Senate committee condemns May 9 attacks

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Committee on Interior on Thursday condemned May 9 attacks on military installations and monuments of martyrs. It adopted unanimously a resolution condemning May 9 incidents with the recommendation that the guilty should not be spared and be punished under the law by summary trials. Senator Mohsin Aziz chaired the meeting which was attended by Senators Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Faisal Saleem Rehman, Shahdat Awan, Kamil Ali Agha, Seemi Ezdi and Bahramand Khan Tangi. Senior officers from the Ministries of Interior and Law and Justice were present. The committee acknowledged the sacrifices of LEAs in restoring peace in the country and said the sacrifices of martyrs for the homeland could not be forgotten and the desecration of their monuments was condemnable.

It considered and passed with amendments the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2023 introduced by Senator Kamran Michel, the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) (Amendment) Bill 2023 introduced by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 introduced by Senator Seemi Ezdi. The Criminal Procedures (Amendment) Bill 2023 introduced by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada was considered but not recommended by the committee. Deliberating over a public petition regarding the service of Ahmed Jamal at the Directorate of Immigration and Passports, Islamabad, the committee recommended that the petition might be referred to a special committee for sacked employees under the chairmanship of Abdul Qadir Mandokhail (MNA) for favourable consideration. The deputy commissioner Islamabad and the director (Enforcement) CDA briefed the committee about new schemes regarding vending points in Islamabad. The committee discussed pending applications for arms licences and recommended that the condition if a licence is expired for more than two years, it cannot be renewed – might be withdrawn.