NA passes Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019 with majority vote

ISLAMABAD, Jan 06 (APP):The National Assembly on Monday passed ‘The Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019 with majority vote.

The Bill was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan also incorporated certain amendments moved by Abdul Qadir Patel of Pakistan Peoples Party.
The motion to move the Bill was passed by majority with 87 votes in favour as a 83 votes against.

The minister said the bill was very important for Pakistan “as it will help the country phase out from grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)”.

Brushing aside opposition ‘s apprehensions, he said the bill clearly stated that the agreement cannot be one-sided.

The statement of objects and reasons says Increase in transitional organised crimes has made it imperative for the international community including Islamic Republic of Pakistan to improve the effectiveness of legal instruments.

Lack of uniformity in law and weak coordination between countries effects combating of crimes across border. In order to overcome these challenges legal cover is essentially required.

International cooperation in legal matters through mutual legal assistance is intended to bridge existing gaps in respective countries towards effective law enforcement.

The required state will provide required legal support to the requested state by executing state necessary actions on its territory in criminal cases warranting shared assistance.