Senate body passes bill to restrict public rallies in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Senate standing committee on interior has passed a bill that is aimed at restricting holding of public gatherings in Islamabad capital territory.

According to the draft bill, any political leader holding a public gathering or rally in the capital territory without permission would be punished with three years imprisonment. The punishment could be increased if the party is found violating the law again. 

The movers of the bill told the committee at a meeting that holding of public gatherings in Islamabad paralyzes routine life and creates lots of inconvenience for the local people. They said that political parties usually choose Faizabad and D-Chowk to hold rallies during which roads are blocked. Some political parties in the past held protests at Faizabad blocking the main roads for over three weeks.

District administration officials told the meeting that currently they have to issue a no-objection certificate to political parties for holding public gatherings in Islamabad. There is no law to restrict any party to a specific area or punish them in case of holding of a public gathering without NOC.

The new law makes political parties bound to hold a public really at a place designated by the capital administration. 

However, senators belonging to the PTI opposed the bill and said that it was aimed at restricting the PTI from holding public gatherings in Islamabad. It’s an open violation of the constitutional right of political parties to hold peaceful rallies, they claimed.

Citizens in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have for long been demanding that there should be a law restricting political parties from holding such gatherings. It is also necessary that there should be a specific area for public gatherings without closing roads and causing inconvenience to the public.