Friends of Book gather at NLA

Published in Pakistan Observer (28 June, 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - With the expansion of electronic media especially internet, people have parted away from books – which wise men described as ‘a man’s best friend’. And to see book-lovers gathered under one roof, and leafing through the pages of books, was certainly a pleasant scene witnessed on Monday morning at National Language Authority (NLA) of Islamabad.

To bring friends of books together, NLA organized a unique event titled ‘100 Books, 100 Guests’ which was a well-attended event. Students, scholars, literati and writers of the city gathered round at NLA to find their favourite books, because the books were available at a modest price to quench the thirst of knowledge lovers.

National Conference on Child Rights as Human Rights

Publsihed in Pakistan Observer (26 June 2011)

Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD - Basic right of education has been recognized by Pakistani leadership under Article 25 (A) of the Constitution which states that education has been made free and compulsory to all children of the age of five to sixteen years, said Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan. She was speaking at ‘National Conference on Child Rights as Human Rights - Post 18th Amendment Scenario’ on Saturday in Islamabad. “There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children” said the Speaker quoting Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary General) and she added that “every time a child is deprived the right to education, this trust is breached.”

100 Books, 100 Guests

National Language Authority (NLA), Islamabad is organizing a special and unique event entitled as "100-Books and 100-Guests" on Monday, 27 June, at 11am at the NLA premises.

According to newly-appointed NLA Chairman, Dr. Anwaar Ahmad, the objective of this event is to encourage habit of book-reading in our society and offer a 50 per cent special discount to all the friends of books.

World Drug Report 2011 launched in Islamabad

Published in Pakistan Observer (25 June 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad – Ahead of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched World Drug Report 2011 on 23 June at United Nations Headquarters.

In Islamabad, the Report was launched on Friday by Iftikhar Ahmed, Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control; Major General Syed Shakeel Hussain, Director General Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) and H. E. Rauf Engin Soysal, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Assistance to Pakistan. The report named opiates such as heroin as the most damaging of the illegal drugs because heroin users receive more treatment for their problems than other drug users. Afghanistan grows the bulk of the world's opium poppies. Global opium production was 7,853 million tonnes (mt) in 2009 - Afghanistan produced just under 7,000 mt of this.

Iftikhar Ahmed called Pakistan - “a victim country” as “Afghan opium production has resulted in negative social, health and economic consequences for the country.”

'Media has a key role in combating corruption'

Published in Pakistan Observer (19 June 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad – Media can play a key role in combating corruption in a society which is infested with this demonic illness; however media should act professionally to present factual information to the people. This was the crux of the five-day training workshop on ‘Combating Corruption and Misuse of Public Funds’ held in Islamabad.

Weapon-free society, culture advocated

Published in Pakistan Observer (18 June 2011)

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ISLAMABAD - “It is not the weapon but the sophistication of weapon which threaten the human beings and makes the militant stronger” commented Brig (R) Muhammad Saad at a seminar on ‘Proliferation of Small Arms and their Impact on Internal Security Dynamics’ held in Islamabad on Friday.

The speakers called for strict check on proliferation of small arms and prohibition of gun violence by restricting use of arms to promote a weapon-free culture in society.

Preparing future women journalists of Pakistan

Published in Pakistan Observer (16 June 2011)
Sana Jamal

Islamabad – In order to polish the new generation women journalists, Women Media Centre (WMC) Pakistan in collaboration with SZABIST University arranged a practical training workshop in Islamabad. Senior journalists and cameraman were at hand to share their professional experiences and media ethics with the future women journalists of Pakistan at a five-day Television course on “Combating Corruption and Misuse of Public Funds” supported by National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

“Flight of Imagination” - Inspiring Miniature art exhibition

Published in Pakistan Observer (15 June, 2011)

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Islamabad – Solo art exhibition titled “Flight of Imagination” by a brilliant artist Samreen Asif opened here at the newly-built art gallery of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Samreen’s elegant miniature artworks explain her journey as she explored the ways that could lead to knowledge, pursuit and preservation of traditional miniature art. “After ceaseless struggle, I thought to create novel style of my own, portraying various art schools such as Kangra, Pahari and Persia” she said while talking to Pakistan Observer. 21 art pieces of Samreen have been put on display at the exhibition which will continue till 17 June.

