LAHORE: The West Pakistan Cabinet has decided to recommend to the Central Government to amend the Pakistan Penal Code in a manner that it provides for capital punishment for kidnapping minors under the age of 10 years.

The decision was taken today [Feb 28] at a meeting of the Council of Ministers under the chairmanship of Governor Malik Amir Mohammad Khan.

Announcing the decision at a Press conference soon after the Cabinet meeting the provincial Minister for Law and Information, Mr Ghulam Nabi Memon, said it was based on the advice of the Council of Islamic Ideology and on persistent public demand. The public opinion was that kidnapping of minors was too heinous a crime to deserve anything short of death as punishment.

Staff Correspondent [Meanwhile, as reported by agencies from Hyderabad,J the Working Committee of the Sindh National Awami Party yesterday expressed its firm belief that the existence of peaceful and friendly relations between Pakistan and India was an essential prerequisite for the development, progress, and prosperity of the two countries.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr Abdul Majeed Sindhi and attended, among others, by Mr Mahmudul Haq Usmani, GeneralSecretary of the Party.

The committee said in a resolution that the Tashkent Declaration was an important step towards the realisation of the objective which could lead both the countries towards the solution of all outstanding disputes, including the fundamental question of granting the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Committee called upon the Government to give tangible proof of its much-valued trust in the people of Pakistan by lifting the Emergency immediately, restoring basic democratic rights and releasing all political prisoners.