DAWN reported that Justice Shahid Karim, while hearing the petition filed over a dozen civil society organisations and the NGOs, restrained the provincial government from taking coercive measures against the NGOs and sought replies from the respondents by the next date of hearing to be fixed by the office.
The petitioners include a number of NGOs and civil rights bodies, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Aurat Foundation, South Asia Partnership-Pakistan (SAP), AGHS Legal Aid and the Women Rights Association to name a few.
Representing the petitioners, Advocate Hina Jillani stated before the court that the Punjab Assembly on Feb 28, 2018 had enacted the Punjab Charities Act, 2018. She said the government or the lawmakers never consulted the civil society sector and organisations that could be affected by the impugned law.
The advocate pointed out Section 12 of the law made it mandatory for all the charities to get registered with the ‘Charities Commission’ established under the Act. She said the provincial home department published an advertisement in newspapers on different dates during July 2020 giving the Aug 15 deadline for online registration with the commission.
She said imposing a deadline during the health emergency because of Covid-19, when most offices of the NGOs were closed or partially working, was not justified. As an immediate relief, the counsel requested the court to restrain the respondents from enforcing the deadline for re-registration process and also suspend the operation of the impugned Act, which she termed a ‘draconian law’.