End to Child Labour – still a dream

Published in Pakistan Observer (12 June 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - On World Day against Child Labour, few chotus (child labours) in Pakistan are aware of the importance of this day as they strive to earn their own and family’s bread. It is a fact that several million Pakistani children work for extremely long hours in exchange for little pay at the risk of maltreatment. Instead of being in school, these children are left at mercy of a cruel world where they continue to struggle hard as child labours.

Despite government recognition of laws against child labour and empty-pledges made by politicians to end child labour in the country, these children - our future - is being crushed by the unkind society.

One such child labour, Siddique Nawaz, 11, working for the last 4 years is not alone in his profession but has little or no hope for the fulfilment of his dreams to become a police officer. When asked about his dream Siddique told this scribe: “If I am able to continue my education I will join the police force and will severely punish the drug addicts.” No wonder why Siddique is so dismayed by the people who use and trade in drugs. To the fate of irony, Siddique’s father, himself a drug addict, is one of the causes for Siddique becoming a child labour.

Narrating his sorrowful story, Siddique continues that it was her mother’s dream that he could get a good education but the fact remains that if her children would not work she cannot live an honourable life without begging or compromising with the society.

Siddique’s painful practical life began when he was only 7 years old and was deployed with his cousin to wash parked cars at Sunday Bazaar in Aabpara. After 2 years of experience he was able to earn Rs. 200 plus per week when misfortune hit him and underground mafia (that controlled the area) began demanding 50 per cent of his earnings which forced him to leave the place and find a job elsewhere. One bright Sunday, Siddique met one of his old car customers who offered him a job at his clothes shop and since then he considers himself a lucky one to get a job of Rs. 4000 per month.

Like Siddique there are several thousand children living miserable lives by working 10-14 hours a day and earning as little as Rs. 10 per day in the glamorous cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

Most children work in auto-mechanical shops while several others work as car washer and cleaner. Others can be seen mending flat tyres, selling flowers at traffic signals, or selling fruit and vegetables in markets or working as house-maids.

Child rights activists have long urged the government to compile new statistical data on child labourers as there has not been a National Child Labour Survey since 1996 which had found that 3.3 million of the 40 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 in Pakistan were “economically active on a full-time basis”. Coalition against Child Labour Pakistan (CACLP) report claims that there were 21 million children employed as labourers across the country.

ILO 2011 report has warned that an appallingly high number of children are still caught in hazardous work - some 115 million of the world’s 215 million child labourers.

A recent report on ‘State of Pakistan’s Children 2010’ released by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) revealed that “the trend of child labour is decreasing globally but unfortunately in Pakistan there has been an increase in child labour.”

Children working as labour are denied education, which is now a recognized right for every child between the ages of six and 14. The plight of our child-labour demands urgent action by both the government and society to end the exploitation of young children and secure the future of our next generation.

Lok Mela – recognizing the less publicized artists of Pakistan

Published in Pakistan Observer on 11 June 2011

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Islamabad: Art and music has incredible power to inspire and cheer up people as well as convey peace. This saying remains true for the culture festival in Islamabad, known as ‘Lok Mela’ which is considered as a breath of fresh air for the citizens of the twin cities in these times of confusion in the society due to ongoing tensions.

Lok Mela is an annual folk festival organized by Lok Virsa where a number of artisans, folk artists and rural musicians from all over Pakistan participate and display their creative work.

Apart from offering entertainment to the people, the 10-day festival is an excellent opportunity for the less publicized artists to showcase their artistic ability to a larger audience.

