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Abdul
Sattar Edhi
Mr.
Abdul Sattar Edhi was born in Bantwa, in India
on 28 February 1928. One of the greatest philanthropists
of the counrty, Abdul Sattar edhi was born in
the small village of Bantwa in the junagadh
state of India.He migrated to Karachi in 1947
and began working for Memon community organisation.In
1972, he laid the foundations of Edhi Welfare
Trust, an organisation that would grow into
the largest philanthropic network in Pakistan. |
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Edhi started out with a small office in Karachi's
Bombay Bazar and collected donations on the city's
street-- a humble beginning, indeed.Down the decades
Edhi Foundation has grow into a massive institution
with 300 centres spread all across the country.Edhi's
ambulances transport the injured to hospitals, the
dead to the graves, his men travers war zones in times
of political turmoil and evacuate the victims of bomb
blasts and natural calamities. With the unwavering
support of his spouse,Bilquis and a team of highly
committed workers, Sittar Edhi has saved millions
of lives and provided shelter and food to countless
orphans and destitutes. Clad in coarse, grey khadder,
always wearing a compassioate smile, truly a man of
the masses, saviour of the poorest of the poor.
Ahmad
Hassan, Dani
Dr.
Dani is one of the subcontinent's most remarkable
archaeologists. A Sanskritologist, he was the
first Muslim to graduate from Benares Hindu
University. He worked with Sir Mortimer Wheeler
and helped him excavate Mohenjo-daro in 1945.
After independence he taught in Dhaka, and wrote
a classic work on east Indian archaeology. It
was only in this country that the remains of
a civilisation older than that of the Aryans
were discovered. |
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The Indus Valley civilisation triggered a renewed
interest in the archaeology of this area. Ahmad Hasan
Dani picked up the gauntlet from where the colonial
archaeologists and historians had left and developed
an integrated thesis about the archaeology, culture
and history of the land, which became in 1947 a new
century.The thesis about the individuality of the
Indus Valley as against that of the Gangetic Valley
was first propounded by him also set the basis of
the creation of pakistan, other than that on narrow
ideology.With the collapse of the Soviet Union the
Central Asian routes were also opened, reviving the
historical links, hwich had been severed since the
colonial powers moved in. This again re-established
the routes and the cultural linkages, which had been
responcible for the mix of the Indus Valley. Dravidian,
Buddhism and Islam all constributed to making this
land distinct from the Hindu hearted
Akhtar Hameed Khan
He
was born into a cultured family in 1914.Dr.
Khan was a very simple and straightforward person
who devoted his life to the uplifting of poor
Pakistanis. It didn't matter whether he was
serving the poor community, meeting the President
or a high Government offical, or receiving an
award, he always wore the same, simple clothes
made of Khaddar (rough and cheap cloth). |
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Akhtar Hameed Khan attracted international acclaim in
1980 by establishing the Orangi Pilot Project (opp)
with support from the then BCCI Foundation. The project
overcome major financial, technical and social probelms
genegally associated with the upgrading of low-income
settlements. It provided low-cost housing, education
and health facilities to a population of one million
people. In the process, Akhtar Hameed Khan managed to
re-establish a sense of belonging, community feeling,
the tradition of manual help and coopirative action
in a society beset with alienation and dislocation.
In 1936, Akhtar Hameed Khan had joined Indian Civil
Service (ICC) and resigned from it after nine years
later. Later he tought at the Jamia Millia in Delhi,
then became the principal of Victoria College in Comilla
and finelly the director of the Comilla Academy in East
Pakistan where he was able to undertake concrete development
work. After the girth of Bangladesh, he migrated to
Karachi. Akhtar Hameed Khan taught development administraton
at Michigan State University for five years before returning
to Karachi to "pass his teilight years in quiet
contemplation". But in April 1980, Agha Hassan
Abedi and Hasan Burney of BCCI persuded him "to
give only one half of his time to the preparation for
death and the other half to the OPP". The project
remained the centre of his activities till he died in
October 1999.
