‘Do not deprive fellow citizens of their rights’, urges Mazari

Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari urged the people of the country on Thursday to not deprive anyone of their rights and/or commit violence against anyone, especially women and children.

In a video message, released on the annual Human Rights Day, the federal minister maintained that by violating somebody's rights, "one does not only break the law but also destroys the very fabric of society".

“We as a nation can only move forward once the government, society and every individual is prepared to do so alongside one another,” she added.

The federal minister further underscored the achievements of the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) in upholding human rights in Pakistan.

Federal Minister Shireen Mazari, in her special message on Human Rights Day explaining in detail what MoHR has achieved so far for upholding human rights in Pakistan.

She said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government had continuously worked to promote human rights both in and outside the country.

“We have particularly aimed to protect the rights of children, women and marginalised communities and will continue to do so,” she stated.

Mazari remarked that a number of new laws had been formulated to protect the rights of individuals; especially the anti-rape ordinances, that have been introduced to protect children and women from physical and sexual abuse.

The minister observed that after the introduction of the Zainab Alert Bill, also referred to as the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2019 - a law that defines the system of one-window operations to notify the public and recover kidnapped children in the country - the government has now formed a Zainab Alert application on the prime minister's portal.

In addition, a National Commission on the Rights of the Child has also been formed, she added.

“Everyday, women are facing abuse and harassment, we have made an application to help fight against it, which allows women to notify the police officials with an SOS alert via a simple press of a button,” she stated.

Mazari maintained that the issue of human rights was multifaceted, and it can be used for political controversy, such as enforced disappearances. She said that the government was working on a bill to help curb such instances.

A bill to protect the rights and lives of the journalists has also been made, and will be presented in front of the cabinet for approval, before going to the assembly, the minister claimed.

She added that women’s rights to inheritance, that is protected under the law, the constitution and by Islam, will also be implemented very strictly so that no woman is deprived of her inheritance.

“Pakistan has the most progressive laws regarding transgender individuals that are being implemented by the government,” she said.

“The government is trying to employ the rule of law from all directions,” she said, “so that everyone is aware of his/her rights as a citizen.”

The federal minister asserted that the incumbent government was determined to identify the between the existing laws and rectify them by introducing new ones.