KP Assembly condemns Zainab’s molestation, murder in Kasur

PESHAWAR: The issue of rising incidents of child abuse was debated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday as the House unanimously passed a resolution condemning the sexual assault and killing of the minor girl Zainab in Kasur.

The resolution demanded early arrest of the accused and award of exemplary

punishment.Moved by Nighat Orakzai of the Pakistan People’s Party and signed by lawmakers from different political parties, the resolution asked the federal government to ensure the arrest and exemplary punishment to the culprit(s) of the incident. It demanded enacting of new laws and implementation of the laws against child abuse.

Speaking on the issue, Nighat Orakzai, Uzma Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)’s Amna Sardar, Fauzia and Nargis Ali of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli and Meraj Humayun Khan of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Aizazul Mulk Afkari of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) said that rising incidents of sexual abuse of children was a serious issue which needs stringent steps.

They said the incident took place due to extreme negligence and failure of the government and law enforcing agencies. They felt the society as a whole was also responsible for controlling such heinous crimes. They argued that strict implementation of the existing laws and enacting more laws to prevent such crimes was the need of the hour.

The lawmakers said the rape and murder of Zainab in Kasur, had shattered the social fabric of the society and exposed the inefficiency of the Punjab Police. They said had the police taken timely action and brought to book the culprits of other 11 such incidents in Kasur, the abuse and brutal murder of Zainab would not have occurred.

The legislators said KP was second in the list of child abuse in the country. They pointed out that brutal murder of Asma in Mardan, stripping of Sharifan Bibi in Dera Ismail Khan, killing of a girl in Nowshera and also in Manshera showed the failure of the KP Police.

They said the government should take the issue seriously and ensure protection to children by implementing the relevant laws and making necessary amendments to the law. “There should be laws to punish the culprits publicly. If five culprits were punished publicly, no one would dare commit such a heinous crime in future,” argued Jamaat-i-Islami’s Aizazul Mulk Afkari.

The KP Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplaces (Amendment) Bill 2018 was also tabled in the assembly.Two more bills, the KP Judicial Academy (Amendment) Bill 2018 and Rural Area Drinking Water Supply Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2018 were introduced in the House as well while the KP Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2018 was withdrawn.

Speaker Asad Qaiser referred to the relevant committee a privilege motion by PPP’s Salim Khan from Chitral about alleged misbehaviour of divisional forest officer (DFO), Wildlife.The mover said the DFO Ijaz Ahmad misbehaved with him when he made a call to inquire about recruitment of a Class-IV employee. “The officer not only rejected my recommendation and posted a person of his choice despite the fact that Class-IV employees are recruited on the recommendation of local MPA, but also uttered derogatory remarks,” he maintained.

On a call attention notice, MPA Najma Shaheen drew the government’s attention towards alleged inefficiency of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Development Company. She said the newly established body had failed to deliver. “It has failed to dig out a new well or discover oil and gas despite spending public money,” she claimed.

Mufti Janan of the JUI-F warned of staging sit-in on the floor of the House from Tuesday if the government did not release Rs930 million in lieu of the oil and gas royalty to his constituency.Through another resolution moved by Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, the federal government was asked to upgrade Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar. She said the airport was not of international standard despite the fact that it was among major airports of the country.

“The airport is the only facility for international flights from KP but it lacks arrival and departure lounges and other relevant facilities for the passengers,” she pointed out. The resolution asked the federal government to upgrade the busy airport to international standard.