September 18, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 17, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: A law against harassment of women at workplaces is ready for approval by the cabinet.

The proposed law, drafted by the law ministry in the light of suggestions by the Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (Aasha), has been sent to the women’s development ministry. It will be submitted to the cabinet and then tabled in parliament.

The alliance had sought social and legal protection for women at work places and institutionalisation of a code of conduct for gender justice for all government hospitals and health services.

This was revealed during a meeting held at the women development ministry on the alleged burying alive of five women in Balochistan and maltreatment of a woman in Sui.

Law Minister Farooq H. Naek, Women Development Minister Sherry Rehman, Gender Crime Centre’s director-general Tariq Khosa, former minister Zubaida Jalal, Senator Saadia Abbasi, federal secretaries and representatives of the Aurat Foundation attended the meeting.

Aurat Foundation’s programme director Naeem Mirza told Dawn that the meeting expressed concern over the incidents and called for immediate arrest of those involved.

It also considered a proposal that cases of honour killing should be tried by anti-terrorism courts.

The law minister said a committee, which should include the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, should be formed to review the matter.

The law minister said that apathy, feudal customs, protection by police of influential offenders and poor law enforcement were encouraging violence against women in the shape of rapes, honour killings and karo-kari.

He said the jirga and panchayat systems should be abolished and replaced with the law of the land.

According to Mr Mirza, the meeting expressed concern over alleged attempts by police to cover up the cases and highlighted a lacuna that the Federal Investigation Agency and the Gender Crime Centre had no jurisdiction over such issues because law and order was a provincial subject.

It suggested that honour killing should be made a non-compoundable crime because the offenders usually struck compromises with the victim families by paying Diyat.

The meeting was told that about 200 cases of honour killing had been reported over the past six months and the crime was common in Balochistan, Sindh and southern Punjab.

US ENVOY: US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson called on the law minister on Wednesday.

The minister told reporters that the ambassador had requested the government to deal with cases of ‘missing’ persons on a priority basis through a special law.

The minister briefed Ms Patterson on judicial reforms and the government’s steps for speedy justice.