While PTI legislators continued to protest Senator Azam Swati’s arrest and alleged torture, the Senate on Thursday passed four laws, one of which for the first time criminalised the torture of accused persons who are still in custody.
The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2022, which would protect people in custody from all acts of torture carried out by public officials, has already been approved by the National Assembly and could launch a long overdue reform process to ensure transparent investigations into any future allegations of torture and hold those responsible accountable.
Additionally, it is noted that Pakistan has ratified both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention Against Torture, both of which guarantee the dignity of anyone who has been detained.
Any public employee who engages in, aids, or abets the use of torture will be penalised under the bill, which, after receiving the president’s approval, will become law, with the same penalties as those outlined in Chapter XVI of the Pakistan Penal Code. The offence must be a cognizable one that cannot be compounded or bailed.
One of the provisions states that the punishment specified in section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code shall be applied to anyone who commits, assists in committing, or conspires to commit the crime of custodial death. The measure also specifies a penalty for rapes committed while a person is in custody.
The house also approved the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill, which was moved through on a supplementary agenda, as well as the Criminal Laws (amendment) Bill, which sought to further reform the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
The inter-governmental commercial transactions bill seeks to establish a framework for conducting business transactions between governments in order to encourage, attract, and promote foreign states to engage in economic and commercial relations with Pakistan.
Following the reading from the Holy Quran, the opposition legislators who had been denied the chance to speak gathered near to the Senate chairman’s dais and began screaming anti-government and “Free Mr. Swati” chants.
The chair promised to give time to PTI lawmakers to speak after disposing of items of the agenda, but soon after the passage of the four bills, adjourned the House proceedings to meet again on Friday.
The PTI senators continued their protest and tore apart copies of the agenda.
In a related development, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman surprised many by seeking issuance of Mr Swati’s production orders.
“Leaving aside likes and dislikes, including partisan divides, production orders should be issued for all parliamentarians, including Senator Swati. Citizens, too, should not be arrested or “disappeared” and be produced before magistrates in 24 hours,” she tweeted.
