Founding Charter Adopted and signed in Karachi Sindh Pakistan on March 12, 2026.

Preamble

1. We abide by the overall Declaration on the establishment of the International network of Historians without Borders presented for adoption at the final session of the conference of May 2016 in Helsinki.
2. Wanting to promote and deepen the general understanding of history.
3. Calling on historians to defuse conflicts by sharing knowledge about history in conflict resolution processes.
4. Recognizing the role of historians in reconciling divergent views about historical events by promoting interactive dialogue between differing interpretations of history.
5. Concerned about how insufficient historical knowledge and understanding leaves people vulnerable to the misuse of historical narratives and impedes their ability to see into the future.
6. Emphasizing the need for concentrated efforts to counteract the misuse of history.
7. Appealing to governments and legislatures to refrain from unilaterally passing resolutions and legislation on controversial interpretations of historical events.
8. Underlining that an understanding approach to historical monuments should leave an environment where traces of all our history can be seen and in due time serve as focal points for understanding our common past.
9. Stressing the importance of open, transparent and free access to historical material and archives.
10. Noting that many historians already recognize a shared problem: History is increasingly misused by politicians, media, and technologies to justify conflict, exclusion, and polarization.
11. Stressing that at the same time, intellectuals and historians are often left to respond individually, exposed and fragmented, or are pushed into roles (fact-checker, activist, spokesperson) that do not fit their professional responsibilities.
12. Accepting that HWBSPC exists because the misuse of history fuels conflict. Societies are increasingly ahistorical and vulnerable to myth-making, and intellectuals/historians have a responsibility to engage—not as political actors, but as custodians of intellectual and historical method, interpretation, and dialogue.
13. Understanding that “Without borders” does not mean ignoring national contexts. It means refusing to let historical work be confined, instrumentalized, or silenced by any single state, institution, or narrative.
14. Noting that HWBSPC’s core method is dialogue, listening to conflicting historical narratives, recognizing them as real and meaningful, and creating conditions where disagreement does not automatically escalate into hostility.

Article I – Mission

The mission of Historians Without Borders Sindh Pakistan Chapter is to create an inclusive forum which has a singular goal: Sindh’s Historical Identity Narrative Empowerment (SHINE)

Article II – Objectives

UNITY

1. To be proud of Sindh’s 5000-year-old history and to mirroring its past glory to even more prosperous future within Pakistan.
2. To appreciate that We wish to create confidence-building measures to resolve narratives with all Pakistanis and countries interested in the history of Sindh.
3. To appreciate that We are joined by one guiding belief despite our various personal associations that Sindh stands for universal peace. Shah Abdul Lateef Bhittai is our North Star: “Alam sub abaad kareen”.
4. Sindh’s rich historical ethos has long championed the fundamental rights of women. By institutionalizing the progressive philosophy of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, we aim to advance gender equity and cultivate a culture of zero tolerance toward all forms of gender-based violence.
5. To appreciate that We will defend, with facts, figures, and literature, the misinformation spread throughout history about Sindh so that future generations live dignified and prosperous lives connected to the soil of Sindh, Pakistan.
6. To appreciate that We believe all those who live in, were born in, or have an emotional connection to Sindh wherever they are in the world, irrespective of mother tongue, ethnicity, or religion or location. To reach out to all Sindhis all over the world on historical narrative of Sindhiyat.
7. To appreciate that We believe in the amalgamation into Sindh’s 5000-year heritage, culture, and language.
8. To ensure fake narratives on Sindh’s history do not prevail so that Sindh’s actual history is preserved and Pakistan’s unity is not damaged.
9. To arrest the structural distortion of Pakistan’s history by ensuring Sindh’s history is represented holistically how it has shifted from 5000 years to different eras through finally to pre-partition and finally to post partition.
10. To ensure Pakistaniyat is not built on the ashes of Sindh’s history but by representing all provinces and territories and communities to ensure a stronger, diverse, inclusive Pakistan as was promised by the founder of Pakistan.
11. To appreciate that Sindh’s commitment to Pakistan was the first in Lahore Resolution 1940. One unit was a historical fact which lost us half our country. Sindh’s historical vote of confidence for Pakistan by GM Syed historically was never fully acknowledged. What was meant to be provincial autonomy then became centralization. The 18^th amendment was a return of some sorts and now we are back to square one after rendering the amendment subservient to centralisation through different interventions. We are creating historical faux pas.
12. To note that the myth that Sindh exists today due to a certain administrative arrangement is equally faulty. Sindh has experienced the establishment of a state for hundreds of years without a monarchy, without religion, without an army. The Federation of Pakistan was joined by Sindh voluntarily, no one conquered it. Hence Sindh’s inherent right to maintain and cherish its historic identity as cradle of five thousand years old human civilization should be considered as a matter of pride for Pakistan.
13. To realize that the historical narrative is now being systematically distorted by certain unscrupulous elements that Sindh’s historical misrepresentation must be resolved through an interdisciplinary approach: not just historical, but geographical, political, economic, environmental.

