
A meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Rights was held this morning at the Parliament House, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, MNA.
The Committee expressed serious concern over the rapid increase in child begging, child abuse, and drug use in both private and government educational institutions. They directed the Ministry of Human Rights and the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) to take effective measures to curb these social evils. The Committee emphasized the need for introducing robust legislation and proper implementation of existing laws to protect children’s rights. They also directed the Ministry of Human Rights to come up with proposals to strengthen NCRC, ensuring the protection of children in a real and meaningful sense.
The Committee urged the Ministry of Human Rights to develop proper coordination with the Ministry of Education to raise awareness about drugs, child abuse, and the responsible use of social media platforms, aiming to safeguard the younger generation from these social evils.
The Committee postponed the briefing of the remaining departments of the Ministry of Human Rights to the next meeting.
Earlier, the Secretary and Chairperson of NCRC briefly apprised the Committee about the mandate and scope of NCRC’s activities, which the Committee appreciated.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Mr. Danyal Chaudhary, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, Dr. Nelson Azeem, Ms. Naz Baloch, Mr. Naveed Aamir, Mr. Ali Muhammad, Mr. Sher Afzal Khan, Mr. Muhammad Riaz Fatyana, Mr. Gohar Ali Khan, Ms. Zartaj Gul (via video link), Mr. Changaze Ahmad Khan, Ms. Sehar Kamran, and Ms. Wajiha Qamar.