Islamabad, October 22, 2021 (PPI-OT):A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held at Parliament House on Friday. Chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz; the meeting was attended by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Senator Fawzia Arshad, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood, Senator Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti and senior officers from the Ministry of Interior, FIA and the Punjab Police.
The Committee, in the meeting, took up various Suo Moto notices taken up by Chairman Committee Senator Mohsin Aziz and those referred to the Committee by other sources. The FIA and the Punjab Police briefed the Committee of the cases that were referred to them by the Committee.
These organizations also informed the Committee of the challenges in terms of funding and scarce Human Resource. FIA stressed the need for revamping the Organization in order to reduce rate of pendency of cases.
The Committee asserted that despite shortage of Human Resource and other issues faced by law enforcement agencies, the Committee was of the view that a mechanism to ensure timely reportage and case disposal must be devised.
The Committee while reviewing the status of recommendations was of the view that tenure security must be provided to ensure progress on cases. This is the only way to improve the system of justice in the country.
The Committee while discussing the suicide case of a human trafficking suspect showed concern regarding the possibility of custodial killing. It recommended in-depth investigation of the matter to bridge gaps.
While taking up the multi billion rupees corruption scandal in HASCOL, the Committee stressed the need for expediting the case and devising a system to ensure speedy justice.
The Committee was of the view that law enforcement and intelligence agencies must identify assets of culprits and ensure that these are not disposed off or transferred. It was asserted that in most cases it has been observed that after garnering a hefty amount a settlement of five percent of the embezzled amount is made, this must be strongly discouraged.
The Committee stressed the need to disclose the names of big wigs involved in the case and putting them on the ECL. Directions for a detailed briefing, within two months were issued. The same ruling was given for the case of financial bungling in Caymen Islands against a major Bank in Pakistan.
Deliberating the case of issuance of fake identity cards, the Committee was informed that 103 aliens were identified and out of 41 nominated, 22 including 11 NADRA officials have been arrested. The matter is being investigated. The Committee was of the view that in such cases law enforcement must initiate crackdowns on facilitators.
Discussing the case of overstay of a Somalian National in Islamabad, the Committee was informed that her visa had been extended. The Committee directed that details of the case be reviewed minutely and a report be submitted to the Committee.
Reviewing the Suo Moto case taken up by Chairman Committee Senator Mohsin Aziz regarding the viral video of a dog attack on a poor balloon selling boy that was initiated deliberately by the dog owner, the Committee was of the view that if no concrete development is seen, the case must be referred to the Court.
It was asserted that laws need to be amended to ensure justice within stipulated time.
Reviewing the case of sectarian violence in Daska on a procession on the occasion of Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) that was referred to the Committee by Chairman Senate, the Committee listened to the stakeholders and watched a video of the attack.
The Punjab Police identified certain issues that contributed to the attack. Deliberating over the case minutely the Committee was of the view that despite issues that were highlighted by the police, no one has the right to attack another human being. It was asserted that in times of high security risk, procession must avoid new routes to ensure remaining within the ambit of security forces assigned for this purpose.
The Punjab Police was directed to probe the case thoroughly and ensure that perpetrators were taken to task. The Committee ordered an inquiry against the SHO present at the venue of attack. Discussing cases that were related to age old animosities the need to beef up Human Intelligence for proactive action was stressed.
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