Senate body raises objection on Zainab Alert Bill

Senator Nawaz Khokhar said the committee had highlighted legal shortcomings in the proposed bill.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday raised objection on the Zainab Alert Bill.

The senate functional committee for human rights met under Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.

While chairing the meeting on Wednesday at parliament house, Senator Nawaz Khokhar said that the committee had highlighted legal shortcomings in the proposed bill, adding that it is must that mistakes found in the bill be removed.

He said that this law must be implemented as soon as possible because the ratio of child abuse is increasing day by day, child kidnapping for ransom for property and smuggling to foreign countries is not included in the bill, kidnapping for ransom and child abuse are two different crimes ,therefore there punishment must be different.

The committee has said that the provisions of Pakistan Panel Code and electronic crimes are different in the bill so it should be added separately.

Senator Kaishu Bai has said that nothing has been included in the bill for kidnapping and converting the children of minorities forcefully for the wedding on which Chairman of the Committee has said that the committee would try to include these points.

The committee chairman said we will try that matters related to kidnapping and marriage of children of minorities are incorporated in this bill.

On January 10, the National Assembly had passed six bills including the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2019 as the treasury and opposition benches came on the same page for landmark legislation.

Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, the Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill, Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Bill the Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill and ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Bill were the others that were passed by the NA.

Zainab Alert Bill was moved by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari which envisages establishment of Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA) where child missing case will be reported and it will generate an automatic alert.

Responding to a calling attention notice in the House, Shireen Mazari said a national action plan has been prepared against child abuse and molestation which will be launched before the end of this month.

She said a registry of convicted sexual offenders is also being prepared with the cooperation of FIA.

Regarding the latest incident of child abuse in Manshera, the Minister for Human Rights said the provincial government has taken a strict notice of despicable incident.

The movers of the calling attention notice demanded strict action against those involved in heinous acts of child abuse.