Daily Times

With the end of Pakistan Muslim League- N (PML-N) government in the Punjab, the future of a number of projects initiated by former Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has become uncertain.

Among these are the Chief Minister’s Special Monitoring Unit (SMU) and a Strategic Reforms Unit (SRU), a think tank formed in 2014 to introduce reforms in social sector, strengthening provision of women’s rights, as well as in law and order. Salman Sufi, the director general of the SRU, was dismissed by the provincial caretaker government on July 15.

The de-notification came as a shock to Sufi and his team because several of their initiatives were still under the completion phase. According to Sufi, some individuals in the provincial bureaucracy were unhappy with the fact that the performance of the unit was outshining that of other departments. Before his dismissal, the selection board headed by the chief secretary had extended Sufi’s contract as the DG of the SRU.

“We made a team of young people who were passionate about giving back to the country and put their expertise to use. But the senior bureaucrats were uncomfortable with young people calling the shots,” Sufi tells Daily Times.

The unit hired young individuals and fresh graduates who fit the bill. A CSS exam was no longer a requirement to enter the bureaucracy. “We opened our doors to the youth so they can get involved in the decision-making process. The passion to make a difference was the major criterion,” he says.

As the DG of the project, Sufi spearheaded various projects for women empowerment and human rights. The SRU had a major role in drafting and subsequent passage of the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act which was hailed by international rights groups as a milestone in women empowerment. Women-on-Wheels Campaign is another initiative of the SRU that provides women with motorbikes at a subsidised rate, along with free training in a bid to increase their mobility.

Additionally, the SRU introduced the Punjab Shehr-e-Khamoshan Authority Act 2017 which paved the way for the establishment of an authority to cater to the poor state of graveyards in Punjab. These projects are currently in the implementation phase and will have to be stopped if the government discontinues funding.

After the DG’s dismissal, the four-member team of the SRU has been left directionless and uncertain if their initiatives will see light of the day. Fatima Khalid, an associate at the SRU, says political leaders often complain of brain drain and lack of manpower in Pakistan. “Our team is the antithesis of brain drain, because we chose to work voluntarily in the public sector leaving high paying private-sector jobs,” she says.

Sufi says he is ready to volunteer his services once again if the incoming government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decides to continue with the projects started by the SMU and SRU.

The successive governments in Pakistan have faced resistance from the religious right while introducing pro-women legislations. This explains why progressive laws are oftentimes put on the backburner. Understanding these political realities, Sufi followed up on the preparation of these laws with the necessary lobbying to ensure their approval from the legislature.

After his dismissal, human rights activists think they have lost an ally in the government. Though, incoming governments usually discontinue projects initiated by their predecessors, but PTI’s rhetoric about youth empowerment makes activists think the new government ‘will do the right thing and continue both SMU and SRU’.

Nighat Dad, the head of Digital Rights Foundation, says the de-notification of Sufi’s service has left a big question mark on the fate of pro-women projects and the overall operations of the SRU. “We know for a fact that our society has not come to this pass overnight and rulers have a lot to answer for their failure to confront abhorrent crimes, but also because one after another they fail to provide commitment to development projects initiated by previous governments,” she says.

Nighat underscores that the impact of the Women-on-Wheels project might not be humongous but thanks to the project, at least some women got to make a claim on male-dominated streets of their cities. This gave the beneficiaries a sense of freedom and motivation to occupy public spaces, she adds.

United Nations (UN) Women country representative in Pakistan, Jamshed Kazi, is of the opinion that the SMU routinely punched above its weight, demonstrating an effective and efficient model of introducing key reforms. “SRU has been the driving force behind some of the most progressive initiatives for gender equality and justice, all of which are laudable accomplishments in a short span of time. These initiatives should be viewed as non-partisan and worthy of being scaled up not just nationally but also internationally,” he says.

Published in Daily Times, August 22^nd 2018.