PART I.-- STANDING COMMITTEES

Section (A) -- COMMITTEES OF THE ASSEMBLY

179. Committees of the Assembly.-(1) In addition to the Standing Committees mentioned in sections (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) of this part, there shall be a Standing Committee of the Assembly for each Ministry of the Government.

Explanation.- For the purpose of this Chapter, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister's Secretariat shall be deemed to be a Ministry.

(2) Each Committee shall deal with the subjects assigned, under the rules for the allocation and transaction of business of Government, to the Division or the Ministry with which it is concerned or any other matter referred to it by the Assembly:

Provided that any subject not so assigned or the subjects assigned to any Ministry for which a Standing Committee has not been constituted shall be dealt with by the Standing Committee dealing with Parliamentary Affairs.

(3) Whenever there is any change in the composition of Ministries or their nomenclature, the Speaker shall, in consultation with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister concerned, issue suitable directions in regard to the re-allocation of the existing Standing Committees or, as the case may be, the modification in their nomenclature and election of the new Standing Committees.

180. Reference to Standing Committee.- Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the Assembly or the Speaker may remit to the Standing Committee any subject or matter with which it is concerned and the Standing Committee shall study such subject or matter with a view to suggesting legislation or making recommendations to the Assembly.

181. Composition.- (1) Each Committee shall consist of not more than ten members to be elected by the Assembly.

(2) The Minister concerned shall be an ex-officio member of the Committee:

Provided that the Minister shall not be entitled to vote as an ex-officio member unless he is a member of the Assembly.

Provided further that, in the case of Ministry which is in the charge of the Prime Minister or for which no Minister has been appointed, the concerned Minister of State, if any, shall be its ex-officio member and, where there is no Minister of State also, the Minister or Minister of State to whom the subject or matter referred to the Committee is assigned shall act as its ex-officio member and in the absence of such assignment the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs shall act as ex-officio member of the Committee.

(3) The member-in-charge other than a Minister, or a member on whose motion any subject or matter was referred to the Standing Committee may attend the meetings of the Committee, but shall not vote unless he is a member of the Committee.

(4) The Secretary of the Ministry or Division concerned or an officer not less than the rank of a Joint Secretary, designated in this behalf and the Secretary, Law and Justice Division, or his nominee not lower in rank of a Joint Secretary may attend the meeting of the Committee.

182. Functions.- (1) A Committee shall examine a Bill, subject or matter referred to it by the Assembly or the Speaker and shall submit its report to the Assembly or to the Speaker, as the case may be, with such recommendations including suggestions for legislation, if any, as it may deem necessary. In the case of a Bill, the Committee shall also examine whether the Bill violates, disregards or is otherwise not in accordance with the Constitution.

(2) The Committee may propose amendments which shall be shown in its report along with original provisions of the Bill, provided that the Committee shall have no power of preventing the Bill from being considered by the Assembly.

(3) If a Committee does not present its report within the period prescribed, or the time allowed, the Bill, subject or matter referred to it may be considered by the Assembly, without waiting for the report upon a motion by any member or by the Minister concerned.

(4) A Committee may examine the expenditures, administration, delegated legislation, public petitions and policies of the Ministry concerned and its associated public bodies and may forward its report of findings and recommendations to the Ministry and the Ministry shall submit its reply to the Committee.

Section (B).-- PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

183. Composition.- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts shall consist of not more than twelve members to be elected by the Assembly and the Minister for Finance shall be its member ex-officio.

184. Functions.- (1) The Committee shall examine the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by the Assembly for the expenditure of the Government, the annual finance accounts of the Government, the report of the Auditor-General of Pakistan and such other matters as the Minister for Finance may refer to it. (2) In scrutinising the appropriation accounts of the Government and the reports of the Auditor-General of Pakistan thereon it shall be the duty of the Committee to satisfy itself-

(a) that the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for, and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged;

(b) that the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it; and (c) that every re-appropriation has been made in accordance with the provisions made in this behalf under rules framed by the Ministry of Finance.

