PublicInterestLawAssociationofPakistan

NewsletterOctober2017

Contents

MessagefromthePresident

HerecomestheNewsle=er!

Happenings

RTIWorkshopbyDr.Gardezi

CommercializaJonofWallsConference

MentalHealthWorkshop

SummerInternships

Advocacy

RighttoInformaJon

6thCensusofPakistan

CiJzenshipRightsEducaJon

SocialMediaPublishing

LiJgaJon

WaterPolluJoninRiverRavi

EducaJonasFundamentalRight

PreservaJonofHeritageBuilding

DisasterManagementincaseofNuclearIncident

MessagefromthePresident

PILAP continues on its journey to protect and promote thefundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan. We have madesignificant progress on the Citizenship Rights Education, River RaviCommissionandEducationPetitioninSindhHighcourtoverthelastfewmonths.The syllabus for Class 1 to 10 for “Citizenship Rights Education" isnowcompletedbyTeacherResourceCentre (TRC)andnowweareworking on teacher training and testing and qualifying thesyllabus.Inthe9thmeetingoftheRiverRaviCommissionheldon16September2017 thecommission (createdas anoutcomeofLahoreHighCourt inWrit Petition 9137 of 2012 titled Public Interest LawAssociation of Pakistan vs. Government of Punjab andothers)thatWaterandSanitaryAuthority(WASA)Lahoreengagingaconsultant to design aBioremediationplant at BabuSabu,and theconstructionofaBioremediationplanton thesite identifiedby theCommission is underway. In the last hearing of the EducationPetitioninOctober2017,thejudgewentthroughPILAPpetitionandasked thepetitioner to submit a clear concise planwhichwe thinkwillpositivelyimpacteducationinSindh.We continue to look for support from private citizens as well asprivate sector companies. We need more active members andvolunteers.IfPILAPistobebecomesustainablewehavetodoubleifnot triple ourmembership. Lot of issuesstay pending in thepublicinterestareawhichweneedtoresearch,advocateandfixandIlookfor strong support from like minded individual, both time andmoney, to come and join this public interest movement and helpturnPILAPintoasustainableinstitution.Bestregards, Saad Amanullah Khan President, PILAP

HerecomestheNewsletter!

PILAP has been active throughout the period since our last newsletter.We have newmembers andincreased focus on our existing members to share our progress, advocacy projects and help withresources. We at PILAP are constantly monitoring our environment, staying in touch with publicinterests, sharingtheknowledgeanddrivingawarenessamongstmembersandpublicat large. Theseareverytestingtime,ourresourcesarelimitedandwehavetomakeprioritycallsastowhichissuetofocuson, all this is stretchingus to the limit.Unlesswe, the civil society, gets together and vouch toupholdfundamentalsrightsandfocusonimprovingourinstitutions,thereisverylittlehopethingswillimprove.

Our President, Advisors and Executive Committee members need to be praised for their support,inspiration, networking, resources and guidance. It is alsowith heavy heart thatwe had to partwithSummaiyaZaidiandNoorZafar,whobothhadtoleavePILAPoneforhighereducationandtheothertofocus on others areas of Public Interest. We would very much like to thank both for their amazingpassion topublic interest causesand for their contribution tohelpPILAPprogress.Wewishboth thecolleaguessuccessandwouldlovetohavetheircounselwhenevertheycanparticipate.

Inarecentmeeting,PILAPEChasrevisedthePILAPmembershipcontributioninordertocopewiththeincreasingportfolioandexpenses.Now,ourLifetimemembershipisaone-timepaymentofRs.50,000,Annual membership is Rs. 10,000 per year (or Rs 1000 monthly), student’s membership is free butrequirevolunteerwork.PleaseupdateandpaythebalancesandcontinuetosupportPILAP.

With this let us share with you our new newsletter format and we hope that this will meet yourexpectationsandkeepyouupdatedonoureffortsandactivities.

Happyreading!

