Monitoring progress: Youth caucus to table bill on hate speech

Members say they should be informed of critical issues

LAHORE: Newly elected office bearers of the Punjab Youth Parliamentary Caucus (PYPC) announced on Friday they would table two bills in provincial assembly on hate speech and National Action Plan.

During their first media talk after elections, PYPC Vice President MPA Rana Manan Khan said the drafts of these bills will be presented to the provincial government before being tabled in the Punjab Assembly. He said some members of this caucus were also a part of the Punjab Assembly Peace Committee from where these drafts, after approval from the provincial government, might be tabled.

Meanwhile, Patron of the PYPC and Parliamentary Secretary of Youth Affairs in Punjab Assembly MPA Chaudhry Sarfraz Afzal said in a statement that support of elected representatives and parliamentarians was crucial for successful implementation of the National Action Plan.

PYPC Chairperson MPA Asif Mehmood hoped that the newly elected office bearers of the PYPC will continue consolidating democracy through input of young parliamentarians in Punjab.

PYPC General Secretary MPA Hina Parvez Butt told The Express Tribune the draft of the bill regarding hate speech was aimed at regularly updating members of the provincial assembly regarding the progress of the National Action Plan.

She said they should also be informed of the punitive action against the violators of hate speech. She added as members of the assembly, they were kept in the dark regarding progress made by the civil administration. As representatives of people of the province, it was their right to be informed about these issues, she maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2016.