ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill against corporal punishment of children in all educational institutions, ARY News reported.
The bill was moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Mehnaz Akbar Aziz. The bill was passed with a majority of votes as no one from the treasury benches opposed the bill.
A bill to prohibit #CorporalPunishment has been passed by #NA that prohibits all kinds of corporal punishment against children in all educational institutions. Bill was presented by @MehnazAkberAziz, Chairperson Child Rights Special Committee at SDGs Parliamentary Taskforce pic.twitter.com/L5OrMtqoLo
— National Assembly of Pakistan🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) February 23, 2021
The bill prohibits all kinds of corporal punishment against children in all educational institutions of Islamabad.
Singer and rights activist Shehzad Roy rejoiced at the passage Tuesday of a ‘historic’ anti-corporal punishment bill from the National Assembly which prohibits educational institutions and parents from meting out any sort of corporal punishment to kids.
He commended the role of the incumbent government as federal human rights minister Shireen Mazari backed the bill despite it being tabled by the opposition parties.
He said in the backdrop of today’s bill passage that a petition was filed to Islamabad High Court back in 2019 wherein Justice Athar Minallah noted that legislation on the matter is awaited.
Last year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered a complete ban on corporal punishment in educational institutions in the federal capital territory and suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Hearing a petition filed by Chairman Zindagi Trust Shehzad Roy to ban physical punishment and torture over school students, the IHC suspended section 89 and served notices to concerned authorities.
Read More: Legislation being brought against corporal punishment in schools: Shireen Mazari
IHC CJ, Justice Athar Minallah remarked that National Assembly should also pass such bill banning physical punishment to the students at school. Terming the plea in the public interest, he issued the notices to secretaries of Home, Law, Education, Human Rights ministries and the IGP Islamabad.
