[B]02.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Challenges ahead[/SIZE]
Pakistan is in dire need to break away from a
monolithic ideological formulation which has become anathema to its very existence. Thus, this is the most appropriate time to undertake such an initiative
By Tahir Kamran[/CENTER][/B]

The seminal trait of a state is the monopoly that it exercises over violence of any kind. Thereby, the state is enabled to act as a bulwark against any subversion or anarchy directed either from within or without. If divested of that singularly important attribute, the political formation called ‘state’ starts to implode.

Beset with the process of implosion, the Pakistani state is struggling hard to defy the challenge posed to its very existence. Plagued with militancy and terrorism, ruling Pakistan will not be plain sailing. The fragmented state in which Pakistan finds itself provides a conducive environment for non-state actors to prosper to such an extent that they could mount a challenge to the state’s existence.

The foremost challenge facing the in-coming government, therefore, is to restore the position of the beleaguered Pakistani state so that it is able to regain the monopoly over violence. This is possible only if these non-state actors are rendered toothless and subsequently obliterated, but not, of course, at the cost of civil liberties.

Ensuring the civil liberties of all its citizens, irrespective of the religious or sectarian persuasion they adhere to, is imperative for the peace and prosperity of the country. However, the only plausible recourse to perform that herculean task is to disarm the countless factions and bands imbued with militant zeal, contesting the supremacy of the state with impunity. Forging a broad consensus among the political stake-holders will be the first and the most important step. The writer of this narrative believes that Nawaz Sharif, with decades-long experience of practical politics under his belt, has the requisite capacity to bring the divergent political voices together.

This expectation is worth nursing, despite the likely incumbent’s previous propensity to accumulate over-riding authority in his own person. The rough ride that he had to endure during his days of incarceration and subsequently in exile seems to have done him considerable good, as demonstrated by the political acumen he has exhibited in his post-exile period. Having said that, the political will and persuasive skill that is needed for performing the task before him will be an ordeal of gargantuan proportions. This requires the dexterity and skill of a super-statesman. Whether Mr Sharif will measure up to that extraordinary level, the coming months will reveal.

Given the difficulty of the task in hand, one must not be under any illusion in this particular regard. Pakistan is currently one of the most difficult countries to govern. Endeavours made to begin the process of disarming the many armed factions may not yield immediate results, however, the first small step in the direction of non-violence will, in itself, be an immensely creditable feat. One must qualify here that I am not proposing non-violence in the Gandhian sense. Non-violence has its moorings in our own ethos too. A centuries-old ethos which was embedded in South Asian Muslim traditions, which has allowed socio-cultural pluralities not only to exist and sustain, but to thrive.

In the current situation, a stride, however small it may be, to cultivate such plurality is likely to generate a discourse at the national level which eventually will permeate down to the grass-roots level. Eventually, it will sprout and start blooming and will serve as a viable alternative to the order punctuated by militancy and violence. Besides, it will strengthen the all inclusive nature of Pakistani nationalism as prescribed by the founding father which has been jeopardized by belligerent religiosity, expressing itself through violence. Pakistan is in dire need to break away from a monolithic ideological formulation which has become anathema to its very existence. Thus, this is the most appropriate time to undertake such an initiative.

Of equal importance is the reconfiguration of the nationalist ideology, with its character embedded in cultural plurality. Any variant of nationalism rooted in monolithic ideology sustains itself through coercion and force. In a country with a multiplicity of cultures and social values, the state must remain neutral. In the current situation, any religious narrative is bound to have a very strong sectarian ring to it.

In the case of Pakistan, it will virtually be impossible to segregate Islamisation from Sunnification. Hence the minorities and the Shias will suffer social and political exclusion, if not complete extinction. Outfits like Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Jaish-i-Muhammad and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, to name only a very few, must be done away with. The fact that needs to be stressed here is that any nationalism predicated on religious ideology engenders social and sectarian fissures, which will eventually jeopardize its very existence. Ironically, therefore, religion, instead of providing the culturally or religiously disparate factions with a glue, becomes a fissiparous force.

One may draw consolation from the fact that Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his close coterie of companions are trying hard to distance themselves from the Ziaul Haq’s legacy, which is a very felicitous development. In the light of the party programme of the PML-N, it can very safely be inferred that the resolution of the substantive issues will be its priority. More so it will not squander this opportunity of placating reactionary forces, as it has in the past.

It is quite pertinent to mention here the intimacy that the Prime Minister-elect enjoys with Saudi dynasty is seen by many with the pinch of salt. If USA flouts Pakistani sovereignty through drone attacks, Saudi Arabia allegedly does the same by funneling the funds to the organisations and outfits that foment one particular creed through militant means.

Since 1980s, Pakistan is being used as a battleground for the ideological clash between Saudi Arabia and Iran which has resulted into a complete laceration of its social fabric. Hence, Pakistan will have to eschew from all sorts of hegemony, material or ideological in order to restore its prestige and honour among the comity of nations. In order to do that, the resource generation primarily from within the country is extremely important and so is looking into its own history for moral and ideological guidance.

Continued reliance on the foreign assistance will not help us to ameliorate ourselves from the lowly status of what Fraz Fanon termed as the Wretched of the Earth.

[B]02.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Nagging distractions[/SIZE]
With a comfortable majority, Nawaz Sharif still faces a daunting task to keep the military and civilian bureaucracy at bay
By Helal Pasha
[/CENTER][/B]
The relations between the Army and Nawaz Sharif’s earlier administration were at its lowest around September 1999. Then COAS Gen. Pervez Musharraf flatly denied “any differences with the government”, following the US warning against any “unconstitutional move” to remove the elected government in Pakistan. Then Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, based on intelligence reports, accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan of facilitating the trained and armed sectarian groups in Pakistan. The Pakistan Foreign Office, speaking for the Taliban, flatly denied the assertions. Interestingly, then Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz had no prior knowledge of the Foreign Office spokesperson’s denial (Dawn September 23 to October 9, various dates).

While the COAS was denying any possibility of Kargil investigation, the prime minister called his Indian counterpart to improve relations. In Washington DC, when asked how long in her view the Nawaz Sharif government would continue, “Before December they will go” was Benazir Bhutto’s response. She welcomed the coup on October 12, 1999 within hours of its success.

The 2013 election results have brought Nawaz Sharif back to the PM’s House. Many analysts have been counseling and cautioning Nawaz Sharif to avoid déjà vu all over again. A cursory reading of the conditions in 1999 makes many to believe that the differences in 1999 were over the foreign or the defense policy.

