A silver lining
Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009
MR Manmohan Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday will be seen as the olive branch that is badly needed in the present state of impasse between India and Pakistan. By acknowledging honestly that it was in his country’s vital interest to engage with Pakistan, the Indian prime minister has indicated that the peace process could be revived. What is more significant is Mr Singh’s assurance that New Delhi is prepared to walk more than halfway if Pakistan accepts its share of responsibility in the partnership. This is one of the rare occasions that a silver lining has appeared in the dark cloud that has symbolised ties between the two South Asian neighbours since the Mumbai carnage. In recent weeks Pakistan has proposed the resumption of talks but India’s reservations were too manifest. It is now universally recognised that states should resolve their disputes through negotiations rather than recourse to war and violence. India and Pakistan too have made progress towards peace only when they have been engaged in a dialogue as happened in 2004-2008.
Mr Manmohan Singh speaks of Pakistan accepting its share of responsibility in the partnership. Any relationship of this nature has to be reciprocal if it is to be sustained. It is also important that the two sides should perceive a commonality of interest in the peaceful resolution of their disputes. After quarrelling on the agenda of their talks — negotiations focusing on Kashmir first and other wider issues later or vice versa — India and Pakistan managed to launch their dialogue in 2004. Much progress was achieved on a wide range of issues that allowed the two sides to open new doors of communication that also helped them address the Kashmir issue, though only peripherally. A beginning had been made. The Mumbai attack led to a breakdown of this process. True there was heartburn and differences in perception on the issue of terrorism, but these could have been talked out at the negotiating table if talks had continued. The Indian prime minister says Pakistan must accept its share of responsibility but it is not clear what is expected of Islamabad. But one would want the threads to be picked up from where they were dropped. Islamabad cannot be pushed to the wall and India should also understand how the Kashmir dispute, regarded as a core issue in Pakistan, creates constraints when New Delhi refuses to address its substance.
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Failure to protect
Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009
THE devastating strike against the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar is another sobering reminder that the terrorists are continually adapting their modus operandi and probing gaps in security arrangements in what should be high-security areas. The attacks on the FIA centre in Lahore in March 2008 and the Marriott hotel in Islamabad last September introduced the devastation of truck-bombing to Pakistan and led to a scramble to put up heavy-duty security barriers at the entrances to buildings that could be potential targets of terrorists across the country. Then last month in Lahore, a similar attack on an ISI building may have been thwarted but it did severely damage a Rescue 15 building and killed dozens. Seemingly having learned from that experience, the terrorists in Peshawar arrived at the hotel in an innocuous looking car, and when the barrier was lowered for them they fired in the air dispersing the guards. Then, followed closely by the truck filled with the explosive material, they drove to their target. Even more alarmingly, the terrorists appear to have thoroughly reconnoitred their target: they exploded their truck at a point that caused maximum damage to the portion of the hotel that reportedly was occupied mostly by foreigners.
What is equally clear though is that there was a spectacular failure of security at the hotel itself and the surrounding neighbourhood. Private security guards at the hotel were clearly not up to the task of fending off sophisticated terrorists on a suicide mission. Or were they complicit in the crime, as NWFP senior minister Bashir Bilour suspects. But where were the police and other law-enforcement personnel? With humanitarian workers and officials from international aid agencies flocking to help the IDPs in the north-west, the local, provincial and federal administrations should have already had a plan in place to protect the hotel. After all, terrorist strikes in retaliation against the military operation in Malakand had already occurred and more were expected. Clearly, more — much more — needs to be done on the security front. If there is a shortage of personnel, then they must be urgently recruited. If there is a shortage of other resources, the relevant administrations must provide them to the law-enforcement agencies immediately. If the intelligence apparatus is stretched thin, then it must quickly be beefed up.
The neighbourhood in which the hotel is located ought to be kept in mind. The provincial assembly, Supreme Court registry, Governor House, Chief Minister House and Corps Commander House are all a stone’s throw from the Pearl Continental. True, the road on which the hotel is located is a major artery and security concerns must be balanced against the need of the population to move around. But the fact that a truck laden with explosives could travel unchecked on the road is extremely disconcerting. A system needs to be put in place that can screen all traffic, particularly heavy vehicles.
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Silent sufferers
Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009
FORCED marriages are abhorrent in any situation but the practice becomes appalling when it involves underage children. Though the country’s laws recognise the marriage of underage girls as a crime, this practice remains widespread and constitutes a telling indictment of the manner in which women are victimised and basic human rights trampled in feudal social structures. More shocking perhaps is the fact that in Sindh’s Umerkot district there now exist brokers who link up buyers with parents — mostly fathers — willing to sell their daughters. ‘Marriage’ under such circumstances amounts clearly to selling a child into a life of slavery and all manner of abuse. Fuelled by poverty and ignorance though it may be, the practice is detestable. And yet it is only one of the many ways in which this country’s women are victimised. It is well known that in many parts of the country, women and young girls are bartered to settle disputes or discharge debts. Meanwhile, the trafficking of women and their sale into anything from prostitution to semi-slavery — often given the nominal cover of ‘marriage’ — continue unchecked. The state makes the right noises from time to time but nothing changes.
The project to modernise and civilise the country must start with protecting the rights of women. Expanded legislation is required to criminalise practices that are too often defended as ‘social’ or ‘tribal’ customs. Moreover the laws that exist, such as those against underage marriages, karo-kari and ‘honour’ killings, must be stringently applied. All too frequently, the perpetrators of such crimes go unpunished because of the influence or money they wield. The police force must therefore be made more accessible, effective and independent. A lasting change, however, requires that the societal mindset be altered and women be recognised as equal citizens and human beings. It took a graphic video showing the whipping of a young girl for Pakistan to recognise the excesses committed against women by the Taliban. Yet crimes such as those enumerated above take place every day, and society as a whole remains uncaring. We should not need a video of each victim’s suffering to realise that the country’s women are in need of protection, often from their own kin.
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OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press Helping citizens
Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009
DESPITE all the problems with the railways and other forms of land transport, Minister of The Egyptian Gazette
Transport Mohamed Mansour seems obsessed with the idea of introducing … means of transport in some parts of the country … for the benefit of investors and tourists. Before completing the free highway project he has launched between Cairo and Alexandria, Mansour announced the launching of another project … connecting Upper Egypt’s governorates with the Red Sea resorts….
This will encourage tourists to spend more time in Egypt and make transport safer for visitors after the many road accidents in which a lot of tourists have died. What we really need is a better train service for ordinary citizens. If we concentrate on projects that serve rich businessmen and foreign visitors, we will … deprive ordinary citizens of the fruits of economic reform. —(June 8)
Justifying Afghanistan
THE US does not want to keep its forces in Afghanistan on a permanent basis. This was one of the points made by [Barack Obama in] … Cairo.
… [T]he president has left open the whole issue of how … US troops may be expected to remain there. He said, “It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were no violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.”
The US at this point should realise that all concerned states would like to see Al Qaeda defeated … but the answer for that does not lie in additional troops.
It lies in winning the support of the people. For that the US may have to make more efforts to minimise … civilian casualties. —(June 6)