ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior has approved the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to establish child courts in view of the increasing number of child abuse cases.
The bill was presented by PML-N Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Syeda Nausheen Iftikhar during the meeting of the Standing Committee on Interior under the chairmanship of Raja Khurram Nawaz on Monday.
The bill proposes to amend criminal laws to build child courts for children victims of rape.
The amendment bill further stated that the statement of the victim child would be recorded in a friendly environment along with the presence of a psychologist. The bill will make it mandatory to decide on child abuse cases within 6 months.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Ministry of Law, Jam Aslam, opposed the bill, stating that such laws already exist. However, the bill was unanimously approved.
The The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2024, on granting inheritance rights to women was also discussed in the standing committee.
MNA Sofia Saeed Shah, who moved the bill, said that if the court grants the right to inheritance to a women petitioner and the accused fails to implement the decision in 120 days, he should get a 6-month sentence.
The government officials objected to the bill, saying that it cannot be included in the civil laws. Civil laws can be strengthened for not granting women the right to inheritance despite being granted by the court. The committee has directed Sofia Saeed and the Ministry of Law to sit down together and resolve the objections to the bill.