This hypothesis gained coinage as the Kargil incidence happened right when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was making an all-out effort to improve relations with India. While the Indian prime minister was enthusiastically welcomed in Lahore, the COAS refrained from showing up. The Kargil incidence, soon after the Indian prime minister’s visit, destroyed any goodwill generated during and after his visit. Nawaz Sharif was visibly annoyed when he had to rush to Washington DC to salvage a rapidly worsening military and foreign policy disaster on the mountains in Kashmir.

The Kargil incidence, just like the prior armed or political conflicts with India, reflected the internal political dilemmas in Pakistan. The stark reality is that whenever Pakistan is in deep internal economic or political crisis, either the relations with India take a turn for the worst, or Pakistan finds itself in a war or war-like state.

In 1965, after the coerced election victory, President Ayub found himself in a perilous political crisis and the whiff of coup grew against him. The escalation of the conflict in Kashmir was a part of the strategy to regain the lost political ground. However, that did not save him for long. Similarly, the war in 1971 was essential to cover up a momentous political disaster in East Pakistan.

The army coups in Pakistan tend to develop around some contrived calamity. Gen. Ayub took over in 1958 after Khan Qayoom started a march to destroy the scheduled elections. The 1977 coup of Gen. Zia followed a deliberately designed political crisis after the elections. The Kargil incidence was part of the series of false dilemmas that crop up in Pakistan at various points to create the environs for a change at the central government.

The annoyance of the prime minister over Kargil was enough to develop a consensus for the coup within the GHQ. That conflict, not in any way, shape, or form, confers the problems were over the foreign or defense policies. The sharp differences were already there as was evident from the forced resignation of Gen. Karamat a year before the Kargil incident.

The Kargil incidence was the public face of developing consensus for the coup within the officers and had nothing to do with differences over foreign or defense policies. Historically, all Pakistani political parties and the GHQ agree over the vital foreign and defense policy goals. Often even the priorities are identical too.

Kargil strengthened the view that relations with India are a separating line. However, looking at the history, all the army ruled governments worked to improve relations with India. It is an erroneous assumption that the usually sour relations between the civilian governments and the GHQ are over these two policies. The abstract fear of India did influence the army before the 80s. Presently, the manipulation of the public opinion has ensured that the Army will maintain its pivotal position in the Pakistani politics, even after extensive relations with India are established.

Disconnect between the civilian governments and the Army brass is primarily on the style of governance. The army, over the last several decades, has developed a sense of entitlements and the Generals find it difficult to stay away from the daily operations of civilian administration by the civilian representative. The elected governments often reach the PM’s House after several years of bitter political struggle. They have to appease their followers, assembly members, and make deals with the other power brokers. While the leaders attempt to maintain their political base, the nagging criticism of the state functioning over trivial issues from both the military and the civilian bureaucracy linger.

The hammering and the constant nagging of the outgoing People’s Party government over the internal issues from the military bureaucracy turned it into an ineffective government. President Zardari and his prime ministers had given up all pretenses of control of the foreign and defense policy very early on in their administration. The attempt to recover some ground through the Kerry-Lugar Bill designed with the help of former ambassador to the US, Hussein Haqqani, also backfired on the PPP government.

The new administration of Nawaz Sharif will again face the similar issues. Mr Sharif, though with a comfortable majority, still faces a daunting task to keep the military and civilian bureaucracy at bay. The irritable army-civilian relations will continue. The international support that he already enjoys is wider than the PPP administration ever had a chance to develop. That gives him an edge and many eyes would be on Sharif’s admin on how it copes with the meddling and the micro management of Islamabad from the offices in Rawalpindi.

[B]09.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Crippling drive[/SIZE]
Continuous attacks on polio vaccinators have put the anti-polio drive in peril
By Javed Aziz Khan[/CENTER][/B]

The world is concerned about polio (or Poliomyelitis) crippling the coming generations while the Pakistanis are worried about the lives of those fighting against the infectious disease since they have become the prime target of militants all over the country. In fact, polio has not killed anyone but the anti-polio drive has killed many in Pakistan during the last few months.

Apart from grave concerns over attacks on anti-polio volunteers, the world bodies had expressed serious reservations over dissolving the Polio Monitoring Cell at the Prime Minister Secretariat in Islamabad. Taking notice of the concern shown by the world bodies and reports that it may endanger the provision of 130 million US dollars fund to the country for polio eradication, caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso had to direct restoration of the cell.

The caretaker prime minister’s step, however, did not guarantee the security of thousands of young girls and boys administering anti-polio drops to the children below the age of five. The young and educated volunteers, mostly girls, are paid only Rs500 per day during the three-day campaign. A large number of parents have stopped their daughters from taking part in the campaign and putting their lives at risk for the meager amount. Several women have refused to perform duty especially in tribal areas where only male vaccinators are now carrying out the campaign.

“The government should make efforts to convince the elders, the elected representatives and the religious scholars to go to the people and create awareness among them regarding polio, measles and other diseases that are crippling and killing our new generations,” Dr Gohar Amin, provincial general secretary of the Pakistan Pediatric Association, told TNS. According to the pediatrician, there is no other option but to vaccinate children under the age of five against polio and other infectious diseases.

Poliomyelitis, polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral, infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route. Although approximately 90 per cent of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In about one per cent of the cases, the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis.

“This is the responsibility of the government and its agencies to arrange for the security of those carrying out the campaigns to ensure all the children are vaccinated even in the restive tribal areas close to the border with Afghanistan,” said Dr Gohar Amin.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government authorities had to suspend the three-day anti-polio drive in Peshawar on the very first day when a two-member team of the volunteers was attacked by armed men in Kaga Wala village, in the outskirts of the provincial capital, on May 28, 2013. The 18-year-old Sharafata was killed on the spot while 20-year-old Sumbul was pronounced dead in the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. Police claimed the arrest of 14 persons in a search operation during which a sub-inspector suffered a heart attack and passed away as well.

The two young ladies, according to police and other volunteers in the area, had refused to take police escort to remain in low-profile. The strategy, however, did not work. The next day, another female volunteer sustained minor injuries when attacked in Hangu.

The World Health Organization had to call back its officials from the field after the attack, resulting into the suspension of the vaccination drive by the local district administration and health officials.

“The drive is now to be resumed on June 10 with intensified security for the volunteers,” said Commissioner Peshawar division, Sahibzada Mohammad Anis, after heading a high-level meeting of the security personnel and health officials. A number of females, however, are reluctant to be part of the drive that has claimed several lives all over the country during the last few months.

“The drive will be simultaneously carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata between June 10 and 12. This is up to the district police officers to arrange for the security in districts and the station house officers in their respective area during the three days,” Shadab Younus, the spokesperson for the UNICEF, told TNS. The authorities have to decide whether to run the campaign in phases or at the same time.

