ISLAMABAD: Parliament with a sizable majority passed a resolution demanding public hanging for rapists of minors, but some lawmakers across the floor opposed the resolution regarding the public hanging.
The resolution in lower house of the parliament was presented the by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan. The resolution stated that rapists of children should be awarded the death penalty and executed publicly.
The Pakistan Peoples Party objected to the resolution, with PPP senior leader Raja Pervez Ashraf saying that under the rights set forth by the United Nations, culprits cannot be hanged publicly.
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Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also shared his views on Twitter opposing the passing of the resolution.
“Strongly condemn this resolution. This is just another grave act in line with brutal civilisation practices [sic]. Societies [should] act in a balanced way, [barbarity] is not an answer to crimes. This is another expression of extremism,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also spoke out against the resolution.
“The resolution passed in NA today on public hangings was across party lines and not a govt-sponsored resolution but an individual act. Many of us oppose it — our Ministry of Human Rights strongly opposes this. Unfortunately, I was in a meeting and was not able to go to NA,” she said on Twitter.
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