New Delhi: A controversial new bill has pitted Pakistan’s Opposition, lawyers and human rights organisations against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government. The new bill, ‘The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024,’ passed Tuesday seeks to regulate public protests in Islamabad and saw heated arguments in the Senate. The bill would help formulate “the first law in the country on holding peaceful protests and gatherings,” Dawn reported.
Tabled in the Senate on Monday, the bill has quickly become a flashpoint in the ongoing political struggle between the government and Opposition groups since it comes ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)’s Islamabad jalsa on 8 September. Human rights organisations, too, have condemned the bill, calling it “a violation of rights under Article 16”.
The bill aims to curb rampant protests in Islamabad, which, according to the incumbent government, have become a point of concern for the citizens, the government, and the foreign diplomats residing in the city.
What is the bill about?
Proposed by Irfan-ul-Haque Siddiqui of the PML-N, the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill seeks to grant city officials in Islamabad sweeping powers to regulate, and in some cases ban, public rallies and gatherings. The proposed legislation would allow officials to designate certain areas as “red zones” or “high-security zones,” where public assemblies would be prohibited.
Additionally, it mandates that public gatherings occur only in pre-approved locations and adhere to specific times and routes. Illegal gatherings can invite up to three years in jail. Moreover, protesters will need to seek written permission from the District Magistrate a week before holding demonstrations.
“It will streamline the procedures for the grant of permission to hold political and non-political gatherings, earmark specific places for gatherings and also mentions punishments for illegal assemblies”, Dawn reported.
The bill was backed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement—Pakistan (MQM-P), and the Awami National Party (ANP). After Siddiqui introduced it, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani referred it to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, requesting a report on the bill within two days.
However, the introduction of this bill comes at a tense moment in Pakistan’s political landscape.
The PTI has accused it of being a direct attack on its political activities, calling it ‘PTI specific’. The Opposition’s concerns were amplified when the bill was swiftly approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, despite vigorous protests.
The government, however, maintains that the bill is not aimed at any particular political party.
Saleem Mandviwalla of the PPP defended it by highlighting the need to address the disruptions caused by frequent protests in the capital.
“They [the Opposition] will complain about anything the government brings to parliament regardless of its merits”, Al Jazeera reported Mandviwalla as saying.
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‘Authoritarian bill’
Lawyers and human rights activists have also weighed in on the implications of the bill.
Karachi-based lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told ThePrint that the government was showing its “authoritarian colours” by proposing such legislation.
“The basic difference between democracy and a dictatorial government is the provision of fundamental rights to its citizens. This move is highly condemnable for being squarely in violation of human values. Freedom of assembly and freedom of speech are also fundamental rights under the constitution,” he said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, too, condemned the bill saying that it “violates people’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly” under Article 16 of the Constitution.
“If passed, such a law is likely to be used not only against the political opposition, but also rights activists mobilizing around issues deemed contentious—or inconvenient—by the state”, it added in its statement on X.