French foxes
Monday, July 27, 2009


Pakistan and France have a history of defence procurement/sales stretching back decades. The navy had its first Daphne-class submarines in 1971, succeeded by the Agosta 70s and 90s both equipped with the Exocet subsurface-to-surface missile. Exocets also equip our Sea King helicopters. We have for decades used the French Breguet Atlantique maritime reconnaissance aircraft; which is now rather long in the tooth and being replaced by the more capable P3C Orion. French Mirage fighters preceded today’s F16’s and now we hear that the French are to provide us with the small ‘Fennec’ helicopter (a Fennec is a type of fox) and, possibly, the much more formidable and aggressive Tiger attack helicopter. Reports earlier in July suggested that the ‘Tiger’ deal was done, but there are now indications that this might not be so, and the French ambassador to Pakistan speaking on a private TV channel pointed out that the lead-time on Tigers and the precedence in the queue of France and Germany would delay any delivery of Tigers to Pakistan. The Fennecs are going to be useful in terms of the fight in NWFP – if they get here in time – but they are not the heavy-hitters that we badly need. Our elderly Cobras are being stretched very thin, sourcing spares is increasingly a problem and the F16 is far from being the best counter-insurgency weapon.

Also in the frame is technical assistance to strengthen the security of our existing nuclear facilities, but France is not going to build a new nuclear power station for us. The French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Anne Marie Idrac has recently visited, and said on Thursday last that her country required the international community’s permission before commissioning a nuclear plant in a country – and given the general levels of international twitchiness about things nuclear and ourselves this is about as likely to happen as an outbreak of universal honesty among the political classes. She also said that France supported Pakistan in its efforts to restore democracy and its commitment to combat extremism, and in a moment of Gallic understatement commented that Pakistan was ‘going through a difficult phase’. Correct, Madame Idrac. France has pledged 300 million euros in aid for Pakistan at the Friends of Pakistan meeting in Tokyo and trade between the two countries has increased by 6 per cent in the last year. The French are committed to a range of development projects aimed at rehabilitating the IDPs and they are quietly supportive of a range of health and social sector initiatives and programmes countrywide. The French have a reputation in Europe as being independently minded when it comes to their foreign policy, and the French relationship with the US is sometimes almost as ambivalent and tendentious as is our own. Our relationship with France seems to be ‘strictly business’ – they make the arms and weapons systems that we buy, and there is no ‘colonial baggage’ or superpower arm-twisting involved. However, the French have their regional interests like every other player, and have had a historical involvement in the Middle East. No matter, we would like to see these French Foxes in action as soon as may be and an ambush of Tigers would come in handy as well.


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Nose dive?
Monday, July 27, 2009


The expectations from Pakistan International Airlines are lower and lower. Few of us now actually expect flights to take off or arrive on time. Concerns about safety have accumulated over the years and reports such as the recent one about the hiring of new pilots with total disregard for merit add to these. But even so, there are occasions when one is forced to again consider just how far PIA can fall, and perhaps more crucially, if it has the will to pull itself out of its current nose dive. Recently, to offer up just one example, a flight from London to Lahore was diverted to Barcelona to collect passengers stranded in Spain for three days. Their misfortune began after the aircraft intended to take them back broke down and all attempts at repair failed. The situation of course meant considerable inconvenience and a long delay for the passengers from London – as well of course as those from Barcelona, ironically enough only days after the inauguration of a flight to the Spanish city. It also meant huge costs for PIA who had to accommodate over 100 passengers for several nights. It is such incidents that dissuade people from flying with PIA – even though it currently has a monopoly on many direct routes to Europe and North America, given that other airlines have pulled out from Pakistan, both due to security concerns and the recession.


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Tigers in trouble
Monday, July 27, 2009


The news report about the acquisition of a pair of Siberian white tigers by Suleiman Sharif, the younger son of the Punjab chief minister, is disturbing. The tigers rank among the world’s endangered species and their export is banned under international conservation regulations. It appears that the young Sharif – who apparently wishes to house the animals at the family estate on Raiwind Road in Lahore – is an enthusiast who has established a kind of zoo at the farm house. But of course conditions there are unfit for so rare a species, which needs a different climate, expert care and plenty of space. It is hard to see the inhabitants of Siberia faring well in the heat and humidity of Lahore, even if cooling arrangements have been made. The fact too is that conservation rules exist to protect the biodiversity of our planet, rather than the welfare of animals at risk of extinction alone, and should for these reasons not be ignored. It is obvious influence was used to bring the beasts into the country and to bypass laws in this respect.

We must demand the issue be investigated. The PML-N has taken a hard-line on wrong doings committed by its members. Some have been forced out of the party. This of course is something to be welcomed. But the same principles must be applied across the board, even when they involve members of the Sharif family itself. So far, Suleiman Sharif has declined to comment on the tiger business, even though the story has broken in the media. He needs to offer an explanation. What is even more important is that the wellbeing of animals be safeguarded. There continued survival is far more important than gratifying personal whim. Our own wildlife authorities too need to intervene and ensure the matter is dealt with as per the laws of the land.