Unnecessary words
September 16th, 2012
When Abdul Qadeer Khan speaks, there’s always a sense that perhaps it were best if he hadn’t. In a fawning interview given to a section of the local media, the controversial key figure in Pakistan’s acquisition of the nuclear deterrent has claimed that he was ordered by then prime minister Benazir Bhutto to transfer nuclear technology to two countries essentially, giving Mr Khan’s activities an official imprimatur. Prima facie, as with much else that the erratic Mr Khan has claimed in public since his spectacular fall nearly a decade ago, the latest allegations are fairly implausible. In both her terms as prime minister, Ms Bhutto was known to have been kept far away from decisions on the nuclear programme by the self-appinted nuclear guardians, i.e. the army high command. Indeed, this was true for civilians generally, with Nawaz Sharif, the other leader of a civilian dispensation between generals Zia and Musharraf, having no input in the safety and security of the nuclear programme.
The more riveting truth that the interview glossed over was that this is the first time Mr Khan has of his own volition admitted to being involved in proliferation. When he appeared on TV during the Musharraf years to take responsibility for the nuclear proliferation from Pakistan he later claimed it was done under duress. Now that he has finally owned up to his role, he has seen fit to transfer blame to the civilian leadership of the time and just cast himself as someone following orders. That is a narrative that even the most credulous of observers would find hard to take at face value; the powers-that-be in Pakistan are well known to all.
There is a broader problem with Mr Khan’s public pronouncements, however. The Pakistani security establishment has worked hard to formalise and strengthen control over the country’s nuclear programme and while much of the work has taken place away from the public eye, there is a growing consensus among experts, national and international, that both the safety and security of the Pakistani nuclear programme have been vastly improved. Of course, in nuclear matters, particularly with the very serious internal security threats Pakistan faces, there is no room for complacency. In that environment, A.Q. Khan’s assertions are an unnecessary and unwelcome distraction from present-day concerns. And, as he embarks on a fledgling political career, if Mr Khan continues to hold forth on his controversial past, it will only give more ammunition to hardliners in the international community who want Pakistan to be treated as a nuclear rogue state with a terrorism problem. A.Q. Khan should weigh his words more carefully.
Times of fear
September 16th, 2012
As two recent incidents indicate, everyday life in many parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas is on the verge of paralysis due to fear of the Taliban. The extremist militants have put up threatening posters in Matani Bazaar in the outskirts of Peshawar. Such is the dread of the Taliban that locals prefer not to discuss the posters amongst themselves for fear of being ‘reported’ to the militants. While advising traders to ‘focus on their business’, the message conveyed by the posters is that the Taliban have eyes and ears in the area. In a related development, motorbikes have been banned in the Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency for ‘security reasons’, as the authorities fear militants could use motorbikes for ‘anti-social activities’. The logic of this decision is difficult to comprehend and we can safely assume the ban will hit the common people a lot harder than it will the Taliban. In the past barbers have been threatened for shaving beards while cellphone shop owners have been warned against uploading songs or movies on the phones. The current situation bears comparison to what was going on in Swat before security forces evicted militants from the region in 2009.
If the state cannot pull down threatening posters from the outskirts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital, how can it be expected to protect people from militant attacks? Locals have been quite critical of what they say is the police’s inaction over the posters. The Taliban cannot be allowed to dictate people’s lives. Instead of being silent spectators, the authorities need to actively prevent the creeping growth of Talibanisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. If the Taliban can have informers within the civilian population, the intelligence apparatus needs to stay one step ahead and keep better tabs on the militants. One major problem that has been pointed out is that the tribal lashkars the state has supported to counter the Taliban are being neglected. It is essential the authorities take locals into confidence so that effective counter-intelligence and counterterrorism moves can be taken against the militants to check the growth of extremism.
A symbolic gesture
September 16th, 2012
Resignations in protest have been witnessed occasionally but Friday’s resignation by Abdul Rauf Siddiqi from his post as Sindh’s industries minister is different. This occasion stands delineated from others because it appears to be about a senior government functionary’s frustration at his inability to plug the administrative holes that allowed Karachi’s fire tragedy to occur. Mr Siddiqi says that he found himself “helpless and with no authority to move against the people responsible” for the blaze that killed over 250 people. The tragedy is on a scale where heads would have rolled in countries in which politicians have more of a conscience than what is usually displayed by their counterparts in Pakistan. Yet while the country is no stranger to disasters that could either have been averted by proper administrative oversight or whose effects could have been mitigated by efficient administrative reaction, more often than not politicians are content to ride out the storm rather than shoulder any responsibility.
Mr Siddiqi’s resignation is a gesture that betrays more symbolism than culpability, for the key institutions responsible for safety measures and labour rights are the civil defence department and the labour ministry, neither of which fell under his purview as minister. Nevertheless, his move sends out a strong signal that may lend some small measure of strength to the bereaved. More importantly, though, the creaking edifice of administration and governmental oversight is in desperate need of a thorough overhaul. The labour inspection system needs to be revitalised — in the case of Sindh the bar on inspectors entering workplaces must be lifted. The most important thing officialdom can do in the memory of the victims of the country’s biggest industrial calamity is to make sure that such a tragedy does not happen again.