French National Assembly moves to overhaul response to sexual violence and abuse
France has taken a step towards overhauling how it tackles sexual violence after MPs passed a sweeping bill without a single vote against. It would create specialist police units and courts, abuse checks in schools and leave for victims – but protections for foreign women were dropped and the cost is still unclear.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly endorsed the federal government's decision to impose emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The Centre had imposed governor's rule and emergency in the province on Sunday, citing the provincial government's "deliberate disengagement" from the fight against terrorism. The National Assembly's question hour session was suspended due to discussions on the emergency proclamation.
The law minister tabled a motion regarding the emergency, which was adopted with a majority vote after a discussion opened by the law minister. Opposition members participated calmly during the proceedings, avoiding any loud protests. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari blamed the PTI's KP government for the circumstances leading to the emergency, calling it a "political suicide attack".
He argued that the PTI leadership was responsible for the current political, constitutional, and legal circumstances in KP. Bilawal emphasized the need for engaging with PTI and the opposition to address the federal government's reservations regarding their support in the war against terrorism. He suggested that emergency was a stopgap measure and that an all-of-society and all-of-country response was required to eradicate terrorism completely.
Bilawal also highlighted that India was still sponsoring terrorist incidents in Pakistan, possibly through TTP and separatist groups. The PPP chairman called for building consensus on fundamental issues for an empowered lower house, urging opposition parties to participate in negotiations. PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan rejected the Centre's move to impose emergency in KP, questioning the allegations against the opposition members and demanding a clear explanation.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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