Civil Society calls for joint efforts to protect children

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter (PFDP-KP) in collaboration with the EU-funded Citizen Justice and Peace Program (CJPP) organized a seminar on ‘’Safety needs of women and children and civil society” here in a local hotel at Peshawar on Wednesday.

The purpose of the Seminar was to formulate a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-specific implementation plan on victim support by developing a liaison between PFDP-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Home and attached departments and Police for better responding to the citizens justice needs.

To develop an actionable plan on the subject, the seminar was divided into three thematic areas to address (i) Enhanced capacity of police responsiveness; (ii) Referral and Coordination Mechanism; and (iii) Reaching out to vulnerable community and role of civil society.

Sayyed Safi Peerzada, Senior Manager at Rozan welcomed this consultative process involving different actors, and stated that there was a continued need to sensitize Police and other Security & Justice stakeholders as well as public on safety needs of children, women and vulnerable groups.

Key speaker on the occasion, Muhammad Ali Babakhel, D.I.G. Operations, reiterated the seriousness of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and urged the need to strengthen Investigation, Prosecution, Reclamation and Probation with involvement of civil society regime and developing a referral mechanism and linkages between various stakeholders for effective support to victims of abuse and violence. BabaKhel added that the role of public and civil society is important to support police to overcome these issues.

He told that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police took initiatives to sensitize the officials on handling child and women issues.

In group presentations, participants suggested to establish a network of civil society and state institutions and gave recommendations for capacity building of the police.

Atif Masud, Citizen Justice and Peace Program Team Leader said that an implementation plan is required to build upon the existing procedures and mechanisms as well as to identify areas for an effective and efficient support mechanism for citizens in general, and children, women and vulnerable groups in particular.

The event was attended by representatives of Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Police, Reclamation and Probation, Prosecution and Prison and members of the Civil Society, including members of the PFDP-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.