NEW DELHI: The Parliament on Monday,  August 1, approved a Bill that seeks to forbid the funding of WMDs and give the Center the authority to freeze, seize, or attach the financial assets and economic resources of those involved in such actions.

The Rajya Sabha approved the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022, on a voice vote despite opposition parties' continued protests over a number of issues, including the arrest of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case. The bill was led by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. 

The Lok Sabha adopted the bill in April.

In response to a discussion on the bill, EAM Jaishankar stated that everyone who spoke on the proposed legislation acknowledged that both terrorism and WMDs constitute substantial threats (WMD).

"This gap needs to be rectified because the Financial Action Task Force's recommendation...calls for all nations, including us, to make sure that asset financing for WMD-related activities is forbidden. We have therefore introduced this change while bearing in mind this gap in the existing statute. The country's security will benefit from this. This is beneficial for the nation's prestige," Jaishankar added.

He said, the legislation as it stands only addresses trafficking and not the financing of WMDs. The 2005 law known as the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act solely outlawed the production of such weapons.

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