ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday congratulated the coalition partners on the passage of crucial FATF-related bills and said that today is a big day for the government. Imran Khan said that the political leaders are not worried for the betterment of Pakistan, adding that the blackmailing attempts were made during the legislation. “The 34 amendments to the NAB law presented by the opposition is meant to bury the anti-graft watchdog,” he added. Regarding coronavirus, PM Imran said that the opposition was advising me to impose India-like lockdown. The opposition should have applauded the government for getting out of the COVID-19 situation. PM Khan went on to say that even the World Health Organization (WHO) is advising the world to learn Coronavirus policy from Pakistan.
The Joint sitting of the Parliament on Wednesday passed three bills to meet the requirements of Financial Action Task Force to bring the country out of its grey list. The bills moved by Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan, include: “The Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill” and “The Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020”, while “The Anti-Terrorism (Third Amendment) Bill, 2020 was tabled by Faheem Khan. According to the statement of subjects and reasons, “The Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill, 2020” is aimed at proper management, supervision, and administration of Waqf properties in the territorial limits of Islamabad Capital Territory. “The Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020” is aimed at streamlining the existing anti money laundering law in line with international standards prescribed by FATF. It reflects government’s firm resolve to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering regime.“The Anti-Terrorism (Third Amendment) Bill, 2020” is essential to address the issue of terror financing, one of the major obstacles which is not only playing a degrading role against the development of the country but also imbuing such elements with the financial means which are an ultimate threat to the internal and external peace of the country. It enables the law enforcement authorities to take certain encountering techniques with an authoritative support of the courts of law to curb terror financing. The Joint sitting also passed “The Surveying and Mapping (Amendment) Bill, 2020” and “The Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2019”. Major objective of “The Surveying and Mapping (Amendment) Bill, 2020” is to stop and prohibiting printing, displaying, dissemination or using incorrect and unofficial map of Pakistan. “The Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2019” is aimed at increasing the number of judges in IHC from seven to ten, including the Chief Justice to overcome difficulties of the litigant public qua early disposal of long pending cases.