Sindh MPs, governor discuss law on rights protection

LAHORE: A delegation of Sindh parliamentarians led by Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari called on Punjab Governor Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman at Governor’s House here Friday. Legislation regarding the protection of children and women's rights and promotion of inter-provincial relations were discussed in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, governor said that children are the future of the nation, and it is the responsibility of the government to provide them with opportunities for education. He said that in the previous tenure of PMLN in Punjab province, special measures were taken for the education of kiln workers' children. He said that the services of non-governmental organisation, LRF, are commendable. He also appreciated the Sindh government's efforts for the legislation to protect the rights of child domestic workers. He said that the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019 was passed to protect the rights of child domestic workers in Punjab.

He said due to premature dissolution of the Punjab Assembly contrary to public wishes, new legislation was not possible. He said that the governor can issue ordinances in matters of public interest and urgency.

Governor expressed the hope that the next elected Punjab Assembly would legislate in a better way and public interest would be put first. He added he returned many bills to Punjab Assembly with the suggestions of improvement in public interest, but instead of taking this initiative positively, the previous government ignored such suggestions.

Baligh-ur-Rehman said that education and empowerment of women was very important for the development of the country. He said that as Chancellor, he had formed consortia on seven important sectors in the universities of Punjab, one of them was on women empowerment, which aimed to formulate recommendations for women's education and empowerment. On this occasion, the members of the delegation emphasised the need for inter-provincial coordination in legislation.

The delegation comprised of Sindh provincial minister for women development, Syeda Shehla Raza, provincial minister for social welfare, Sajid Jokhio, members of the provincial assembly and CEO of NGO LRF Malik Tahir Iqbal.