Mr Abdul Karim 60 years old the vice president of AwazCDS Village Development Committee
(VDC) was an active member. He participated in all the social activities. He along with his wife ran a
small grocery shop. The shop did not have much earning to meet his both ends. He was not able to send his children
to the school. He had to send his females in the near field to…
Aziz Mai wife of Shafi Muhammad lives in Basti Sakhwali, Tehsil Kotaddu, and District Muzafargarh. Aziz Mai has five daughters and four sons. She is married since twenty eight years. She was living happily with her family ,
since she came to know her husband is suffering from Blood Cancer . Clouds of sorrows covered her hut . She got stressed with a thought of how she will feed her 9 kids along with bearing the expesnses of her husband‟s treatment.
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Our correspondent
Saturday, November 08, 2014
From Print Edition
Islamabad
Speakers emphasised on rethinking and revision of curriculum, especially in Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies, and inclusion of topics related to socio-economic development and women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
The demand came forward at a dialogue ‘Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Status and Post-2015 Development Framework’ jointly organised by AWAZCDS-Pakistan, Pakistan Development Alliance, Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Pakistan, Inter University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences (IUPCSS) and National Institute Historical and Cultural Research- Qaud-e-Azam University on Friday.
The speakers said that only 500 days are remaining for the culmination of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that requires attention of all relevant stakeholders and to do the evaluation of Pakistan’s commitments in order to set right targets in post-2015 regime.
“World has already started setting targets for Sustainable Development Goals whereas Pakistan should contribute in it at this planning stage to set realistic targets for future,” they maintained. Quaid-i-Azam University Vice Chancellor Dr Eatzaz Ahmad informed that civic engagement would be taught as compulsory subject at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Member Governance Planning Commission Dr. Syed Tahir Hijazi said that MDGs were directly related to common people of Pakistan. He underlined the importance of role of academicians and higher education institutions in creating awareness about MDGs and post 2015 development framework. He also assured the cooperation of planning commission in this regard.
Convener Pakistan Development Alliance and Regional Coordinator Global Call to Action Against Poverty Mohammad Zia Ur Rehman informed that Pakistan is far away from achieving 16 targets set in the year 2000 and to be realised in 2015, under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that are a set of 8 goals adopted by 189 countries, including Pakistan in 2000 and to be achieved by 2015.
“Pakistan is spending less 2 per cent of its GDP on realisation of MDGs whereas it requires spending more than 10 per cent of its GDP for next ten years to achieve the target”, he added.
Rutgers WFP Country Director Qadeer Baig underlined over the importance of collaborative efforts by civil society, academicians, politicians, policy makers are required in order to improve social indicators of the country.
Assistant Professor Iqra University Islamabad Dr. Ejaz Hussain was of the view that natural and manmade disasters, economic development, political and institutional landscape and social constraints were the key challenges in achieving MDGs. He suggested good governance, rule of law, peace and security; inclusive economic growth and involvement of stakeholders could be helpful in achieving MDGs.
A documentary on current status of MDGs was also screened on the occasion.
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According to the ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, 120 laws currently prevailed in the country are discriminatory on the basis of religion and customs. These require revisions and amendments in the current discriminatory laws and new legislation against inhuman customary practices to make responses of state just and pluralistic. Present military regime had shown their interest to repeal or to amend such laws by taking initiatives under its so called mission to make Pakistan an enlightened and moderate country. In fact some efforts were made half heartedly to amend the laws like blasphemy and Hudood, where the government’s own allies compelled it to stop or step back the amendments process quietly. Most of these discriminatory laws and customary practices are promoting violence against women. The government took another initiative and established the National Commission on Status of Women in 2002 to get the recommendations for the repeal/ amendments in laws promoting discriminations particularly against women.
Hudood Qawaneen, Naqais-o-Tabsira: (Hudood laws, flaws and discussion) is an Urdu publication. The topic focused in this 12 page booklet is very sensitive to be discussed, especially where people have no information about human rights, and very limited knowledge of religion, that comes out from a Mullah who is usually an illiterate or semi literate person. Selecting this topic to be researched and published in Urdu was a bold step in these circumstances. This challenge by AWAZCDS is commendable. The book starts with a verse form Quran reflecting the human nature of manipulating the verses according to their own wish. Opinion of a very famous religious scholar Mr Javed Ahmad Ghamdi about hudood laws sets the ground. This was a good step to minimize the backlash from religious fundamentalists
Over the period of last four years it was observed that the system itself provides the space to the common people but the implementers lack the political will as will as capacity. For example Citizen Community Boards were introduced to ensure the community participation but the process and procedures for the registration of CCBs was beyond the understanding of masses. Therefore, AWAZCDS has not only started programs like “Strengthening Local Government’s Grassroots Development Initiatives (SLGDI) for building the capacity of CCBs but also facilitated the potential CCBs for registration. This booklet is produced in Urdu for the benefit of concerned stakeholders, elaborating the objectives, processes, policies and procedures of CCBs in a simple manner.
While the world is moving towards a global economy in which the local economic and industrial Infrastructure is under threat on the one hand for its integration with the global set up while on the other hand the consumption of local human and material resources has been affected and has caused unemployment and poverty conditions in the less developed and under developed countries. Especially those countries and areas are facing this problem in more intensity which still had to develop a local economic and industrial structure. Pakistan is undergoing a transformation stage from a traditional subsistence economy towards one which is progressive and integrated with global economy. Naturally such transformation involves substitution of traditional norms and institutions with new social norms and Institutions. The situation demands rapid development to pace with the growing compulsion but the same is restrained and frustrated owing to bad governance and lack of vision, foresight on part of the governmental infrastructure. This situation has caused increases in the level of poverty and inequality.
This study was conducted by AWAZCDS-Pakistan to understand the socio-economic and political situation of PATA areas in southern districts of D G Khan and Rajan Pur in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. The study was initially conducted in 2005 and it was published in English. I hope your organization has received the copy of that English edition in December 2005. This edition is in Urdu and it is based on the facts and figures of the previous study revealed by the PATA communities during meetings and forums conducted by AWAZCDS’s field teams after the initial study in 2005. The study gives details about nine different tribes well known as Tumans (the basic unit for revenue collection and civil administration introduced in the British regime). The PATA of Punjab is actually an area surrounded by four Provinces of Pakistan but still it is recognized as de-excluded area under Provincial administration of Punjab government. The inhabitants of the area are not recognized citizens of Pakistan as the word “de-excluded” is still mentioned at their National Identity Cards. They are living under feudal strangleholds and are being governed under tribal laws, systems. No state institution exists and people follow and believe upon age old inhuman customary practices and values to get access to so called justice.
