PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Thursday proposed capital punishment or 14 years imprisonment for child rapists in the province.
Under the existing KP Child Protection and Welfare (Amendment) Act 2010, a person convicted of sexually abusing a child faces up to 14 years in imprisonment sentence. The new draft, titled KP Child Protection and Welfare (Amendment) Act 2020, plans harsher punishments including life imprisonment and a Rs5 million fine.
The bill stated that in case of a death sentence “the proceedings of the execution of sentence of death shall be recorded by audiovisual means and such recordings may be accessible to the public as prescribed.” The convict will not be entitled to any remission during the imprisonment.
“In case the accused is awarded imprisonment of life, he shall remain imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life without the possibility of parole or probation.”
Other amendments include a 14-year prison term for person(s) charged with making pornographic videos of a child and 10-year term for seducing a child with the intent of involving him/her in sexual activity.
The bill proposed that a register of sexual offenders will be maintained and all information relating to the convicted will be shared with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to make it publically accessible.
In addition, registered sexual offenders shall not be employed by an organisation that works or deals with children and the employers who do hire them will be fined. They will also be prohibited from travelling on public transportation that is used by children.
KP Minister for Social Welfare Bisham Inamullah said that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed to present the amendment bill before the cabinet meeting. He said that the amendment is meant to award exemplary punishment to the child rapists. The minister vowed to get the amendment bill passed from the cabinet and the assembly soon.
He said that the government has taken notice of the rising cases of child abuse and the drafted bill will be presented in the next cabinet meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
The draft also proposes life imprisonment or “a term which may extend to 25 years but which shall not be less than 14 years and a fine of up to Rs5 million” for those convicted of child trafficking.
KP GOES FOR THIRD ‘BILLION PROJECT’:
The KP government also decided to launch the Billion Dry Fruits Project after the success of the Billion Tree Tsunami and Billion Honey Projects.
The saplings would be planted to boost the production of the dry fruits under the project. The agriculture department has been directed to launch the Billion Dry Fruits Project soon.
The project will be monitored by KP Governor Shah Farman.
Underlining the importance of the project, Shah Farman said that the Billion Dry Fruits Project will increase the income of the people living in the tribal districts of the province and will cause a big revolution.
Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched the Billion Tree Tsunami Honey Project. Under the project, one million hectares of Pakistan’s forests would produce seven types of honey. Whereas, the production of honey would increase from 12,000 metric tons to 70,000 metric tons. Pakistan would be able to export honey worth Rs45 billion annually to different countries.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Billion Tree Tsunami project won international appreciation after the global environmental organizations termed his efforts for a better environment as exemplary for other global leaders.
The letter was read out during the cabinet meeting by Adviser to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam. It was written by representatives of climate change organizations in the United States, France, and Paris.
