Senate passes bill to resolve common landlord, tenant conflicts

Upper house seeks CII’s opinion to decide whether suicide attempt can be classified as mental disorder

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate on Monday passed three bills, including the Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2021, aimed at resolving issues between landlords and tenants without unnecessary delay.

The bill, introduced by Senator Mohsin Aziz, was unanimously passed after a clause-by-clause ready by Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani.

Aziz said the amendment would help resolve the issue of prolonged litigation due to some flaws in certain tenancy laws, and will provide relief to the petitioners at the earliest.

“This bill will be useful in early evacuation of any rented premises and put it on next lease after expiry of the tenancy agreement,” he said.

The upper house also unanimously approved the The Trade (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to amend the Trade Organisations Act, 2013. It also passed another bill titled The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment), Bill, 2021, moved by Senator Shahadat Awan, amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

It held a thorough debate on a bill meant to amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989, eventually referring them to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for its views.

The amendment classified a suicide attempt as a “sickness” and not a “crime”, suggesting a proper treatment instead of punishment.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan was of the view that suicide was ‘forbidden’ in Islam, and due to the sensitivity of the issue, the proposed amendment needed further “in-depth evaluation”.

Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem said that the proposed amendment equated suicide with mental disorder and suggested that no punishment be imposed on the person attempting suicide.“There are a lot of ifs and buts, so its thorough evaluation is needed through scientific and religious aspects,” he said, seeking the point of view of religious scholars and scientific experts.

Later, Senator Faisal Javed requested the upper house to withdraw the bill to amend the Federal Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1997. He informed the Senate that the relevant authorities had assured the Standing Committee concerned that the FPSC rules would be changed as per the spirit of the proposed amendment, so there was no need for an amendment in the bill.

He said that the amendment was aimed at evaluating jobs in the FPSC and ensuring merit, and the concerned authorities had assured to bring the required procedural changes in the relevant rules. In due course of time, Faisal Javed said, he would bring a “comprehensive bill” mainly to ensure merit in FPSC.

The upper house also referred a bill, moved by Senators Seemee Ezdi, Khalida Ateeb and Mushahid Hussain Sayed that was meant for the establishment of Pakistan Psychological Council [The Pakistan Psychological Council Bill, 2021], to the Standing Committee concerned for further deliberation.

Earlier, three bills, including amendment to the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 [The Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021],  amendment in the Registration Act, 1908 [The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2021], and amendment in the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 [The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021, were introduced and referred to the standing committees concerned for evaluation of the debate.