Senate’s panel approves “Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill
Pak Chronicle Report
Islamabad
Senate Standing Committee on Interior unanimously approved “Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2020 on Friday.
The bill has already been passed by the National Assembly on January 7 which aims to provide legal support to the requesting state (foreign country) by executing necessary actions on its territory in criminal cases warranting shared assistance.
The meeting of the Senate panel was held in Parliament House and chaired by Senator Rehman Malik.
According to a press release issued after the committee’s meeting the Senate Standing Committee on Interior considered the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2020 and unanimously approved it after detailed deliberations.
The Bill was considered and discussed in the committee meeting which was held on Thursday however for further deliberation on the bill a special meeting was convened by the Chairman Senator Rehman Malik today in Parliament House.
All the factors and aspects related to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the requirement of such a Bill for FATF were discussed thoroughly.
The Committee shown its reservations on certain clauses and two amendments one proposed by Senator Javed Abbasi and the other by Senator M Talha Mahmood while Senator Sardar Shafiq Tareen and Senator Kalsoom Parveen also endorsed both.
They expressed their concerns that the authority should not be given to one individual for implementation of section 21 of the bill. The committee agreed to approve the bill after undertaking by Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs on behalf of the government that the new bill based on the proposed amendments by the members shall be brought in the House by the Government within 60 days of passing of the said bill.
SenatorMalik said that to meet with the requirements of FATF and its time constraints of 20th January, 2020, when Pakistan has to give compliance on the Mutual Legal Assistance to FATF, it was necessary to pass the bill by today. He said that the committee considered all aspects of the bill including its misuse particularly for political victimization.
Resolution passed condemning Indian General’s statement:The Senate Standing Committee on Interior in its meeting unanimously passed a resolution strongly condemning the statement of Indian General Bipin Rawat wherein he has stated that Kashmiri children to be put into de-radicalization camps.
At the outset, Senator A. Rehman Malik strongly condemned the ongoing Indian forces brutalities in Indian Occupied Kashmir and the anti-Muslim mindset of Indian government and forces. He said that earlier Indian army officer and leader of BJP Maj General (retd) SP Sinha in a statement had justified the rapes of Kashmiri women in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and now the General Bipin Rawat is justifying crimes against innocent Kashmiri children.
Senator Malik said that statement of Indian Army General clearly reflects the extremist mentality of RSS. He said that rather the innocent Kashmiri Children to be put into de-radicalization camps, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet and Army generals should be put into de-radicalization camps as the RSS has radicalized them.
The Chairman Committee constituted a Sub-Committee with its head Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi with two members to look into the operations of Capital Development Authority (CDA) undertaken against encroachments on Kashmir Highway, Sector G-12, Sector G-13 and other areas of the ICT, Islamabad.
Ends
