Call to try women, child sexual abuse cases in Pak in Anti-Terrorism Courts

KARACHI - Cases of women and child sexual abuse in Pakistan should be registered under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act, and tried in the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs), Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information and Archives, Sharmila Farooqui, has said.

On the occasion of International Day against Women Sex Violence, Farooqui said that it had been observed that victims of these cases could not get justice, as police and other relevant organisations cause hindrances in the provision of justice to them, the Daily Times reported.

The adviser proposed that the government should take steps to ensure the continuity of such cases, which could not be followed by defending parties due to financial constraints, so as to hand exemplary punishment to the accused and ensure justice to poor victims.

The government is taking steps to initiate a programme to support, look after, secure, ensure advocacy and deliver health facilities to rape victims besides securing their record of evidences, Farooqui said.

She also said that the government was taking steps to ensure swift registrations of such cases, because some influential people and medico-legal officers also cause hurdles in this regard.

According to statistics, the rate of punishments given to rapists is very low, and most of the victims do not get justice, she said. (ANI)