Human rights defenders, civil society and labour rights activists on Sunday unanimously decided to strengthen their own ranks so that they can tackle threats from government's security agencies, non-state actors, political parties' rowdiness and mafias, which are threatening and disrupting the working environment for civil society organisations.
The civil society activists from across the country reached this decision at the "Consultation: Shrinking Space for Civil Society in Pakistan: Deliberations for a Response," organised by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) at its centre in Gulshan-e-Maymar, Karachi.
Civil society activists representing various leading organisations and networks, discussed the issues they had been facing at different levels, followed by groups work. They underlined the need to develop a counter-narrative and join hands with the national, regional and international networks.
The civil society activists, especially working for the rights narrated how they had been facing hardships during their work with the downtrodden communities. They emphasised for a collective actions to protect fundamental rights.
Though the situation varies at local levels, the threats almost are the same, as the activists narrated during the day-long deliberations. "We should not bow down and stop working. Rather, we raise voice at national and international levels against this kind of harassment and coercion," said Krishan Sharma representing REAT Netowrk, which is advocating for the rights of minorities and vulnerable sections of the society.
He depicted the scenario that, he said, was enough to terrify the activist of rights organisations. He said some had left their work, while those who were still in the field were facing tough challenges to carry out their work. Similar were the cases reported by other activists from Multan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and various districts of Sindh including Jacobabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Hyderabad. The main and almost a common issue was the uncalled for impediments on part of the state agencies. The NGOs have been asked to obtain no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the local administration. Delays in issuance of NOCs are common and there are tough conditions for the NOCs. Access to information and freedom of association are gravely violated in Balochistan and there are no fundamental rights for common citizens in FATA areas, according to the rights activists from those areas told the meeting.
The other option was to take up the matters at the international human rights bodies and networks to lessen this mounting pressure on national human rights defenders. For this, the participants underlined the need for initiating accountability within civil society, trade unions and human rights bodies as indispensable point to follow to prove that they are committed and law-abiding citizens.
Prominent among those spoke included: PILER Executive Director Karamat Ali, Joint Director Zulfiqar Shah, Prof. Dr. Charles Amjad Ali, Pratab Shivan of Maroora Network, Khurshid Abbasi from Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Saeed Baloch of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Mahnaz Rehman from Aurat Foundation, Farhat Perween of NOW Communities, Jalila Haider, Jan Odhano, Shaikh Majeed, Javed Soz, Punhal Sariyo, Farooq Soomro, Editor of daily Sindh Express, Mahesh Kumar, Editor of daily Sindh.
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