Govt drops law for chemical castration of serial rapists

• Maleeka Bokhari says government dropped chemical castration clause after CII's objections.
• CII termed chemical castration clause "un-Islamic", Bokhari says.
• Bokhari says govt making, amending laws to fast-track justice.

ISLAMABAD: The government has removed a clause for chemical castration of serial rapists from a recently approved criminal law, Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Maleeka Bokhari said Friday.

Bokhari, addressing a press conference in the Federal Capital alongside Minister for Law Farogh Naseem, said: "We have amended the criminal law, and decided that the chemical castration clause will be taken out."

Bokhari said the government had removed the clause of chemical castration from the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2021, before Wednesday's joint sitting of the Parliament had passed it.

The government official said the decision to drop chemical castration was taken in light of the objection put forward by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).

Bokhari said CII had objected that the clause was "un-Islamic", as she highlighted that in line with the constitution, no law can be enacted that goes against the teachings of the Holy Quran and Shariah.

"The PTI-led government has passed historic laws despite all delaying tactics used by Opposition," the parliamentary secretary said.

All laws made and amended by the government are aimed at fast-tracking the process of justice and easing legal procedures for the affected people, Bokhari said of the 33 bills, which were bulldozed during the joint sitting.

Bokhari said after the passage of Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021, special courts would be established to expedite rape cases. "An investigation cell will be set up in every district."

Trained investigators will be made a part of the investigating team, she added.

Chemical castration, which is carried out by the use of drugs and is reversible, can be a punishment for some sex crimes in countries including Poland, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and some US states.

Fewer than 3% of rapists are convicted in courts in Pakistan, according to the non-profit organisation, War Against Rape.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said last year he wanted to introduce the penalty amid a national outcry over increasing offences and the specific case of a mother of two driving along Lahore Motorway who was dragged out of her car and raped by two men at gunpoint.

— Additional input from Reuters