President ratifies 31 bills passed in joint sitting of Parliament

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Wednesday ratified 31 bills passed during the joint sitting of Parliament on November 17, including the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill.

The bills

1. The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021

2. The Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021

3. The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2021

4. The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-Consideration) Bill, 2021

5. The SBP Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021

6. The Corporate Restructuring Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021

7. COVID-19 (Prevention of Hoarding) Bill, 2021

8. The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021

9. The Islamabad Capital Territory Charities Registration, Regulation and Facilitation Bill, 2021

10. The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2021

11. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2021

12. The Federal Public Service Commission (Validation of Rules), Bill, 2021

13. The Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes Amendment Bill, 2021

14. The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021

15. The Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Bill, 2021, The Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2021

16. The Pakistan Academy of Letters (Amendment) Bill, 2021

17. The Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021

18. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021

19. The Maritime Security Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2021

20. The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021

21. The Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) (Amendment) Bill, 2021

22. The University of Islamabad Bill, 2021

23. The Al-Karam International Institute Bill, 2021

24. The National College of Arts Institute Bill, 2021

25. The Hyderabad Institute for Technology and Management Sciences Bill, 2021

26. Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill, 2021

28. The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2021

29. The Unani, Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Practitioners (Amendment) Bill, 2021

30. The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 

31. The Muslim Family Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021

President 'happy' to sign historic bill for journalists

Addressing a ceremony where he gave his assent to the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill to safeguard the rights of working journalists, President Arif Alvi said he was "very happy" to sign the "historic bill".

The president signed the legislation at a ceremony attended by cabinet ministers and a large number of journalists and media professionals.

The bill focuses on protecting lives of journalists, saving them from harassment and torture and ensuring their welfare by giving facilities of life and health insurance.

The president said for the last 60-70 years, journalists had raised issues, after which, mafias of all kinds killed, harassed and tortured them.

The president underlined the need for a culture of tolerance for journalists because they were only doing reporting and disseminating information.

President Alvi said he was informed that a consensus was built among the stakeholders on the bill. “Everybody is unanimous in protecting the rights of journalists,” he said.