Curbing drugs in educational institutions: NA panel urges Narcotics Division to prepare plan

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control Tuesday directed the Narcotics Control Division to prepare a comprehensive plan to bring sale of drugs in all educational institutions to an end. Director Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Brigadier Muhammad Basharat informed the committee, which met with MNA Syed Javed Ali Shah in chair, that ANF, police and Rangers conducted a joint operation in December last at Quaid-e-Azam University against drug suppliers, adding 11 raids were conducted and 14 accused were arrested while 0.42-kg heroin, 1.165-kg hashish, 0.009-kg cocaine, 0.032-kg LSD and 10 tins of bears were recovered.
He told the committee that 4 million people in the country are using hashish, 1.1 million use opiate, 0.8 million are regular heroin users and 0.3 million are opium users. The committee discussed three private members bills seeking provision of punishment and fine for cannibalism in Pakistan. The bill entitled "The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2014" was moved separately by MNAs SA Iqbal Qadri, Aliya Kamran and Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan.
The committee decided that the three bills are similar in nature and they be clubbed together to avoid overlapping. The committee directed the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Law and Justice to prepare combined draft law within two weeks and submit it before the committee.
The bills seek insertion of two sections in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860 after Section 297 namely 297-A and 297-B. The section 297-A says, "Whoever without due permission from competent authority exhumes corpse or any part of corpse shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may be extended to seven years and shall also be liable to fine."
The section 297-B says, "Whoever exhumes corpse or any part of corpse with intent to cook, eat or to sell it or to use for magic any organ or removes hair of female corpse, cooks any part of these corps or eats or sells any organ of these corpse shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than 10 years and shall also be liable to fine."
MNA Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur said, "In principle we agree to the provisions of these bill but time should be given to Ministries of Interior as well as Law and Justice to prepare draft bill in this regard." SA Iqbal Qadri said that there is no provision in the PPC for giving exemplary punishment to those who are found involved in cannibalism. "Due to absences of provision in the PPC, the offender is granted bail easily," he said.
MNA Aliya Kamran said that disrespect of dead body is a serious issue, demanding an increase in punishment for at least seven years with a fine of Rs0.1 million. The committee also discussed "The Federal Witness Protection Bill, 2015" moved Aisa Syed seeking provision of protection to witnesses to enable them to give evidence before the court of law.
A senior official of Ministry of Interior informed the meeting that a similar kind of bill is under consideration in the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Ministry of Law has also presented the same in the law reforms committee, he said, adding that it requires comprehensive consent of provinces and federal government therefore it would also be shared with provinces.
Dr Arif Alvi said that protection of witnesses is mandatory therefore it should be included in the National Action Plan (NAP). In many cases, especially cases of terrorism, witnesses do not appear before the court due to fear, he said. The committee directed the Ministry of Law and justice to brief the committee about the proposed bill during the next meeting.
The committee offered Fateha of the innocent people who were martyred in different incidents happened recently in Pakistan. The committee with majority of vote approved the PSDP projects for the year 2017-18 of the Narcotics Control Division and deferred the PSDP projects for the year 2017-18 pertaining to the Ministry of Interior till its next meeting.
The committee constituted a sub-committee under the convenership MNA Naeema Kishwar Khan to consider all remaining private member's bills before the committee. Ghalib Khan, Dr Ibadullah, Syed Iftikhar-ul-Hassan, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Makhdoom Syed Ali Hassan Gillani, Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Naeema Kishwar Khan, Sher Akbar Khan, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, Aliya Kamran Murtaza and Aisha Syed also attended the meeting.