Enhancing Legal Protection to End Violence Against Women in Sindh

Enhancing Legal Protection to End Violence Against Women in Sindh

Al-Bab Report

05 December 2016 - Karachi, Pakistan: Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights deeply rooted in gender inequality and gender-based discrimination. Violence not only has negative consequences for those who suffer it, but also their families, the community and society at large.

Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. It can be effectively addressed through prevention, protection and provision of services. In a bold and positive step Sindh’s Provincial Assembly adopted a Resolution condemning violence against women and demanded the government to implement the law passed on the issue. The Resolution was passed on 25 November 2016, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which kicked off 16 days of Activism campaigning against gender based violence and is mobilizing country-wide and global actions to increase awareness and create opportunities to address challenges and solutions to end violence against women and girls.

In addressing legal rights and protection of women, UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) and the Women’s Development Department of Sindh organized a panel discussion on “Enhancing Legal Protection to End Violence Against Women in Sindh” as part of Sindh’s 16 Days of Activism to end gender based violence.

In welcoming guests Mr. Jamshed Kazi (Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan) shared: “Today’s event is being organized as part of 16 Days of Activism campaigning to bring together various stakeholders from government, private sector and development practitioners to share experiences and discuss strategies for strengthening implementation of laws. This conversation must continue with concrete actions to eliminate violence against women such as strong coordination amongst stakeholders for effective response, enhanced capacities of officials and public awareness, as well as addressing gaps in legal frameworks.”

Mr. Mudassir Iqbal (Secretary, Women Development Department, Sindh) in his overview of legal initiatives being taken by the Department to end violence against women highlighted enactment of the Sindh Domestic Violence Act (2013), Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act (2013), and implementation of the Protection Against Harassment Of Women At Work Place Act (2010) with 2,300 Inquiry Committees formed thus far in the province. Legislations under development were shared as a Sindh Abolition of Dowry Act (2016) and the Sindh Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act (2016). Institutional mechanisms being strengthened in the province included Sindh’s Provincial Commission on the Status of Women and Women Protection Centres.

Speaking on legislative opportunities and gaps of Pakistan’s Anti-Rape and Anti-Honor Killings Bills recently adopted by the National Assembly on 6 October 2016 were Justice (Retired) Majida Rizvi (Chairperson, Sindh Human Rights Commission) and Mr. Ali Rashid (Member of National Assembly). Justice (Retired) Majida Rizvi shared salient features of both bills and amendments made. An opportunity discussed was closure of legal loopholes with stricter punishment for the convicts making it tougher than ‘ordinary’ murder cases. However, with this opportunity a gap reflected upon included “how do you differentiate between a ‘random’ killing or an ‘honor’ killing?” Mr. Ali Rashid shared that as a next step, the National Assembly and lawmakers are looking to address and amend the evidence law section of these bills.

Speaking on the protection of women against sexual harassment from a private sector perspective, Ms. Zubina Sadick (Habib Bank limited), Ms. Safia Kaleem (Nestle Pakistan) and Ms. Zara Tareen (Actor/Photographer) shared that zero tolerance for harassment of women, women-friendly environments and awareness of the policy and Code of Conduct were key drivers to end harassment at the workplace.

Speaking on progress and challenges in implementing the Sexual Harassment Act were Ms. Maliha Hussain (Mehergarh) and Mr. Pir Ali Shah (Ombudsman, Prevention from Workplace Harassment). Ms. Maliha Hussain highlighted that both organizations and employees have been empowered to address the stigmatized issue that sexual harassment does occurs within organizations. Adding to this, Mr. Pir Ali Shah spoke of how the Act was being implemented in Sindh with establishment of Inquiry Committees and active reporting of cases in both the public and private sectors.

In her remarks, Ms. Grace Shelton (US Consul General, Karachi) said: “Gender equality and women’s empowerment are critical to building resilient democratic societies. Violence against women is not only a Sindh or Pakistan problem, it is global one with an obligation on all of us to end. There is much to be done and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is committed to working with the Sindh Government and UN Women as there is no honor in such killings.”

