About Bardasht

BARDASHT is a non-profitable, non governmental organization registered under Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance of 1961. The Head Office is based in Islamabad whereas it has branch offices in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Gilgit. BARDASHT under the strong leadership of former Minister Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar, is committed to promoting peace and non-violence in the society through awareness and advocacy. It helps the underserved through strategic interventions in health, education and skill development.

BARDASHT also intervenes in situations of disasters and emergencies, with focus on sustainable development. BARDASHT came into existence on the 3rd of November, 2007. It was formed amongst a modest group of like-minded friends and wellwishers from the civil society, who volunteered themselves, their precious time and resources in contributing to peace building and tolerance. Ever since, BARDASHT has been working, for the last five (5) years, on all human and gender related issues that needed attention and voice.

Core Objectives

To create awareness amongst societies about peace, human rights and inter- faith harmony via printmedia, workshops, rehabilitation/ livelihood projects and skill-development vocational trainings.
To mêlée against the menace of violence at domestic, national and international level.
To nurture the seed of tolerance and peace at the grass root level by inculcating these values in the academic curriculum and learning institutes for the young.
To mend and reconcile the tribulations instigated by an opinionated society by serving the victims to become self-governing and self-supporting members of the society.
To support terminally-ill patients grow into productive and useful elements of the society by bringing about a transformation in the mind-set of people.
To shield minorities at all levels and inside each organization/institution.
To promote the message of “live and let live”.
To build, maintain and manage crisis centers/homes/ shelters for families, especially women and children who have been victims of intolerance and violence.
To manage/arrange for medical help/camps/aid for those patients who are suffering from any kind of disease or ailment.
To work for the general uplift/development of our community through welfare projects.
To provide psychological counseling to traumastricken victims, who have been targeted by natural calamities or domestic violence.
To prevent the degradation of environment by creating awareness about hygiene, global warming and pollution.
To shield children and adolescents from all kinds of violence, including sexual harassment, slavery, beggary, and under-age marriages.
To provide relief to victims of disasters to rehabilitate them back to normal life.

Foreword

It is with great pleasure that I present the final recommendations of the Peace Conference series 2012 organized by BARDASHT. This was a national level undertaking focusing on three major themes that BARDASHT has been working on: natural disasters, complex emergencies and pro-women legislations. The recommendations presented here are reflective of the collective voice of stakeholders across all the five provinces and the federal capital. The document provides key guidelines on challenges related to working on these three key issues.
The Peace Conference Series 2012 spanned four months and engaged national and provincial leadership from different walks of life, including jurists, academia, students, media, men in uniform, religious leaders, civil society, government representatives, legislators, experts and activists. It is through the profound and diverse experiences of these prominent Pakistanis that we were able to spark rich debates and dialogue, and map the way forward. Every meeting turned into opportunity to enhance our collective knowledge and understanding of the complex, multi-faceted issues involved in dealing with emergencies and disasters.
For me the best part of these conferences was to hear people speak. The eagerness of the participants to learn and share added real meaning to the process. Their desperate urge to see peace restored through conflict resolution was the single most powerful uniting force. It was especially moving to listen to our participants from Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan express their grievances and identify critical gaps in the overall response to conflict and thepeace process. Those voices are an important part of the recommendations and I hope they will serve as a guideline for political discourse and a call to action.
I would extend my gratitude to UN Women Pakistan for facilitating the peace process initiative. We are confident that our joint efforts to build peace and tolerance will continue with ever greater strength and commitment.
I also want to thank the provincial branches and members of Bardasht and other organizations who greatly contributed and worked with dedication to make these conferences a great success.
And finally, a special thanks to our core team - Mariam Salik, Brig. (R) Atiq ur Rehman, Salma Hamid, Barrister Shahnawaz Noon, Nargis Zaidi and Brig. (R) Mohammad Ilyas.