Parliament passes bill to ban funding of WMDs

New Delhi: Parliament on Monday passed a bill that seeks to ban funding of weapons of mass destruction and empower the Centre to freeze, seize or attach financial assets and economic resources of people engaged in such activities.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022, piloted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was passed with a voice vote even as opposition parties continued their protest on various issues, including against the arrest of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

The bill was approved by the Lok Sabha in April.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, passed in 2005, only banned the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

The Bill seeks to insert a new Section 12A in the existing law which states that “no person shall finance any activity which is prohibited under this Act, or under the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947 or any other relevant Act for the time being in force, or by an order issued under any such Act, in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.