ISLAMABAD - Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar- ul-Haq Kakar has reaffirmed unwavering commitment to safeguard the children from all kinds of harm including abuse, violence, homelessness and abduction.
The prime minister said this at the launch of Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery mobile App (ZARRA) at an event here on Monday on the occasion of Global Children Day.
The ZARRA App can be used to report about missing and abducted children. The App will allow users to upload a photo of the child with complete information about child’s disappearance and alerting relevant departments for prompt action.
The App, which is connected with all the police stations in the country, will also allow users to track the progress on investigation process and update.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar expressed the confidence that the initiative will serve as an impregnable fortress to safeguard the children. He said timely issuance of alerts pertaining to the missing and abducted children will undoubtedly facilitate the law enforcement agencies to swiftly recover these innocent souls. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said we firmly believe that every child deserves a nurturing environment, access to quality education, healthcare and opportunity to explore to full potential.
He said the government remains steadfast in its dedication to upholding the UN convention on the rights of child. Expressing his strong resentment on the senseless killing of children in Gaza, the Prime Minister said this appalling and atrocious child holocaust must stop immediately. Kakar stressed that unabated aggression in Gaza should come to an end.
In his remarks, Minister for Human Rights, Khalil George said the children are the future and asset of Pakistan and it is our collective responsibility to work towards protection of their fundamental rights. Earlier, chairing the 2nd meeting of Pakistan Climate Change Council in here, the prime minister directed to prepare shortterm, medium-term and longterm frameworks to deal with the harmful impacts of climate change. He said climate change is a national security issue for developing countries like Pakistan. He said Pakistan’s share in increasing global climate change is less than one percent, but it is on the top of the most affected countries.
He said last year, one third of Pakistan’s population was affected by floods as a result of climate change. He said the developing countries need to take measures to protect themselves from the threats posed by climate change. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar lauded the steps taken by the Ministry of Climate Change and activists belonging to Pakistan, who raised their voices regarding climate change.
He also appreciated the cooperation of the provinces with the federation for prevention of the harmful impacts of climate change. The prime minister said Pakistan will vigorously present its case in the COP-28 conference to be held in the United Arab Emirates this month. He directed that the Ministry of Climate Change, after consultation with all provincial governments, should sent delegation of climate change experts to attend COP-28 conference.
He said the inclusion of scholars and climate change experts should also be ensured in preparation of the framework.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan will effectively present the case of countries affected by climate change before the intentional community. He accorded approval to constituting a committee of experts of the Pakistan Climate Change Council under the Ministry of Climate Change.
The Prime Minister said the committee should work to evolve a comprehensive policy framework for the formation and trading of carbon credits market in Pakistan and to make it more efficient and effective.
During the meeting, the Climate Change Council was informed in detail about Pakistan’s participation, agenda and plan of action in the forthcoming COP-28 conference.