ISLAMABAD - A constitutional petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday praying for annulling the Protection of Pakistan Amendment Bill for being ultra vires to the constitution.
Mahmmod Akhtar Naqvi, a social worker, has filed the petition under Article 184(3) of the constitution, making secretary ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, leader of the house through secretary National Assembly, leader of the opposition in the NA, speaker NA and Federal Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid as respondents.
The petitioner prayed to the apex court to annul the Protection of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2013-14 being ultra vires to the constitution. He further prayed to the apex court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the respondents under article 204 and Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003. He requested the court to summon the whole record of the said bill, tabled on the floor of the NA on April 7, 2014, besides summoning secretary law in person.
He submitted that the bill was against the 1996 verdict of Supreme Court as well as violation of the constitution as fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan had been affected through the said bill. He stated through this law, the citizens and litigants had been deprived of fair trial in the cases.
The National Assembly the other day approved the Pakistan Protection Bill amid strong volatile and noisy protests and walkout by the opposition parties, during which the opposition parties also tore the copies of the bill, and tried to access the speaker's dais.
The Pakistan Protection Bill 2013, Ordinance No.9 bill was presented in the assembly by Federal Minister of Science and Technology, Zahid Hamid, while opposition parties and government's coalition partner Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (Fazl) opposed the bill and walked out of the assembly.
Under the Pakistan Protection Bill, special courts would be formed to ensure the speedy trial of terrorism related cases, and any person convicted could be kept in any jail across the country and, joint interrogation team would investigate terrorism related cases.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan also announced the other day to challenge Protection of Pakistan Bill in Supreme Court.