(3) It shall also be the duty of the Committee-

(a) to examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of state corporations, trading and manufacturing schemes, concerns and projects together with the balance sheets and statements of profit and loss accounts which the President may have required to be prepared or are prepared under the provisions of the statutory rules regulating the financing of a particular corporation trading or manufacturing scheme or concern or project and the report of the Auditor-General of Pakistan thereon;

(b) to examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, the audit of which may be conducted by the Auditor- General of Pakistan either under the directions of the President or under an Act of Majlis-e- Shoora (Parliament); and

(c) to consider the report of the Auditor-General of Pakistan in cases where the President may have required him to conduct the audit of any receipt or to examine the accounts of stores and stocks.

(4) If any money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted by the Assembly for that purpose, the Committee shall examine with reference to the facts of each case the circumstances leading to such an excess and make such recommendation as it may deem fit.

(5) The report of the Committee shall be presented within a period of one year from the date on which reference was made to it by the Assembly unless the Assembly, on a motion being made, directs that the time for the presentation of the report be extended to a date specified in the motion:

Provided that extension in the time for the presentation of the report shall be asked for before the expiry of the time allowed under the rule.

185. Unfinished work of the Committee.- Any report, memorandum or note that the Committee may have prepared, or any evidence that the Committee may have taken before the dissolution of the Assembly, shall be made available to the new Committee.

186. Continuity of the Proceedings.- Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules a Public Accounts Committee may proceed from the stage where the previous Committee left the proceedings before the dissolution of the Assembly.

Section (C).-- COMMITTEE ON RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PRIVILEGES

187. Composition.- A Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges consisting of not more than fourteen members shall be elected by the Assembly, and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs shall be its ex-officio member.

188. Functions-

The Committee-

(a) shall consider matters of procedure and conduct of business in the Assembly and recommend, such amendments to these rules as may be deemed necessary;

(b) shall examine every question of privilege referred to it by the Assembly or the Speaker and determine with reference to the facts of each case whether a breach of privilege is involved and, if so, the nature of the breach and the circumstances leading to it; and make such recommendations as it may deem fit; and

(c) may suggest the procedure to be followed by the Assembly to give effect to its recommendations.

Section (D).-- HOUSE AND LIBRARY COMMITTEE

189. Composition.- (1) There shall be a House and Library Committee consisting of not more than eight members who shall be elected by the Assembly.

(2) The Deputy Speaker shall be ex-officio Chairman and the Minister for Housing and Works shall be ex-officio member of the Committee.

190. Functions.- The functions of the Committee shall be-

(a) to deal with matters relating to the issue of admission cards for galleries, other than the President's Box and the Speaker's Box, and such questions relating to the residential accommodation for members as may be referred to it by the Speaker from time to time;

(b) to exercise supervision over facilities pertaining to accommodation, catering and other amenities provided to the members during the session in the Government hostel;

(c) to develop the Library, its reading room and Reference Service with a view to help members of Parliament in the discharge of their duties;

(d) to invite suggestions and advise on the selection of books, periodicals and newspapers;

(e) to advise on reciprocal arrangements for exchange of debates and other publications of the Assembly with friendly countries;

(f) to consider suggestions for improvement of the Library and help in its future expansion;

(g) to assist and encourage the members of Parliament in fully utilizing the services provided by the Library;

(h) to deal with the matters relating to the residential accommodation for the staff of the Assembly Secretariat; and

(i) to consider matters incidental and ancillary to the above functions.

Section (E).-- COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES

191. Function.- The function of the Committee would be to take note of and scrutinise the assurances, promises, commitments, and undertakings of the Government given by the Ministers from time to time on the floor of the Assembly and to regularly report-

(a) the extent to which such assurances and promises have been implemented; and

(b) where implemented, whether the implementation has taken place in time.

Section (F).-- BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

193. Composition.- At the commencement of the House or from time to time, as the case may be, the Speaker may, in consultation with Leader of the House and Leader of Opposition, nominate a Committee called the Business Advisory Committee consisting of not more than twelve members including the Speaker who shall be Chairman of the Committee. 194. Functions.- (1) It shall be the function of the Committee to recommend the time that should be allocated for the discussion of the stage or stages of such Government Bills and other business as the Speaker, in consultation with the Leader of the House, may direct for being referred to the Committee.

