The Senate Standing Committee on Interior demanded a detailed report on Wednesday regarding the appearance of a militant Islamic State (IS) group flag on the outskirts of Islamabad last week.

Senator Mukhtiar Ahmed Dhamra expressed concern over the security situation in the country, saying that former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar had denied the presence of IS in the country, yet the group's flag appeared in the federal capital.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, however, reiterated Nisar's stance and told the committee that a special investigation team had been formed to probe the incident.

"We have been informed that the flag was put up to distract [the government]," he claimed.

Senator Javed Abbasi also brought up a recent news report according to which some members of Parliament were allegedly in contact with terrorist organisations.

Chaudhry responded in the negative, saying that the IB had denied the news.

'Ending punishment for attempted suicide'

The Senate committee also passed a bill proposing to end punishment for attempted suicide.

Attempted suicide, which is a criminal offence in the Pakistan Penal Code, could lead to a year's sentence in jail with or without fine.

Under the proposed amendment, the punishment for attempted suicide would be ended.