Bilawal elected as NA Human Rights Committee chairman

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said India was making gross violation of Human Rights in occupied Kashmir.

“At a time when India is violating the human rights in occupied Kashmir and the way they are doing injustices to the Muslim and Dalit communities within their country and when I go abroad and raise the vice on violation of human rights violation in Occupied Kashmir then people ask me questions about the Human rights in Pakistan,” he said while talking to journalists here Tuesday after being unanimously elected as National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights Chairman.

Ms Shazia Marri, MNA, Member of the Standing Committee on Human Rights proposed the name of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the chairman of the committee on human rights and his name was seconded by Ms. Fouzia Behram and accordingly Bilawal Bhutto Zardari MNA, was unanimously elected as the chairman of the Standing Committee on Human Rights.

Talking to media-persons after being elected as a Standing Committee on Human Rights Chairman, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said unless and until we don’t shift human rights based society in Pakistan, we will not be able to strengthen democracy, rule of law and social justice. “The Human Rights will be our agenda and he will move forward with all the political parties,” he said.

Bilawal Zardari said he opted for the chairmanship of the Standing Committee on Human Rights to serve the country with breaking the precedent as generally the head of the political parties did not head the standing committee. “But I opted for it to follow the path of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who broke the precedent to head the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly while being in the opposition,” he said.

He said the scope of the Human Rights Committee is wide and it is important responsibility. “The PPP believes in strengthening the Parliament and wanted to strengthen the committee system of the Parliament,” he said.

Bialwal Bhutto Zardari said he choose the Human Rights Committee as the Human Rights are the foundation stone of the democracy as without the human right the democracies could not work properly,” he said.

He said if there is no human rights then we cannot give guarantee to education, freedom of speech, access to health facilities, rule of law and justice and I believe that the canvass of the Human Rights are so extensive. “The Human Rights has no limits, it can cross the party lines, cross borders and they cross all issue,” he said.

Asked whether the issue of missing persons will be in his priority and whether he will take up it in the committee, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari replied in affirmative and said the Human Right Committee will look into every human rights issue. “It is an issue of human rights and very important issue in Pakistan and I am sure that it will be taken up in the committee,” he said.

Asked which issue on which he will take up his first notice being a chairman of Human rights Committee, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he proposed to the members of the committee that before announcing the agenda of the committee, he would like to take the inputs from the members of the committee and once input comes from all the members of the committee then the agenda will be shared with all.

After being elected as a Chairman of Standing Committee on Human Rights Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thanked the members and specially thanked Minister for Human Rights Ms Shireen Mazari for her presence in the meeting and asked for her guidance and support for the Committee.

The Chairman Standing Committee on Human Rights emphasized on the importance of Human Rights issue in Pakistan and he assured the members of his bipartisan role; and to remain focused only on resolving issues of Human Rights.