FATF observation: Senate body to review progress on eight proposals on July 9

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, on Tuesday, called a special meeting of the committee on July 9 to review the progress being made on eight proposals under observation of the FATF and also to review the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The committee suspended proceeding on the bill, on the recommendations of the members, who wanted to review the bill, in the light of the proposals by the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior. The secretary interior apprised the committee that the consultation process on the bill from stakeholders including the provincial government was completed.

Meanwhile, members could send their proposals on the bills to the committee. The chairman committee criticised the officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for creating hurdle in the passage of his bill on real estate sector.

The committee took a public petition title, "Request for relief against management of Ghouri Town".

In the petition, it was alleged that the management took the money against a residential plot but never gave possession of the plot or returned the money. The officials of the CDA argued that the authority did not issue NOC to the housing society and it was not registered with them.

The deputy commissioner, Islamabad, informed the committee that the society was jointly owned by four to five owners. One has died and the others were abroad. The district management has registered 24 cases against them.

The committee referred the case to the NAB and directed the Chief Commissioner Islamabad to come in the next meeting of the committee. While reviewing a public petition on problem of the BM Series Pakistan passport holders/Bengali speaking people living in Saudi Arabia, the committee recommended to appoint such people who were experts in multiple languages.

The committee was informed that the authority had issued 50,000 natives of Barma, whose population has reached 800,000 now.

"We stopped issuing further passports of BM series as they did not get Pakistani nationality," the officials said.

The committee deferred the proceeding on a public petition title, "Money laundering investigation against JS Bank sponsored by CAYMAN Island Authorities including financial crime investigation unit of the Royal Cayman Island Police Service".

An official of the FIA informed that an inquiry is being conducted by the FIA and also another inquiry was launched by the NAB. He suggested the matter should be suspended till the reports present to the committee.

On a point of public importance regarding killing of a 14-year-old boy, Hasan Khan, in custody at a police station in Islamabad, raised by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, the committee deferred the case for three months after the DIG Islamabad Police said that a judicial inquiry was ordered and report of his death would take three months.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021