URBAN RURAL 

14. To ensure history, livelihood, and cultural heritage of indigenous communities living in multicultural cities of Sindh are preserved, acknowledged and celebrated.
15. To ensure that just like in other provinces there is no labelling like interior Sindh and city and district names should be mentioned for any specific reference. In Sindh such divisions have been created to create rural urban divide economically socially and culturally to justify malafide claims for separate provinces within Sindh, which is historically a no-go for people of Sindh and injurious for unity of federation.
16. To understand that whilst Sindh’s capital is a cosmopolitan city with all Pakistanis living in it, we cannot take away the fact that it not a city state but the capital of Sindh which is inseparable part of this province.
17. To understand that the economic dominance of Karachi is a pride of Sindh and not a reason for separating it from Sindh. The myth that ‘Karachi is not part of Sindh’ is largely a distorted and perception-based narrative, not a historical or constitutional reality. Karachi has always been—and remains—the capital and integral part of Sindh, historically rooted in Sindhi geography and culture while simultaneously serving as Pakistan’s most diverse metropolitan city. The city grew from the Sindhi coastal settlement of Kolachi, long before colonial rule. Even when Karachi served as the federal capital after 1947, it remained within the territory of Sindh. A falsely created impression that Karachi does not belong to Sindh is largely a distorted political narrative rather than a historical reality.
18. To minimize Sindh’s history from the national narrative has reduced the dignity and productivity of Sindh’s population which is counterproductive for Pakistan’s GDP. In reality, Sindh is one of the oldest cradles of civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization, including the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro, flourished here more than 5,000 years ago. Sindh has also been a gateway of cultures, trade routes, and intellectual traditions throughout history. Thus Karachi being the cosmopolitan city is a historical reality but cannot be misunderstood for being a separate province.
19. To ensure that Sindh’s contribution to the national economy is the sum total of all its districts not just of its capital and its resource management needs to be a reflection of that. With Karachi as the country’s financial and commercial hub, the province contributes a substantial share of national revenue, industry, trade, and port activities. As such Sindh is one of the strongest economic pillars of Pakistan. Thus, agriculture and industry is a sum total of Sindh.
20. To understand that the under development of rural Sindh historically was not a historical fact but a present construct and will not be acceptable as the present or the future. The agricultural and industrial economies of Sindh are equally important and therefore the inequalities between rural and urban are unacceptable in terms of resource allocation. The amenities of rural and urban Sindh need to be the same, the discrimination is not a historical reality but a created present situation. Deprived districts of Sindh province should be allocated more resources and special development packages to bring them socio-economically at par with developed urban centres of the province.
21. To note that moving capital of Pakistan from Sindh province was deliberate distortion of history and moving HQ of public sector organizations out of Sindh was a historical travesty which hurt unity of Pakistan.
22. To note that no historian from Arab, Persia, Greece, Europe, India, China has written that the Karachi region was separate from Sindh being an area on the banks of the Korangi Creek of the Indus River.
23. To note that fake Historical narratives on the upper and lower riparian rights are destroying Sindh’s economy and this needs to be fixed as well.
24. To reject the myth that Sindh survives only because of the any political or administrative arrangement ignores Sindh’s economic contribution through ports, agriculture, and natural resources; meaning urban and rural combined. Sindh’s agriculture produce guarantees food security of non-agricultural urban centers and its significance is undeniable.
25. To reject the myth that Sindhis are feudal and backward with the logic that other provinces also have similar jagirdara set ups under different names but are not castigated. Historically we stand for egalitarian society in Pakistan and reject all forms of economic exploitation by rural and urban elite and demand equal rights for common citizens in all provinces.
26. To historically counter those narratives which frame demographic change as justification for reducing Sindhi representation. We appreciate demographic diversity but do not endorse demographic engineering of Sindh province that leads to convert indigenous Sindhis into a minority on their own homeland.
27. To understand that to fuel urban rural divide the facts were distorted. Very few people know that municipalities across Sindh, including Keti Bandar Municipality, Qambar Municipality and others had contributed funds every year to build and develop Karachi city. Karachi city was modernized with the cooperation of all municipalities of Sindh. The fake narrative was created after 1947. There was no such thinking before partition.

