[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Missing the point
[/SIZE][/B]
Exclusion of labour inspections from labour laws will continue to affect the labourers

By Aoun Sahi[/CENTER]

Kasur Perveen, 23, a resident of Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore, has been working in a factory on Multan Road since 2005. Even after five years she does not have a letter of appointment or any other written document to prove that she is an employee of the factory.

With five years of experience, she is not getting even 50 percent of the minimum wage announced by the prime minister. "I think none of the workers in the factory has received an appointment letter. My first salary was Rs1,500. Five years later, I get only Rs3,000. I have to work for at least 10 hours a day to get this salary".

Besides the unresolved issue of maternity leaves, there are no separate toilets for women in the factory. "The working conditions are very poor. Getting injured while working is a common phenomenon and as the factory does not provide us health facility, in a majority of cases, labourers have to take care of it from their own pocket," she says. Perveen does not see even a ray of hope that things would get better. "During my five-year stay at the factory, I have never seen a government official coming to the factory to observe the plight of labourers."

Perveen is one of over 20 million labourers working in the Punjab province who are deprived of even their basic rights and are forced to work in poor conditions. Working conditions in the industrial sector in Punjab were never exemplary but they have deteriorated badly ever since the abolition of labour inspection in 2003.

Inspections were stopped following an executive order issued by then Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi under the provisions of the Punjab Industrial Policy, 2003, which aimed at "developing an industry and business-friendly environment" to attract investment. Physical inspection of factories was stopped through an amendment to the Punjab Factories Rules, 1978. Inspection of workplace by labour inspectors was replaced with a declaration form with the direction to the employers to furnish information pertaining to the implementation of labour laws in their units. But only around 10 percent factory owners have ever submitted these declaration forms to the labour department.

Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Industrial Relations Bill 2010 on December 8. The act once again disappointed millions of labourers in Punjab as it has not restored labour inspection in the province. Labour unions allege that the government’s decision had drastic consequences for industrial workers in the province. "Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who otherwise hates all those steps taken by former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has kept this policy of him," says Hanif Ramay, general secretary of the Muttahidda Labour Federation (MLF).

According to him, not a single industry has complied with labour laws since labour inspections were stopped. "It is because no government official is allowed to enter the premises of a factory to inspect working conditions. I am not saying that labour inspectors were doing a great job but they were at least keeping a check on factory owners to ensure implementation of some basic rights," he says.

Proper application of labour legislation depends on an effective labour inspectorate. Labour inspectors examine how labour standards are applied at the workplace. He advises employers and workers on how to improve the application of national law in such matters as working time, wages, occupational safety and health, and child labour. Labour inspectors bring to the notice of concerned authorities loopholes in labour law. They play an important role in ensuring that labour law is applied equally to all employers and workers.

Pakistan is signatory to ILO’s Labour Inspection Convention, 1947. Ramay believes that lack of labour inspection has given employers a free hand to employ a worker without a letter of appointment and sack him at will without paying him his dues. "The workers are forced to work longer hours without any financial compensation for the overtime. Nobody gets the minimum wage. The safety standards at the workplace have deteriorated and the workers are denied medical treatment and financial compensation in case of permanent injury or death in an industrial accident. The conditions of female workers are even worse," he says.

The abolition of labour inspections is a violation of human rights and labour laws, like the Factories Act, 1934. Pakistan is among the countries that spend less than 1 percent of the national budget on labour administration. According to ILO website, some studies show that the costs resulting from occupational accidents and illnesses, absenteeism, abuse of workers and labour conflict can be much higher. "Labour inspection can help prevent these problems and, thereby, enhance productivity and economic development," writes W. V. Richthofen in his book titled, Labour Inspection: A Guide to the Profession published by ILO in 2002.

"Labour inspection is the main instrument to ensure implementation of 8 core conventions of ILO. Our constitution ensures a decent livelihood to all citizens but our rulers are not interested in providing decent livelihood to people," says Zulfikar Shah, joint director Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), an NGO engaged in research, training, and advocacy in the areas of labour rights and labour legislation, etc.

Zulfikar says the Punjab government led by industrialist elite is unlikely to restore labour inspection in the province. The employers have always been suspicious of labour inspections and consider official monitoring of standards as an obstacle to increasing the profit margin. "In Pakistan, profit margins of industrialists are considered to be the highest," he says, adding that "labour inspection mechanism has always remained ineffective and weak. Still, inspection was some kind of a check on employers who were forced to maintain at least the minimum level of safety standards at the workplace. But now employers are free to do whatsoever they want to do with labourers", he says.

