KARACHI: No one is against development. We are all for it. But you can’t have development at the cost of human beings. This was said by eminent journalist and human rights activist I.A. Rehman on Monday.

He was speaking at a press conference held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in relation to the Thar coal project at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Informing the media on the commission’s recent visit to Hyderabad and Mithi, Mr Rehman said there were problems for the media [to cover]; but the media was in Karachi. The expectation of the people in those areas was that the media would help highlight their issues, he said.

Giving the example of lack of information, he went back a few decades when bonded labourers worked hard to get their freedom. When the labourers were asked why they didn’t get the freedom earlier, they replied they did not know that they could do that.

Mr Rehman then mentioned the Sindh High Court’s verdict on the Tenancy Act. “We request the media to highlight it” [because it is in favour of the haris].

An HRCP delegation that visited Mithi observes the demography of the desert region is getting changed

He said that the commission had heard that the Sindh government was going to appeal against it. “Our advice to the government is that don’t do it.”

Mr Rehman said claims of the benefits of the Thar coal project notwithstanding, the commission’s reservations on it remained. “Where will the water go? What if it vanishes? The demography is getting changed.”

He went on to say that they were not against development, “but development at the cost of human beings shouldn’t happen.”

Another point that Mr Rehman raised was about Nagarparkar.

He said it’s a precious cultural asset like Moenjodaro, having some of the oldest monuments in Pakistan. “If we have accepted Moenjodaro, then why not this, too? There’s a talk about tourism, but how can tourism take place if there’s no proper place for people’s stay there or availability of basic facilities?”

Returning to the subject of development, and after telling the media about how dismal wages the workers get there, he urged that there should be employment opportunities in the region.

The presser began with a brief speech of HRCP secretary general Harris Khalique.

He said the KPC had a long history of struggle [for democracy]. The reason for the press conference was that the commission’s delegation in the last four days visited Sindh holding a rally and a convention in Hyderabad for haris and labourers. It brought forward some of the demands made by them. Apart from that, it met journalists at the Hyderabad Press Club discussing curbs on freedom of expression.

Subsequently, the delegation went to Mithi and analysed the situation in Tharparkar with reference to the Thar coal project and its impact on the environment. Since Karachi was the capital of Sindh, the commission thought that the media men here should know about it.

Founding member of the commission Hina Jilani said the KPC had always amplified the issues raised by the commission, so the ongoing problem of pressures on freedom of the press had become all the more important.

She said today there existed contradiction in the state. On one hand, there’s projection of development work, on the other hand the state had turned into a security state, which meant that no matter how much development work you undertook, its benefits won’t reach the common man. This was particularly observed in Mithi.

“Yes, people there were expecting good things out of the Thar coal project, but the government was doing nothing to minimise its harmful effects,” she said. Asad Butt and Uzma Noorani also spoke.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2020