(2) The Committee shall have the power to indicate, in the proposed time table, the different hours at which the various stages of the Bill or other business shall be completed.

(3) The Committee shall have such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Speaker from time to time.

Section (G).-- GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING STANDING COMMITTEES

195. Restriction on membership.- A member shall not ordinarily be a member of more than one Standing Committee at the same time.

196. Appointment of Standing Committees by the Speaker.- For the period till elections to the Standing Committees are held, the Speaker may appoint the Standing Committees and may nominate their Chairmen.

197. Chairman of a Committee.- (1) The Chairman of each Committee shall be elected by the Committee from amongst its members:

Provided that the Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry concerned shall not be elected as its Chairman.

(2) If the Chairman is not present at any sitting, the Committee shall choose one of its members present to act as Chairman for that sitting.

198. Quorum of a meeting.- The quorum to constitute a sitting of a Committee shall be four:

Provided that the quorum to constitute a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges shall be five.

199. Resignation of members from the Committee.- A member may resign his membership of a Committee by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker.

200. Casual vacancies.- (1) Casual vacancies in a Committee shall be filled, as soon as possible after such vacancies occur, by election.

(2) Subject to the requirement of a quorum, a Committee shall have power to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership. 201. Adjournment etc. of Committee.- If, at the time fixed for any sitting of a Committee or at any time during any such sitting, the number of members present is less than the quorum, the Chairman of the Committee shall either suspend the sitting until the quorum is complete or adjourn the sitting.

202. Discharge of members absent from sittings of Committee.- If a member is absent from three or more consecutive sittings of a Committee without the permission of its Chairman, motion may be moved by any member in the Assembly for the discharge of such member from the Committee.

203. Voting in Committee.- All questions at a sitting of a Committee shall be determined by a majority of the members present and voting.

204. Casting vote of Chairman.- In addition to his vote as a member, the Chairman of a Committee or the person presiding in his absence, shall, in the event of the equality of votes, have a casting vote.

205. Power to appoint Sub-Committees.- (1) A Committee may appoint one or more Sub- Committees, each having the powers of the whole Committee, to examine any matter that may be referred to them.

(2) The order of reference to a Sub-Committee shall clearly state the point or points for investigation. The report of the Sub-Committee shall be considered by the whole Committee and when approved by the whole Committee, be deemed to be the report of that Committee.

206. Sittings of Committees.- (1) A Committee shall sit on such day and at such hour as the Chairman may, in consultation with the Secretary General fix:

Provided that the meeting of a Committee for election of its Chairman shall be fixed by the Secretary General in consultation with the Speaker.

(2) The sittings of a Committee shall ordinarily be held within the precincts of the Assembly.

(3) If a Committee is sitting while the Assembly is also sitting, the Chairman of the Committee shall, if a division is being called in the Assembly, suspend the proceedings of the Committee for such time as will, in his opinion, enable the members to vote in the division.

(4) Subject to sub-rule (1), on a requisition made by not less than four members of a Committee, the Chairman of the Committee shall call a meeting of the Committee within fourteen days from the date of the requisition provided that agenda of the meeting requisitioned is given by the members. 207. Meetings in camera.- The sittings of a Committee may be held in camera if so determined by the Committee.

208. Powers to take evidence or call for papers, records or documents.- (1) A Committee shall have power to require the attendance of persons or the production of papers or records if such course is considered necessary for the discharge of its duties:

Provided that if any question arises whether the evidence of a person or the production of a document is relevant for the purposes of the Committee, the question shall be referred to the Speaker whose decision shall be final:

Provided further that Government may decline to produce a document on the ground that its disclosure would be prejudicial to the defence, security or external relations of Pakistan, and, if the question arises whether the disclosure of a document would be prejudicial as aforesaid, the question shall be referred to the Speaker who shall, after perusing the document, decide whether or not the document should be produced before the Committee.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this rule, a witness may be summoned by an order signed by the Secretary General and shall appear before the Committee and produce such documents as are required for the use of the Committee.

