Resolution passed for moon sighting issue

Narcotics law amended to set up special courts

PESHAWAR:

With the province long embroiled over observing two Eids due to a conflict over sighting the moon, which signifies the beginning of the new month in the Islamic calendar, lawmakers on Monday decided to take the first step to conclusively end the controversy once and for all.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution which empowers the parliament to resolve the longstanding issue of sighting the moon in the province.

The assembly also approved amendments to the narcotics control law which will allow the government to set up special narcotics courts.

In its session on Monday, the assembly approved a resolution on the K-P Anti-Narcotics (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020.

The special courts will be established across the province while their powers will be determined after consulting with the Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice.

The amendment suggests that anyone held for their alleged involvement in a narcotics case cannot secure bail until it is approved by the special courts. Moreover, any vehicle or equipment used for drug smuggling can be confiscated.

Moreover, it will be imperative for owners of vehicles to know what their vehicles are being used for. Matters relating to impounding vehicles will be reviewed separately.

The K-P Excise and Taxation Department will delegate these powers to certain police stations after consultation with the provincial home ministry. All such police stations will be renamed as excise police stations and will be headed by officers who have the rank of excise assistants.

The police have been also been given legal cover for all anti-narcotics actions it has carried out since September 2019.

Further, to end the moon-sighting conflict, that has prevailed in the province for long, the K-P assembly handed over the decision power to the parliament.

A resolution in this regard was tabled by the K-P Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan and was approved unanimously

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2020.