Depression root cause of mental diseases: Yasmin

LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid attended a ceremony and an awareness walk held in connection with World Mental Health Day at Punjab Institute of Mental Health on Thursday.

The provincial minister visited various stalls set up by the students to highlight the importance of mental health day on this occasion. Addressing the participants, Dr Yasmin Rashid said that purpose to observe World Mental Health Day was to ensure looking after mental health patients. She said that life is the trust of Allah Almighty and mental stress often leads to different diseases. Depression is root cause of mental diseases, she added. She said that trend of suicide was highly deplorable in the world especially in Pakistan. The minister directed the SIMS Principal to launch a helpline to facilitate the family members of mental health patients within a week. She said that all complaints received through this helpline would be addressed. She said that patients were being sufficiently looked after in the institute of mental health.

According to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, healthcare facilities are being provided to the people of Punjab. She said that patients of mental health deserve special attention. Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences Prof Mehmood Ayyaz thanked the minister for attending the ceremony.

graft: Provincial Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said that the vision of PTI is being fully implemented in Punjab and important solid steps are being taken to eradicate corruption, terrorism, money-laundering, benami properties, encroachments and illegal occupation of state lands.

He expressed these views in a meeting with the US Consul General Lahore Ms Catherine Rodriguez at Civil Secretariat on Thursday. The meeting discussed issues of mutual interest between the Punjab government and the United States. Ms Catherine said the Punjab government was doing a commendable job in implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) while providing facilities to visitors at Kartarpur Border and other religious places was a good move.

Raja Basharat said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar were paying equal attention to the promotion of religious tourism across the province. He said three committees were working at the Supreme Court, federal government and provincial government level for police reforms in Punjab while new legislation was under consideration to bring effective accountability system to the police. He said the chief minister had taken strong action on police violence and extra-judicial killings. Ms Catherine praised tree plantation campaign and said that the US government would continue its cooperation with the government for the socio-economic development.

Child right Day: The International Day of Girl Child is being observed today (Friday). This day was launched in 2012 by United Nations General Assembly. The day that is observed at United Nations headquarters every year aims to bring together organisations that serve girls to further the advancement of their human rights.

All over the world, there are marches, rallies and special events such as concerts and sporting events to mark the occasion. Girls get the chance to take over key roles in business, politics and sport for the day and stories are shared on social media with the hashtags #girlstakeover.

Aurat Foundation called for gender-responsive legislation and policies across all areas, especially for adolescent girls.

Empowerment: Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Ijaz Alam Augustine has said that October 11 is a day designated for promoting the rights of girls and addressing the unique challenges they face.

In a statement, the minister said that when adolescent girls were empowered, it benefited all. Empowered girls grow into empowered women who can care better for themselves and their families, increase their earning potential, serve as active and equal citizens and spur economic growth for communities and nations. The minister said that empowering girls had tangible benefits to society.