ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday unanimously approved the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Bill, 2021.

The Senate standing committee met here with acting chairperson Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in the chair.

The Private Member’s Bill: “The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2021” which had been introduced by the committee chairman Senator Walid Iqbal and Senator Saadia Abbasi in Senate on Sept 27 was deliberated upon in detail.

Considering that the committee chairman was member-in-charge of the bill along with Senator Saadia Abbasi, Walid Iqbal excused himself from chairing the meeting to avoid conflict of interest.

Under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, the committee opted for Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar to act as chairman for the present sitting.

The bill was earlier moved by Senator Saadia Abbasi, which was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights for consideration. The committee had reviewed the bill in detail and made necessary amendments, after consensus with various religious and non-religious groups. However, due to lapse of the stipulated 90 days’ time, the bill could not be approved.

The bill was introduced in the Senate in its revised and amended form and transferred to the Senate Standing Committee for Human Rights for submission of its report within one day.

The committee on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, again deliberated upon its clauses in detail and approved the bill unanimously after clause-wise reading of the document with minor changes.

The bill prohibited corporal punishment against children by any person or care institution, which included all types of education institutions including formal and non-formal, and religious both public and private, in child care institutions including foster care, rehabilitation centres and any other alternative care settings both public and private, as well as workplace.

The bill provided for comprehensive punishment for employees of child care institutions, educational institutions and workplace who were responsible for inflicting corporal punishment. These included major and minor penalties including dismissal from service.

The essence of the bill lays in the fact that a child has the right to be shown respect for his personality and individuality and should not be made subject to corporal punishment.

Members observed that it had been noted by educationist, psychologists and physicians around the globe that physical punishment of children effected the mental cognitive development negatively.

Experts had consensus that physical punishment could have adverse consequences on the child’s health particularly their behaviour and emotional wellbeing.

The committee members were of the view that this bill should not be confined to the Islamabad Capital Territory but extended in provinces as well. The committee discussed all the possibilities to legislate for the provinces.

Ministry of Human Rights Secretary Inamullah Khan informed the committee that there were certain lacunas in the mechanism of the bill, which would cause hindrance in its implementation in the provinces.

However, the ministry would make efforts to extend the bill in the provinces.

The secretary added that there were total 8, 000 madressahs in the country out of which 35pc were unregistered. The objective of the bill was to work in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) ratified by Pakistan, therefore corporal punishment should be banned legally and declared an offense.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2021