No money for hockey
THE abrupt wrap-up of the national hockey team camp, set up in Islamabad to prepare for the 2016 Olympics qualifiers, due to paucity of funds is seen as a new low for the game in Pakistan. While the slump in Pakistan hockey has been in evidence for almost a decade now, with no major titles, except that of the Asian Games, coming our way, the extraordinary development this week has plunged the game into a deeper predicament, with the Pakistan Hockey Federation top brass admitting its failure to collect enough funds to manage the daily allowances of the players. It is no secret that the cash-strapped PHF, for long, has been striving to keep the game afloat amid countless appeals of financial assistance made to the government. Its efforts to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to apprise him of the debilitating state of the game, however, have not met with success. Hence, the embarrassing fold-up of the month-long camp at the Naseer Bunda Stadium, some 10 days ahead of the scheduled closure.
Having said that, the government alone cannot be blamed for the shambolic state of Pakistan hockey today. It was a year ago that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif dished out a hundred million rupees for the PHF to put its house in order. Whatever happened to that grant and who benefited from it is anybody’s guess. In fact, the haphazard manner in which Pakistan hockey has been run over the past decade has been largely responsible for its current state of collapse. The PHF officials have not only allowed the game to become hugely politicised during this time, they have remained too engaged in ego battles and joyrides to concentrate on the game’s development. Unlike cricket, where players and officials are equally held responsible for a debacle — as witnessed in the recent ICC World Cup — the blame for hockey’s decline lies largely at the door of the PHF bigwigs who led the game into a blind alley owing to their absurd, short-sighted decisions.
Illegal constructions
THE Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s demolition squads moved in on Friday to raze a number of illegally constructed wedding lawns in the city. In a metropolis which has been disfigured beyond recognition by encroachments and land-grabbers, this is positive news. But we must also question why the civic authorities are generally so complacent; illegal commercial enterprises, built on amenity plots, have been in business for decades. Why are they allowed to be set up in the first place? The simple answer is that such illegal constructions cannot occur without the connivance of the authorities; whether it is the occupation of footpaths or the devouring of whole parks and other public spaces, criminals — often backed by political and religious groups — bribe or pressure their way to legalising what are clearly unlawful constructions or occupations of somebody else’s property.
In Karachi especially, the land mafia is so powerful that many activists have paid with their lives for raising their voice against such criminality. Yet while land-grabbing may be particularly acute in the Sindh capital, nearly all urban areas of Pakistan suffer from this malady. In the past, anti-encroachment drives in Lahore have been halted reportedly due to political pressure, while even Islamabad, which is supposed to be better planned than other urban areas in the country, is not immune to the depredations of the land mafia. Encroachments cause numerous problems in cities, including adding to traffic congestion and taking away footpaths from pedestrians. Moreover, public spaces meant for the health and recreation of citizens at large are gobbled up and commercialised for the profit of a few. Encroachments also fuel criminality and violence, as land-grabbers are always on the lookout for available spaces. The key to resolving this issue is to put in place proper land use and management mechanisms, and to take action the moment encroachers and land-grabbers move in.
A lack of coordination has been witnessed among the multiple land-controlling authorities in urban areas, particularly Karachi. This needs to be corrected so that there is a single source for addressing the status of land and taking action when illegalities occur. Elected local governments, which will soon hopefully be in place nationwide, are ideally placed to monitor land use and management. With our cities expanding and considerable rural-urban migration, land will become even more sought after, which is why the state must manage it judiciously and protect it from the clutches of criminals.
Pipeline moment
WITH a framework for a nuclear deal in place and with signs of rapprochement between Iran and the international community, now is the time to re-energise the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. Last December, the government made a half-hearted foray into the global financial markets to determine investor interest in the plan. It returned with the gloomy report that the sanctions on Iran were making investors wary of getting involved in the project. That may be about to change as the world begins to eye the business opportunities that are about to open up. Pakistan should also start by at least verbally intimating its interest in pursuing the pipeline project energetically. Much has been made of the LNG imports. The fact that the first consignment of LNG has already landed, and there has been much bragging about this feat, is an indicator of the high level of ownership that was given to this project by the government. The high return on equity allowed to power producers who will use LNG is another signal that the government is moving fast to incentivise imports and create a constituency within the country for LNG.
Similar high-level ownership now needs to be given to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, beginning with the government affirming its commitment to the project, followed by the homework necessary to start construction, creation of the relevant tariffs and policy software to manage injections of the gas into the national transmission system, and proper agreements to govern allocations. Diversifying our fuel mix is an important priority of the government, and the pipeline project is the most promising avenue through which to pursue this goal. Pipeline gas is much cheaper than LNG and more reliable as well. There is no longer any reason for the government to continue to drag its feet. Whatever decision is made regarding Saudi Arabia’s request for troops for the Yemen campaign, it is important to ensure that it does not adversely impact the Iranian pipeline project. Our domestic energy security must take precedence. Thus far, the project has been held up by one specific sanctions law that prevents dealings with Iran’s central bank.
That law is amongst the sanctions that are about to be lifted. Beyond that, there is little in the sanctions regime that prevents Pakistan from moving ahead on the plan. It might still take time to arrange an investor, but much of the homework on the ground, which was not done in the enthusiastic haste to complete the LNG project, can begin now and perhaps some PSDP allocations can be made in the forthcoming budget to add credibility to the government’s resolve. It is imperative that the government seize the moment and involve itself with determination in a scheme that can bring the people considerable relief at time of a serious energy crisis in the country.
Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/newspaper/editorial