KARACHI: Several civil society organisations and rights activists in a joint petition filed in the Sindh High Court have demanded the constitution of a judicial commission to investigate the exact number of heatwave deaths, and other losses incurred, as well as fixing responsibility on persons, including government officials, and departments for failing to take preventive, curative steps to reduce the losses, it emerged on Friday.

With the state and the government refusing to take responsibility and instead shifting blame on others for the death of 1,272 people from heatstroke in Karachi, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler), Aurat Foundation, NOW Communities, Workers Education and Resource Organisation and others came forward to file the petition regarding the ‘preventable’ heatstroke deaths.

“It is our responsibility on behalf of all citizens to take action when the government and other institutions are not,” said Piler chief executive Karamat Ali during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club while elaborating on the reason behind filing the petition.

The petition, which was filed on Wednesday, impleaded the federal and provincial governments, K-Electric, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), the Pakistan Meteorological Department and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as respondents. “Electricity is not a commodity or a privilege but a fundamental right and the privatisation of K-Electric does not change its constitutional responsibility to the people of Sindh,” said Mr Ali.

According to the petitioners, disaster management has been compromised. For the Piler chief executive, the heatwave “could have been forecast in advance and a public education campaign launched to create awareness and introduce preventive measures to avoid the loss of lives.

“Instead, irresponsible statements are being given and blame being levelled against each other,” he said.

Most of the heatwave victims were faceless, many homeless or infirm, and so the petitioners believed that the number of dead could be much more than estimated. For singer and activist Shehzad Roy, such figures have the ability to shake the very foundation of the state. “However, we see that the state is absent and no concrete steps are being taken to investigate and hold those responsible for these deaths.

“This is why a citizens commission is a good idea which will help identify these individuals and hold them accountable,” he added.

One of the demands of the petition is to provide compensation to those affected by the heatwave as well as to the victim families.

About the judicial commission, the petition requests the commission be tasked to investigate the exact number of dead, and other losses incurred, as well as assigning responsibility and liability to “persons, including government officials [and] departments ... for failing to take preventive, curative measures in order to reduce the loss of life and injury to the people of Sindh.”

Mahnaz Rehman, resident director of Aurat Foundation, criticised the government for letting down the most vulnerable sections of society. “Most of those who lost their lives were the poor, living in substandard housing, if at all. These were preventable deaths, had there been better management by the chief minister, the meteorological and the health department.”

The looming threat of climate change was also discussed and the need to take immediate measures to curtail its negative impact stressed on.

Urban Resource Centre official Zahid Farooq said: “Karachi is a megacity with an overwhelming amount of cars and motorbikes, no circular railway system and no functional transport system. And we keep on building up on the city, sacrificing greenery in the name of development.”

The heatwave, he said, was “inevitable” as Karachi evolved into a city surrounded by cemented structures.

According to the petitioners, Article 38 of the constitution guarantees that the state is responsible for the promotion of social and economic well-being of the people, which include providing electricity, water, health services and a proper sewerage system. However, Karachi’s lopsided development has given rise to people migrating from other parts of the country, further straining its dwindling resources and the government has no long-term strategy in place to deal with these demands.

The SHC was also requested in the petition to scrutinise the lack of warning mechanisms, awareness campaigns, declaration of emergency provisions in hospitals and the role of the federal and provincial government.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2015

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