LAHORE: A group of renowned intellectuals, policy-makers, academics, members of legal fraternity and public officials on Saturday launched a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ‘Common Man Initiative’ (CMI) to ensure that the voice of a common man remains at the centre of country’s policy and governance initiatives which in turn are impactful in their lives.
The inauguration ceremony of the NGO was held at a Fateltis Hotel in which Punjab former governor Khalid Maqbool, former inspector general (IG) of Islamabad police Chaudhry Iftikhar, constitutional expert and CMI Director Saad Rasool, analyst Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami, TV anchor Ijaz Haider, former IG Shaukat Hayat, former IG Police Ahmed Nasim, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) former DG and IG Police Tariq Khosa , columnist and defence analysts Ayaz Ameer, journalist and columnist PG Mir, former Lt General Ghulam Mustafa, well-known poet and intellectual Amjad Islam Amjad, Quaid-e-Azam University former professor and nuclear scientist Dr Pervaiz Hoodboy, researcher and writer Dr Shahzad Qaiser, Care Foundation Pakistan chief and renowned social activist Seema Abid Aziz and others also participated in the inauguration ceremony.
Addressing inaugural ceremony, famous lawyer Saad Rasool explained aims and objectives of the CMI and.
“There is a need to highlight issues of a common man who has been ignored for the last 70 years since the inception of Pakistan. The issues of the common man have been linked with state institutions. The problems of police will not be resolved until resolution of issues faced by the judiciary.
“The issues of the judiciary will not be resolved until resolution of problems of the education sector. Likewise, the issues of education sector will not be resolved till resolution of issued faced by the common man. There is a need of institutions for effective lobbying in favour of Pakistan at international level,” he described.
Former FIA DG Tariq Khosa said he is happy to become part of CMI and hoped that it becomes a good institution to address the issues of common man. “The CMI will raise voice for resolving issues of common men,” he added.
Former Islamabad IG Chaudhry Iftikhar said that poverty is not a crime and stressed the need to help resolve their problems in an amicable manner. “The People in CMI have the experience, expertise, courage, dedication and commitment to the cause. They will resolve issues of the common man through this platform,” he said.
Ayaz Amir said that unfortunately, no intuitions in the country is focusing to address problems faced by the common people. “The common man has never been a priority of the state. Rather the ruling elite and state institutions have thrown a common man in problems. There is a dire need of imitative like the CMI to highlight and address grievances of the common man,” he said.
Former Governor Khalid Maqbool stressed the need not to forget sacrifices of the Pakistan Army in making Pakistan prosperous and lamented corruption and bad governance. “The CMI will prove the best platform for raising the voice of the common man,” he said, adding that such non-profit organisations are need of the time to improve the performance of the government institutions and to have check and balance on the same.
The CMI is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation which aims to bridge the gap between the common people of Pakistan and the leaders who design policies. It aims to provide a platform to the ‘common people’ where they can voice their opinions, narrate their stories and claim their rights.
The purpose of bringing these narratives in focus is to highlight the need of government engagement, reform of justice system and policy frameworks.
