The Upper House of parliament on Wednesday passed two important bills paving the way for setting up an anti-terror body for coordinating and interacting with law enforcement agencies to curb rising terrorism and another for removing the restriction on election candidates to appear in person before returning officer for submission of their nomination papers.
“The National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill, 2013” was moved by Minister for Law and Justice Farooq H Naik. Under the bill, NACTA will be an independent body directly answerable to the prime minister.
Earlier, the bill was delayed time and again due to a tussle between two cabinet ministers, as Interior Minister Rehman Malik wanted to head the NACTA, while then minister for inter-provincial cooperation Mian Raza Rabbani said it should be under the prime minister.
The bill aims at establishing the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to unify and orchestrate national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism measures and provide for their more effective and efficient enforcement. It would play a pivotal role by coordinating with all law enforcement agencies in taking effective actions against those, who carry out acts of terrorism and extremism, besides preparing comprehensive national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies.
According to the bill, the authority will have a board of governors to be headed by the prime minister.
The members will include chief ministers of all provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, the prime minister of AJK, minister for law and justice, one senator to be recommended by the Senate chairman, one MNA to be recommended by the NA speaker, Ministry of Interior secretary, Inter-Services Intelligence DG, Intelligence Bureau DG, Military Intelligence DG, national coordinator, Federal Investigation Agency DG and the inspectors general of police of all provinces, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The headquarters of the authority will be at Islamabad and it may set up offices at other places across the country. The board may invite any person to the meeting on special invitation. The board will exercise all powers and functions of the authority and will provide strategic vision to approve policies and annual budget prepared by the authority.
The board will be assisted by an executive committee comprising the interior minister, secretaries for interior, law and justice, finance, defence, foreign affairs, national coordinator, the FATA additional chief secretary and chief secretaries of all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK, home secretaries in provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK as well as additional inspector general, in-charge of counter-terrorism departments of the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK.
All federal ministries and provincial departments including corporations, bodies, set ups, controlled or administered by or under the authority of federal or provincial governments shall provide information and data required for carrying out the purposes of the law.
Speaking on a point of order, Raza Rabbani said that before passing the bill, certain flaws must be removed. The authority of civilians had been compromised in the bill.
“The NACTA must be headed by a professional and experienced person whereas the bill is silent about professional competence of the head of the body. The bill does not specify the term of the head of NACTA. There is no provision to induct any professional in the proposed board of governors,” he added.
Replying to the points, Naik said the establishment of NACTA was essential to exterminate the menace of terrorism from the country.
“The (ISI) agency has been granted the role of clearance in the bill as the IB does not have required expertise in this regard. Flaws in the bill would be removed with the passage of time,” he added.
The Senate also unanimously passed ‘The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2013’, aiming to remove the restriction for election candidates to appear in person before returning officer for submission of their nomination papers.
The Bill was moved by Leader of the Opposition Ishaq Dar.
The bill cancels an earlier amendment in the Representation of the People Act 1976 and omission of Article 8EE of the Conduct of General Election Order 2002, under which all candidates were required to appear in person before the returning officer to file nomination papers.
Ishaq Dar said General Musharraf amended the Representation of the People Act 1976 to impede Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to take part in 2002 elections as both were abroad at that time.
Law Minister Farooq Naik said, “Musharraf did not want Benazir Bhutto to contest elections, therefore, he changed the laws. The bill carried greater importance in light of the uncertain security situation prevailing in the country due to which political leaders were receiving death threats. With this amendment, the ROPA 1976 will be restored to its pre 2002 position, enabling candidates to avoid coming before a returning officer if there is any threat or any other reason,” he added.
Senator Farhatullah Babar called for constitutional amendment to provide for a federal Constitutional Court to resolve constitutional issues, amendment to Article 184 to provide for appeals in suo motu cases and legislation under Article 191 to regulate the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court.
Speaking in the Senate on the issue of dual national judges, he said some such measures were necessary to maintain the balance between state organs “so vital for democracy”.
