Interior Minister Brig Ijaz Shah (retd) Monday told a National Assembly panel that Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has described the proposed punishments in the FATF-related legislation as 'eyewash.'

The minister stated this during the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, chaired by Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, which also passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2019 - another FATF-related legislation aimed at criminalizing transfer of Rs 50 million or above abroad in single or multiple transactions in one month through informal channels including Hundi or Hawala as 'economic terrorism.'

During the discussions on the period of detention not exceeding three months of a person against whom there are reasonable grounds of believing that he is connected with an offence under this Act, lawmakers including Abdul Qadir Patel and Sardar Talib Hassan Nakai raised various questions on the prolonged period of detention; however, the interior minister said that FATF has already expressed reservations on the punishments in some previous legislation and has termed these as 'eyewash.'

He said that the bill is necessary to be passed as it is requirement of the FATF, adding that it is a national cause and the committee members also have their responsibility to play.

The committee, however, passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2019 with dissenting notes moved by Patel of PPP and Nakai of PTI.

In the bill 'economic terrorism' has been defined as 'the transfer of money or funds from Pakistan to destinations abroad through any informal channel, including Hundi or Hawala, where the total amount transferred by any one 'agent' - a natural or a legal person providing informal money or value transfer services including Hundi or Hawala - through a single or multiple transactions over a period of one month, is equal to or exceeds Rs 50 million.

When committee member Syed Agha Rafiullah pointed out that Hundi or Hawala is itself a crime whether the amount is Rs 50 million or Rs 50 only. He further pointed out that the business through informal channels including the Hundi and Hawala is continuing from Rawalpindi to Quetta "This is also a crime and it is the responsibility of the state to take action," Rafiullah said.

However, the interior minister responded: "We cannot take action against them, as the state is also said to be the mother...if action is taken, the North will affect at first." The minister explained further as to what the North would be which apparently was conceived as the people associated with the Hundi and Hawala in Northern part of the country. On the proposed amendments to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019 moved by James Iqbal, the committee sought responses from provinces and deferred further discussions on it. James Iqbal has proposed insertion of certain sections in the bill and told the panel that through the proposed amendments, certain punishments have been suggested to those whoever with the consent or without consent has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with a [boy] child having the age of seven or below shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life which shall not be less than 25 years and shall be liable to minimum fine of two million rupees. Provided if the age of offender is above 21 years of age, the sentence of death shall be carried out in public place or gathering of not less than 100 people.

Additionally, he said that more punishments have also been proposed based on the ages of the children.

The committee also referred the issue of irregularities in National Assembly Employees Cooperative Housing Society and Federal Government Employees Housing Society, Jinnah Garden, to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and also directed the agency to brief the panel on the matter in its next meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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