Empowering society: Senate panel gives go-ahead to key bills

Bills seek to remove lacunas in existing legislation on ‘honour killing’ and ‘custodial death or custodial rape’

ISLAMABAD:

A parliamentary panel gave approval to two key bills to remove lacunas in the existing legislation on ‘honour killing’ and ‘custodial death or custodial rape’ on Wednesday.

These bills were proposed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers. But in the honour killing case ignoring the majority view, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) senator Talha Mahmood, who is also chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior Ministry, conditioned this approval on public hearing.

Senator Sughra Imam told The Express Tribune that the main purpose of her bill is to make society progressive so no one could take law into his own hands, suggesting amendments in the legislation related to honour killing to discourage this trend by making the offence non-compoundable.



She cited few incidents in which culprits got relief easily from their own family members due to which this trend flourished, adding that she particularly referred Farzana’s case, the girl who was stoned to death on a Lahore court premises.

Senator Syed Zafar Ali Shah of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) suggested that viewpoint of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) should also be taken on this, to which senators Farhatullah Babar and Tahir Hussain Mashhadi termed it against the spirit of parliamentary norms. They also argued that the CII head, Maulana Shirani, can also give his input on the bill as member of the lower house.

Sughra Imam made it clear that currently honour killing is not part of ‘hadd’ but it is dealt under ‘tazir’ and she was not recommending any amendment in Hudood laws.

The panel also unanimously adopted draft of Anti-Torture Bill moved by Senator Farahatullah Babar in the senate. In August last year, it was referred to the committee by the chairman senate.

The bill prescribes life imprisonment and fine of Rs3 million for custodial death or custodial rape, and a minimum of a five-year jail term and fine up to Rs1 million for torture.

The amount of fine recovered will be paid to the victim. No female shall be detained to extract information regarding the whereabouts of a person accused of any offence. A female can be taken into custody only by a female public servant but not by any male. Any statement obtained as a result of torture will be inadmissible as evidence.

Complaints of torture may be filed either with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) or before a session judge against any person, including a public servant. Investigation in complaints of torture shall be completed within 14 days whereas trials shall be completed within three weeks.

Moreover, appeals can be filed before the respective high court within 10 days and decided in 30 days. Every offence under it is cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable. Complaints filed with mala fide intent are punishable with imprisonment of up to one year or with fine of up to Rs100,000.

A public servant accused of torture shall, prior to initiation of the investigation, be suspended or transferred to a different location. The sessions court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to try offences.

The bill also proposed not less than five years punishment and Rs0.5 million fine on a person who commits torture.

It defines ‘torture’ as inflicting physical or mental pain upon another person in custody, for obtaining any information or a confession or harassing and molesting a woman for this purpose.

Giving rationale for the bill Senator Farahatullah Babar said that Pakistan signed the Convention against Torture in 2008 and ratified it in 2010. Enabling legislation was now required to be adopted to reflect the definition and punishment for torture.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2015.