Parliament cancels additional sitting scheduled for Thursday

The Parliament Secretariat has cancelled an additional parliamentary sitting that had been scheduled for Thursday, according to a notification sent to members of the People’s Majlis.

The decision was communicated shortly before 10:00 a.m., after members had earlier been informed that a sitting would take place and that the agenda would be announced later.

Parliamentary sittings are normally held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. However, at the conclusion of Wednesday’s sitting, the chair informed members that an additional sitting had been scheduled for Thursday.

No details regarding the agenda were disclosed at the time.

According to information provided to members, the Parliament Secretariat sent a message at around 1:30 a.m. notifying MPs that a sitting would be held on Thursday and that the agenda would be circulated later.

A parliamentary official subsequently confirmed to Dhauru that the sitting had been cancelled. No reason was given for the decision.

In a message sent to MPs shortly before 10:00 a.m., the Secretariat stated that the date of the next parliamentary sitting would be announced later.

The cancellation comes amid ongoing parliamentary consideration of amendments to the country’s foreign exchange framework.

It is understood that the additional sitting had been expected to consider legislation revising foreign currency conversion requirements for resorts. The bill was submitted to Parliament on Wednesday and referred to the Public Accounts Committee for review.

During a committee meeting on Wednesday, members decided to open the bill for public comments until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Parliament has also voted to extend its second session of the year by one week.

The session had originally been scheduled to conclude on Saturday. However, citing pending legislative work, members approved an extension that will keep the session in progress until next Thursday.