Balochistan Point Voice of Nation
Quetta: Joint Working Group of parliamentarians and civil society organizations on women, youth and minorities in Balochistan held its first meeting on October 29, 2015.
Dr Shama Ishaq, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Welfare, Women Development, Zakat Usher, Haj Auqaf, Minorities, and Youth Affairs had announced formation of said group.
The working group is an outcome of the Consultative Forum which was jointly organized by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and Balochistan Women Caucus in Quetta, Balochistan on September 17, 2015 as both civil society and parliamentarians felt the need to have an on-going engagement on the issues.
The meeting, chaired by Dr Shama Ishaq, discussed TORs of the group and Balochistan Provincial Assembly officially called for Joint working group meeting which was attended by nine parliamentarians and the eight representatives of Civil Society Organizations.
The meeting also decided formation of three sub-groups to monitor the women, youth and minorities related issues at provincial level and find research papers, existing acts/bills, policies, and its legislative statuses.
The meeting also decided heads of the sub-groups: Mr. Zia Kakar will head sub-group on youth affairs, Ms. Shamshad Kousar on women issues and Ms. Benish Handery will head sub-group on minorities’ issues.
Mir Behram Baloch
Published in The Balochistan Point on October 30, 2015
