Zainab’s death anniversary observed

Lahore:A condolence ceremony was held on the second death anniversary of little girl Zainab, who was murdered after rape, at Road Kot in Kasur on Friday.

The event was organised by Zainab’s father Haji Muhammad Amin Ansari. Federal Minister Asad Umer, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi, Punjab Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine, various religious and political leaders and other figures belonging to civil society also attended the condolence ceremony.

Haji Muhammad Amin, in his address, said that he could never forget the incident of little Zainab. He said he wanted to safeguard other innocent Zainabs in the country. He said, “The beast named Imran Ali was punished but fear still remains in the minds of our innocent children. To protect our children, we all need to be vigilant and play our collective role.”

Federal Minister Asad Umer said the federal government desired to introduce a bill in Punjab Assembly like Zainab Alert Bill and in this regard the Punjab chief minister was also on board. He said hopefully a bill would be presented in the Punjab Assembly as soon as possible.

Punjab Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine said the government had taken measures to protect children and the Punjab government enacted various laws for the protection of child rights in the province. He said that the government was already working to develop and strengthen Punjab’s legal framework to protect child rights but the government could not do anything alone; it needs full support and collective effort of civil society to protect little angels from the wolves in society. He said the Punjab government with the collaboration of all stakeholders was going to included subject on human rights, especially on child protection in the curriculum. Seminar on education: In connection with International Day of Education, Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED) organised a seminar “Role of Education Managers/ Teachers in Narrative Building: Citizenship and Peace-Building to Curb Extremism and Violence from Society” here on Friday.

Ahmad Khawar Shahzad, a PhD scholar and recipient of PEP Peace Award-2019, said the seminar was part of a series of the seminars held under the umbrella of ‘Paigam-e-Pakistan’ programme at QAED Punjab. The purpose of the seminar was to create awareness and advocacy of action for peace and good citizenship among education managers and schoolteachers with an intent to curb extremism and violence and to promote peace, harmony and tranquility in the social fabric of Pakistan.

Dr Zia-ul-Haq said success of Pakistan would be success of Islam in the contemporary society. Maj-Gen (r) Ubaid Bin Zakria emphasised the value of understanding conflict resolution and its impact in society.

Lt-Gen Ghulam Mustufa, chief guest of the ceremony, reiterated the message of becoming inspirational teacher who could put impact on the lives of their students. Meanwhile, Lt-Gen (r) Muhammad Aslam Saleem inaugurated a mosque at QAED Punjab. Maj-Gen (r) Obaid Bin Zakria inaugurated “Research and Publication Centre while Lt-Gen (r) Ghulam Mustufa inaugurated maiden Annual Report (2018-19) and gave away certificates of appreciation to Dr Samia Naz, course coordinator, Nadeem Asghar, deputy director, planning and Arshad Mamhood, deputy director, Admin.