Alwin Robert Cornelius
On
the promulgation of the first Constitution of Pakistan
1956, Mr. Alwin Robert Cornelius was Appointed Chief
justice of the Supreme Court in 1960. He played a key
role in the development of jurisprudence and the principle
of law in Pakistan. His judgements formed the basis
for the introduction of judicial review of administrative
action, due process of law, equality before law and
the priciples of natural justice in the legal system
in Pakistan. His historical dissent in the Maulvi Tameezuddin
Khan case stands as a model of judicial courage. His
views in the case greatly influenced the subsequent
judgments rendered by the Federal Court in the cases
of usif Patel and the reference by the Governor General.
His contribution in the development of 'Separation of
Power' is significant. He held in a case that the "divisition
of function between the three limbs of the state in
Pakistan is by no means less clear that is it in England.
To observe and to respect this divisition is implicit
under the duty of liyalty to the Constitution which
rests upon all citizens but on particular, upon those
who are entrusted with the duty of interpreting and
implementing the Constitution." 'Audi altrem partem'
was one of the doctrines of natural justice initiated
by him, which provided immediate protection of rights
of the individual against the arbitrary procedure adopted
by a judicial quasi-judicial and administrative authority
while making by a order affecting the rights of private
citizens
Asma Jahangir
She
may be radical, but sometime a radical vision
is needed to show the way forward. And in pushing
for a just and equitable society, fighting every
inch of the way with all the force at her command,
AAsma Jahangir has willy nilly become the symbol
of human rights in Pakistan. Stressing team-work,
she once jokinly referred to herself as the
'frontman' of Pakistan's human rights movement--
a role that means being under constant threat
from armed bigots. |
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Aasma and her sprirted sister Hina Jillani were politically
trained by their lawyar politician father Malik Ghulam
Jillani. When he was imprisoned in 1971, Aasma, then
a college student, filed a precedent setting case
versus Federation of Pakistan, against Yahya Khan's
martial law. Married early, to the only man she Knew
in her age group who endorsed her view on the army
actin in East Pakistan, she completed her law degree
after her two daughters were born, and was 'allowed'
to practice only if she worked with other women. So
AGHS and its Legal Aid Cell was formed
in 1980, by Aasma, Gulrukh, Hina and Shahla. Increasing
contact with injustice led to a realisation of the
need for Commission of Pakistan in 1986, arguably
the country's most credible human rights body. Aasma,
recently retired as HRCP Chairperson after serving
two consective terms, was last year appointed the
UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and
Arbitrary Execution-- the first such position to be
entrusted to a Pakistani.
Dorab Patel
Speaking
at a seminar on capital punishment some yeras
ago, Justice Dorab Patel publicly regretted
that in his tenure as a judge, he had awarded
death, he now left that capital punishment should
be abolished, given its finality and the possibility
of error even in countries with far better criminal
justice system than Pakistan's admittedly flawed
one. |
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His public admission illustrates the courage of convinction
and the principled stand that characterised this dapper,
soft-spokent man from a distinguished Parsi family.
His principled resolve was most serevely tested when
in 1981 he refused to take oath under the Provisional
Constitution Order issued by Gen. Ziaul Haq, which
deprived the superior judiciary of many of its powers--
even though as second senior-most judge of the Supreme
Court, he was certain to be the next Chief Justice
of Pakistan right from its inception in 1986, he was
its first ad hoc chairpersonb, and first regularly
elected Chairperson in 1987. He stepped down from
this post as required by the Constitution after a
second term, but stayed on as Chairperson Emeritus
as request by the Council, until his death in 1998.
Eqbal Ahmad
Edward
W. Said, the noted Palestinian political scientist,
called Eqbal Ahmad "perhaps the shrewdest
and most original anti-imperialist analyst of
Asia and Africa". "Activict
scholar" is how David Barsamian, an American
journalist and auther described him, in a cover-story
interview for the South Asian Himal magazine
(March 1999). |
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Ahmad, who studied at Princeton in the 1950s, began
his crusade against injustice and tyranny early. He
went to Algeria where he was active in the revolt
against the French; he was a prominent civil rights
and anti-Vietman war campaigner. In the 1960s he was
academically ostracised while teaching at Cornell
University, for championing the Palestinian cause.
