Child sex abusers should be executed publicly: KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani

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GEO NEWS
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Geo.tv/Files

ISLAMABAD: Convicted child sexual abusers should be executed publicly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani said Wednesday during an event held at the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) to discuss implementation of recommendations to prevent such crimes.

"We want convicted child sexual abusers to be executed publicly and, if that is not possible, then videos of the sentence being carried out should be made and distributed to people in order to curb such crimes," Ghani told the attendees.

"The aim is to not just award punishments but bring reform in the society as well," the KP lawmaker said, adding that awareness campaign would be scheduled for the public following new legislation.

Even "Prime Minister Imran Khan wants convicted child sexual abusers to be executed publicly", he said, adding that consultations were underway to review the court's decision to ban public executions.

Ghani said it was yet to be figured out if a review petition could be filed after such a long time but stressed that he would go ahead on behalf of the KP Assembly if there was legal provision to do so.

"Children are the future of the nation [but] the number of cases of child sexual abuse and murder are rising," he noted. "The KP Assembly has decided to trap and catch these monsters."

A parliamentary committee analysed the laws and decided to make them stricter, he explained, adding that while the lawmaking continued, a new committee was set up to ensure that the existing laws were implemented.

The new proposed legislation would soon be moved from the provincial cabinet to the assembly, the speaker of the provincial assembly mentioned. "KP will be ahead of everyone else in its efforts to curb child sexual abuse," he underlined.

Referring to the 225 cases of child sexual abuse registered in Abbottabad alone in a year, he said parents would also have to play their role in the prevention of child sexual abuse.

"The accused [in cases of child sexual abuse] are able to escape punishments in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," Ghani said, adding that one of the accused in hundreds of cases was acquitted despite his confession statement.

While convicts under 18 years of age could not be prosecuted, he said punishments against child sexual abusers would be made stricter. There should be a minimum of 10-year sentence so that convicts would not be bailed out, he added,

"There's a recommendation to bump up fines from Rs500,000 to Rs5 million. There's also a recommendation to extend sentence over child pornography from 7 years to 14," he noted.

Child sexual abuse cases should be investigated by officers of superintendent of police (SP) rank, he underscored, adding that the model courts would announce rulings after a month of probe.

"Child sex offenders would also not be allowed to get jobs in the government," the KP lawmaker explained, adding that the provincial assembly was making laws taking into account the CII's recommendations.