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The National Assembly on Tuesday passed two private member bills—the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2021—submitted by Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Nafisa Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party, respectively.
According to the statement of objects and reasons for the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Shah said that provincial bar councils are statutory organizations, responsible for safeguarding the rights, interests and privileges of practicing lawyers, regulating their conduct and helping in the administration of justice. The bill, she said, aims to increase the number of members of the Sindh Bar Council from Khairpur District from 1 to 2.
Moving the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, Chitrali said the punishment for insulting a member of Parliament was five years compared to just three for disrespecting ‘sacred’ personalities of Islam, including the family and companions of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). Its statement of objectives further claimed that disrespecting the companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and other sacred personalities both promoted terrorism and also hurt the sentiments of the people.
The bill seeks to enhance the minimum punishment under the Pakistan Penal Code for anyone insulting the ‘sacred’ personalities from three to 10 years, along with a fine of Rs. 1 million. The JI lawmaker said “grave disrespect” should further enhance the punishment to life imprisonment. “May this bill be a cause of our salvation and may Allah grant our rulers the ability to implement the bill in letter and spirit,” he said. The statement of objectives for legislation further claimed that the three-year imprisonment was too mild, and encouraged people to take the law into their hands, which the new penalties would avert.