ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The National Assembly (NA) on Friday passed the Zainab Alert Bill 2019, which will introduce a response and recovery mechanism for missing children.

According to the details garnered, the NA Standing Committee on Human Rights had unanimously passed the Zainab Alert Bill on October 8, 2019. The government and opposition have unanimously passed Zainab Alert bill which will pave the way to penalise culprits in crimes against children from 10-14 years to life imprisonment.

Speaking to the floor of NA, Mazari thanked Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar and National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights Chairperson Mahreen Razaque Bhutto for expediting the bill’s passage.

The bill will pave the way for the setting up of the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA), where missing child cases will be reported.

Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto praised the approval of the bill, saying that today’s the second death anniversary of Zainab Ansari and the parliament gave a big message on the day.

PTI leader Asad Umar said the children are more sensitive as compared to the powerful people. Another lawmaker, Faheem Khan, demanded public execution of the culprits in child abuse cases.

A helpline 1099 will be established under the law besides constitution of an agency to take immediate action after responding complaints about abduction, murder and rape of minor children, read the bill, adding that the officer will also get penalised over failure to respond within two hours.

Case Details

Imran Ali had murdered the innocent Zainab after rape. On February 2, an ATC had awarded death sentence to Imran Ali, on the charges of kidnapping, rape and brutal murder of Zainab Amin of Kasur after completing the trial in record seven days time.

On February 17, an anti-terrorism court had sentenced him to death on four counts. He was awarded a life imprisonment for sodomy and another penalty was for concealing the young girl’s body in a trash heap. The death sentence was for kidnapping, rape, murder and committing an act of terrorism.

The trial was completed in four days and 33 eye-witnesses gave statements during the proceedings. Ali confessed during the trial. During the investigation, Ali’s DNA matched with the samples collected from Zainab’s body and the bodies of seven other minors.

On June 12, the Supreme Court had rejected his appeal against his death sentence. A day earlier, a division bench of the high court heard a petition filed by seven-year-old Zainab’s father Amin Ansari for seeking a public hanging of his daughter’s murderer. However, the LHC rejected a petition seeking a public execution Zainab’s rapist and murderer Imran Ali.





