IHC bans use of corporal punishment for children under age of 12

• A petition was filed by singer and rights activist Shehzad Roy on Thursday.
• "Corporal punishment is inhumane and unnecessary," Roy wrote in the petition.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) banned on Thursday the use of corporal punishment by parents, guardians and teachers.

During the hearing conducted by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, the court suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The section empowers parents, teachers and other guardians to use corporal punishment as a means to discipline and correct the behavior of under-12 children.

The court has sought a reply from the federal government by March 5, local media reported.

A petition was filed by singer and rights activist Shehzad Roy on Wednesday. In his petition, the singer said that corporal punishment is inhumane and unnecessary. "A Harvard University research even found that corporal punishment affects the same areas of the brain that are affected by severe physical and sexual abuse," he wrote in his petition.

Taking to his Twitter handle Roy called on the media and his followers to cover the hearing to increase pressure and make the movement to protect our society’s children successful.

Islamabd High Court is hearing my petition on behalf of @ZindagiTrust to criminalise corporal punishment tomorrow, February 13th @ 9am.Please join me to cover this hearing #EndCorporalPunishment #RepealSection89 pic.twitter.com/fpoPVI614G

— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) February 12, 2020