(3) A Committee may invite or summon or allow to appear before it any member or any other person having a special interest in relation to any matter under its consideration and may hear expert evidence and hold public hearing.

(4) A Committee shall have powers vested in civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) for enforcing the attendance of any person and compelling the production of documents.

209. Evidence on oath.- (1) A Committee may administer oath or affirmation to a witness examined before it.

(2) The form of the oath or affirmation shall be as follows:

'I A.B., swear in the name of ALLAH/solemnly affirm, that the evidence which I shall give in this case shall be true, that I will conceal nothing, and that no part of my evidence shall be false'.

210. Examination of witnesses.- The examination of witness before a Committee shall be conducted as follows:-

(i) The Committee shall, before a witness is called for examination, decide the mode of procedure and the nature of questions that may be asked of the witness.

(ii) The Chairman of the Committee may first ask the witness such question or questions as he may consider necessary with reference to the subject matter under consideration or any subject connected therewith according to the mode of procedure mentioned in clause (i) of this rule.

(iii) The Chairman may call other members of the Committee one by one to ask any other questions.

(iv) A witness may be asked to place before the Committee any other relevant points that have not been covered and which a witness thinks are essential to be placed before the Committee.

(v) A verbatim record of proceedings of the Committee shall, when a witness is summoned to give evidence, be kept.

(vi) The evidence given before the Committee may be made available to all members of the Committee.

211. Evidence or information to be kept confidential or secret.- Any evidence produced or information tendered before a Committee shall be treated as confidential or secret, unless the Committee, in the public interest decides otherwise.

212. Request for views of Ministers or Divisions on Private Members' Bills.- In case of Private Member's Bill, the Secretary General Shall transmit a copy thereof to the Minister or Division concerned with a request to furnish its views on the Bill for consideration by the Committee.

213. Record of the proceedings of Committee.- A summary of the record of the proceedings of each Committee shall be maintained by the Secretary General.

214. Restriction on publications etc. of proceedings.- (1) A Committee may direct that the whole or any part of its proceedings or a summary thereof may be laid on the Table.

(2) The report of a Committee required to be presented before the Assembly and which has not been presented to the Assembly or the proceeding of a Committee or any part or summary thereof which has not been laid on the Table shall be treated as confidential and shall not be open to inspection except with the permission of the Committee.

(3) The Speaker may direct that any part of the proceedings may be communicated to the members confidentially before it is laid on the Table.

(4) A Committee may, with the permission of the Speaker, make available to Government its report or a part thereof before presentation to the Assembly and such report or part shall be treated as confidential by Government until presented to the Assembly. 215. Special reports.- A Committee may, if it thinks fit, make a special report on any matter that arises or comes to light in the course of its work which it may consider necessary to bring to the notice of the Speaker or the Assembly.

216. Reports of Committees.- (1) Where the Assembly has not fixed any time for the presentation of a report, the report of a Committee shall be presented within thirty days from the date on which reference was made to it by the Assembly, unless the Assembly, on a motion being made, directs that the time for presentation of the report be extended to a date specified in the motion:

Provided that in reckoning the period the days when Assembly is not in Session shall be excluded.

(2) Reports may be either preliminary or final.

(3) The report shall-

(a) incorporate the views,if any, of the Minister concerned with the matter;

(b) set forth the recommendations of the Committee together with the minutes of dissent, if any; and

(c) be signed by the Chairman on behalf of the Committee or, if the Chairman is absent or not readily available, by another member chosen by the Committee.

(4) The Secretary General shall cause a copy of every report of a Committee together with minutes of dissent,if any, to be made available for the use of every member of the Assembly. The report shall, if it relates to a Bill, be published in the Gazette together with the views of the minority, if any.

217. Presentation of report.- (1) The report of a Committee required to be presented to the Assembly shall be presented by the Chairman or, in his absence, by another member of the Committee authorised by the Chairman in this behalf.

(2) In presenting the report, the Chairman or in his absence the member presenting the report shall, if he makes any remarks, confine himself to a brief statement of facts, but there shall be no debate on that statement at this stage.

