Senate chairman drops Prevention of Violent Extremism Bill 2023
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Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Sunday dropped the Prevention of Violent Extremism Bill 2023, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Senate chairman had sought the opinions of the members of the Upper House on the bill before dropping it. “Whether the government does it or not, I drop this bill,” he stated.
“Such legislation should not be made which violates the Constitution,” Senator Kamran Murtaza said in his speech in the Senate.
“This bill will be a trouble for all of us. Our hands are being chopped off through this bill,” he added.
“Allies should have been consulted for such legislation,” he stated.
“The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) opposes this bill,” JUI Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said in his speech in the Senate.
“This bill is an open attack on democracy,” Senator Tahir Bizenjo remarked.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan also opposed the bill.
“The Prevention of Violent Extremism Bill is very important,” Senator Irfan Siddiqui pointed out.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Sania Nishtar also raised strong objections to the bill.
“Wide discretion and sweeping indemnity for the government. No independence of review process. Curbs on individual freedoms. Offences are non-bailable, cognizable and non-compoundable,” she noted.
State Minister Shahadat Awan had tabled the bill in the Senate as the government sought to bar any extremist or violent organisation from contesting elections.
According to the draft bill, violent extremism referred to inciting, supporting, threatening, and resorting to violence and hostility due to political, religious, and sectarian as well as ideological beliefs, including financing and providing protection of a scheduled individual or organisation involved in violent extremism — all of which is prohibited by law.
“....the state is committed to further strengthen the legal mechanism to counter promotion and propagation of acts of violent extremism and provide for a mechanism for de-radicalisation and rehabilitation of affected persons,” the draft bill read.
“It is necessary to provide for a mechanism to prevent violent extremism and for matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto,” it read further.
Through this bill, a violent person, leader, official or worker of a violent organisation was to be detained for 90 days to 12 months. However, they were to have the right to appeal in the high court.
The government would have become able to add a person or organisation to lists 1 and 2 on violent extremism if the bill had been approved.
Meanwhile, two other bills on the agenda, Toshakhana Regulation and Management Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Airports Authority Bill 2023 were passed by the upper house.
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Bill 2023, the Pakistan Ruet-e-Hilal Bill and the Pakistan Air Safety Investigation Bill were also presented before the Senate and all three were referred to the relevant committees.