Senate of Pakistan rejects bill seeking to publicly execute those convicted of rape with a majority vote

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19 (SABAH): Senate of Pakistan rejected a bill seeking to publicly execute those convicted of rape with a majority vote on Monday, with parliamentarians strongly opposing the idea as a “counter-effective measure in deterring sexual crimes”.

The upper house of parliament rejected the move to amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, through the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 with a 24:14 vote.

The bill presented by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Senator Mushtaq Ahmed was supported by Senators Mehr Taj Roghani, Kamran Murtaza, Maulana Faiz Muhammad, Hafiz Abdul Kareem, Kamil Ali Agha, Abdul Qadir, and others.

The senators who had voted against the bill called for improved prosecutions, investigations for combating sexual crimes, and a better jail environment to ensure that such heinous crimes are averted in the future.

Defending his proposal after it had been defeated, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan said the senators did not talk about the “basic issue” and noted that the lawmakers spoke about “brutality” becoming rife due to public executions, but it’s already rife.

“I want to halt brutality through public executions. Did the motorway rape case woman and Zainab have no respect? [How] does a rapist have respect?” he wondered, claiming that publicly hanging such criminals would act as a “deterrence”.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Faiz Muhammad, backing Mushtaq, said that culprits who commit such heinous crimes should be hanged publicly.

Voicing concerns, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman strongly opposed the proposal, calling it a counter-effective measure in deterring sexual crimes, and urged improved prosecutions and investigations to address the matter.

Speaking during the session of the Senate, she said: “The Peoples Party has always had a principled stance against the death penalty, whether public or private.”

“While the PPP staunchly condemns rape as a heinous and grave crime, calling for the death penalty or public executions, as seen in various countries, have not proven to be effective in deterring sexual crimes. We must prioritise enhancing prosecutions and investigations rather than resorting to barbarism and violence within society.”

She added that there have been historical attempts at public executions during Ziaul Haq’s era which failed to reduce crime.

“If public hanging is advocated for one crime, it will be demanded for other offences as well. The PPP focuses on the importance of addressing the prevailing anger towards violence and sexual crimes through comprehensive measures, including improved funding for the police, enhanced criminal investigations, and better training for officers handling rape cases.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Senator Sadia Abbasi said she opposes the bill as it would make the society more violent. “People were publicly flogged in this country […] we saw the reaction that took place within the nation and abroad.”

PML-N’s Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar also backed the voices against the bill, noting that the death penalty exists in the law. He also deemed the bill “inappropriate” and said that criminals should not be publicly executed.

Meanwhile the Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution emphasizing the need that M. Phil. and PhD programs in Islamic studies should be aligned with modern thinking, originating from the Holy Quran.

The resolution moved by Senator Abdul Qadir resolved that all universities of Pakistan should revise their M.Phil and PhD programs and align them with the requirements of the modern times, which are truly based on research, critical thinking, scientific approach and practical application of Qur’anic knowledge.

The Senate also passed “The International Islamic University (Amendment) Bill, 2023” and “The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023”.

Three bills were also introduced in the House. They include; “The International Institute of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences Bill, 2024”, “The Pakistan Minerals Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024” and “The Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

“The Falcon University of Sciences and Technology Bill, 2024 was also introduced in the House.

Responding to a motion, Caretaker Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi informed the House that 707 telemetry stations will be established under the National Plan for Flood Telemetry on rivers across Pakistan. He said that Japan International Cooperation Agency has assured its cooperation to set-up 45 of the total telemetry stations.

The Minister further said that Sindh and Punjab have started work for the extension and modernization of their barrages.  He said Punjab has completed the task, while work on Sukkur and Guddu barrages in Sindh is underway.

Replying to another motion, Murtaza Solangi said that annual reports of the Council of Islamic Ideology have been laid before the House. The House will now meet today (Tuesday) at 10:30 AM.

Meanwhile Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Murtaza Solangi has expressed his gratitude to Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and members of the Upper House for extending every possible support to the government.

He expressed these views while speaking at the House Business Advisory Committee of the Senate, which met in Islamabad on Monday.

The Minister said the prime responsibility of the caretaker setup was to hold free, fair and transparent elections and for this purpose, it needed support of all the political parties and the institutions.

He said the caretaker government tried its level best to maintain cordial relations with all the political parties.

In his remarks, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani said the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs played a key role in running the proceedings of the Senate sessions smoothly.

He thanked the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs for hearing the questions of the Senators with patience and giving answers in detail.

The Chairman Senate and members of the House Business Advisory Committee of the Senate thanked Murtaza Solangi for his pivotal role in running the affairs of the House amicably.