Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has proposed major amendments to the National Human Rights Bill 2008 to ensure establishment of an independent national human rights commission in Pakistan.
In its brief legislative analysis, PILDAT said that the bill, which seeks to establish a National Human Rights Commission, needs major amendments, chief among which is that the commission should not be identified with Government of Pakistan and should be created to maintain its independence effectively.
It suggested that appointment of chairperson of the commission by the president should be upon the advice of the Prime Minister while a committee consisting Speaker of the National Assembly, leaders of the Opposition in NA and Senate, leader of the House in the Senate, and the minister of human rights should be its members.
Similarly, membership of the commission should not be restricted to women and minorities but qualified representatives from across the country including Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan should be appointed as its members. Pildat further said that the commission should neither be bound to defend human rights records of Pakistan nor contribute to country reports, while fetters on the powers of independent Commission should be removed as proposed in the draft law.
Meanwhile, PILDAT is also holding a Legislative Forum today (Tuesday) in Islamabad to discuss its amendments to the proposed law. Fauzia Habib, MNA, member, National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, Political Secretary to the President of Pakistan, Senator Zafar Ali Shah, Senior Law Expert from PML-N, Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, MNA, Deputy Convenor-MQM, I. A. Rehman, Secretary General, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, have been invited to analyse various clauses of the draft bill as the speakers at the forum.
It may be recalled that the draft Bill on National Commission for Human Rights 2008 was introduced in the National Assembly by Syed Mumtaz Alam Gilani, MNA then minister for human rights on December 17, 2008. The bill was referred to National Assembly Standing Committee, chaired by Riaz Fatiana MNA, for review and the committee presented its report in respect of the draft Bill on January 04, 2011 before the National Assembly.