- Asks government to set up National Commission on Rights of Children immediately
ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Standing Committee on Interior on Monday asked all inspectors general of police (IGPs) to set up a special cell/research wing under their own command at all police headquarters for rapid response to complaints against child abuse.
The meeting asked the government to immediately set up National Commission on Rights of Children to address the issue of child abuse and adopt strong measures to stop the heinous crime. The committee proposed amendments to section 364 A of PPC for increasing punishment to child abusers.
It also asked the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to add feature of child protection in their upcoming apps.
The meeting, in a unanimously adopted resolution, condemned incidents of abduction and murder of innocent minor children, expressed sympathies with the victims’ families and extended full support to them. It also recommended that the perpetrators of such heinous crimes should be hanged.
The committee also condemned murders of seven-year-old Zainab Ansari in Kasur and four-year-old Asma in Mardan.
With Senator Rehman Malik in the chair, the committee came up with a novel idea of setting up a Whatsapp helpline for the police where child abuse cases can be reported. It also tasked a sub-committee, headed by Senator Shahi Syed, to compile a more detailed report, within four weeks, on how to deal with such cases.
Mohammad Amin, father of Zainab Ansari, was also present for Monday’s session.
Amin complained told the committee that his daughter disappeared on January 4 and the family called Rescue 15 that very night, but the police did not seem serious in trying to recover her. He complained that the police officials used to visit them and leave after having tea.
“They did nothing over the first five days of her abduction. We even gave them money,” he said.
Amin alleged that the police has now started harassing their neighbours and relatives in their quest for Zainab’s murderer, a serial killer who remains at large.
The bereaved father also spoke of another child’s abduction in Kasur, whose case, he claimed, has not yet been registered by the police. “They’re trying to scare away her parents,” he alleged.
In charge of the Zainab murder case investigation, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abu Bakar Khuda Bakhsh, told the committee that six victims were subjected to sexual abuse and deadly assault from July 2017 till date. He informed that 692 people have been investigated so far whereas DNA testing of 696 has been conducted, of which the results of 125 have not yet been received.
The DIG assured the committee that geo-fencing is being conducted and the case is progressing. However, he refrained from giving a time frame for the resolution of the case. “Zainab’s murderer can be caught tomorrow or it can take several months. We cannot say anything with certainty,” he said.
After being briefed by Senator Rehman Malik, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani ordered that a national commission on the rights of children be formed, while also directing human rights organisations and interior committees to visit Kasur and compile a report.
“Committees must visit Kasur immediately,” he said. “We should be informed about all the facts and progress of the Zainab case. We need to know why the beast behind this incident has still not been caught.”
Senators Shahi Syed, Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Muhammad Ali Khan Saif and Col (retd) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, and senior officials of the Punjab police attended the meeting.