350RegularPatrons

145Life`me

75Annual

70Honorary

9PublicInterestCases

68RTIRequests

SelectedEventsatPILAP

1. “RightToInformation”WorkshopbyDr.SyedAliRazaGardeziMarch2017:

2. “CommercializationofWalls”MeetingJuly2017

PILAPheldajointmeetingwithIAMKarachiandits lawyers to discuss the misuse andcommercializationofwallsincityofKarachi.Thenuisanceafterthebanonbillboardsusebutnowboundry walls are being sold to be used ascommercial spaces. The delegates discussedrelevantlaws,soughtopinionfromAdvocateIjazAhmedifthecasescanbebroughtinthecourts.Ms. Ambareen Kazim shared experiences fromtheireffortstobeautifycitywallsaroundKarachimainstream roads.Mr. Shahid Firoze,Mr. AminHashwaniandMr.SaadAmanullahKhanmeetinggovernmentofficialsandcallinguponAGSindforactivatingLawenforcementtocurbthenuisance.

PILAP hosted a session byDr. SyedAliRazaGardezi forPILAPInternee lawstudentsandPILAPofficialson“RighttoInformation” lawand its applications. Dr. Raza Gardezi hasextensive experience in enacting RTI Lawfrom Sindh Legislative Assembly. He is anactiveadvocateaswellaspractitioneroftheRightto Information laws.HeexplainedtheRTI Law to students, gave answer to theirqueries and briefed about how to use RTIlaw for various issues surrounding them. Itwas a fruitful exercise and the studentsthanked him and PILAP office for suchopportunity.

3. “MentalHealth&Insanity”WorkshopoflawyersandDoctors

4. PILAPSummerInternshipJun-July2017

PILAP hosted a workshop in collaboration withCareForHealth, QseyQanoon and PakistanLawyers Guild and Doctors. The workshopbriefed the Lawyers and doctors about “MentalHealth” Illness and relevant laws. An exercisewascarriedoutforbothDoctorsandLawyerstosort out legal and clinical issues helping eachother understand the contrasting legal point ofview inmental health conditions and cases. Onthebasisof thisworkshop, a seminar is comingup where senior Doctors and Lawyers wouldsuggest changes to Law and clinical practicefacilitating patients with mental illness andavailablelegalcover.

In continuous efforts and zeal to bringyouth to public interest issues, PILAP’sSummaiya Zaidi brought 12 interns fromvarious universities of Karachi. Theinternees were from SZABIST, IBA, HabibUniversity and Hamdard University. Theinterns were given selected cases forresearch, given tutorials on various lawdisciplines, taken to streets for treemapping and heritage awareness andcoached for real life experience inlitigation. The interns remain thankful toPILAP for thisopportunity.Wewish themsuccessandhopetheywillopttoworkforPILAPissuesinfuture.

Advocacyefforts1. RightToInformationLawanditsapplicationinallbranchesofGovernment:

PILAPinitseffortstoeradicatecorruptionandnegligenceofpublicoffices,madeitsmandatetobringachangeinthewaygovernanceisdoneandmonitored.Weworkedinphasesandhereisabriefabouteachphaseofadvocacyin“RighttoInformation”drive:FirstPhase:WewrotetotheFederalGovernmenttomakeefforttobringtothegeneralpublictobenefitofArticle19-A“RighttoInformation”.Alertedthemabouttheweaknessof“Freedomof InformationOrdinance”, 2002 and the need for better legislation.Wehavewritten to ThePrime Minister of Pakistan, the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Chairman of NationalAccountabilityBureauabouttheneededLaws,quickimplementation,mandatoryinfrastructureto facilitate RTI desks and facilitation for common citizen to enquire about issues of publicimportanceandwaystoeasythisprocess.Theresultsareslowbuteffectivetosomeextent.Wereceived replies from some offices about acknowledgment of issues and information aboutactivities.SecondPhase:DuringsecondphaseweturnedtoprovincialgovernmentsandwrotetotheCMsofprovincesforpromulgationofusefullawsandeasytofollowprocessundertheArticle19-A.We highlighted the ineffectiveness of the provincial legislature, non-implementation in spiritandredundancyatprovinciallevel.TherepliescamefromCMPunjabandCMKPK.ThirdPhase:WewrotetoPublicbodiesandinquiredfromthemforimplementationoftheRTIlaw, easy access to their documentation and responsive approach. These public institutesweapproachedwerePSO,WAPDA,NEPRA,CAA,OGRA,PEMRA,HEC,KE,SSGC,FBR,SRB,PRAandPTCL.Someoftheofficerepliedbackandpromisedtoupkeepthespiritofthesaidlaw.Followup:PILAPiskeepingaregisterforalltheRTIrequests,acknowledgmentsandanyrepliessenttous.Wekeepremindingthepublicofficesfortherequestsandwillapproachthecourtforimplementationifnecessary,subjecttoresourcesandfundsavailable.

