Category: Civil Society

KARACHI, Jan 24: The Citizens Education Development Foundation (CEDF) has one goal, “Functional literacy for all”, and if students can’t come to their schools, they take the school to the students — literally.

The foundation purchased their first bus in 1993 which was converted into a mobile school. The purpose of the bus is to deliver education to children in katchi abadis who do not have access to the CEDF home schools.

A new bus was commissioned in 2000 with the help of Hino Motors and painted by Vasl, an art-based NGO. When the bus became too dilapidated to serve its function, a new bus was commissioned in 2000 with the help of Hino Motors who gave CEDF a discount in lieu of a donation. Vasl, an art-based NGO, painted a bright mural on the bus free-of-charge, giving it a cheery, welcoming appearance.

“Everyone can do something, even housewives can do this,” stated Rehana Alam, secretary of CEDF.  “We are women of leisure who don’t want leisure, we want to work. We are focusing on the forgotten child here. Our aim is to provide at least enough education to these children so that they can read and write, whether they continue their education is their choice.”

The foundation exists entirely on donations — from other NGOs, its own members and concerned citizens. They provide yearly medical checkups for the students through HELP Pakistan, along with free eye checkups via the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT).

The foundation operates without an office and only the teachers draw a salary. “We want all of the money to go to the children,” Alam said, while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Electricity for fans in the bus is provided free-of-charge by a neighbour and free water is provided by another.

The bus picks up children before parking in an empty plot within walking distance from Shah Rasool Colony. Equipped with benches, desks and a large blackboard inside, the bus serves 160 students per day with four shifts of two hours each. The students’ ages range between five to 14 years. Since some students are at different learning levels, each one is taught on an individual basis.

A teacher and a teaching assistant teach the students basics of reading and writing. CEDF attempts to provide basic literacy and, for interested students, helps them prepare for entrance exams for regular school. They also sponsor students’ further education in schools, colleges and vocational institutes.

The foundation also sponsors teachers, such as Shehzad, who works at the mobile bus part-time and also attends a private college. Another former student, Shahzeb, is also in college, studying multimedia. He was a student from the first home school of the foundation and son of the first teacher employed by CEDF, Liaqat. Shahzeb currently helps out at the foundation by computerising their records. “The environment [at the school] was brilliant, everyone was always friendly and it was like one big family,” he said proudly, in perfect English.

Some students come back to the home schools after graduating to formal schools, finding that they had difficulty managing. Despite the home schools being dedicated to basic literacy only, Liaqat, along with some members of CEDF helped the children in learning math and English.

“Currently, I’m helping a boy named Shakeel prepare for grade nine entrance exam,” said Samra Mansur.

A hindrance to their expansion, however, is a lack of dedicated volunteers. Currently, the CEDF comprises 16 people with common interests, but they need more volunteers. “Many organizations [like CEDF] are not well known, despite the work they do,” said Alam.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has summoned the Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) and Advocate General (AG) to appear before the court along with complete details on the progress in the murder case of Perween Rahman.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, heard the petition on the unsolved murder of Orangi Pilot Project’s director who was gunned down in March. The judges sought a complete progress report of the case from the Sindh government.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Jillani said that due to the lawlessness in Karachi, there was a complete sense of insecurity in the minds of the residents of the city. “Under the prevailing situation, the sense of insecurity is a natural phenomenon,” remarked the chief justice.

He issued directives to the Sindh IG and AG to appear before the court next week and apprise the bench about the progress made so far in the investigation of the murder case of one of the key figures of the development sector.

The bench, however, was told that currently there is no permanent AG in Sindh. In response, the court directed the Sindh prosecutor-general to represent the provincial government in absence of a permanent AG.