US Embassy and Activism against Gender-based Violence

U.S. Embassy Hosts a Panel Discussion to commemorate

the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence

Al-Bab Report

 Islamabad, December 05, 2016 -- The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, in collaboration with the Islamabad Club, hosted a panel discussion with students and experts on ending violence against women as part of its commemoration of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.  American Ambassador David Hale gave the closing remarks, in which he stated:

“The 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women campaign offers an opportunity for action from everyone— men and women, boys and girls, government officials, and community leaders—to end violence against women and girls around the world.”

Participants discussed the importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment in building resilient, democratic societies; supporting open and accountable governance; ending extreme poverty; and to furthering international peace and security.  

The event took place at the Islamabad Club, which hosts one of the U.S. Embassy’s 18 Lincoln Corners.  A Lincoln Corner is a resource center and event space hosted in partnership with Pakistani institutions – in public libraries, universities, and cultural centers – that provides a platform for open dialogue between Pakistanis and Americans, promotes mutual understanding, and strengthens people-to-people ties through various programs.  The Lincoln Corners’ programs and resources attract students, academics, journalists, researchers and Pakistani youth.

The FATA reforms committee report

The FATA reforms committee report 

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The  FATA Reforms  Committee made public its report to elicit further debate and discussion towards developing a national consensus on its recommendations.
The report about reforms in FATA was discussed in a
meeting to review implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). 
A 5 member FATA Reforms Committee, headed by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz after holding meetings with parliamentarians from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), tribal elders and all stakeholders has recommended four basic options for reforms but there is a wide consensus on merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The four options are:
1. Maintain status quo but introduce judicial/
administrative reforms and increase focus on development activities.
2. Create FATA Council on the pattern of Gilgit Baltistan.
3. Create a separate province of FATA.
4. Integrate FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, each agency becoming a
separate district and FRs integrated.
It emerged from the wide ranging consultations
undertaken by the committee, that there was a wide consensus on integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however tribal elders except in Kurram, Bajaur and FR Peshawar, wanted to retain the present special status.

It may be noted that political parties, youth, businessmen, educated classes were clearly in favour of integration of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also argued for an extension of the writ of the superior courts.

Secondly, tribesmen at the same time wanted to retain their identity by recognition of Rewaj and the Jirga system under the new system. They also advocated a more gradual and phased approach to FATA reforms so that displaced people can return to their homes and smooth transition from post conflict situation to durable peace can be ensured.

Virtually no support for a separate FATA province due
to its geographic location, weak linkages between the agencies and limited financial resources.

Similarly the option of FATA Council, on the lines of the GB Council, also did not enjoy much support. It was emphasized that even as a transitional measure, it would create new vested interests that could block further reforms and lead to the next logical demand of a separate FATA.

The fourth option, i.e. FATA’s integration with KP was widely supported as it offered many advantages and is the only rational choice for “mainstreaming” FATA, since the people of FATA will be able to elect their representatives for the Provincial Assembly of KP and expand opportunities for improved governance.

Under the integration option the security infrastructure, including the strength and quality of Levies and other Law Enforcing Agencies will have to be improved and extended throughout FATA, making it easier for the Armed Forces to withdraw from its security role in FATA, within 4 5 years.

a) REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION:
Highest priority, after the restoration of peace should be assigned to rehabilitation of the tribal people, reconstruction of tribal areas on a war footing and revival of livelihood activities.

The target date for return of TDPs should be end of 2016 the reconstruction phase should be completed before the end of 2018.This gigantic task will require much larger financial resources and coordination between all the Federal Agencies
including SAFRON, FATA Secretariat, the Army formations and FWO/NLC.

A comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction plan
has been launched by FATA secretariat which should be synchronized with the above timelines. Foreign donors can be invited to provide part of financial resources for the reconstruction plan.

The 10 year development programme should include major infrastructure and irrigation projects, mineral development programme and integrated plans for health, education including establishment of university, medical and engineering colleges, vocational training and industrial zones with special incentives.

A major aim of this 10 year programme will be to bring FATA at par with the rest of Pakistan on the basis of all major economic and social indicators.

FATA Development Authority (FDA) may be reorganized with enhanced powers to implement large infrastructure projects under the 10 year Development Plan.
Thirty percent of the allocation in the 10 year Plan should be channeled through the local bodies.

An important component of the new Development Plan would be the concept of social transformation of FATA through urbanization by setting up modern urban hubs in all Agency Headquarters and other important trading centres.

