The ruling PPP's majority allowed it to pass a bill from Sindh Assembly here on Friday, enabling the provincial government to drop any criminal case against anyone, but the sizeable opposition strongly protested against the legislation.
The Sindh Assembly with Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza in chair met immediately with rumpus, as chants and protest by the opposition parties gripped the house with treasury adopting a controversial bill within no time.
The passage of "The Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) (Amendment Bill, 2015," will now enable Sindh government to drop cases or prosecution in courts against anyone. It also assigns greater powers to the prosecutor general, allowing him to post and appoint prosecutors.
The opposition lawmakers shouted 'no, no' when Sindh Senior Education Minister Nisar Khuhro tabled the bill for consideration as against the assembly's daily business agenda that had showed its introduction only. The protesting lawmakers came close in front of the speaker's rostrum and tore up the bill copies.
Amid the shouts and protest, the treasury that constitutes a majority of the entire house voted to the bill and adopted it overwhelmingly. According to the amended law, the prosecutor general with the consent of the court can end prosecution for one or more cases against anyone. The dropping of prosecution or a case can take place before the court's verdict.
To end a case that stands upto three years of sentence for a criminal will now require a permission of district public prosecutor and the punishment that is for seven years will need the prosecutor general's approval to drop the prosecution in the courts. The Sindh government can withdraw prosecution of all other cases that are tried in special or trial courts, which are set up under the High Court.
Now the prosecutor general or an assigned prosecutor will have to inform the court in writing with reasons on behalf of the government to end the prosecution against the accused to drop all charges and free him. However, the release of an accused will not take place until the court's approval.
According to the law, the Sindh government will oversee the service while the prosecutor general will hold the administrative control. All the members of service and prosecutors will work under the prosecutor general. In a district, the prosecutors will be under public prosecutor. The law has given greater powers to the prosecutor general to appoint, transfer and post the prosecutors.
The prosecutor general and district public prosecutor will enjoy powers under section 9 of the law to seek a disciplinary action against any government official involved in a probe or prosecution of a case. They can also ask an investigation official or a law enforcing department to submit a report within a stipulated period.
Statement of objects and reasons of the law states that the amendment was made to help implement the Supreme Court and High Court decisions with a view to improve the administrative control of Sindh criminal prosecution service and make the service autonomous. The house was adjourned till Monday morning after the passage of the bill.
After the assembly session, opposition leader in the house, MQM's Izhar-ul-Hasan said that the PPP adopted 'The Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) (Amendment Bill, 2015' in haste. The law will help the Sindh government to drop any case against anyone at any stage of the prosecution, he added.
The treasury adopted the law within three minutes, he said and asked whether the government was making its case strong to drop charges against its leader, Dr Asim Hussain. MQM' Syed Sardar Ahmed objected that law had failed to explain what circumstances and conditions would allow the government to drop prosecution.
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