The Senate Secretariat on Monday said the bill pertaining to enforced disappearances never went “missing” and was “returned to the National Assembly” after being passed by the upper house of Parliament.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed by the NA on November 8, 2021, and aimed at making amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure. In 2022, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari had alleged that the bill had gone “missing” after it was sent to the Senate, having been passed by the relevant standing committee and the NA.

Later, Mazari had also claimed that she was asked to appear at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters over the bill. She had added that after the bill was tabled in the NA, it was referred to the interior committee where “invisible shadows” tried to change the clauses. She had regretted that the bill “disappeared” on the way to the Senate.

The issue of the “missing” bill cropped up in the Supreme Court on January 2 during the hearing of a case on enforced disappearances. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had expressed surprise over the disappearance of the bill from the Senate, particularly as it had occurred during the PTI’s time in power.

“It is strange that a minister is saying her bill disappeared,” Justice Isa had wondered, noting that a “serious allegation” had been levelled against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

In a statement issued today, the Senate Secretariat, while referring to the top court’s Jan 2 hearing, said a reference was made to the bill “which originated in the National Assembly but presumably vanished when it was transmitted to Senate”.

“Moreover, it was claimed that the efforts of the federal minister to get the said bill passed were thwarted by the Senate chairman. However, the Supreme Court rightly noted that it would not be appropriate to attend to the above allegations made against the Senate chairman.

“Still, a false impression was created in the media that the bill actually went missing and Senate chairman or Senate Secretariat had a role in it,” it noted.

The Senate Secretariat said that the “preposterous of the bill vanishing or alleged interference” by the chairman was contradicted by factual details, highlighting that the said bill was introduced by the then interior minister in the NA on Jan 7, 2021.

It said the bill was passed by the NA on November 8, 2021, and as per constitutional and rules requirements, was sent to the Senate on November 10, 2021.

The bill was tabled in the Senate on July 29, 2022, the Secretariat stated, adding that it was the prerogative of the government to decide the timing of the tabling of a bill in the house by placing it on the proposal for the orders of the day provided by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affair. “Senate is not mandated to bring a government bill on the agenda on its own,” it said.

“After tabling in the house, the bill was referred to the standing committee for consideration and report,” the Senate Secretariat said. “The bill was passed by the Senate on October 20, 2022, with some amendments,” it added.

“Accordingly, in pursuance of clause (2) of Article 70 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and rule 125 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, the Bill was returned to the originating House, i.e. the National Assembly of Pakistan on October 20, 2022.”

It concluded that the factual position “enunciates that the subject bill was never missing, is not pending in the Senate Secretariat, rather has been returned to the National Assembly after passage in the Senate, as required by the Constitution and rules of the Senate”.