04-08-2013

Flawed approach: Debate on drones

SECRETARY John Kerry came to Pakistan and appeared to suggest that the much-maligned and controversial dronestrikes programme in Pakistan may be brought to an end soon. But then, within hours, back at the State Department`s headquarters in Washington, a spokesperson claimed that neither had Mr Kerry made a startling revelation nor had he in any way deviated from established American policy on armed drones. So, which is it? It seems near impossible that Secretary Kerry misspoke, but perhaps he was engaging in a deliberate game of subterfuge to sidestep an explosive political issue. Saying one thing while on a host country`s soil and then walking back from that position when back on home ground is an old diplomatic ploy ― and about as useless as it is old. Or perhaps the secretary was just hinting at a conclusion that the US government may be inching towards its goal of eliminating Al Qaeda`s presence in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
The secret nature ofthe drone-strikes programme makes it almost impossible to know what is true or not until an official announcement is made ― or until the footprint of drones over Fata tells the story on its own. Media leaks, some orchestrated, others not, from the US side have shed some lighton the direction of the programme before policy changes are revealed officially, but it seems likely that Secretary Kerry`s version of `very, very soon` ― regarding the end of drone strikes ― may not be the average Pakistani`s version of it. It may be too late to significantly change the political narrative on drones in Pakistan ― and to focus on drones` efficacy in the present, undesirable conditions in Fata isn`t to claim their desirability in all circumstances ― but the quest to bring some rationality to the debate must not end.
The counter question that is mostly sidestepped by critics of drones here is, if Pakistan were to retake control of North Waziristan and if Pakistan were to keep its imprisoned convicted militants imprisoned, how much more effective would that be in bringing to an end, or even substantially reducing, the controversial drone strikes? Flawed and myopic as the US policy on drones may be, the unhappy reality is that Pakistan faces a more sustained and deadlier threat from the hub of militancy and terror that swathes of Fata, and even Pakistan proper, have become. And scarier yet is the collective shrug, or sigh of resignation, with which that threat is met. Drones may be a problem, but the bigger one remains attitudes in Pakistan towards extremism and militancy.

New realities: Gas allocations

THE federal government`s effort to revisit the question of provincial entitlements to natural gas allocations is a laudable one. Many aspects of inter-provincial harmony have been affected as a result of the large-scale restructuring of the federation done by the last government, so it is only natural to expect that further questions will continue to be raised in the years to come. The petroleum minister has a point when he says that it is necessary to discern the intentions of the Constitution`s drafters when they gave first right of use of natural gas to the province where the gas was being produced. That clause was drafted at a time when there were few other claimants to the precious resource besides domestic consumers. It was also drafted at a time when the supply of natural gas was still on the increase.
Today, however, much has changed. Many claimants have arisen besides domestic consumers and supplies are diminishing at an alarming rate. Questions of inter-provincial equity are important, of course, but in this era questions of effective utilisation have gained ascendancy. Today we need to ensure that this dwindling resource is being furnished to those consumers who can use the precious fuel with the least wastage, and also whose work carries importance to the overall functioning of the national economy. Only the federal government has ownership of the national agenda, and since important national priorities have asserted themselves in the question of natural gas allocations, it must be accepted that the federal government should have a greater say in drawing up the allocations. Pakistan has historically had a great deal of difficulty in drawing up entitlement regimes for national resources ― whether fiscal or natural. It took many decades to get a consensus behind the allocation of national fiscal resources. It also took many decades to have a water-sharing agreement. A similar effort is now needed with natural gas, and simplistic interpretations of Article 158 do not help the process.

Call of the past: President-elect`s Agra connection

WHATEVER one`s circumstances, a person`s birthplace always seems to exert an inexorable attraction linked to memories ― real and embellished ― of a more carefree time in one`s life. This is perhaps even more so in the case of India and Pakistan where millions of people crossed over from one side to the other in the blood-soaked aftermath of independence, leaving homes, families and cherished ties behind. Despite the countries` fraught relationship in the 66 years since, people on either side of the border rarely lose an opportunity to claim linkages with `the ones that got away`, so to speak.
So it is with president-elect Mamnoon Hussain, who was born in Agra in 1940 and migrated to Pakistan at the time of independence. Some of his extended family, still living in the same house where he was born, appear jubilant over their relative`s newly acquired pre-eminence and are voicing their hopes that he may pay a visit to his childhood home soon. Even their neighbours, who are unrelated to Mr Hussain, have been basking in the glow of the Pakistani connection. It is not yet known whether the president-elect will be making a trip to India to reconnect with his roots or not, but if he does so it will be in the tradition of Pervez Musharraf who as president visited his childhood home in Delhi. That visit too generated great excitement and a thorough sprucing up of the locality, one of the perks of a presidential visit that the residents of Naiki Mandi ― Mr Hussain`s old neighbourhood in Agra ― are undoubtedly hoping for. Meanwhile, residents of Gah village in Pakistani Punjab, birthplace of Manmohan Singh, are still waiting for the lure of the past to work on the Indian premier.

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LAIS-AL-INSANA ILA MA SA-AA