By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IT was announced last week that two UN international treaties that Pakistan signed recently have been ratified. They are the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, and the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984.
Continue reading Human rights and Pakistan
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IN today`s post `end of history` era, someone demanding an end to the oppression of factory labourers and the tillers of the soil risks being called a misfit.
But how can one turn a blind eye to the fallout of capitalism and the inequities that have brought new exploitation and oppression for urban and rural workers whose ranks seem to be swelling? There is the need for someone to champion their cause.
Continue reading Champion of haris’ rights
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE education sector is for once under the spotlight and is receiving some attention from the higher quarters. We should be grateful for that.
But it is not clear if the policymakers have made field trips to get a true picture of the working — or dysfunctional — state of our schools which they are trying to improve. It would help if they did. My recent visits to government schools in Orangi have been an eye-opener.
Continue reading A study in contrast
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AT the far end of Korangi, much beyond the densely built-up sectors interspersed with wide roads, is a complex of neatly laid-out structures designed by renowned architect Habib Fida Ali. It is set in the midst of a cluster of shantytowns, an oasis in a desert of underdevelopment.
Continue reading To give is to gain
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE much-touted Prime Minister`s Housing Scheme (PMHS) is heading for doom. The housing minister disclosed recently that the government had signed 36 MoUs with a number of foreign construction companies but none had so far begun work on the project aiming for one million `low-cost` housing units completed at a cost of Rs40bn.
Continue reading A city with two souls