Senate wants assault on Christian student investigated

PM to represent Pakistan at Paris climate change summit

ISLAMABAD: As Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told members of the Hindu community in Karachi that rights of minorities would be protected at all costs, his leader of the house in Senate on Wednesday sought more information on the Christian girl who had been beaten up for using the washroom.

Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq detailed how the girl was beaten up at a government school in Chak 228-GB during a brawl between three students. He refuted reports that the headmistress of the school was also involved in the incident.



On Tuesday the opposition had staged a walkout on reports of the girl allegedly being beaten up for using a washroom used by Muslim students. The walkout had prompted the Senate chairman to seek a report on the incident.



Haq, who was narrating information provided by the Punjab government, said he too was dissatisfied by the government report and requested that a team from the education department be sent to the school in question to investigate the matter.

Nawaz to attend Paris moot

There was clamour in the upper house on Wednesday over the government’s apathy on charting out a climate change plan.

PPP accused the government for its indifference to climate change and for not announcing policy in this regard. The opposition party asked why the government had failed to submit a 10 year plan on climate change to the UN ahead of Paris Conference on Climate Change.



PPP Senator Sherry Rehman lamented how Pakistan had missed two deadlines to submit the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) – the 10-year plan for reduction in carbon emissions – to UN and for the Green Climate Fund ahead of COP 21 (Paris Conference).

In response, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be representing Pakistan at the climate change summit. “PM is himself going to Paris to participate in the conference.”

The government’s policy on climate change, Pirzada said will not compromise on development projects, adding that any losses suffered due to climate changes would be compensated.



SDG implementation

Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani on Wednesday formed a special committee to monitor the implementations of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with particular reference to climate change.

However, Senator Farhatullah Babar lamented how most national decisions were taken in light of security, rather than welfare of the people.

“Ours is a security driven state in which decisions are taken largely on the basis of security considerations instead of welfare of the people. If the state’s policies are not reoriented there is no likelihood of success in achieving the SDGs targets.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2015.