Zainab Alert Bill amendments

It has been a slow process though undertaken with due diligence that the issue deserved. Last January, the National Assembly passed the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill named after a little girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a sexual predator - involved in at least seven other similar cases. The approval of the bill took eight months after it was introduced by Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari. Difference of opinion among members of the relevant NA committee members over maximum punishment is said to have held up the legislation for so long. Some of the legislators had wanted death penalty for child abuse and murder, to which the others disagreed. Gravity of the crime notwithstanding, death sentence is anathema to civilized sensibilities. In its final form, the bill proposed 10-year imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 million. The Senate has now tied up some of the remaining loose ends, passing the proposed law on Wednesday with several important amendments.

The ambit of the law, earlier limited to the capital territory, is to be extended to the entire country; and a helpline set up where reports of missing children would be recorded. The most noteworthy amendment is that the station house officers (SHOs) will be bound to register first information reports (FIRs) within two hours of receiving a complaint about a missing or abducted child. Those officers who fail to do so are to face up to two-year imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 100,000. As it is, the police are generally unwilling to register FIRs. They tend to get active only after the media highlight serious crimes, by then a lot of precious time is wasted, like in the June 2019 abduction and murder case of 10-year-old Farishta. The police had dilly-dallied for several days to register the family's FIR. Perhaps the child could have been recovered alive had they acted promptly. In some instances such criminals are even protected by the lawmen. Apparently, it is to check such collusion/dereliction of duty that the Senate has proposed that the government establish a new agency called Zainab Alert, Repose and Recovery Agency to be headed by a director general appointed by the Prime Minister. The agency is to coordinate with the relevant federal and provincial authorities as well as law enforcement agencies, and also maintain an online database of all children reported missing or abducted with their current status. Time being of essence in such crimes, it is also to share that information with the relevant police station within two hours of receiving such a report. This should keep the police under pressure to recover a child and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice. The bill though is to go back to the lower house for review and approval. It is hoped it will be passed in its present form without any further delay.