'Pakistani society needs new social contract'

Pakistani society needs new social contract, which is urgently needed to improve the situation in this country. The previous social contract was built around the security of the state: citizens were made to surrender liberty to preserve the integrity and solidarity of the territorial state. These views were expressed by the participants at the media briefing to highlight the main and basic objectives of the New Social Contract in Pakistan.
The briefing was organised by Aman Itehad, a platform of more than 200 civil society organisations in Pakistan. The briefing was addressed by Executive Director South Asia Partnership Mohammad, Khawar Mumtaz Executive Director Shirkat Gah, Fatima from Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Mumtaz Mughal from Aurat Foundation, Hanif Jutt of Sanitary Workers Union. Participants also said that state shall have nothing to do with religion and all discriminatory laws to be repealed.
They also said that all kind of religious extremism should be rejected. They demanded the abolition of centralised service groups adding that provinces and local governments should have their own service groups and the federal government should borrow officers from the provinces on the basis of agreed quotas.
They also demanded that there should be a freedom to form provinces on the basis of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious, administrative and economic basis supported by the majority of the concerned group of people expressed in a referendum. They further said that people of Fata should be asked in a referendum to vote for either joining an existing province or for a new province.
Speaking on the occasion Convenor Aman Ittehad Punjab Irfan Mufti said that current economic, political and social problems and growing insecurity needs a serious redefinition of state's role and its relationship vis-à-vis citizens and their basic needs. He said Aman Ittehad is organising people's assemblies in more than 15 cities and roundtable meetings with political parties to get opinion and views on the new social contract that should define states role and its new relationship with citizens and within citizens.