ISLAMABAD – Zainab Alert Bill Passed In National Assembly. The National Assembly, on Wednesday, passed Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2019.
According to details, the bill will raise alert, response and recovery of missing and abducted children. The bill passed with a majority vote, days after it going through Senate. This bill has passed from both houses of the parliament. It will become a law once signed by the President.
The name of the bill is after nine-year-old, Zainab Ansari from Kasur. The girl was a victim in a rape and murder case in Kasur in 2018. It was first tabled by Federal Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari in June last year.
According to the bill, under Section 364-A of the PPC, a person who abducts a child under the age of 14 “in order that such [child] may be murdered or subjected to grievous hurt, or slavery, or to the lust of any person, shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life or with rigorous imprisonment for a term, which may extend to 14 years and shall not be less than seven years”.
A helpline will be there to report missing children. While the government will establish the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA) to issue an alert for a missing child. A director general will lead the agency and PM himself will appoint her/him after public advertisement.
ZARRA will coordinate with all relevant federal and provincial authorities and law enforcement agencies, and maintain an online database of all children reported missing or abducted with their current status.