Think tank proposes amending Pakistan Penal Code

ISLAMABAD: A think tank in a research report has recommended amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860 in accordance with the realities of the 21 century.

The study on ‘Causes of gender-based and religiously-motivated crime and prison-inmates behaviour in the pre- and post-crime era in Punjab’ was conducted by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).

The study took the IPRI researchers to several prisons of Punjab, provided them a firsthand knowledge of convicted persons and their version of the crime story.

The report recommended to the law ministry to introduce punishments for all those who commit mob violence.

Religiously-motivated violence (RMV) such as murder, attempt to murder and participation in mob may be trialed in anti-terrorism courts and leniency due to age should be granted to the accused, it said.

Says parliament through legislation may also reduce age of adulthood from 18 to 16 years

The federal and provincial governments need to address the issue of fear and social pressure on sessions court judges so that fear of consequences of their judgements could be addressed holistically.

Parliament through legislation may reduce the age of adulthood from 18 to 16 years in RMV cases and equally treat those youngsters and adults for strict punishment.

The PTA needs to make an effective mechanism for shutting down YouTube channels/social media platforms that propagate violent religious groups/entities, it said.

Legislative reforms are required to introduce punishment for false blasphemy accusations while the Punjab government should establish a rehabilitation institute for reforming the character of offenders of gender-based crimes (after the jail-time has been served) as well as easing the resettlement transition into society.

Analysing a surge in criminal activity across different parts of the country in the years leading up to 2021, IPRI focused on crimes against citizens in which the use, attempted use or threat of use of physical force was involved.

Punjab, surprisingly enough, had witnessed a string of incidents of gender-based and religiously motivated violence which became the theme of the study by tapping primary sources as well.

As per statistics of 2021 quoted by the Punjab police, the gender and religiously motivated violent crimes against citizens constituted 10pc of all reported crimes. As per the statistics quoted by the Punjab Development Statistics (PDS) in 2021, the total number of reported crimes increased by 67pc in 2020.

Comparatively, in other provinces, the rate of increase has been slower, and often marginal. Obviously, the high rates of crime and the prevalence thereof in cities, suburbs, villages and districts across Punjab had a detrimental impact on societal cohesion, economic development, prosperity and safety for citizens.

The gender-based violence (GBV) category includes crimes such as rape, attempt to rape, gang rape, sodomy and honour killing.

It was noted that while the majority of the victims of GBV were often women and girls, men and boys had also been victims. Likewise, RMV pertains to hate speech, murder or attempt to murder over alleged or committed blasphemy.

It included mob lynching, immolation and shootings where individuals were either incarcerated or killed due to violence perpetrated by the mob.

According to the Punjab gender parity report, reported GBV cases increased by 0.63 per cent from 2018 to 2019 and further increased by 0.34 per cent in 2020. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that there has been an uptick in cases of GBV during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Another biannual report published by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) said 158 cases of GBV were reported in the initial months of 2020 alone with Punjab being the worst affected region. Another report of SSDO which covered the January-June 2021 time period reported that 325 cases of gender-based violence were reported in Punjab alone.

In addition, the number of cases of honour killing also increased by 20 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. Similarly, Lahore recorded the highest number of rape and domestic violence cases in 2020, while Faisalabad recorded the highest number of acid-burning cases in 2020.

Forty inmates of prisons convicted or on trial for offences punishable and chargeable under sections 295, 302, 337, 376, and 377 of the PPC were interviewed. Of the 40 interviewed, most of them were more than 30 years of age whereas only 7pc were under the age of 18.

Among them, 52 per cent did not receive any schooling and 65 per cent were working odd jobs with very meager incomes while 27 per cent had received education from madressahs. Interestingly, 19 per cent were unmarried, 58 per cent had received no formal schooling and had studied less than matriculation.

This is an interesting statistic and reaffirms the notion that education is pivotal in helping individuals away from criminal activity.