Unfortunately, Punjab is not the only province where labour inspection is banned. It is also banned in Sindh. "This is against the law which asks for ensuring humane and safe working conditions. So, inspection is important for labour protection," he says, adding, "in the WTO regime lack of implementation of labour laws can affect exports and foreign investment. Our government has been requesting the EU to get Generalised System of Preferences-plus status for Pakistan which will help exporters to compete in European markets but on the other it is not trying to improve labour conditions in the country. Our rulers need to know that non-compliance of labour laws can be a huge obstacle to export our goods to Western countries even with GSP-plus status," he warns.

Labour Minister Punjab, Ashraf Sohna, who belongs to the PPP, admits that labour inspections are vital for decent working conditions and to prevent workers’ exploitation by the employers. "Even I am not allowed to enter a factory to observe the working conditions of workers", he says. Sohna blames it on the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who he says, has done nothing to restore the rights of labourers and takes side of industrialists.

Sohna says he has written many times to the chief minister on the need of restoring labour inspection. He admits that Punjab has more than 20 million labourers working in different sector, but only 0.7 million of them are registered and have been getting benefits of social security.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"]Left in the lurch?
[/SIZE]
Relief and reconstruction work has been ineffective due to corruption, shortage of funds, and skilled personnel

By Tahir Ali[/CENTER]

Shortage of resources, capacity constraints, lack of commitment or flawed priorities on part of the government seem to be the main hurdles in starting the reconstruction phase for the flood affectees in the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Millions of people countrywide made homeless by the floods and living in camps and make-shift homes have been left to face the vagaries of weather as winter has set in. Feeling neglected and disappointed, many have started rebuilding their shelters temporarily.

According to World Bank and Asia Development Bank Damage Needs Assessment (DNA) report, around 1.7 million households have lost their homes worth $1.59 billion in floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. If we take the low figure of 8 as an average household size, then around 13million people have lost their homes countrywide.

Floods inflicted a loss of around $10bn on Pakistan. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa suffered $1.2 billion losses and requires $2.2 billion for flood reconstruction. Total reconstruction cost for all sectors is between $6.8 billion to $8.9 billion. The social sector, including the housing one, needs between $2.01bn $2.7bnn for the purpose.

The government plans to provide Rs100,000 to each flood-affected household for reconstruction of homes. An enormous Rs170bn and Rs30bn are required for the entire country and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively for the purpose.

Reconstruction of homes can continue but only with the generous support of local entrepreneurs and international community as the challenge is greater than the resources at hand and the degree of determination shown by decision-makers.

A Pakistan army team recently reached to a family in a village near Peshawar alongwith building material when it was reported that the locals had started rebuilding their houses on self-help basis. The team also promised to help build houses of other people soon. But not all people are that lucky. Most are waiting for the much needed first or second tranche of Rs20,000 as house compensation given through Watan cards.

Various local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have started building model housing schemes in the flood-hit zone but much more needs to be done by the government, the international community, the philanthropists and NGOs.

According to Adnan Khan, spokesman for Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the first home reconstruction tranche of Rs20,000 has been provided to 180,000 out of around 0.3mn households. "The flood affectees will get Rs20000 in the next installment too. But cheques for next tranche will be released as the PDMA receives money for the purpose," he says.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has diverted Rs18bn this fiscal year for floods related expenditures but it still faces a shortfall of Rs107 billion for post-flood and militancy reconstruction projects during the next 18 months. Adnan says Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also needs Rs86 billion for Malakand reconstruction and rehabilitation and Rs234bn for post militancy reconstruction needs. "We need assistance from donors to provide the next installment of Rs20,000 to flood victims for construction of housing units," Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, told the PDF meeting last month.

An official says on the condition of withholding his name that province have received nothing from the centre or the international community for the reconstruction phase as yet, making it difficult for it to start the phase in full swing. But with little fiscal gap available with the provincial government to allocate sufficient money in this head, the federal government and international community should come forward and provide the needed money.

Prolonged delay in the release of tranches for house reconstruction would waste the earlier money as people cannot be expected to keep the money for long. While the federal government has decided that the second installment of compensation would be paid under a unified formula, it cannot be justified as requirements and expenditures for building houses in the northern and southern parts of the country would not be the same.

