ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly yesterday approved legislation for increasing punishment for those defaming Ummahatul Momineen, Ahle Bait, Khulfa-e-Rashideen and Sahaba-e-Kiram upto life imprisonment. The house passed a private member bill, moved by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) parliamentarian Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, passed unanimously on a private member day. The bill, after smooth legislation from the National Assembly, that provides for amendment in certain sections of Pakistan Penal Code [PPC], will be referred to upper house for legislation on it. The punishment for a person proven guilty of disrespecting Ummahatul Momineen, Ahle Bait, Khulfae-Rashideen and Sahaba-e-Kiram and using derogatory remarks for them would be 10 years in prison which may be extended to life imprisonment depending on seriousness of the crime, according to the amendments in the law. Member of religio-political party [Jamaat-e-Islami] Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali appreciated the house for increasing the punishment. He said the punishment for disrespecting these sacred personalities was almost nil before the legislation on it. Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani who chairing the proceedings termed passage of the bill as historic and congratulated all the parliamentarians. He said that implementation of the law would help in preventing the heinous crime in the country. The House also passed the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Amendment Bill 2021. Earlier, the chair expressed annoyance over absence of ministers to respond the legislation. The absence of members was mainly due to their suspension by the ECP for not declaring assets in the election commission. Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani even decided to suspend the house proceedings for 15 minutes due to absence of ministers in the House. He also stopped Qadir Khan Mandokhel from introducing a bill when he found that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan was not present in the House. Earlier, Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri said that several projects were in the pipeline for recovery and rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas.
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