ISLAMABAD, May 4: The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and its funding body, the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF), plan to organize mega entertainment programmes, named the Anarkali project, for fund raising.

The NCHD and its private finance regulatory body were donated a capital of $32 million by the government after the board of directors invested an initial seed capital of $2.5 million. In addition, the UN Development Programme gave to it $1.7 million for human development project.

A NCHD official said the ordinance, which created the commission, authorized global resource mobilization and none of the finances placed at PHDF's disposal were being used for organizing the fund-raising activities.

"No funds from any other source except the sponsor's money would be used in the project," chairman NCHD Dr Nasim Ashraf told Dawn when questioned in this regard. "The Anarkali show would be purely financed by the sponsors and not the Zakat funds," he added.

Documents gathered by Dawn revealed that one Mr Omar Rahim was contacted by the chairman PHDF to accept a contract of Rs350,000 to organize a planned Anarkali show during 2004.

"I propose a fee of Rs350,000 plus all out of town travel and stay expenses... Beyond that time, we will pay you a further Rs50,000 for each show that we produce and execute together," chairman PHDF Farrokh K. Captain said in a letter to Mr Rahim.

"You will be the choreography and dance director," the letter said in the terms and conditions of the proposed offer. Asking Mr Rahim, a resident of Karachi Defence Phase VI, to accept the offer, the PHDF chairman said, "And we can then hopefully do great things and go places together in a blaze of lights."

In response to a question about the merit criterion for short-listing Mr Rahim in preference to others, a senior NCHD official said Mr Rahim had not been selected and the letter written to him was part of the process during which PHDF looked at different people and options. For holding the Anarkali show, at least 15 persons were contacted, the official said.