Saleem Mughal is one such artist from Gujranwala who has put on display his marvellous miniature wood architectural pieces. “This artwork is rare Pakistan and I have been working in this field since 1970s while imparting the artwork to students at my hometown” he enlightened.

The pavilions of Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan (G-B) and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) are truly window to Pakistan’s cultural diversity as it offers the native folk music, traditional household items and cuisine of the respective region. The vibrant Lok Mela can be rightly termed as ‘mini Pakistan' due to the rich cultural variety of each pavilion.

Tehseen is another unrecognized artist of Pakistan who excels in the field of calligraphy on leather, a rare artwork. “My exquisite style of art is marker-dot or edgeless painting technique which is highly appreciated by the visitors” he informed.

Sindhi folk dance was a main attraction of the festival while Sindhi traditional household items such as hand-fans and pots were highly appreciated by the visitors.

Pakistani poets share their feelings for Japanese victims

Edited Published in Pakistan Observer

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ISLAMABAD: To express solidarity with tsunami-hit Japanese people and to pay rich tribute to the Haiku master of Japan, Pakistani poets gathered in Islamabad today at ‘Haiku Mushaira’.

Iftikhar Arif, chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters presided over the ‘Haiku Mushaira-Issa Evening’ which was organized by the Embassy of Japan in cooperation with Pakistan Haiku Society, National Art Gallery, National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and National University of Science and Technology.

Kobayashi Issa was one of Japan's most prolific poets who left over twenty thousand one-breath poems called Haiku. Rafique Sandelvi, Pakistan's first M. Phil in Haiku shed light on Issa’s life. “Kobayashi Issa is simply known as Issa, a pen name meaning ‘cup of tea’. To the surprise of many Pakistanis, the Haiku master also suffered financial as well as social crisis.”

12 renowned Pakistani Haiku poets and 4 amateurs recited two Urdu translations of the original Haiku poems composed by Issa and three of their own compositions dedicated to the Japanese vistims. A Pakistani poet reflected the feelings of Pakistanis through his haiku poem for the Japanese victims of tsunami in these words: “while Japanese are in trouble, all Pakistanis share the grief of the Japanese people.”

Among the participants were Sultan Sikandar, Sarfaraz Zahid, Khaliq-ur-rehman, Prof. Shahab Safdar, Ghazanfar Hashmi, Manzar Naqvi, Naseem Ishaq, Ali Muhammad Farshi and Ali Akbar Abaad. While Sajjal Afzal, Sundus Munawar, Ali Muhammad Rathore and Mehreen were the participating students from NUML.

Iftikhar Arif greatly appreciated the contribution of the emerging Pakistani Haiku poets.

Anti-Tobacco Laws remain unimplemented

World No Tobacco Day being observed today
Published in Pakistan Observer (31 May 2011)
Sana Jamal

Islamabad - Today, people around the globe will mark World No Tobacco Day (31 May) with a hope to have a tobacco free society. This hope remains more distant for Pakistanis because almost a decade has passed since the 'Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-smokers Health Ordinance 2002' was promulgated and six years since WHO 'Framework Convention on Tobacco Control' (FCTC) was ratified, the enforcements of these legal frameworks remain a challenge for the government.
This is the reason that this year’s World No Tobacco Day theme - “the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)” turn out to be most relevant for Pakistan.

Talking to Pakistan Observer, several anti-tobacco campaigners have complained that Pakistan has neither worked out a solid program to minimize use of tobacco in Pakistan nor a concerted effort was made to compile a regular data on tobacco hazards.

Dr. Arif Azad, a health campaigner said that “Pakistan has been too slow to implement the anti-tobacco laws”. He urged that educational institute should be targeted to launch anti-tobacco campaigns.

Extensive bilateral ties between Pak, Iran stressed

Published in Pakistan Observer (29 May 2011)

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Islamabad—An Iranian lady envoy stressed the need for extensive bilateral ties and exchange of information between Pakistan and Iran so that the two Islamic states should not be represented through Western media.

