TERMS OF REFERENCES (TORs)

Project Title: Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom in Pakistan (PPRF)

Organization: Legal Aid Society (LAS)

Consultancy Title: Raising Awareness on the Issues of Religious Minority Communities (RMCs) via FM Radio Network 

Location(s): Karachi, Sindh

Duration: (05 February 2025 – 30 June 2025)

1. Background

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) is a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization to ensure accessible, effective, and expedient justice for marginalized and underprivileged communities across Pakistan. Since its establishment in 2013 under the visionary leadership of Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, LAS has been working in four (04) different thematic streams; Access to Justice, Gender & Child Security, and Climate Resilience, Sustainability, & Security, and Freedom of Religious Belief to empower communities and create a long-lasting impact to transform lives and judicial system. 

In line with its mission to protect and safeguard the fundamental and legal rights of the Religious Minority Communities (RMCs), LAS is implementing a project titled ‘Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom in Pakistan’ through focused legal interventions, strategic litigation, and community building to shield the RMCs from discrimination, persecution, and violence. It is committed to create a Pakistan in which RMCs can practice their faith freely and seek justice without fear. 

Further, Sindh Legal Advisory Call Center (SLACC) is a flagship initiative of LAS, which is being run as a joint venture with the Law Department, Government of Sindh. It is dedicated to providing free-of-cost legal advice and expedient access to justice through legal forums to the citizens of Pakistan through a toll-free number 0800-70806. 

To begin with, RMCs face a range of socio-political, economic, and legal challenges in Pakistan, which are not represented fairly within the media landscape. There is inadequate awareness about the issues and challenges faced by RMCs as well as their significant contributions in the historical development of Pakistan due to biased, partial, and sensationalized coverage. It perpetuates stereotypes and fuels misunderstanding, which exacerbate their vulnerabilities and reduce their access to media platforms, including Radio. 

In view of the aforesaid, LAS aims to collaborate with an FM Radio Network to address issues related to RMCs, airing of content that emphasizes the rights and contributions of the RMCs, and promotion of SLACC for the provision of legal advice to the citizens across Pakistan, including RMCs. The purpose of the collaboration is to raise awareness about social and legal protections of RMCs as enunciated in the legislative framework and challenge norms that exacerbate exclusion and discrimination.   

2. Scope of Consultancy and Expected Outcomes:

The scope of work and corresponding outputs/deliverables will be as follows:

Deliverable 01:

Airing a total of nine (09) shows of thirty (30) minutes each on FM Radio Network for Sindh and Multan Region, the format and scheduling of which will be mutually decided between LAS and the FM Radio Network.  

Deliverable 02:

Providing a Commercial Air Time (CAT) of thirty (30) minutes for Sindh and Multan Region. 

3. Project Timeline & Payment schedule

Time period for this consultancy will start from 05 February 2025 to 30 June 2025. Further, the timeline for the deliverable is given in the following table:

4. Required Metrics:

• Shall have valid license as required to be obtained from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) 

• Presence in major cities of Pakistan. 

• Listenership should be up to fifty (50) million. 

5. Required Documents for Application:

• Profile of the FM Radio Network (1-Pager) outlining suitability for the aforementioned Consultancy 

• Technical Proposal based on TORs (Should adequately cover all the deliverables) 

• Financial Proposal

7. Confidentiality & Work Product: 

It is agreed that any documentation made accessible to the FM Radio Network whether verbally or in writing is confidential. The FM Radio Network will hold such information in confidence and will use it solely for the purpose as mutually decided. The FM Radio Network further agrees not to disclose confidential information to any third party, natural or legal, without LAS’ prior written consent.