Zainab bill to be passed in Senate, says Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Asad Umar has said they will make their efforts for Zainab Bill to be passed in Senate at earliest, ARY News reported on Friday.

Asad Umar, in his media statement, said Zainab bill will pave way for passing the other related legislations. He announced that all political parties had voted in favour of the Zainab Alert Bill when it was tabled in the National Assembly (NA).

“We cannot imagine the pain suffered by her [Zainab] parents after Kasur incident and now her name became a law. We will also pass the same legislation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Such bills should also be passed in Sindh and all other assemblies.”

Read: NA passes Zainab Alert bill for response, recovery of missing children

“We want to ensure the protection of those children cannot protect themselves. A helpline system is being established to deal with such cases which will ensure immediate actions. It is not enough to only pass laws but also making changes in the administrative structure. In accordance with our law and religion, the death sentence is given to the culprit involved in a murder.”

“Political parties had opposed the death sentence. Even in the United States (US), the death sentence is pronounced over rape and murder.”

He said they will make their efforts for Zainab Bill to be passed in Senate at earliest.

Read: Senator Faisal Javed praises National Assembly for passing Zainab Alert bill

Earlier on January 10, the National Assembly had unanimously passed the Zainab Alert bill introduced by NA’s Standing Committee on Human Rights which defines the law for the response and recovery of missing children.

The government and opposition have unanimously passed Zainab Alert bill which will pave the way to penalise culprits in crimes against children from 10-14 years to life imprisonment.

A helpline 1099 will be established under the law besides constitution of an agency to take immediate action after responding complaints about abduction, murder and rape of minor children, read the bill, adding that the officer will also get penalised over failure to respond within two hours.