PESHAWAR, June 19: The speakers at a convention stressed for giving greater role to non-governmental organizations to strengthen the civil society and protect the rights and liberty of citizens.

The one-day convention on “security, the citizens and the state” was jointly organized by Sarhad NGO Ittehad (SNI) and Sungi Devevelopment Foundation here at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday. About 300 representatives of various NGOs and CBOs from the four provinces, Islamabad and the tribal areas attended the convention.

The convention called for a unity among the NGOs to unite the civil society voluntary organizations to deliver service at the grass root level with a political zest in the larger interest of community welfare and sustainable development without discrimination of colour, class, creed and gender.

Speaking at the convention the SNI coordinator Meraj Humayun Khan said that the theme of holding the convention was to discuss national issues and to mobilize the young lot to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and other issues. She said that there was a need to evolve national strategy — working together to do a better job not just within our federal agencies but have to be ourselves together with provinces, local government and the private sector.

She said that the national strategy should be a national not federal. She said that the important job before the government was to protect the citizens and their way of life and it required to understand the needs and vulnerabilities of the people. She suggested that territorial security should not be at the cost of homeland or internal security.

Dr A.H Nayyer, addressing the convention said that the citizens rights were being ignored. He said that some vested interests in the society misused the slogan of patriotism and promoted jingoism to protect their personal interests.

He said that the ruling class had usurped the rights of the people and did not ready to restore basic human rights, adding that the civil society should come forward to protect people’s rights. He urged that the people should struggle for their basic rights for building a welfare society.