ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has constituted a ten-member committee to review cases pertained to child abuse. It has been tasked to suggest measures that could prevent such cases and provide justice to the aggrieved families.
A motion to this effect was moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad in the house on Friday.
The members of the committee include Talal Chaudhary, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Zahid Hamid, Shaista Pervez, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Romina Khurshid Alam, Azhra Fazal Pechuho, Advocate Ali Muhammad, Kishwar Zehra and Sahabzada Tariqullah.
The committee will present its report before the house within thirty days.
Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet Secretary Javed Ikhlas said that a child protection bill has been drafted in consultation with relevant stakeholders. He also said the bill provides for the formation of a child protection board.
Javed said that Several laws are in place to protect human rights, particularly those relating to women and children. The national commission for human rights takes a suo motu notice of cases pertained to human rights violation, and conducts regular hearings on every single complaint, he added.
He said the commission also recently visited Kasur in connection with the horrendous incident that took place victimising a seven-year-old girl there. The commission is compiling its report of the incident and it will be submitted to the house, said Javed.
During the question hour, the National Assembly was informed that no power load shedding is being carried out in areas where the losses are below ten percent.
Minister of State for Power Abid Sher Ali told the house that in a bid to safeguard the national exchequer from power theft, scheduled load management is being carried out on feeders where the losses are high. This policy, he said, is being implemented irrespective of rural or urban areas.
The minister said the government is taking steps to counter power theft and reduce losses along with an improvement in the recovery. He also said the role of provincial governments is very critical in this regard.
Minister of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal Khan informed the house that Turkmenistan has started the construction work for the TAPI gas pipeline project. He said the project will greatly help in meeting the energy requirements of the country. Kamal said that local people will be hired for the protection of the pipeline project.
The minister also said a study is being carried out to identify the regions where gas pipelines have completed their age, adding that the study will be followed by the replacement of old pipelines with new ones in order to ensure an uninterrupted gas supply to the consumers.
He said that oil and gas exploration activities have been expedited in Balochistan, and more than one-hundred oil and gas discoveries were made within the last four years in different parts of the country. Kamal also said the country is currently producing 4 billion cubic feet of gas, but the demand is much higher, and so, 1200 million cubic feet of LNG is being imported to bridge the gap.
