NA committee directs provinces to take measures againstmixing of industrial waste with agriculture water

Islamabad: The National Assembly Sub Committee on Human Rights directed all the provinces to take measures against mixing of industrial waste water with the agriculture water.

The Committee members took serious notice of the fact that three provinces including Khaber-Pakhtunkhawa, Sindh and Balochistan failed to prepare labor policies. The Committee was informed that the labour policy of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Punjab has been developed and they have started its implementation.

Replying to a query of Committee members regarding use of polythene bags, the Punjab government official said, polythene bags industry is the second largest industry with thousands of employees and closing this industry would mean that thousands of labour will go unemployed. The committee members recommended that a member of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) should be a permanent member of Capital Development Working Party (CDWA), Provincial Development Working Body (PEWP) for ensuring no damage to be cased to environment with the execution of new projects.

Chairing a Sub-committee, convener Member National Assembly Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub recommended that government should strengthen EPA departments of the capital as well as provinces giving them financial and technical assistance to safeguard our environment.

Representative of Sindh government briefed the committee that Sindh labour policy is ready and would likely be launched on February 10. An official of Khaber-Pakhtunkhwa government informed that KP labour policy would be completed by March while the Balochistan government officials said that they are still working on the document.

In another meeting, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights decided to hold a meeting with Ministry of Planning and Development, Ministry of Establishment, Law and Justice Division and Capital Development Authority (CDA) regarding allotment of land for the establishment of National Institute of Human Rights as well as for the resolution of major issues faced by the Ministry.

The Committee members also directed the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) to presents five years strategic plan of the development projects in the next meeting. Then the Committee was given briefing by the Director General Development, Ministry of Human Rights on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the Ministry of Human Rights financial year 2018-19.

The meeting took place under the Chairmanship of MNA Babar Nawaz Khan and was attended by MNAs Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub, Sayed Essa Nori, Begum TahiraBukhari, Dr. Shazia Sobia, Amra Khan, Munaza Hassan, Phyllis Azeem, Surriya Asghar, Kiran Haider, Asiya Naz Tanoli, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Musarat Rafique Mahesar, Kishwer Zehra, Naseema Hafeez Panezai, Sajid Nawaz, Minister for Human Rights and officials of the Ministry of Human Rights and Planning and Development.

Director General Development informed the Committee that Ministry of Human Rights has no project staff of lawyers whereas legal work is being taken up with the help of two lawyers deputed for Helpline 1099. He added that Ministry of Human Rights needed restructuring to develop and strengthen it. They need to develop strategy paper upon which the Standing Committee expressed displeasure on the briefing and performance of the Ministry of Human Rights.

The committee asked the ministry to present detailed briefing on Helpline project, the criteria for recruitment of staff in the Helpline, the advertisement of toll free number 1099 published in newspapers and television channels for public awareness, number of calls received and the action taken on registered complains.

Chair of the Committee Baber Nawaz Khan, asked the ministry to present details of construction of two working women hostels for which the land was allocated more than a decade.

The chairman called the heads of all these projects and Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the next briefing and brief the committee for the speedy completion of these projects to give relief to masses.

The committee also condemned brutal killing of Naqeeb Ullah in fake police encounter and decided to visit the protest camp for the arrest of the alleged culprit Rao Anwar at the earliest. Later, after the meeting a delegation of NA body visited the camp and expressed solidarity with them.