© Aamir Qureshi / Agence France-Presse
Pakistani human rights activists hold placards during a protest in Islamabad.
The Pakistani parliament has passed a new law against honor killings, closing a loophole that allows killers to be pardoned and avoid a prison sentence.
Under the previous legislation, the killer could seek forgiveness from a family member, which would effectively let them walk free. However, the new law passed on Thursday would only allow for this to happen if they were facing the death penalty, and even in that case they would still have to serve a jail term of 12 and a half years or more.
"No law will eradicate a crime entirely but the law should be a deterrent," former senator and author of the bill Sughra Imam said. "Laws are supposed to guide better behavior, not allow destructive behavior to continue with impunity."
A committee comprising lawmakers from both the upper and lower houses of parliament unanimously approved the bill which was voted on Thursday. The previous law, passed in 2005, stopped men from pardoning themselves as their murdered relative's heir, but this still left open the possibility of being pardoned by other members of the family.
"We have plugged all loopholes in the anti-honor killing legislation," said Law Minister Zaid Hamid.
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