All posts in FATA should be upgraded at par with KP. Salaries for the project personnel should be 20% higher than the project policy of KP. Special incentives to private sector in education and health sectors should be given in the form of free land.

State Bank of Pakistan to encourage establishment of more branches of banks in FATA with special incentives for private banks.

Quota of FATA students in education and health institutions be doubled and retained for 10 years after integration.

Once the rehabilitation phase is completed, party based local bodies elections can be held in FATA before end of 2017. This would require promulgation of FATA Local Government Regulation, which should be formulated within three months.
All other formalities e.g. updating the electoral rolls, finalizing the constituencies, rules and regulations should be completed by the first quarter of 2017.

A separate unit for FATA may be created in the Election Commission office, Peshawar for this purpose.

It has been recommended that the success of these reforms is dependent on institutional capacity building and provision of required manpower.
More importantly, the institution of Political Agent being the pivot of the reform process has to be retained and strengthened during the transition period to effectively complete the reform process.

A well structured implementation mechanism will be necessary to ensure adequate and timely implementation of the Reforms recommended by this Committee.

This should include a Cabinet Level Committee and a special Directorate of Transition and Reforms with dedicated units for each segment of the Reforms.

The Chairman of the Committee would seek consensus of 19 members of Parliament from FATA. The Chairman of the Committee should also discuss with the Chairman Senate and Speaker of the National Assembly the best approach to seek the views/endorsement of the two Houses of Parliament on these recommendations.

Al Noaimi galvanizes the twin cities

Al Noaimi galvanizes the twin cities

Dr. Jassim Taqui

In one of the most impressive show of diplomatic skills, the Ambassador of the UAE Essa Abdullah Al Basha Al Noaimi hosted at the Serena Hotel, a reception cum- sumptuous dinner of the highest order to celebrate the 46^th anniversary of the unifications of Emirates under the dynamic and visionary leadership of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

A large number of the elite of the elites of the twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi were in attendance. All attended including civil and military elites, MNAs, MPAs, Senators, diplomats including the deans of Arab and foreign diplomats, University Professors, thinkers and intellectuals and politicians. The Chief Guest, who was late by one hour, was Finance Minister Ishak Dar.

In fact, Al Noaimi galvanized the twin cities with people surrounding him as if saying  Labaik.

كان جو الحفلة شبيها بأجواء العيد لذلك اخترت ابيات من قصيدة الشاعر الكبير ايليا ابو ماضي:

Al-Bab camera was active in the venue to give you live glimpses of this Mother of All Receptions:

كلمات النشيد الوطني الاماراتي

UNODC gives $70 to GOP

UNODC and Government of Pakistan signs a USD 70 Million Country Programme to jointly tackle crime, drugs, and illicit trafficking

Al-Bab Report

1 December 2016 -  In an official ceremony in Vienna today, UNODC and Government of Pakistan signed a USD 70 Million Country Programme. The signing took place between the Deputy Executive Director Mr. Aldo Lale-Demoz and the Federal Secretary, Narcotics Control Division of Pakistan Mr. Ajaz Ali Khan in the presence of  the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Nations, Madam  Ayesha Riaz, Director General ANF, Mr. Nasir Dilawhar Shah, and other colleagues from the HQ and staff of Pakistan's Permanent Mission. 

The Country Programme is a result of a strong partnership between UNODC and the Government of Pakistan and it was developed in close consultation with the provincial and national stakeholders and focuses on the priority areas highlighted by the Government of Pakistan.

The overall aim of the program is to enhance the skills and knowledge of law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in overcoming the multi-facet threats posed by transnational organized crime and to foster greater cooperation amongst neighboring countries to effectively address the common challenges in the following areas:

1.  Illicit trafficking and border management

2. Criminal justice system and legal reforms

3. Drug demand reduction, prevention, and treatment

The Country Programme has a cross-cutting component on Research and Analysis and eLearning which aims to promote modern methods of training including Computer Based Training (CBT) while strengthening the research and analysis practices for developing policies and guidelines which contribute to improving the Rule of Law, Governance, and Public health.

During the signing ceremony, the Deputy Executive Director of UNODC Mr. Aldo Lale-Demoz highlighted the success of the previous Country Programme and appreciated the support rendered to the UNODC Office by the Government of Pakistan. Mr. Ajaz Ali Khan, Federal Secretary Narcotics Control Division expressed his Government’s readiness to continue working with the UNODC and the international community and offered full support in the implementation of the signed program.

