May 9 incident: IGPs of Punjab, KP asked to submit reports on injured police officials

ISLAMABAD: In a belated move, a parliamentary panel on Tuesday directed the inspectors general of police of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to submit detailed reports on injured police officials in May 9 incident.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior which met here was given a briefing by the deputy inspector general Punjab Police.

The official said there were 169 police officers who were injured during the attacks, 13 army installations were attacked, and 19 government buildings were besieged.

He said the caretaker Punjab government awarded Rs8.284 million as cash awards to 169 injured police officials.

The committee lauded the Punjab police and issued a displeasure notice to all the information secretaries of provinces and to the federal secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for not telecasting the government narrative on the incident.

Besides, the committee said the government narrative should be displayed on every television multiple times, besides giving appreciation letters and national awards to the police officials for their bravery during the incident.

The committee expressed displeasure on the absence of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police officials in the meeting.

On the bill, “The Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2022 (moved by Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, MNA)”, the committee recommended that rehabilitation, legal and medical facilitation for the victim should be free of cost.

Besides, the protection of the witness should be ensured and the prosecution department should be added to the committee formed for acid burn victims.

A nominee of chief justice from the high courts should be added with the recommendations of the chief justice. The committee passed the bill with mentioned amendments.

On the bill, “The Criminal Laws (Amendment), Bill 2020, (Section 297) (moved by Choudhary Faqir Ahmad, MNA)”, the mover proposed the following amendments: the fine amount should be two million and imprisonment should be maximum seven years. In addition to that, the committee proposed life imprisonment for sexual assault on a dead corpse.

On the bill, “The Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (Section 17) (moved by Qadir Khan Mandokhail, MNA), the committee recommended that domicile should be on the basis of the permanent address.

On the bill, “The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (Section 320) (moved by Qadir Khan Mandokhail, MNA), the committee recommended that a case of road accidents should be non-bailable and the matter should be taken up by the Ministry of Law and Justice and Interior in the next meeting. The committee directed the concerned ministries to submit reports on the matter.

On the bills, “The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill, 2022 (Government Bill) and The Islamabad Capital Territory Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Bill, 2022 (Government Bill)”, the committee expressed extreme displeasure over the unpreparedness of the Ministry of Interior official and directed to submit detailed reports on the bills in the next meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023