September 4, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Saani25,1423

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PESHAWAR, Sept 3: Federal Minister for Law and Human Rights Dr Khalid Ranjha has urged the people to change their attitude towards the issue of human rights so that a justice-based society could be established.

Speaking at a diploma-awarding ceremony at the department of Human Rights Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Peshawar, here on Tuesday, he remarked that respect of a human being formed the backbone of an Islamic society.

The minister said the last address of Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) was a clear testimony to the fact that human rights were one of the basic requirements of Islam. The Prophet had made it clear that all people should be treated equally irrespective of their cast, creed, religion and colour, he added.

The government, Mr Ranjha said, was striving hard to change the attitude of the people and create a society, where all the people got due respect. The government had done extensive legislation to empower women, he said, citing instances and pieces of legislation incorporated by the government in the constitution to provide equal opportunities to women in the country.

Dr Ranjha was of the view that the people knew about human rights’ issues, but they needed a strong commitment to respect and abide by the relevant laws regarding human rights in letter and in spirit.

He expressed concern over the prevalence of the feudal society in Sindh, where the feudal class, he alleged, did not respect human rights because of its certain mind-set. He expressed the hope that the people would strive for a change for better very soon.

The government, he said, had accorded a top priority to the issue of human rights in order to check human rights’ violations in the country.

He called upon students to research the laws relating to human rights in order to create awareness among the people.

The minister presented diplomas to the students of the first batch of the one-year course.

Earlier in the day, Dr Ranjha visited the provincial directorate of human rights and distributed compensation cheques among 21 deserving people, including women.

Talking to newsmen, he said the press law, pertaining to defamation and the newly-approved press council, had been prepared with the consent of all the stake-holders, including media and bar councils.

He dispelled the impression that the law was harsh, saying that laws much harsher than that were present in the country.