ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Human Rights has drafted a bill that would make it impossible for law enforcement agencies to refuse to register a first information report in the case of a child’s abduction, a subcommittee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights was told on Wednesday.

While briefing parliamentarians on The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill 2019, the ministry’s director general, Hassan Mangi, added that an automatic alert will be generated from the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA), “due to which incidents like Farishta’s will not be repeated again”.

The case of 10-year-old Farishta sparked public outcry recently when it emerged that Shahzad Town police refused to register a case for four days after her disappearance in the limits of the capital was first reported by her family.

Mr Mangi said that under the bill, people will be able to lodge complaints with ZARRA and an alert will be generated once the information is received. This alert will inform all law enforcement agencies, and messages will be forwarded to electronic, print and social media.

Bill outlines mechanism to generate automatic alerts for law enforcement agencies, HR ministry official says

He said the bill outlines a complete mechanism to handle complaints, and will be effective in the limits of the capital.

“This will be a special law and we wanted to introduce it across the country, but as it required a lot of funding and there was the issue of provincial autonomy, it was decided to table it for the federal capital. Moreover, the age of a child has been increased from 14 to 18 years,” he said.

Committee chair Mahreen Razaq Bhutto, from the PPP, said that if a special law is being made there should be special and enhanced punishments for culprits.

“This law is very close to my heart, and I can hold 30 meetings over it in 30 days. Moreover, I have a number of concerns such as, who will check the performance of the agency and how it would work effectively. I need a complete brief over its functioning in the next meeting,” she said.

PTI’s Shunila Ruth said the bill was complete and should be passed without delay.

“In case of any deficiency, an amendment could be brought at any time. A number of bills have been passed in the past and amendments are suggested to date. It is a good initiative by the government and the bill should be passed,” she said.

Activisit Valerie Khan, who was invited to the meeting, said an alert system would be devised to generate notifications from law enforcement and ensure the child is found quickly.

However, the committee chair directed the human rights ministry and the Law Division to sit down and make some amendments, and prepare a detailed brief on the bill.

Amendment to NCSW law approved

The subcommittee also unanimously passed an amendment omitting the section of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) act that states that the terms of the commissioner’s chair and members can be extended by the government once.

MNA Aliya Kamran, who moved the bill, said the tenure of the NCSW chairperson and members was three years, but according to the law the government can extend their tenures one time.

Although NCSW Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz explained that a new selection process is started every time, the mover insisted on the amendment.

She said: “I suggest that each time, fresh faces should come into the commission because only that is how new ideas will come.”

The subcommittee approved the bill. It will now be sent to the main committee and, if approved, forwarded to the house.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2019