Pakistan passes anti-honour killings and anti-rape bills
ISLAMABAD: A joint session of
the Parliament unanimously approved anti-honour killing and anti-rape bills
moved by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar on Thursday.
The legislation on honour
killings will introduce strict punishment for the convicts making it tougher
than the ordinary murder cases.
Under the new law relatives of
the victim would only be able to pardon the killer if he is sentenced to
capital punishment. However, the culprit would still face a mandatory life
sentence of twelve-and-a-half years.
Before moving the Anti-Rape
Bill, Babar informed the joint session: "The bill will prove to be
effective in curbing rape cases across the country."
Debating during the session,
Law Minister Zaid Hamid revealed that the perpetrator of the crime will also be
medically examined after this bill is turned into law.
"The verdicts in the rape
cases will have to be given within three months, with the right to appeal in
six months," he added.
"The police station will
be obliged to inform the victims of their legal rights," Hamid said,
adding, "We have made it mandatory that the culprit must be imprisoned for
25 years."
He further said that rape of
minors, as well as the mentally and physically ill, has also become punishable.
Former PPP senator Sughra Imam,
who had initially tabled both bills, said: “No law will eradicate a crime
entirely but the law should be a deterrent. Laws are supposed to guide better
behaviour, not allow destructive behaviour to continue with impunity.”
Dasti downplays importance of
bills
Speaking during the joint session, Jamshed Dasti
lamented the introduction of bills saying that the session had been called to
discuss the matter of Kashmir but it has been overshadowed.
“Indian forces are standing on
the border, hundreds of our soldiers are injured and many have embraced
martyrdom. There was no point of bringing up this bill today. We had to send a
message to our enemy, but this bill has overshadowed it,” he said.
This Parliament has been
subdued by the American NGOs and their Jewish agenda, which is against Pakistan.
He also lamented that “today
even 5th graders are aware of sex education”.
If anyone talks about Islam and
Quran, people possessing no knowledge of the religion pass decree on it to
pander to the international terrorist America.
Nawaz vows to ensure
implementation of the legislation
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to ensure the
“implementation of the legislation across the country” as he congratulated the
Parliament and entire nation on the passage of a bill providing for strict
punishment on honour killing.
“I congratulate the Parliament,
the NGOs, civil society, academia, media and all those who worked hard and
supported us in the passage of this legislation,” Nawaz said in a statement.
He said that honour killing was
one of the most critical problems that Pakistan had been facing and the
government was determined to adopt all possible ways to remove this stain from
the society.
“We have succeeded in our
efforts today; there is no honour in honour killing,” the prime minister
remarked.
“We will make it sure to fully
enforce this legislation across the country as we did during its passage from
the Parliament. Women are the most essential part of our society and I believe
in their empowerment, protection and emancipation so that they can equally
contribute towards development and prosperity of our country,” he reiterated.
In July, days after the 'honour' killing of social
media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, a committee comprising lawmakers from both the
lower and upper houses of parliament unanimously approved two bills aimed at
tackling 'honour' killings and boosting rape convictions.
The perpetrators of honour
killings – in which the victim, normally a woman, is killed by a relative –
often walk free because they can seek forgiveness for the crime from another
family member.
Rape conviction rates meanwhile
are close to zero per cent, largely due to the law's reliance on circumstantial
evidence and a lack of forensic testing.
The law minister had earlier
said, "We have plugged all loopholes in the anti-honour killing
legislation."
In the anti-rape bill, “a
provision to conduct DNA tests on both the alleged victim and perpetrator has
been added for the first time”, he said. The rape of minors, as well as the
mentally and physically ill, would become punishable by death.
A 2005 amendment to the law
pertaining to 'honour' killings prevented men who kill female relatives
pardoning themselves as an "heir" of the victim.
But punishment was left to a
judge's discretion when other relatives of the victim forgive the killer – a
loophole which critics say is exploited.
Rights groups and politicians
have for years called for tougher laws to tackle perpetrators of violence
against women in Pakistan and the move follows a slew of high-profile killings
in the country.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's
ruling PML-N party has a large majority of seats in the lower house and the
bills are believed to have enough backing from opposition parties to pass in
the senate too.
- 10 October 2016
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- News ID: 3819
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