By: Owais K. Khattak
ISLAMABAD: Helvetas Pakistan in collaboration with FRD hosted/organised the Youth & Mediators Convention under the LAND AND WATER Diplomacy (LWD) PROJECT in Islamabad.
The Land and Water Diplomacy (LWD) project was Funded by The European Union and successfully implemented by Helvetas Pakistan and FRD in four merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and Kurram with a particular focus on Social cohesion for peace and stability in tribal communities of Newly Merged Districts (Ex-FATA) strengthened through the engagement of local authorities and CSOs in confidence-building measures and dialogue around land and water.
At the youth convention, around 160 participants gathered from different backgrounds including government officials, diplomats, development sector professionals, beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
At the beginning of the convention, the country director of Helvetas Pakistan Dr Arjumand Nizamani shared her views about the purpose of the Youth & Mediators Convention and the learning from the LWD Project. She said, “LWD project was a unique approach to resolve land and water disputes among communities. Under the LWD project, we have trained 100 mediators including 80 men and 20 women in which most of the mediators are young and are playing an active role in creating social harmony. I am hopeful these mediators will play an active role in resolving disputes through an alternative resolution to maintain peace in society. I believe that alternative dispute resolution is the fastest justice system. Alternate dispute resolution is not only applicable in the merged districts of KP, but it is also applicable all over Pakistan and the world to ensure the fastest justice.”
A project documentary was screened by Irshad Ali, Samira Qazi, Dr M Asad Salim and Owais K. Khattak which showed that the LWD project impacted 25,922 people’s lives including 8,018 women, 17,674 men and 230 Persons with Disability (PWDs).
Furthermore, different seminars, trainings, sports and cultural events and stakeholder dialogue were conducted under the Land & Water Diplomacy project to enhance the capacity of CSOs and local leaders in the mediation of land and water resources-based issues. Ex-Deputy Commissioner Kurram Wasil Khan Khattak said that with the help of Helvetas Pakistan, we resolved many disputes in the Kurram districts.
The Alternate Dispute Resolution System can resolve complex community disputes to sustain peace and development in a society; however, it needs to be improved in many aspects to make it more pragmatic and efficient. Helvetas assisted us in the district of Kurram where they trained mediators and ensured the participation of all stakeholders to resolve disputes regarding our Land and Water. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first woman provincial ombudsperson Ms Rukhshanda Naz highlights that “Feudalism is not just limited to rural or tribal areas. It is rather the name of a certain mentality that is not limited by geography. A feudal mindset can be found in cities like Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi too. The important thing is how you control and manage the power dynamics that are typical of a patriarchal society and how you decide the code of conduct for people that is reflected in their behaviour”.
Dr Jawad deputy director Helvetas Pakistan said that the Land & Water Diplomacy project addressed many issues through alternative dispute resolution as Pakistan has an agriculture-based economy; so, it is essential to resolve land and water disputes immediately to avoid the escalation of issues in violent conflicts.
Adil Saeed Safi, Director General Sustainable Development Unit Planning & Development Department (SDU P&DD) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said, “What I liked most about the LWD Project is that they have filled the governance gap which arises due to failed service delivery. This gap expands with time if the government does not cope to it and gives birth to disputes.” Project Coordinator Mr Munawar K. Khattak highlighted the challenges of LWD. He said, “When we talk about newly merged districts, one of the major challenges is security issues. In this context, implementing projects by involving soft components like capacity building, peace promotion etc. instead of hard components like physical schemes, are also a challenge. Keeping in view all these challenges, we implemented a water diplomacy project under the financial support of the EU Fund in the merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 3 years.
Project Manager FRD Mr Faheem Khan shared the key achievements of the LWD project. He said, “This project plays a key role in bringing people together to resolve disputes around water and land to sustain peace in the society.”
A youth Mediator and Journalist from Distract Khurram, Fatima, said, “Women can play a crucial role in conflict resolution. They can play their role as mediators in family and neighbourhood. In the past when the elders were building homes they were supposed to fix three hooks in the wall. One for the gun, 2nd for the lamp (laltain), and the third for the turban (Pagri). Now, this mindset has been changed with the help of women. Women are pushing their men to educate their children they are forcing their men to avoid guns and violence to live a peaceful and prosperous life. So the number of hooks has been reduced to two i.e. one for the lamp and the other for the turban”.
A woman mediator from the Christian community shared her views about the beauty of the diversity of Parachinar. She said, “We are living together with the Muslim community sharing different cultural values, practising separate religions but celebrating our festivals together. We the women are committed to resolving our community issues to sustain peace in our society.” Page | 2 Ghazal Mohmand, mediator and a representative of Mohmand Adabi Tolana said, “Literature has always played an essential role in promoting peace and development. The LWD project provided our local community with an opportunity to organise literary events which were really helpful in resolving conflicts and strengthening social cohesion”. He shared his views on peace and war through his poetry.
Sajid Khan Youth Mediator from District Khyber reflected, “Through sports, people from various communities meet each other and take part in activities which can lead to the breakdown of different stereotypes. People understand each other when they partake in activities which can play a vital role in building peace. We utterly need a lot of such activities in merged areas as such activities can bring out talents from such regions.”
The closing segment of the convention was about promoting peace through culture in which local musicians from Parachinar entertained participants with musical performances. The speakers summarized as, “Music connects community and cultures. We believe that music is a soft tool for promoting peace in society.”
