Child protection laws reviewed

Lahore:The special committee constituted by the chief minister, in a meeting chaired by Provincial Minister for Social Welfare and Baitul Maal (SW&BM), reviewed the status of the existing laws on child protection and discussed different aspects for further improvement in them.

The meeting held in the committee room of Punjab Assembly was also attended by SW&BM Secretary Hassan Iqbal, Director General Shahid Niaz, Public Prosecution Secretary Nadeem Sarwar and the representatives from home, women welfare departments and UNICEF.

SW&BM Minister Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari urged that comprehensive laws and free from ambiguity were necessary for protection and welfare of children. “Let’s put aside departmental ego and think collectively about elimination of child abuse”, stressed the minister. He said the chief minister wanted to introduce effective reforms immediately. “Counselling and rehabilitation of abused children was a sensitive matter. All stakeholders should work jointly for elimination of psychological exploitation of young ones”, noted the minister. Syed Yawar Abbas said that coordinated cooperation of NGOs could also be helpful in achieving the targets.