Resolution passed in NA to extend PPO for 120 days

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday passed a resolution in the National Assembly to extend the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO) for further 120 days whereas opposition party members and members of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) protested against the government's move and staged a walk-out from the Lower House of Parliament, DawnNews reported. Opposition leader Khurshid Shah, belonging to the Pakistan People Party (PPP), also protested against the resolution. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi terming the bill as a 'black law' said that it had been rejected by the nation. MNA Abdul Rashid Godil, belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), said that the government could not be supported in killing the country's citizens. Moreover, MNAs belonging to the JUI-F also staged a walk-out saying that instead of extending the PPO the bill should have been jointly legislated. The Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) bill promulgated in October last year grants sweeping powers of arrest and detention to police and security agencies. Opposition members had claimed that the bill was a move by the government to legitimise enforced disappearances in the country. The ordinance bill was approved by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior on Jan 21 this year. On April 7, the Protection of Pakistan Bill was approved in the National Assembly, amid much uproar and protests.