Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2016 (Private Member’s Bill)
Proposed and moved by: Dr Arif Alvi (Member, National Assembly)
Status: Passed (by National Assembly)
Summary: The National Assembly has passed this Bill which makes another amendment in addition to a number of previous amendments in the Criminal Law Act from years 1986 to 2016. They already included definitions of significant terms as well as directions on personal, fatal, property, strict liability, participatory and other offences which have been appropriately categorized under the term ‘criminal act’.
However the central agenda behind the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2016 is specifically to amend certain laws on certain offences. It states the punishments and penalties in different forms, such as term, life imprisonment, legal fines and death, and sometimes a combination of them to form the best possible solution for different cases such as provision of false evidence, public harassment over religious beliefs of any individual, and lynching. The punishments and penalties vary depending on the duration and severity of the distinct cases.
This law tries to confront and end the spreading acts of terrorism and violence which are constantly endangering the life and prosperity of 182.1 million Pakistanis. Successful provision of justice, driven by the practice of the law in the amended Bill, can help counter illegitimate acts of bloodshed along the way.
(Summary by Rimsha Tanveer Soofi)
