National Assembly passes Zainab Alert Bill with majority vote

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2019 with a majority vote, days after the Senate had also given its approval to legislation that seeks to expedite investigation and punishment for perpetrators of child abuse. Having received approval from both Houses of Parliament, the bill now requires the president’s assent before becoming law. The bill — named after nine-yearold Zainab Ansari, who was murdered after being raped in Kasur in 2018 — was first tabled by Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari in June last year after multiple cases of horrific crimes against children emerged, mainly from Kasur.The incident had sparked outrage in the country and raised questions over the security of children and responsibilities of concerned authorities to prevent increasing incidents of child abuse in Pakistan. The bill, which was first passed by the National Assembly in January this year, was approved by the Upper House last week with some amendments that included expanding the ambit of the bill, which was earlier limited to Islamabad only, to the entire country. Today, the amended bill was tabled in the Lower House by Mazari, and was passed by an overwhelming majority through a voice vote. However, Jamaate-Islami’s Mualana Abdul Akbar Chitrali opposed the bill claiming that members were not provided sufficient time to submit amendments. This prompted Mazari to say his party had made no contribution towards the passage of the bill.