Civil society organizations: Nature and their role in rural development (A case study of Hazara region of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province)

Efforts by the state to reduce poverty and improve rural livelihoods in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan in general and mountainous regions of the province in particular have gain modest success. The vacuum created by the state and non-government organizations (NGOs) regarding rural development is (sometimes) filled by so called 'organization' including village level and religious non-profit organizations. Such organizations claim that they are deeply rooted in the traditional and religious culture of the province, and that they are in a better position to address the issues related to prevailing rural poverty and inequality in the marginalized areas. These organizations and social movements even challenge the state departments in providing basic services to the rural communities. This paper, examined the social organizations in a broader perspective of civil society movement. The data were collected from Abbottabad and Mansehra district of (former) Hazara division of KP. The results showed that the organizations working in the study region can be broadly classified into three categories; the organizations working for rural development/human rights, cultural identity and religious identity. Majority of the organizations was working in both rural and urban areas. It was found that these organizations mostly relied on voluntary staff. In most of the cases, at district and provincial level, these organizations had linkages and networking with other organizations on different issues e.g. for child rights, women rights, rights of forest users and owners, rights of growers and landless labourers.