Dr. Masooma Muhammadi, Presidential Advisor on Women and Family Affairs was interacting here with Islamabad-based lady journalists at national press club on Saturday.

The Iranian emissary noted that Iran was being wrongly projected by the West and “Iran’s real picture could not be portrayed in the outside world via western media - that is biased towards Islamic states.”

She urged that “there is a need for greater collaboration between Pakistan-Iran at all levels especially in educational field through student exchange programmes so that Pakistani and Iranian students can learn from each other’s knowledge and experience.”

Discussing the women participation in Iran at different levels, Dr. Masooma Muhammadi informed that “Iran has 71 women parliamentarians and the women literacy rate is above 80 percent.”

She explained that contrary to the claims in western media, Iranian women have achieved their extensive right under Islamic Revolution. Iran is also perhaps the first country which maintains a separate Iranian Women News agency but due to lack of propagation it could be extended to regional world.

Over recent years, women in Iran have achieved greatly in fields like education, political participation, and social mobilization and Iranian women generally prefer different fields of academia, she told. Women in Iran were granted right to vote in 1963 and since then, several women have held high-ranking posts in the government or parliament.

She also said that Iran was not ready to implement western woman image in the country “as Islam preaches that woman’s first responsibility is to serve the family at home”.

Dr. Masooma Muhammadi he said that it was her first visit to Pakistan and she was glad to see that Pakistanis are hospitable nation and she was eager to extend socio-economic development.

Visiting Iranian Advisor to the President Ahmadinejad with
lady journalists of Islamabad at Press Club.

Young Film-makers earn recognition

Published in Pakistan Observer (27 May 2011)
Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD - The three-day short film festival concluded here in Islamabad with a vibrant ceremony in the presence of seasoned silver screen personalities and young brilliant film-makers.
‘Overcoat’, a 10-minute film, directed by Afzaal Yousaf Baig was declared the ‘Best film’ of the film fair. The film was lucky enough to win an additional award of ‘Best camerawork’ for the amazing camera skills of Afzaal Yousaf Baig and Muhammad Toqeer. The ‘Best Director’ award went to the film ‘Invasion of a Psychopath’, a 9-minute film, directed by Jamal Sohail and Arsalan Baig. A six-minute film ‘Life’ directed by Furqan Dogar received the award of ‘Best Editing.’

How Tobacco Taxation can Save Lives and Enhance Revenue?

Published in Pakistan Observer (25 May 2011)

Sana Jamal

Extensive use of tobacco has become a public menace globally, as it is causing 5.4 million premature deaths each year and current trends predict that one billion people will die from tobacco use in the 21st century.

In Pakistan, cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use have increased in recent years. According to Pakistan Health Education Survey (1999) tobacco kills almost 274 people per day and is causing at least 25% of deaths in the country. Tobacco use is largely concentrated among males in Pakistan; however the ratio between young urban male and female smokers is now 2:1 (Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2003). Smoking among youth has also become a serious concern lately as studies show that 1200 Pakistani children (ages 6 – 15) begin smoking every day.

According to the deliberations of a recently held workshop in Islamabad arranged by International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUTLD) in collaboration with Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR), “tax increase on tobacco products is one of the most effective tobacco control measure that can save thousands of lives as well as increase the national revenue.”

‘Creative Pakistan Film Festival’ aims at revival of cinema

Published in Pakistan Observer (25 May 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - Seeking to revive the Pakistani cinema and to provide a much needed platform to the passionate young generation, Creative Pakistan Film Festival began here at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). Twelve short films made by amateur film-makers are to be screened during the three-day (23–25 May) Festival, co-organized by Akash Media Group and PNCA.

