Zubair Qureshi
Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has urged the government and the private sector to work for protection of children’s rights. Children rights is a cross-cutting theme and requires concerted efforts by all stakeholders, he said.
The Federal Ombudsman expressed these views while chairing a meeting of the National Committee for Children at Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Shaheen Atiqur Rehman, Vice-Chairperson Bunyad Foundation, Zia Ahmed Awan, Founder of Madadgar National Helpline Sindh, Begum RaheelaDurrani, MPA/former Speaker of Balochistan Assembly, Ms. Samar Minallah, Anthropologist/Film Maker, Afshan Tehseen, Chairperson NCRC and other Human Rights activists.
The FO said most of the countries had a Child Ombudsman but in the absence of Child Ombudsman in Pakistan, the Federal Ombudsman has been working for children rights. He said, unfortunately, violence against children is a major issue in Pakistan, therefore we have to collectively safeguard our children rights as a society.
Pakistan has more than 100 million children of less than 18 years age who have no right of vote. He stressed the government agencies and civil society organizations to work for the protection of child rights and to address their grievances through a well-coordinated effort.
He said that due to Islamic and social values, parents are always ready to discharge their responsibilities towards their children and make every sacrifice for them.
The meeting held to brief the Committee members on the progress of the initiatives taken by the office of Wafaqi Mohtasib and to discuss the Strategic Vision.
The committee will also address the systemic issues relating to children rights. The Federal Ombudsman has also taken on board the Provincial Ombudspersons to address children rights at provincial level.
The meeting reached a consensus to carry out a study on the issues concerning the street children in Islamabad and for preparation of a particular plan of action to address the issues involved.
