Pakistan government has referred a proposed bill seeking public execution of a convict found guilty of kidnapping a person below the age of 14 to a religious body for guidance.
The proposed 'Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018' bill seeks an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code section 364-A on the kidnapping or abduction of a person under the age of 14, The Express Tribune reported.
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is a constitutional body tasked to help the government on legal issues with specific reference to Islam. The body's opinions are not binding.
A meeting of the CII members is scheduled for February 8 in which the bill will be on top of the agenda, CII Chairman Qibla Ayaz said.
"After thorough deliberation with all the CII members, belonging to various schools of thought, the CII will give its view on public execution," said the chairman.
The move to bring public execution under law came after Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during a press conference held soon after the arrest of a minor girl murderer, announced public execution as a punishment for the culprit who brutally raped and murdered seven-year-old in Kasur earlier this month.
After the incident, people from all walks of life called for a public execution, especially on social media. They demanded that the government publicly execute such people who brutally rape and murder children. They were of the view that this kind of punishment will discourage such inhumane acts.
Following the calls, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Rehman Malik proposed an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) to 'publicly hang' convicts found guilty of kidnapping, murdering or raping children under 14 years of age on January 22.
It has been proposed to add words 'by hanging publicly' at the end after the punishment, instead of death or imprisonment for life.
Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) Justice (retd) Ali Nawaz Chohan opposed the new bill, terming it against the international conventions.
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