ISLAMABAD - The Upper House of the Parliament Friday passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2011 to further amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 that provides sufficient punishments to curb the practices of oil and gas theft as well as pilferage and destruction of oil and gas pipelines. The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill says that in order to maintain and ensure the smooth supply of oil and gas and functioning of its pipelines and facilities akin thereto, it is expedient to create a comprehensive legislative instrument which can curb the practices of oil and gas theft and pilferage and abuse of lawful connections of oil and gas through numerous means. The Bill provides adequate punishment appropriate with the gravity of offences, to halt damage or destruction of oil and gas pipelines by acts of subversion and to protect the assets of national significance which are duly defied herein, this law is hereby enacted, further describes the statement. The House also adopted the two reports of the Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy) (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Bill, 2011 for further recommendations to the National Assembly. Senator Ishaq Dar on behalf of Chairman of the Senate Committee Ahmed Ali moved the reports in the House to have its census over the recommendations made by the committee for incorporation in the bill to NA. The three lawmakers, Ishaq Dar of PML-N, Dr Safdar Abbasi of PPP and Azam Khan Swati of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI F), both opined that both the bills did not come in the domain of money bill adding that under the Constitution, Senate had no powers to change the status of these two bills as the National Assembly had declared these as money bills. Furthermore, Dr Safdar Abbasi, who gave his dissent note on the two bills, said that these were introduced without the approval of the cabinet as envisaged under rule 27(5) of the Rules of Business of the House, 1973. Chairman Senate Farooq Naek remarked that Constitution had given the powers to the Speaker National Assembly to declare any bill that whether it was a money bill or not. In addition to that, the House also passed the National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2010 moved by Leader of the House Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari to further amend the NADRA Ordinance, 2000. The Senate Chairman also referred the National University of Modern Languages, (Amendment) Bill, 2011 to make changes in NUML Ordinance 2000 to the concerned committee for further recommendations before the House was adjourned san die.