According to the UNICEF official, 3010,290 children below the age of five would be vaccinated in 18 out of the 25 districts of the KP by 8,939 teams of volunteers. Separately, over 693,000 children will be targeted in Fata during the drive. “No anti-polio campaign is being carried out in North Waziristan while in South Waziristan, vaccination is carried out only in the Wazir-dominated areas. Also, no vaccination will be carried out in the Frontier Region Peshawar,” said Shadab Younus.

The anti-polio attacks started from Karachi where five females and a male volunteer were killed on December 17 last year. The same day a young female volunteer Farzana was killed in a similar attack in the outskirts of Peshawar when she was administering drops to children along with her sister.

The then provincial government’s spokesman, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, and the local police officials tried to hush up the issue by terming the attack an act of enmity and decided to continue the campaign all over the province. The very next day, the attacks on anti-polio workers began from Shero Jhangi area on Charsadda Road, Peshawar, when armed motorcyclists opened fire on a team of anti-polio vaccinators. A male volunteer, Hilal, sustained critical bullet injuries in the attack and was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar.

Almost at the same time, a team of anti-polio vaccinators was attacked in Behram Killay in Nowshera, while another team was assaulted in Garhi Zardad in Charsadda. Few hours later, polio supervisor Zakia Begum and driver Ayaz were shot dead when they were on way to Tarkha village in the limits of Battagram Police Station in Shabqadar area in Charsadda. After a series of attacks, the vaccination was stopped all over the country.

The campaign, however, had to be restarted and that was done in January after providing police escort to all the male and female volunteers taking part in the vaccination campaign. The attackers did not stop and even started targeting the policemen accompanying the polio teams. A police constable was killed in Mardan while another was killed in Swabi during the past months while protecting the volunteers.

The writer can be contacted at [email]javedaziz1@gmail.com[/email] and followed on Twitter at @JavedAzizKhan

[B]09.06.2013[/B][B][CENTER] [SIZE="5"]Drugs and real politics[/SIZE]
Drug production and trafficking would never end unless the ‘real politics’ of the mighty nations comes to an end
By Alauddin Masood[/CENTER][/B]

“The ANF has become a failed department. Drug is being smuggled under the nose of ANF. Drug is being sold out openly and no one is there to stop it. The future of the national youths is heading towards destruction persistently. Such a huge budget is given and such a huge force is there and even then drug trafficking is not being controlled.” — Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (The News: June 1, 2013)

Interdicting drugs and conducting investigations of persons involved in drug-related crimes require a high degree of expertise and professional training. For handling this specialised job, a dedicated agency — Pakistan Narcotics Control Board (PNCB) — was created in 1973. However, after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the job was entrusted to persons whose expertise was in defending the motherland, but they were in no way qualified to handle drug trafficking because they were neither trained for it nor had the capacity and expertise to carry out investigations in cases related to drugs.

Most of the staff is inducted into the ANF, on deputation from their parent organisation, for short durations. Any new entrant to this field would need, at least, six months time to fully grasp the issue and another six months for specialised training. By the time, they start delivering their 3-year tenure comes to an end.

However, in the hands of trained and qualified people, detection of a case could lead to the arrest and busting of a whole gang of criminals. For example, in 1973, when the British detected that a Pakistani actor was carrying some drugs, they allowed him to check out from the airport under close surveillance, sell the stuff, deposit the proceeds in a bank and return to Pakistan where he was kept under close watch. After the first attempt, when that actor attempted to carry drugs the second time, he was arrested at the Heathrow Airport, produced before a court of law, along with the stuff recovered from his possession and also the full documentary evidence of his previous attempt. This led not only to the conviction of the actor but to the arrest and conviction of the entire gang of drug smugglers and their accomplices, both in the UK and Pakistan.

While a novice would feel happy with only one arrest, qualified sleuths strive for busting the entire gang involved in drug smuggling. Furthermore, there are hundreds of concealing points in a vehicle, ranging from 150 in a car to 3,500 in a ship. How could a person not fully trained for this job recover the stuff from points where the stuff is tactfully concealed by gangsters? Therefore, to entrust the job of stopping drug trafficking to the army was wrong in the first place. However, following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, it might have been justified to achieve the geostrategic goals of the “free world!”

In fact, major powers have a history of encouraging the use of drug money for achieving their strategic objectives across the globe. For instance, following Mao-led Chinese revolution, one of the Kuomintang generals escaped to the Golden Triangle area (regions bordering Burma, Laos and Thailand) with 12,000 troops. The CIA encouraged General Li to cultivate opium poppy and use the drug money to keep his troops battle worthy to pursue the ultimate goal of recapturing mainland China from the revolutionary government.

One of the former directors of CIA has written an exclusive chapter on these events in a book published by him post-retirement. Not only US agencies, their Soviet counterparts also did not lag behind in using drugs for achieving their strategic goals. During the Vietnam War, the Soviets encouraged the Vietcong to pedal drugs amongst the US troops in Vietnam so as to demoralise them and sap their fighting capabilities.

In his book “The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade,” A.W. McCoy writes: The growing opium cultivation in Burma and Afghanistan — America’s major suppliers — was largely the product of CIA’s own doings. Although the US maintained a substantial force of DEA agents in Islamabad during 1980s, the unit was restrained by US national security imperatives and did almost nothing.

In recent times, the ‘narco-politics’ made inroads in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the late 1970s (coinciding with the overthrow of Daud government in Afghanistan in 1978) as a result of the CIA’s covert activities. The actual drama started when, in April 1979, the CIA and the Afghan resistance groups started working together, eight months before the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Thereafter, according to Gerald Segal, author of book ‘The World Affairs Companion’, the Afghan war against the Soviet troops was, in part, funded by rebels in the heroin trade.

Before the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, opium production both in Pakistan and Afghanistan was mostly consumed by both the countries for quasi-medicinal purposes. It was in 1986 that Afghanistan first appeared on the list of nations producing opium. Starting production on 9950 Hectares in 1986, Afghanistan’s area under opium cultivation increased to 193,000 Hectares during 2007, producing 8,200 metric tonnes of opium (43 per cent more than 2006), which accounted for 93 per cent of the entire global production of opium that year.

Details about the CIA’s covert operations are startling. J. Cooley, author of book ‘Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism’ writes: After his inauguration in January 1981, President Reagan met Alexander de Marenches, head of the French Secret Foreign Intelligence Service SDEC, in the Oval office. The Count had suggestion for a Franco-American venture to counter the Soviet threat in Afghanistan. “Operation Mosquito” entailed using confiscated drugs precisely as the Vietcong did with the US army in Vietnam: secretly, supply the Soviet forces with illicit drugs in order to demoralise them and dissipate their fighting ability.

