ISLAMABAD: Senate’s third consecutive sitting ended abruptly on Thursday as Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani once again attracted the ire of the opposition for not issuing the production order of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) jailed Senator Azam Swati, with house managing to pass four government bills before the session was adjourned till today (Friday).
The session, which continued for less than 20 minutes, saw strong protest from the opposition lawmakers, who, like the previous two sittings, encircled the dais of the chair and chanted slogans against the non-issuance of Swati’s production order.
Amid all the hullaballoo, Sanjrani put up before the house, one by one, four government bills; Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2022, Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill 2022,Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment)Bill 2022, and Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022.
Sanjrani then adjourned the Senate session till today immediately after the government’s bills were passed. These four bills have already been passed by the National Assembly and now require President Arif Alvi’s final assent to become laws.
“It is the duty of the state to provide protection, either directly or by means of institutional mechanism, to its citizens against all kind of torture and right to fair trial,” reads the statement of object and reasons of Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2022.
It says Pakistan is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which protect the right to dignity of any person who has been held in custody.
“Despite constitutional provisions and guarantees, there is no precise definition or penalization of the acts of torture within the criminal law regime of Pakistan. Therefore, the object of the Bill is to criminalize and prevent acts of torture, custodial death and custodial rape committed against persons held in custody by public officials, and provide redress to the victims of such acts,” the statement adds.
The Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill 2022 provides for the constitution of the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions to negotiate and enter into inter-governmental business agreements with other states.
Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill 2022 aims to exempt anti-dumping duty on products imported on a grant-in-aid basis.
The opposition continued its protests throughout the passage of these bills—till the session was adjourned.
Rule 84 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 2012 provides that the chairman Senate or chairman of a Senate committee may summon a senator in custody on the charge of any offence or under any law relating to preventive detention to attend a sitting or sittings of the Senate or meeting of a committee of which he/she is a member if the chair considers their presence necessary.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.