ISLAMABAD: A legislative body of the Lower House of the Parliament was told on Friday that urgent steps were needed to ensure peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms at campuses across the country. During the session of NA committee on Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights director general held that ‘as a nation we have been ignoring problems faced by students on campuses. There is a need to draft a policy and implement in this regard’. Minister Babar Nawaz Khan chaired the session. The DG urged the need for urgent steps to ensure a cordial environment on campuses. He warned that educational institutions would be ruined if ‘we keep delaying policy decisions to address students’ problems’. The HEC Operational Wing member apprised the committee that a policy was in fact being drafted in this regard. “Social work is being made a part of the curriculum.” The Human Rights Committee condemned the recent murder of a journalist in Sialkot as well as the martyrdom of 100 people in an attack at a seminary in Afghanistan. The committee also offered prayers for the bereaved souls. A decision was made to move a resolution against the brutal killings of Palestinians and Syrians on the floor of the National Assembly. The committee suggested that a letter should be written to the Foreign Office in this regard. NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, who also heads the Commission of Enquiry into Enforced Disappearances, requested the committee to move discussion on enforced disappearances to the next meeting so that the matter could be discussed in detail. Regarding Mashal Khan’s case, the Mardan DPO informed the committee that investigations had been transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The committee then recommended that the case should be completed as early as possible. The DPO also apprised the committee that influential persons were involved in the case and that was why it was included in Schedule 4. And, he said, the university administration would be informed after completion of this procedure. He further said that necessary steps had been taken and punishment would be awarded to the criminals. The committee was further informed by the National Commission on Human Rights member that annual reports of the commission for the years 2016 and 2017 would be laid before the National Assembly in the ensuing session. The HR committee again discussed the implementation status of recommendations of the committee for resolving issues of those affected by the Tarbela and Warsik Dams so that action could be taken to resolve their issues and allotment of plots to the 2,000 affected families of Tarbela Dam, from the royalty of Rs94 trillion, which was paid to the KP with the help of Council of Common Interest, could be completed. MNA Sajid Nawaz said that a gathering of all the local government representatives, notables of the area was held on Thursday, where issues relating to electricity were discussed in the presence of PESCO officers. They raised the issue of inflated power bills and long hours of load shedding. They observed that load-shedding duration in these areas have always been 16 to 18 hours or more since long. Damaged transformers had always been repaired by the public itself. Several waive off cases as were announced by the PESCO during the incentive package were still lying pending despite the fact that incentive amount had already been deposited by the consumers. Frequent police raids had been conducted in the area and people arrested over illegal connections. The HR Committee also constituted a sub-committee under the convener ship of Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub, MNA, comprising Asiya Naz Tanoli, Mr Sajid Nawaz, Begum Tahira Bukhari, to resolve the issues of the affected people of Tarbela and Warsik Dams. The meeting was attended by Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub, Farhana Qamar, Phyllis Azeem, Aliya Kamran Murtaza, Amra Khan, Kiran Haider, Munaza Hassan, Surriya Asghar, Zahra Wadood Fetemi, Asiya Naz Tanoli, Sajid Nawaz, Musarat Rafique Mahesar, Kishwar Zehra, Naseema Hafeez Panezai, Shazia Sobia and Begum Tahira Bukhari. Published in Daily Times, April 7th 2018.