HYDERABAD: While terming deteriorated human rights situation in Sindh, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Monday said Sindh presented the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the country by the end of 2020, with a death toll of 3560.
Addressing a press conference here at Hyderabad Press Club (HPC), for releasing the state of human rights report for year 2020, vice president HRCP Sindh chapter Qazi Khizr said though Sindh’s response to COVID-19 was promising, the record of the province was worrying.
The press conference was addressed by HRCP’s council members Saeed Baloch, Parveen Soomro and Saleem Jarwar while the Regional Coordinator HRCP Hyderabad Imdad Chandio and others were also present.
Terming the passage of the Sindh COVID-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020, a welcoming development, Qazi said it had provided some relief to workers, students and tenants.
However, these measures were marred by weak implementation, with labour organizations complaining of widespread retrenchment, especially in the private sector, he added.
In its annual report, HRCP noted that while the four years term of the Local Governments in Sindh expired on August 30, the provincial government had not announced new dates for holding next local elections as of the end of 2020.
In Sindh, children’s access to education remains poor as the provincial education minister had admitted that around 3.5 million children in the province remained out of school, he said and added that the actual figure of out of school children was double of the figure the education minister had stated.