Pakistan
Senate approves three years in jail for rallying without permission in Islamabad
Holding or participating in a rally without government permission can be jailed for up to three years
Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Tuesday approved four bills including the bill to hold a peaceful procession in the federal capital while deferring one bill.
According to the bill approved by the Senate Committee, a rally can be held in Sanganjani or any other area of Islamabad where the government allows. Holding or participating in a rally without government permission can be jailed for up to three years.
The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held in the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman. Senator Irfan Siddiqui, while discussing the bill, said that this bill is up to the limits of Islamabad. Even today, containers are still in Islamabad and people are worried. A place should be allocated where protests can be held. The bill aims to make protests in Islamabad legal.
Senator Faisal Sabzwari stated that apart from political parties, religious groups also come to Islamabad. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zahri while speaking in the committee said that the purpose of bringing this law is not to target any political party, while Senator Saifullah Abro added that peaceful protest is the right of every citizen as per the constitution. What happened on the Kashmir highway yesterday should have been picked up the way Senator Mushtaq was picked up.
The committee sought a report from the Ministry of Interior on the illegal arrest of Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and the behavior with his family members.