In a recent interview with Jahan Numa, Ex-Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah responded to some tough questions regarding his education and political career.  

He has often come under fire for his low qualification, but in a discussion with the youth-initiated YouTube channel, he replied to many of these criticisms that surface of social media from time to time.  

Syed Mehdi Shah insisted that education is not necessary for becoming a good politician and that the world has seen many leaders who had nothing to show in terms of degrees.  

The experienced politician conceded that he is only a college major, still he refused many key positions during his youth because his mother desired him to follow a different career path.  

Syed Mehdi Shah is known for his firm loyalty to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and once again he heaped praises on his party for bringing huge developments in the region. 

In fact he even claimed that his government did all the hard work and laid the foundation that greatly helped the subsequent government of Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, the second Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan. 

The Balti political leader got a little fired up when asked whether his properties increased after he gained the coveted position of chief minister. 

He claimed that he had always been affluent and repeatedly mentioned owning 140 shops along with other pricey establishments. 

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To protect school children from natural disasters and other insecurities, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) convened government education departments, academia, district disaster management authorities and the media in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab.

Mr. Hafiz Noorullah, Education Development Officer, Chitral, said on a radio talk show:

“A lack of awareness and knowledge makes the disaster happen. So there is a need to have more and more information sharing through different media platforms and involvement of young people in interactive discussions to sensitize them on the topics of safety and security.”

Mr. Nawab Ali Khan, Chief Executive Officer, AKAH Pakistan said:

“In the 2005 earthquake, Pakistan lost around 20,000 children due to vulnerable structures and lack of awareness and preparedness, which cannot be repeated. We need our schools to be resilient and better prepared
for similar situations. We are thankful to our public and private-sector partners for joining hands with us to achieve this objective.”

For the last 20 years, AKAH has been designing and implementing programmes on Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation in some of Pakistan’s most vulnerable areas. More than 1,000 schools in disaster-prone areas have benefitted from the development of hazard and risk maps, school safety plans, provision of school safety kits, and awareness raising and capacity building of individuals.

School-level awareness raising sessions have been part of the work of the Aga Khan Agency since the Islamabad Conference on School Safety held in 2008. AKAH’s School Safety Programme will contribute towards the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s one million safe schools and hospitals global campaign, and contribute towards the achievement of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and the practical implementation of the Pakistan School Safety Framework.

For further information, please contact:
mehar.aftab@akdn.org

NOTES:
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), which merges the capabilities of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, and the Aga Khan Development Network’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative focuses on preparing for both sudden and slow-onset disasters. AKAH works to ensure that people live in physical settings that are as safe as possible from the effects of natural disasters; that residents who do live in high- risk areas are able to cope with disasters in terms of preparedness and response; and that these settings provide access to social and financial services that lead to greater opportunity and a
better quality of life. Initially, priority areas of AKAH will include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and India.

Read more about the agency at: http://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-khan-agency-habitat