are requested to deduct the Zakat accordingly,” it said.

The first of Ramadan will likely fall on March 23, this year, subject to the appearance of the moon.

To be liable for Zakat — which is one of the five pillars of Islam — one’s wealth must amount to more than a threshold figure, termed the “Nisab”.

Those who do not want Zakat deduction from their accounts can submit a “Zakat exemption” form to their respective banks.