NA passes blanket bill to defeat terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) on Friday passed ‘The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015’ which proposes certain amendments in existing laws to root out terrorism.

The NA okayed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill on last day of last session of the third parliamentary year of the sitting assembly. Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Mariam Aurengzeb moved the bill.

Just before the government could move the bill, PTI member Dr Shireen Mazari pointed out lack of quorum in the house after his party colleague Ghulam Sarwar Awan was not given the floor to speak on a point of order. On counting, the house was found in order.

The bill on becoming an Act of the Parliament would envisage amendments in the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, the Police Act 1861, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, the Qanoon-e-Shahadat 1984 and the Protection of Pakistan Act, 2014.

According to an amendment in the Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code, an imprisonment of seven years would be awarded in case the offence in which false information is given is punishable with death whereas five years imprisonment in case the offence in which false information is given is punishable with imprisonment for life.

The amendment also says that one-fourth of the longest term of imprisonment or with fine as is provided for the offence in which false information is given and is not covered in case of false statements given in above two offences.

According to an amendment in Section 298, an imprisonment extending to three years but not less than one year would be awarded to whosoever with deliberate intention of wounding or outraging the religious feelings of any person or inciting religious or ethnic hatred, utters any word using loudspeaker.

According to another amendment, whenever any individuals, an organised group or a mob by taking the law in its own hands inflict punishment on a person accused or suspect of a crime by causing him a hurt or his death, every such individual, a member of such group or a mob is said to be involved in lynching.

Whoever commits lynching shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which can go to three years or with fine or with both in addition to any other punishment to which he may be liable under any other law for the time being in force.