New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has advocated public hanging and chemical castration of rapists and said preventive action against rape was the need of the hour in the country.
In an hour-long interview with 92 News Monday evening, Khan listed out three ways to keep track of such offences.
“The first is policing — we need to create a registration of such repeat offenders and paedophiles so that there is constant policing. Second is forming a legislation to ensure the strictest punishment is given to such offenders. Not only do such incidents destroy the lives of children but also break families. Cases are under reported in the country due to the stigma attached to it … in cases of child abuse, parents get scared and do not come to the administration for help.”
Imran Khan Govt wants to send a clear message to society & world at large that it’s serious in fighting the scourge of gang rapes & pedophilia; we withheld this comment for several hours & are releasing it after we ascertained that it’s not said just in anger but means business! pic.twitter.com/Nq2IDo071I
— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) September 14, 2020
“In my opinion such criminals should be hanged publicly but since it might affect our GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) trade status with the European Union, this punishment cannot be implemented. Several countries have these rules of surgical or chemical castration for rapists.
“Rape should also be considered as a heinous crime like murder, and should be graded like first degree and second degree rapes. Whoever is accused of first degree should be surgically castrated so that they do not repeat such actions,” Khan said.
Noting that there was a rapid spread of ‘indecency’ in the world, he said, “We have an advantage over other developed countries in the world. We have a family system that has not been touched by indecent influences.
“Look at Bollywood, look at the difference in their films now and those 40 years back. The indecency has grown to such exponential levels that Delhi has become the rape capital of the world,” he said.
Khan added, “I want to tell the people of my country that whenever indecent values and cultures are introduced to the society, it has a direct impact in the form of increased sex crimes and break down of family values.”
Also read: You thought Asif Zardari & Pervez Musharraf were sexists. Meet Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Protests demand 5-point action from govt
The Prime Minister’s statement comes a week after a mother of two was gang-raped on a highway in Lahore of Punjab province. According to reports, the car the woman was driving ran out of fuel. While she was waiting for help, two men accosted her and raped her several times. Her children were with her at the time.
Following the incident, several women’s rights groups, including Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, Women Democratic Front and Aurat March had taken to streets in protest. Reports stated that the protests — which were organised in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Karachi — set forth five demands. They called for an end to violence, affirmative steps by the government to uphold rights and ensure justice as well as accountability of those who resorted to victim blaming.
A statement by Lahore Police chief Umar Sheikh, who blamed the victim for travelling alone at night was one of the triggers of the protests.
Initial reports said 15 suspects were arrested by the Pakistan Police for questioning, but the search for the two primary suspects was still underway. On Monday evening, Dawn reported Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar claiming that one of the two main suspects had been arrested and confessed.
According to the report, Punjab Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani identified the suspect as Shafqat Ali son of Allah Ditta, resident of Haroonabad, Bahawalnagar district. He was identified based on the scientific analysis and investigation of the evidence found at the crime scene, Ghani said.
Also read: Pakistan media’s support for #MeToo ends when one of their own is accused
will jaya ji give a befitting reply to imran who is tarnishing bollywood s image
Incompetent Imran Niazi prefers to hide his flops by pointing fingers at India.
”chemical castration of rapists as preventive action” is a brilliant idea. India should do the same.
Will wait for jaya bahchan to answer back to imran khan on tarnishing the image of bollywood