In September 2020, journalist, Raja Khurram Zahid, wrote an inspiring story about the people of Sangu, a union council of Peshawar who came together and devised a social accountability action plan to revive their community school for girls. The school was closed in 2017 due to heavy rains.
Shangla, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is home to PTI’s member of provincial assembly, Shoukat Yousafzai. Despite being home to a renowned politician, the area has no school for girls or functional dispensary.
In the article, Fatimah Amjad narrates the story of people of Shangla who decided to take matters in their hands, and by using the platform of public hearing, resolved their local issues.
This article revolves around the struggle of the people of a village near Abbottabad to rebuild their community school. But, sadly, due to neglect, the school has turned into rabbles.
The article published in Jang talks about the concern of political parties regarding local body system. Pakistan Peoples Party’s stalwart, Taj Haider said that the party wants elections to be held on time and as per the law. He said that it should be ensured that local bodies complete their electoral term.
The article published at Geo News talks about the success story of a local organization which was able to protect the people of Nowshera from stray dogs’ bites.
The article on Urdu News talks about how COVID-19 became a blessing for the women of Kohat. Many villages of Kohat had no female doctor due to which women had to seek treatment at home especially for maternity-related problems or they had to go to the city but now the pandemic has addressed this issue.
Talat Hussain in Gulf News raises the issue of new laws introduced by the government of Pakistan that are believed to be against NGOs. According to the data, there are nearly 8,000 NGOs across Pakistan that deliver services that the state is unable to provide to the deprived and the most vulnerable among the Pakistanis. The majority of them are local; others draw on international funds.
The article covers the report published by Omar Asghar Foundation about the development funds allocated for KP for the year 2020-21. NGO report tells that majority of less developed districts have received less than Rs1 billion each.
The article by Umer Farooq of Express Tribune highlighted the role of Khuli Kutcheri or public hearings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in resolving issues falling within the jurisdiction of the district administration and local government.
In this editorial, Yasir Pirzada narrates an inspiring story of a small village near Battagram, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The NGO working in the area, instilled in the community how-to stand for their rights. With their help, the community was able to get a road built for their village.
In the op-ed, Afra Fatima talks about accountability as an essential pillar of governance and service delivery. She talks about the need for social accountability in Pakistan to resolve the issue of people.
Afsana Afsar in The Nation narrates the story of the resilience of the people of Purana Sanghar, near Balakot. She tells how the people of Sanghar held the government and authorities accountable for shying away from rehabilitating the people after the 2005 earthquake.
In this feature, Mussarat Khan has raised the issue of the absence of local government bodies in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She debates how the provincial government and bureaucracy is an impediment to good governance in the region.
