Margallas in danger

Friday, 17 Jul, 2009

A PHOTOGRAPH published in Dawn of a once-flowing stream in the heart of Islamabad, now dry and filled with debris, testifies to the incalculable harm inflicted on our environment by the stone-quarrying and crushing activities in the surrounding Margalla Hills. Quarrying in the Margallas has not only caused natural streams to dry up as a consequence of deposits of stones but has also damaged numerous aqueducts, culverts and water tunnels causing water wastage and contamination. The activity is also denuding the Margallas of their green cover, besides accelerating soil erosion and destroying archaeological sites — this is happening even though the Margalla Hills were designated as a national park by the federal government in 1980. The government, with the support of civil society, had in the 1990s managed to curtail stone-quarrying and crushing in several valleys but today the decimated Margallas are a sorry picture of our failure to completely put a stop to such activity, particularly in certain parts of the terrain near Taxila under the jurisdiction of the Punjab government.

With 2009 being the National Year of Environment, the government has shown some resolve against quarry masters and stone crushers. Accordingly, a new high-level committee, comprising officials from relevant ministries and departments as well as representatives from international environmental organisations, met recently in the capital to focus on the issue. Success in saving the Margallas from further destruction will depend on how the plethora of federal and provincial ministries and departments cooperate to put an end to quarrying activities. These include the federal environment ministry, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, the Pakistan Railways, which operates a stone-quarrying and crushing plant in the hills, and the Punjab Mineral Development Corporation, which reportedly grants new quarrying leases and extends existing ones in the Taxila area of the Margalla Hills.


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A step forward

Friday, 17 Jul, 2009

CREDIT must go to both sides for seizing the moment and breaking the impasse. Events at Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday may not have rewritten relations between Pakistan and India but a much-needed breakthrough was achieved nonetheless. Whether the latest round of talks between PMs Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh will alter ground realities is immaterial at this stage. Equally irrelevant at this point is the role, if any, played by the US in convincing India to take a more flexible stand. Major powers almost invariably find a say in issues of major geopolitical import, and a continued stand-off between Pakistan and India is to no one’s benefit. What matters most is that the two neighbours appear to have found the middle ground and acknowledged that dialogue is the only way forward on the road to peace.

The joint statement issued after Thursday’s meeting between the two prime ministers deviates sharply from the rhetoric of recent months, especially the hard line taken by New Delhi. It was being said that India would try to recast the composite dialogue process, refusing to entertain any issue other than that of terrorism. This single-point agenda now appears to have been abandoned, at least on paper. According to the joint statement issued in Egypt, “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed…. India [is] ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues.” Instead of describing this development as some kind of victory for Pakistan, we would do well to hail India’s timely recognition that terrorism and militancy should not be allowed to come in the way of improved relations. Mr Gilani’s point that “Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas” also managed to find its way into the joint declaration. This too is indicative of India’s ostensible receptiveness.

Both countries have pledged to “share real-time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats.” If followed through with honesty of purpose, cooperation on this front has the potential to strike a major blow against terrorism, a mutual threat that must be fought jointly. Considerable give and take will be required in the days to come. Pakistan needs to do everything in its power to crack down hard on all organisations and individuals whose goal is to unleash violence against our neighbours to the east. India, for its part, must understand Pakistan’s position at a time when Islamabad is fighting militancy on several fronts. The politicians succeeded where the bureaucrats faltered at Sharm el Sheikh. The elected representatives must keep talking.

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Wake-up call

Friday, 17 Jul, 2009

A PROTEST call issued by the Pakistan Workers Federation and supported by other workers’ platforms brought hundreds of thousands of people out on the roads on Wednesday. The government was severely criticised for what the protesters termed as “anti-labour legislation that impeded workers’ access to their rights”, the routine violation of labour laws and the non-implementation of the Minimum Wages Act. Other points raised included the petroleum development levy, the worsening power and security situation, rising unemployment and inflation. The demonstrations should serve as a serious warning for the government, indicative as they are of the growing frustration in society. While the protest rallies in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Hyderabad were massive, people came out on the streets in other cities too, including Peshawar, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Quetta and Karachi. The level of support given to the protest call reveals how the aforementioned issues are perceived as having worsened the lot of the common man.

There is no denying that generating income is becoming increasingly difficult because of factors ranging from power shortages that have had a domino-effect impact on the industrial and manufacturing sector, to the worsening economic situation which has led to downsizing in hitherto flourishing sectors. Additionally, Pakistan has suffered the knock-on effect of changes in the global economy, such as fluctuating oil prices. To the ordinary citizen, these factors are represented by the ever-increasing prices of essential commodities, including dietary staples. The protests reflect the state of mind of the people who perceive themselves as having their backs against the wall, with no option left other than to push back. This is dangerous, for today’s peaceful protesters may well turn into the violent anarchists of tomorrow. It is essential for the government to address the basic issues of survival — and to be seen to be doing so. There already exists a general perception that the government, despite its installation through a democratic process, is an entity divorced from the needs and aspirations of the citizenry. If this perception continues to deepen, it could spell disaster for the future of not only this government but also the country.

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OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press Peace in Afghanistan

Friday, 17 Jul, 2009

PAKISTAN and Afghanistan have become a theatre of war because of the activities of the world powers. As a result, the infrastructure in these war-torn countries is up in flames. Along with this region, the entire world is under threat from extremists and no one knows how to solve this.

Be it the East or West, the possibility of danger looms large everywhere as images of imminent death haunt the citizens. People in the West may feel relatively more secure than those in the East, economically and otherwise. However, this has not eliminated the threat of terrorism.

No one can deny that unless the world powers stay away from furthering their dirty agendas in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the world cannot be at peace. Peace in the region and the entire world depends on a prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan.

After the US defeated Soviet forces in Afghanistan, it turned its back on Pakistan and its neighbour shattered by war. After that if any foreign power kept up ties with Afghanistan or Pakistan, it was only to serve its own interests or to damage those of others.

Some countries would fuel war and killings by goading one faction against another.This has turned Afghanistan into a pit of fire whose flames have now engulfed the whole region. Today the West led by the US is going on about Al Qaeda and the Taliban presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But they forget that had the US not brought foreign jihadists from around the world to defeat the Soviet Union and equipped the Afghans with Kalashnikovs, these entities would have been non-existent.

Being the sole superpower after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, no one can dare stop America’s interference in the affairs of other countries. But if the US continues with its hegemonic and imperialist designs, the day is not far off when weak and oppressed countries will stand up to the West, especially the US, to wrest away their sovereignty.

This scenario is likely to kick-start a new ‘world war’ that may consume humanity…. To forestall such a tragedy, the US should put a stop to the war and killings in Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the same time it is obligatory for weaker nations of the world to stand by those who have challenged the barbarism and high-handedness of the ‘great powers’. — (July 14)

Selected and translated by Faizullah Jan