Malala’s father cautions against unauthorised fund-raising

LONDON: Ziauddin Yousufzai has appealed to the general public to donate money only to the Malala fund set up by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Vital Voices or as per the advice of Pakistan High Commission in London.
Ziauddin’s appeal came after reports emerged that individuals and organisations were gearing to set up appeals to raise funds in the name of Malala Yousufzai’s, the 15-years-old brave girl shot in the head by Taleban in Swat. Ziauddin issued the appeal after a fundraising appeal - Malala Education School Project - was launched to build a school in Swat, without seeking consent from Malala or her family.
According to details, several British Pakistani figures visited the hospital where Malala was being treated, posed with Ziauddin and sent out their pictures to media as proof that Ziauddin had approved their efforts but Ziauddin has stated that he has not endorsed any charity and no visitor ever discussed any project with him.
Ziauddin told this correspondent: “Many Pakistanis visited and got pictures made with me but nothing was mentioned about fundraising and we thought it was only a visit to ask for Malala’s well-being. I am only endorsing the QEHB and the Vital Voices funds set up for education of poor girls.”
The issue first came to surface when Ahmed Shehzad launched the controversial project in the Houses of Parliament in mid November under the banner of Human Rights Society of Pakistan-UK Chapter. He claimed that the project had support of Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Qurban Hussain and Pakistan High Commission but all of them have denied knowing the full details of the projects and specifically distanced themselves from any “financial” aspect of the project. The brochures for “Malala Education School Project” carry account details and names of at least 25 supporters from British Pakistani community but many of them have said they had no idea their name was being used.
Lord Nazir Ahmed, whose name has been put down as Patron of the organisation, said: “I have nothing to do with any fundraising effort in the name of Malala. I support good causes, run to benefit needy people but I never get involved in financial matters. I don’t endorse anything which is financial in nature and only the person raising funds is responsible for it.” A spokesman at the Charity Commission said that “there is no registered charity under the name of Human Rights Society of Pakistan or Malala Girls Schools Project. From our register it doesn’t look like anyone’s applied for registration using Malala’s name”.
The spokesperson added: “It is true that he wouldn’t need to register as a charity with an income of under £5k, but any collection for charitable purposes that he carries out makes him responsible as a trustee for ensuring those funds are applied as intended. If he is collecting for a charitable purpose, the funds raised must be applied to charitable purposes,” she said, advising the public to always ensure they are giving to registered charities by carrying out a few simple checks. A Pakistan High Commission official confirmed that Deputy High Commissioner Syed Zulfiqar Gardezi had attended the event in November “as an expression of support for Malala and to stand by her in her mission” but “this should not be seen as endorsement of the School Project; that is a matter for Malala’s family to decide”. The official added: “It may be noted that the Pakistan High Commission had categorically declared earlier that it would not be party to any such fund-raisers especially as the government of Pakistan has undertaken to look after the needs of the family.”
The spokesperson said the invitation didn’t mention that it was going to be a fundraiser and when the fundraising started “it was a bolt from the blue for the deputy High Commissioner when the platform was used as a fund raiser and DHC did not support it since he had no authorisation from the family”.
Copyright Solicitor-Advocate, Khurram Mian at HKH Kenwright and cox Solicitors said a charity “is not allowed to suggest Malala is any way linked to this charity, without her agreement. They cannot use her pictures and quotes cannot be attributed to her, either on the web or by way of any other publication, without her express consent. If an organisation does so, Malala can take legal action against the charity.”
After The News put questions to Ahmad Shahzad about the use of Malala’s names with her parents’ consent, he said in a statement that Malala’s name has been dropped from the school project. “We will build school to promote girls’ education in Swat and the new name will be after consulting the Swat Education Department or Malala’s family. We intend to respect the wishes of the local girls who will be the beneficiary of our school project.”