ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (APP):The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Aviation Wednesday appreciated the ‘inclusiveness’ of two bills that were related to segregation of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) into regulatory and operational entities for their improved performance and efficient services.
The committee meeting, chaired by Haji Imtiaz Ahmed Choudhary, took up “Pakistan Airports Authority Bill, 2021” and “The Pakistan Civil Aviation Bill, 2021” and voted in favor of the legislation that was already being implemented in the form of Ordinances.
Officials of the Aviation Division gave a detailed briefing on bills that were aimed at segregating the regulatory functions and the airport services of the CAA “to minimize any chances of conflict of interest.”
It was further apprised that the previous laws that governed the aviation related activities in Pakistan were drafted in 1960s and 1980s, and therefore, were obsolete to meet the present day’s challenges and requirements.
Moreover, they said Pakistan was a party to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention that provided the laws regarding airspace, aircraft registration and safety, security, sustainability.
They said the Convention was supported by nineteen annexes containing standards and recommended practices (SARPs) that were regularly amended and updated.
“The proposed laws by the government have been formulated in compliance with the standards laid down by the Chicago Convention.”
The body also discussed “The Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Bill, 2021” in detail.
The officials informed the committee that drones and unmanned aircraft were the rapidly emerging avenues of aviation and there had been a trend of regularizing the same in developed countries of the world.
They said drones or unmanned aircraft were being used for several purposes such as mapping, survey, commercial photography, agriculture, as well as deliveries.
However, they said, in the absence of any formal guidelines, the amateur use of drones had so far been illegal in Pakistan.
Therefore, it was imperative to draft a set of guidelines to bring the use of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles under a legal framework that was governed by an Authority.
They further elaborated that the proposed Authority would govern and oversee the licensing, import, production, sale, purchase and usage of the unmanned aircraft systems according to their weight, size and purpose. The majority members of the committee voted in favor of the said bill.
Among others, the meeting was attended by Members of National Assembly including Chaudhry Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Faiz Ullah, Saira Bano, Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar, Tahir Iqbal, Niaz Ahmed Jakhar, Munawara Bibi Baloch, Asma Qadeer, Jai Parkash, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddique, Shahnaz Saleem Malik, Choudhary Faqir Ahmed, Romina Khursheed Alam, Dr Darshan and Kamal ud Din besides Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan.