The strategic goals of the Country Programme are in line with the Government of Pakistan’s Vision 2025 and complement the objectives for meeting various targets of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

3 December 2016

Al-Bab Report

Ten years ago this month, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  One of the most widely ratified international human rights instruments, with 169 Parties, the Convention has spurred significant progress in commitment and action for equality, inclusion and empowerment around the world, with disability being increasingly incorporated into the global human rights and development agendas. 

This year, United Nations Member States have embarked on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, our blueprint for peace, prosperity, dignity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet.  With its 17 interdependent Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda is based on a pledge to leave no one behind.  Achieving this requires the full inclusion and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society and development.

Much remains to be accomplished before persons with disabilities can realize their full potential as equal and valued members of society.  We must eliminate the stereotypes and discrimination that perpetuate their exclusion and build an accessible, enabling and inclusive environment for all.  For the 2030 Agenda to succeed, we must include persons with disabilities in implementation and monitoring and use the Convention as a guide. 

On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I urge national and local governments, businesses and all actors in society to intensify efforts to end discrimination and remove the environmental and attitudinal obstacles that prevent persons with disabilities from enjoying their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.  Let us work together for the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in an inclusive and sustainable world that embraces humanity in all its diversity.

American Ambassador David Hale Meets with Pakistani Fulbright and Humphrey Alumni

American Ambassador David Hale Meets with Pakistani Fulbright and Humphrey Alumni

Al-Bab Report

Islamabad – December 2:  Approximately 250 Pakistani alumni of the Fulbright Program and Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program gathered at the Higher Education Commission in Islamabad for a conference that examined how they can contribute to Pakistan’s development in fields ranging from higher education to law to health.

American Ambassador David Hale congratulated the alumni on their accomplishments and urged them to continue applying the skills and connections they developed in the United States to their professional and personal pursuits in Pakistan. Ambassador Hale also thanked the Higher Education Commission and its Chairman, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, for their contributions to the Fulbright Program.

“The people of Pakistan and America share a fundamental desire for stability, peace, and regional and global economic development.  We are able to achieve these goals through education,” said Ambassador Hale. 

“Being a part of Fulbright is being part of a privileged group of people. And one of the strengths of the organization is the number of events offered in Pakistan through PUAN (Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network) and USEFP (U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan) where alumni can talk about what they're doing. No one else does that the way Fulbright does,” said Haider Shishmahal, producer/game developer, Fulbright Scholar, Harvard University Class of 2013. 

Through the Fulbright Program, Pakistani students pursue masters and doctoral degrees in the United States.  Through the Humphrey Program, mid-career professionals pursue up to one year of non-degree graduate-level study in the United States.  The U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) administers both programs on behalf of the U.S. government.

“The merit-based Pakistan Fulbright program gives people with the greatest potential in all academic disciplines the opportunity to gain much-needed skills and knowledge in rigorous degree programs essential to sustainable development and progress,” USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar said.  “This is why the overarching theme of this year’s conference is ‘Agents of Change.’ The conference showcases the commitment of returning alumni to share innovative solutions in a variety of fields.  USEFP is proud to be part of building a network of alumni who have the skill sets and commitment to be leaders for growth and progress in Pakistan.”

