‘Delayed implementation of law behind surge in violence’

Separate courts to deal with violence-related issues proposed

LAHORE:

Special Assistant to Chief Minister (SACM) on Information and the Punjab government spokesman Hasaan Khawar said on Wednesday delay in legislation work or the implementation of relevant laws in letter and spirit is also one of the main causes behind violence against women.

He was addressing a seminar on the theme of violence against women organised by Insaf Lawyers Forum in Lahore High Court where several MPAs, representatives of civil society also spoke on the women’s problems they had been suffering for long.

“Is there such a space in our judiciary where a woman could raise her voice, where she could feel safe,” Khawar questioned. However, he suggested separate courts which could only deal with the issues related to women.

“We would have to change our questions. We have to change our office’s atmosphere.”

He, while quoting the Sialkot motorway rape case, said the questions are put why a woman was travelling on the motorway at night, why she did not check the fuel.

But no one is asking why those persons, who raped the woman before her children and had already been booked under rape charges are moving free and why those rapists had not been sentenced against their crime.

“We normally used to delay in legislating or have perhaps failed in getting implemented the things in letter and spirit which causes violence against women,” he said.

“Did someone think what we used to discuss in a closed room of the offices, in our gossip in office hours, after that would you feel the safest atmosphere for your own family in offices, he asked.

He said intolerance is increasing with each passing day. There are 70%laws on women and 30% on children but the implementation does not seem anywhere, he claimed.

Read SACM condemns Sialkot incident

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the 9th meeting of the public-private partnership policy and monitoring board.

The meeting gave approval in principle to technical and financial bids for the O&M project and procurement and installation of water meters in Lahore.

The CM directed the officials to take steps to proceed further, adding that other PPP-mode projects should be given final shape without delay. The meeting also endorsed the decisions made in the 7th and 8th meetings.

Provincial ministers Hashim Jawan Bakht and Asad Khokhar, MPAs Mian Shafi Muhammad and Khadija Umar, chief secretary, P&D chairman, housing secretary, former SCCI president, Punjab Public Private Partnership authority CEO and others attended the meeting.

Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar paid a surprise visit to the CM Office to inspect the attendance, pace of file work and disposal of summaries. He directed the staff to observe office timings and official discipline.

He met Advisor Hanif Pitafi, Tahir Randhawa MPA and others at the DS office and made his way to the conference room to discuss the agenda with the participants of the staff meeting.

While directing the officials to take quick action on files being forwarded to the CMO, Usman Buzdar asked the staff to ensure early disposal of the summaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2021.