ISLAMABAD: Presi­dent Asif Ali Zardari has given assent to a controversial bill passed by the both houses of parliament to ‘regulate’ public gatherings in Islamabad, making it a law within less than a week after it first landed in the Senate.

Aimed to empower the district magistrate to regulate and ban public gatherings in Islamabad, the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024’ was tabled in the upper house on Sept 2, approved by the standing committee concerned on Sept 3 and passed by the Senate on Sept 5 after suspension of rules in a move seen by the opposition as “tyranny of fake majority”.

The bill was then rushed through the National Assembly on Sept 6 amidst the opposition’s outcry and given assent by the president within hours.

Under the constitution, the president has 10 days to sign a bill passed by the parliament or refer it back to the parliament for reconsideration. The law prescribes a punishment of up to three years or/and an unspecified fine to the members of an “unlawful assembly”.

“Whoever having been convicted by a court in Pakistan of an offence punishable under this Act with imprisonment for a term of three years or more shall for every subsequent offence be liable to imprisonment for a term that may extend to ten years,” it reads.

The law requires event coordinator of an assembly to apply in writing to the district magistrate at least seven days before the intended date of the event. “Upon receipt of application, the district magistrate before granting permission shall examine the prevailing law and order situation and obtain security clearance reports from law enforcement agencies,” the law provides.

It also empowers the government to designate a specific area of the Islamabad capital territory as a ‘red zone’ or ‘high security zone’, thereby prohibiting all types of assemblies in that area. It defines an assembly as “any public or political gathering, rally, sit-in or procession of more than 15 persons in or on any public road or any other public place or premises wholly or partly open to the air”.

‘Law aimed to fail PTI’s power show’

The opposition lawmakers in both houses of parliament have already rejected what they called ‘PTI-specific law’ as mala fide aimed to preempt its Sept 8 power show in Islamabad.

Leader of the opposition in the Senate Senator Shibli Faraz while talking to Dawn said the indecent haste in passage of the bill from both houses of the parliament and the assent accorded by the President prove the law was PTI specific.

He said both houses of parliament were continuously being used by the government which came into power by stealing PTI’s mandate, to protect its political and personal interests.

He said the law, which was against the fundamental rights of peaceful gatherings and freedom of expression, showed the government was scared of the ever-increasing popularity of the opposition party.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024