Govt Making Legislation Against Honor Killing: Saira

ISLAMABAD,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Augst,2016) : State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar has said that government was making sure to implement the rules against honor killing to stop its rise.

Talking to Voice of America, she said "we are being informed about such crimes by the vibrant media, especially social media." She said government was going to pass two bills related to the law against honour killing.

Except for two political parties, all the parties had agreed on the new rules being introduced against the killing of women in the name of honor, she added. She informed that as majority of killers in the cases of honor killing were usually set free due to withdrawal of FIRs by the plaintiffs, mostly parents of the criminals, the rules were being changed to make the FIRs non-compoundable. Saira said that there could not be an agreement after that addition in law, and new sections were created to end 'karo-kari.' "Now that they have added them to the FIR, the victim's family cannot forgive the killers once the state becomes complainant.

It will be taken as a murder against the state," she added. To a question, she said that apart from the rules and law, the role of society and religious people was also important. We are living in a society where this is pride for someone to kill loved ones in the name of honor, she added.

She mentioned that Punjab government was committed to get the bill passed by Punjab Assembly against honor killing in the province. Chairman National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights Babar Nawaz Khan also said that those killing someone in the name of honor should know that there is no room for such crime in islam and Islam has nothing to do with honor killing. He said that unfortunately, sometimes incidents of honor killings were misreported in the country as we witnessed in case of killing of a girl in Murree. Our media should carefully report killing of a woman as every killing is not honor killing, he added.

He said government was making required legislation against the honor killing.