Daily Times

The participants of a seminar on “Protection and Rights of Citizens: Political Consensus” on Tuesday urged the political parties to focus on making serious efforts to implement the national action plan, take stern actions to curb terrorism and extremism, and introduce measures to address outstanding human rights issues.

The seminar was organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). Executive Director of CSJ Peter Jacob, former MNA Bushra Gohar (NDM), Sardar Hussain Babak (ANP), Dr Khadim Husain, Arshad Aziz Malik, Syed Ayub Shah Advocate (PPP), Shahid Mehmood, Social, Human Rights Activist Augustin Jacob and Suneel Malik were among the speakers, while Naina Samson moderated the seminar.

At this juncture, CSJ’s report titled “Promises to Keep & Miles to Go” based on the analysis of pledges, actions, and performance regarding minority rights made by political parties was launched. The study found that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) fulfilled none out of five promises made in the election manifesto 2018, though it made partial progress on two promises.

Peter Jacob said that CSJ shares the grief of families and the entire nation affected by the attack on Peshawar’s Police Lines a week ago. The civil society of Pakistan welcomes the meeting of the Apex committee and the all-parties conference, being convened in Islamabad, and supports the national resolve against extremism and militancy, he added.

He said that civil society strongly believes that the success against extremism will hugely depend on changes in the policy paradigm aimed at equality of rights.

He demanded that upcoming census has to ensure the maximum inclusion of Pakistan’s diversity and the political process should enable substantial changes in the legal framework including the constitution of Pakistan to inculcate the standards of justice and equality envisioned in the speech of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on 11 August 1947.

Bushra Gohar said that the political parties had failed to address human rights abuses.

Arshad Aziz Malik said that the constitution of Pakistan guaranteed the protection of the life and property of every citizen. The political and armed forces must resolve to take serious actions to curb the acts of terrorism and extremism, he remarked.

Syed Ayub Shah Advocate said that the constitution of Pakistan guarantees the protection of human rights, therefore, political parties must make efforts to address human rights violations, and introduce policies and strategies to promote social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. Shahid Mehmood said that it was the responsibility of the state institutions and governments to implement the provisions of the international laws and the Constitution of Pakistan.

He added that the government should make efforts to ensure equality of rights for all citizens without any discrimination and steps should be taken to ensure a fair distribution of resources and eliminate corruption and ensure the safety of citizens’ lives and property. Suneel Malik said that the political parties shy away from introducing progressive policy reforms to address outstanding human rights issues.

He added that political parties must not forget their commitments to the electorate, instead, they must focus on actions to implement the pledges they make in the election manifesto for improving human rights.

CSJ’s report CSJ’s report titled “Promises to Keep & Miles to Go” revealed that the Punjab government during 2008 and 2022 introduced 11 policy actions followed by the federal government with 9 actions, Balochistan with 8, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 7, and Sindh with 6 actions.

It said the concrete information on the utilisation of funds allocated for scholarship, places of worship, skill development etc. was not made public or there was a lack of implementation due to an absence of notifications.