KARACHI: Human rights and civil society activists on Wednesday asked the caretaker provincial government to ensure provision of all fundamental rights including right to free trial.
They were speaking at a meeting with the Sindh’s caretaker minister for Law, Justice and Environment Jameel Yusuf at a Sindh Assembly.
The human rights activists asked the Minster to activate the provincial Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC), which has been established to ensure implementation of international conventions on human rights, labour rights and environmental protection, as Pakistan has to implement under the European Union’s Generalised scheme of preferences (GSP).
They also raised the issue of human rights violation of missing persons. They asked the caretaker minister to make Rules of Business of all the laws, which have been passed by the Sindh Assembly but rules are not made.
Speaking on the occasion, Jameel Yousuf said that adequate laws are available for protection of human rights, but these laws are not implemented.
He said that the caretaker government has a short period of time and he is trying to utilize this time to improve the governance of his departments. “In my own department, at least nine government vehicles are still being used by the former ministers and I have asked to issue orders to recover those vehicles and fare for the days they were being used,” he said.
Regarding environmental protection, he asked the civil society to provide workable suggestions. He asked the civil society and media to contribute for protection of environment. The industries and private sector have been asked to use their funds under Corporate Social Responsibility to protect environment.
He said that the provincial government is making efforts to provide jobs to persons with disabilities. “We have asked the IBA to ascertain qualification of the deserving persons with disabilities and issue them certificates so we will ask the private sector to employ those people.” Under the Sindh Differently-able persons (Employment, Rehabilitation and Welfare) Act, 2014 every company has to employ disables by at least 5 percent of its employees.
In case they do not employ differently-able persons, they have to pay salaries of five persons to the provincial government’s department of Special Education.
Noted architect and Dean of Faculty of Architecture & Management Sciences at NED University Dr. Noman Ahmed, famous singer Shahzad Roy, Architect Shahid Abdullah, Environmentalist Taufiq Pasha, Director of Aurat Foundation Mahnaz Rahman, President of National Forum for Environment and Health Naeem Qureshi, Zulfiqar Shah of PILER, Zahid Farooq of Urban Resource Centre and many others also spoke on the occasion.