The National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed ‘The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill 2010’ which recommends 14-year to lifetime imprisonment sentence and fines up to Rs 1 million for those who commit the crime.
The crime of splashing acid on women was becoming common and the main reason appears to be the lack of proper legislation, a statement on objects and reasons for the presentation of the bill said, adding that there was no law to regulate the manufacture, supply and access to acid. The purpose of the bill is to control the import, production, transportation, hoarding, sale and use of acid to prevent the misuse of acid and provide legal support to acid and burn victims.
The bill was introduced last year by MNAs Marvi Memon, Begum Shahnaz Sheikh and Advocate Anusha Rehman in a bid to prevent growing incidents of violence against women. After much scrutiny, the committee of women development had approved the bill last month further amending the Pakistan Penal Code 1860. The amendment in Section 336-B states, “Whoever causes hurt by corrosive substance shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment of either description which shall not be less than fourteen years and a minimum fine of one million rupees.”
The new insertion in Section 336-A states, “Whosoever with intention or knowingly causes or attempts to cause hurt by means of a corrosive substance or any substance which is deleterious to human body when it is swallowed, inhaled, come in contact or received into human body or otherwise shall be said to cause hurt by corrosive substance.”
Marvi Memon thanked the parliamentarians particularly women lawmakers for the passage of the bill. Bushra Gohar said that the parliament had fulfilled its duty. She also expressed the hope that the Upper House of parliament would also pass the bill unanimously. Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Fauzia Ejaz and Fauzia Wahab said that the bill would help control incidents of acid crimes against women.
