ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday presented two separate bills in the Senate—one to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, ahead of the PTI’s planned rally on September 8, and another to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court to address a case backlog. Both bills faced opposition from PTI lawmakers, who criticized the proposed legislation.
The first bill, titled the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024,’ aims to empower the district magistrate to regulate and potentially ban public gatherings in Islamabad. Under the bill, event organizers would be required to apply for permission at least seven days before the event. The bill, backed by parties including the PPP, Balochistan Awami Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P), and Awami National Party, was introduced by PML-N Senator Irfanul Haq Siddiqui. Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani referred the bill to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, requesting a report within two days.
According to the bill’s draft, the district magistrate must assess the prevailing law and order situation and obtain security clearance from law enforcement agencies before granting permission for any public assembly. The bill also allows the government to designate specific areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as “red zones” or “high-security zones” where all public gatherings would be prohibited. The district magistrate would have the authority to deny permission for gatherings deemed to pose a risk to public or national safety, disrupt routine life, or coincide with other scheduled events. Violations of the law could result in the use of force by police and potential imprisonment for offenders.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the bill as necessary to maintain order and public safety, noting that similar laws already exist in cities like Lahore. However, PTI opposition leader Syed Shibli Faraz criticized the bill as politically motivated and aimed specifically at restricting PTI activities in Islamabad. PTI parliamentary leader Syed Ali Zafar echoed these sentiments, calling the bill a “PTI-specific” measure designed to prevent the party from holding gatherings in the capital.
The second bill, the ‘Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Act 2024,’ seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court judges, excluding the chief justice, from 17 to 20 to help clear a backlog of over 53,000 pending cases. This bill, introduced by Balochistan’s independent Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir, was also referred to the relevant standing committee. Senator Qadir argued that the increase in judges would ensure quicker justice, noting the extensive delays in case proceedings due to the court’s heavy caseload across its original, appellate, advisory, and review jurisdictions.
PTI lawmakers opposed the bill, alleging it was intended to install “hand-picked judges” to secure favorable rulings. PTI leader Ali Zafar criticized the government for proposing changes to the Supreme Court rather than focusing on reforms in the lower judiciary, accusing it of attempting to “court-stack” by bringing in judges aligned with the current regime.
Senator Aimal Wali Khan of the ANP called for the establishment of a separate constitutional court and supported increasing the number of judges in the lower courts instead. Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, while indirectly backing the bill, cautioned the opposition against politicizing the issue, emphasizing that appeals by prisoners facing death and life imprisonment have been pending since 2015. He also pointed out that the Constitution does not set a fixed number of judges for the superior judiciary, leaving it up to Parliament to decide as needed. The government will review the bill further and provide its stance after the committee’s deliberation.