After leaving Cornell, he freelanced, and helped found
the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, afiliated
with the Institute of Policy Studies in Washington
DC. From 1982 to 1997, he taught International Relations
and Middle Eastern studies at Hampshire College, Massachusette.
He was made professor emeritus in 19998, and his retirement
ceremony in 1997, 'Celebrating Eqbal Ahmad', was momentous;
speakers included Amad's friends Noam Chomsky, Howard
Zinn and Edward Said. The First Eqbal Ahmad Lecture
was delivered by the UN Secretary General kofi Annan
in Sept 1998, as part of the Eqbal Ahmad Distinguished
Lecture Programme announced at the event. Ahmad was
frequently consulted by journalist, politicians and
bureaucrats. But in Pakistan, his 'friends' in high
places were unwilling to support him in public, or
to help him realise his dream, Khaldunia University,
an alternative centre of learning. None of them dared
even attend his funeral when he unexpectedly passed
away in May 1999. His friends and admirers-- the extended
'Eqbal Ahmad family'-- were the dissident demanding
an end to nuclear weapons and hostilities with India,
a settlement of the Kashmir issue with the participation
of the Kashmiris, equality for women, religious minorities
and the dispossesed, and a new discourse in politics.
Ghulam Farooq
Pakistan at the time of independence had no industrial
base. It was left to the state to provide the lead in
getting the country industrialist. A person who had
distinguished himself in negotiating with the Indians
over the divition of assets seemed to have the drive
and willingness to be entrusted with a difficult assignment.
Ghulam Farooq was the man behind his gigantic effort
of providing the lead in this vital sector. He headed
the corporation that invested in industries and then
handed these over to the private sector for their successful
running. Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation
was a successful venture that made the industrialsation
of the new country possible. He was also instrumental
in setting up the military and defence related industries.
The intention was to make the country less dependent
on foreign countries for its defence needes. The big
units producing military and defence related manufacturing
owe their origins to Ghulam Farooq. When it was realised
that Pakistan was deficient in electricity and power
and that it was not possible develop without it, the
task was again entrusted to Ghulam Farooq, who set up
Wapda which also oversaw the very difficult process
of implementing the Indus Water Treaty.
SIR Abdullah Haroon
A
leading Businessman and a distinguished philanthropist,
Sir Abdullah Haroon, in the words of the Quaid-e-Azam,
was one of the strongest pillars of the Muslim League.
He
was born in Karachi and began his career as a merchant
in 1896. In 1901, he became interested in politics.
In 1917 he joined the Congress and participated in
the Civil Disobedience and Khilafat movements. From
1919 to 1923, he was president of the Sindh provincial
Khilafat Committe. His brains and wealth brought about
the publication of "Al Waheed" (1920), a
newspaper promoting ideas of independence.
Sir
Abdullah Haroon presided over the seventh Sindh Provincial
Conference (1920) and remained the president of the
Sindh Provincial Muslim League from 1920 to 1930.
He played host to Bi Amman -- the revered mother of
the Ali Brothers -- in 1921 [ when they were being
tried in Khaliq Deena Hall, Karachi]. In 1923 he became
a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly [Sindh
was part of Bombay Province]. He demanded a separate
provincial status for SIndh in the Muslim Conference
at Aligarh (1925) and in the Leaders' Conference at
Dehli (1926). Between 1926 and 1942 he was elected
thrice to the membership of the Central Legislative
Assembly. He was president of the All India Khilafat
Committee for 1927-28 and attended the 1928 All Parties
Conference as a member. In 1930 he attended the all
India Muslim Conference.
In
1930 he formed the Sindh United Party on the pattern
of the Punjab Unionist Party but his party could not
win the 1936 elections; it succeeded, however, in
1938.