Nepotism, political interference and corruption in the nomination of affectees for compensation have allegedly made verification (of affectees) difficult. Adnan, however, says, "The government has introduced complaint mechanism at the district level and anyone can contact local or provincial officials for the purpose."

There are complaints that far off and militancy-prone areas have been neglected and the entire focus of the government and local and international NGOs has been on the easily accessible areas. Najamul Aleem Sayyed, who worked with a foreign NGO during floods in Nowshera, agreed that some areas like Mohib Banda were unbelievably the most favourite destinations of all aid agencies. "The problem is that relief agencies and the government departments have been concentrating on relief work at the easy-to-operate areas neglecting other areas," he says. Zakhi Qabristan, Mughal Key, Mian Esa, Ali Muhammad and Meshaka are some of the areas whose residents claim they have been totally neglected.

Manzur Ahmad, a social worker from a worst affected area in Akbar Pura, is unhappy that his village had been totally neglected even though it lies at some distance from motorway.

"Our village was badly hit by floods. Nearly all homes were washed away. Our agriculture lands were damaged. But there is no support from the government and NGOs. There is no reconstruction. We still wait for issuance of Watan cards and house compensation. Provision of shelter is crucial at this stage. The people have built their homes temporality after they lost hope of any government action on the home rebuilding initiative," he says.

Khalid Khan, district chief of Muslim Aid in Charsadda, says, of the 57,000 affected families in the city, 30,000 have been provided tents while the rest are going without them. "Shelter is the most urgent need at present. Livelihood restoration, quilts for women and children, and restoration of lands for farming are other vital needs. Our organisation intends to build a model village at Majoki where 55 families are still living in tents but have received little attention and relief support."

"In this village a brave soul had saved 41 lives during floods before he was swept away by floods. His family has been given no financial support as yet," Khan informs. The challenge is big but Pakistan has proven before that it can meet the challenge. In the reconstruction strategy of Kashmir earthquake, Rs175,000 were provided to the affected families in installments alongwith house designs and technical assistance. At the end of 2009, 95 percent of the destroyed houses were rebuilt with 97 percent of these according to the standards and hence safer.

But in the case of the 2008 Balochistan earthquake, the affectees were given one-time cash grant of Rs350,000 and Rs50,000 for completely and partially damaged houses respectively but without any technical assistance or required reconstruction standards. As a result, the rate and quality of reconstruction, according to UN-HABITAT engineers, is extremely poor there. The DNA also wants the reconstruction projects to be based on transparency, monitoring, and evaluation. While the Balochistan victims were given Rs350,000 for completely destroyed home, those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also deserve better package.

In most of the flood-hit areas, many people had built homes on lands near the rivers. Their lands have been eroded and they do not have the place to rebuild their homes. General Nadeem Ahmed, head of the National Disaster Management Authority, has "strong reservations" over the house reconstruction plan okayed by the government. The flood zoning policy must be strictly implemented. Construction of houses, hotels and shops near or on banks of the rivers should never be allowed.

The PDMA is supposed to deal with the crisis but it has only around 15 personnel in staff. At its present form, it is just a data collection, information dissemination, and coordination body. While it may suggest schemes, plans and strategies for reconstruction it has been kept out of the implementation and monitoring of these schemes. The result is obvious.

The PDMA should have offices in all tehsils and districts of the province. Its staff should also be increased commensurate with its responsibilities and functions. The badly-hit Malakand division inhabitants are in dire need of financial support as the area will soon become inaccessible for aid agencies. Relief and reconstruction work has been ineffective due to corruption, shortage of funds, resources, and personnel.

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Mountain matter[/SIZE][/B]

About 1.5 to 2 billion people’s lives in Asian Himalayan region depend on river systems that are fed by glaciers

By Muhammad Niaz[/CENTER]

The importance of mountains was focused on with the observance of International Mountain Day in 2002 to ensure sustainable mountain development. Understanding the constraints and opportunities of mountains and local communities, the United Nations General Assembly celebrates International Mountain Day each year on December 11 to promote global awareness about the significance of mountains in socio-economic and environmental aspects.

Generally considered as geological barriers, but beyond this layman perception, mountain entities render invaluable services and provide innumerable tangible and intangible benefits for the well-being of humans. Preserving mountain environment deserves special consideration in policy development owing to the role that these entities play in socio-economic and environmental perspective at local, regional, and global level.

