Amendment bill for protection of heritage sites okayed

Senate panel rejects the one related to making bail a fundamental right

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Thursday took up several constitutional amendment proposals, rejecting the bill related to making bail a fundamental right but approving the one providing right of audience in provincial assemblies to the advisers of the chief ministers.

Under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Ali Zafar, who is also a barrister, the session proceedings started with first appreciating the efforts of Senator Sadia Abbasi that she has proposed some very important constitutional amendments before the committee, which are all concerning public interest.

Deliberating upon the proposal of inserting Article 38A, Chairman Zafar noted that there was no question about the fact that heritage sites were national assets, which had to be protected and preserved at all costs.

“Heritage sites are historical monuments which not only reflect a country’s history but also represent the culture of a nation and can be a huge tourist attraction,” he said. “Pakistan is blessed that it has plenty of such historical monuments and it is the responsibility of the citizens, the federation and provinces together to ensure their protection and preservation.”

Under the 18th Amendment, he said, the subject of heritage has been devolved upon each province but due to the lack of funds and technical know-how, heritage sites are being damaged due to human and natural causes.

He stated that it should be a constitutional duty of the state, therefore, to ensure safety and preservation of such sites.

Read Senate panel irked by minister’s absence

The chairman recommended that, as a matter of policy, the responsibility of protecting and preserving heritage sites should be shared by the federation with provincial governments.

He urged the committee members to consider the amendments proposed by a senator, which was approved unanimously.

The next bill that came under consideration was related to insertion of a new Article 17A.

Chairman Zafar commented that there should be no discrimination between the federation and provinces and if the federal advisers have the right to an audience in parliament, then similarly the advisers of the CMs should be able to attend sessions of the provincial assemblies. The amendment to the Constitution was therefore unanimously approved.

The committee then discussed and debated upon the constitutional amendment with regard to Article 9 of the Constitution and by majority noted that the right to bail is already guaranteed under it. In a plethora of cases, the superior courts have, time and again, extended the interpretation of Article 9 to include the right to bail. The majority view was that the proposed amendment would restrict Article 9, particularly with regard to the many other liberties like protection against bonded labour etc. Therefore, Article 9 should not be tampered with and, instead, the bail laws, as contained in the CrPC and the National Accountability Bureau laws, should be strengthened further to ensure the right to bail.