Interestingly, the USA had waged three ‘Wars on Drugs’ — by President Nixon in 1972, by President Reagan in 1986 and by President George Bush in 1991. Since then, direct US intervention in foreign countries had been predicted on controlling narcotics supply, but when it came to Afghanistan, immediate after US attack, the White House ordered that opium harvest may not be destroyed as that would weaken and destabilise the military government of an allied neighbouring country, writes Michel Chossudovsky in his book ‘Global War on terrorism: Part II.’

Before the US intervention in Afghanistan, following a single verdict by Mulla Omar regime forbidding cultivation of opium, the production declined by 95 per cent and consequently only 185 metric tonnes of raw opium was produced in Afghanistan in 2001. After the US occupation of Afghanistan, opium production increased from 185 metric tonnes to 8,200 metric tonnes in 2007.

The northern alliance, which is supported by the US, produced drugs to procure arms for its armed struggle, earlier against the Taliban and now the al Qaeda. In a detailed report on the drug trade by the warlords of the Northern Alliance, the Daily Mail (London) reported that the warlords exported not opium but heroin, which they prepare on a massive scale not in old kitchen tubs but in proper factories.

The UK, USA and Germany helped the Uzbek Customs Centre at Termez in installing the most sophisticated detection and screening equipment but, according to some British diplomats, the convoys of jeeps running Afghan supplies bypass the screening equipment. Once it enters Uzbekistan, the heroin is trafficked to St. Petersburg and Riga.

In the presence of a comprehensive network of smugglers, interdependent interest of all of its key players and almost identical socio-economic characteristics of the people of the region, the Afghanistan narcotics trade soon spread its tentacles to all the neighbouring countries. In Pakistan, which had no heroin addicts till 1979, the menace grew alarmingly, reaching a figure of about eight million by 2009.

Heroin addiction and drug money also fuel law and order problem, unemployment and allow ethnic/sectarian extremist groups to arm themselves, affecting the politics and economies of the entire region. It has been crippling societies, distorting the economies of the already fragile states and creating a “new narco-elite,” which has been at odds with the ever-increasing poverty of the population. In fact, drugs are now determining the politics of this region as never before.

While poppy production is a source of income for farmers, the manufacture and trade in opiates is believed to be creating huge illegal incomes and profits for the large drug dealers. It is widely believed that smuggling into KPK and other neighbouring countries is used as a means of laundering illegal drug money. The financiers of trade in KPK, as reported by the Customs and verified during field interviews by Sayed Waqar Hussain (author of book “The Impact of Afghan Transit Trade on NWFP’s Economy) suggested that all of them started their business from investment in drugs, first as carriers and later as independent suppliers. To launder their narco-dollars, they switched over to the Bara type business. In the third phase, they erected shopping centres, residential colonies and even medical centres.”

Recent efforts to combat opium production in Afghanistan have been marred by corruption and have failed to prevent the consolidation of the drugs trade in the hands of fewer powerful players with strong political connections, according to a joint report titled ‘Afghanistan Drug Industry: Structure, Functioning, Dynamics and Implication for Counter-Narcotics Policy” jointly prepared by the World Bank and the UN Office on Drug and Crime in November 2006.

About increase in the production and abuse of deadly narcotic drugs, like heroin, political analysts asserted that the drug production and trafficking would never come to an end unless the ‘real politics’ of the mighty nations comes to an end.

The writer is a freelance columnist based at Islamabad. He has served in PNCB for about 5½ [email]years.alauddinmasood@gmail.com[/email]

[B]09.06.2013[/B][B][CENTER] [SIZE="5"]Literally illiterate[/SIZE]
Besides the governments, feudal lords, sardars and waderas are equally responsible for illiteracy in the country
By Rasheed Ali
[/CENTER][/B]
Whenever there is any talk of a literacy rate and education in Pakistan, generally the education authorities are blamed for the dreadful state of affairs. The successive governments are censured, and very low budgetary allocations are criticised. And above all, rulers’ lack of political will and inefficiency of the departments concerned are blamed for low literacy rate in the country.

However, various other factors are mostly ignored, which may be equally responsible for illiteracy and lack of educational facilities in the country. Top of the list should be the behaviour of the chieftains, Zamindars, Sardars, community leaders etc., towards education.

In the following lines, three particular occurrences will be related to explain how the influential people in the country always created hindrances in promotion of education in their respective areas.

There are no two opinions about it that a feudal mindset has always been active against promotion of education in Pakistan since its creation, or even before that. The late Qudrat Ullah Shahab, a civil servant and an eminent Urdu author, penned down an interesting incident that sheds light on this mindset.

In 1952, Shahab was serving as the deputy commissioner of Jhang district of the Punjab. He writes in his autobiography, Shahab Nama (pp.536-37) that one day a Zamindar of the district came to meet him. The Zamindar himself was almost illiterate, but he made a good speech about the importance of education. In the end, he said: “Sir, do this backward district another favour. It will really be a good deed and an act of kindness on your part if you allow the opening of a primary school in my village. And if you permit, this humble servant of your highness may provide the land for that school free-of-cost, 20,000 rupees in cash for the construction of the school building, and one-year salary of one schoolteacher in advance.”

Shahab says he was amazed at this offer. He appreciated a great deal the progressiveness and generosity of that Zamindar.

“A good deed needs no permission!” Shahab told him. All arrangements will be made whenever you want. “Rather, I will try my best that the education minister himself visits your village to perform the inauguration of the school,” Shahab assured him.

The Zamindar went back very happy, praying for the deputy commissioner’s welfare.

Only a week after that, another Zamindar of the same area came to Shahab’s office and started moaning and groaning. “Sir, what have I done wrong that I have been punished so severely?” he asked.

In surprise, Shahab asked him who had done an injustice to him, and how.

In a depressing voice, the Zamindar told Shahab that the man who visited him the previous week, in fact, wanted to open a school not in his own village but in the village of the complainant.

Giving further details, the Zamindar said that the two rivals had been running a feud for generations. Sometime, they would rustle cattle heads of each other, sometime kill tenant farmers, and sometimes destroy standing crops of each other.

“But this time, the old rascal is bent on spoiling my upcoming generations. That’s why he came to you and extracted a promise about opening of a school in my village,” the Zamindar complained in a low voice.

Shahab writes that the strange assertion about the ‘disadvantage’ of opening of a school stunned him for a while. After thinking over the situation, he advised the Zamindar to pay his rival Zamindar in the same coin. “If you are ready to make the same offer and bear all expenses to be incurred on opening of a school, I promise that one school will be opened simultaneously in your rival’s village also,” Shahab told his visitor.

The Zamindar appeared to be a little bit satisfied with the suggestion. But, adds Shahab, none of them ever showed up again with their generous offers.