Report on Sustainable Mountain Development 2009 maintains that mountain environments are essential to the survival of global ecosystem and their importance can be gauged from the fact that they are the cradle of life, supporting biodiversity, providing food, water, minerals, forest products, energy, and recreation. They also provide means of livelihood to billions of people over the globe associated with the world’s mountains and highlands.

Mountains are not isolated entities. Being susceptible to rapid erosion, landslides, habitat fragmentation, accessibility and connectivity factors, and loss of genetic diversity, mountain ecosystems are rapidly changing. Vulnerability of mountains to environmental impacts, land use pattern, and poverty prevailing among the mountain inhabitants affect their livelihood and mountain ecosystem.

Majority of the forest cover in Pakistan occurs in northern mountains. Forests cover about 3 million hectares, less than 4 percent of the country. Given the country’s total forest resources, about 40 percent of forests occur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while about 15.7 percent of forests occur in Northern Areas.

Almost all mountainous forests of the country are exposed to deforestation and habitat fragmentation in one way or the other. The hilly areas of our country, such as Murree, Galiat, Kaghan, Swat, Malakand, and Chitral, to mention a few, are also experiencing increased human settlements due to population growth.

Since 1970s, mountain ecosystems have been increasingly considered in several research and developmental initiatives. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro served as a driving force in this regard. Adoption of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 has been instrumental in promoting awareness of the importance of mountain ecosystems and communities.

Working as a regional research and development agency since 1983, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) promotes sustainable mountain development in the Hindukush-Himalayan region and its mission is to ensure development of mountain ecosystem and improve the livelihood indicators of mountain populations.

Mountain ecosystems, occupying about one-fifth of the world’s landscape, are found throughout the world from the equator almost to the poles. To meet their needs, about 10 percent of the world’s population depends on mountain resources, while nearly 40 percent inhabits the adjacent watershed areas.

Mountains serve as water towers providing water to billions of people over the globe. About 80 percent of the earth’s fresh water originates in the mountainous regions which not only play a crucial role in the supply of freshwater to humankind, in both mountains and lowlands but also serve as headwaters of all the major rivers of the world. In semi-arid and arid regions, over 90 percent of river flow comes from the mountains.

The stored water in mountain lakes and reservoirs serves as a potential source for generating hydro-power besides serving as recharge of aquifers. Himalayan glaciers regulate water supply to the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Thanlwin, Yangtze and Yellow Rivers benefiting hundreds of millions of people in the region. According to the WWF reports, these glaciers are experiencing retreat at the rate of about 10-15m each year, owing to the intensifying global warming scenario.

Reports indicate that about 1.5 to 2 billion people in Asian Himalayan region depend on river systems that are fed by glaciers. If the supply of water from highland glaciers is affected, serious socio-economic repercussions are inevitable and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals for fighting poverty and improving access to clean water will be jeopardised.

The Hindukush, Karakoram, and Himalaya mountain ranges, occupying land mass in six countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan) possess the world’s third largest snow/ice mass after the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. These frozen water towers are the prime source of ground water recharge in the region that provides about 70 percent of freshwater to the people downstream in South Asia, Central Asia and China.

Being the centers of biological diversity, mountain plants and animals survive under the environmental conditions of their habitat because of their adaptability. Mountains support most important and significant mountain biota in the form of floral and faunal diversity and endemism as the lowland biodiversity is nearly depleted. Being a slow-growing conifer, the Himalayan Yew is currently listed as an endangered plant by the WWF. The threatened fauna of highlands including Snow leopard, Giant flying squirrel, and Tragopan pheasant besides other are some of the important rare species for whom mountains serve as natural sanctuaries.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tropical mountain forests have experienced annual population growth and deforestation. Over the globe only 8 per cent of all mountains are protected. Mountains in adjacent countries serve as corridors for faunal movement and migration across borders.

In the Hindukush-Himalayan region mountains’ sensitivity to all climatic changes compounds threats of avalanches, landslides, and floods and these often results in disasters jeopardising socio-economic progress of a country and affecting hilly communities. According to reports about half of the world’s population is affected in various ways by mountain ecology and the degradation of watershed areas.

According to an international conference on mountains as early indicators of climate change last year ascertains that melting of glaciers provides the most obvious evidence of global warming. All over the world, indigenous people are confronted with unprecedented climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment has pointed out that the changing earth’s climate will affect ecosystems, communities, and cultures that require large-scale initiative and positive global action. Reports highlight that since the end of the 19th century the total surface area of glaciers worldwide has decreased by 50 percent.

