Senate passes contempt of court bill despite opposition

The Senate passed the contempt of Court Act, 2012 that was tabled by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Farooq H Naik on Wednesday.
The bill has been passed a day before Supreme Court hearing into NRO implementation case where Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is likely to inform the court whether he is going to write a letter to Swiss authorities or otherwise.
The bill is aimed at protecting the prime minister against the same fate his predecessor met under contempt court charges.
PML-N senators in protest to the bill staged a walkout. Earlier during the Senate session, PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar said his party strongly opposed the bill calling it a “slap on our faces.”
Dar added that even if the bill was approved, the PML-N would try to ensure that it might not remain part of the constitution.
National Party Vice President Hasil Bizenjo said the contempt bill should be sent to the standing committee for debate. Meanwhile, concern over the bill was also voiced by PPP Senators Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani.
Rabbani said there was a possibility that the Supreme Court would declare some clauses of the bill as unlawful.
Earlier, during the debate on the bill, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said the government should review the draft of the Contempt of Court Bill as the law made in haste could be harmful for the government.
“The proposed law is giving immunity to the president and the PM but we must not forget that the situation will change when the party will be in sitting in the opposition,” he said.
Senators Raza Rabbani also opposed the bill. He said if the courts were moved in the future, it would be said that the PPP government passed this law.