Islamabad, Feb 21 A landmark bill that makes violence against women and children a criminal offence that carries prison terms and fines has been passed by the Pakistan's parliament.
Under the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill that was passed by the Senate today, those found guilty of beating women or children will face a minimum prison sentence of six months and a fine of at least 100,000 rupees (USD 1,100).
In case of second violation, the imprisonment will be enhanced up to two years with a fine of Rs 200,000.
The protection is also extended to the adopted, employed and domestic helps in a household.
The bill was introduced by Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar and was passed unanimously by the upper house of the parliament, media reports said.
The National Assembly or the lower house of the Parliament had already cleared the bill in 2009, and it will become a law once President Asif Ali Zardari puts his seal on it.
The law classifies domestic violence as acts of physical,sexual or mental assault, force, criminal intimidation, harassment, hurt, confinement and deprivation of economic or
financial resources.
In the absence of such a law police could not arrest a man who beat his wife or children as it was considered a domestic affair.
The bill seeks to prevent violence against any person with a network of protection committees and protection officers and prompt criminal trials for suspected abusers.
Under the bill, any aggrieved person or any other authorised person can file a petition to the court, which shall fix the first date of hearing within seven days of receiving a complaint.
The petition should be "disposed of within a period of 90 days and any adjournment given during the hearing of the petition be granted for reasons to be recorded in writing by the court," says the bill which has also made it binding on the court "to fix the next date of hearing of the case within a period not exceeding 30 days"," the Dawn daily reported.