Senator Ali Zahoor, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice chaired the meeting which was held in the Parliament on Monday (16 August). Senator Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem, Minister for Law and Justice, moved the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which received a majority vote after appropriate deliberation.
Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar believes that in the existence of the capital penalty, there is no need to imprison offenders for the rest of their natural lives, as this would place an unwarranted financial strain on the national budget.
Senator Musadiq Malik believes that giving offenders the death penalty is preferable to holding them in prison for the remainder of their lives. Medical expenses incurred because of the comorbidities of elderly convicts will be borne entirely by taxpayers.
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar suggested that the bill should be focused on creating a deterrent. He went on to say that the certainty of punishment is more deterrent than the intensity of punishment. To lower the number of people awaiting trial, the criminal justice system should be improved.
Federal Minister Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem said that the number of offenders arrested under this rule will be tiny, and the expense will be minimal.
The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill 2021 was also briefly discussed by committee members.
The deliberations of the bill were postponed by the Standing Committee, which stated that this is critical legislation that should be presented in its final form as soon as possible.
The committee meeting was attended by the following People:
- Senator Syed Shibli Faraz
- Azam Khan Swati
- Azam Nazeer Tarar
- Kamran Murtaza
- Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar
- Walid Iqbal
- Manzoor Ahmed Kakar
- Musadik Malik
- Samina Mumtaz
- Federal Minister for Law and Justice Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem
- Senior officials from the Ministry of Law and Justice.