As many as 800 applications have been submitted in the apex court to pursue Rahman’s murder case, out of which most were submitted by people belonging to the development sector and civil society. The petitioners include human rights activist Zohra Yusuf, PILER along with its chairperson Karamat Ali, SAIBAAN along with its head Tasneem Siddiqui, development professionals Arif Hasan and Fayyaz Baqir, journalist Zubeida Mustafa, the Women’s Action Forum through its founder Kausar S Khan, colleagues from Perween Rahman’s Orangi Pilot Project through its director, Anwar Rashid, partner organisations through Jahangir Khan of Rawalpindi, architect and Perween’s student Sobia Kapadia, and Perween’s family through her sister Aquila Ismail. The Sindh and federal governments and the provincial police have been cited as respondents in the case.

The civil society representatives have asked that an independent judicial commission led by a senior judge be formed to investigate the murder of the well-loved architect.

Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel had told the court that Rahman’s murderers were still at large and were allegedly being sheltered by a political party.

Fayyaz Faqir, director of the Akhter Hameed Khan Resource Centre, told The Express Tribune that the petition aims to draw attention to the justice denied to a person who dedicated three decades of her life to redress grievances of the poor in the face of land grabbers.

On March 13, unidentified men opened fire on Rahman who received several bullet wounds and later succumbed to her injuries. Rehman was reportedly working on compiling land records of villages or goths on the outskirts of Karachi which were vanishing into the city’s vastness and were being eyed over the past 15 years by land grabbers. Rahman had also documented land in Orangi Town to protect the informal settlement from land grabbers.

Rahman was recognised in global urban planning circles as a professional who had used her skills in the service of Karachi’s poor. In recognition of that, the department of Architecture and Planning at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, has plans to offer the Perween Rahman Course on Housing and Community to its third-year students from March this year. Also noteworthy is the Perween Rahman Fellowship for Community Architects. The Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, based in Bangkok, Thailand, in a meeting of its board, approved a fellowship programme for Community Architects in Asia to be called the ‘Perween Rahman Fellowship for Community Architects.’ A total of 10 fellowships will be offered each year to architects working in the low-income settlements of Asia.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2014.

In a writ petition filed by Mr Naeem Sadiq, through Sardar Kalim Ilyas Advocate Supreme Court, against hunting of internationally protected bird HOUBARA BUSTARD and challenging the 33 Special Permits issued by Government of Pakistan to Arab Shaikhs, LHC issued Notices to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wildlife Department and Government of Punjab. LHC directed  Foreign Affairs Ministry to submit complete list of all the foreigners (Arab Shaikhs and their family members) to whom Special Permits were issued for hunting Houbara bustards for the season 2013-14.

LHC also directed WWF & IUCN to appear & assist the Court in this matter in its next hearing on 23-01-2013.  Kalim Ilyas ASC argued that the Pakistan Wildlife Ordinance 1971 prohibits hunting of Hubara Bustards.  According to IUCN Report, Pakistan is one of the sixteen countries of the world that are breeding places for Houbara bustards.  According to the law,  it is only the Provincial government that can issue any licence and the federal government or the foreign ministry have no authority to issue such  permits or licenses.

It was said that after 18th amendment,  wildlife was made a provincial subject and only the provincial law would apply.  Punjab wildlife Act as amended in 2007, also completely prohibits hunting of  HOUBARA BUSTARDS.  Hence, all licenses and permits are issued in blatant violation of law. The petition prayed for cancellation of all permits with strict directions to the government to implement its own laws in letter and spirit.

It is worth mentioning that Advocate Sardar Kalim Ilyas is pursuing this case on pro bono basis.

KARACHI, Jan 10: The impact of the Internet, especially state regulation and its control of cyberspace, was discussed after a comprehensive report on Pakistan’s online future was launched by Bytes for All at a local hotel on Friday.

While the blocking and filtering of content on the Internet by the state resulted in numerous violations of fundamental rights, especially the right to access to information, people successfully circumvented these blocks by using proxy servers and virtual private networks, said Jahanzaib Haque, author of the 28-page report ‘Pakistan’s Internet Landscape’.

