RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: If any ship reaches Gadani for breaking, its work should not be started until a written clearance for it is issued by the relevant departments in Balochistan, said members of National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights.

A meeting of the committee was held here under the chair of MNA Babar Nawaz Khan, wherein officials from Balochistan Development Authority and Labour Department gave their briefings about the Gadani incident.

The committee members were informed that the ship owner neither obtained a no-objection certificate from Balochistan Development Authority under Balochistan Ship Breaking Rules nor from the Environmental Protection Agency, adding this is why the unfortunate incident took place.

The officials also informed the committee that the ship owner started ship breaking without informing the Labour Department and with the help of gas plant without properly draining the oil that proved disastrous.

The committee members were also urged during the briefing that a proper legislation for ship-breaking industry needs to be promulgated for the enforcement of laws on urgent basis.

The committee members were informed that Balochistan Development Authority and Labour Department have also formulated standing operating procedures and a sophisticated inspection mechanism.

They, however, admitted during the briefing that labourers working on the ill-fated ship were not registered with the Labour Department.

In a previous meeting, the committee members had rejected the inquiry report of Balochistan government on the Gadani incident terming it “a pack of lies.”

This time the committee members accepted the briefing from Balochistan government officials and also recommended some directions to avoid such incidents in future at Gadani.

The members said that work on ship-breaking at Gadani should not be started until all the relevant government departments give written clearance after inspection of the ship.

They also recommended that the Gadani shipyard should be included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and a hospital of hundred-bed including fifteen beds for a burn centre and trauma centre should also be constructed on premises of the Gadani Shipyard.