Police set up women, child protection centre

IGP Temuri says facility will help check violence against women and children

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Police have established a women and child protection centre at the Women Police Station Islamabad to check incidents of violence against them.

Islamabad Police Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Sultan Azam Temuri formally inaugurated the centre and the inaugural ceremony was attended among others by DIG Operations Mir Vais Niaz, AIG Operations Asmatullah Junejo, SSP Operations Najeeb Ur Rehman Bugvi, SP Special Branch Arsala Saleem, members of human rights and gender watch committee and other police officials.



SP Arsala Saleem briefed the members about the principal mission of the centre. IGP Temuri in his address said that the main purpose of this centre is to check violence against women and children and ensure protection to them.

He said that more than 50 per cent of the country’s population is female and the establishment of such a centre in Islamabad was need of the hour which will provide relevant needs and requirements to the marginalized segment of society.

Temuri said that justice in a system or society can be gauged from protection measures for the weakest segment of society. He said various measures are being taken for fairness and transparent attitude with these segments and their rights will be ensured by the police.

He said that Women Police Station in Islamabad would be upgraded while Human Rights and Gender Watch Committee would be made more effective to handle similar cases. He said that this committee would monitor such cases and give recommendations to end them.



IGP Islamabad said that a mobile vehicle has been provided for this centre and response time would be 5-7 minutes. He said that this centre has been linked with help lines of Islamabad police. He said that complaints can be lodged at helpline (8090) through call or sms.

Temuri added said that such centres would be extended to other police stations while special desks would be set up at reporting rooms to lodge complaints related to violence against women and children. He appealed the participants and citizens to give their recommendations to improve working of the centre.

Child protection issues

In July 2017, the National Assembly’s rights panel had passed two bills — Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Bill, 2017 and Juvenile Justice System Bill, 2017 — to stop violence against underage children and provide them legal protection.

Both the bills were under consideration for over a year and were meant to be implemented in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as other provinces already have their laws for child protection and justice under international obligations to which Pakistan is a signatory.

Pakistan ratified UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 to implement its provisions in letter and spirit and submit its periodic report to the UN in Geneva every five years.

Both the government bills were tabled in the National Assembly and then referred to the committee in May this year.



The ICT Child Protection Bill, 2017 provides protection and care of all children, including unattended orphans. The salient features of the aforesaid bill include formation of child protection board, establishment of such institutions and granting licences to alternative child care centres.

The Juvenile Justice System Bill 2017 steers to empower the state to make special provisions for the legal protection of children. Besides, the bill also aims to modify and amend the laws relating to criminal justice system for juveniles by providing special focus on disposal of cases through diversion and social integration of the juvenile offenders or a child who is alleged to have committed or who has been found to have committed an offence. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2018.