Adnan Tasneem, the project director of Akash media told Pakistan Observer that “the basic idea behind the film festival is to promote the young talent who are unable to pursue this field due to lack of opportunities.” The event is also aimed to support and revitalize the film industry of Pakistan.

Injecting a new life into Sculptural Art

Published in Pakistan Observer (22 May 2011)

Sana Jamal

Artist Imran Hunzai at work.

Islamabad - The sculpture art is picking up fast in Pakistan despite a traditional distaste and lack of enthusiasm by art managers. However, more recently there is a realization about significance of this special art and Pakistan National Council of the Arts took the lead in organizing a five-day workshop on sculpture art in Pakistan. Three artists, Sajjad Akram, Ayub Wali and Imran Hunzai were the trainers at the art workshop - “Creating Sculpture”.

Sculpture - the art of making ordinary things into extraordinary is a three-dimensional artwork created by combining different materials such as wood, stone, clay, metal, glass, sand, ice, and even balloons and chocolates.

“The world of sculptures is purely constructed on the artist’s imagination and demands a lot of focus and patience till the end result, which is worth all the effort and leaves people in state of awe” Sajjad Akram told the students while demonstrating one of his projects.

“The sole purpose of this workshop is to promote the ignored art of sculpture” said Mussarrat Nahid Imam, Director of Visual Art department at National Art Gallery.

Talking to Pakistan Observer, Sajjad Akram said that “over the years, the performing arts has received popularity in Pakistan, but unfortunately, the visual arts and especially sculpture failed to gain its due place in society.” Explaining the reasons of the low scope of sculpture, he said that “in addition to a large amount of time and energy, this art also requires resources for the tools, studio space and specific environment.”

The participants at the workshop included students from colleges and young artists. Sharing her experience at the art workshop, Beenish Raza, a student of Islamabad College for Girls said that “in a very short period, we have learned about all the basics of sculpture, from drawing to relief work to modelling, to moulding and casting.”

Imran Hunzai, an artist who is presently teaching at National College of Art (NCA), Rawalpindi, lauded the response of the students as a marvellous achievement. “I have suggested PNCA to continue art workshops on a regular basis to back up the art education for students who cannot afford the expensive art schools” he commented.

Batool Fatima, a student at beacon house school, a participant of the workshop said that “the training provided me a golden chance to learn directly from my mentor, Sajjad Akram.” She added that “sculptures have always inspired me and I am surely going to pursue my career as a sculptor.”

Maryam Mushtaq, a Fine Arts student in Foundation University found the workshop too good to be true. “I have learned so much about sculpture in just two days that I am willing to continue this art now.”

“Creating Sculpture” - Art workshop at PNCA

Published on 17 May 2011

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - In South Asia, the first known sculptures were found at sites of Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa (in Pakistan) from Indus Valley civilization around 3300–1700 BC. However the art of sculpture could not flourish in the country as the artists were not encouraged to work in this medium due to religious and societal reservations. Realizing the significance of the art of sculpture, Pakistan National Council of the Arts starts a Five-day workshop on “Creating Sculpture” today.

Sculpture is a three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials - typically stone, marble, metal, glass, or wood. The objective of the workshop is to facilitate students and interested individuals to express their creative potential in this lesser explored medium.

Three artists, Sajjad Akram, Ayub Wali and Imran Hunzai, will be training the participants. On the first day, the participants, students from colleges and young artists, were briefed about the basics of sculpture, its history, tools and materials used and the methods employed in sculpting.

Remembering the Legendary Artists of Pakistan

Published in Pakistan Observer (21 May 2011)
Sana Jamal

Moeen Akhtar.

ISLAMABAD - To mark the services and contribution of great artists who left us recently, a unique ceremony was arranged on Friday evening in Islamabad at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). ‘Yaad e Raftagan’ – a condolence reference to pay tribute to the legendary artists, Moeen Akhtar, Baboo Bral, Khayam Sarhadi, Mastana and Liaquat Soljar was attended by eminent artists of the country.

