The National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was moved by Bilal Azhar Kayani.

In his remarks, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that legislation is the sole prerogative of the parliament. He said the bill is in accordance with the spirit of the constitution.

Responding to a calling attention notice, Law Minister informed the House that work is being done on a war footing to ensure the timely issuance of passports.

He said relevant equipment is being procured, including twenty state-of-the-art printers, to enhance the capacity for passport printing to over fifty five thousand per day.

He mentioned that the installation of this equipment will start by the end of September this year and expressed confidence that the situation regarding passport issuance will improve starting in October.

Four bills were also laid before the House on Tuesday. These included: The Acid and Burn Crime Bill, the National Commission on the Rights of Child Amendment Bill, Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill and the Ravi Institute Sahiwal Bill. The chair referred the bills to the standing committees concerned.

At the outset, the House offered fateha for the departed soul of late Member National Assembly (MNA) Mumtaz Mustafa and those who died in floods.