NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Thursday passed ‘The Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2018’ with majority vote.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government also laid ‘Protection of Economic Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018’ and ‘Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018’ before the Lower House of Parliament.

The opposition strongly opposed ‘The Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2018’ and challenged the government regarding voting. In the voting process as many as 76 votes were bagged in the favour of the bill and 45 opposed it. The House also rejected the amendments presented by the opposition members.

According to ‘The Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2018,’ internationally engagements or attempts to engage in the smuggling of migrants shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years, but which shall not be less than three years and with fine up to one million rupees.

All offences under this bill shall be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable as construed by the code.

According to the objectives of bill, it makes it incumbent upon the government to ensure that those who engage in this inhuman crime are punished and that the rights of smuggled migrants are protected.

This bill has three important purposes: (a) prevention and combating of smuggling of migrants; (b) promotion and facilitation of national and international cooperation; and (c) protection of the rights of smuggled migrants.

According to ‘Protection of Economic Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, “Provided that no cash shall be deposited in an account of a citizen of Pakistan, resident in Pakistan unless that account holder is a filer as defined in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.”

Later, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Ali Raza Abadi said while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly that at first “our party was split into different parts, now the opposition leader in Sindh Assembly is being changed. We saw how the government was changed in Balochistan.”

“There is a clear-cut rule about the floor crossing and we will precede if it would happen. It is not banana republic.”

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a disgruntled member of PML-N, said that the President of Pakistan has forgotten what he had said about the corruption and money laundering. “Amnesty scheme is for money launders and corrupt people. Now, the President should withdraw this scheme.”

Another MQM member Sohail Mansoor Khawaja criticized the tax amnesty scheme and said that he is the highest tax payer in the country and the government had given Sitara-i-Imtiaz to him.

“Tax amnesty scheme is for non-filers, corrupt people and money launders. I will deliver speech in the House tomorrow (Friday) and will return Sitara-i-Imtiaz to the government,” he said.

While responding to MQM member, Captain Muhammad Safdar (retd) said that Sohial Manssor should not return Sitara-i-Imtiaz. He proposed to constitute a committee on amnesty scheme by including Sohial Mansoor in it to look into the matter.