The Senate passed four critical laws on Thursday, including one that criminalises abuse of detainees. This occurred during a loud protest by PTI members against the detention and alleged torture of their colleague Senator Muhammad Azam Swati.
The sitting was reconvened for Friday morning following legislative business, however the Question-Hour was not held because the protesting PTI senators wanted to speak first about the happenings in Swati.
Instead, the chair concentrated on getting rid of particular agenda items. After the recital of the Holy Quran, the opposition members gathered near the chair’s dais and chanted slogans against the government, demanding the release of Azam Swati and the issuance of his production order. They also ripped up agendas.
The measure would safeguard a person in detention from all acts of torture committed by public personnel. The National Assembly has already enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2022. It is think to contain a long-overdue reform process to enable transparent inquiries into claims of torture, as well as holding these implicated accountable. It is worth noting that the Senate previously passed a similar private members bill, introduced by the then-PPP legislative leader, Senator Sherry Rehman, which could not be enacte by the National Assembly within a set time frame and lapsed.
Act for commit Aids or torture
The measure, which will become an act of parliament following the President’s consent, states that any public person who commits, aids, or conspires to commit torture will face the same sentence as required in Chapter XVI of the PPC for the type of harm.
The offence must be cognizable, not compoundable, and not bailable. The bill also specifies punishment for incarcerated rapists.
Criminal Laws Bill passed by Senate
The Senate also pass the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to reform the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, as well as the Anti-Dumping Duties Bill and the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill, which were table through supplementary agenda.
According to the draught law of the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill, the federal government will form a Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions to negotiate and enter into an inter-governmental agreement to allow state-owned enterprises from both countries to carry out a commercial venture in Pakistan or abroad. Any court of law or an investigation agency would be barre from investigating any person for any procedural failure or irregularity in a commercial transaction or agreement under this Act if there was no evidence of personal monetary advantage.
