ABBOTTABAD, Sept 2: The government should ensure people’s participation in the decision-making process, equal distribution of resources among different sections of the society, provision of women rights, uniform education policy and people’s free access to information for sustainable development in the country.

This was stated by the joint declaration of a one-day Omar Asghar Khan Conference on ‘Sustainable Development’ organized by the SUNGI Development Foundation here on Sunday.

The conference demanded of the government to take back its decision of introducing corporate farming in the country as it would cause a number of social, economic, environmental and health problems to the countrymen.

People who spoke on the occasion included SUNGI Executive Director Dr Shahid Zia, Rashida Dohad of The Asia Foundation, Mohammad Ahsan of the Advocacy Support Unit, Niaz Ahmad Kathhia of the Village Friend Organisation and others.

Dr Zia said the crisis of under-development in the country had deepened as the successive governments denied basic rights to the people, without whose participation no sustainable development could be envisioned.

He termed the fast growing poverty and unjust distribution of economic resources serious challenges to the sustainable development in the country.

The executive director, criticizing the corporate farming, said it would deprive small farmers of their livelihoods as they would fail to compete with the mighty multinational corporations (MNCs) in the free global economy.

Once the MNCs established monopoly over the seed market, our farmers would become totally dependent on them, he added.

Rashida Dohad paid tributes to SUNGI founder executive director late Omar Asghar Khan and urged all his companions to make efforts for achieving his objectives.

On the sidelines of the conference, a video documentary and a stage theatre were also presented to the highly-active participants.  

The Hindko-titled movie, Sargee da Tara (Morning Star), focused the lifetime contributions of late Omar Asghar for the sustainable development in the country while basic theme of the theatre revolved round the future impacts of the corporate farming on the lives of small growers.

Mohammad Taj and Habib-ur-Rahman Hazarvi paid poetic homage to the founder of SUNGI for his selfless efforts to aware people of their rights and of obligations for the sustainable development.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Mukhtar Javed, Khalida Bibi, Akhtar Javed, Master Sultan, Manzoor Mumtaz Abbasi, Malik Mumtaz, Saleem Shah, Akhtar Jalil and Shamrez Khan, Mohammad Ahsan and Niaz Kathhia.

The audience comprised social workers, human rights activists, representatives of public interest bodies, lawyers, journalists from across the province.