Mountain tourism is one of the important sources that contribute to development of local economy and improving livelihood of mountain people. Tourism markets also place great demands on fragile mountain ecosystems.

The government of Pakistan had implemented a 5-year Mountains Areas Conservancy Project to safeguard mountains and their environment from degradation with active participation of local people. Its second phase started as Programme for Mountain Areas Conservation to build on previous initiatives. However, given the magnitude of the local people inhabiting highlands, such initiatives are inadequate to halt degradation of mountain environment.

Encroachment of local people into the wilderness often results in human-wildlife conflict. Unplanned sprawling of human settlements and increase in human population and over exploitation of natural resources in mountain areas pose serious problems of ecological deterioration in these watershed areas. To meet their needs, mountain people carry cultivation of marginal lands on hillsides in the form of terraced fields which accelerate soil erosion while many areas experience excessive livestock grazing, deforestation, and loss of biomass cover.

There is a need to bring in more conservation-oriented projects in the mountainous areas of the country and promote national policies that would provide incentives to local people for the use and transfer of environment-friendly technologies and farming and conservation practices. Proper management of mountain resources and socio-economic development of the people deserves immediate action by strengthening partnership and mutual collaboration at national and international level.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][B]Politics of local government elections[/B][/SIZE]

The only solution to ineffective local governance is to conduct elections as soon as possible

By Salman Abid[/CENTER]

The issue of local governance and its political implications remains mired in controversy to this day, a subject which seems to have been left to political wheeling and dealing. Perhaps a change has already set in; under the 18th Amendment, local governments are now a provincial matter.

Still, our political leadership seems to be disinterested in strengthening both the local government system and democratic practices at the grassroots level. The federal and provincial governments are under obligation to hold the elections of the local government as soon as possible, but contrary to this, they are using delaying tactics.

It is an irony that the local government system is being run through non-elected people. Since there is no consensus on elections at the provincial level, the Secretary Election Commission has flatly refused to announce the date of the elections. The task of holding elections and promulgation of local government ordinance are delayed under the pretext of consultation process.

One of the basic questions on this issue is whether the political leadership in the national and provincial governments really interested in the elections and has the political will to ensure a dynamic and vibrant system of local government in the country?

Those in the present government set-up, including coalition partners, seem to believe that local government system would be a hurdle in achieving their ‘interests’. The reason behind this understanding can be attributed to the fact that local governments’ inherent aim is to decentralise political, administrative, and financial powers from provinces to the district level.

Advocates of local government system flay provincial governments’ paying lip service to the issue of local governments. We have been witness to the clash between provincial and local governments on the issues of administrative and financial powers from 2001-2008. In addition to this, provincial governments of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have taken a step in the right direction by ensuring local bodies polls in the near future.

The government of Punjab and Sindh are striving on this mission by successive amendments to crush the prevailing system of local bodies. A committee set up by the Punjab government is reviewing previous and prevailing systems of local bodies. In October 2010, the Punjab provincial government passed the amendment in section 179 of 2001 ordinance which empowered the government to announce within 365 days the schedule of local government elections with effect from October 21, 2010. It is a reflection of Punjab government’s approach towards the devolution plan.

There is a disagreement on the formula of power sharing among the ruling partners. For example in Sindh, a battle is going on between MQM, PML-F, ANP, JUI, and PML-Q against the PPP to have larger chunks of power. The MQM is in favour of devolution and rejecting the wish of PPP to have 1979 ordinance back in force.

The same seems to be the case in Punjab where the PML (N) and PPPP negotiate power sharing while keeping the PML-Q at bay. In some districts, especially in rural areas of Punjab, PML-Q is in a position to oust both the PML-N and PPP. Balochistan and KPK have no better position on this issue.

Political parties stick to their guns by, on the one hand, condemning dictatorship and, on the other, ignoring their own undemocratic decisions, for example by putting hurdles in the smooth functioning of devaluation plan. In my view, military dictators support local governance system just to win over people’s support. We always expect from political parties and civilian government to come and strengthen the local accountable governance system through third tier of the government.

But, unfortunately, the political elite emphasises centralised approach against the concept of decentralisation. It is interesting to notice the political forces practically contradicting their stated commitments by appointing bureaucratic administrators on the district and tehsil level.

The article 140-A of the Constitution of 1973 reads as follows, "Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative, and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the governments."

