The civil society crisis in Pakistan

The following column " The civil society crisis in Pakistan" by Salman Abid , source "The News- June 27 , 2010".

People have a different perception of civil society organisations due to conceptual ambiguities

The civil society in Pakistan has come to a critical stage, facing lots of internal and external challenges along with the democratic forces in the country. The concept of civil society emerged in the early 1980s marked by a strong belief and desire in its potential to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions and focusing on issues such as accountability, credibility of the state institutions, and equal distribution and allocation of resources, etc.

In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family, and market. In practice though, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often blurred. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors, and institutional forms, varying in their degree of autonomy. Civil societies are often populated by organisations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organisations, community groups, faith-based organisations, professional associations, trade unions and advocacy group. In the political context, "civil society" refers to all organised forms apart from the government.

For more details: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2010-weekly/nos-27-06-2010/pol1.htm#7