PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would set up a centre to provide legal aid and medical, rehabilitation and counselling facilities to the women victims of domestic violence in the province.

According to a statement, the centre will be set up in collaboration with UN Women like the one in Multan, Punjab at one of the shelter homes.

“This would be a 24-hour a week facility to streamline investigation prosecution case flow process by bringing all disconnected justice delivery services under one roof,” said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

Facility will be established in collaboration with UN body

He was addressing the signing ceremony between social welfare department and United Nation Women during his visit to Women Crisis Centre Hayatabad.

Provincial government spokesman Ajmal Khan Wazir, district nazim Arbab Asim and others attended the event.

The chief minister said that it was also decided to establish a technical training centre at one of the shelter homes in collaboration with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tevta to rehabilitate the victims.

He hoped that the centre would help to protect women and empower them as well.

The social welfare department and UN Women have inked an agreement to undertake capacity assessment for upgradation of shelter homes to enhance survivors’ access to multi-sectoral quality services in two pilot districts in the province.

The chief minister said that provincial cabinet had already approved a women ombudsman for protection of women at work places and was monitoring the whole mechanism to provide help of all kinds to the women for protecting them against domestic violence and violence against them at workplaces.

The UN Women would arrange workshop campaigns for propagation of Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2018. They will also hold trainings of the committee members constituted under the Act of different public and private sector offices.

The chief minister said that women empowerment policy would create enabling environment for them to take decisions for their betterment.

Later, the chief minister visited different sections of the women crisis centre and asked the inmates about any problems they faced and assured them of help.

Another statement said that chief minister paid surprise visit to Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar on Tuesday.

He inspected different departments of the complex and healthcare facilities being provided to patients.

He expressed anger over the absence of doctors and other staff and directed the authorities concerned to immediately terminate them to streamline the system.

The chief minister also met with patients and asked them if they faced any inconvenience in getting health facilities.

He examined the mechanism of provision of medicines to the patients. He directed the hospital administration to facilitate the poor people.

The chief minister said that government provided sufficient resources to state-run hospitals so the resources should be utilised efficiently.

He said that the whole system of services should be streamlined to facilitate the poor people.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2019