SWD vows to reduce violence against minorities, other vulnerable groups

Sindh’s Social Welfare Department secretary Abdul Waheed Sheikh has said that the department is committed to reducing violence against minorities and other vulnerable communities by promoting social progress and enabling an early warning system

He was addressing a seminar titled ‘Strengthening Local Governments and Community Networks to Reduce Violence against Marginalised Group’ in Sindh on Friday. The event was organised by the Legal Rights Forum in collaboration with the Asia Foundation and the Social Welfare Department.

Sheikh said the LRF’s idea of institutionalising the preemptive mechanisms, such as an early warning system, was really commendable. It would to ensure a more effective government response to fundamental rights violations, he said, adding that the SWD welcomed national and international non-governmental bodies to partner with it in the cause of social welfare and uplift of the province and with the same spirit and commitment.

SWD director general Mohsin Ali Shah said the social welfare department was fully committed to positive social change and was collaborating with non-governmental partners wholeheartedly for the social welfare of the people of Sindh without discrimination.

Legal Rights Forum CEO Malik Tahir Iqbal said that the forum was a registered not-for-profit organisation and it envisioned a democratic, just, peaceful, educated and inclusive society wherein all citizens, especially children, young, women, special people and minorities could live with equal protection with self-respect and dignity.

He said that the main goal of the project had been to contribute to reducing violence against the marginalised population in Sindh through the achievement of two mutually reinforcing objectives: institutionalising preemptive mechanisms to ensure a more effective government response to fundamental rights violations and expanding and strengthening marginalised population support networks to effectively address violations of fundamental rights.

Farva Minhas of The Asia Foundation said the foundation had launched this peace project way back in 2016 in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, and the LRF had implemented the project activities in Sindh in collaboration with the SWD quite successfully.