DAWN 26-11-2011


MORE price hikes are coming the consumer`s way as the regulatory authorities have approved gas tariff increases of up to 14 per cent and the government is seeking an upward revision of the electricity tariff by around four per cent. In the normal scheme of things, tariff adjustments should not be very controversial: a rational pricing scheme is in the best interest of the consumer as well. Take the case of gas in Pakistan. Apart from the security situation in various gas-rich parts of the country and the general laxity of successive administrations in pursuing gas exploration, there remains the problem that Pakistan prices its gas too low by regional and international standards. Lacking a competitive price offering, foreign companies necessary for conducting exploration work are reluctant to come to Pakistan. Eventually, once Pakistan`s established reserves disappear, the country will have to import gas to bridge the gap. At that point, consumers will be forced to suddenly pay a lot more for imported gas and foreign companies will have to be lured here for exploration work at possibly a much higher premium than if Pakistan were to negotiate tariffs in less desperate straits. So, when in the end the consumer will have to pay for much more expensive gas, does it not make sense to slowly rationalise the gas-pricing system within Pakistan to avoid sud- den and massive tariff adjustments?

Unhappily, however, there is much more to the story of energy-sector tariffs. When using scarce and expensive resources, a state should put them to as productive a use as possible. Pakistan simply fails this test, particularly in the use of gas. Instead of diverting gas towards industrial use, where this energy resource also fetches a higher tariff, Pakistan pumps a lot of its gas into homes for heating purposes and into motor vehicles to power them around cities and highways. In a country where the economy is in the doldrums and energy woes are crimping industrial output, it makes no sense to use gas to warm homes and water instead of using it as input in sectors which generate employment and add to the gross domestic product. Many of these problems have been inherited by the present government of course, but the extreme inability to take any decisions on hard policy issues has worsened matters over the last few years.

So Pakistanis are right to complain about the management of the energy sector. But it is not tariffs per se that are the issue. It is the gross mismanagement of the sector that forces ever-rising prices without any commensurate improvement in reliable supplies.


ALTHOUGH violent crime is no stranger to Karachi, the recent spate of robberies in the metropolis coupled with the fact that Muharram is round the corner is cause for concern. On Thursday a cash van was looted of Rs15m and one of the security guards in the van killed when crimi- nals targeted the vehicle in Korangi. Questions remain about why the guards opened the door to the vault, as this is in clear violation of set procedures. Though police suspect possible collusion, the guards may have simply panicked given the poor level of training they receive. In another incident on Thursday criminals raided a bank in the Garden area, taking away over Rs4m. This was the second heist in two days, bringing the total of bank robberies committed in Karachi to 15 this year. Last month alone the city witnessed three heists. Millions of rupees have been taken away in all these robberies. Though the police claim to have busted several gangs involved, clearly some criminals continue to outwit the law-enforcers.

No clear evidence has emerged linking the recent heists to threats of terrorism during Muharram. But if credible threats exist along with the growing body of evidence that suggests that bank robberies are a viable method for militants to raise funds, the police need to be on full alert. However, what is particularly shocking is that for the past month or so, Karachi has been without a notified police chief, with an officer serving in an ad hoc capacity. Are the quarters concerned looking for the `right` sort of candidate who will accept political interference in the department? Considering the lawlessness that pervades Karachi and the threat of terrorism that is never far, this laxity is unforgivable. The authorities need to immediately rectify the situation by appointing a permanent city police chief without any political considerations. At the same time, a proper security plan needs to be put in place to shield the metropolis from terrorism during Muharram and beyond and to crack down on violent crime.


EACH time an Awami League government comes to power in Bangladesh demands are made for bringing to justice the collaborators in the violence unleashed during the 1971 crackdown by Pakistani forces on Bengali nationalists. This is understandable because Awami League supporters had borne the brunt of the violence in which innocent civilians were targeted by the security forces; many rights abuses and killings were alleged to have taken place, some well documented. While in office Gen Pervez Musharraf had fittingly offered regrets to Sheikh Hasina`s last government in a bid to put the sordid past behind. But that has not sufficed as demands keep resurfacing to bring to justice the collaborators who are still residing in Bangladesh. To the Bangladeshis` credit, however, rights activists there have also raised the question of bringing to justice certain groups of Bengali nationalists who committed similar atrocities against Urdu-speaking civilians at the height of the 1971 crisis. The healing process, they argue, has to be a two-way process that at the very least owns and condemns the violence committed by both sides.

It is indeed for Bangladesh to decide what needs to be done. But given that the debate over the issue refuses to die down after all these years, perhaps the formulation of an independent `truth and reconciliation commission` modelled after the one constituted in post-apartheid South Africa may be in order. This will help the survivors of the violence and the families of those who lost their lives come to terms with a bloody past and begin to heal. The sprawling refugee camps inhabited by Biharis in Dhaka, who still hope to be repatriated to Pakistan one day, also remain the unfinished business that needs to be addressed by both countries in order to move on.