Death penalty for paedophiles proposed

Draft bill demands similar punishment for drug traffickers

PESHAWAR: The provincial assembly on Friday proposed devising legislation to curb child abuse and suggested incorporating the death penalty for child abusers. Meanwhile, another bill regarding drug traffickers was introduced in the assembly which proposed similar punishment for convicts.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly resumed on Friday morning with Babar Saleem Swati filling in for Speaker Mushtaq Ghani.

During the proceedings, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Dr Sumera Shams, on a point of order urged the acting speaker that special legislation should be formed to address the issue of child abuse and domestic violence in the province. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Nighat Orakzai suggested that a special committee should be formed which deliberates over the issue and forms legislation.

Responding to Shams’ query, K-P Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan said that they have already introduced a domestic violence bill in the assembly and a special committee will be soon formed for introducing amendments to it. On the issue of child abuse, Sultan noted that it was a heinous crime and a pressing issue and it should be addressed as such. He echoed the PTI lawmaker’s demands for devising legislation on the matter. He went on to suggest that child abusers should be dealt with swiftly and sternly, proposing the death penalty.

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He further pressed for creating greater awareness about what constitutes child abuse amongst children in schools and that parents should also play their due role to curb such tragic incidents from taking place.

Curious case of Ehtesaab commission

During Friday’s session, members of the opposition and treasury benches expressed their concerns over lack of information regarding the now-defunct K-P Ehtisab Commission. After its election to the centre, the PTI-led provincial government had announced that it will abolish the provincial accountability body because it now had access to the apex anti-corruption watchdog.

However, during the question and answer session, PPP’s Orakzai asked about records of the defunct accountability body but never received an answer.

Leader of the Opposition in the K-P Assembly Akram Khan Durrani claimed that even though the provincial government maintains the commission is now defunct, its director-general was still drawing a salary.

He went on to ask how much of the provincial government’s resources had been utilised in the creation and operation of the commission. Further, he asked what was the commission’s output in terms of the number of people, whether government employees or private individuals, who were arrested. The K-P law minister replied that commission, which had been set up as a result of a law passed by the house in 2014, now stands defunct. He added that all assets of the commission have been transferred to the provincial establishment and administration division. He directed the provincial establishment department to produce the relevant records in the next session of the K-P Assembly.

Closed marble factories

On a point of objection, Orakzai pointed to the closures of marble factories in several districts of the province including Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi and Buner to protest the imposition of new taxes. She urged the provincial government to revisit its taxation scheme in the sector.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries, Commerce and Labour Abdul Kareem Khan said that they have imposed a 17% tax which is already in vogue in other parts of the country. He, however, clarified that industries located in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) have been exempted from all such taxes.

Addressing a question regarding health, Sultan has said that three large health facilities of the province have utilised Rs1.14 billion in the last fiscal year due to which the standard of health has improved. To address issues faced by doctors, he said that they have formed a committee to address them. Moreover, he said that they also delayed the regional and district health authority bill due to reservations of doctors.

During the session, Sultan introduced three bills, including the K-P Control of Narcotic Substances Bill 2019, which proposes the death penalty for drug traffickers, an Rs5 million fine and listing crystal methamphetamines (commonly known as ‘ice’) as a narcotic and special court to hear drug cases. He also tabled the K-P Employees of Transport and Mass Transit Department (Regularization of Services) Bill 2019, and the K-P Excise Duty on Minerals (Labour Welfare) Bill 2019.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2019.