Khan proposes chemical castration for sex crimes
PAKISTAN’S prime minister Imran Khan said the worst sex crimes should be punishable by chemical castration, following an arrest last week in a gang-rape case that prompted nationwide protests.
Hundreds of women took to the streets earlier this month after a woman was raped in front of her two children when her car ran out of fuel near Lahore.
The case attracted additional anger after a police official seemed to blame the victim because she was driving at night without a male companion.
Asked about the case, Khan said the worst sex crimes should be punishable by public hangings, but added this could impact trading deals with partners that oppose the death penalty, such as the European Union.
“What I think is that there should be chemical castration, I have read it is happening in many countries,” Khan said in an interview last week with Pakistani news station Channel 92.
“The way murder is graded: first-, second- and third-degree. This should also be graded, and for first-degree (sex crimes) there should be castration.”
Chemical castration involves using drugs to reduce a person’s libido. Khan’s comments came after police arrested Shafqat Ali, one of two suspects in the gangrape case.
“His DNA has matched, and he has confessed to the crime,” Punjab province chief minister Usman Buzdar said on Twitter.
A senior police official confirmed the arrest, adding that a manhunt was ongoing for the second suspect.