STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD The National Assembly on Friday passed a controversial resolution calling for the public hanging of convicts found guilty of murdering and sexually abusing children with a majority vote. The resolution was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan and passed by all lawmakers, except leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party. PPP leader and former primeminister Raja Pervez Ashraf spoke against the decision and said the intensity of the punishment will not result in the reduction of such crimes. He further stated that public hangings violate the laws of the United Nations as Pakistan is a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry took to social media and strongly condemned the resolution. “This is just another grave act in line with brutal civilisation practices, societies act in a balanced way barbarianism is not answer to crimes…… this is another expression of extremism,” he wrote. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari also took to the microblogging website and clarified that the resolution passed was not a ‘govt-sponsored resolution but an individual act’, adding that she also opposes the decision. Referring to the improved security situation in the country, the minister lauded the effort of all relevant stakeholders. The minister of state for parliamentary affairs maintained that several steps have been taken to protect the youth from any kind of abuse, including the establishment of a child protection centre in the federal capital and ratification of laws such as the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act.
