november/21/08


THE future of the Local Governments will reportedly be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Gilani meets provincial chief ministers on Saturday. Uncertainty has persisted about the future of the system introduced by Gen (retd) Musharraf after the February 18 elections. Newly installed provincial governments have demanded that the system be scrapped or drastically overhauled. The Local Bodies set-up introduced by Ziaul Haq in 1979 was widely criticized for being subservient to the bureaucracy. The present system introduced under the rubric of the devolution of power by Gen (retd) Musharraf, involved massive structural changes in governance at the provincial and district levels. The bureaucracy was made subservient to the District Nazim. The executive magistracy was abolished. The difference between the rural and urban areas was done away with, and MNAs and MPAs were deprived of a role in local development. The scope of the provincial governments was limited to formulation of laws and regulations. This was hailed by the supporters of the system as the end of the municipalization of politics caused by the previous set-up. Among the positive features of the new system were enhanced representation of marginalized groups, like religious minorities, women, peasants and workers. That the bureaucracy was made answerable to the elected representatives, was considered another progressive feature. Among the negative points was that the new system lent itself to misuse by those controlling Islamabad. Former President Musharraf used it to extend the military rule while he secured his position by manipulating the referendum and general elections with the help of the District Nazims. There were also complaints that the end of the executive magistracy had created administrative chaos in the provinces.


WITH the federal cabinet's approval of the economic stabilisation plan envisaging foreign assistance, the way is clear for making a formal approach to the IMF Executive Board to give its consent to a loan package of $7.6 billion for Pakistan when it meets on November 23. It bears reminding the government that though a strategy might look foolproof on paper, it would call for certain prerequisites to make it a success. The most haunting fear of the entrepreneurial class in the context of Pakistan today, for instance, is its exceedingly poor law and order situation in which neither life nor property is safe. On those who are charged with the maintenance of peaceful living conditions in the country now falls a major responsibility. Unless the investor feels secure in doing business here, one should not expect foreign capital to flow in, which, incidentally, holds the key to economic recovery, more particularly in a developing country. Even the local entrepreneur will be shy of putting in his money and would look for safer havens.


THE sudden disruption of gas supplies to over 130 textile-exporting units in the central and northern parts of Punjab by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines without any prior notice have irked the mill owners, who had been ensured an uninterrupted gas supply by the government. The decision comes at a time when the textile industry, the mainstay of our exports, is facing a financial crunch and the country's trade deficit has risen to over $16 billion during the current fiscal year. The extra cost of electricity to be borne by textile mills during gas loadshedding would adversely affect their viability. They are already finding it hard to compete with other countries due to expensive inputs.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association's Punjab Zone President Akbar Sheikh got it right when he said the government kept exhorting the industry to adopt a market economy, but had failed on the supply side. The damage caused to the gas-based electric generators and the expensive textile machinery, due to the sudden disruption of supply, needs to be compensated. The SNGPL management must explain why it failed to intimate APTMA about the diversion of industrial gas supply to domestic consumers. Some heads must roll. The crisis gripping the leading sector of our economy, that not only earns a major chunk of foreign exchange but also is a prime source of providing employment both for the skilled and unskilled labour force, cannot be allowed to worsen. Those in authority need to take appropriate measures to check such instances if it plays its role right.


THE louder Pakistan decries drone attacks inside its territory, the more inaudible becomes the protests for the lame-duck Bush Administration. This became more obvious when the airstrikes, earlier restricted to the tribal region, were expanded to settled areas of the NWFP. Four people were killed and as many injured when a US drone fired two missiles on a residential compound in Janikhel area of Bannu District. A foreign news agency quoted a senior security official in Peshawar as saying that a major Arab Al-Qaeda operative was among the killed in the overnight attack, and American intelligence officials identified him as Abdullah Azam Al-Saudi, one of the main links between Al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders operating on this side of the Durand Line. There is however no official word on whether US officials shared the intelligence with Pakistani security forces. But a drone intruding deep into our territory only hours after Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's call on the NATO Military Committee in Brussels to immediately halt missile raids in the country, is indeed a cause of concern. Islamabad must adopt proactive diplomacy to safeguard the country's sovereignty.

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