Mobile phone snatching could soon become a non-bailable and non-compoundable offense in Pakistan, as a parliamentary committee on Wednesday reviewed a new bill aimed at tightening laws to curb rising street crime.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control, chaired by Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, discussed the “Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2025,” moved by MNA Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan. He briefed the committee on the need to close legal loopholes that currently allow offenders involved in armed snatching to easily secure bail.
Hassan said existing laws only cover “theft” and do not clearly define mobile-phone snatching, creating a gap that benefits criminals. The proposed bill would add a new Section 382A to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) of 1860 to formally define “snatching” and “street crime.”
Under this amendment, any act of intimidating, threatening, or coercing a person into giving up movable property, such as mobile phones or jewellery, would be classified as snatching or street crime. The bill proposes a punishment of rigorous imprisonment for up to ten years, along with a fine, similar to the punishment under Section 382 for theft after preparation to cause hurt or death.
The amendment also seeks to modify the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1898 to allow cases involving this new offense, when committed in a public area using a firearm, to be tried in a special court. Currently, the offence is bailable, but under Section 382A, it would become non-bailable and non-compoundable, and police would be able to arrest suspects without a warrant.
Hassan informed the committee that the bill has been sent to the home departments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory. All provinces and regions, including AJK and GB, have endorsed the bill. A senior Ministry of Interior official also expressed support.
A representative of the Law Ministry said he agreed with the draft but requested more time to refine the text. As a result, the committee deferred the bill until its next meeting.