It is good to note that in the spate of child abuse cases recently in different parts of the country and brutal killing of innocent Zainab like unfortunate victims, everyone in the public seems committed and determined to create awareness in the society against the heinous killers, revise and update the relevant laws for awarding exemplary punishments to the apprehended criminals and to ensure child abuse in any manner is obliterated from Pakistan like terrorism menace. 

Reports in the newspapers say that at the federal level a special committee of the National Assembly has been constituted to review the existing laws and prosecution process to prevent incidents of child abuse, hold consultations in this regard with all the stakeholders including the provincial governments and representatives of the civil society to ensure improvement of the laws and their forceful and ruthless implementation for achieving the desired results. 

The NA Special Committee holding perhaps its first meeting in Islamabad the other day vowed to obliterate child abuse from Pakistan and elected Minister of State for Information, and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb as its chairperson. 

Addressing the meeting, she has said that after receiving and reviewing the inputs from all stakeholders on priority basis, amendments to the existing laws will be proposed wherever necessary so that nobody can dare cast an evil eye on the children in future and a proposal is also under consideration for the inclusion of information regarding awareness of violence on children and ways to prevent these incidents in the education syllabus. 

It will be more commendable if the special committee formed to deal with a rather sensitive matter should meet almost on day to day basis to complete its assigned important task at the earliest to ensure the relevant laws are made more stringent and effective speedily. 

MUHAMMAD MURTAZA ZEESHAN,  

Lahore, February 20.