Pakistan needs Pakistan Protection Bill: Farooq Sattar
"The bill was adopted by the Parliament in haste", says member of MQM Coordination Committee
KARACHI: (Dunya News) Deputy Convener Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) Dr. Farooq Sattar has said that though the Pakistan Protection Bill (PPB) was adopted in a hurry, it was a necessity in the given circumstances. Farooq Sattar said that Pakistan Army needed the Pakistan Protection Bill and therefore, MQM deemed it right to vote in favor of the bill.
While talking to the media today (Friday) Dr. Farooq Sattar said that MQM was the party that kept opposing this bill till the last moment but when it became essential to adopt the bill, MQM had to lend an arm. He termed this bill as a necessity of the Pakistan Armed forces.
Moreover, Dr. Farooq remarked that some clauses of the bill were in collision with the basic human rights that were guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan. “Pakistan Protection Bill gives unnecessary powers to the Law Enforcement Agencies”, observed Farooq Sattar.
Interestingly, Deputy Convener of the MQM also announced that his party was bringing a bill to amend some of the clauses of the Pakistan Protection Bill.
He reiterated his demand to hold Local Bodies Elections in the country. He said that devolution of powers to the local level was desperately needed. Dr. Farooq Sattar said that the 'clean drinking water crisis' in Karachi has also stemmed from the absence of local bodies system in the city.
MQM had voted in favor of the bill in the National Assembly last Wednesday (July 2, 2014). After the bill got passed, MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain, had termed it as a Draconian Law during his speech on Sunday (July 6). Altaf Hussain had said that the bill was passed in haste. He demanded the Pakistan Protection Bill to end when the operation in Waziristan ends.
The bill has come under heavy criticism ever since it was tabled in April, 2014. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had torn the copies of the bill apart on the floor of the house while Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) head Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the consequences of this bill in a tweet.
"If #PPO passes in its current form one day PM NS will be arrested using it. I hope the senate does the right thing and does not let it pass.", Bilawal had tweeted. However, PPP voted in favor of the bill. "The PPP will observe this law for two years", said Khursheed Shah, a veteran PPP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) abstained from participating in the voting process. PTI had staged a walkout instead.