A significant principal laid down in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by both the main political parties says that elected representatives will be give importance against nominations. This has been violated. But the real test to the claims of the political forces is to translate democratic norms into practices.

The delaying tactics of local government elections mainly supported by non-democratic people and our political elite serves their agenda in the name of democracy. Flood relief and rehabilitation activities have also suffered badly because of absence of local government system. The elected representatives of local government are made accountable and are within the access of common people at the local level.

Unfortunately, our political elite and political parties have learnt nothing from their own mistakes. The legislators in Pakistan are least interested in legislation. If every institution focuses things which it should not how can the system work? The present democratic forces should build consensus on holding local elections if they want to maintain credibility and legitimacy. The only solution to ineffective local governance is to conduct elections as soon as possible.

The writer is a political analyst and a human rights campaigner. He can be reached at [email]salmanabidpk@gmail.com[/email]

19-12-2010
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Brutal honesty[/SIZE][/B]

It is problematic in the extreme to censure Baloch
nationalists for admittedly objectionable actions without contextualising such actions and recognising that they are not actions as much as
reactions

By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar[/CENTER]

It would be all to easy to spend the next few paragraphs pontificating about the Haj fiasco that finally culminated Tuesday in the sacking of two federal ministers, the resignation of two more and the dramatic departure from the coalition benches of the Jamia’t-e-Ulema-e-Islam – Fazlur Rahman (JUI – F). One could lament the lack of maturity within our political mainstream at a time when maturity is exactly what is required. One could underline the need for the media to eschew sensationalism and stop inciting ‘regime change’.

I would rather avoid comment on the matter entirely and focus instead on a news item that garnered considerable coverage this past week, even if fleetingly. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday released a special report on target killings of teachers across the province of Balochistan. Members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) were present on the launch of the report in the federal capital, ostensibly to lend their credibility to the HRW’s findings.

The report essentially slams Baloch nationalist elements that have taken up arms in pursuit of their political goals for employing violence against unarmed civilians — mostly teachers — whose mistake only is that they are Punjabi settlers. Indeed it is true that target killings of Punjabis have increased noticeably in recent months as the long and simmering conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Pakistani state has intensified. Many of the attacks perpetrated by militants have been quite gruesome, and indicate a growing xenophobic streak within the nationalist movement.

In principle I agree with the authors of the report that indiscriminate violence against non-combatants in a war zone cannot be defended, per se. Moreover, as someone committed to articulating and building an alternative political project to the unitary state model that has been foisted upon oppressed ethnic groups in this country — particularly the Baloch — I find it difficult to understand how the modus operandi that has been adopted by the more radical nationalist elements in Balochistan actually serves the cause of either the long-suffering Baloch people or other oppressed nationalities and exploited classes within Pakistan.

But this is my personal political position, and cannot be the basis of an absolute condemnation of the actions of militants in Balochistan. In fact I find it problematic in the extreme to censure Baloch nationalists for admittedly objectionable actions without contextualising such actions and recognising that they are not actions as much as reactions.

I am not suggesting that HRW, HRCP or other human rights organisations believe that target killings of Punjabis are to be considered in isolation from the resentment and alienation that is sweeping across Balochistan due to decades of state repression and marginalisation. In fact the HRW report does start by recognising underlying political realities.

Ultimately however, the liberal paradigm of human rights that underlies the existence and operation of organisations such as HRW inadequately captures the essence of social conflicts such as that which has raged in Balochistan for the best part of six decades. Human rights as envisaged in the liberal tradition are individualist and the material bases of inequality and oppression are all too often isolated from the ideal of individual ‘human’ rights.

Hence while any one human life cannot be considered any more or less valuable than any other, it is also intellectually and politically suspect to not clearly preface ‘human rights violations’ with a clear and holistic statement of the structural violence that underpins any asymmetrical conflict. In particular, as is the case in Balochistan, in a conflict between the modern state (with all of its coercive force) and those who claim to resist the modern state, employing liberal, individualist notions of rights can be very dangerous.

What I mean to say is that when an organisation such as HRW launches a report with the media fanfare that it necessarily generates, it does so knowing that the issue being highlighted will be magnified or suppressed depending on the wider political environment. So, in this case, HRW is aware that the Pakistani state has consistently portrayed Baloch nationalists — militant and moderate both — as enemies of the proverbial Pakistani nation, replete with regular invocations of the all-powerful ‘foreign hand’.

