President Alvi approves the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, abolishing punishment for attempted suicide in country

ISLAMABAD, Dec 23 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday approved the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, abolishing the punishment for attempted suicide in the country.

According to the announcement issued by the President’s House, President Dr. Arif Alvi approved the bill, which repeals Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, which deals with penalising suicide attempts.

It may be recalled that the Senate had passed the bill to abolish the provision of punishment for those who attempt suicide. The bill was introduced by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and opposed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

Under Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, suicide or attempted suicide was an offense punishable by one year of imprisonment, fine or both.

President Dr. Arif Alvi also approved the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Amendment Bill 2022, which amended Section I of the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act, 2022.

The recently passed legislature guarantees protection for foreign investment in the country, paving the way for a final deal with Barrick Gold for the revival of the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project. The purpose of the amendment was to clarify the scope and application of the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection Act), 2022.

It limits its scope to “qualified investment” in Balochistan’s Reko Diq project — in a bid to address the reservations raised by the allies in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government. President Alvi approved both the bills under Article 75 of the Constitution.