Call to enforce UN Convention Against Torture

LAHORE:The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in conjunction with an NGO, held a workshop on the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Pakistan on Tuesday.

While Pakistan ratified the UNCAT in 2010, it has yet to implement any comprehensive legislative review and reforms to fulfil its international legal obligations as a signatory. Article 14(2) of the Constitution prohibits torture for the use of extracting evidence, but even this limited scope is exercised minimally and torture has yet to be criminalised. The recent surge in cases of custodial torture and corporal punishment reignited the debate on why torture remains rife, and why a regulatory framework is urgently needed to eliminate the use of torture under any circumstances.

The workshop gauged the prevalence of different forms of torture vis-à-vis existing legislation (the Constitution, the Pakistan Penal Code and the recent draft Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act 2019). The panel discussed international perspectives on eliminating torture, including best practices, comparative legal frameworks and, most importantly, a way forward for Pakistan.

Capacity building: PILDAT designed and delivered a training session on how to be an effective committee member focused exclusively on enhancing capacities of women MPAs of Punjab Assembly.

Key speakers at the briefing included Mohsin Leghari, Minister for Irrigation, Inayatullah Lak, Director General (PA & R), Punjab Assembly, Ayesha Javed, former two times MPA and Zakia Shahnawaz, MPA and former provincial minister.

protest: Sub-engineers staged a protest on the Mall for the approval of technical allowance, regularisation and service structure here on Tuesday.

Hundreds of associate engineers from all districts of Punjab gathered in the city and staged the protest. According to Numan Tipu, president of Sub-Engineer Welfare Association, service structure for sub-engineers is a legal right that has not been given to them. He demanded service structure for associate-engineers. He said technical allowance is given to engineers which is the right of sub-engineers.

LCWU expo: International Resource Centre under Directorate of Faculty Development & Internationalisation at Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) here on Tuesday organised an international expo 2019 with many international universities and educational consultant firms participating in it.

dengue prevention: It has been decided to revise the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for dengue prevention and control and to reconstitute the different monitoring and implementation committees in the light of lesson learnt from the present dengue situation in the province and the previous years.

For this purpose, Primary and Secondary Health Department Secretary Capt (r) Muhammad Usman has constituted a core committee which submit its report by Nov 25.