Bill | Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari has assented to the Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as passed by Parliament.

Amid the opposition uproar, the Senate on Tuesday passed the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with a majority of votes by rejecting amendments proposed by JUI-F lawmaker Kamran Murtaza.

• Under new legislation, house speaker will form body to set lawmakers’ salaries and allowances • Another piece of legislation allows 19 and 20 grade officers to be appointed as chairmen of boards, despite MQM-P’s dissent KARACHI: In a display of cross-party harmony, the Sindh Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a bill, paving the way for a fresh framework to govern the perks and privileges of its members. The Sindh Assembly Members (Salaries and Allowances) Bill 2025, presented by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia ul Hasan Lanjar, is aimed at replacing the existing law with “a more structured approach” overseen by a newly constituted Parliamentary Committee. Under the bill, the Speaker will establish the Parliamentary Committee through an official gazette notification. The committee’s membership will be determined by the Speaker based on proportional representation, ensuring fair representation. The committee will be empowered to oversee and recommend MPAs’ salaries and allowances, with its recomm...

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday passed several private member bills, including one enhancing punishment for obscenity-related offences. The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, introduced by PPP Senator Shahadat Awan, seeks to amend Sections 292 to 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The bill has defined obscenity as per Article 37(g) of the Constitution, which states: “[The State shall:] prevent prostitution, gambling and taking of injurious drugs, printing, publication, circulation and display of obscene literature and advertisements”. Under the proposed changes, Section 292 would increase the penalty for publishing, producing, exhibiting, distributing, or selling obscene material from a three-month sentence and an unspecified fine to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000. A proviso clarifies the law does not apply to religious content or objects used for religious purposes. Section 293 would raise the punishment for selling obscene material to individuals under 20 years from six months’ impriso...