The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to bring to parliament a bill to punish rapists with castration — the process of removal of testicles of a man or animal, ARY News quoted sources in the government as saying.
According to reports, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved legislation to castrate rapists once proven guilty, and government bodies will soon be introducing it in the parliament.
Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda has reportedly been delegated with the task of furnishing the draft bill that proposes neutering sex offenders.
“After the castration bill, the government will also table a bill for the hanging of such criminals,” Vawda was quoted as saying.
The development comes hours after senior journalist and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada quoted the premier as saying that criminals such as those involved in the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape should be hanged at public squares.
According to the journalist, the premier made the statement while speaking to him during an interview that will air tonight (Monday) on 92 News.
The interview comes days after a mother of three was raped by two men after her car ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway past midnight.
As per the details, the woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.
She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.
In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards.
The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.
Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has been identified.
PUBLIC HANGINGS:
While a number of people are demanding public hanging of the accused such as sought for serial child rapist and killer Imran Ali of Kasur, the premier’s belief contradicts that of federal science and technology minister and his government’s former spokesperson, Fawad Chaudhry.
A day earlier, Fawad had said that calls for hanging and burning the rapists alive from prominent members of his party and the educated faction were a reflection of the society’s violent thinking.
The minister’s comments had come after two members of the ruling party, namely Senator Faisal Javed and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, called for extreme punishments for those behind the gang-rape and the rape and murder of minor Marwah in Karachi.
