Urge for joint initiative - Formation of
Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC)

At the outset, there was little co-ordination amongst the various peace groups, the initiatives being spontaneous and carried out independently of one another. Soon, however, the different groups came to realise the need for linking together on a country-wide scale as a collective expression of their struggle to mobilise public opinion against nuclear weapons in South Asia.

Within a few months of their formation, the peace groups rallied to join hands to put in a collective struggle to mobilize public opinion against nuclear weapons.

An acute sense of insecurity and threat to life which had already been there due to the prevalence of religious, sectarian, political, tribal and other forms of violence and intolerance became overwhelming when the threat of a nuclear holocaust in the subcontinent appeared after the Mayí98 nuclear tests by the two countries. It was this realisation of the impending threat of extinction which impelled these organisations and individuals to unite into a national coalition of peace activists.

In August and September 1998, a Working Group consisting of I. A. Rehman, Beena Sarwar, Shahtaj Qizilbash, Karamat Ali, B. M. Kutty, M. B. Naqvi, Omar Asghar Khan, Jennifer Bennet, Zafarullah Khan and Saeed Ahmed met in Islamabad to discuss the futurestrategies for the peace movement in Pakistan.

The responsibility to resist mass violence, conflict and death, and to seek out support of civil society in the renewal of faith in life and peace led to the formation of a national body, Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) with the commitment:-
· to oppose nuclear weapons in all forms and in all countries, rejecting weapons of mass destruction and nuclear deterrence as legitimate ways of achieving national security;
· to seek global nuclear disarmament, and for this purpose cooperate with and seek support from movements, organisations and groups elsewhere in the world that are engaged in this pursuit;
· to pursue, as an immediate measure, nuclear disarmament and peace in the region of South Asia, and for this purpose join hands with the regional movements and organisations working for this goal;
· to press upon the Pakistani state to reduce defence expenditure in order to promote human development;
· to counter the increasing trends of intolerance and violence in Pakistani society.

The PPC and its component organisations planned to creatively use the means of print, electronic and audio-visual technology as well as the medium of theatre to:
· enhance public awareness of the horrors of the use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
· highlight the negative consequences of war and dividends of peace
· increase public access to information about peace and related issues and build a constituency for peace.

It was decided that through its joint planning of strategies, the Coalition would enable co-ordinated progress on these goals. Proposals for supporting specific goals and strategies made by each constituent organisation were circulated for subsequent discussion and integration into a final proposal for adoption by PPC. To ensure broad-based support for these goals, existing organisations would renew efforts to form more Peace Committees across Pakistan.

A Co-ordinating Committee of PPC was constituted with B. M. Kutty (ACAAR, Karachi) as the Convener, and Beena Sarwar and Shahtaj Qizilbash (JAC, Lahore), Omar Asghar Khan and Jennifer Bennet (CPC, Rawalpindi - Islamabad), M. B. Naqvi and Karamat Ali (ACAAR, Karachi) and Dr. Sarfraz Khan and Ms. Bushra Gohar (CP, Peshawar) as members. 2 members from Quetta were to be coopted later on when the peace committee there became functional.

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