National Assembly likely to pass Anti-Terrorism (Amend) Bill on Monday

February 01, 2013

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The National Assembly is all set to pass the much-awaited 'The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2012' on Monday, which is seen vital for reining in the spate of terrorism in the country. The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday presented its report on 'The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2012' in the house.

According to National Assembly Secretariat sources, now the Bill would be placed on the agenda of Monday sitting of the House for passage. They said that the House would likely to pass the Bill on Monday. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has already requested the House to pass the Bill to curb increasing terrorism in the country.

Federal Minister for Defence Syed Naveed Qamar on Thursday introduced two bills in the National Assembly, 'The National Counter-Terrorism Authority Bill, 2013' and 'The Defence Housing Authority Islamabad Bill, 2013'. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, who is presiding the current session of the House, referred the bills to the concerned Standing Committees for further deliberation.

The sources said that the government also wanted to get these two bills passed from the National Assembly within a week. Therefore, it has asked the chairpersons of the Standing Committees to present report on the bills within five to seven days in the House.

According to object and reasons of Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill, 2012, there is a need to strengthen counter terrorism financing regime and to bringing it a par with the international standards. The Bill addresses the shortcomings relating to terrorist financing provision in the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

The bill aims at amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 to strengthen the provisions concerning the offences of terrorism financing and to provide more effective enforcement measures against such offences. It would pave the way for the law enforcement agencies to take effective actions against those who finance acts of terrorism and benefit from the proceeds of such acts. These amendments shall improve the regime for freezing, seizure and forfeiture of property used for terrorism by terrorists and terrorist organisations.

Similarly the purpose of 'The National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill, 2013,' which was introduced on Thursday, is to establish "National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA), at par with best international standards, to unify and widen the scope of national counter terrorism and counter extremism measures and provide for their more effective and efficient enforcement. It would play a pivotal role in co-ordination of all law enforcement agencies in taking effective actions against those who carryout acts of terrorism and extremism, besides preparing comprehensive national counter terrorism and counter extremism strategies.

While the purpose of "The Defence Housing Authority Islamabad Bill, 2013" is to establish a self-financing body in this regard. It does not take any amount or budget allocation from the Federal or Provincial Governments. The profit of the authority would be exclusively spent on its future housing projects, for the benefit of serving officers and other ranks of Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force and the general public.