Siachen and water
January 13th, 2012
Our problems sometimes seem insurmountable; we wonder if they can ever be solved and if so, how this will happen. The solutions are out there; we only need to look more carefully and resolve the political issues which make such situations more complex and as a result, harder to solve. The water crisis we face in our country, with less and less pouring down the Indus and causing massive agricultural losses as well as land erosion, notably in Sindh, is a problem we are all familiar with. The other consequences of severe water shortages are also with us and the UN, among other bodies, has made rather frightening predictions that Pakistan will, within a few years be a country desperately short of water, with fewer and fewer unpolluted resources left to meet the drinking water needs of people.
There is no point in sitting back and twiddling our thumbs. The crisis is an acute one. We can only then hope that the prime minister — once he gets past the current crisis — will take a serious look at a letter written to him by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Policy Development Institute. The NGO has quoted experts from India, who at conferences held at various capitals around the world, have made a series of suggestions to improve the volume of water in the Indus. The key suggestion in this regard involves the demilitarisation of the Siachen glacier and also other glacial areas surrounding it. Battles for control of the strategically significant area have been fought intermittently between Pakistan and India since 1984. Experts believe, troop presence hampers water flow downstream into rivers and contributes to the shortage crisis.
A suggestion for the setting up of an Indus Water Commission, involving representatives from both countries, has also been put forward by the experts. These possible measures all need to be considered. The demilitarisation of Siachen would also ease tensions between the two nations and killing several birds with one stone is always a good idea.
Khyber Agency bombing
January 13th, 2012
Any hopes that the new year would usher the conflict-ridden regions of the country into peace have dashed to the ground. The ugly spectre of terrorism unleashed its fury in the town of Jamrud in Khyber Agency on January 10, when a pickup truck laden with hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives ripped through a bus terminal, killing at least two dozen people. At least 25 paramilitary troops have been executed by the Taliban since the start of this month in two separate incidents in North Waziristan and Orakzai agencies. There was no immediate claim of responsibility of the dastardly act of January 10, but, the finger of suspicion inevitably points to the Taliban. Some officials suspect that the bombing appeared to be a revenge attack for the killing of a Taliban militant Qari Kamran, who was recently killed by the security forces in Khyber Agency. Jamrud is inhabited mostly by Zakhakehl, a sub-tribe of the Afridis. The tribe has put its weight behind the government in resisting the onslaught by the Taliban and should be commended for its brave resistance. The militants, on the other hand, have upped their ante and show no mercy towards innocent women and children as they continue to wreak havoc. The militants also seem emboldened by a reprieve from US drone strikes.
Since the killing of Qari Kamran, security forces were expecting reprisal attacks and should have been more alert. Local militias and tribes who have offered their resistance to the Taliban, also need to be better armed and equipped instead of being abandoned to fight the militants alone, as often seems to be the case. The bombing is also a grim reminder of the futility of any peace talks with the militants. It is obvious that the militants want anything but peace and, typically use the pretext of talks to regroup and consolidate their strength. What is also, perhaps, depressing is how there isn’t any outrage in society against such attacks by the militants, with much of the media and citizenry still crying themselves hoarse over America’s apparent arrogance in its ties with Pakistan.
Pir Pagara (1928-2012)
January 13th, 2012
The spiritual head of the Hurs in Sindh, and a politician who was anything but predictable, Pir Pagara passed away on January 10. His mark on Pakistan, though it is mixed and controversial, is indelible. He was at the forefront of every major event in the country’s politics, although one could never be certain what his ideology was at any given time. He was a supporter of every dictator that usurped power in Pakistan, giving his imprimatur to Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. But he also took on the religious parties that were propped up by the military with gleeful abandon.
If there is one way to describe Pagara’s politics it is that he mixed the political with the personal. Thus, he held a life-long grudge against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a person whom he considered a pretender and had personally introduced to politics, only to end up being snubbed by him. His hatred for ZAB could partly be explained by the fact that Pagara never liked the idea of anyone from Sindh being more influential than him or not being beholden to him. Thus, Pagara was not only part of the civilian protests against Bhutto after the 1977 elections, he also joined Zia after his coup. It was during Zia’s time that Pagara reached the peak of his political power, with his hand-picked man, Mohammad Khan Junejo, chosen as prime minister. But as was Pagara’s wont, he ended up falling-out with both of them.
What truly explains Pagara’s popularity, both as a political and spiritual leader, was his rough-hewed charm. There was nothing he enjoyed more than having a group of journalists sit at his feet and listen to his prophecies and predictions. Sure, most of them turned out to be incorrect, but his certainty and charisma were part of the appeal. Whatever faults he may have had, Pir Pagara, at least in his rhetoric, always advocated education and equal rights for women. Pagara was a relic of a bygone era, whose influence is undeniable.