The Senate on Thursday passed a bill aimed at enhancing punishments for an act of terrorism, as the House rejected a number of amendments proposed by the opposition in some of its clauses. The Anti-Terrorism (Second Amendment) Bill 2004 aimed at bringing, what the government termed indispensable changes in the original law enacted in 1997, will now become an act after the president's approval within a month.
The opposition members outspokenly criticised the bill for technical shortfalls it contained, but could not put up a show at the time of the passage of the bill and remained calm and composed all the way despite the fact their proposed amendments were rejected.
The Senate, on the opposition members' demand, referred to the concerned standing committee for further consideration a motion seeking amendments in the House Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business.
Three Ordinances - Bar Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2004, The Pakistan Engineering Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 and The Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 - were laid before the House.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Parliamentary Leader Khursheed Ahmed, through a motion, brought the issue of free availability of a medicine in the markets despite an international ban.
But he did not press his motion after Health Minister Naseer Khan assured the House that the government had already imposed ban on the sale of the medicine and is ready to take further steps to check the situation.
Taking part in a heated debate on the bill moved in the Senate on Wednesday, the opposition members argued that the idea of enhancing punishments for terrorism act would not work effectively.
Rather, they said, the policy of giving more powers to the law-enforcement agencies as proposed by the new act would not only add to the woes of the people, but also increase the chances of their vulnerability.
The treasury members, on the contrary, outrightly rejected the reservations of their opposition colleagues, saying the new law would effectively help in eliminating terrorism from the society.
Winding up the debate, Minister of State for Interior Shahzad Wasim said the fear that a law would be misused was not a sufficient ground to oppose its formation.
"That's why, I think that we should go ahead in our effort to enhance punishments for terrorism," were the words of the minister of state after which the Senate gave approval to the act.
Sanaullah Baloch of Balochistan National Party (Mengal) asked the government to address what he termed the root causes of terrorism and avoid 'unnecessary' legislation.
Another Baloch nationalist Raza Muhammad Raza was of the view that the "chronic and deep" involvement of military and Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) in politics was the main cause of terrorism.
And if the government was sincere in its claim of driving out terrorists from the country, he suggested it would have to throw out the military from the corridors of political power.
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