An extra ordinary meeting of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) Officers Association (Federal Chapter) was held at the Islamabad Club on Monday which elected the Federal Secretary Human Rights, Ms. Rabiya Adila Javeri, as the new president of the association. The meeting was attended by senior PAS and retired Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) officers.
Ms. Javeri is an officer of 1986 batch of PAS. She is one of the senior most (BPS 22) female officers of the PAS. Ms. Javeri, a resident of Sindh and a graduate in Politics and Literature from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, USA, entered the civil service in 1986.
She has served the government in several capacities. In her judicial assignments, she was both ‘first class’ and ‘juvenile’ magistrate. She has worked as Director General, Federal Ombudsman, Secretary Local Government Board, and Financial Advisor to the Mayor and City of Karachi from 1998 to 2000.
As Secretary Women’s Development Department, she was instrumental in initiating free legal aid facilities for women and for the set up of women’s shelters throughout Sindh. Prior to this, Ms Rabiya also served as Secretary Energy, Secretary Tourism, and Special Secretary to the Governor of Sindh.
During her posting as the Federal Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights, Ms. Rabiya was responsible for promulgation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child Bill 2017 and the Hindu marriage Act 2017. Currently, her ministry has also drafted a bill on the ICT Child Protection Bill and Juvenile Justice Ordinance System 2017 which have been passed by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights. She has presented and defended Pakistan at the United Nations’ review on Convention against Torture, International Convention for Civil & Political Rights, (ICCPR) and International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Due to these strong initiatives by the Ministry of Human Rights, Pakistan was recently elected to the UN Council of Human Rights which is a great achievement for the country.
Ms. Rabiya, while addressing the meeting, said that Pakistan is passing through challenging times, and as per the traditions, each officer should work with perseverance for the national interest.
Published in Daily Times, October 9th 2018.