EXCLUDING THE POOR

In the wake of the anti-encroachment drive in Islamabad, a draconian action depriving the disenfranchised of their rights, entitlement of space and livelihood options, Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque (VC PIDE) held a roundtable conference at PIDE on ‘Excluding the Poor’ in which representatives of multiple associations participated. The representatives who took active part in the debate were from khokha, private hostel, private school, guest house, and katchi abadi associations. The objective of the conference was to emphasize the negative effects the anti-encroachment drive has had on the rights of the poor in the shifty and patronizing urban landscape of Islamabad, and to understand the institutionalized mechanisms through which they are being structurally excluded. Participants were representatives of different associations (khokhas, katchi abadis, private schools, hostels and guest houses) and development practitioners, civil society members, donors, national and international academics, and a lawyer from The Law and Policy Chamber. The important issues which emerged from the conference have been detailed in this report for each of the representative associations.