Pak to introduce legislation to curb rape, child abuse

Islamabad, September 17

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his government would soon introduce a three-tier legislation providing for registration of sex offenders, exemplary punishment for rape and child abuse and effective policing.

Khan made the announcement while addressing a joint sitting of parliament after passage of a number of Financial Action Task Force-related bills on Wednesday.

"Such incidents ruin the lives of victims and their families also have to suffer," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Khan was referring to the gang-rape of a French-Pakistani woman in front of her three children near a highway in Lahore on September 9 which sparked widespread outrage.

One of the suspects wanted in the case was arrested on Monday and confessed to his crime.

Noting that the main suspect in the gang-rape case was a history-sheeter, Khan said that global data indicated that such criminals were repeat offenders and therefore maintaining their data was important.

He said the legislation being prepared would not only provide for exemplary punishment for rape and child abuse offences, but would also contain provisions for registration of sex offenders and effective policing, the report said.

He admitted that only a very small percentage of such cases were reported to police in the country.

Even after the arrest of offenders in rape and child abuse cases, their conviction is not easy in absence of proper prosecution and concrete evidence. For this reason, the bill being prepared would also provide for witness protection, he said. PTI

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