Violations: Panel wants special courts for rights cases

NA standing committee chief says govt to table law in next session

LAHORE: A parliamentary panel on human rights has called for establishing special courts to hear cases pertaining to rights.

The panel’s chairman further said that action is being taken against non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who have been propagating a negative image of the country abroad.

Addressing a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights at the Civil Secretariat in Lahore on Monday, its chairman Babar Nawaz said that establishing special courts to hear cases of human rights was the need of the hour.

He added that the federal government would enhance collaboration with provincial departments for awareness campaign and protection of human rights.

Discussing the issue of human organ smuggling, with rumours suggesting that the recent wave of kidnapping in the Punjab was fuelled by organ traders, Nawaz said that the government will take every possible step against culprits involved in smuggling of human organs and a crackdown in this regard will be launched soon.

He said that the government should adopt a comprehensive policy on women and juveniles in all prisons of the country. Commenting on prisons in Punjab, he said that the situation of human rights there was better than in other provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2016.