Misuse of UN helmets

Friday, 13 Aug, 2010

One can only call it a case of dishonesty. On Wednesday, a UN spokesman “informed” Indian authorities that some soldiers of the Rapid Reaction Force in Indian-held Kashmir were using the UN-marked blue helmets and shields against Kashmiri protesters.



The RRF has not been assigned the task of crushing the current wave of unrest in Kashmir. Its duty is to undertake street marches as a show of force to deter Kashmiri youths now engaged in a new uprising against New Delhi. However, the RRF has exceeded its mandate and takes part in baton charges against Kashmiri protesters. Reacting to this blatant misuse of the UN’s logo and its hallmark blue colour, the spokesman for the UN Military Observers’ Group in India and Pakistan said Indian authorities had promised to “solve this situation”. New Delhi’s version is that the UN helmets were being used by some Indian soldiers who had gone abroad on peacekeeping missions.

This is an extremely poor explanation. Surely, as a well-trained security force, the RRF must have standardised kits and uniforms for its soldiers. That some of them should discard the prescribed kit and use helmets of their own choice is appalling. The wire agencies say Kashmiris have been bewildered by the UN helmets because the RRF men are armed with rifles and dressed in full riot gear while charging at the protesters. This obviously is a very crude attempt on India’s part to give a UN cover to its military presence in held Kashmir, especially because Indian soldiers have often been accused of gross human rights violations. The world body thus rightly feels concerned over the misuse of its insignia, because the Kashmiris as a people could think that the UN was hand in glove with India and against their struggle for freedom and dignity.

Friday, 13 Aug, 2010

Even before the sighting of the Ramazan moon each year, Pakistani consumers are hit by the spiralling prices of essential food items. This year, the people’s miseries have been compounded by devastating floods across the country, with millions of acres of agricultural land destroyed by the raging torrents.



Nature’s fury and man’s avarice have combined to deliver a double blow, with crushing food prices adding to the people’s woes during the month of fasting. In Karachi the prices of several food items have doubled compared to last Ramazan. The city government has failed to issue a complete price list, giving retailers a free hand to make excessive profits. For example, certain pulses have witnessed a three-fold increase in price in a year. The situation elsewhere is not much better. Lahore has seen similarly astronomical price hikes. In Quetta vegetable prices have doubled while observers say price-checking teams are ineffective. Peshawar has seen an average increase of Rs10-15 in the price of food items while sugar is available at Rs85 per kilo. Meat is largely unavailable as much of the livestock perished in the floods. Reports from Islamabad suggest similar galloping prices of food items.

While the floods have caused major disruptions in the supply of goods across the country, pushing up prices, the element of profiteering is not entirely absent. Retailers claim they cannot sell at government-notified rates as they purchase goods at high rates from wholesalers, who in turn blame producers for high prices. It seems all stakeholders pass the buck in this regard, leaving consumers as the ultimate losers. Some observers have suggested that consumers themselves are to blame for the high prices, as buying in bulk results in shortages, pushing up demand. Though in the long term people need to change their habits of excessive consumption and waste — especially the middle classes and the elite — the government cannot be absolved of responsibility in ensuring that essential items are available at affordable rates. True, the market is driven by profit. But the government must ensure that in Ramazan particularly, a price-checking and enforcement mechanism is in place so that retailers don’t end up fleecing consumers.

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Nature’s warning

Friday, 13 Aug, 2010

Despite the many people who remain sceptical about global warming and climate change, increasing evidence indicates that it is not business as usual for the world’s weather patterns. There has been in general a rise in extreme climatic events over the years.



This year — and we are little more than halfway through it — has brought monsoons of such ferocity to the region that devastation on a scale that is difficult to fully comprehend has been wreaked across Pakistan. While millions of citizens continue to suffer in the immediate aftermath of the deluge, the country is now said to be facing another spell of torrential rains that will no doubt aggravate the situation. Russia, meanwhile, is experiencing the hottest heat-wave in nearly a century and a half. This has led to wildfires that have killed dozens and left thousands homeless. And in the remote Zhouqu county in China’s north-west, massive mudslides and landslides over the past few days have killed hundreds, caused the evacuation of tens of thousands, and have left behind a shattered infrastructure.

Such terrible climate-related events are being witnessed with increasing frequency around the world, in geographically disparate places. Together, they underscore the fact that climate change and global warming are likely to have increasingly harsh effects on humanity. True, it is important to identify the reasons behind these changes and to try and prevent further damage. But in order to reduce the scale of human suffering, it is even more important that state administrations recognise the dangers and prepare contingency and emergency plans. The weather is outside the control of mankind, but the least we can do is to prepare ourselves for the hazards it can pose.

This is an especially valid requirement for Pakistan, where the ill-preparedness and slow response of the administration to the flood disaster has evoked sharp criticism. Nobody, not even the National Disaster Management Authority which is tasked with this mandate, displayed the ability to swing into rapid and effective action to help the victims. Pakistan must learn the lesson: weather-related disasters are going to increase in frequency, and we remain unprepared at our own peril. Apart from natural calamities such as floods or earthquakes, the country’s water supply — already insufficient — will continue to shrink, partly because of the effect of global warming on the planet’s water reserves. Given that our population is growing at the same time, this is bound to lead to shortages of resources, including food. Unless the country plans ahead and puts in place mechanisms that factor in the effects of climate change, the future looks bleak indeed.

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Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________