Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govt approves stricter punishment for unlawful gatherings, riots

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], January 5 : The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim government in Pakistan approved the promulgation of an ordinance to increase punishments for rioting, holding unlawful gatherings, refusing to accept its orders or obstructing their implementation, Dawn News reported on Friday.
This comes during a cabinet meeting chaired by caretaker Chief Minister Rtd. Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.
The meeting was attended by ministers, advisers and special assistants to the chief minister, chief secretary, additional chief secretaries, and relevant administrative secretaries.
It read that punishments under the Pakistan Penal Code's sections 147, 148, and 188 and Schedule II of the Criminal Procedure Code were enhanced to prevent unlawful gatherings and riots and to maintain the writ of the state.
The statement said that under the new ordinance, the punishment under Section 147 of PPC was up to two years imprisonment or a fine or both, but it had been increased to three years with a fine up to a Pakistani rupee (PKR) 200,000.
It added that an additional three months of imprisonment would be awarded to culprits over failure to pay the fine, while the sentence 'may be arrested without a warrant and non-bailable' had been added to Schedule II of the CrPC, Dawn News reported.
"The punishment under Section 148 of the PPC, which previously was up to three years imprisonment or fine or both, has been replaced with an imprisonment up to five years and a fine up to PKR 500,000, which shall not be less than PKR 100,000. Additional imprisonment for six months has been approved for failing to pay the amount, while the words 'may be arrested without a warrant and non-bailable' have been added to Schedule II," it said.
The statement also read that the punishment under Section 188 of the PPC was previously up to a month imprisonment or fine, which might extend to PKR 600 or both, but in the future, it would increase to an imprisonment up to one year and a fine up to PKR 100,000, which wouldn't be less than PKR 25,000. An additional one-month imprisonment was approved for those failing to pay the fine.
The statement added that while the punishment for an offence causing "danger to human life, health or safety, etc." was up to six months or with a fine that might go up to Rs3,000 or both, it had been enhanced to up to three years and a fine up to PKR 200,000, which won't be less than PKR 35,000. An additional imprisonment of two months will be handed down to the culprits for not paying the fine.
The cabinet also approved the extension of the project of the Settlement and Digitization of Land Records in merged tribal districts from seven to 25 sub-divisions and tehsils, with the project's enhanced cost of PKR 1777.829 million.
It approved the release of PKR 500 million for the irrigation department for the maintenance, repair and de-silting of water and irrigation schemes, the de-silting of canals and the construction of embankments on rivers for protection from floods.
Dawn News reported that the cabinet approved the creation of different posts for the newly-created research cell at the directorate of prosecution of the home and tribal affairs department in line with the recommendation of the Apex Committee's meeting on the implementation status of the revised National Action Plan, according to the statement.
It allowed the relaxation of the ban for the creation of one post of deputy director of research (BPS-18) and a post of assistant director at the directorate of prosecution.
The cabinet offered Fateha for former Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan, who passed away this week, as well as for the father of agriculture secretary Javed Khan Marwat.