After some time, when Shahab narrated that incident to his friend Barrister Yousaf Sahib in Jhang, sarcastically he said: “There’s nothing unusual in it. The two Zamindars must have reached a compromise to keep the dangerous common enemy, the education, away from their villages. These big Zamindars and feudal lords still see education as their most destructive and dangerous enemy.”

The second occurrence is a firsthand experience of the writer. In the late 1980s, the Punjab government planned establishing boys and girls high schools and a dispensary in Chak No. 330/HR, Marot, Tehsil Fort Abbas of district Bahawalnagar (Punjab), as the village is situated at a central place. The small village situated deep in Cholistan desert consists of population of over 1,500 small farmers and their families. Only three or four people owned landholdings of over 50 acres each. And the same three, four “Zamindars” refused to allow opening of the schools and the basic health unit in their village. They told the government authorities that their children don’t need education and they also don’t need a dispensary, as they never fall ill.

The education development projects were transferred to some other villages.

Meanwhile, the issue remained under discussion in almost all houses of the village. What the people were told by the “Zamindars” was that the schools and dispensary, if allowed, would have brought great devastation to their families. “After getting education from these schools, boys and girls will start writing ‘love letters’ to each other, which will ruin their character and corrupt them morally and ethically,” they told the village people.

About the dispensary, they believed that some “stranger, namahram male doctors” will sit there and check up women and girls of the village, and it was not acceptable to them at all.

The third occurrence was reported in almost all national dailies four years back. The then Sindh minister for education, Pir Mazharul Haq, informed the Sindh Assembly on June 24, 2009, that more than 1,000 schools had been occupied by Waderas and they have converted them into their Autaqs (guest houses).

Also, the Supreme Court of Pakistan was informed on February 12, 2013, that hundreds of schools in rural Sindh had been converted into cattle pens by Waderas and influential people.

The incidents reported from different periods of Pakistan’s history show that no major change has taken place in the mindset of the influential people of society towards education during the past over six decades.

[B]09.06.2013 [/B][B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Taxation challenges[/SIZE]
The new government must take cognizance of disparities in the
existing tax system and ensure redistribution of wealth through
progressive taxation rather than thriving on indirect taxes
By Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq[/CENTER][/B]

As the national kitty is empty and economy is in doldrums, the real challenge for budget makers of the new government is to devise a comprehensive strategy to tap the real tax potential of the country, which is not less than Rs 8 trillion.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), despite using all kinds of negative tactics to achieve the target of Rs 2381 billion for the current fiscal year, has now conceded that it would hardly collect anything around Rs 1975-1985 billion. On the one hand, the FBR has perpetually failed to collect the assigned targets while on the other its main reliance remains on indirect taxes, levied even under the garb of income tax, shifting the burden on the poor and favouring the rich. During the last two decades, the FBR has been imposing all kinds of regressive taxes, blocking genuine refunds, raising fictitious demands and fudging figures, yet miserably failed to improve tax-to-GDP ratio, which at 9 per cent is one of the lowest in the world.

There is a consensus amongst all experts that economic viability of Pakistan depends on bringing tax-to-GDP ratio to 15 per cent at least. For this goal, some radical changes are required e.g. running the FBR through an independent board of directors comprising professionals, documenting economy through reduction in the exorbitant sales tax rate, facilitating businessmen to register with the FBR, making tax base equitable and enforcing simpler and fairer tax procedures to encourage compliance. The main emphasis should be on investments and not tax collection as higher growth and enhanced productivity automatically yield more taxes.

Level playing field should be provided to all through transparent procedures and stringent accountability. The new government should reprioritise its goals in the coming budget where tax incentives should be linked with industrial and business growth. There should be an end to issuance of Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) that promote and protect the cartels.

Prevalent massive evasion in customs, income tax and sales tax can only be countered through implementing an integrated Tax Intelligence System (TIS) capable of recording, storing and cross-matching all inflows and outflows. For ensuring proper tax collection, the following measures are inevitable:

All in-bound and out-bound containers should be scanned/x-rayed to counter evasion of custom duties.

Anybody who pays sales tax and reports the same to the FBR should get refund of 10 per cent of the amount; to be paid directly in his bank account provided he files income tax return. In this way we can achieve optimum tax compliance and documentation.

The procedure for claiming refund should be simple, i.e. payer of sales tax should send invoices to the Central Tax and Refund Depository, which would authorise refund from the nearest branch of National Bank, after verification of genuineness of the invoice (by checking sellers’ registration number). In this way, the FBR can develop a data base regarding sales of all persons and then can cross-verify the same with the particulars declared by them in their sales/income tax returns. Non-filers can be detected. In this scheme, people may choose not to claim full credit of sales tax paid by them since they may not be able to justify the sources of their expenses. To overcome this hurdle, the government can announce immunity for three years from scrutiny of their expenses declared through sales tax invoices alone — it would go a long way to document the economy yielding more and more revenues in the coming years and bringing all people to tax net.

This scheme would encourage people to obtain sales tax invoice for each transaction, which is presently not being insisted upon as evasion of sales tax is mutually beneficial. If sales taxpayers are given the above incentive, they would insist on sales tax invoice and the government, without expending any money or making extra efforts will be able to expand the tax net.

Such schemes were successfully implemented in Taiwan, Turkey and Venezuela. In India, the government of Kerala has introduced five per cent sales tax for all retail sales with incentives to both the shopkeepers and buyers. The shopkeepers get a 10 per cent refund of tax collected/paid to the government and the buyers enjoy coupon of Rs 5 for every purchase of Rs 100. Every week a draw is held and coupons-holders win lucrative prizes. This scheme has boosted retail sales of shopkeepers who voluntarily get registered with the government. There has been tremendous increase in revenues of Kerala after this scheme.

The new government in Pakistan must remember that if taxation is viewed as being unfair or favouring some chosen ones, no reform programme can succeed and voluntary compliance will never improve. Special efforts and rational policies aimed at restructuring the tax system and restoring public confidence in the tax officials are needed. Even a good tax system will not work if the prevalent negative mindset of the tax official remains unchanged. There is an immediate need to improve both the system and the human fabric that controls it.

The tax bureaucrats — sitting and retired — suffer from the all-knowing syndrome. They are, in fact, responsible for the existing pathetic state of affairs. They being defenders of the status quo can never bring positive, pro-growth and business-friendly changes in the existing oppressive tax system. Tax officials, thriving on oppressive system, ensure unchallenged control through complicated laws and cumbersome procedures — nowhere in the world delegated power is available to an executive authority to undo laws passed by Parliament through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs). This unconstitutional, undesirable, undemocratic and notorious practice should stop once and for all [‘Perils of tax breaks’, The News (Political Economy), February 17, 2013].

