ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights (HR) in its 5th meeting on Monday will take up issues of safety and security of journalists along with child protection as per the commitments made with the United Nations (UN) and other international bodies.
The meeting of the committee will be chaired by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
According to a notice issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) director general (DG) will brief the committee on the prosecution of journalist Shahzaib Jillani, the secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will brief the committee on human rights abuses in IoK as well as steps taken to highlight the issue before international forums and the government whereas the UN Human Rights Office will also give a briefing on human rights abuses in the disputed area.
Further, the Ministry of Human Rights secretary will give a briefing on prospective capacity building that could be sponsored by the European Union (EU) through funding at federal and provincial levels.
The secretary for the Ministry of Interior along with the Information Technology and Telecommunication secretary will give a briefing on the status of amending the Protection against Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 in the light of the right of freedom of expression and the right of freedom of the press.
The committee will then hold a discussion on issues of human rights arising out of the promulgation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Action Ordinance in the province and the ways to address those issues.
It is expected that the ‘Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2019’ will also be presented for consideration.
Moreover, a subcommittee of the committee on human rights will inquire into the incident that happened in the jurisdiction of Police Station Qutab Pur, Multan on May 3, 2019, regarding trespass, assault and use of criminal force against the mother of a victim of police torture.
The committee will also take up the illegal detention and torture of the three brothers as referred by the NA Speaker. Member of National Assembly (MNA) Shazia Marri will chair the meeting as a convener of the subcommittee.