CULTURAL INCLUSIVITY

28. To ensure Historical sites, wildlife, environment, of Sindh are taken care of by Sindh and Sindh takes accountability for their preservation with constitutionally allocated budgets.
29. To ensure profiling stereotyping in media, entertainment industry stops because this is a campaign which is neither healthy nor historically correct.
30. To claim that Sindh has no independent or ancient historical identity creates disunity, and damages bond with the federation thus this practice needs to be discouraged in the interest of Pakistan.
31. To accept that Sindh is proud of its 5000-year history which includes multi-faith references. The flag of Pakistan has representation of religious minorities. Believers of all faiths in Sindh cherish a shared treasure of history as We consider them equal citizens as enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan. Hence, they are as much the sons and daughters of soil as Muslims are.
32. To appreciate that Sindh’s folklore, customs cannot be labeled as relics of Hinduism or any other religion. Sindh’s history and culture stands above faiths and We take pride in and respect all faiths of people of Sindh.
33. To also ensure that the historical names of Sindh’s historical heritage are restored.
34. To note that Sindh doesn’t view itself historically as culturally narrow. Sindh has historically been one of the most culturally diverse regions of South Asia. Its society has been shaped by centuries of interaction between local communities, traders, Sufi traditions, and migrants. The cultural ethos of Sindh is deeply rooted in pluralism, tolerance, and coexistence.
35. To note that Sindhi nationalism is a concept based on shared history, culture and inherent rights over land and resources of Sindh. This political interpretation of nationalism is in line with constitutional frame of Pakistan. misinterpreting it as anti-federation narrative is nothing but part of the malafide labelling which is counterproductive. All those respecting amalgamation, history and rights of Sindh are Sindhis not nationalists nor separatists. To be a nationalist cannot be termed as being a traitor to Pakistan.
36. Sindhi people have been false accused of being lazy. This is a historical mistruth. The real reason for Sindh’s bad governance lies on successive political parties and not the people of Sindh who have themselves suffered despite their handwork. Therefore, blaming Sindhis for not being capable of modern governance takes away from the historical advancements of the ancient Sindhi civilization.
37. To push back on the labelling such as traitors, lazy etc. The easiest demolition of a nation is to call them lazy; and as Sindhis who have historically been success stories due to their long historical achievements in education, trade, agriculture, and administration, this narrative historically has been done on purpose to demoralize a nation. If this were the case, the people of Sindh would not have established their status through trade, from Mesopotamia to Las Palmas. On the one hand, conquests were being made in the world through wars. On the other hand, Sindhi merchants were increasing their influence in countries around the world through trade and commerce. Even today hundreds of thousands of Sindhi farmers and laborers are contributing to national economy through their hardwork which need to be respected.
38. The negative stereotyping and prejudicial branding of the Sindhi population by certain political factions at the federal or provincial levels carries clear political motivations rooted in the self-serving interests of those groups. The real reason for Sindh’s bad governance lies on successive political parties and not the people of Sindh who have themselves suffered despite their hardwork. Therefore, blaming Sindhis for not being capable of modern governance takes away from the historical advancements of the ancient Sindhi civilization.
39. Sindh’s governance challenges basically stem from longstanding exploitative policies and persistent national governance issues. While the current government remains accountable, it is important to recognize that Sindh has experienced decades of externally imposed regimes that neglected its development and depleted its resources. The current government continues this pattern, and responsibility for current governance issues should not be placed on the people of Sindh.
40. Sindhi cultural icons should not be defamed for chronic bad governance of Sindh which has roots in decades long mis-governance of this province patronized during different regimes. Bad governance is not a recent culprit. Therefore, blaming Sindhis for not being capable of modern governance takes away from the historical advancements of the ancient Sindhi civilization.
41. To appreciate that Sindhi diasporas interest in Sindh’s historical narrative being corrected is genuine but is largely seen as a foreign agenda where as all Sindhis living anywhere in the world consider themselves sons and daughters of Sindh. All such efforts are in the interest of a strong federation and should not be misconstrued as anti-state narrative.
42. Sindhi culture is inclusive of all religious ethnic and sectarian differences.