In
1938 he organized the Muslim League in Sindh. He was
the man who piloted the partition of India resolution
in the Sindh Provincial Muslim League Conference in
October 1938 under the presidentship of the Quaid-i-Azam.
Sir Abdullah Haroon presided over the Punjab Muslim
Students' Conference at Faisalabad in 1941. He donated
ten thousand rupees to the League at Allahabad in
1942.
He
was very active in social welfare projects throughout
his life.
I
A Rehman
I
A Rehman is director of the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan and an organising committee member
of the Pakistan Peace Coalition, a national
body formed after the Indian and Pakistani nuclear
tests of May 1998. |
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Rehman
was editor-in-chief of the Pakistan Observer, a daily
newspaper. He resigned in the 1970s during the military
dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq and started an
independent newspaper. He later became editor of View
Point, an independent weekly published from Lahore.
Rehman
is a leading crusader for human rights, a prominent
art critic, and a well-known columnist. He is also
a founder member of the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum
for Peace and Democracy.
Seth
Habib
Seth Habib, head of the memon Habib family from Bombay
migrated to Pakistan on a special request by the Quaid.
As menbers of the Muslim Chamber of Commerce and owners
of the pre-independence Habib Bank with branches in
Vienna and Zurich by the early 1920s, their move into
the banking sector in the newly independence country
was very natural. They brought their banking experience
and the Habib Bank Limited, as the biggest private
sector bank in Pakistan at the time. They diversified
their business and got into Modarbas and industries,
investing in Jute Mills, Shabir Tiles and Indus Motors,
to name a few -- soon to be among the 22 richest families
of the countries of the country listed by the Ayub
government.Habib Bank, however, was nationalized in
1972 in the Bhutto era. But Habib Bank was not the
only venture that held the family's interest in financial
sector. They also own Habib AG Zurich, an international
bank with branches in many foreign countries, and
are major share holders of banking organisation such
as AI Habib and metropolitan Bank. Apart for their
interest in banks and industries, they are trustees
of many educational centers for lao-income groups,
besides supporting several religious institutions.
Hakim Saeed
A
great humanitarian, educationist and scholar,
Hakim Mohammad Said was the founding president
of The Hamdard Foundation and founding chancellor
of Hamdrad University. After partition, Hakim
Said left his wealth in India and migrated to
Pakistan with barely anything. He committed
himself to the service of humanity by building
several indespensible institutions. Author of
36 books in Urdu and 27 in English. |
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Hakim
Said had good command over the two languages and working
knowledge of Arabic, Persian, Pushto, Bangali, Sindhi
and Punjabi. He published more than 500 articles on
science, medicine, history and Islam. He received
the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, in 1966 for his selfless services,
besides several other awards and instruments of recognition,
both nationally and internationally. As a practicing
physician, Hakim Said treated more than 3 millon patients
in his life. He was the Founder-president of Madinatul
Hikmat or the 'city of culture and learnung'. He was
gunned down at the age of 78 years in a terrorist
attack in 1998.
Mehboobul Haq, Dr.
A
prominent economist, leading development thinker
and the creator of the widely acclaimed Human
Development Report, Dr Mehboobul Haq had a Masters
in economics from cambridge and Phd from Yale
University. He had a long and distinguished
career as the Chief Economist of Pakistan Planning
Commission (1957-70), formulating the first
four five-tears plans. |
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From 1970-82 he served as director of the World Bank's
Policy Planning Department and from 1982 till 1988
as federal Planning and Finance Minister. Since 1990,
Dr. Haq's major contribution remained the annual Human
development reports, which greatly inspired major
UN conference on human development. Many countries
around the world are now emulating this idea by producing
their own reports. While appreciation by some, he
was criticied by others for serving Pakistan government
during Ayub and Zia.
