A meeting of the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights was held today; 16th July, 2014 under the chairmanship of Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk, in Committee Room No. 07, Fourth floor, Parliament House, Islamabad.

The agenda of the meeting was as under:

i.  The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014

ii. The Child Protection System Bill 2014.

The Committee considered the first agenda item regarding the the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014 moved by Ms. MarviMemon, MNA. She while highlighting the importance of the bill stated that the main purpose of the bill was to show respect to all our regional languages by declaring them as National Languages of Pakistan.

Special Secretary Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights informed that the bill will not serve any purpose when it is read in the light of article 28 of the Constitution, which clearly speaks of preservation of language, script or culture. He further informed the Committee that the Federal Government has decided for the establishment National Language Commission and after the establishment of which all such matters will be the dealt by the said commission.

After detailed deliberation and considering diverse opinion of the Committee members the Committee by majority rejected the bill.   

The Committee then reviewed the secondagenda item of the Child Protection System Bill 2014.Ms. MarviMemon was also the mover the bill. She explained that after 18th amendment the provinces are responsible for legislation on child protection and welfare. However Islamabad doesn’t have laws on child protection and welfare and therefore according to article 142(d) the Parliament has exclusive power to legislate for Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). She further stated that this bill not only complies with the constitutional provisions but also fulfills the country’s obligations under different international conventions in general and the United Nation’s convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in particular.

Special Secretary Law, Justice and Human Rights informed the Committee that a more comprehensive bill with the same subject has been prepared by the Federal Government with the aim to implement Child Protection laws throughout the country. After considering the opinion of Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights the Committee deferred the bill till its next meeting.   

The meeting was attended by Mr. Muhammad MoeenWattoo,Sardar Muhammad AmjadFarooq Khan Khosa, Syed Ayaz Ali Shah Sherazi, Mr. Muhammad AyazSoomro, Eng. Ali Muhammad Khan Advocate, Mr. S. A. IqbalQuadri andMoulana Muhammad Khan Sherani.