The need of the hour is a low-rate but across-the-board harmonised sales tax coupled with automated, speedy tax refund system. The system should be fair and transparent and at the same time its enforcement should be strict and stringent — there should be no sacred cows. The tax base cannot be broadened unless all the goods and services, barring essential eatables, books, children’s garments, educational tools, are brought into the sales tax net. All persons having income of Rs 500,000 or more should be taxed irrespective of source of income and must file returns electronically with declaration of assets and liabilities.

The FBR should publish directory of taxpayers every year so it can be seen how much tax is paid by high-ranking civil-military officials, judges, politicians, public office holders, rich professionals and businessmen and how much wealth is owned by them.

The government must take due cognizance of disparities and dichotomies in the existing tax system, remove them and ensure redistribution of wealth through progressive taxation rather than thriving on indirect taxes. Taxes collected should be spent for the well-being of public and not for the benefits of elites. Taxes, if spent for well-being of the public at large can make the State invincible and if squandered for the luxuries of elites — military-judicial-civil complex, landed aristocracy and politicians-turned-industrialists — are bound to lead to national disintegration, social unrest and economic disaster.

The repressive tax policies of successive governments have pushed millions of people below the poverty line. Whatever is collected from the poor — rich and mighty do not pay taxes in this Land of Pure — is wasted ruthlessly or plundered with impunity by corrupt politicians and state functionaries.

The new government will have to reverse this trend. Collection of taxes matters but the real importance lies in their spending. For strengthening democracy and economic progress, it is imperative to tax the rich, make powerful civil-military bureaucrats accountable to people and ensure equality to all.

In governance, everything is interlinked and interdependent — nothing worthwhile can be achieved without law and order, efficient justice system ensuring rule of law, infrastructure, encouraging business environment and investment in human resource.

[I]The writers are tax lawyers and Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
[/I]

[B]09.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Environmental connectivity[/SIZE]
The state of the environment indicates approaches and priorities not only of nations in global perspective but also of people at local levels
By Mohammad Niaz[/CENTER][/B]

With the advent of the modern era, changes in environmental indicators are noticeable. The relation between man and environment is indispensable. Due to this man-environment nexus, conservationists, biologists, environmentalists, and researchers are highly concerned with the future of the environment and natural resources.

The contemporary environmental scenario and modern concept of development has assumed a new dimension as compared to the pre-industrialization era. The climate change scenario and environmental threats will equally affect human beings, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

Environment connects us all in a number of ways both in global and local perspective. People belonging to different walks of life throng hilly areas or summer resorts where they enjoy naturalness and biodiversity. The aesthetic aspect of summer resorts help attract people and connect them all based on recreation or ecotourism and weather.

Since human beings have direct and indirect connection with natural resources and the environment, therefore, it’s high time that conservation efforts and approaches are geared up and streamlined. A clean environment has positive impacts on human health while a filthy environment will equally have negative impacts on our health and living. In dirty environmental condition, more water borne diseases, skin diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases will affect people to one degree or the other. Similarly, environment whether, clean or dirty, will be equally shared by human beings and biodiversity because we also share the environment with other living creatures such as birds, animals, insects, and plants.

All the biotic components are the essential parts of the environment which sustain the life on Earth. It is impossible to imagine living in isolation of the environment. Where ever we are, we become part of that particular environment. There is an essential interaction of human beings with the environment. The physical environment around us has a direct relationship with us. Our activity influences the environment and the environment influences us.

Environmental deterioration has contributed to depletion of biodiversity and deterioration of human physique. With increase in human population and to cater for their needs, pressure on available resources enhanced and more avenues explored to tap the resources such as coal, petroleum which contributed to the environmental pollution. Development of polymers which is not biodegradable has been a growing environmental challenge.

Deterioration in state of the environment connects conservationists, ecologists, environmentalists, and researchers in efforts to mitigate the environmental challenges. International conventions and agreements bind nations to link environment, conservation, and development through obligations and implementation of guidelines.

To mention few, the Convention on Biological Diversity has 193 parties; the Ramsar Convention has 167 contracting parties; the Convention on Climate Change has been ratified by 195 nations; 195 parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification work together around the world; the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has 197 parties. Similarly, there are Multilateral Environmental Agreements that bind nations towards conservation and management of natural resources and environmental resources.

Moreover, declaration of environmental days by the United Nations have also been instrumental in connecting people with the environmental and biological resources for ensuring a prosperous future both for human beings and ecosystems. All over the world, different environmental days are celebrated on different dates throughout the year focusing on particular environmental and biological entity. Participation of people in celebration of such days indicates the networking approach of the international community to educate and mobilise people in different regions of the world about their role and importance of the resources.

Implementation of a developmental project aimed to conserve biodiversity and environment of a particular area will benefit the local communities who are interwoven in the domain of such projects. An intervention contributing to environmental betterment will collaterally benefit the local communities in the immediate surroundings.

Every one of us registers an impact on the environment in one way or the other. Throwing rubbish in the open and not dumping them in dust-bins is not only environmentally unfriendly but also socially undesirable. There is a common misconception about cleanliness in our society. Mostly people clean their homes and throw trash out on the streets and roads just to keep the domestic environment clean.

While dumping garbage and solid waste in public places, it is very pathetically ignored that it will affect other people. That’s why our drains are blocked, roads are dirty, and picnic parks and places are stigmatised with trash here and there.

Everyone is responsible to keep the immediate environment neat and clean. Maintaining a good environment signifies the approach of people living in a particular place. The state of the environment indicates approaches and priorities not only of nations in global perspective but also of people at local level.

[B]09.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Not so youthful[/SIZE]
Holding youth gatherings and activities may not lead to comprehensive youth development unless an institutionally mechanised structure is formulated
By Salma Butt
[/CENTER][/B]
On June 6, 2012, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced the Punjab Youth Policy amidst 10,000 youth from across the province. The policy envisioned a promising youth development package encompassing youth representation in local bodies, provincial youth festivals, laptops for literate youth, youth internship programme, youth councils at the grassroots level and a youth development foundation to govern all youth-related work.

It is high time to talk about youth issues because Pakistan is a country with a considerable youth bulge. Approximately, more than 30 per cent population of the country falls between the age brackets of 15-29 years. The net youth bulge can be seen as a dividend if addressed and channelised productively. Leaving the same youth astray would eventually bring forth destruction, violence, crime and frustration. We also find absence of civic sense and moral attitude among youth in our society.

We also see that almost all the political parties are focusing on youth, at least, in words. They mobilised youth in the recent elections. But the question is how far these parties are pro-youth development in spirit? Youth development is an integrated approach which requires certain set of expertise, knowledge, information, skills, research and methodology.

