• The bill criminalizes the torture of suspects under custody for the first time.
• The bill has become an act of law after being earlier approved by parliament.
• Any public official who commits or abets or conspires to commit torture shall be punished.

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has accorded his approval to three different bills earlier adopted by the parliament including one criminalizing custodial torture during detention.

These bills included the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2022 under Article 75 of the Constitution which became acts of parliament.

The president approved Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2022, which for the first time criminalized the torture of suspects under custody.

The bill has already been approved by the National Assembly and Senate after which it was sent to the president for approval.

The bills aims to provide protection to a person during custody from all acts of torture perpetrated by public officials. It could set in motion a long overdue process of reform to ensure transparent investigations into future allegations of torture and hold accountable those responsible for inflicting torture.

“It is the duty of the State to provide protection, either directly or by means of Institutional mechanism, to its citizens against all kinds of torture and right to fair trial,” the statement of objective reads.

:Despite constitutional provisions and guarantees, there is no precise definition or penalization of the acts of torture within the criminal law regime of Pakistan. Therefore, the object of the bill is to criminalize and prevent acts of torture, custodial death and custodial rape committed against persons held in custody by public officials, and to provide redress to the victims of such acts.”

The bills states that Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which protect the right to dignity of any person held in custody.

Under the bill, any public official who commits or abets or conspires to commit torture shall be punished with the same punishment as prescribed for the type of harm provided in Chapter XVI of the Pakistan Penal Code. The offence shall be cognisable, non-compoundable and non-bailable.

“Whoever commits or abets or conspires to commit the offence of custodial death, shall be punished with the same punishment as prescribed in section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code,” it reads. The bill also prescribes punishment for custodial rapes.

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