Child speakers’ visions – an eye opener for elders

Published in Pakistan Observer (18 May 2011)

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ISLAMABAD - Visionary speeches and suggestions laid down by child speakers of Children Association on Tuesday reaffirmed that future of Pakistan is as bright as their thoughts. The young leaders delivered speeches on child rights at a public awareness seminar on ‘Children’s Right to Participation: Building a Children’s Civil Society’ which was arranged by Children Association in Islamabad.

Children representatives also demanded the reopening of Educational channel to promote distant learning system in the country.

A child speaker, Nayaab Arshad from Islamabad explained the issues of child rights and said that not just the government but parents too deprive their children of basic rights even the right to education.

Areej Waqas and Asfandyar Khan from Mansehra spoke about maintaining a balance between children’s rights and duties said that many children are forced by poverty to work and their futures are forever affected.

Mohammad Naseer and Fakhar ul Islam, child speakers from Mansehra said that if they had the chance to run the country for a day, they would dissolve all the assemblies and will run the country according to the 'actual Islamic laws', where there would be one law for everyone without discrimination.

Relevant International and domestic laws on child rights’ was the theme of speech of Sara Gul while Mustafa Tanveer described how society influences the character building of children and the role children can play in the decision making.

The guest speakers of the seminar included Ms. Bushra Gohar, MNA and social activist; Zafarullah khan, Executive Director of Centre for Civic Education and Zehra Kamal, psychologist and consultant.

Bushra urged that “we must divert our priorities towards children’s affairs and criminalizing the domestic labour could be the first step to prevent our children from further exploitation.”

“Best way to defend Pakistan is to be honest”

SDPI seminar on ‘War on Terror: Post-Osama regime’

Published in Pakistan Observr on 17, 2011

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ISLAMABAD: In the current post-Osama scenario, the “best way to defend Pakistan is to be honest” and accountable to the people of Pakistan, said Lt-Gen (R) Talat Masood at a seminar on “War on Terror: Post-Osama regime” organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday.

The speakers urged that the policy-makers of the country should adopt honest approach and accept mistakes in order to win back the credibility at home and abroad after the Osama incident.

The key speakers at the seminar included Lt-Gen (R) Talat Masood, Defence and security analyst; Dr Rifaat Hussain, Chairman of Defence and Strategic Studies department at the Quaid-i-Azam University; Tariq Fatemi, former ambassador and Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI.

The participants said that that since Pak-US relations are at cross-roads after the Osama incident, it is high time that Pakistan should review and redefine its policies in the interest of the nation. “Pakistan’s parliament should implement its concerned resolution and there should be an independent commission to fix responsibility for the May 2 event” they added.

Talat Masood termed the ‘May 2 incident’ as a golden opportunity for the country to recover from the ongoing crisis by accepting mistakes and being honest to the nation. “We should end this state of self-denial and challenge the conspiracy theories with truth” he advocated.

Dr Rifaat termed the incident a “unique strategic failure” and said that the time has come to decide whether US is a friend of Pakistan or foe. He predicted a difficult future for Pakistan as “US possibly will pressurize the country to unblock negotiations on fissile material technology”, and would “accept greater Indian role in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s diminished role in end goals in Afghanistan.”

‘Pakistan should be hub of Tourism, not Terrorism’

Published in Pakistan Observer (15 May, 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - Pakistan should become the hub of tourism and not terrorism by promoting the rich cultural heritage of the country. This was stressed at a conference on “Gandhara: Road to peace, prosperity and interfaith harmony” arranged here on Saturday by Gandhara Art and Culture Association (GACA).

Anwer Saifullah Khan, chairman of GACA urged on “restoring and reviving the cultural glory of the region through the establishment of a Buddhist University in Taxila – a city which is as important for Buddhists as is Mecca for Muslims. “This step will greatly improve the image of Pakistan in the international world” he added.

