NA body demands public execution of murderers of Zainab, Asma

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—Information minister says that topics covering violence against children and its prevention will be included in educational syllabus

 

ISLAMABAD: A majority of the members of the National Assembly Special Committee on Child Abuse on Monday demanded the public execution of the murderers of minor girls Zainab and Asma.

Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb said that a proposal was also under consideration to update the educational syllabus by including information about violence on children and ways to prevent such violent acts.

She said that the media should play an effective role to create awareness about the issue, while adding that she would try her best to shoulder the onerous responsibility of protecting the children and their rights.

Aurangzeb, who is also the special committee’s chairperson, said that that the culprits involved in heinous crimes against children should be hanged at public squares so that the people could learn a lesson and refrain from committing such crimes in the future.

She said that no pressure would be accepted from the United Nations (UN) and other human rights organisations in this regard, adding, “We have to ameliorate our society by getting rid of this menace once and for all.”

Marriyum said that a proposal was also under consideration to include information in the educational syllabus regarding violence against children and its prevention.

The committee also summoned the inspector generals of police (IGPs) and chief secretaries of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to brief the committee members about the recent cases of child abuse in the next meeting.

The Ministry of Human Rights director general informed the committee that in order to effectively coordinate, monitor and promote the rights of the child, the National Commission on the Rights of the Child Act, 2017, had been promulgated.

The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) Lahore managing director briefed the meeting about the steps being taken by the provincial government in connection with educating parents, children and the community about child protection.

Later, the committee recommended implementation of the relevant laws and speedy processing of the cases to punish the culprits.

Members of the committee, including Sabiha Nazir, Shaista Pervaiz, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Romina Khurshid Alam, Ali Muhammad Khan, Kishwer Zehra and Sahibzada Tariqullah, attended the meeting besides senior officers from the Ministry of Human Rights.