President Zardari signs Domestic Violence Bill into law despite earlier objections

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday signed the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2026, into law, along with six other pieces of legislation recently passed by parliament, despite having earlier raised objections to the bill.

According to a press release issued by the President’s Secretariat, the laws assented to include the National Tariff Commission (Amendment) Bill, Export Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, Transfer of Railways (Amendment) Bill, Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, Daanish Schools Authority Bill, Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, and the National Commission for Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, all of 2026.

The legislation was approved last week during a joint sitting of parliament, held amid opposition protests and sloganeering. The session was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

During the sitting, President Zardari’s objections to the Daanish Schools Authority Bill and the Domestic Violence Bill were formally presented to the House, with opposition lawmakers urging that the president’s advice should not be overlooked.

On the Daanish Schools Authority Bill, the president had objected to the establishment of the authority without prior consultation with the provinces. Regarding the Domestic Violence Bill, he termed the legislation “vague” and expressed concern over the nature of the proposed punishments, recommending that the bill be reconsidered rather than passed in its existing form.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl Senator Kamran Murtaza read out the president’s objections during the session, stating that his advice was being ignored. He warned that by proceeding without provincial consultation, the federation was “encroaching upon the limits of the provinces.”