Islamabad, February 16, 2026: A meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights was held at Parliament House on Monday, with Ms. Syeda Nousheen Iftikhar, MNA, presiding.
The committee expressed grave concern over what it described as the failure of government functionaries to play an effective role over time in addressing critical issues such as child abuse, drug abuse, child sexual harassment, child begging, human trafficking, and the protection of orphans. Members noted that the lack of coordination among the relevant ministries and departments had significantly undermined efforts to curb these social evils.
The committee observed that while policies existed, they largely remained confined to paper, with little to no visible implementation at the grassroots level. In view of this, the committee decided to invite the Chairman National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the Inspector General of Islamabad Police, and the Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the next meeting to explore concrete measures to prevent such crimes in the future.
During the session, the committee also endorsed the budgetary proposals of the Ministry of Human Rights and its attached departments for the fiscal year 2026–27. The ministry was directed to ensure timely completion of its approved projects within the stipulated timeframe.
The committee deferred discussion on The Pakistan Climate Refugees Rights and Protection Bill, 2024, moved by Mr. Muhammad Moin Aamir Pirzada, MNA, and decided to invite the Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to the next meeting for an in-depth analysis of the proposed legislation.
Earlier, the Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights briefed the committee on the ministry’s performance and highlighted the challenges it faced. He sought the committee’s support, particularly for enhanced budgetary allocations, to enable the ministry to achieve tangible results.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Ms. Zeb Jaffar, Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Tamkeen Akhtar Niazi, Ms. Sehar Kamran, Mr. Naveed Aamir, and Mr. Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan. Mr. Danyal Chaudhary, the mover of an agenda item, joined the meeting via Zoom, along with Ms. Asiya Naz Tanoli, Ms. Shahida Rehmani, and Ms. Sabheen Ghoury. Senior officers from the Ministries of Human Rights and Law and Justice were also present.
