Law binds owners to inform police about new tenants

Karachi
The provincial assembly passed into law on Monday that makes it legally binding on owners to provide information about their new tenants to police within 48 hours after they move in. Failure to do so will be a cognisable and non-bailable offence.
Besides, the Information of Temporary Residents’ Act, 2015 also makes it binding on managers of hostels and hotels to provide information about their new guests to police within three hours.
It envisages that any person knowingly contravening certain sections of the bill, failing to allow access to premises under their control, or failing to provide the required information to police will be liable to a punishment of imprisonment that may extend to six months and fine that will not be less than Rs10,000 or more than Rs45,000.
The law was passed unanimously, but the lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had some reservations over its clauses relating to the mandatory provision of information about the fresh tenants moving into rented premises. They proposed deleting this section of the bill.
Parliamentary affairs minister Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro moved the bill saying that it had been drafted as part of the National Action Plan to prevent the movement of criminals or terrorists into the province under the garb of temporary residents lodging in hotels, guesthouses, hostels or rented accommodations.
A section of the bill reads: “Landlords, managers, or property dealers shall not allow any tenant or guest to stay at a rented premises, hostel, or hotel unless they are satisfied about the identification of the tenant or the guest on the basis of their computerised national identity card or passport.” The law also allows a police officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector to inspect a rented premises, hostel or hotel for this purpose. A police officer under the law can also obtain information and documentation about the guests at the hotels/hostels or tenants in rented accommodations.

‘Police state’
MQM parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmed proposed deletion of the bill’s section regarding the mandatory provision of information to police about new tenants that too within the brief deadline of 48 hours. He said the legislation would virtually turn the province into a police state.
His proposed amendments for safeguarding the rights of landlords were rejected by the House through a majority vote.
According to the MQM parliamentary leader, the bill in its current form would not only create undue hardships for many landlords in the province. Ahmed said practically it would be infeasible for police to handle and record such a large database of landlords and tenants in innumerable rented premises throughout the province. Although the amendments were rejected, after the passage of the bill, MQM deputy parliamentary leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan said the passage should be considered unanimous as opposition lawmakers had later supported its adoption because they had no objection to the fundamental spirit of the proposed legislation.

Other bills
The provincial assembly also unanimously passed into law the AO Postgraduate Institute of Orthopaedic Sciences Bill, 2015 and the People’s University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Shaheed Benazirabad (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
The Jinnah Sindh Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was also introduced in the House. It envisages making Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and the National Institute of Child Health a constituent centre and constituent institute respectively of the public sector medical university in Karachi.

Home dept posts
In a call-attention notice, opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashidi asked as why 10 important positions in home department were lying vacant.
Parliamentary affairs minister Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro responded that the home department was a very sensitive section of the provincial administration and the posts will be filled soon.
Responding to another call-attention notice, the minister said the provincial government was ready to recommend to environmental tribunal the cases of sugarcane mills in Badin and Sujawal districts that were involved in the discharge of poisonous chemicals.
Education minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, responding to a call-attention notice, said of the Rs4 billion annual budget reserved for government-run schools, Rs2 billion had been released so far for purchasing stationery, sports goods, library books and laboratory equipment.
Five resolutions
The House unanimously passed five resolutions. The first one authorised the parliament in the Centre to enact the Printing and Publication of Gazetted Material by Private Persons Act-2015 under which the gazetted material published or printed by private entities had to be proofread by the government.
The second resolution called upon the provincial government to take steps to stop the poisonous water coming from Punjab that was destroying fertile land in Ghotki. The third resolution was passed in connection with the International Street Children Day on April 12. In the fourth resolution, it demanded that the provincial government should approach the Centre for the provision of gas to Faiz Gunj Taluka in Khairpur district. In the fifth resolution, the provincial government was asked to approach the Centre to annul the decision of closing the regional office of National Bank of Pakistan in Larkana.