HARDLY had the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, uttered the assurance that his government respected Pakistan's sovereignty that a village in South Waziristan became the target of missiles fired by the now familiar drones. And the Pentagon did not mince its words owing up to the strike at a compound in Baghar Cheena and claiming that the missiles had hit an ammunition storage facility of the Taliban, in which an Al-Qaeda member and three militants were killed. Since the US officials maintained that they had shared the information with the Pakistani authorities before launching the attack, one really wonders what understanding the top military commander had reached with Islamabad where he held meetings with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and COAS General Ashfaq Kayani. Or should one assume that the Admiral had in mind a different connotation of the words he was using from the one understood by at least Mr Gilani? Otherwise, the Prime Minister would not have condemned the missile attack, as reported by a private TV channel.
Nevertheless, even under the circumstances of sheer desperation by the mightiest military power in the world, intent on scoring some tangible gains before President Bush comes to the end of his second term at the White House, the Pakistani authorities must continue to make efforts to bring home to the US administration not to do anything that hurts the pride of an ally that is playing a key role in the fight against militancy.
The US persistent attitude of disregarding Pakistan's territorial sovereignty would leave a deep scar behind, with far-reaching implications for the future of bilateral relations. It sounds quite strange that the Pakistan military operation under way in Bajaur should evoke appreciation not only from Admiral Mullen but also US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on the one hand, but the Pentagon drones should be attacking our villages, on the other. One should have imagined that the US army would be passing on the intelligence to its Pakistani counterpart for undertaking an operation it does on its own. If Washington believes, as Admiral Mullen has conveyed, that there is need for further development of US-Pakistan coordination in the critical issues that challenge the security and wellbeing of the people of both countries, it would have to review its present aggressive approach of utter disregard of its ally's sensitivities. While the people would like the end of militancy at the soonest, it has to be at a minimum cost of innocent lives. That the so-called collateral damage has been very heavy reflects the dimension of indiscriminate use of force by the US. That can only aggravate a sense of alienation and thus further strengthen hands of militants.


WITH the nomination of Ch Nisar Ali Khan as the Leader of the Opposition and the promise to soon allot seats to the PML-N on the opposition benches, a new chapter will open between the PPP and PML-N. In his remarks soon after his nomination, he called on the PPP to refrain from destabilising the Punjab government, warning that this could have a domino effect. Ch Nisar Ali Khan being a seasoned parliamentarian one expects that while he keeps a watchful eye on the administration's performance, would set an example of how a responsible opposition should function. His remark that his party does not seek early elections indicates that he is aware of the need to allow the system to work smoothly. The ruling coalition too needs to reciprocate by respecting the right of the PML-N to rule Punjab.
At long last, the process to appoint the chairmen of the National Assembly's Standing Committees has also been initiated. MNAs Maulana Fazlur Rehaman, Isfandyar Wali and Mustafa Shah have been respectively elected chairmen of committees on Kashmir, Foreign Affairs and Water and Power. One hopes the chairmen of the rest of the committees too would be appointed at the earliest to allow the NA to efficiently pursue the task of legislation. What needs to be done in days to come is to restore the full powers of the NA as visualized in the Constitution as it existed before the 1999 military takeover. For this the 17th amendment and 58(2)b have to be repealed. A constitutional amendment to achieve this should not be difficult because both the PPP and PML-N are already committed to it while the government also enjoys the additional support of a number of MQM and PML-Q legislators now.
The leaders of both the PPP and PML-N claim that they have learnt from their mistakes and would not revert to the type of infighting that characterized the 1988-99 period. For this they need to undertake a firefighting exercise in Punjab. To avoid an unhappy situation where there is a likelihood of the tail wagging the dog, the race to enlist the support of PML-Q legislators by both sides has to be brought to an end. The two iftar dinners on Wednesday by the PML-N and PML-Q were a show of strength. That the PPP leadership in Punjab was reportedly involved in providing logistic support to Ch Pervaiz Elahi indicated to many that it would seek whatever support was available to turn the tables on the PML-N. Similarly the way the latter is courting the Q-League Forward Block indicates that it too would go for anything, even if it violated sound political principles, to maintain majority in the PA.


PRESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari should be complimented for using a commercial flight on his way back home. However the appreciation cannot be unqualified because the flight, scheduled to arrive in Lahore from London, was diverted to Islamabad and reached Lahore late putting the passengers to great inconvenience. One hopes, though, that the good precedent of travelling on a regular flight would be followed by other government functionaries. It is also good to hear that Mr Zardari is taking a routine flight on his forthcoming visit to the US and staying at Hotel Roosevelt owned by the Pakistan government. As he would be accompanied by only three ministers and two officials, one also hopes that the old habit of the head of state and chief executives taking huge entourages including members of their extended families as well as large media teams causing a big hole in the national exchequer would come to end. Setting such norms of behaviour is certainly welcome and should be followed by other members of his government. Unfortunately, so far its promise to practice austerity measures goes, not much has been done: the governors, chief ministers and ministers continue to travel in large convoys and use luxury planes purchased from the hapless taxpayers money and that also in precious foreign exchange.
Comparisons can be made with the previous regime. Former President Musharraf immediately after he took over used commercial flights giving preference to the economy class. That certainly earned him a ringing praise all around but unfortunately the practice died away soon. Not only General Musharraf but also some cabinet members would feel no scruples in wasting away millions on their luxury trips to western countries. According to reports ex-premier Shaukat Aziz's junkets cost no less than Rs 750 million.
Given the tendency of our rulers to misuse the public office and spend funds, which are allocated for the betterment of populace, to satisfy their whims, it remains to be seen how the government would deal with this financially disastrous habit. For starters the federal as well as the provincial governments should sell off their not so insignificant in numbers airplane fleets and their functionaries get used to flying commercial.

source : http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...ng-the-mindset

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