The current trend of youth activism through gathering large numbers of youth is leading to the idea of festivity so far. Indulging youth into festivity is not bad, but without concrete youth development programme it may not yield positive results.

Youth is an equal entity of political education, social and economic empowerment and personal development. If we make further sub-categories, it encompasses personal and professional skills, employment opportunities, entertainment with civic sense, moral and ethical education, sense of ownership and trust building.

We have also witnessed an alternative youth policy introduced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has focused on youth as a federal subject, whereas in reality after the 18th Amendment in 2010, youth has become a provincial subject. It may not stay viable in essence and spirit.

The PTI has focused on youth in elections 2013 and succeeded in making the KPK government with the most popular slogan of stopping drone attacks. The party, once again, forgot that drone is not a provincial subject. While making promises to youth, the responsible political parties must keep in mind the relevance of promises with the policies. Mere political slogans without ground realities and policy frameworks may mislead the youth.

We have also seen the youth related activities executed by the government of Punjab in the last one year in line with the Punjab Youth Policy. The activities gathered youth from across the province, involved them in sports and entertainment, gave them laptops, but missed the link between the policy framework and execution. All the mentioned activities can be seen in parts, not as a coherent youth package.

The mega youth festival was dominantly taken care of by Sports Board which undermined the role of Youth Affairs Department. Politicians/parliamentarians could not develop ties with the Youth Affairs Department. On the other hand, we can take the example of Sindh Youth Department where Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Programme operates under the umbrella of the department with specific roles.

Punjab Youth Policy promised development of a youth foundation incorporated in its document with the consent of senior bureaucrats, parliamentarians, youth organisations and relevant stakeholders. However, the promised foundation could not be notified even after passing of one year. The development of foundation was part of an institutional mechanism without which the Youth Affairs Department cannot implement integrated youth development in the province.

The Punjab Youth Policy also proposed a committee comprising parliamentarians, youth representatives, civil society and administrative bureaucrats which has not yet been formed. Often such committees are headed by senior-most parliamentarians. The youth policy was formulated after an extensive consultative process across the province by taking all the relevant stakeholders on board.

Summing up the progress and way forward, it can be suggested that holding youth gatherings and activities may not lead to comprehensive youth development unless institutionally mechanised structure is formulated.

[I]The author is a youth development practitioner. She can be reached at [/I]salma_rehmat@yahoo.com.

[B]09.06.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Hopes and desperations[/SIZE]
Many challenges of irksome gravity will keep the recently
sworn-in government on tenterhooks
By Tahir Kamran[/CENTER][/B]

The completion of a successful transition from one Pakistani civilian government to another has spawned extraordinary enthusiasm in British academia, particularly its component that is engaged with South Asia. Last week, here in Cambridge, the BBC correspondent and the author of ‘Pakistan: In the Eye of the Storm’, Owen Bennet-Jones, came to share his thoughts about the future of democratic Pakistan.

He is known for his nuanced understanding of Pakistani politics with all its convolutions. Invited by Cambridge-based Pakistani cultural historian, Nasreen Rehman, his talk was held under the auspices of Pakistan Students of Cambridge in collaboration with Centre of South Asian Studies.

Contrary to the deprecation and censure that is usually meted out to Pakistan by the Western media as an irresponsible state facing doom and gloom, Owen’s talk reflected hope and sanguinity. This felt like the waft of a gentle, fresh breeze for most of us present. Resplendent over Nawaz Sharif’s electoral victory after the massive turnout in the elections, he saw Pakistan being ushered into an era of political stability.

Many challenges of irksome gravity, he enunciated reassuringly, will keep the recently sworn-in government on tenterhooks, meaning that political stability and gradual economic recovery are no longer dreams that have gone sour. The receding influence of feudal lords in the politics of Punjab and the middle-classes having greater stake in the political system are good omens for the political future of the country, he said.

One of the concerns regarding the Pakistan Muslim League-N government was its markedly ambivalent stance on the question of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. A bit fazed and flustered also over the exacerbating sectarian militancy and the relative nonchalance of the PML-N on that issue is the existential threat that must be addressed with vigour, according to Owen. However, the issues of a vexing nature like power outage or soaring inflation, he only touched lightly during his otherwise brilliant talk.

To make up for that inadequacy in Owen’s talk, Pakistani students Naveed Arif and Tayyab Safdar arranged another panel discussion, “Putting the Economy on the Right Track: Challenges and Opportunities for the New Pakistani Government”. Two extremely bright scholars in economics and financial affairs Adeel Malik from Oxford and Kamal Munir from the Judge Business School, Cambridge, were the speakers, leading what can only be described as a superlative and excellent discussion.

Adeel Malik started off on a positive note, alluding to the expansion of urbanisation, the rapid growth in the size of the middle class and the phenomenal spread in the communication network in Pakistan during the last decade, which are important development indicators in any modern state. He also mentioned the extraordinary resilience of the people against all kinds of adversity, be it natural, such as the floods in 2010 and 2011, or man-made, such as power outages, price rises and terrorism in the name of religion.

Ironically, the state’s ineptitude in providing any relief to the people in times of adversity is as clear as the light of the day. Adeel placed an emphatic stress on the rationalisation of the tax system in Pakistan. It is high time, he argued, for the government to take the tough decision of switching to direct taxation even though such a switch will obviously hit the affluent sections of the society. He questioned whether the PML-N government, being representative of the rich (read trader and merchant class), would be able to take that extremely challenging step.

With the past policies of the party in mind, the answer is probably not in the affirmative. He also suggested the levying of property tax with all earnestness to rein in rent seeking, which has served as a big impediment for economic growth. Rent seeking had virtually become the central economic activity in Pakistan during the Musharraf era, and has continued to hold that position ever since. Alongside this, the phenomenal rise in inflation had been a serious issue for Pakistan for the last five years.

This has all combined to greatly increase the inequality between the rich and the poor, erode infrastructure, and brought the state institutions to the verge of complete collapse. These problems had also encouraged cartelisation, akin to the emergence of mafias, in various sectors like real estate, sugar production and poultry, which has totally strangled the economy. Problem is that the people representing these mafias are in all the parties. In Adeel’s reckoning, the redefinition of the importance that the land holds in the economy of Pakistan, is absolutely vital. Obviously, change in our economic priorities is a pressing need.

The second speaker, Dr Kamal Munir, shared his insights, with his focus primarily on state institutions and the energy crisis. About the desperate state of sectors such as steel and railways and the crisis at PIA, Dr Munir did not advocate privatisation of any of these institutions, arguing that the government must demonstrate the will to reform rather than jettison these non-profit making concerns.

