NA passes Protection of Pakistan Amendment Bill 2014

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Monday passed Protection of Pakistan Amendment Bill 2014 amid strong protest from the opposition benches.

The bill was approved in the absence of members representing the opposition.

The Protection of Pakistan bill 2014 also contains provisions from the 2013 bill.

The bill states that special courts will be established for disposing of cases against terrorists while joint investigation teams (JITs) will undertake probe into the terror-related cases.

Under the new bill, a person declared convict by a court could be kept in any prison of the country.

The opposition members staged a strong protest against the bill, tearing up its copies and throwing them on the floor.

They also refused to propose amendments to the bill and walked out of the lower house in protest. Those legislators who staged the walkout also included members from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), which is one of the allies of the incumbent government.

Earlier, Shahida Akhtar of JUI-F presented the amendment bill for approval.