ISLAMABAD: The Senate meeting as Committee of the Whole Tuesday to finalise report on speedy and inexpensive justice unanimously decided on measures to address the issue of missing persons as well to initiate a broad dialogue with religious scholars and stakeholders on how to prevent the misuse the blasphemy law.
The decisions were taken in the meeting of Senate as a Committee of the Whole Tuesday which took up the draft report as well as over thirty proposals submitted separately by Senators Farhatullah Babar of PPP, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah of PML-F and Azam Swati of PTI.
Chairman Raza Rabbani presided over the meeting of Senate as a Committee of the Whole that was attended by some 25 senators representing various political parties.Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the blasphemy law had been grossly misused against minorities and vulnerable sections of society and proposed appropriate legislation to prevent this misuse.
He also referred to the Supreme Court verdict of October 7, 2015 and said that this could form the basis for action by parliament.
Opposition leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said it was a serious and sensitive issue and some people misused the law for personal benefit.Senator Sirajul Haq said the real issue is lawlessness and it was better to seek the opinion of Council of Islamic Ideology in which religious scholars and Ulema of all schools of thought are represented.
He said no individual or organisation has a right to take the law in his own hands, and to nip this tendency there is a need to strengthen the courts of law.Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani suggested that this issue be forwarded in the light of the Supreme Court verdict of October 7, 2015 with regard to Civil Criminal Act.
Senator Farhatullah Babar made eight proposals ranging from legislation to a bring thestate agencies under the ambit of law, preventing misuse of blasphemy law, streamlining the exercise of suo moto powers, revisiting the procedure of appointment of judges, doing away with the appointment of ad-hoc judges, re-examination of policing laws in the provinces and institution of web based scheme for filing FIRs.
Senator Farhatullah Babar said that missing persons was one section of the society which could not have access to justice, “no matter how expensive and how slow” it may be. He said that the need for legislation had been voiced in the SC during hearing in cases as well as recommended in the report of the Commission on Enforced Disappearance.
He said that sometime the human rights of committee of the Senate had given a set of recommendations including draft legislation to rein in the agencies and asked for its implementation.
Senator Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah in his 20 proposal suggested raising the strength of judges in civil courts so that the decision be made on pending cases, which were pending in the courts for last many years.
The Committee decided to ask the government for progress on the 2013 report of the human rights committee.
It also decided to make a special sub-chapter on missing persons in its final report and It proposed that constitutionalism and human rights be taught as compulsory subjects in security institutions to sensitise them.
Senator Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shahi said it was a main problem in Balochistan as police officials has made private torture cells and findings of tortured dead bodies is a routine matter.
Senator Col (R) Tahir Mashadi of the MQM said that many workers of the MQM were tortured in Karachi and their dead bodies were found.
Senator Farhatullah Babar proposed that the facility should be provided for the online registration of the FIR.On the proposal of Senator Farhatullah Babar proposal, Opposition leader in senate Aitzaz Ahsan proposed that the accused should be given right to present his point of view online.
Senator Talha Mehmood did not agree with the proposal saying that it would open a Pandora’s box as people were not educated and this facility will be misused.
He said the mechanism of the registration of FIR is outdated and have many flaws which need to corrected.A number of senators including opposition leader Chaudhry Aitzaz and NP President Hasil Bizenjo also supported the suggestion.
The committee decided to broaden the conversation on blasphemy law in the light of the recent SC verdict and seek opinion of religious scholars and other stakeholders on preventing misuse of the law.
Senator Farhatullah Babar also proposed improvements in the exercise of suo moto powers. He proposed that to ensure transparency, initiation of suo moto cases should be on an order by the chief justice in consultation with senior puisne judge together with a provision for appeal which should lie with another bench of the apex court.
The committee decided to recommend amendments in the Supreme Court rules to provide for appeal in suo moto cases. Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani proposed that the power to initiate suo moto cases should vest in the CJP and not necessarily in ‘consultation with senior puisne judge’, to which the Committee agreed.
On his proposal for re-examination of policing laws in the provinces to enable a politically independent police force, the Senate Committee of the Whole observed that police was a provincial subject.
However, it also decided to make recommendations to the provinces to re-examine their respective police laws to determine whether these enabled or hindered the development of a politically independent police force.Consideration of proposals for developing web based system for filing of FIRs and action to prevent false and frivolous complaints were deferred.
