NA panel passes NACTA (Amendment) Bill, 2017

Also approves Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015

After sailing through the Senate, the ‘National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017’ was also passed by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics on Friday, which was moved by MNA Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.

The bill seeks amendment in Sections 6 and 8, Act XIX 2013.

The committee also passed the ‘Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 seeking to amend the law for enhancing compensation payment to victims of traffic accidents, travelling in public transport vehicles.

Ever since the NACTA act was passed in 2013, the board of governors - headed by the prime minister and consisting of about 25 members - has not met even once, according to a statement.



The NACTA’s board of governors is a policy-making and review body, it stated, adding it would meet whenever necessary (at least once a year). The existing provision that the board of governors must meet every quarter is unrealistic, but not for the NACTA’s executive body.

The NACTA’s executive committee, which is the implementing body, should be required to meet at regular intervals. It is not mentioned in the existing law how often should the executive committee meet. This has left a lacuna in the law.

A senior NACTA official told the NA committee, chaired by MNA Rana Shamim Ahmad Khan, that not a single board meeting of NACTA’s board of governors has been held.



According to the existing provision in NACTA act, he said, it is not viable for the board of governors to meet every quarter due to its composition. “The Ministry of Interior supports NACTA (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which seeks board of governors of NACTA to meet whenever necessary, and at least once a year,” he said.

The committee also passed the ‘Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 moved by Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, which seeks to amend the law to enhance the compensation payment to victims of traffic accidents, who travel in public transport vehicles, to ensure insurance of public transport vehicles’ commuters by reputed insurance companies and banks and to facilitate constitution of medical panel authorised to check or certify medical health fitness of applicants or grantees of public transport vehicles.

The parliamentary body also discussed the ‘ICT Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017’ moved by MNA Shazia Marri, which seeks protection of children as well as ensures that children are not employed in vocations unsuited to their age.



The committee also discussed the ‘Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2017’, moved by Zahra Wadood Fatemi, seeking to fix strict penalties on people who kidnap/abduct children to use them for begging. The committee differed both the bills tell the next meeting.

On the issues raised by the members of the committee about provision of mobile registration vans for issuance of Computerised National Identity Cards and posting and transfers, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Deputy Chairman Syed Muzaffar Ali informed the committee that the authority has resolved majority of the issues.

MNAs Syed Javed Ali Shah, Ghalib Khan, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari, Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur, Khial Zaman Orakzai, Dr Arif Alvi, Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Naeema Kishwer Khan, Sher Akbar Khan, Fatemi and Marri and senior officials of the Ministry of Interior, NACTA, NADRA and district administration also attended the meeting.