(3rd May 2013)
Sarabjit Singh’s tragic end
Sarabjit Singh, an Indian spy on death row, finally succumbed to his injuries in Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital. Singh was badly injured following a brutal attack by fellow inmates in Kot Lakhpat Jail and fell into a coma as a result of those injuries. Pakistan has arrested two prisoners and charged them with Singh’s murder. It is not enough to just go after the prisoners who attacked him but the jail authorities must be dealt with an iron hand as well.
Singh’s safety and well-being was the responsibility of the Pakistani state. His family has demanded justice from Pakistan. Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister, Najam Sethi, has also ordered a judicial inquiry into Singh’s death. It is not yet clear whether it was a pre-planned attack or not. It is a matter of grave concern that an Indian prisoner, whose lawyer had repeatedly warned of serious threats to his life, was beaten to pulp in a Pakistani prison. It is outright criminal negligence on the part of the jail authorities. The government must answer what measures, if any, were taken after his lawyer requested greater security for him in light of the threats.
Not only were Singh’s rights as a prisoner violated but the inaction of jail authorities exposes the conditions of Pakistani jails. Strict action must be taken against those police officials who were responsible for Singh’s security. Prison brawls are not uncommon in our country but we rarely hear of any action being taken against the jail authorities. The government must ensure that a transparent investigation takes place and jail authorities are taken to task.
This incident could also affect relations between India and Pakistan. In order to avoid a diplomatic row, it is hoped that the government will conduct a proper inquiry. As it is, Pakistan’s image has taken a blow for the worse internationally. Thus, it is in Pakistan’s interest to maintain peaceful relations with all its neighbours, especially India. Singh’s death is a tragedy that could have easily been prevented. The matter must be probed thoroughly so that those responsible are duly punished.
The US Equation
Rhetoric, slogans and drama are, of course, very much a part of any election campaign. This is as true for us as any other country; indeed, perhaps more so than most.
But given our current, rather precarious circumstances, parties need to exercise some degree of caution and demonstrate maturity. The anti-US slogan, as we all know, is a popular one with people. But, given our current economic and military links to Washington, is it realistic to envisage a total break? Or fool people into believing this can happen in the short term? Indeed, the complex network of dependency is not easy to untangle. The relationship between the two nations goes back a long way, and cannot be undone with a single stroke.
For this reason, all parties need to adopt a more sensible, more sensitive and more realistic approach. Right now, we have the parties of the religious right, chiefly the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and the Jamaat-e-Islami forging ahead during their rallies with a fervently anti-US approach. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also banked mainly on a stance directed against drone attacks and the war on terror. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has kept its agenda somewhat ambiguous as far as foreign policy goes, while the Pakistan Peoples Party condemns drones but in its manifesto, indicates relations with the US will need to be maintained to one degree or the other, given global realities.
The point is we would all like to see our country move towards full sovereignty and self-reliance, but this cannot be achieved instantly. It is only a target we can endeavour to move towards. For this reason, parties need to act with responsibility, not raise false hopes and avoid raising slogans only because they are popular. Doing so will only build false hopes and unreal expectations; these will, in turn, make it even harder for the incoming government to operate effectively. It can do so only if people have a clear vision of the future and the task of all parties should be to help build this idea.
Anti-measles campaign: Cosmetic effort?
Too many of the efforts we see by governments appear to be more cosmetic than genuinely intended to serve a purpose. This certainly appears true of the anti-measles campaign begun early this week in Punjab, the purpose of which is to vaccinate some three million children under 10 years in a province where 60 deaths have occurred due to the disease and 10,000 remain infected.
While the drive sounds like a very good idea, the issue, according to a report in this publication, is that only 400 of the 1,300 personnel sent into the field to administer the potentially life-saving shot are trained vaccinators. The rest, who include lab attendants and nurses drawn from public-sector hospitals have received for the most part only a day’s training, as opposed to the six-month training usually given to vaccinators. A number have never injected a child and health experts warn an improperly administered measles shot can lead to grave health risks. There are other complications too. We know from WHO statistics that Vitamin A deficiency is common in our country. Yet, a campaign scheduled in April to administer the vitamin was not carried out by the Health Department. A Vitamin A deficiency can lead to a higher fatality risk in children with measles. The fact that the drive has so far been restricted to Lahore has also been criticised.
The Health Department, in its defence, says only 400 vaccinators were available. This may indeed be the reality. But the fact is that children have been put at risk through the use of personnel not qualified to give the shot. The entire situation also highlights the inadequacies of our immunisation programme. In the first place, we need to know why so many children were not given the measles vaccine as a matter of routine, preventing the epidemic and the panic we now see. Secondly, we need to seek help from the international humanitarian community, given our own inadequate resources, so that the existing crisis can be overcome.