Justice
M.R.Kayani,
When Ayub khan's martial law and the accompanying
censorship rendered the whole country speechless,
Justice M.r Khyani's voice rang louder' for his was
a voice of dissent. The Munir Kayani report which
co-authored at the end of laborious investigations
into the anti-Ahmedi riots of 1953 remains the most
telling treatise on the dangers of succumbing to an
ideological framework. As a judge and then chief justice,
his speeches at various formus were widely covered
by the national prees, not least because of the rare
combination of intellect, wit, courage and integrity
he personified. He originally belonged to the Civil
Service of Pakistan and after having served for eight
years on the executive side, was transferred to the
judiciary in 1938. He rose to become a judge of the
Punjab High Court in 1949 and then the chief justice
of the West Pakistan High Court in 1958. In 1956,
he was ecelted president of the West Pakistan Branch
of the CSP Association in which capacity he strove
to uphold the status of the Civil Service of Pakistan.
His characteristic brand of humour and caustic, witty
remarks did not spare even presidents. The most popular
speaker of the country in the last four years of his
life, a collection of his speeches have appeared in
the fomrm of various books like The Whole Truth, Not
the Whole Truth, Half truths, A judge May Laugh and
Afkar-e-Parishen.
Nayyer Ali Dada
With the Agha Khan award (awarded for his Alhamra
masterpiece), the Kenneth award presented by the University
of Hawali, the Arcacia Gold medal for public buildings
and the Pride of Performence all under his belt, Nayyer
Ali Dada has fast become a household name. A graduate
from the National College of Art, he was initially
attracted to the canvas but soon the drift towards
architecture took place. What lured him into this
arena was the fusion between the romance of the past
and the technology of the future that, he feels architecture
allows. Shakir Ali Museum and Alhamra on the Mall
in Lahore were both amongst his earlier pieces and
are deemed as masterpiece. His more modern designs
are admired in their own way, however, it seems as
if the magic has been lost. He explain this by stating
how people used to be far more sensitive then than
they are now. Many a critic today that his designs
are now becoming more of an aesthetic piece than a
place to live or work in. But despite all the critisms
and the court battles that he's had to fight, at the
end of the day he's still the person most would opt
for if they can afford him -- that is.
Alys
Faiz
Human
rights crusader, peace activist and wife of poet Faiz
Ahmad Faiz.Born on Sept 22, 1914, in London, Alys
Faiz came to India in 1938 to visit her elder sister,
Christobel (Bilqees), who was married to Dr M.D. Taseer.
She could not go back to her country because of World
War II and decided to stay on. She married Faiz, who
was teaching at the MAO College in Amritsar at that
time, in October 1941.
The
wedding took place in Srinagar and their nikah was
solemnized by prominent Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah.
She was given a Muslim name, Kulsoom, when she embraced
Islam at the time of her marriage, but she always
remained Alys to her friends and admirers.
Alys
Faiz had joined the Communist Party of Britain when
she was only 16. She also served as secretary to Mr
Krishna Menon, who was then in London, and took an
active part in the subcontinent's independence struggle.
She
joined The Pakistan Times in 1950 and looked after
the women's and children's sections of the newspaper.
She joined the newspaper's regular staff in 1951 after
the arrest of her husband in the so-called Rawalpindi
Conspiracy Case. She also started the newspaper's
reference section.
Mrs
Faiz taught special children in Karachi when her family
settled there in the late 1950s. She started working
for Unicef when Faiz moved to Islamabad. She joined
the weekly Viewpoint after the family returned to
Lahore following a period living abroad in Beirut.
Ayesha
Jalal
A
historian whose books on the history and culture
of Pakistan and India have consistently overturned
previously held assumptions. Her works have
explored the creation of the Pakistani state,
its struggle to become a democracy, Indian-Pakistani
relations, and current changes in Muslim identity
in the face of modernity and globalization. |
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She specializes in decolonization, problems of sovereignty,
identity, citizenship and democracy, Islam, and women
and the state. She received her B.A. from Wellesley
in 1978 and her Ph.D. from Cambridge in 1983. She was
an associate professor of History at Columbia U., and
is the recent recipient of a Macarthur "genius"
award. She is currently professor of history at Tufts
University.
