PHOTO: AFP
“Any police officer who does not comply with the provisions of Section 8 of this act in case of missing or abducted child or any other public officer who willfully delays or hinders in providing or processing the information in accordance with provisions under this act, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description not less than one year and up to two years and a fine of not less than Rs50,000 and up to Rs100,000,” says the final draft.
It is learnt that the Senate committee has removed the death penalty incorporated in the bill by the National Assembly standing committee.
It is expected that final draft would be submitted in the next Senate session for approval.
The bill also proposed setting up a Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency (Zarra). The government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, establish Zarra of Missing and Abducted Children.
Zarra shall consist of a director general who shall be appointed by the prime minister through public notice in such a manner and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Ministry of Human Rights. Other officers and employees shall be appointed by the DG in consultation with Ministry of Human Rights as prescribed in the rules.
The standard operating procedures (SOPs) shall be devised to ensure the safety and protection of the recovered missing or abducted child in the hands of authorities.
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Powers and functions of Zarra
When a child goes missing or is abducted, the bill says that Zarra will activate Zainab alerts, which shall include information on physical characteristics as well as any other data that would help in identification of the child to inform the public at large and all concerned agencies.
Zarra will also coordinate with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for issuance of Zainab alert SMS as well as MMS and with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) for broadcast/tickers on television channels and announcements on radio stations and alerts on social media as well as postings on relevant websites or online, print media or any other available medium to report abductions.
Zarra will define procedures for how, when, with what frequency and in which geographical territory the missing or abducted child alert shall be raised.
It will maintain online database both in Zarra and the division concerned of every reported incident of a missing or abducted child, the actions taken, the current status of the case and its final outcome.
Coordination with police stations
The bill says that the police station where a case of missing or abducted child is reported shall immediately and not later than two hours after the complaint is lodged call, fax, send electronic email or through Zarra mobile application, inform Zarra about the missing child incident and keep providing latest status of the case and all available details on a daily basis.
The police officer shall ensure that the required information in Schedule A of this act is made part of the complaint.
Read The Express Tribune's detailed report on Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2020 here.
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