ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly has passed 'The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2009 to provide protection to women, children and families vulnerable to domestic violence. Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Yasmeen Rehman had, earlier, tabled the bill stressing to institutionalise measures required to protect women and children from domestic violence. The House along with some amendments introduced by the MQM MNA, SA Iqbal Qadri, passed the bill on Tuesday. According to the Act, the perpetrators can be subjected to punishment under criminal code. The offender will be liable to maximum punishment of two years prison or fine to the tune of Rs 200,000 and minimum punishment of six months term and fine amounting to Rs 100,000. The amount of fine will be given to aggrieved person and the court will ensure it. Congratulating the House and the nation on the occasion, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Baber Awan said that President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and particularly the caucus of women parliamentarians took extreme interest in the passage of the bill. He added that such progressive legislation was the need of the hour and it would ensure protection of women and provision of their fundamental rights. According to the Act, the provincial governments will constitute protection committees in every tehsil consisting of one police officer of the rank of sub-divisional police officer, a female station house officer (SHO) and two women councillors, from tehsil council concerned, and the protection officer will also act as the secretary of the protection committee. The protection committees would assist aggrieved persons in obtaining any medical or legal aid and help them in their relocation to a safer place. The Act says that the court, at any stage of hearing, may direct the accused to pay the monetary relief to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the aggrieved person including loss of earning, medical expenses and maintenance of aggrieved person and her children. According to the law, whoever gives an application to the court containing false information about the commission of domestic violence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term, which may extend to six months or with fine, which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or with both. The court may pass a protection order in favour of the aggrieved person and prohibit the accused from entering the place of employment of the aggrieved person or if the aggrieved person is a child, his/her educational institution or any other place frequented by the aggrieved person. It further states that the court might prohibit the accused from attempting to communicate in any form, whatsoever with the aggrieved person including personal, oral or written, electronic or telephonic or mobile phone contact. It will be binding on the court to conduct first hearing within three days of receipt of an application from the victim and the case will be required to be disposed of within 30 days after the first hearing.