ABBOTTABAD, July 4: The decisions and policies of different governments since 1990 have badly affected the state of civic and human rights in the country and contributed to the economic hardships of the common man, speakers said at a conference on Thursday.
Speaking in the opening session of the annual partners’ conference organized by the Sungi Development Foundation, they paid tribute to former minister Omar Asghar Khan for dedicating his life to the empowerment of the poor and marginalized sections of the society.
They called upon the political parties and civil society organizations to struggle against the unjust distribution of resources and liberate the country and its poor masses from the repressive economic policies adopted by the ruling elite.
Senator Mushahid Hussain said Mr Khan selflessly struggled for a peaceful and just society where everybody had equal opportunities and right to influence the decision-making process.
Former minister Javed Jabbar said the life of poor was becoming worse and according to a recent report of the United Nations Development Programme, 40 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line, whose average household annual income was Rs15,000.
He said political and social activists should keep a vigilant eye on the economic and other basic rights violated by globalization.
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research chief Karamat Ali said the 1990s was a lost decade of the country’s political history as the elected governments made no policies for the economic and social betterment of the people.
However, President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime made the things worse by adopting policies that mortgaged the political and economic sovereignty of the country to the United States and international financial institutions, he said.
He criticized President Musharraf for not fulfilling its seven-point agenda, except the introduction of the local government system.
He said the feudal system had been strengthened by the military government that ruled out any land reforms.
He accused the Musharraf regime of making a mockery of accountability and bringing obscurantist forces in the assemblies.
He said corruption cases were pending with the National Accountability Bureau against a number of parliamentarians, including ministers. He said the foreign policy adopted by the Musharraf regime had enslaved the people.
Earlier, Mustafa Aziz of Sungi welcomed the participants of the conference and highlighted its objectives.
Ali Asghar Khan of the Qaumi Jamhoori Party, NWFP Joint Action Committee Coordinator Bushra Gohar, former labour secretary Farhat Hussain and former additional chief secretary of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Riaz also spoke.
The conference is dedicated to Omar Asghar and around 500 delegates from public interest organizations, political parties, trade unions, human and women’s rights organizations, teachers, journalists and lawyers are participating in it.