June 01, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1428

LAHORE, May 31: Jamaat-i-Islami MNA Farid Ahmad Piracha has said that 35 MNAs of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal have moved the National Assembly in an amendment bill which seeks to change articles 9 and 10 of the Constitution in a manner as to ensure additional safeguards against the government authority to arrest and detain a citizen.

Mr Piracha told a news conference here on Thursday that the MMA was engaged in lobbying within the opposition groups and treasury legislators to gather their support for the bill.

Articles 9 and 10 are part of the Constitution’s chapter on fundamental rights which begins with the assurance that the liberty of citizens is inviolable. The article 9 concerns with the security of persons and provides that no person shall be deprived of life and liberty save in accordance with the law. The article 10 enshrines safeguards against arbitrary arrests or detention.

Mr Piracha said the Constitution should contain sufficient safeguards against violating the liberty of citizens. He said intelligence agencies were prone to committing accesses and the case of missing persons was an example. He said the amendments sought to make heads of agencies accountable to superior courts.

Quoting the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, he said it provided for a three-month detention. He said the bill sought to amend the article 10 in a way as to curtail the period to 30 days and make the government liable to inform the detainee the reasons for his detention within 24 hours and inform the family accordingly within seven days.

As for article 9, Mr Piracha said, it was sought to be amended in a way as to inform the high court of the detainee’s province about the arrest and he or she could not be handed over to any other country without the prior permission of the high court.

He said intelligence agencies exploited the law concerned in the absence of an accountability mechanism and in case the amendment was carried the head of the agency would be proceeded against for violation of safeguards.