ISLAMABAD: Session of the Senate began at the Parliament House in Islamabad Monday afternoon with Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair.

A number of bills were introduced in the House, which include: The Constitution Amendment Bill 2021 (Amendment of Article 130), The Constitution Amendment Bill 2021(Amendment of Article 9), The Constitution Amendment Bill 2021(Insertion of Article 38A), The Constitution Amendment Bill 2021(Amendment of Article 89), The China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill 2021, The Pakistan Penal Code Amendment Bill 2021 and the Constitution Amendment Bill 2021(Insertion of Article 17A and Amendment of Articles 51 and 106). The chair referred the bills to the standing committees concerned.

"The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021 protects the poor and vulnerable the most. Criminalising torture is the urgent need of the hour” – Sen @sherryrehman on her Anti-torture bill in the Senate pic.twitter.com/pw3lu52HUP

— SherryRehman’sTeam (@SRehmanOffice) July 12, 2021

The House passed ‘The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2021’, which was flouted by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman.

“Jubilant that Senate unanimously passed my Prevention of Torture and Custodial Death Bill just now. I want to thank all senators including Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari for the work they put into this bill with me in the Committee. Pakistan is finally on way to criminalising torture,” she tweeted.

She said criminalising torture was the urgent need of the hour. The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021 protected the poor and vulnerable the most, she added.