G.N. Mughul KARACHI: A Constitutional Amendment Bill envisaging declaration of 7 languages spoken in various parts of the country as national languages was handed over to National Assembly Secretariat recently. The bill has the signatures of 35 MNAs, including a few Federal ministers belonging to Sindh and Siraiki belt of Punjab. The languages which have been sought to be declared national are: Balochi, Punjabi, Pushto, Shina/Balti, Sindhi, Saraiki and Urdu. It is, however, significant to note that earlier, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms had refused to receive the said bill for consideration in the Parliamentary Committee meeting. According to informed circles, senior PP MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur and PML(Q) MNA Marvi Memon visited the office of the Chairman, Parliamentary Committee to hand over the said amendment bill to Mian Raza Rabbani but he refused to receive the bill on the grounds that a bill on the same issue was delivered to the committee by the Parliamentarians of Pakhtun Awami Milli Parti (headed by Mahmood Khan Achakzai) and was presented in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for consideration but the committee refused to consider the said bill. It is said that PP Minister from Sindh, Navid Qamar was also present at that time. However, on refusal by Raza Rabbani and Navid Qamar to receive the said bill, PP MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur tore the papers of the said bill into pieces in the office of Raza Rabbani and went away. Later, signatures of 35 MNAs were obtained on the bill and deposited in National Assembly Secretariat. It is understood that now this bill would automatically come under discussion along with the constitutional package bill cleared by the Parliamentary Committee. The signatories to the Bill are: Nawab Mohammad Yousuf Talpur, PP ministers from Sindh Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Mir Aijaz Jakhrani, Nabil Gabol, and PML(F) State Minister, Jadim Mangrio, Federal Minister from Siraiki belt viz. Abdul Qayoom Jatoi, and other MNAs including PML(Q) MNA Marvi Memon, PP MNAs Pir Abdul Haq, Roshan Junejo, Nawab Ghani Talpur, Mian Riaz Pirzada, PML(Q) MNA from Siraiki belt, PP MNAs from Sindh viz. Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah, Dr. Talat Iqbal, Sher Mohammad Baloch, Ghulam Ali Nizamani, Dr. Abdul Wahid Soomro, Dr. Mahesh Kumar Mallani, Syed Amir Ali Shah Jamote, Gul Mohammad Jakhrani, Arbab Zakullah, PML(Q) MNA, Palwasha Khan (PP), Nawab Ali Wassan (PP), Ghous Bux Maher (PML-Q), Mrs. Shamshad Sattar Bachani (PP), Parwani (Sindh), Mahreen Razaque Bhutto (PP), Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah (PP), Dr. Lal Chand (PP), Nazir Ahmad Bughio (PP), and Rafiq Ahmad Jamali (PP). Various sections of the constitutional amendment bill are: (1) The National Languages of Pakistan are: Balochi, Punjabi, Shina/Balti, Sindhi, Saraiki and Urdu., (2) The Official language of Pakistan shall be English until arrangements are made for the national languages to come at par with it, (3) The Federal Government will establish a fund for the development and promotion of National Languages as well as ensure that Arabic, be taught as compulsory subject at school level and Persian be an optional subject, (4) Without prejudice to the status of the National Languages a provincial assembly may by law prescribe measures for the teaching, promotion, and use of a provincial language in addition to the national languages.