Parliamentary body observed: abolishment of death penalty necessary to get extradition of wanted suspects

A parliamentary body on Friday constituted a sub-committee for holding further deliberations on a bill seeking amendment in Section-III of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for seeking extradition of the accused who commits an offence against Pakistan while being outside the country but upon conviction in the Pakistani courts, he may be awarded any sentence except death penalty.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior which met here with Senator Rehman Malik in the chair constituted a subcommittee headed by Senator Dr Shahzad Waseem to further deliberate upon "The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019," moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Senator Azam Swati, and submit a report before the main committee within one week.

Swati while briefing the committee about the bill said that the government has proposed an amendment in the section-III as the government is not able to get extradition of wanted suspects from different countries because Pakistan has capital punishment for certain offences. "We can not get extradition of the suspects who are wanted until abolishment of death penalty," he said, adding, "We can not apply our laws on other countries."

Malik termed the amendment proposed in section-III of PPC an effort to make a discriminatory law. "Law is equal for everyone and law does not have discriminatory treatment," he said, adding that the present lacuna in the bill should be removed so that the committee can unanimously approve it. He said that while formulating any law, national interest should be given priority as Pakistan is passing through difficult phase and needs national unity and collective wisdom to cope up with these challenges.

The committee held a detailed discussion on whether a person who is in the country and a person who is abroad can be given two different punishments for the same crime.

Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi while rejecting the bill said if anyone commits crime in Pakistan and then flees abroad, the same sentence would applicable for him as well. "If you want to abolish death sentence, it should be for everyone and there must not be cherry-picking", he said.

When senior officials of ministries of interior and law and justice said that the law sentence would be applicable on those who commit crime outside Pakistan, Abbasi said who will determine who committed crime in Pakistan and who committed it abroad. He requested the chairman of the committee to conduct voting over the bill as they have been holding discussion over the same bill for the last two meetings.

Malik said that issue is very important so at this stage he could not allow voting over it. He constituted a sub-committee headed by Senator Waseem with Senators Shafiq Tareen and Kalsoom Perven its members for further deliberation and asked him to submit report within one week.

The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 was promulgated by the president of Pakistan on July 16, 2019 to amend the section 3 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860. In the section-3 of PPC, a proviso shall be inserted namely: "Provided that where the accused has been extradited into Pakistan or brought into Pakistan under any arrangement with a foreign country or authority other than extradition or where against an accused any evidence is used in court which has been obtained from a foreign country, the court upon conviction may punish such accused with any punishment provided for that offence except punishment of death."

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, many crimes have their origin, basis or linkages in the other countries; therefore, in most of the cases, it is imperative that evidence available in Pakistan or other countries can be collected so that justice can be done without delay. But foreign countries did not entertain the request on the basis that the material required should not be used in criminal proceedings to apply for a sentence of death for any person charged in this matter. This means the evidence received cannot be used in trial offence wherein punishment of death can be awarded.

The committee also discussed "The National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill, 2019" moved by Senator Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh seeking to bound NACTA to lay its periodical reports in Parliament as well so that public representatives may also oversee the reviews and report findings of NACTA.

Due to diverse opinions on the bill, Malik directed the ministries of interior and law to submit their response in the next meeting.

The committee strongly condemned the ongoing atrocities against oppressed Kashmiris by Indian armed forced. The committee once again reiterated its emphasis on filing a lawsuit against India in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ).

At the outset of the meeting, Fateha (prayer) was offered for the martyrs of Kashmir and complete solidarity was expressed with Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for their right to self-determination.

The committee also took notice of the hate campaign and derogatory remarks against dignitaries including Chief Justice of Pakistan, political leadership and common people. Malik directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit a detailed report to the committee on social media hate campaigns against dignitaries from different walks of life aiming at their character assassination.

The meeting was also attended by Senator Kulsoom Parveen, Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh, Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen, Senator Momin Khan Afridi, Senator Dr Shahzad Waseem and other senior officials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019