Arms licences fraud
Friday, 31 Jul, 2009


THE issuance of thousands of unauthorised licences for weapons of prohibited bores by the interior ministry goes beyond a scandal. It is the height of criminality. Facts provided by the FIA to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Interior are mind-boggling and make one wonder how such gross violations of official procedures and outright fraud could go unnoticed for a year. Even though three section officers have been arrested, it doesn’t stand to reason that a wide-ranging racket of such a nature could be the work of only three individuals. The procedural frauds detected by the FIA include false bank receipts, forged signatures, fictitious stamps and missing records, with pages torn off from the Arms Endorsement Register. For that reason, the FIA sleuths found it difficult to ascertain exactly how many applications had been processed and approved by the competent authority. This means that the number of unlicensed weapons actually issued during the period between March 2008 and June last is probably much higher than the 28,527 on record.

Technically, it is the prime minister who issues licences for prohibited bores. However, on April 4 this year Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani delegated this power to Minister of State for the Interior Tasneem Qureshi. As statistics show, the minister alone issued 6,000 of those licences in just two months. After receiving complaints from several quarters the prime minister ordered an inquiry on June 26, but the standing committee doesn’t seem satisfied with what the FIA has unearthed. It wants more details and action against all those not caught so far by the investigating agency.

There is, however, some irony attached to the inquiry and to the fraud itself. The country is awash with guns, with millions of weapons in the hands of criminals. Sometimes even law-abiding citizens are forced to acquire arms by any means because of the state’s failure to provide protection to their life, honour and property. This is in addition to weapons of all sorts — from Kalashnikov submachine guns to rockets and mines — which the terrorists possess. The arms licences fraud is just the tip of the iceberg.


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No recreation
Friday, 31 Jul, 2009


THE day when recreational activities are seen as far more constructive tools than weapons to thwart indoctrination and violence is yet to dawn. The recent announcement by the Faisalabad Development Authority to build an entertainment city with varied recreational choices for the public must be lauded and, needless to say, emulated in a metropolis such as Karachi. The city that over the last six decades should have become home to numerous facilities that feed and distract the mind is ironically witnessing the rapid corrosion of the few that exist — the planetarium, the Karachi zoo, cinema houses are a sorry picture of both despair and disrepair. Meanwhile, successive governments would have done well to develop the Karachi harbour providing it with decent facilities to encourage boat rides, fishing and myriad other activities. It also has a seafront that offers little in terms of adequate huts for the public, lifeguards and security while water sport has been reduced to a private, elitist indulgence. Secondly, other aspects of cultural life that involve the general populace — museums, historical buildings and sites, sports training centres, cinemas, theme parks — are few and far between.

The time is now to address the sad absence of enthusiasm in our people, which cannot be blamed on recession and unemployment alone. It has festered for long as a direct consequence of a dearth of escape routes. This also stunts the next generation which has nowhere to turn to in order to nurture its imagination and creativity or pursue interests such as sports, unless it can afford privileged options. Authorities must remember that the true benefit of recreational alternatives is that they serve as safety valves in trying times. Relevant departments should involve NGOs, town planners and various professionals to design and organise places that will provide employment as well as happiness to the common man.


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PM Singh explains
Friday, 31 Jul, 2009


FROM the floor of the Lok Sabha, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attempted a delicate balancing act on Wednesday. Following the publication of the joint statement after the meeting between Prime Minister Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm el Sheikh, Mr Singh has been under fire at home. While the opposition has been vociferous in its criticism, more troubling for Mr Singh could be the disquiet in his own party and government about certain parts of the text of the joint statement. What has exercised the Indian prime minister’s detractors the most is the following: “Both prime ministers recognise that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” In India this has been interpreted to mean that the ‘no talks until Pakistan successfully prosecutes those responsible for the Mumbai attacks and shuts down the LeT’ approach has been discarded. Additionally, Mr Singh has been accused of needlessly muddying the waters by allowing a reference to Balochistan in the joint statement. (Pakistan alleges Indian support for militant nationalists in the province.)

So on Wednesday Mr Singh decided to take on his critics and denied any change in Indian policy: “We can have a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan only if they fulfil their commitment, in letter and spirit, not to allow their territory to be used in any manner for terrorist activities against India.” Essentially, Mr Singh argued that the joint statement reflected his opinion that Pakistan, in the absence of the composite dialogue, should not claim that it cannot take action against transnational terrorist groups simply because the dialogue is on hold. On Balochistan, Mr Singh said “we are willing to discuss all these issues because we know that we are doing nothing wrong” and denied that a so-called RAW dossier had been given by Pakistan. For now, the prime minister’s explanation has appeared to mollify his critics and following a strong statement of support from his party boss Sonia Gandhi, he can be expected to ride out the storm.

So have the prime minister’s critics won and forced him to back away from what appeared to be an attempt to improve ties with Pakistan? Not necessarily. Indeed, Mr Singh emphasised that “dialogue and engagement is the best way forward” and spoke appreciatively of the frank details provided by Pakistan in the latest dossier on the Mumbai attacks. Parsing the prime minister’s speech, then, it seems that he is still holding out one hand to Pakistan while trying to fend off his domestic detractors with the other.



OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press Who indoctrinated 200 recovered children?
Friday, 31 Jul, 2009


SECURITY forces recently recovered 200 children who were being indoctrinated to become suicide bombers in Malakand. Who are they? Who trained them? Where are their parents and relatives? If they are madressah students then who runs these seminaries? Since most of them are victims of kidnapping, where do they hail from? These are the questions which need to be answered and this requires a judicial investigation.

Indoctrinating a child or any youngster to become a suicide bomber ready to kill even his own parents is beyond the mastery of a mullah or a Talib. This is not child’s play but the handiwork of groups who know human psychology well. Who are these mentors? This is what we need to find out. There are reports that some of the IDPs upon their return found fake beards in their houses. What does this indicate?

Also why are the arrested terrorists not being produced in any court? Where do they end up after their arrest? If convicted, in which jails do they end up? And above all, who are they? The government should address these concerns of the public by revealing the facts. After all, in other countries when a terrorist is arrested, the media does disseminate these details.For example, when Ajmal Kasab was arrested following the Mumbai attacks, which has strained relations between Pakistan and India, the Indian media kept the public and the entire world updated on the interrogation. In Pakistan, not one but hundreds of terrorists have been arrested. The government should tell the public about their affiliations, their country of origin and their motives for being involved in the insurgency. They should be produced in courts to face the law. This is how a government deals with the concerns of the people. — (July 29)

Selected and translated by Faizullah Jan