Presenting report’s main findings and recommendations to the gathering, Mr Haque said that although the blocking and filtering of online content was becoming increasingly organised, it continued to be inconsistent.

He added that the blocking and filtering was mostly directed at the content that was deemed blasphemous or obscene, even though these terms were not properly defined. He cited examples of some educational websites that were incorrectly defined as ‘obscene’ and therefore banned by the authorities. Some members of the audience added to the discussion by relating anecdotes of students who had experienced difficulties in learning, because the You tube ban restricted them from accessing useful lectures and other study materials on the website.

Talking about the problems of hate speech and extremism in his presentation, Mr Haque, web editor at The Express Tribune, said there had been very specific and targeted attacks on well-known personalities in recent years. In this regard, he cited the hate campaigns that started in the wake of the deadly attack on Malala Yousafzai in October 2012, and those hailing Mumtaz Qadri as a hero for killing former Punjab governor Salman Taseer in January 2011.

The presentation was followed by a lively, rather informal panel discussion on the report’s findings, and their impact on the freedom of expression in the cyberspace and Internet rights in Pakistan. Panelists included Wusatullah Khan (senior journalist), Sabeen Mahmud (founder of PeaceNiche/T2F), and technologist Aleem Bawany, along with Shahzad Ahmad, Country Director of Bytes for All, Pakistan, as well as the author of the report.

The complete report — produced by Bytes for All Pakistan (B4A), a human rights organisation focusing on the Information and Communication Technologies — is available online for the public to read.

The research paper provides a detailed outline of the Internet control mechanisms deployed by the government, and describes the existing legislative measures and their applications to the Internet. It also provides a historical view of Internet censorship in Pakistan, and the state’s attempts to ‘criminalise legitimate expression’ in the cyberspace. The report also explores the current situation of Internet surveillance, its purpose, the method used, and the effects caused by such monitoring.

The event was attended by media practitioners, journalists, human rights activists, members of the civil society, politicians, researchers, as well as major stakeholders in the cyberspace.

The event concluded with the screening of a light-hearted video titled ‘Hugs to Youtube’, starring a person dressed as the You tube logo, and carrying a sign stating “Hug me if you want me back”. The video was an initiative by the #KholoBC Pakistan for All campaign that opposes all forms of state oppression and regulation of content on the Internet.

WORK has started on preparing the site for two large nuclear power plants in Karachi. Each of these reactors will be larger than the combined power of all the nuclear reactors currently operating in Pakistan.

This will be by far the largest nuclear construction project ever in Pakistan. It is not too late to ask a few basic questions so that people, especially those living in Karachi, know what they may be letting themselves in for.

Everyone knows the new reactors are being purchased from China. They will be designed and built by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

What people may not know is that the reactors will be based on a design known as the ACP-1000 that is still under development by this Chinese nuclear power company. In effect, Pakistanis are buying reactors for the Karachi site that so far exist only on paper and in computer programmes — there is no operating reactor in China based on this design.

It was reported in April 2013 that the CNNC, the developer of the ACP-1000, had completed a “preliminary safety analysis report”, and was “working on construction design”.

This means so far there is not even a complete design. Since the new Karachi reactors will be the first of a kind, no one knows how safe they will be or how well they will work. The 20 million people of Karachi are being used as subjects in a giant nuclear safety experiment.

The Fukushima nuclear accident has shown that safety systems can fail catastrophically. The accident in 2011 struck Japanese reactors of a well-established design that had been operating for decades. Still, all kinds of things happened that were not expected by the reactor operators or managers or by nuclear safety authorities.

An important lesson of Fukushima is that nuclear establishments underestimate the likelihood and severity of possible accidents. Another important lesson is that these same establishments overestimate their ability to cope with a real nuclear disaster.

At Fukushima, the nuclear authorities failed dismally despite Japan’s legendary organisational capability, technological sophistication and social discipline.