Ansar
Burney
Mr.
Ansar Burney, Advocate, was the first man to
introduce true human rights in Pakistan over
21 years ago and is continuing to fight for
this just cause
ever since.
Ansar Burney was born in Karachi, Pakistan on
14th August, 1956. He did his graduation, Master's
and Law from Karachi University. |
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Later he received an honorary degree of PhD. in Philosophy
from Sri Lanka.During his education he was a very
prominent student leader.
As a student leader he always raised his voice for
Justice without discrimination, human rights, peace
and democracy. In 1977, Mr. Burney was arrested on
a charge of delivering speeches against Martial Law
and in favour of Democracy and Human Rights in Pakistan.
He was sentenced for 8 months rigorous imprisonment
and was sent to prison by the Martial Law Authorities.
After the completion of his rigorous imprisonment
in 1978, he was released from prison but after a short
time was later again arrested by the Martial Law Authorities
who sent him to Karachi Prison for 2 months detention.
In 1979 he was again arrested for the third time and
detained for a month.
During
his sentence and detention in different Pakistani
Prisons he got the opportunity to closely see the
miserable conditions of the prisoners. During his
time in prison he met several innocent people who
were lodged in prison without any crime or on false
and fake criminal charges that they had never committed.
That was the time when he decided to help these innocent
people, purely on non-political and humanitarian grounds.
In 1980-81 after completing his law degree, Ansar
Burney, Advocate started working on his project to
bring reforms in prisons and get the release of innocent
and illegally confined or detained prisoners.
Syed
Ansar Ahmed Burney, son of Syed Mukhtar Ahmed Burney,
started his noble mission in 1980 by setting up the
"Ansar Burney Welfare Trust" (ABWT), "Prisoners
Aid Society", "Bureau of Missing and Kidnapped
Persons" and "Commission against Terrorism"
at 6 - Hassan Manzil, Arambagh Road, Karachi, Pakistan.
The Trust is now also registered in Washington, D.C
in United States of America as a non-governmental,
non-political and non-profitable human and civil rights
organization.
Talat
Abbasi
Talat
Abbasi comes from Karachi, was educated in Karachi,
Lahore and the London School of Economices.
Since 1978 she has lived in New York, where
she works in an international organization and
has specialized in gender and population. Literature
was always her first love, and philosophy a
second, but neither were considered 'useful'
subjects so she studied economics. |
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In spite of her lack of interest in the subject, being
at the London School of Economics was fascinating enough
that she enjoyed herself regardless, and 'grew up in
a way that I wouldn't have had I not left for foreign
shores'.
Ms.
Ghazalah Afghan
Ms.
Ghazalah Afghan is a long-time human rights advocate
who has spent most of her adult life working with
women in Sindh.
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At present, Ms. Afghan is working against violence against
women in Pakistan, with a special focus on those customs
and traditions in Sindh that are tantamount to women’s
rights violations. Additionally, since 1992, she has
been working with the Women's Action Forum and other
women’s organizations including Shirkat Gah, the
Aurat Foundation, War Against Rape, and the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan. Ms. Afghan offers to her audiences
direct, personal accounts from her own life, as well
as from those with whom she works. She is based in Sindh,
Pakistan, but travels extensively so is available to
speak to audiences around the world.
Mr.
Afrasiab Khattak
Mr.
Afrasiab Khattak joined the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP) in 1989, and served as the
Vice Chairman of HRCP/Frontier Province, for
thtree years.
During this period he pleaded in court several
cases involving human rights violations. In
April 1999, he was threatened by extremist factions
for demonstrating against “honor”
killing in Peshawar. |
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On May 2, 1999, he was unanimously elected Chairperson
of HRCP for a three-year-term. Mr. Khattak is a strong
promoter of peace between Pakistan and India and is
a member of Pakistan-India People’s Forum for
Peace and Democracy, an NGO that works in both Pakistan
and India. Mr. Khattak speaks to audiences around the
world, and is available to present on any of his various
experiences in Pakistan.
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