Babar calls for setting up of Pak-Afghan women parliamentary caucus

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party leader Farhatullah Babar said the need for building bridges between Afghanistan and Pakistan has never been as great as it is today as 1.7 million refugees, including women and children, have been expelled making even the western border more volatile and hostile.

“Official channels have limitations to build bridges and the civil society and NGOs need to explore non-official channels,” he said at a seminar “Empowerment of Pak-Afghan Women for Building Bridges” on Wednesday.

Farhatullah Babar said that people-to-people contacts, businesses, art, culture, literature and empowered women could play a great role.

President PPP’s Human Rights Cell Farhatullah Babar said women in Afghanistan have been victims of state repression and the most tortured group. He said before 9/11 for 23 years they suffered war and death.

The PPP leader said when warlords ended after 9/11 women of Pakistan also gathered to raise their voices for their sisters across the border demanding rehabilitation of women and their inclusion the new Afghan set up. He said in Pakistan disenfranchisement of ten million women, child marriage, rape & honor killing, harassment at work place, lack of access to justice, downright violence of a justice system are some of the critical issues that need to be addressed for women empowerment. Babar called for the setting up of women parliamentary caucus of Afghanistan and Pakistan for which the first step must be to ensure free and fair elections with level playing field to all. He called for raising collective voice for the protection and education of Afghan women and reaching out to the int’l community with stories of repression of Afghan women.