NA passes 10 bills including ‘Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2017’

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly passed the Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2017 and seven other private members and two government bills on Tuesday which probably is the last private members day if the House is prorogued after passage of the Finance Bill, 2018 at the start of the next week.

Marvi Memon of PML-N, who moved Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2017 said the purpose of the bill is to support the victims and bring to justice the culprits at the earliest. She thanked the government and the opposition benches for supporting the important bill. She said the bill offers free medical treatment and rehabilitation for acid burn victims and also outlines a process for conducting trials of accused in the shortest possible time.

The bill specifically criminalises acid and burn related violence by providing fair and speedy trial of such heinous offences. The House also adopted all the amendments moved by PPP member Syed Naveed Qamar.

As per amendments, whoever commits or attempts to commit an offence of acid or burn attack and act resulted in death of any person shall be awarded life imprisonment. An amendment says that whoever intentionally causing hurt by acid and burn attack shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for not more than seven years.

The House passed another private member bill titled ‘Transgender Persons (Protection Rights) Act 2018’ seeking defining a transgender persons and prohibiting discrimination against them. The bill was moved by Syed Naveed Qamar.

According to the bill, the transgender persons will have the right to get their gender changed in National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) records and they will have also right to inherit property. The bill, however, was opposed by Aisha Syed of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Naeema Kishwar from JUI-F saying as to why those who change their gender were being given the protection. “It is our right to oppose the bill,” the two parliamentarians while separately speaking on the bill said.

According to the bill, transgender persons will be able to register to obtain a driver's license and passport, harassment of transgender will be prohibited in and outside their homes, transgender persons will not be discriminated against by educational institutions, employers, in trade and health services, and when using public transport and buying or selling or renting property and they will also not be dismissed because of their gender identity.

Other bills passed by the House include National Civic Education Commission Bill, the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) bill, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) bill and Pakistan Baitul Mal (Amendment) bill 2017, Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Employment of Children Bill, Institute of Science and Technology Bahawalpur Bill, 2018 and Sir Syed Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering Institute of Technology Islamabad Bill, 2016.

On completion of the legislative business, the PTI parliamentarian raised issue of clash between PTI and PPP workers in Karachi saying that his party workers were beaten and they were also fired upon. He demanded of the chair to allow discussion on the issue saying that the senior PPP leadership also did not try to resolve the issue.

The Speaker asked veteran politician from PPP Nawab Yousuf Talpur to come forward and try to resolve the matter. On that Talpur said the PTI workers burnt vehicles of PPP workers and they were also strongly beaten up.

The two members went out of the House when the chair directed them to sit down and sort out the problem. The MQM female member Saman Sultana Jafri said she wanted to move a privilege motion against Capt (R) Safdar for cheating her party parliamentarians for getting support in passage of a resolution to rename Center for Physics of Quaid-e-Azam University saying that issue should not be handled on the basis of religion.

It may be pointed out here that the National Assembly during the ongoing session passed a resolution to rename Abdus Salam Centre for Physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University as the Abu al-Fath Abd-al Rahman Mansur al-Khazini, a Muslim scientist.