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PR No. 272 According to a notification No. 8/12/2008-ptns of the Ministry of Interior issued on December 01, 2009, the President in exercise of powers under Article 45 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 has been pleased to grant special remission of one month in sentences of convicted prisoners on the occasion of ‘International Human Rights Day’ i. e 10th December, 2009. This remission will, however, not be available to prisoners involved in heinous crimes of terrorism, espionage and murder.
PR No. 273 A meeting was held here today under the chairmanship of Senator Mian Raza Rabani to review the preparation of plans for implementation of measures announced by the Prime Minister on November 24, 2009 regarding Aghaze Haqooq-e-Balochistan The Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources, Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Zaheeruddin Babar Awan, Federal Minister for Water & Power, Raja Parvez Ashraf and Federal Information Minister, Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira as well as the Federal Secretaries concerned attended the meeting. The meeting reviewed the preparation plans of various Ministries/ implementation agencies and decided to finalize the modalities for implementation and meet again on December 5, 2009 before submitting a report to the Prime Minister soon after his return from visit abroad. In his opening remarks, Senator Raza Rabani highlighted the significance of the steps announced by the Prime Minister for implementation of the Aghaze Haqooq-e-Balochistan. He said that in order to overcome the trust deficit between the Federation and the province of Balochistan, the implementation of the plans in letter and sprit is utmost important. The Prime Minister Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani, he said, would personally review the implementation status from time to time to ensure that unnecessary bureaucratic and institutional delays do not impede the process. The emphasis of all Ministries and government agencies should be on implementation and not mere rhetoric, Senator Raza Rabani added. The officials who attended the meeting include, Mr. Ismail Qureshi, Secretary Establishment Division, Mr. Ahmed Mehmood Zahid, Secretary Inter-Provincial Coordination, Syed Nayyar Hussain Haider, Secretary Labour & Manpower, Mr. Mohammad Ali Afridi, Secretary Livestock & Dairy Development, Mr. Ashfaq M. Hayat, Secretary, Planning & Development, Dr. S. Mahmood Raza, Advisor Higher Education Commission, Mr. Riaz Kiani, Secretary Law & Justice, Mr. Mohammad Juman Jamro, Mr. Ahsan Akhtar Malik, Additional Secretary, M/o Water & Power, Maj. Gen. ® Mir Haider Ali Khan, Additional Secretary Defence and Mr. Rashid Ahmad, Principal Information Officer.
PR No. 274
Cabinet Committee on Child Camel Jockeys met here today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Convener of the said committee, Dr. Farooq Sattar. The meeting was attended by Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector, and senior officers of the Ministries of Human Rights, Interior and Law & Justice. During the meeting, Ms. Irum Bukhari, Director General (DG) Child Protection & Welfare Bureau (CPWB) gave a detailed presentation on the issue of Child Camel Jockeys. DG CPWB informed the participants of the meeting that UAE government launched a Children Involved in Camel Racing Project (CICR Project) in order to compensate the physically injured and psychologically traumatized child camel jockeys and, in this regard, an MoU was signed between the Ministry of Interior of UAE and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis of Pakistan in 2007. According to the MoU, UAE government agreed to pay a base line payment of US $ 1,000/- to each claimant irrespective of nature of injury. The government of Pakistan constituted an Administrative Board for the verification and scrutiny of the claims. The DG informed that a total of 1362 claims were received and an amount of US $ 424,500/- was disbursed to 316 claimants. There are 988 claimants yet to be compensated while 58 cases were rejected by the Administrative Board. Dr. Farooq Sattar, on the recommendation of Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, directed the Ministry of Interior to re-notify the composition of the Administrative Board, and he further instructed that the Board should scrutinize the advertisements released to media for the invitation of claims for compensation and verify that whether they covered all the regions of the country. He also directed that the Board should scrutinize the compensation cases afresh. He also called for the immediate audit of the accounts of the Administrative Board. Dr. Farooq Sattar constituted a sub-committee, comprising of the representatives of the Ministries of Overseas Pakistanis, Interior and Law & Justice to prepare a detailed report and recommendations in this regard, that would be put forward in the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Child Camel Jockey, which is scheduled to be held on December 17. The Cabinet Committee on Child Camel Jockeys was constituted by the Prime Minister in the last Cabinet meeting held on November 18, 2009. It comprises of Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis (Convener), Federal Minister for Interior (Member), Federal Minister for Human Rights (Member), Minister of State for Law & Justice (Member) and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector (Member). Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector, attended today’s meeting while other members of the committee could not attend the meeting due to their pre-scheduled engagements; however, senior officers of the respective ministries attended the meeting on their behalf.
PR No. 275 Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki was the chief guest at a ceremony to celebrate the International Disability Day on 3rd December 2009, organized by Directorate General for Special Education. Federal Minister while addressing the ceremony said that “the International Day of Persons with Disabilities provides an opportunity to take stock of the status of one of the world’s largest and most neglected groups, who – despite considerable progress in terms of international legislation over the past two years – still face colossal obstacles in their efforts to lead a meaningful life and benefit from the full range of human rights and development opportunities available to other members of their societies.” This year’s International Day of Disabled Persons focuses on how to ensure decent work for persons with disabilities and on ways to tap into the abilities of this marginalized talent pool. The recently adopted Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 the rights of persons with disabilities to work and employment on an equal basis with others. It stresses the right of persons with disabilities to earn a living from freely chosen work, and to work in an environment that is both accessible and accepting. In order to support the implementation of the Convention, this International Day will look at new ways in which the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour market may be promoted by governments, the private sector, and/or civil society, including the disability community. These include programmes such as supported employment, social enterprises, cooperatives, on the job disability management (job retention and return to work measures), and on the promotion of entrepreneurship, self employment and viable micro and small businesses. If the terms of the Convention are rapidly reflected in national laws and policies, the ability of persons with disabilities to act on their own behalf to lift themselves and their families out of poverty and marginalization can and should be greatly enhanced, the Minister added. She further urged the people to re-examine their approach to human rights and development issues affecting persons with disabilities, and to make ratification and implementation of this important new Convention a priority. In terms of alleviating poverty, it is entirely in their interests to do so – not to mention the interests of the hundreds of millions of individuals with disabilities and family members who are currently suffering from rampant discrimination, deprivation and neglect.
PR No. 276
President
Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday
expressed deep grief over the demise of Bashir Miandad, the brother of
Director General
Pakistan Cricket Board Javed Miandad.
In his message, the President condoled with
Javed Miandad
and
Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Speaker National Assembly has said that the Government was fully aware of the needs of special people and has taken numerous steps to provide equal opportunities to the person with disability. She said that Parliament would initiate legislation to further improve and protect the rights of the persons with disabilities. She expressed these views in her message on the International Day of Disabled Person with Disabilities being commemorated through out World with the theme “making the millennium development goals (MDG) inclusive empowerment of persons with disabilities” today. The Speaker said that the International Day of Disabled Persons aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the wellbeing of persons with disabilities. “It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of disabled persons in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life” she added. The Speaker said that it is incumbent upon Government institutions, civil society, philanthropist and international community to make concrete efforts to meet MDGs along with the active participation of persons with disabilities. She said that Government has introduced special computerized identity cards for disabled persons, besides taking other tangible steps including the free medical treatment at Government hospitals and implementation of 2% quota for their employment. She said that implementation of laws regarding special persons would be ensured. The Speaker stressed the need for collective efforts for raising awareness and promoting greater understanding regarding the fulfillment of needs of the disabled persons.
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