Hostage no more
March 17th, 2012
Details of how a Swiss couple, kidnapped by the Taliban more than eight months ago, was able to secure their freedom are still sketchy. We are still not sure if they were released by the Taliban or whether they somehow managed to escape from their captors. Both the Swiss and Pakistani governments have denied that ransom was paid, although that would seem to be the most logical explanation for their sudden release. Whatever the means and methods used, their recovery is cause for relief as they were able to escape relatively unscathed from their ordeal. At the same time, it is important to fight the kidnapping scourge, which the Taliban have employed to devastating effect for many years now, using their hostages to fill their coffers with ransom money and bring added publicity to their cause.
There is, however, some reason to believe that this release may have been secured by the payment of ransom money. Just a few days ago, Amir Malik, who was kidnapped in August 2010 when his father-in-law General Tariq Majeed was chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, was released after what some reports described as a ransom payment of many millions of rupees. The choice between filling the coffers of militant groups, who will only use the funds to launch further kidnappings and more terrorist attacks, and letting hostages die is a moral dilemma that is almost impossible to solve. What is undeniable is that the kidnapping strategy adopted by the Taliban has been an enormous success, giving them money, publicity and in some cases, even the release of their people. Unfortunately, no solution, short of inflicting a total defeat on the Taliban, readily presents itself.
On the other hand, these releases should provide some hope to the families of others who have been kidnapped by the militants. For many months now, Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain governor Salmaan Taseer and Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker, have been abducted with no public information available about their status. With militant groups often selling those they have kidnapped to other militant groups and making demands that the state cannot meet, their fate has been up in the air. At least, now their families can have some reason to be optimistic.
Taking on the agencies
March 17th, 2012
Never before in our history have the intelligence agencies come under so much pressure. These bodies have for years been seen as lying beyond the hold of any other institution — acting as a State within a State with no one willing or able to control what they do. Now, for the first time, we have seen the courts speak out against the ISI and the MI, demanding explanations for their actions in Balochistan and other places. The prime minister, too, reacted earlier this year and now, in what could prove to be a vital development, the National Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution demanding that a law be formulated to bring the agencies under control and ensure that they cannot act on their own. The agencies are widely thought to be responsible for the ‘picking up’ of people and for intervening in national events.
What is also significant is that the two major parties in the country have acted together to move the unanimous resolution — which was tabled by the PML-N, but passed with the full support of the PPP. The ruling party also facilitated highlighting the matter on the last day of the current National Assembly schedule, though it was not part of the initial agenda. A bipartisan committee is to be set up to determine the details and decide how to proceed, with equal representation from the PPP and the PML-N.
We could be witnessing a truly historical moment. Much disturbance to our democratic system has been caused over the past decades by actions planned and manipulated by the agencies. The parliamentary will to break free of this may be a key step into a new era. We must hope this is indeed the case, and that we can move into an age where the elected leaders of the country make the most important decisions rather than outfits which follow an agenda.
Strengthening democracy
March 17th, 2012
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) claims that it will be receiving an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the recently-launched voter verification service that allows citizens to check their voter registration via SMS. True, Pakistan is one of the only countries to have such a system in place. In a few short months, after the Supreme Court gave the ECP — in conjunction with NADRA — the order to prepare full voter lists, the government agencies went into overdrive to meet the deadline. Early reports suggest that the efforts have been remarkably successful — a rare case of government bureaucracy producing positive results.
After the 2008 general elections, it was revealed that nearly 38 million of the votes cast — or over 30 per cent of the total votes — could not be verified. This does not mean that all 38 million votes were bogus, as is being claimed by opposition parties; it simply means that there was no way of verifying the validity of the votes. A system where citizens can verify their voting details themselves should help eliminate most of the problems that were encountered during previous elections. So far, according to NADRA, 4.5 million citizens have used the SMS service to verify their voter registration details and with elections not expected for another year, that number should increase in the months ahead.
In addition, the ECP has also set up more than 55,000 display centres around the country where voters can check their registration and file any complaints. The response to this initiative, according to the non-profit Free and Fair Election Network, has been far from encouraging. Part of the blame should go to the ECP for not advertising the service enough but some blame also has to be shouldered by the political parties, who are the only organisations in the country with the capability of getting massive numbers of people to these display centres. The 2008 elections were considered among the freest in the country’s history; if all stakeholders play their part the next ones have a chance of being even freer.