December 16, 2002	Monday	Shawwal 11, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: President Gen Pervez Musharraf, apart from issuing a plethora of Constitutional Amendments in the form of LFO, has issued 297 Ordinances during the last three years, starting with the NAB Ordinance and ending at amending the Anti- Terrorism Act, a review of the legislations revealed.

The parliament, if agreed to validate all the legislations made during the last three-year military rule, would have to accept a totally mutilated Constitution and the nearly 300 ordinances, which had eroded the liberties of the citizens guaranteed by the 1973 Constitution.

Mr Musharraf, after the military takeover on Oct 12, 1999, started using his legislative powers by issuing the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999, on Nov 16, 1999.

The NAB law, at the petition of Khan Asfandyar Wali, had for the first time empowered the authorities to keep a citizen behind bars for investigations for continuous 90 days.

The Supreme Court had held that prolonged detention of an accused without sufficient cause for the detention was tantamount to curbing the personal liberties of the citizens guaranteed under the Constitution.

The apex court had ruled that no accused could be detained for a term exceeding 15 days at a time and if sufficient and reasonable cause appeared for further remand, after the expiry of first 15 days, the accused should be brought before the court for further remand which could not be more than 15 days.

The law, though amended as directed by the Supreme Court, was continued to be misused and its selective application continued through out the three-year rule.

The military ruler also amended Anti-Terrorism Act on Nov 16, 2002, under which the law was amended to allow the police to detain a suspect for up to a year without any charge.

The government had also amended the law providing that even burning of tyres by the protesters was also a form of terrorism.

The president trampled more on the personal liberties of the citizens than any of the military rulers in the past. President Ayub Khan, the first military ruler, had promulgated Maintenance of Public Order law, allowing the executive authorities to detain a citizen for one month without giving any reason. The law, however, was made applicable to his family when he was no longer in power.

The Supreme Court in its judgment about the 1999 military takeover, had empowered the chief executive of Pakistan only to legislate “for the ordinary, orderly running of the State”.

Interestingly most of the laws were promulgated at the fag end of the military government. In the year 2002, 135 ordinances were issued with nearly 100 during the two months of Oct and Nov.

The ordinances issued in 2002, were The Employees’ Old Age benefits (Amendment) Ord; The National Training (Amendment) Ord; The Import and Export (Control) (Amendment) Ord; The Unani’ Ayurvedic & Homeopathic Practitioners (Amendment); The Protection of Communal Properties of Minorities, Ord; The Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ord; The Chief Election Commissioner Salary, Allowances & Privileges (Amendment) Ord; The Electoral Rolls (Amendment) Ord; The Customs (amendment) Ord; The President’s Salary, Allowances & Privileges (Amendment) Ord; The President’s Pension (Amendment) Ord; The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ord; The ICT Compulsory Primary Education Ord; The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment); The Sales Tax (Amendment) Ord; The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority Ord; The Customs (Amendment) Ord; The Removal from Service (Special Powers) (Amendment) Ord; The National Education Foundation Ord; The Prime Minister’s Salary, Allowances & Privileges (Amendment) Ord; The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ord; The Public Debt (Amendment) Ord; The Sales Tax (Amendment) Ord; The Small Claims & Minor Offence Courts Ord; The Finance Ord; The Representations of People (Amendment) Ord; The National Commission for Human Development Ord; The Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Ord; The Safeguard Measures Ord; The Removal from Service (Special Powers) (2nd Amendment) Ord; The General Clause (Amendment) Ord; The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Ord; The Zakat & Ushr (Amendment) Ord; The Transfer of Offenders Ord; The Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority Ord; The Chairman & Speaker (Salaries, Allowances & Privileges) (Amendment) Ord; The Deputy Chairman & Deputy Speaker (Salaries, Allowances & Privileges) (Amendment) Ord; The National Guards (Amendment) Ord; The Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Ord; The Foreigners (Amendment) Ord; The Representation of People (3rd Amendment) Ord; The Pakistan Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Ord; The Federal Public Service Commission (Amendment) Ord; The Senate Election (Amendment) Ord; The Electronic Transaction Ord; The Virtual University Ord; The Higher Education Commission Ord; The National Institute of Fold & Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) Ord; The Family Courts (Amendment) Ord; The Defamation Ord; The ICT Local Government Elections Ord; The Centres Laws (Amendment) Ord; The Prevention & Control of Human Trafficking Ord; The ADBP (Reorganization & Conversion Ord; The Unani Ayurvedic & Homeopathic Practitioners (2nd Amendment) Ord; The Health Services Academy Ord; The National Institute of Health (Amendment) Ord; The Cotton Standardization Ord; The Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances & Privileges) (Amendment) Ord; The Probation of Offenders (Amendment) Ord; The Law Reports (Amendment) Ord; The Official Secrets (Amendment) Ord; The Companies Profits (Workers Participation) (Amendment) Ord; The Law Commission (Amendment) Ord; The National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee Ord; The Establishment of the Office of Wafaqi Mohatasib (Ombudsman) (Amendment) Ord ; The Islamabad Transfusion of Safe Blood Ord; The Prohibition of Smoking & Perfection of Non-smokers Health Ord; The Cigarettes (printing of Warning ) (Amendment) Ord; The Riphah International University Ord; The Gwadar Port Authority Ord; The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Board (Amendment) Ord; The Code of Criminal Procedure (2nd Amendment) Ord; The Cantonments Local Government (Elections) Ord; The Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation Ord; The Senate Election (2nd Amendment) Ord; The Representation of the People (4th Amendment) Ord; The Karachi Port Security Force Ord; The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ord; The Criminal Laws Reform Ord; The National Fund for Cultural Heritage (Amendment) Ord; The Foundation University Ord; The Marking of Petroleum Products (Federal Control) (Repeal) Ord; The Baitul Mal (Amendment) Ord; The Industrial Relation Ord; The Railway Regulatory Authority Ord; The Protection of Breast Feeding and Child Nutrition Ord; The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Ord; The Patients (Amendment) Ord; The Freedom of Information Ord; The Press Council of Pakistan Ord; The Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ord; The National School of Public Policy Ord; The Companies (Amendment) Ord; The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (Control and Prevention) (Amendment) Ord; The Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeover) Ord; The Provincial Employees, Social Security (Amendment) Ord; The Explosives (Amendment) Ord; The Removal From Service (Special Powers) (3rd Amendment) Ord; The Air University Ord; The Motion Pictures (Amendment) Ord; The Federal Investigation Agency (Amendment) Ord; The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Ord; The Banking Companies (Amendment) Ord; The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Ord; The Transfer of Railways (Amendment) Ord; The Aga Khan University Examination Board Ord; The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Ord; The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ord; The Islamabad Capital Territory Agricultural Produce Market Ord; The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Requisition of Civil Transport Ord; The Companies (2nd Amendment) Ord; The National Textile University Ord; The Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ord; The Pakistan Postal Services Management Board Ord; The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Amendment) Ord; The Pakistan Engineering Council (Amendment) Ord; The Civil Servants (Amendment) Ord; The Code of Criminal Procedure (3rd Amendment) Ord; The Representation of the People (5th Amendment) Ord; The National Accountability Bureau (Amendment) Ord, The Anti- terrorism (2nd Amendment) Ord.