The National Assembly on Friday passed three bills which were tabled by Federal Minister for the Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh.
The bills included the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025] and the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Bill, 2025].
The Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced amendments to the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation Ordinance, 2002 (LXXX of 2002).
The bill will now be laid before the Senate for consideration.
According to the statement of objects and reasons, the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (APPC) operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and functions as the state news agency under the APP Ordinance, 2002.
The amendments follow the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Mustafa Impex case, after which the federal cabinet directed ministries and divisions to amend relevant laws, rules and ordinances in consultation with the Law and Justice Division to replace references to the “Federal Government” with the appropriate authorities.
The cabinet reiterated these directives in subsequent decisions in 2018 and 2022 to reduce its burden of routine administrative matters.
In line with further cabinet directions issued in July 2025, the process to amend the APP Ordinance was re-initiated.
The draft amendment bill was subsequently approved by the Cabinet Committee for Legislative Cases (CCLC) and later ratified by the federal cabinet before being presented to parliament.
Meanwhile, two bills were introduced in the National Assembly and were referred to the relevant committees for further consideration.
The bills included one seeking to amend the Centres of Excellence Act, 1974, titled The Centres of Excellence (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and another to establish the Federal Government Real Estate Management Authority, titled The Federal Government Real Estate Management Authority Bill, 2026.
Meanwhile, a report of the Standing Committee on Human Rights was presented on a bill to amend the Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens Act, 2021, titled The Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
