Senate drops bill to outlaw ‘violent, radical’ groups in politics

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has dropped the controversial Prohibition of Extremism bill that could potentially ban “any extremist or violent” organisation in the political sphere.

The bill, presented by State Minister Shahadat Awan, was dropped when members expressed anger over the legalisation.

The Senate Chairman said, “The government can decide whether it wants to pursue this bill or not […] but for now, I am dropping it”.

A majority of Senators, including the Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) Tahir Bizenjo, opposed the bill, expressing their displeasure that such choices are taken only at the wish of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) without any consultations.

A sizable chunk of senators have said that the bill is “dangerous for democracy”.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said that “This bill will be the last nail in democracy’s coffin.”