Nearly 200,000 people living close to the Fukushima reactors were evacuated and some may never be allowed to return. Radiation was blown by the wind and contaminated the land to distances of over 30 km.

The US suggested its citizens living in that area of Japan move at least 80km away from the reactor. The government of Japan considered forced evacuation of everyone living within 170km of the reactor site and organising voluntary evacuation for people living as far as 250km from the plant.

Contaminated food and water was found at distances of 250km.

The financial cost of the clean-up so far is estimated to be about $100 billion and could eventually be much higher.

So how big, how dangerous and how costly is the nuclear experiment about to be carried out in Karachi?

An analysis undertaken two years ago, in 2011, by the science magazine Nature and Columbia University in New York showed that the nuclear reactor site in Karachi has more people living within 30km than any other reactor site in the world.

It found that, in 2011, there were eight million Karachi citizens living within this distance of the reactor. All of Karachi falls within 40km of the reactor site.

So far, there have been no public hearings or discussions of the suitability of the site for the new Karachi reactors. There is no report of an Environment Impact Assessment for the proposed new Karachi reactors. Neither the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission nor the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority has explained what will happen in case of an accident at the proposed reactor.

A preliminary study by one of the authors found that the plume of radioactive material that could be released from a severe nuclear accident could be blown eastward by the wind over the city, engulfing the most populous areas of Karachi.

There is also no information on the terms for the supply of nuclear fuel, such as how long the very hot, intensely radioactive spent nuclear fuel will stay at the site and how will it be safely stored until it is returned to China, if it is returned at all. The spent fuel stored at Fukushima was damaged in the accident and led to the release of radioactivity.

Finally, there is no information on what emergency plans, including for possible evacuation, have been drawn up as part of preparing for these large new reactors. There is no information whether such plans even exist.

Here is a question for those in charge of Karachi, in charge of Sindh and the federal authorities in Islamabad: how do you propose to evacuate many millions of people from Karachi in case of a severe nuclear accident at the new reactors?

One expects mass panic, with people deciding to save themselves and their families as best as they could, clogging the roads, and delaying the escape of others closer to the reactor. Can any plan work in such an environment?

Finally, there is the cost in terms of money. Reports suggest the two reactors may cost $9-10 billion. They will be paid for by taking loans from China. There is little information on the details of the financing of the reactors, including the final cost of decommissioning and waste disposal.

There is not even a publicly available government study showing that these reactors are the least-cost option for producing the expected amount of electricity.

The issue of cost also must include the consequences of accidents. If there is an accident at the new Karachi reactors due to a problem with the reactor design or the construction, who will pay the vast sums needed to cover the damage and clean-up — Pakistan or China?

The people of Karachi have a right to know the answers to these questions. It is time they started asking.

The writers are physicists with an interest in nuclear issues.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 12 : A Pakistani doctor won a $1 million grant on Tuesday to fight early child mortality in a small fishing village in southern Pakistan in a contest financed by an American entrepreneur to find innovative ways to save lives, The Caplow Children’s Prize said.

A proposal by Anita Zaidi, who heads the pediatrics department at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, beat out more than 550 other applications from more than 70 countries.

The prize was founded and funded by entrepreneur Ted Caplow to find impactful and cost-effective ways to save children’s lives, according to a press release announcing the results.

Zaidi said in a telephone interview that her project will focus on reducing child mortality rates in Rehri Goth, on the outskirts of Karachi.

According to Zaidi, 106 out of 1,000 children born in the town die before the age of five. That is almost double the worldwide under-five child mortality rate of 51 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011, according to Unicef.

Few of the women in the area of roughly 40,000 people have access to medical care during pregnancy or money to pay for things like multivitamins, said Zaidi.

There is no nearby hospital, and women usually give birth accompanied by a birthing attendant with little or no formal training.

When women do run into complications giving birth, the babies often die while the women seek medical care, the doctor said.

The money will be used in Rehri Goth to eliminate malnutrition among expectant and new mothers and their babies, ensure that children have access to primary health care and immunisations and train a group of local women at Aga Khan University to become midwives.

