10 Crimes and their legal Punishments in Pakistan

1. Murder

Killing someone regardless of any motive is a big crime. In Pakistan punishment of murder comes under section 302 of Pakistan Penal code. Penal Code governs the punishment of murder which is also known as Qatl-i-amd in three categories.

Punished with death as Qisas. Qisas is an Islamic term that means equal retaliation which allows the country to take the life of murderer.
Punished with death or imprisonment for life is known as Tazir. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, if the proof in either of the forms specified in section 304 is not available
Punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to twenty-five years, where according to the injections of Islam the punishment of Qisas is not applicable

2. Rape

Rape cases are not increasing in Pakistan only but it’s gearing pace globally. Rape comes under great crime according to Pakistan Penal Code and it has decided the punishment for this crime under Section 367 of PPC in two categories.

The law states that whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of no less than ten years the punishment years can increase to 25 year depending on the severity of the case and the criminal shall also be liable to fine.
If the rape is committed by two or more person with common intention like gang rapes the criminals should meet the fate of death or lifetime imprisonment.

3. Robbery

Robbery is also a serious crime, although in our country the burglar never gets detained but if he meets the legal procedure then according to PPC the person who commits robbery should be punished with not less than 3 years imprisonment that can extend up to 14 years depending on the case’s sensitivity. This punishment comes under Section 392 of Pakistan Penal Code-PPC.

4. Extortion

The most common crime in our country is extortion and according to Section 384 of Pakistan Penal code Punishment punishment for extortion is imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

5. Blasphemy

Many countries argue on the point that whether insulting or defamation of any religion, holy personages and religious artifacts is a crime or not and they all have some kind of law to maintain religious harmony in their countries. In Pakistan this crime is bigger than all other crimes, a murderer gets out on bail but an offender of this law goes down the sand. Blasphemy law is divided in two section 295 B and 295 C. The punishment for 295 C is for those who desecrates or damages the Holy Quran. The one one who does this derogatory act shall be punished with lifetime imprisonment.

The offender of 295-C faces more severe punishment. According to this law whoever commits blasphemy by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

6. Corruption

There is no doubt that the curse of corruption has eaten the whole economy of Pakistan. When the government realized the involvement of public officials and political parties in corruption charges they passed an ordinance of national accountability, making National Accountability Bureau as an autonomous federal institution to combat corruption cases. NAB is that institution that investigates, inquires and arrests individuals of corruption charges. Individuals convicted under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance are prohibited from holding political office for ten years.

7. Theft (Electric and gas)

Section 379 of Pakistan Penal Code defines the punishment for utility services such as electricity, gas or telephone stealing, as whoever commits theft shall be punished with the maximum imprisonment of three years, or with fine, or with both.

8. Cyber crimes

Cyber crimes are now the big thing, people now prefer using electronic devices for criminal activities. E-Crime bill has suggested following punishments depending on the intensity of cyber/E-crimes:

As per draft regulation, a person accessing an information system– without authorization may face imprisonment for up to six months and a fine of up to Rs. 100,000 or both. Changing content of information system may result into imprisonment of up to nine months or a fine of up to Rs. 200,000. Cyber crime punishments are very vast and the law takes care of all the fraudulent. If someone is found guilty of posing another person’s identity then he/she may face imprisonment of three months of a fine of Rs. 50,000 or both. Unauthorized interception of private data like hacking emails can result in imprisonment of two year and fine of 500,000 or both. The law also provides special protection for women, If someone is found harassing any woman by spreading any personal content (video/pictures/audio) publicly to harm her reputation then the person shall face imprisonment for one year or a fine up to Rs. 1 million or both.

9. Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking comes under serious crime in Pakistan if any one is found guilty of human trafficking like keeping anyone as slave, selling children or women, coercing someone to do wrong deeds, kidnapping or abduction of anyone then the person will face serious legal charges. According to PPC the person who commits any of above crimes can be punished with minimum imprisonment of 5 years which can be extended to 14 years with heavy fine.

10. Attempt to commit Suicide:

Suicide is prohibited in Islam and Pakistan Penal Code considers an attempt to commit suicide, a crime. The court has also defined the punishment for this crime in Section 325. According to the law whoever attempts to commit suicide, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.