Resetting US-Pakistan ties

April 12th, 2012

The much-delayed parliamentary review on ties with the US is now facing further obstacles in the form of the unreasonable stance taken by the opposition political parties. Despite the fact that the parliamentary committee that produced the recommendations on re-engagement with the US comprised members of all parties and produced a report that was unanimously signed by the members, debate in parliament has been acrimonious. The main hurdle in the path to re-establishing ties with the US has been the uncooperative stance of the PML-N and the JUI-F. Some would say that their demands have been a bit unrealistic and that they may be trying to extract political mileage out of the situation.

Their main proposal is to link the transport of Nato supplies through Pakistan to a halt to drone attacks, an unrealistic demand that ignores the multi-layered dynamics of Pakistan-US relations. The reality is that the US, as shown by the May 2 raid, has not often cared about Pakistan’s sovereignty. But even if that was a concern for it, the US already has the military’s permission to carry out drone strikes. Parliament has essentially been cut out of that process. That it is now trying to reassert itself in the decision-making process is laudable but it needs to tread carefully. If it overreaches, as the PML-N and the JUI-F appear to be doing, there is a chance that it could be overridden by circumstances outside of its control.

Strategic powerplays aside, normalising relations with the US is a goal worth attaining. With the military sometimes unable to take on the militants in parts of the tribal areas, drone attacks have proved the most effective — if also the most controversial — method of eliminating militants. Holding that hostage to a fit of anti-American pique is a self-defeating exercise. The original Parliamentary Committee on National Security recommendations had also called for an end to drone attacks but did not link it to the resumption of Nato supplies, instead saying that the latter should be allowed only if the US pays its duties and taxes. This original formulation was far more sensible and the opposition parties should get on board with it. Relations with the US are far too vital to be held hostage by political demagoguery.

Death in a cylinder

April 12th, 2012

We hear a great deal about drone attacks; even now the issue remains a top priority for political parties. But there is a small matter — in fact rather a big one — that is too often ignored. Few of us realise that more people have been killed in CNG cylinder blasts than in attacks by the unmanned US aircraft. While that issue has led to protests of every kind, and today threatens our relations with the US, no one seems concerned by the deaths caused by CNG cylinder blasts.

Yet, according to a report released by the Civil Society Front (CSF) of Pakistan, 2,000 people were killed in cylinder blasts in 2011. This, according to the CSF, is four times more than the number killed in drone attacks. Indeed, we do not even know what the actual figure for deaths caused by drone attacks is — with the ever-present possibility that they may have been exaggerated for propaganda reasons. Lack of access to remote tribal areas makes it impossible to estimate what the actual figure is. The CSF has also expressed the apprehension that the figure for cylinder deaths may rise this year, given that nothing at all is being done to direct any kind of official attention to the problem. While deaths in cylinder blasts are regularly reported by the media, the matter has not been taken up as a serious issue or any attempt made to stop them. The CSF deserves credit for its pioneering role in taking up the matter.

To resolve the issue and prevent a death toll which the CSF fears may double over the next year as the number of deaths continues to rise, the organisation has suggested laws to regulate the use of low quality cylinders. This is obviously essential. At the very least we need regulations to prevent the use of sub-standard cylinders in public transport vehicles. Too many people have died as a result of explosions in the vehicles they were travelling in. The issue needs to be taken up before more people are so needlessly killed, simply as a result of administrative indifference and inefficiency.

The consumer strikes back

April 12th, 2012

After decades of enjoying very little rights, the consumers of the country have now found a means to strike back through the consumer courts. In Lahore, the court has issued arrest warrants for the manager of a bakery after he had failed to respond to several court orders to appear before it. The court is hearing a complaint filed by a customer of the bakery — regarded as one of the leading ones of the city — for “causing him embarrassment” in front of his guests after it failed to provide a 12-pound cake, exactly according to the design he had ordered. Hassan Jamil, who had bought the cake to mark his son’s first birthday, claims that the cake in question did not match the sample pictures he had shown the manager of the bakery, while also claiming that it weighed less than 12 pounds. For this, Jamil is seeking nearly Rs600,000 in damages — Rs500,000 of it for the mental agony he had suffered — and the rest for the legal and transport costs, and the loss in earnings that he has borne as a result of pursuing the case, as well as for the price of the cake.

The bakery has not commented on the design issue, which stands at the heart of the matter, but has said that Jamil would have been compensated had he brought the cake back to the bakery and had it been proved that it was under the specified weight.

The outcome of this case will be interesting to see. In the past, consumer courts have ordered retailers or manufacturers to pay up considerable sums of money to those who have complained about being sold defective products. The positive aspect of this development is that the previously hapless consumer now has a forum to which to file a complaint to. In time, this should help establish a tradition in which more care is taken about what is provided to consumers and create more awareness about their rights.