ISLAMABAD: The Upper House of the Parliament on Tuesday passed two government bills - The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Islamabad Capital Territory Trust Bill, 2020, in line with Pakistan's commitment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to ensure effective measures against terror financing.
Both bills have already been passed by the National Assembly and now require the ascent of President Arif Alvi in order to become a law.
During Senate session presided over by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Azam Swati presented The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2020, that was passed by the House after discussion.
"That Pakistan has been given final lifeline by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to meet the deficiencies with regard to Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorists Financing highlighted by Asia Pacific Group (APG) - FATF has observed a minor deficiency in Section 12 of Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Act, 1997, that it restricts the acts of concealment or disguise by making false declaration. It is highlighted that as per Section 12 (c) of CNS Act, 1997 the scope/applicability of the said section has been confined to 'making false declaration with regard to ownership, source, location or true nature of assets.' Moreover, during the meeting held at Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), it was intimated that legal regime of Pakistan with regard to ML and TF is largely complaint, however, in case the deficiencies are not met, it may result into negative impact upon the efforts undertaken by Pakistan to comply with the requirements / observations of FATF," reads the Statement of Objects and Reasons of The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, on behalf of Interior Minister Ijaz Shah, presented The Islamabad Capital Territory Trust Bill, 2020, which also got the Upper House's nod. The bill aims to enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of the orders passed by the federal government, to cater effective administration and financial monitoring and evaluation of the trusts relating to registration, administration and monitoring of trusts registered within the territorial limits of Islamabad Capital Territory. Furthermore, the facilities required for meeting the necessary expenses through exemptions are also required to be incorporated in detail.
Earlier on Monday, the Senate passed the FATF-specific The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which grants legal powers to the law enforcement agencies for speedy trial and disposal of terrorism cases and the powers for imposition of strict penalties, fines and restrictions. The bill lays down a mechanism for the freezing of assets of proscribed persons, proscribed organizations and the affiliates to curb terrorism.
On Aug 13, five FATF-specific government bills were moved in Senate and were referred to the relevant Senate standing committees. These were The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Islamabad Capital Territory Trust Bill, 2020, The Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2020. All these bills were passed by the National Assembly on August 12. Presently, three bills have been passed by the Senate after been cleared by the relevant Senate standing committees while two bills are still under the review of the standing committee concerned.
Meanwhile, Senate was informed on Tuesday that 15 countries and international organizations have committed to provide an amount of over $3,302 million to Pakistan as loans, grants and technical assistance in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Replying to a question during the Question Hour, Ali Muhammad Khan said out of total committed amount, over $2,660 million have been disbursed so far.
He said despite financial constraints, the government launched a massive relief package under Ehsaas Programme on a non-political basis to help the poor in the wake of Covid-19.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar told the House that the federal government has been making continuous efforts for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).
He told that at present, PSM is facing liabilities of Rs 236 billion rupees and options are being considered to revive the mill.
Later, reports of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on The Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and that of Senate Standing Committee on Railways regarding payment of amount of compensation to the injured and dead in the train accident of Tezgam Express on Oct 31, 2019, were presented in the House.
The House will now meet today (Wednesday).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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