Pakistan government seeks political parties' support to legislate new anti terrorism law

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif requested parliament support of a draft law aimed at strengthening the hands of law enforcement agencies against terrorists and ensuring the speedy disposal of cases by courts. In a letter to political parties on Saturday, the Pakistani premier said that the proposed legislation, dubbed 'Protection of Pakistan Ordinance 2013,' is meant to give a strong message to the organized crime and anti-state elements regarding the will and determination of the state and the people to face and eliminate all challenges to national integrity and sovereignty. The government has promulgated two ordinances in as many weeks to further tighten the noose around militants. In the new ordinance, the minimum punishment for terrorists involved in various crimes has been set at 10-year imprisonment. The prime minister said that a team of legal and security experts had worked diligently to ensure that the new law was in complete consonance with the constitution of Pakistan. Sharif, with a view to the potential unfolding events in post-2014 Afghanistan, said that the Federal Government considered it imperative to put in place a legal mechanism for intervention to protect the right and liberty of the common man as well as the sovereignty and integrity of the state. The neighbouring troubled Afghanistan would face a major transition, as foreign forces will leave the country at the end of 2014. He said the organized mafia was roaming free due to the legal vacuum created by constant tampering with different legislations, over an extended period of time. The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has rejected the new ordinance terming it "an assault on the fundamental rights" of citizens. In latest developments, Sharif directed authorities to keep all the political parties in the loop regarding the status of dialogue with the Taliban. According to an official press release, Sharif, during a meeting with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali, said that all the political parties had reposed confidence in the government to engage in talks with Taliban. Earlier last month, senior Pakistani political and military officials gathered in the All Parties Conference (APC) to give the government a mandate to hold dialogue with Taliban who have been indulged in militancy against the state.