Daily Times

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, convened on Thursday at Parliament House to pass important bills and discuss public safety concerns.

The committee approved several significant pieces of legislation, including the National Forensic Agency Bill 2024, aimed at establishing a national forensic agency to improve criminal investigations. Other bills passed include amendments to the Provincial Motor Vehicles Bill, Factories Bill, Payment of Wages Bill, and Islamabad Rent Restriction Bill, each targeting critical updates in road safety, workplace standards, wage transparency, and rental agreements. The Criminal Laws Amendment Bill was also passed to strengthen the criminal justice system.

Several other bills were deferred or referred for further consideration, including the Pakistan Penal Code Amendment Bill, the Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Amendment Bill, the Shamilat Land Protection Bill, and the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill, among others. Committee members requested input from various ministries and departments for further review of these measures. The committee addressed public safety issues raised by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, who advocated for allowing the general public equal access to tinted car windows as a security measure. Rising street crime and armed robbery incidents in Islamabad were also discussed, with the chairman calling for a report on crime rates and response measures.