The bounty business
September 25th, 2012
Why does so much controversy always seem to be stemming from our country? This time around, Railway Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour’s offer of a $100,000 bounty for the head of the man who made the controversial video, Innocence of Muslims, finds us in the eye of the storm.
Bilour, a veteran ANP leader, should know better. As he himself has accepted, he is, in fact, instigating murder and thereby committing a crime. The fact that he is aware of this and willing to bear the consequences does not alter his intended-to-incite statement. At a time when we need the frenzy over the video to fade away, Bilour has created more hype by calling on elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban to kill the film-maker and also appealing to the ‘rich people’ to donate money for this cause.
Fortunately, the federal government has had the good sense to completely dissociate itself from the ‘bounty’ offer. A spokesman said an explanation would be sought and the ANP leader spoken to. Indeed, members of the ANP themselves seem stunned by Bilour’s comment and his assertion that he is answerable only to the Holy Prophet (pbuh), They have asserted that his statement reflects his views alone and not the party’s. An ANP MNA, Bushra Gohar, has described Bilour’s statement as a criminal act. Bilour deserves to be penalised, though the danger following this would be that he will be upheld as a hero by extremists, creating further problems for taking such an action.
No one with any degree of wisdom condones the film. But what we do need to understand is that its makers would be hit hardest if Muslims simply chose to ignore it and refused to further its publicity. Bilour has done just the opposite; his ‘reward for head’ saga will only complicate matters. It seems obvious that, at the very least, he needs to be removed from his cabinet post and persuaded to refrain from making any further calls to seek death or demand extremist acts in this fashion. Such actions only push our country further away from a place in the civilised world.
Rimsha’s plight
September 25th, 2012
As news stories about the violence sparked by the anti-Islam film abound, there is a danger that the plight of the young Christian girl Rimsha Masih will be relegated to the inside pages. Rimsha was accused of blasphemy and released on bail when it emerged that her accuser may have planted the evidence. Bail, however, is not the same as complete exoneration, which is exactly what Rimsha deserves. Now that the police have submitted a written statement to the court declaring that she is innocent and it was a set-up by cleric Khalid Jadoon Chishti, the judge needs to do the right thing and dismiss the case against Rimsha as being frivolous and unfounded. Then, Chishti needs to face trial for falsely accusing this helpless girl and probably putting her life in danger.
The idea of going on trial for Rimsha pales in comparison to the dangers she will likely face should she go back to her home. Those accused of blasphemy have often been targeted by enraged mobs and seldom found security thereafter. Rimsha’s best shot at a normal life lies in a foreign country. Pakistan is no place to live even for those who have merely been accused without any basis of offending religious sentiments. It is now the government’s job to provide her with foolproof security and arrange for her safe passage out of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the prosecution, which has already disgraced itself with its conduct, needs to let go of the case. The prosecutor is now claiming that Rimsha is 21 years old and not 12, as originally claimed. This is a mere smokescreen for bigotry as Rimsha’s age has absolutely no bearing on her innocence.
Ideally, the next step taken by the government would be to repeal the blasphemy laws but that is simply not possible in the current climate. Instead, the laws need to be balanced a bit by making the punishment for false accusations tougher. Politicians, the police and courts need to start treating those who make false accusations of blasphemy with the same toughness they currently reserve for child minorities.
Water racket
September 25th, 2012
The recent decision by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB ) to close its last six water hydrants is meant to make it harder for people to steal water. The actual effect is likely to be the opposite, as the price of water in the city will increase, while doing little to thwart the water tanker mafia. The hydrants were meant to serve those residents who did not have access to piped water, but the KWSB could do little to compete with the hundreds of illegal hydrants in the city. Over the last few months, numerous illegal hydrants were closed but the net effect was still negligible. Despite the closure of the official hydrants, the tanker mafia will still continue to steal water from the piped system and sell it at a high margin to consumers. In fact, it will probably cite these closed hydrants as an excuse to justify a further increase in prices. Some would say that the reason the KWSB has taken only this cosmetic measure is because some elements within it may be colluding with the tanker mafia. Meanwhile, those who suffer will be the residents who will notice a significant drop in the water pressure supplied to them along with intermittent supply.
What is needed to combat the tanker mafia are concrete reforms. One such reform would be to introduce water metres in the city so we can keep track of exactly how much water is being consumed in each area and household. Then, like the KESC does with electricity, it could reduce the supply of water to those areas where there is more theft. It could also check for theft at the source. Currently, the KWSB uses acoustic-sensory devices to detect if water is escaping from a pipe, but this method is better suited for leaks than theft. Standard international techniques, like devices sending a signal if there is a change in the pressure waves along pipes, would be more effective. As long as elements within the KWSB are colluding with the tanker mafia, however, such reforms are just pipe dreams.