Education, law enforcement stressed

LAHORE: A three-day moot concluded here at the Government College University, Lahore with speakers and participants stressing the need for accessible, affordable and inclusive education, effective implementation of laws and speedy justice for all to improve human rights conditions in Pakistan.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan President IA Rehman chaired a policy dialogue at the closing day of the conference titled “Human Rights Challenges and Prospects” which was also addressed by Prof Sajjad Naseer and Dr Farhat Mahmud.

Besides more than 33 social scientists from different universities of Pakistan, 11 foreign scholars, including Pakistan Research Centre, Honder College of IMNU, China Director Prof Tang Jun, Prof Zulkhumor Mirzaeva from Uzbekistan, Dr Tamás Lattmann from Hungry, Dr Noreha binti Hashim from Malaysia, Dr Bilveer Singh from Singapore and Mr Jeff Barnes from University of Akron, Ohio, USA also participated in the policy dialogue.

They deliberated on all research papers presented in the moot and drafted 14 recommendations with the unanimous consensus. Speaking on the occasion, IA Rehman called for the protection of basic human rights. He joined Dr Khalid Manzoor Butt, the conference chairman and paid tribute to Asma Jahangir’s struggle for vulnerable segments in South Asia.

Later, Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz chaired the concluding session of the moot which was followed by a music concert for the foreign delegates. Eminent nuclear scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand and Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah also addressed the session. Vice-Chancellor Prof Hassan Shah laid stress on improvement in the education system of the country, saying that a person could not be considered literate by just having the ability to write his name until he/she had awareness about legal obligations and rights.

In his concluding remarks, Prof Khalid Butt said the main purpose of the conference, organised by the university’s Political Science Department and Centre of Excellence China Studies, was not only to gather the scholars from different institutions to contribute intellectually but also to provide a platform to the students for their academic exposure and learning.