Rain — and death
Monday, July 20, 2009


Though the intense infrastructural damage inflicted in Karachi by the intense weekend rainfall has been enormous, what is truly staggering is the amount of human lives lost as a result of the downpour. According to reports by our own reporters, the death toll for the past 48 hours stands well over 50 — a majority of whom were living in katchi abadis.

It is difficult to pin blame when it comes to the physical damage caused by the severity of the rain (the most in one day since 1977) that has fallen this weekend in Pakistan’s largest city, but the loss of so many lives is something that requires explanation. Also, and while this does not involve human deaths, the fact that much of the city was still without electricity over 24 hours after the downpour does not speak well of the KESC at all. As for those who lost their lives, the majority died as result of two main causes: they lived close to overflowing waterways, which, in some cases, swept entire families away, or the building that they lived in (usually a ramshackle irregular construction) collapsed.

In the case of katchi abadis located close to waterways, the settlements are usually illegal and built on encroached land by people living in deep poverty. Though authorities argue that there are many problems associated with moving these people, such as resettlement issues, political pressure and resistance from the residents themselves, there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration — not least corruption in the agencies that deal directly with shanties. Despite some attempts at the higher levels to have these settlements razed, corruption by lower level officials often sees these people being allowed to live there in exchange for monthly bribes. Political expediency also factors in, with politicians often exploiting these issues for short-term gain at the expense of a proper infrastructural policy. Secondly, in the cases that these poverty-stricken are thrown off the land, there is no policy to resettle them, which means they just end up encroaching upon other lands — where they are no safer. The result: heavy monsoon rain and many lives that veer towards death.

This however was not the leading cause of fatalities during the recent downpour. A majority of deaths were reported in katchi abadis which had been regularized. These areas have absolutely no safety standards for buildings, and there is little or no check on infrastructure in the area before or after it is regularized. Departments such as the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) are totally absent from this — and some say this may well be by design as in their officials willingly look the other way as all kinds of building irregularities take place in the katchi abadis. Of course, all of this is linked to governance issues, transparency in government and a singular lack of a system which holds government officials accountable for their misdeeds.

While the emergency measures taken during and after the rains may have been somewhat satisfactory (and many city residents will probably strongly dispute this), it is clear that more proactive measures need to be in place. It is not enough to argue that such natural calamities are unexpected in Karachi or that it is difficult to battle the forces of nature when they come down hard on mortals. The concerned authorities need to take a good look at this situation and take some major policy decisions need to be made that should be free of political expediency. Losing 50 lives due to rain is absolutely unacceptable. Also unacceptable is that every time the heavens open the city’s electricity networks falls into tatters and all kinds of excuses, untruths, half-truths and plain disinformation are bandied about in self-defence. As difficult as it may seem, someone needs to be made answerable because clearly what we have seen over the past two days is confirmation of Karachi’s pitiable rankings in various human development and livability surveys — where it is usually ranked first from the bottom.



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America & peace in South Asia
Monday, July 20, 2009


US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s acknowledgement that Washington has not always been understanding of Pakistan’s needs in the long run, and that relations between the two countries have been contingent upon US interest, is on the face of it a welcome admission but should be followed up with concrete action to make up for these past mistakes. When the Obama administration first took oath, the US president made some welcome policy promises, such as a greater effort to find a solution to the Kashmir dispute, which had many in pro-peace quarters expecting a lot. However, presently, there seems, once again, to be an all-too-familiar silence on the issue. Ms Clinton’s guarded response to a question on Kashmir also seems to be a throwback to past policies of stagnant and non-progressive US diplomacy on the India-Pakistan peace process. It may be unfair to draw definite conclusions from her words considering that she is, after all, on an official trip to India, but it is clear that the US is not pursuing matters as actively as the president’s initial words suggested.

Pakistan has long sought international intervention in Kashmir, dating back to the call for a plebiscite in the disputed area, while India has insisted that global powers stay of the picture and it be left for India and Pakistan to decide the issue bilaterally. The latter option has not yielded any results, which should logically suggest that an alternative policy be adopted. Ms Clinton however reiterated New Delhi’s stance of a bilateral solution to the issue. Also, in stark contrast to the initial importance given by the Obama administration to Kashmir, which was highlighted by the US president himself, the US secretary of state now described the issue as something that “should certainly be on the agenda of discussion.” There are reports that Pakistan will figure prominently in the US-India talks, and one hopes that the US presses India on stopping interference in Balochistan and using Afghanistan as a base for destabilising Pakistan – in the same way that it has urged Pakistan to address Indian concerns about Pakistani soil being used to plan attacks on India. Both sides need to be urged to stop politics of destabilisation, which is not in either’s long term interest. If the US, on its part, wishes to sincerely build a long term relationship with Pakistan and change its negative perception here, then persisting with the policies of the past cannot be the way to go. A way to do this would be helping to bring sustainable peace between India and Pakistan