Women taking part in the program would get two medical checkups to monitor their pregnancy, multivitamins to promote a healthy fetus and food if they are malnourished, she said.

Zaidi has been working in the area for the last ten years on various health-related research projects carried out by the university so she was familiar with its needs.

”I know this community. I know what its problems are,” Zaidi said. ”It’s a really good match between what the community needed and what this prize was offering.”

Caplow said Zaidi ”really gave reassurance that she would be able to do exactly what she said she would do and it would have the impact that she said it would have.”

He added that he and his wife conceived of the prize after they gave birth to triplets who spent a month in an intensive care unit.

The prize, which Caplow said would continue next year, was a way to address the disparities in medical technology available around the world.

KARACHI, Dec 8: The demand for Sindhi topis and Ajraks doesn’t only skyrocket on the Sindhi Cultural Day but has become a year-round fashion statement. 

While the use of Ajrak in villages has always been quite common, in the cities it was used mostly on special occasions, such as wedding ceremonies. But according to people in the business, the demand for the traditional attire, even in urban areas, was never as high as in 2013.

“Most of the younger generation didn’t like topi and Ajrak but the trend has changed now. They like to buy it in different colours and of good quality,” commented Abdul Ghafoor from Tando Muhammad Khan.

The demand for painted Ajrak is still low as compared to the printed ones since the latter are much cheaper. The printed Ajraks are sold between Rs500 to Rs800 while traditional ones, which are mostly painted by hand, start from Rs1,000 and can go up to Rs5,000.

“Thousands of printed Ajraks can be made in a single day while a traditional Ajrak needs time,” said Ajrak maker, Fayaz Hussain Soomro, from Tando Muhammad Khan, adding that it takes 20 to 25 days to make 40 traditional Ajraks. “The work is quite technical and requires concentration.”

The main Ajrak market is in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas, including Hala, Bhitt Shah and Tando Muhammad Khan. The Sindhi topis, according to its makers, have also become quite popular because of their colours and styles and remain more popular than Ajrak.

Global celebrations

The 5th Sindhi Cultural Day, which will be celebrated today [Sunday], is being celebrated with fervour not only across the province but also in America, Canada and the United Kingdom where Sindhi families and students reside in large numbers.

Multiple political and nationalist parties, civil society organisations and communities have planned to arrange walks in small towns and big cities for the revival of Sindh’s heritage. Rallies from different parts of Karachi will converge outside the Karachi Press Club.

Rallies, charged with popular folk songs such as ‘Jeay Sindh Jeay, Sindh Wara Jeayan’, were organised during the last week along with activities, such as ‘Mach Kachehries’.

Apart from Sindhis, people from other ethnic groups, swathed in the indigo block-printed Ajrak, Sindhi topis and patko with white dresses, also took part in the festivities.

Intellectual direction

The cultural day is being celebrated on the theme ‘Aikta Day’ [unity day] which Sindhi writers, poets and intellectuals think is quite fitting, saying, “This day, which falls in the last month of the year, has united different clans under a single banner.” They believe that soon, the day will not only be about wearing Ajrak and Sindhi topis but will be given a constructive direction. “It is a good sign that people own their cultural identity. It is a sign of life. It also indicates that the culture has diversity,” said renowned writer and poetess Amar Sindhu.

While talking to The Express Tribune from Lahore, Sindhu said that while the passion was visible, the spirit of Sindh was still missing from the event. “The [Sindhi] culture has gathered people from all walks of life and now it has become a mass culture. No one can stop it now.”

Poet Masroor Pirzado also called it a day of showing unity. “The sense of cultural celebrations and unity will reduce hatred among people and will lessen extremism in the society,” said Pirzado. “The cultural day should not be restricted to only wearing topis, ajrak and dancing on folk songs. It must also change attitude of the people to understand their cultural values.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2013.