Bill for port authority tabled after 12 years

After a delay of 12 years, the government introduced a bill in the National Assembly on Monday to establish a land port authority in order to facilitate the movement of goods and people across border crossing points and to reduce the cost of doing business. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar moved the bill on behalf of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, however, did not refer the bill to the committee concerned. The Pakistan Peoples Party government made the first attempt to establish a land port authority in 2012 under the ambit of the ministry of commerce, while the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government made the second attempt in 2021. With the bill’s approval, Pakistan would become the third South Asian country, after Bangladesh and India, to have a land port authority. The Bangladesh Land Port Authority was created in 2002, while India did so in March 2012.