Writing and research. Chaudhry Zahid Hayat
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Law, the Cabinet Committee on Legislation met under the chairmanship of Minister for Law and Justice Forough Naseem and approved two ordinances which are in line with the Constitution of Pakistan and international charters.
“While the world is celebrating the ’16 Days of Activism ‘against gender-based violence, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) -led government in Pakistan is ready to enact historic legislation against rape,” the statement said.
The salient features of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance 2020 approved by the Committee are as follows:
Writing continues
Special courts will be set up.
Anti-rape cells will be set up under the chairmanship of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner.
The Anti-Rape Cell will ensure prompt FIR and investigation into the incident.
The inhumane practice of medical examination of affected people will be abolished.
Procedures will also be devised to neutralize the criminals.
The cases will have a camera trial.
Legal assistance will be provided to the victims, including the use of modern scientific equipment in the investigation.
NADRA will compile complete data on those involved in sexual crimes.
Special prosecutors will be appointed.
The JIT, headed by the District Police Officer (DPO), will investigate.
A special committee will be formed for full implementation of the laws.
The committee meeting also approved the Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, the main points of which are:
The definition of rape will change.
Sexual abuse of a woman of any age would fall into the category of forced rape of women.
Sexual abuse of children under 18 will fall into the category of rape of children.
The decision to disqualify the offender will be subject to other factors, including repeated offenses, rehabilitation or not.
It should be noted that the Federal Cabinet had approved in principle two anti-rape ordinances to prevent incidents of rape in the country.
On November 24, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Senator Shibli Faraz, had said that there was a wave of rape cases against women and children in the country and the federal cabinet had considered strict measures to curb the incidents.
Discover more from UGNEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a Reply