2. 6thCensusofPakistan2017PILAPadvocatedandpressedthegovernmenttoholdthecensusandprovidedassistancetotheSuoMoto action taken by the Supreme Court. PILAP executivemembers and President heldmeetings with SC Lawyers and similar institutions like PILDAT and PRIME for factual input,impactofdelayandtonullifythereasonsgivenbysuccessivegovernmentsfordelay.In continued efforts, an article in the English daily “The Express Tribune” was published,authoredbyPILAPPresidentSaadAmanullahKhanwithtitle“WhytheCensus is importantforPakistan” describing the need for census and negative impacts across the economy of notholdingacensuswithdetailedfactsandfigures.

Thearticlereceivedhugereadershipandcommentaryfollowedwithcriticismofdelay.After the census was completed, we pursued the government officials not to delay thepublishingofitsresults.Wewereveryhappytoseethattheresultswereannounced.Toanswervarious questions on the Census from our members, PILAP requested The Pakistan StatisticsBureau(PSB)underRTILawtoprovideusthedueprocess,methodologyandauthenticityoftheresults. ThePSBwas kindenough to sendadetailed reportonhow the censuswasexecutedwith the help of Armed Forces, the process, methodology and verifications involved in duereportingofthecensus.Thereportcontainedtheimportantelementsincluding,appointmentofcensusstaff,training,data-collectionandoperationsinsight.

3. CitizenshipRightsEducation

Thisprojectaimstobringbacktoourschoolstheconceptof‘Citizenship’.Toaccomplishthis,ateacher’scurriculumisbeingdevelopedforclasses1-10teachers,whichwillenablestudentstolearn aboutCitizenship Rights. The trained teacherswill deliver this curriculum in day-to-daycoachingtotheirstudentswithoutaddinganyfurtherburdenonstudents.Therefore,thefocusisnotonlyonwhatistaughtbutonhowitisbeingtaught.

TheTeachersResourceCenter isanassociationofseasonedteachersandmemberswhoassistinteacherstrainingandsyllabusdevelopmentformorethanlast20years.

TheTeachers’ResourceCentrehascompletedthedevelopmentofadetailedcurriculumforteacherstraining and conducting the pilot sessions withselected schools. Once we have tested andsucceeded with this pilot project (9 schools, 3private3publicand3NGO),wehopetoconvinceotherschoolsaswellasprovincialgovernmentstoincludethematerialinroutinetutorialsinalltheirpublic schools.We look forward to ourmembersanddonorstohelpuscompletetheprojectasitisbeing pushed back due to lack of funds. ThisprojectisakeyinvestmentineducatingouryouthontheirrightsascitizensofPakistan.

4. SocialMediaPublishingWehavereinvigoratedoursocialmediaeffortsandareactivelypostingnews,blogsandarticlesonto our website, keeping it dynamic, with our Facebook and twitter pages being routinelyupdated.Werequestourmemberstokeepconnectedtoourwebsite“www.pilap.pk”,followuson Facebook and twitter. Your interest andparticipationwill help us produceuseful contentandengagewiththegeneralpublicandmembersontheimportanceofPubicInterest.

