KARACHI, Dec 10: Caretaker Minister for Home Brig (Retd) Akhtar Zamin has said that endowing women, children and other segments of society with human rights is a collective responsibility of government, society, religious leaders and politicians whose concerted efforts will certainly make the difference.

Addressing a seminar organised by the International Human Rights Commission held here on Monday to mark the World Human Rights Day, the minister said the government was committed to protecting citizens’ all human rights.

He particularly mentioned empowerment of women in this regard and said: “The inspiration can come from within women themselves. Unless they develop an urge to go ahead and be strong morally, they have nothing to lose except for their chains.”

Regarding the human rights situation in Pakistan, he observed that the country had moved forward to address the prevailing human rights concerns, such as discrimination women and religious minorities, sectarian violence, child labour, arbitrary detention of political opponents, harassment and intimidation of media and fight against war on terror.

There are many cases of human rights violations and the factors significantly contributing to such a situation include poverty and illiteracy, he said, and noted that the lukewarm resolve to address these issues at different levels was to blame for a slow progress towards achieving the desired results.

The minister, however, recounted several measures taken to improve the situation, pointing out that women seats in the assemblies and district governments had been increased, Senate committee on human rights formed, amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code and Hudood laws made; prison reforms introduced, women crisis centres established and child protection and welfare laws enacted.—PPI