Without the government making any investment, or devising a clear-cut strategic policy, one could not expect these institutions yielding profit. The section of his talk devoted to the energy crisis was extremely illuminating. He traced the history of the problem from mid-1980s in a very lucid manner, underscoring the adverse effect that privatisation had on the energy sector, which culminated in the formulation of the 1994 power policy, the major outcome of which was the shift from hydro to thermal as the main source of energy production. This was to be done on a ‘cost-plus-return basis in US dollar terms’, whereby ‘investors were to be provided a US dollar-based internal rate of return of 15-18 per cent over 25-30-year period of the power purchase agreement after covering the operational costs.’

With the benefit of hindsight, it seems nothing but a recipe for a disaster, and, of course, guaranteed gain for IPPs. When asked if there is any way to wriggle out of it, Dr Munir advocated following the footsteps of Argentina, that very boldly rescinded such agreements, showing that sovereign states do have the capacity to act boldly for the greater good of their citizens. Can we do it, only time will tell.

[B]09.06.2013 [/B][B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Towards an egalitarian federation[/SIZE]
Political and financial autonomy for provinces is the only way to remove the sense of deprivation and alienation of the smaller provinces, but how can that be possible in the present mechanism where Punjab alone suffices for the formation of the federal government
By Tahir Ali[/CENTER][/B]

In first glance, the issue may seem outdated. It may well be rejected as anti-Punjab propaganda or an attempt to create new controversies amid too many others. Rather, it is a genuine attempt to highlight the problem of disparity among the federating units of Pakistan which not only goes against the spirit of federation but has also spread hatred against Punjab in smaller provinces.

Pakistani parliament comprises two chambers: The lower chamber called the National Assembly and the upper chamber called the Senate. The former is elected by direct universal suffrage and represents the citizens of Pakistan. The latter is elected indirectly and represents the federating units of Pakistan.

However, like most other bicameral parliaments (with the notable exception of the Italian Parliament), the Pakistani legislature is also not egalitarian.

Most of the powers are vested in the Assembly. It has the sole authority to elect the federal government and pass the budget. But the problem is that its membership is based on population and Punjab enjoys an absolute 55 per cent majority in it while the other three provinces, the federal capital and Fata account for 45 per cent of the body’s members.

The May11 elections proved that a comprehensive victory in Punjab — one of the four federation units in Pakistan — could enable a party to govern the entire federation irrespective of the collective mandate in the other three federating units — Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Punjab dominates the country’s electoral arena and accounts for 148 off the directly-elected 272 seats in the Assembly. The PML-N won primarily from Punjab bagging 129 seats (including 17 independents) there and winning only 16 from other provinces.

“Even if Pukhutuns, Balochs and Sindhis vote for one party, they can’t compete with Punjab. The ratio is 45:55. That’s why the Punjabi leaders don’t need the help of any other province. Only Punjab is sufficient for them. They win election in Punjab and govern the entire Pakistan,” writes a blogger on [url]www.pashtoonsforum.com[/url].

While the PPPP, the PTI and other parties won most of the seats in the other federating units and would represent them in the Assembly, the question is will they, even if collectively, be able to block any law that doesn’t suit their constituency? Another question arises: Is it proper and compatible with the spirit of the federation to give so much leverage to a federating unit against its other counterparts?

Political and financial autonomy for provinces is the only way to remove the sense of deprivation and alienation of the smaller provinces, but how can that be possible in the present mechanism where one province — Punjab — alone suffices for the formation of the federal government. Doesn’t it mean giving undue leverage to it vis-à-vis others? Obviously, when Punjab alone could suffice for capturing the highest slot at Islamabad, every party necessarily and naturally will try to please and win over its electorate at the neglect of other provinces. It explains why there is frequent resort to governor’s rule, palace intrigues and vote of no-confidence to snatch the throne in Punjab.

This doesn’t mean that the financial share of Punjab that has the biggest population and, therefore, needs huge funds for development in health, education and other social sectors should be slashed. It is neither fair nor desired. Neither this writer wants any reduced membership for Punjab in the Assembly. It should have the same number of seats there, even more if needed.

But my point is why can’t they have equal weight and the same authority, power and role in electing the federal government as has been constitutionally ordained for the election of the president and Senate members?

To strengthen the federation, to make the system/constitution egalitarian and to discourage the secessionist tendencies and growing discontent in smaller provinces, provinces need to be given equal weight in the assembly for the formation of the federal government, though they may retain their respective number of seats therein.

Surprisingly, the issue of disparity among the federating units in the ‘king-maker’ Assembly was neglected at the time of passage of 19th and 20th constitutional amendments. There have been demands that to reduce the clout of Punjab and to bring parity among provinces, it should be divided into two or three provinces. It is, however, doubtful the step would solve the problem.

Detractors would argue that the Senate is there with equal representation for the provinces. But it not only has no financial powers but also has no role in election of the prime minister, though it has some ministerial slots in the cabinet.

My point is when in the election of the president and the senate members, all the four provinces have equal share, the difference of their strength in parliament notwithstanding, why this can’t be arranged in the election of prime minister of the country?

In the federal and parliamentary system, normally the second/upper chamber of the parliament is introduced to give equal representation to the federating units. But it must have enough powers to safeguard the interests of federating units against imbalances in their membership in the lower/popularly-elected chamber.

The 1956 and 1962 constitutions of the country too were based on the principle of parity between the then West and East Pakistan and both accounted for half of the membership in the National Assembly. But it was flawed as it gave equal membership to both the wings instead of equal weight to them.

The principle of parity and One Unit was introduced by the West Pakistan politicians with mala fide intentions to bring the two wings at par with each other though East Pakistan accounted for over 56 per cent of the country’s population and therefore deserved greater membership in the Assembly. Against the parity principle, it was not followed in other state spheres such as allocation of defence personnel, equipment and financial assets etc.

Faced with a sense of deprivation and secessionist tendencies amongst its smaller units, Pakistan can/must suit its parliamentary/federal structure to its own needs.

The new parliament should initiate constitutional amendments in this regard. The votes of all provinces in the Assembly should have equal weight in the election of the prime minister just as in the case of the election of the president of Pakistan.

This could be done several ways. One, by giving equal weight to provinces though the present membership of Punjab and other provinces may be retained or increased.

Two, by giving the federating units equal membership in the National Assembly but that would be an injustice to Punjab which deserves greater representation in the National Assembly for its large population.

Three, Senate, with its present limited powers, is of little help to guard against provincial imbalances. It should be made more powerful, especially vesting it with financial powers.

Four, by electing the prime minister the way the president of Pakistan is elected these days where all provinces have equal weight despite the difference of membership in their respective assemblies. Five, by changing the mode of election of the prime minister from the present indirect election to direct popular election.