ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan People Party senator on Tuesday urged the government to make a proper law to tackle missing person cases.
Currently, he said there was no law in this regard. He termed the forced disappearances against fundamental human rights. The senator suggested that the Senate should take the lead and make the law.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani said parliament failed to resolve the missing persons’ issue. He asked Babar to bring forth a resolution and let it be discussed in parliament.
The issue of missing persons was once again raised in the Senate when Hafiz Hamdullah pointed out the disappearance of a member of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) along with his staff in Quetta a few days ago.
Senator Farhatullah Babar said, “The issue will continue to dodge us as long as there was no law to rein in the state agencies.” He said that the Supreme Court, the Commission on Enforced Disappearances, the Senate and now the National Commission on Human Rights all had asked for legislation but to no avail.
“Because of lack of legislation we have been groping in the dark to trace missing individuals but not able to trace the detention centers, prevent disappearances and punish those responsible,” he said.
Opening the debate on the president’s address to the joint session of parliament, Babar deplored that the address was silent about the critical issue of reforms in tribal areas, a subject of the Presidency alone, and the president’s
claims of non-proliferation were soon mocked by Pervez Musharraf. He said that the meeting last week in the PM’s House on FATA raised several questions than it answered
and asked for bringing the reforms package before parliament.
There was no mention in the press statement of PM’s House about jurisdiction of courts in neither FATA nor law replacing the draconian FCR, he said. It mentioned the creation of a new post of chief operating officer (COO), he said and expressed apprehension that sooner or later an army general would be appointed. In the presence of a uniformed officer as COO both the government and Presidency would become redundant as the locus of power would shift to Rawalpindi.
Raza Rabbani announced to convene a meeting of the Committee of the Whole on FATA Reforms next week
and asked the senator to ra
ise the issues before the SAFRON minister.
Babar then touched upon the remarks of President Mamnoon Husain on nuclear proliferation. He said that he welcomed the president’s remarks that Pakistan believed i
n non-proliferation and was entitled to a seat in the prestigious Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG).
However, the supreme commander’s categorical statement o
n non-proliferation and expression of pious hopes to enter NSG was soon contradicted by a retired General Musharraf in London who
claimed that tonnes of nuclear material had been clandestinely shipped to North Kore
a, Iran and Libya and that it was done by just one individual. Who will now trust Mamnoon’s
claim of non- proliferation and who would agree to give a seat to Pakistan on NSG, the foremost condition for which was impeccable record of non-proliferation, he asked.
The House passed the Corporate Rehabilitation Bill, 2017 after clause by clause reading.
Convener, Special Committee on Marginalized Segments of Society presented 6th Interim report of the Special Committee on marginalized segments of society.
The law minister laid before the House an authenticated copy of the address of the President of Pakistan made under Article 56 (3) of the constitution before both Houses on June 1.
Published in Daily Times, September 13th 2017.
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