Lawmakers demand death penalty for child abusers.

Byline: Zulfiqar Ali

PESHAWAR -- Apparently shocked by the growing incidents of sexual abuse of minors in the province, members of the treasury and opposition benches in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday demanded speedy trial of and death penalty for child abusers.

Some opposition members proposed that Paragraph No 66 written by Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth in the special court verdict in the Musharraf high treason case be incorporated in the proposed law against abusers.

After a detailed discussion on a point of order by Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Nighat Yasmin Orakzai, the house unanimously passed a motion to form a special committee to revisit the laws on child abuse.

The motion says: 'A special committee on the instant issue as debated in the house may be constituted of such members as determined by the speaker. The terms of reference shall be framed in accordance with the debates on the issue.'

PA passes motion to form panel for revisiting laws on sexual assault against children

The lawmakers demanded of the government to amend the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Commission Act, 2010, which suggested the maximum punishment of 14 years imprisonment for convicted abuser. The maximum punishment for people involved in seduction is seven years imprisonment.

Earlier, the assembly passed a joint resolution, which demanded of the provincial government to amend laws for giving severe punishment to child abusers.

Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf MPA Asia Khattak tabled the resolution.

A child's abuse in Mansehra seminary last week sparked a heated debate in the house when MPA Nighat Orakzai took the floor on a point of order.

Women MPAs of the treasury and opposition benches stood on their seats and held placards to express anger at the Mansehra incident.

The placards read, 'The government should take steps to bring an end to the menace of child abuse' and 'Hand down death sentence to child abusers!'

The assembly was informed that the prime accused in the assault case, Qari Shamsuddin, had been arrested, while the police had begun investigation.

Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani suspended the routine agenda and allowed members to debate the point of order.

'Child abuse is a stigma on the face of Pakistani society. Abusers should be punished in public,' he said. The speaker asked lawmakers to table a motion for the constitution of a special committee to revisit the province's laws on child abuse.

...