Arid Agriculture University supports empowerment of women

Arid Agriculture University supports empowerment of women
Dr. Jassim Taqui

To advocate for the elimination of violence against women and generate demands for the effective implementation of pro-women laws, a rickshaw campaign launching ceremony titled “Enough: Together We Can End Violence against Women and Girls” held at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) in collaboration with Aurat Foundation and Oxfam Pakistan on November 29, 2016. The campaign aims to advocate elimination of violence against women and generate demands for effective implementation of pro-women laws and is held in connection with 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. The campaign will include more than 3,000 rickshaws inscribed with slogans and art work and playing feminist folk songs across Punjab and Sindh. Rickshaw drivers will be advocates for women’s rights. Speaking at the launch of the event, Oxfam Country Director Mohammad Qazilbash said incidents of violence against women were emerging everyday from across the country despite the large amounts of pro-women legislation and policies being made. “This signifies that our society has somehow accepted violence against women as normal behavior. However, what has been learned can be unlearned. Enough is enough,” he said. Retired Justice Nasira Iqbal said between 70 and 80pc of women in Pakistan face violence despite serious legislative and political measures having been taken. She praised the approval of pro-women laws in the recent past but pointed out gaps in the implementation of these laws. She said that consent agreement or the ‘raazi nama’ is still an option in the honor killing law and that the Punjab Women Protection Act does not criminalize violence against women. “Despite all these gaps, we are happy with the progress and hope that we will eventually be able to overcome the hurdles in implementation,” she said. Australian High Commission First Secretary Trasey Graeney said violence against women is a global issue.“One in four women experience violence in Australia,” she said, adding that violence against women have massive impacts on families and society. “It restricts a woman’s potential to contribute to the economic development of a country,” she said. PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad said people who do not respect women are unfortunate ones. He said that solution to eliminate violence against women is by making them financially independent. National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz stressed for the collaborative efforts and engagement of men to eliminate violence from society. She suggested introduction of an app for speedy support for violence victims. Senator Najma Hameed praised PMAS-AAUR for organizing an event on women rights at the campus. Members Punjab Assembly Zaib-un-Nisa and Tehseen Fawad also spoke on the occasion. Aurat Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer Naeem Ahmed Mirza shared the history of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. “Time has changed. This is the century of women, but women will have to stand up for their rights,” he said.  At the end, the first Rickshaw rally was launched from the University premises.

Al-Bab Camera captured glimpses of the conference: 

UNIC's Lightning Flash

UNIC's Lightning Flash
Dr. Jassim Taqui

The UNIC chief Vittorio Cammarota continues with his surprises. This time, Cammarota screened a thematic Spanish film albeit with a political twist.
“Your country is the country that feeds you, not the one where you were born,” a friend of the hero of Hassan’s Way tells him, but Hassan Benoudra doesn’t agree. On the one hand, this contemplative, happily unsentimental documentary about a man on a 600+ mile journey home from southern Spain to northern Morocco by tractor is engrossing, even though it’s sometimes more slow-moving than the tractor itself.But on the other, at times it feels like an opportunity lost, as though its first-time directors, Spaniards Fran Araujo and Ernesto de Nova, have not fully exploited what is, after all, a remarkable story. But the single-sentence blurb being used to sell Hassan’s Way states simply: "The Straight Story, in Spain” and finally the film lives up to the pitch. Hassan’s tractor has been making regular festival stops since its premiere in San Sebastian, with more to follow.
The film is effectively a recreation of a trip that its hero Hassan had undertaken once before. Hassan has been traveling around Spain and working as a rural laborer for thirteen years, but the work has dried up and now it’s time to return to his wife and four children in Morocco. Basically his only possession is an old Massey-Ferguson tractor which, after a bit of a party in which a lamb’s throat is graphically cut, he boards and sets off.
There are shots of Hassan alone, riding impassively along, consulting his battered road map, or, in practically the only scene in which the danger of his situation is felt, trying to get rid of the night-time wild animals which have come sniffing around the tractor. (“May God transform you into something else,” Hassan curses a deer that’s bothering him.) Sometimes he’s filmed in aerial shot, his tractor comically small and vulnerable against the winding roads and rolling, magnificently-shot landscapes: as well as being about Hassan, this is a film about the land he’s been working.
When its hero interacting with others, Hassan’s Way is at its most interesting. A couple of brushes with local cops forbidding him from riding on the road seem to end up with him continuing anyway: he is seen deliberately covering the tractor in dust and grime so he can lie that he’s traveling between jobs.
This may be a film about the human results of political decisions regarding immigration and labor, but the emphasis is definitely on the human, rather than the politics, which are worn very lightly. Hassan’s attitude to most of the misfortunes that have beset him is not to fight, but just stubbornly to get on with the job at hand and show a rather engaging stoic resignation. Even when he encounters casual racism in a bar, he meets it with his usual sad half-smile.
The film’s cool approach to its loaded subject mirrors Hassan’s own, a strategy with both pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the film is never in the slightest sentimental, never exaggerating or heightening the drama to extract emotional capital. But on the other, the viewer is left wanting to know more about both Hassan, who only occasionally talks about himself and his feelings, and the nuts and bolts of his existence.
It’s clear that Hassan's tough spirit is the result of a tough life, but the viewer is left in the dark about the telling, enriching details of his past. There are other questions of a more practical nature, too.  If he has no money, where is he sleeping, and what’s he eating? If he’s quite rightly being helped out by the crew who traveled with him on the journey, then the script never says so.
Perhaps the most heavily-freighted exchange comes early on when he stays in the house of an acquaintance who, like Hassan, has decided to return to his roots and with whom he compares stories. It suggests that the film might go on to explore its subject more revealingly, but that never really happens, since when Hassan meets people, it’s mostly to ask for help. Indeed, one of the film’s feel-good charms is that, leaving aside Hassan’s perpetual optimism, the people in it are mostly good-hearted – unlike, it is distantly implied, the sorts of people who have made his life as tough as it is. At one point en route, he has to take a job as a factory sweeper to raise the $150 he needs to repair the tractor.
The film’s Spanish title is El rayo, which means “lightning flash." “El Rayo” is the name of the tractor, which he cares for as he would his absent family and which, as Hassan himself seems to do, rolls imperturbably along at twenty miles an hour.
Al-Bab camera took glimpses of the debate of the film:

