ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Standing Committee on Human Rights, with a majority of members present, rejected any proposed statutory amendments advocating public execution for capital offenses.
During a meeting at the Parliament House chaired by Senator Walid Iqbal, the committee, through a majority vote, asserted that such amendments, involving public executions for serious crimes, should be opposed based on the constitutional rights guaranteed by superior courts and existing laws in Pakistan.
The committee urged the House to reject any such amendments if presented on its legislative agenda.
However, Senators Dr. Mehr Taj Roghani and Dr. Humayun Mohmand dissented, expressing disagreement with the committee’s decision, arguing that it was made hastily without proper research on the potential deterrent effects of public executions.
The committee received detailed briefings from the Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights and the Secretary of the National Commission for Human Rights on public executions.
These briefings highlighted a 1994 Supreme Court judgment and a 2018 Lahore High Court decision, both emphasizing that public executions violate human dignity as guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Federal Shariat Court’s endorsement of upholding human dignity based on Quranic teachings was also noted.
International conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, were highlighted, indicating that Pakistan, as a party to these conventions, prohibits public executions as cruel and inhuman.
The briefings emphasized global research and empirical evidence suggesting that public executions tend to brutalize society rather than serve as a deterrent.
In the case of Pakistan, it was pointed out that there was a 33% increase in rape cases in the year following the execution of Zainab’s murderer.
The committee also discussed the “Bangkok Rules,” focusing on gender sensitivities for under-trial and convicted prisoners. The Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights briefed the committee on various aspects of these rules, noting that they are non-binding due to the circumstances of their issuance.
The committee deferred further discussion on the implementation of the rules in Pakistan to a subsequent meeting, where the Chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women would be present.
Representatives of the Commission were directed to gather additional data and information on the subject from all provinces in Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by Senators Dr. Mehr Taj Roghani, Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Kamran Micheal, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, and Syed Waqar Mehdi, with senior officials from the attached departments were also present.
