Islamabad:
The National Assembly has emphasized the legislature’s collective responsibility for ensuring a safe and nurturing environment for each child in Pakistan.
The call was made during a session with the parliamentary Caucus on children’s rights (PCCR) in the House of Parliament on Sunday.
The meeting, led by PCCR Convener and Parliamentary Secretary of Science and Technology, Dr. Nikhat Shakeel Khan, considered the alarming increase in cases of abuse against children in Pakistan.
It focused on reviewing trends in child violence, abuse and exploitation and examining the current conviction rates in these cases.
Dr. Nikhat opened the session by welcoming members and distinguished guests and emphasized the legislature’s collective responsibility for creating a safe and nurturing environment for each child in Pakistan.
She highlights the urgent need for improved prevention and justice mechanisms and urged to identify legal and institutional gaps and encouraged actively parliamentary commitment to develop effective political recommendations.
The Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), represented by his CEO Syed Kausar Abbas, provided an extensive presentation that detailed the spread of child labor abuse, early marriages, trade and other forms of exploitation.
The report also provided conviction statistics obtained in accordance with the law on the right to information from law enforcement authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad.
He shared a detailed presentation about the reported cases and convictions in the last six years (2019 to 2024).
The data presented to the parliamentary Caucus was collected by using the right to access information laws in the provinces and federal legal and in accordance with Article 19-A in Pakistan’s constitution.
Another qualitative report on Good Touch & Bad Touch, a development study of schools in Islamabad was presented by instructor programs from SSDO Maryam Jawad and research assistant Yusra Khurram Butt.
The parliamentarians gave their proposals and recommendations on the report and will soon be published for greater dissimination of the issue.
During the open discussion, several constructive proposals were made to strengthen child protection efforts.
Parliamentary secretary Zeb Jaffar agreed to workshops in Islamabad schools to educate children and parents about physical security through storytelling that focused on “Good Touch, Bad Touch.” Dr. Shahida Rehmani called for the integration of harassment -attention into the school’s curricula, while MNA Syeda Shehla Raza highlighted the effectiveness of visual aids such as films for sensibilizing parents, children and teachers.
Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar shared conclusions from her constituency emphasized the risk of leaving children unattended with relatives or housekeepers. With input from app