ACADEMIC 

43. To ensure Curriculum on Sindh’s history to be amended not for political purposes but to reflect historical truths for Pakistan’s preservation.
44. To understand the Concept of who were sons/daughters of soil versus who were invaders at different points of Sindh’s history. To be clarified and not to confused or glorified for religious or political reasons.
45. Sindh historically is tolerant of every ethnicity, sect and religion. There is no space for sectarianism in Sindh’s historical narrative. Thus, the traitor labelling of the bouquet living in Sindh cannot be justified in the name of anti-state agenda and be left in the hands of fanatics and extremist groups.
46. To note the travesty of the relocation of Historical figures of Sindh’s birthplaces like Quaid e Azam to fabricate a new narrative has backfired. All efforts will be made to amend this historical injustice. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born in Jhirk Thatto not Wazir Mansion. The fact is also mentioned in text books of Sindh till recent years.
47. To realize that Education was not brought to Sindh, it was a product of Sindhis already in Sindh, who established the educational institutions and health facilities in Sindh. They were not built by the British, the Sindhis had arranged it themselves. Government madrasah and high school Nausheroferoze, DJ Sindh College, Noor Muhammad High School, Shikarpur High School, Sindh Madrasa Islam, Ojha TB Sanatorium, a big hospital in Giddu for the treatment of mental illnesses, and many others.
48. Sindh’s history pre Islamic, pre Partition, post-Partition are all an important part of Sindh’s overall narrative and cannot be dismissed.
49. To ensure that the historical narratives need to be accessible to scholars, students, researchers and policymakers both Pakistani and international.

LANGUAGE

50. To note that languages of every region and province must be given national language status including Sindhi. The Sindhi language is an asset not a threat historically since it unifies and doesn’t break Pakistan. Same mistakes of 1971 must not be made.
51. To ensure that all attempts to sideline the Sindhi language in education, administration, and public life which have deeply affected cultural confidence are addressed.
52. To Dialogue with linguists, literature experts, language teachers to recognize Sindhi as a vital part of national history, culture and civilization.
53. To demonstrate how Sindhi language was accepted even by British colonizers who learnt and used Sindhi for the official, judicial, revenue records language. After creation of Pakistan the closure and conversion of Sindhi schools into Urdu schools damaged historical narratives and peace between people of Sindh.

Article III – Activities

1. Organize seminars, discussions, or dialogue-based events (online / in person).
2. Raising voice through Campaigns in the entire Sindh, in Pakistan and internationally.
3. Partner with universities, museums, NGOs, governments, policy and cultural institutions.
4. Participate in HWBSPC network meetings and international cooperation.
5. Contribute, where appropriate, to shared initiatives grounded in historical expertise.
6. Publish research papers, reports, and educational materials which are understood by all generations, including animated stories of our heroes and videographics. Include all new media communication channels.
7. Encourage digital documentation and archival preservation of Sindh’s historical records.
8. Structure a recognized collective form for action and representation.
9. Ensure Continuity / sustainability and work that outlasts individual availability.
10. Ensure Shared infrastructure: access to HWBSPC’s framework, materials and dialogue formats.
11. Emphasize on Equal standing participation alongside other national associations on a horizontal basis.
12. Manage Shared responsibility by reducing personal exposure and distributing judgment, expertise, and risk.
13. Ensuring that historians and all others interested in the field of history from every profession are included to create diversity and wealth of knowledge.

Article IV – Governance

1. Advisory Council of Founding Members will guide the forum and which can be expanded as need be with a two third majority vote of existing Founding members. Committees will be added as required.
2. Membership shall be Free and open to historians, scholars, educators, researchers, and individuals committed to the preservation and study of Sindh’s history from every field and from all walks of life who are interested in contributing in their own way to the objectives.

Article V – Collaboration

The Chapter may collaborate with its Finish parent Association, all organizations domestic or international, all professions in Sindh and internationally who contribute to the objectives of the Charter. Such collaborations shall support the broader goal of promoting historical scholarship without borders.

Article VI – Commitment to National Harmony

The Charter affirms that recognizing and respecting the history of Sindh promotes harmony with all of Pakistan’s provinces and territories and communities, and strengthens national unity. An inclusive understanding of history contributes to a more cohesive and informed society.

Article VII – Adoption

This Charter is adopted as the guiding framework for the activities and mission of Historians Without Borders Sindh Pakistan Chapter.