Joint session of Parliament summoned tomorrow over FATF legislation  

ISLAMABAD: A joint session of the Parliament has been summoned on Wednesday (tomorrow) for the passage of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-related legislation, ARY NEWS reported.

According to the details, the joint session has been summoned at 4:00 pm on Wednesday after the opposition-led Senate blocked a move to pass bills pertaining to the FATF.

Ahead of the Parliament’s session, a meeting of the Standing Committee of Senate on Interior Affairs has been summoned to get the approval of the FATF-related bills from the body.

It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister Imran Khan on September 06 directed his Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan to delay the sessions of National Assembly and Senate on FATF-related bills for a week.

The prime minister contacted Babar Awan and directed him to delay the Parliamentary sessions for a week owing to a busy schedule of members of the National Assembly and Senate in their rain-and-flood-hit constituencies.

The prime minister also consulted him regarding the approval of FATF-related bills and the involvement of lawmakers in rescue efforts after recent floods.

It was observed that most of the parliamentarians were busy in rescue efforts and therefore, the parliamentary sessions should be postponed for a week.

The National Assembly session is now summoned on September 14 at 4:30 pm while the Senate would meet on September 15 at 10:30 am.

The prime minister directed him to bring the legislation on FATF in the Parliament on an immediate basis. “Legislation on FATF is in the national interest and will be carried out accordingly,” he said.