Laws against honour killing, rape

Zardari lauds parliament for epoch-making event

ISLAMABAD: Former President Asif Ali Zardari has lauded Parliament for consensus legislation that closes the loopholes of forgiveness in murders in the name of honour on the one hand and stops rapists from walking away with impunity on the other.

“Friday October 7 will be remembered as a ground breaking day when the anti-honour killing and anti rape bills were passed in the joint session of Parliament,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

It is to be mentioned that joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday had passed two important bills, one seeking to curb murders in the name of honour and the other to punish rapists by use of modern technology of DNA testing in investigating rape cases.

“Parliament has done its job, what is needed now is to implement these laws in letter and spirit. A law is as good or as bad as is its implementation”, spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar quoted the former president as saying.

The former president said all members of the Parliament, all political parties and the government deserve to be commended. The party however has reasons to celebrate and rejoice more as the bills were piloted by PPP legislators both in the Senate as well as in the joint sitting of the Parliament.

Zardari said the Parliament has plugged the loopholes of forgiveness to killers in the name of honour and the murderer will have to spend a quarter of century behind bars even if all the near and dear relatives pardon the killer. “By closing these loopholes the Parliament has asserted that it is not the spirit of religion to condone pre-meditated murders in the name of honour,” he said.

Similarly, he said by making the DNA test mandatory the Parliament has flung open the doors for modern technology to prevent and punish rape and stop rapists from escaping with impunity.

Zardari expressed the hope that the feeling of protection and security will lend new courage to the women to stand up for their rights in all walks of life and play even greater role in nation building and social uplift. The Friday’s legislation also underlines an important political statement: “Legislation is the job of the Parliament and ideology and religion do not stand in the way of protecting women from tyranny and exploitation,” he added.

The former president said this underlying political statement should be the guiding principle in the days ahead.