Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Tuesday (September 15) passed the Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2020 in a bid to introduce more transparency in the regulations and registration processes of the cooperative housing schemes located in the capital city, according to a news source.
The legislation aims to allow the authorities concerned to practice more control over the affairs of such housing projects as well as control terror financing via this channel. The bill was moved by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan while the standing committee’s chairman Senator Rehman Malik passed the bill.
Terming it a ‘national issue’, Malik said that making these legislative changes was necessary for removing the country’s name from Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list. The main objective of introducing the amendment in the Cooperative Societies Act 1925 was to control terror financing. Furthermore, the old legislation barred prosecution agencies from proceeding with their inquiries and legal action.
The amendments further allow the implementation of stricter control over the cooperative societies’ affairs by offering provisions regarding the audit mechanism.