218. Discussion on the reports.-(1) Save as otherwise provided by these rules, after a report has been presented to the Assembly, the Chairman or any member of the Committee or any other member may move that the report be taken into consideration whereupon the Speaker may put the question to the House.

(2) Before putting the question to the House, the Speaker may permit a debate on the motion, not exceeding half an hour in duration, and such debate shall not refer to the details of the report further than is necessary to make out a case for the consideration of the report by the House.

(3) After the motion made under sub-rule (1) is carried the Speaker may allot one or more days for discussion on the report.

219. Printing, publication or circulation of report before its presentation to Assembly.- The Speaker may, on a request being made to him when the Assembly is not in session, order the printing, publication or circulation of a report of a Committee, although it has not been presented to the Assembly. In that case the report shall be presented to the Assembly during its next session at the first convenient opportunity.

220. Agenda and notices of the meetings of Committees.-(1) The time table of business of a committee and the agenda for each meeting of the Committee shall be determined by the Chairman in consultation with the Minister Concerned.

(2) Notices of all meetings of a Committee shall be sent to the members of the Committee and to the Attorney-General for Pakistan and thee official concerned.

221. Supplementary rules.-A Committee may, with the approval of the Speaker, make supplementary rules of its procedure not inconsistent with these rules.

222. Application of general rules of Assembly.-Subject to the rules in this Chapter and the supplementary rules of the Committee, if any, the general rules of the Assembly shall apply to thee proceedings in each Committee.

223. Removal of doubt and interpretation of rules.-If any doubt arises on any point of procedure or interpretation of these rules, the Chairman may refer the point to the Speaker whose decision thereon shall be final.

224. Business before Committees not to lapse on prorogation.-Any business pending before a Committee shall not lapse by reason only of the prorogation of the assembly and the Committee shall continue to function notwithstanding such prorogation.

PART-II.-OTHER COMMITTEES

225. (A) Select Committees on Bills.- (1) The Minister-in-Charges of the Ministry to which a bill a Bill relates, the Chairman of the Standing Committee concerned with the Bill,the member-in-charge and the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs shall be included in every Select Committee and it shall not be necessary to include their names in any motion for election of such a Committee.

(2) The other members of the Committee shall be elected by the Assembly when a motion that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee is adopted.

(3) At the time of election of the members of a Select Committee the number of members whose presence shall be necessary to constitute a sitting of the Committee shall be fixed by the Assembly.

(4) The Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry to which the Bill relates shall be the Chairman of the Select Committee.

(5) If the Chairman is not present at any sitting, the Committee shall choose one of its members to act as Chairman for that sitting.

(B) Special Committees.- The Assembly may, by motion appoint a Special Committee which shall have such composition and functions as may be specified in the motion.

226. Provisions relating to Standing Committees to apply to other Committees. In the absence of special provisions relating to a Select Committee or a Special Committee, the provisions relating to the Standing Committees shall apply mutatis to a Select Committee or a Special Committee.

The Committies currently working in the National Assembly are:

The Committies
Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat
Standing Committee on Commerce
Standing Committee on Communications
Standing Committee on Culture, Sports, Tourism & Youth Affairs
Standing Committee on Defence
Standing Committee on Education
Standing Committee on Environment, Local Govt., Rural Development
Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Affairs & Statstics
Finance Committee of The National Assembly
Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture & Livestock
Standing Committee on Foriegn Affairs
Standing Committee on Government Assurance
Standing Committee on Health
Standing Committee on Housing & Works
Standing Committee on House & Library
Standing Committee on Industries & Investment
Standing Committee on Information & Media Development
Standing Committee on Interior
Standing Committee on Kashmir & Northern Affairs and States and Frontier Region
Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis
Standing Committee on Law, Justice, Human rights and Parliamentary Affairs
Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Resources
Standing Committee on Planning & Development
Standing Committee on Population Welfare
Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Standing Committee on Railways
Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, Zakat and Uhsr and Minorities Affairs
Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Previliges
Standing Committee on Science and Technology
Standing Committee on Water and Power
Standing Committee on Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education