ISLAMABAD: Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel of the Awami National Party (ANP) and MNA Mohammad Rehan Hashmi of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) exchanged heated arguments at a local hotel on Saturday.

Both personalities were participating in a consultation on the ‘Mechanism to Realise Pakistan’s Development Goals’ organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

During the discussion Mr Hashmi started talking about political issues and said political parties made many promises in their manifestos but after coming into power, never fulfilled them.

“Although most parties claimed that they wanted to empower people,they did not bother to hold local bodies elections in any province. They even did not implement Article 25-A which ensures education for every child,” he said.

Participants term Vision 2025 unrealistic

Mr Hashmi said unfortunately politics had become a family business and people invested millions of rupees in it, and after winning elections they made profits from their investment instead of resolving public issues.

He said census should be carried out without further delay.

Following Mr Hashmi’s outburst, Senator Adeel responded by saying that since Mr Hashmi wanted to talk on politics, he would also speak on it.

He started off by saying: “The MQM chief did not have any stakes in Pakistan. Whereas I have my family here and they will live here and will also run the country.”

At this, Mr Hashmi said he did not pass remarks on any person and will not tolerate if Mr Adeel continued to talk about his leader.

Then Mr Hashmi involved participants by saying that they should decide as to who is to be blamed for all that had happened.

The participants then started criticising Mr Adeel.

HRCP Director I.A. Rehman termed the incident unfortunate.

He said the government should set priorities realistically.

“There is a difference between manifesto and programme of action. Politicians should talk more responsibly,” he said.

“Most participants of the consultation have expressed concerns on the Vision 2025 Development Plan because most of the goals had been made out of context. We have to decrease the defence budget to achieve goals of Vision 2025,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that Vision 2025 had been set by the government to achieve targets in various fields by 2025.

Mr Rehman said he was proud that Malala had won the Nobel Peace Prize but was sad over the state of education in the country.

“All India Muslim League in 1916 suggested that there should be free education for primary students but even after 112 years that suggestion has not been implemented. Article 25-A should be implemented, but we need meaningful education,” he said.

Head of the Centre for Civic Education Zafarullah Khan said goals in the Vision 2025 were not realistic.

Dr Rakhshanda Parveen, who belongs to an NGO, said Vision 2025 was silent on polio. No one has even bothered to set targets on reproductive health, she added.

Human rights activist Tahira Abdullah said census had not been held after 1998. The government has already submitted its report to United Nations on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000 to 2015.

In the report, claims regarding poverty, gender justice, health, reproductive health, etc., are not correct, she said.

“A shadow report should be made to analyse the health and education sector,” she added.

Executive Director of Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy Sameena Nazir said that co-education should be started in primary schools.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2014