ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill granting the armed forces and civil armed forces the power to detain suspects for up to three months.
A clause-by-clause approval was given to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024, incorporating amendments introduced by PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar on the recommendation of the standing committee.
Under the amendment to Section 11-EE(1), the armed forces or civil armed forces will be authorised to keep any person in preventive detention if involved in offences relating to national security, defence, public order, kidnapping for ransom, or target killing.
The detention period can be extended beyond three months under Article 10, with investigations to be carried out by a joint investigation team (JIT).
The JIT will include a police officer of SP rank, intelligence officials, members of the civil armed forces, the armed forces, and other law enforcement agencies. Naveed Qamar’s amendment to sub-clause 2 of Section 11-EE replaced the terms “reasonable complaint,” “credible information,” and “reasonable suspicion” with “solid evidence,” ensuring no person may be detained without concrete proof.
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The opposition opposed the motion to table the bill. PTI lawmaker Aliya Hamza questioned the urgency of passing the bill, saying it was introduced on August 11 and was being rushed through.
Fazlur Rehman opposes bill
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the legislation effectively made every citizen a suspect, giving the government unchecked powers to detain anyone without prior approval, forcing detainees to prove their innocence. “We do not support this bill,” he said.
Asifa Bhutto raises utility stores closure issue
PPP MNA Asifa Bhutto Zardari raised the issue of utility stores closures, seeking the government’s response. Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain said the federal cabinet had approved a right-sizing policy, adding that permanent employees of the Utility Stores Corporation would be accommodated and that matters had been settled in negotiations with workers.
Illegal occupation of government housing
Housing Minister Riaz Pirzada revealed that thousands of government residences across the country were under illegal occupation.
Since 2024, 742 houses in Islamabad and Lahore had been vacated, while 3,500 in Karachi remain occupied. From 2019 to date, 700 houses in Karachi have been vacated, and Rs40 million recovered from illegal occupants. Between 10 and 15 houses are being cleared daily, he said
Construction of 18 new dams
Water Resources Minister Moin Wattoo told the House that 18 new dams, costing Rs1.036 trillion, were under construction, fully funded by the federal government.
These will have a combined storage capacity of 8.23 million acre-feet and make 3.46 million acres of land cultivable, he said.
He said that the under-construction Diamer-Bhasha Dam alone will store 6.4 million acre-feet of water.
Provincial governments are working on 77 dam projects worth over Rs89.24 billion, while the federal government is planning 10 more dams, including those in Chiniot, Skardu, Wazirabad, Dadyal, Akhori and the Sindh Barrage, he said.