The audio and video of rapists in child abuse cases being hung to be publicized, says proposal presented in the KP Assembly.
The committee convened a meeting presided by Minister for Social Welfare Hasham Inam Ullah on Saturday. The recommendations with reference to amendments in child protection and welfare act-2010 were given final shape.
The committee said in its proposals that no remission will be granted in the sentence to be awarded to those convicted in child abuse cases. The audio and video of the execution scene of those awarded death sentence in child abuse offenses can be shown to people instead of a public hanging.
The bill also proposes to take action against any police officer who delays investigations in such cases and fails to respond to an alert within two hours
The committee has also proposed not to give any job in educational institutions to those found involved in the offense of harassing or sexually assaulting children.
The committee has also recommended to award sentences up to 14 years and fines up to Rs 5 million to those involved in pornography.
In a historic move, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Zainab Alert, Recovery and Response Bill on Friday, 9th January. The bill introduced a multitude of measures to speed up the recovery of missing children and the conviction of child abusers in sexual assault cases.
The Inspector General of Police KP Sanaullah Abbasi has welcomed the professional work of Mansehra Police in tracing, arresting and charging all perpetrators of the horrendous child Abuse case. pic.twitter.com/4pRo8EopwD
— DIG Hazara_Official (KP) (@PoliceHazara) January 26, 2020
It is anticipated to fortify Section 346-A of the Pakistan Penal Code that calls for the death penalty for the abduction of children under-14 leading to his/her murder or rape. Also, Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code calls for the death penalty in the case of the murder of a minor.
The bill is named after and approved on the second death anniversary of an eight-year-old girl, Zainab from Kasur, who was a victim of sexual abuse. Zainab was raped and found dead in the heap of trash in Kasur on 9th January 2018.
Federal Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari had presented the bill in June last year.
Read more: Zainab Alert Bill: Govt moves to protect every “Zainab” in the country
The bill proposes extremely rigorous punishment for the perpetrators of child sexual abuse rapists; stipulating life imprisonment in child abuse cases from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 14 years.
A helpline will also be established to report missing children while an agency will be set up to issue an alert for such cases.
The bill also proposes to take action against any police officer who delays investigations in such cases and fails to respond to an alert within two hours.
The bill, approved by National Assembly, is only applicable in Islamabad. But provincial assemblies will have to take up the bill for implementation. The bill, after being passed from NA, will be presented in the Senate for approval.
Read more: Child pornography in Pakistan declining: PTA
Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Reforms, informed that the cases of kidnapping and child abuse will be completed within three months.