National News Desk
Islamabad: Pakistan’s President, on Tuesday released a much-awaited new law requiring the creation of special courts to expeditiously conclude trials of people suspected of raping women or children, a step welcomed by rights activists.
The statute, which must be accepted by Parliament in order to remain in force, allows the courts to complete the trials of the accused rapists and to issue verdicts within four months. It also forbids the disclosure of the identity of rape victims, according to a statement published on Twitter by President Arif Alvi’s office.
The statement included a few more details. Leading Pakistani English-language newspaper The Dawn announced that under the new legislation, any official who displays incompetence in investigating rape cases could be sentenced to three years in jail. The paper also stated that repeat offenders could have been chemically castrated.
Suspects found guilty of raping women and children are theoretically serving a death penalty in Pakistan.
The new law comes months after Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to eliminate deficiencies in current legislation to ensure speedy justice for victims of rape.
Khan also recently hinted at public executions or surgical castration of convicted rapists after two gang attackers raped a woman on a desolate highway near the eastern city of Lahore in September. Pakistan was shocked by the attack, even though violence against women is common in a deeply conservative Muslim country.
Before the new legislation, rape trials may have lasted for years, mostly due to inadequate investigations and outdated regulations, making it impossible for victims to come forward to discuss their ordeal.
The new legislation will expire if it is not accepted by the Parliament within 120 days.
Almost 1,000 women are killed annually in so-called “honour killings” in Pakistan for allegedly breaking traditional norms on love and marriage.