Taxila, one of the oldest cities of Pakistan, was an ancient seat of learning (5th to 2nd century BC) where world’s first University was established in the Buddhist era. Ms. Esther Park, director of GACA said that GACA aims to revive the oldest university in the world by establishing a Buddhist University at the same site. “The institution can become one of the best research institutes on Gandhara, attracting a large number of religious tourists and scholars from across the world, especially China, Korea and Japan.” She also gave a video presentation on Gandhara renaissance.

Training Workshop on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

Published in Pakistan Observer (5 May 2011)

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ISLAMABAD: To safeguard the versatile Intangible Cultural Heritage of Pakistan, there is a need of cultural inventory, which simply means a process of documenting region’s heritage items in order to preserve the endangering the pluralistic features of society. This point of concern was raised by the cultural experts at a four-day (2-5 May) training workshop organized by UNESCO Islamabad and held at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Islamabad.

The workshop was aimed to guide the nominated staff of two major government institutions, PNCA (a body of Ministry of Culture of Pakistan) and Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) to properly implement the 2003 convention of UNESCO for safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

Ms. Kozue Kay Nagata, Country Director UNESCO emphasized to link culture with economic development, as “Pakistan has very rich cultural heritage, hence it is very important to safeguard both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage.”

Tauqeer Nasir, Dir. Gen. PNCA hoped that training of the PNCA and Lok Virsa staff on safeguarding ICH will prove to be fruitful.

The cultural workshop mainly focused on understanding the 2003 convention, data collection and inventorying and use of Geographic Information System in mapping of ICH.

It is important to note that Pakistan was amongst the first 30 states which ratified the 2003 Convention. But the implementation has been delayed. “So far there is no committee or fixed body to protect ICH in Pakistan” pointed out Prof. Sajida Haider Vandal, an architect attending the workshop.

ICH is simply defined as “the living heritage that lives in the minds and bodies of the human beings, not in archives, museums and monuments.”

Restorative Justice System can help reduce crime

Published in Pakistan Observer (5 May 2011)

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ISLAMABAD - “There are currently almost 80,000 people in prison in Pakistan, mostly under trial and belong to poor class” pointed out Anees Jillani, an advocate and SPARC board member. “Normally, a judge has to deal with an average of 150 cases per day” making justice almost impossible. And thus “implementation of restorative justice is the need of the hour” stressed the speakers at a conference on the ‘Restorative Justice System: A missing approach in the justice system of Pakistan’ organized by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) on Wednesday.

The objective of the conference was to initiate a debate on the existing justice system, promote the culture of restorative justice for juveniles and find gaps in the justice system of Pakistan and understand challenges of institutionalizing the restorative justice in Pakistani society.

Restorative Justice (RJ) is a response to criminal justice that focuses on repairing harm. Howard Zehr, a pioneer in the field of RJ, states that “it is an attempt to correct some of the weakness of western legal system which focuses on punishing the offender and not repairing harm.”

Riaz Fatyana, Chairperson National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights lamented that the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 exists only on paper. He said “the jails are transforming the minor offenders into professional criminals and “there is a need of a bill including provisions for establishment of rehabilitation centers for juveniles.”

Ms. Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Human Rights stressed for the need of rehabilitation for the children involved in the crimes. She invited civil society members to work with her for legislation with the Law Minister for implementation of restorative justice.

Abdul Khalique Shaikh, DIG Sindh Police emphasized that there must be separate justice system for the juveniles. He shared a thoughtful presentation on ‘how the impact of the adult criminal justice system on children who come into conflict with the law.’

Ehsan Sadiq, Assistant Inspector General of Islamabad Capital Territory Police, while discussing the challenges of institutionalizing restorative justice system said that the criminal justice system focuses on the offender and there is little scope for rehabilitation.

Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani, Director Karachi Center for Dispute Resolution suggested ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) method which refers to a variety of techniques for resolving disputes without litigation.