Hale Meets with Disability Rights Advocates

American Ambassador Meets with Disability Rights Advocates

Al-Bab Report

Islamabad – December 1, 2016:  American Ambassador David Hale met with approximately 25 Pakistani disability rights advocates to discuss the achievements of individuals with disabilities in Pakistan, America, and elsewhere around the world.  The group also discussed how to address challenges that individuals with disabilities still face in society today, such as difficulty accessing mainstream education and health services.  

“At the State Department, led by our Special Advisor for International Disability Rights Judith Heumann, we campaign to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people with disabilities,” said Ambassador Hale.  “Earlier this year in conjunction with the Paralympics, we started a campaign called ‘Without Limits.’  This campaign focuses on ensuring that persons with disabilities are employed on an equal basis with others.”

The American Embassy recently concluded a one-year $375,000 program, managed by the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), to support Pakistani women with disabilities.  Through this program, STEP organized more than 90 training sessions, TV talk show discussions, and provincial workshops to increase public and Pakistani government awareness about the rights of women with disabilities and to provide livelihood training for women with disabilities.  

“While we observe and celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we also need to commit ourselves to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which can create a more inclusive and equitable world for persons with disabilities,” said STEP President Atif Sheikh.

Now, the American Embassy, Mobility International, and STEP are beginning collaboration on a new program to empower Pakistanis with disabilities and their allies.  The American Embassy also supports the rights of individuals with disabilities through exchange programs and other activities, such as the International Visitor Leadership Program.  

US Rehabilitates Kalat-Quetta-Chaman Highway

United States Rehabilitates Kalat-Quetta-Chaman Highway

Al-Bab Report

Islamabad – December 1:  American Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale along with National Highway Authority Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar and Frontier Works Organization Director Major General Muhammad Afzal today opened an exhibition displaying photos of the recently rehabilitated section of National Highway (N-25) connecting Chaman to Kalat through Quetta, Balochistan.  At the exhibition, which commemorates the recent completion of American-funded improvements on the road, attendees viewed the many photos of scenes of Pakistani life on and around the new highway.

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), funded the construction of the 111 kilometers needed to complete the N-25 highway, in cooperation with the Frontier Works Organization, the prime contractor, and the National Highway Authority (NHA).  USAID provided $63 million to rehabilitate the highway and has committed an additional $27 million for further improvements including a bypass road at Kuchlak, four bridges, two weighing stations, and three toll plazas.  The newly-restored N-25 highway will increase trade and economic integration by linking Pakistan with Afghanistan and its Central Asian neighbors.  The road, which stretches from Chaman on the border with Afghanistan to Karachi, will also improve the lives of the people of Balochistan by expanding access to basic healthcare, education, and other social services.  The Frontier Works Organization began construction in October 2014. 

“This road is a concrete demonstration of America’s commitment to help bring peace, stability, and prosperity to Pakistan.  It is a testament to the far-reaching benefits of our partnership, as it will serve the people of Pakistan for generations to come,” Ambassador Hale said at the inauguration.

The funding for this highway is one element of USAID’s $681.5 million FATA Infrastructure Program, which has restored essential public infrastructure in remote communities.  To date, USAID has funded the construction and rehabilitation of more than 1,100 kilometers of roads in Pakistan, including the four major trade routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.