Punjab Assembly speaker surprised by committee's approval of anti-social behaviour bill, says not aware it was laid

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan was surprised on Sunday when an opposition member informed him that the Punjab Control of Habitual Offenders and Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, 2026 had been approved by the PA Standing Committee on Law.

“It has been laid?” he questioned when PTI’s Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan clarified that the standing committee had given its nod to the legislation.

The bill proposes a regime in which the executive can freeze a person’s bank account, seize their property, remove their online presence, confiscate their phone, and place them under electronic surveillance, all on the basis of an intelligence committee’s assessment of their conduct.

MPA Rana initiated the conversation on the legislation in the House, which had met to discuss the province’s supplementary budget. He said the bill was against human rights and warned that if enacted, it would affect the coming generations.

The ruling PML-N could also become a victim of it as it could not remain in power for forever, he said.

For his part, the speaker said he was not aware that the bill had been introduced in the House, expressing annoyance with the assembly secretariat and warning of strict action.

The bill was introduced in the House on June 8.

Dawn reached out to the speaker for further clarity on how the bill was introduced in the House without his knowledge, but there was no immediate response.

During the PA session, the speaker also said, “It’s not possible to introduce a law reminiscent of the colonial era … There could be some misunderstanding on this. Let me see.”

He further remarked, “Will the DC (deputy commissioner) and DPO (district police officer) be empowered to take action against an individual (under the proposed law)?”

The speaker noted that even under the Goonda Act, the court had the authority to sentence a person if intelligence agencies reported their involvement in hooliganism.

During the session, opposition members expressed concern that the proposed law would be passed by the House as the treasury members had an overwhelming majority.

PTI MPA Ahmer Bhatti noted that according to the bill, “officers will report against an individual and then act against that person on their own without taking recourse to any judicial forum. He expressed fear that the proposed law could be used for political victimisation.

The bill

The draft of the proposed law states that it aims to systematically tackle “public nuisance”, financial and social exploitation and systemic criminal activities.

Under this newly drafted framework, the government will establish a specialised hierarchy of intelligence committees – at provincial, divisional, and district levels – to enhance public safety, protect minorities, evaluate threats to foreigners, and closely monitor the misuse of social media platforms.

The bill outlines an extensive list of activities categorised as anti-social behaviour. These include operating gambling or drinking dens, engaging in the illicit manufacturing of liquor, managing brothels, making fraudulent charity collections, using hate speech or disseminating disinformation online, and impersonating public servants. It also targets individuals who engage in aerial firing, exhibit weapons on social media, practice online blackmailing, or disrupt traffic by erecting illegal barriers.

To address these behaviours, the bill proposes to empower District Intelligence Committees to initiate inquiries, demand surety bonds for up to six months and recommend severe administrative penalties. These penalties range from blocking national identity cards and passports to freezing bank accounts, removing cyberspace presence, and confiscating electronic gadgets for prosecution purposes.

For individuals formally declared as habitual offenders – specifically those with repeated arrests for crimes such as motor vehicle theft, extortion, robbery, dacoity, or narcotics offences – the law introduces stringent tracking protocols. Upon a police application routed through public prosecutors, a magistrate will be authorised to order the attachment of an electronic monitoring device to the offender for a minimum duration of three months. The proposed law states an habitual offender will face up to three years in prison if they fail to comply with requirements pertaining to the tracking.

Those who intentionally tamper with or destroy the tracking device will face a mandatory imprisonment for at least a year, a fine of Rs1 million and a liability to compensate for the damaged technology.

Law enforcement agencies will maintain biometric data, fingerprints, and even DNA records of these offenders within a newly established, centralised Punjab Habitual Offenders Registry.

The proposed law establishes a strict zero-tolerance policy for defying these new public safety measures. Any individual who violates an order passed by an intelligence committee will face an initial imprisonment of up to four years and a fine of up to Rs1.5m, with penalties increasing to a minimum of three years for a second offence, and a fixed four-year term with a Rs2m fine for a third violation.

Public servants found abetting violators will also face criminal prosecution — up to two years of imprisonment alongside internal departmental disciplinary actions.

All offences under the proposed law are legally categorised as cognisable and non-bailable, and they will be tried directly by a section-30 magistrate.

To protect individual rights and prevent administrative abuse, the bill outlines a clear appeals process. Aggrieved individuals can file representations to higher divisional and provincial intelligence committees, progress to an executive appellate committee, and ultimately take their case to a dedicated independent tribunal led by a retired district and sessions judge.

The draft bill states that once enacted, this legislation will officially repeal colonial-era laws, including the Restriction of Habitual Offenders (Punjab) Act of 1918 and the Punjab Control of Goondas Ordinance of 1959, modernising Punjab’s legal toolkit to combat contemporary organised crime and digital threats. ...