5. EnvironmentalSecurity:CuttingofMangroves/EIAIncontinuedeffortstoconserveandpreservethelessremainingtreesaround,PILAPispursuingthe Sindh Environmental Protection Agency if they had the necessary NOC to cut downprotectedMangroveTrees. UnderRTI lawwehaverequestedSEPAtoprovide information, ifthe NOC was in fact issued to cut the 882 Mangrove Trees protected under Forestry Act(Questionis iftheForestDepartment issuedanNOCforconstructionofLNGimportplant2 inPortBinQasimareaofKarachi).

6. LiaisonwithAlifAilanInarecentcommunicationwithAlifAilan,wehaveprovidedaprogressreportforoureffortsinissuesofEducationasa fundamental right,badstateofpublic schoolsand inclusionofoutofschool children back into schools, in Sindh. Alif Ailan will compile all information and willcollaborate with similar organizations to group up the efforts and form a larger impact toimprovethestateofEducationintheprovince.

PILAPBrochure:

In the same spirit, an impactful newbrochure was designed with effectivemessages,artwork,explainingPILAPMission,objectives,projectsandwinstodate.

We have circulated the brochure to PILAPexecutivesandwithinthecommunitywithafocus to broaden the family of PILAP andraise funds for PILAP sustainability adcampaigns.

LitigationUpdates:PILAP ispursuing litigationonvarious frontsofEducation,Access to Justice,WaterPollution,DisasterManagement in case of a Nuclear Incident and Heritage preservation. The following are significantprogressmarkedduringpastfewmonths:

1.WaterPollutionatRiverRavi

TheLahoreHighCourtbasedonPILAP’spetitionhasconstitutedacommission“RiverRaviCommission”to oversee and monitor the efforts for construction of water treatment plants with the help ofindustries,theGovernmentofPunjab,WASAandinformthecourtabouttheprogressthereof.

River Ravi Commission is continuouslymonitoring the progress and facilitating the dialogue betweengovernmentdepartmentsandpursuingconstructionof“Bio-remediation”plantaspilottobereplicatedalong the River Ravi. For information this is an outcome ofan order by Lahore High Court in WritPetition9137of2012titledPILAPvs.GovernmentofPunjabandothers)

2.EducationasaFundamentalHumanRight

PILAP petition is pending with the Sindh High Court for pursuing Sindh Government to provide forFundamentalHumanRightofeducationtoitscitizen.InthesamewaketheCJofSindhHighCourthasalsotakenSuoMotuonthebadconditionsofSchoolsinSindh.PILAPPresidentandlawyershavecalleduponHonorableChiefJustice,SHCtohearupthepetitioninadditiontotheSuoMotoNoticeandadvisetheChiefSecretaryofEducation,Sindhtoimprovetheschoolingenvironment,andaddresstheseriousissueofoutofschoolchildren.InarecenthearinginOctober2017,thehonorableJudgeofSindhHighCourtonourpetitionhasrequestedPILAPtorecommendaclearandconciseworkableplanwhichthecourtcanreviewandordertheSindhGovernmenttoabideby.NexthearingisdueinNovember2017.

3.PreservationofHeritageBuilding(Lloyd’sBank/SilkBank)

4.DisasterManagementincaseofNuclearIncident

PILAPpetitioninTheSupremeCourtisbeingheard.OnOctober25,2017,thecasewasheardandtheSupremeCourthas called theAttorneyGeneralofPakistan topresent from the respondent side,TheFederalGovernment.

PILAP had filed a petition in the Sindh High Court, forpreservation of Heritage building of “Lloyds Bank”, onthenews thatabuilderhadplannedconstructiontherewith an NOC fromSindh Government. The court heardthecaseandorderedforaninspectionofthesite,whichwas carried out in August 2017. PILAP Staff with theCourt appointee inspected the site and informed thecourt of a few changes made. The changes were notalarmingandthecourtrestedthecasetillnexthearing.

Earlier a group of citizens made effortsto relocate the two new Nuclearreactors but failed. Based on thatdecision, PILAP is praying the SupremeCourttoorderthegovernmenttoputinplace proper systems and processes incase of a nuclear leak or disaster asnearly 27million people livewithin thevicinityofthenewreactors.

PILAPfeelsitisthefundamentalrightsofthe citizens in Karachi to be aware ofwhat steps the government has takenfortheirsafety.