On Wednesday, the National Assembly adopted the 2024 anti -terrorism bill (amendment) by a majority vote by promulgating it after having rejected the opposition proposals in the midst of demonstrations in the House.
The room has suspended its routine program to resume the bill. President Ayaz Sadiq ordered a workforce on the adoption of the bill, which showed 125 votes in favor and 45 against. Opposition members protested and shouted slogans during the process.
The lawyer for the president of the PTI, Gohar Ali Khan, argued that the bill had violated article 10 of the Constitution and fundamental rights by authorizing detention without trial up to three months, extended by three others.
He declared that no law could be promulgated in violation of the Constitution or decisions of the Supreme Court, and noted the cases of prolonged detention without regular procedure.
Read: HRCP urges the Govt to remove the anti-terrorist bill
Maulana Fazlur Rehman questioned the need for such a law, recalling measures similar to the era of Musharraf which, according to him, considered citizens as “born criminals”.
The opposition argued that the law could be used badly, while the government insisted that it was necessary to deal with the dominant security situation.
Oil reserves
Separately, the legislators of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) asked for clarification from the government with the past remarks of US President Donald Trump on the vast oil reserves in Pakistan.
On July 31, Trump went to social networks to announce a new agreement between the United States and Pakistan for the joint development of the “Massive Oil Reserves” in Pakistan.
Dr. Nafisa Shah of the PPP asked why the government had not provided information if such reservations existed. “The American president tells us about the oil reserves in Pakistan, but why does the government of Pakistan not inform us?”
Find out more: Trump wins, Pakistan is watching the future
Responding to the call for attention, the Federal Minister of Petroleum Ali Perviz Malik said that Pakistan had recently granted oil exploration to Kuwait, Turkey and other countries.
He confirmed the presence of reserves, but said that their exact size could only be determined after the start of exploration work.
He added that three main gas fields – that the SUP field had been discovered and that exploration had started in Hyderabad.
Malik noted that countries like China and the United States had technology to quickly verify the presence of oil and gas.
Dr. Shah also wondered if Trump’s comments, including Pakistan could one day export oil to India, aimed to put pressure on India in concessions, since Pakistani ministers said they did not yet know the size of the reserves.
The PPP legislator, Syed Naveed Qamar, asked if the exploration opportunities would be open to countries beyond the United States.
Malik replied that the rights would be available for several companies.
