HUMAN rights activists, conscientious lawmakers and all right-minded citizens of this state welcome the passage of the Zainab Alert, Recovery and Response Bill in the National Assembly. The bill will now be sent to the president for his signature in order to finally become law. In this instance, credit must be given to the human rights ministry for relentlessly pushing for legislation that will help expedite procedures and synchronise the various bodies tasked with recovering missing and abducted children. While child abuse or kidnapping is by no means a recent phenomenon, greater media attention on the issue, along with important advocacy work by activists, and the public’s reaction to several high-profile crimes against minors have all made the passage of the law possible. In particular, the brutal rape and murder of young Zainab in Kasur, whom the bill is named after, acted as a catalyst for this development.

When the bill was presented before the Senate earlier, after the National Assembly first approved it in January, some raised concerns about the fact that its ambit was restricted to the Islamabad Capital Territory. Keeping this in mind, an amendment was introduced to expand its jurisdiction to the entire country. Under the new law, offenders will be sentenced to at least 10 years behind bars, up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Additionally, the government will set up a helpline and the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency, which will issue alerts on missing children and maintain an online database. Due to previous instances of police inaction, lethargy and insensitivity in handling such cases, they will now be required to register an FIR within two hours of receiving a complaint by parents, while special courts will ensure a trial is completed within three months. Despite receiving an overwhelming majority of votes in the Senate, there was some continued opposition from the usual suspects. For now, however, all victories, big and small, count.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2020