The first formal meeting of the recently set up PPP Human Rights Cell was held Tuesday in the Party’s office in Islamabad to discuss the strategy for addressing human rights issues from the platform of the Cell. Presided over by the President of the Cell former Senator Farhatullah Babar the meeting was attended by Samana Malaika Raza general secretary, Zulqarnain Asghar vice president, Advocate Shakeel Abbasy Additional General Secretary, Tariq Ghauri information secretary and Samina Salam finance secretary of the PPP HR Cell.
The membership of the HR Cell of the Party was notified by the Party last week.
The Cell is envisaged to have members from across the board of all marginalized sections including women, minorities and the disabled The meeting decided to submit proposals to the Party this week on various human rights issues in the country for incorporation in the Party manifesto being finalized ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
The meeting also expressed concern over the spate of laws recently rushed through the parliament particularly the Criminal Laws Amendment Bill 2023 to further amend the sensitive blasphemy law.
It noted that first the Private Bill was rushed through the National Assembly without debate and without quorum and then similarly got passed by the Senate without proper debate. Some parliamentarians later complained that they had not even seen the Bill.
The meeting noted that blasphemy in any form of any religion cannot be condoned and must be punished, there were serious questions about the intentions behind the Bill which, it feared, will only promote sectarianism and intolerance in the country.
Warning that the legislation, instead of the purported objective of countering terrorism, will stoke sectarianism and communalism, it urged all sane elements to persuade the state to revisit the decision
The meeting also thanked the Party Chairman for reposing confidence in it.
