Senate committee approves bill abolishing colonial-era sedition law
ISLAMABAD – The Senate Standing Committee for Interior has unanimously approved a bill proposing revocation of a British colonial-era sedition law Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
Senator Mian Raza Rabbani introduced the bill during the committee’s meeting chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
The bill was first proposed by Senator Rabbani in February 2020, saying that Section 124-A is part of the inherited colonial structure of governance.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the bill was on the hold for long, adding that there was no need of such laws now. He said a single member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has also suspended it.
A representative of the Ministry of Law said that the government had filed an appeal against the LHC ruling, adding that the parliamentary proceedings should be stopped till a decision of the high court.
In March this year, a single-judge bench of the LHC declared the sedition law unconstitutional, saying the verdict will be applicable across the country until it is overturned by the Supreme Court.
Senator Mian Raza Rabbani introduced the bill during the committee’s meeting chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
The bill was first proposed by Senator Rabbani in February 2020, saying that Section 124-A is part of the inherited colonial structure of governance.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the bill was on the hold for long, adding that there was no need of such laws now. He said a single member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has also suspended it.
A representative of the Ministry of Law said that the government had filed an appeal against the LHC ruling, adding that the parliamentary proceedings should be stopped till a decision of the high court.
In March this year, a single-judge bench of the LHC declared the sedition law unconstitutional, saying the verdict will be applicable across the country until it is overturned by the Supreme Court.