Bill on maritime zones wins Senate panel’s nod

PMZ-2023 consolidates sea, maritime zones law enabling dealing in accordance with national, international laws

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Monday unanimously approved the Pakistan Maritime Zones Bill, 2023 (PMZ-2023), which consolidated and amended the law relating to territorial sea and maritime zones of Pakistan.

The PMZ-2023 will enable Pakistan to deal with these matters in accordance with national and international laws, and assert its rights, jurisdiction, and sovereignty in sync with internationally accepted provisions, a statement said.

The Senate Standing Committee chaired by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed met at the Parliament House.

During the meeting, the committee received comprehensive briefing on the National University of Pakistan Bill, 2023. The proposed university will be a unique model and a public sector initiative with a multi-disciplinary scope.

It will focus on strengthening and empowering affiliated colleges and achieving excellence in the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the fields of natural and applied sciences, engineering and emerging technologies, management sciences, computing, social sciences, humanities and arts, and other such branches of knowledge.

The representatives from Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Ministry of Law voiced their support for the Bill. After due deliberation, the committee unanimously approved the bill.

The meeting was attended by Senator Walid Iqbal, Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Law, Pakistan Navy, and HEC.