Surely HRW knows that over the past few weeks target killings of Baloch nationalists — and moderates at that — have increased exponentially. It also knows that these killings have been virtually blacked out in mainstream media accounts. The HRW is entitled to — indeed I may even be willing to say that it should — highlight the excesses of Baloch nationalists. But given what has been happening in Balochistan in recent times, why not assert without hesitation the asymmetry of the conflict in the province and thereby ensure a reading of history and an analysis of the present that is far less prone to manipulation by the powers-that-be?

The question is, of course, rhetorical. Organisations such as the HRW and those embedded in conflict zones such as the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders incessantly assert their non-partisan character. They operate within the confines of established international law — which is premised on the same liberal, individualist, and western notions that underlie the paradigm of human rights.

These organisations do a lot of very important work, and it would be foolish to view them entirely in black and white terms. But it is just as foolish to think about the international human rights regime outside of the prevailing political, economic, and cultural context.

I am just as willing to call attention to the injustices meted out by ethnic-nationalists in Balochistan — or anywhere else for that matter — as the next person. But I refuse to adopt an untenable political and moral position that equates the human rights violations of the nationalists to the gross structural violence of the Pakistani state. In any case, adopting such a position does not help in stemming indiscriminate violence, and may even reinforce the ‘cornered tiger’ psychology that has established deep roots within the Baloch, and particularly youth. I am a friend of ordinary Baloch and Punjabis both, but real friendship requires brutal honesty. And perhaps such honesty is not a luxury available to us all.

[CENTER][B][COLOR="SeaGreen"][SIZE="4"]Lessons in history[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Our polices have been so
security-centric or obsessed with security
primarily due to Indian military threat that we could not evolve a true
democratic
culture

By Raza Khan[/CENTER]

Dr Razia Sultana is a well-known professor of history of Pakistan. Besides a long career in university teaching, Dr Sultana has conducted voluminous research on various eras of history of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Consequently, she has authored tens of research papers on different historical periods.

She is presently chairperson Department of History, Quaid-e-Azam University. She got her PhD from University of Peshawar in History as well as obtained a master’s degree in the discipline of History from the same university by clinching a gold medal. Later she went as a Fulbright fellow to US and did her postdoctoral from Center on International Cooperation New York University.

Before joining QAU, Islamabad, she also taught at the University of Peshawar. As a visiting faculty, she has taught at the Foreign Services Academy of Pakistan (Islamabad); Department of Social Sciences, University of Missouri; Center of International Scholars Clarke Center Dickinson College; Department of History, West Minster College, Missouri; Dickinson College, Pennsylvania; Department of History, South Novak College, Connecticut. Dr Sultana’s area of expertise is Modern Afghanistan and Central Asian History and Politics. TNS sat with her and discussed various contemporary issues of Pakistan and Afghanistan and recent historical developments and their context. Excerpts follow.



The News on Sunday: Contemporary Pakistan is facing the worst crisis. Not only is there a political insurgency aimed at separatism going on in Balochistan but also a religious insurgency aimed at running over the state itself. So what future lies ahead for the country?

Razia Sultana: Although this is true but at the same time the country’s youth is extremely vibrant. What they need is to put their energies in the right direction. I am optimistic that if we let this political process continue, the state would be able at some stage, if not now, to provide the wherewithal, direction and leadership to the youth. I don’t believe in the concept that leaders only exist in the political arena or may emerge from the same sphere. The spheres of education and economy also have their leaders where media have its own leaders. Such leaders in Pakistan are numerous. This is a globalised and interdependent world in which the concept of leadership is very diffused. Moreover, all the things can’t be corrected by one leader; we can’t bank upon Asif Zardari or the likes to come to our rescue. We and you are the leaders of our own domains and this is a big contribution to the national mainstream. This gives me a lot of confidence.

TNS: How would you evaluate the state of Pakistani federalism?

RS: Our polices have been so security-centric or obsessed with security primarily due to Indian military threat — perceived as well as real — that we could not evolve a true democratic culture. The idea of a strong federation we got from the 1935 Act which the new state of Pakistan adopted as interim constitution. We carried this element over to our earlier constitutions. In the 1973 Constitution, we actually disassociated from this aspect of 1935 Act but in practice we continued with the same strong federation. So the major problem of political instability within the Pakistani federation is of over-centralisation. If federalism in its true spirit is introduced in our country many of our acute problems will solve themselves. Rather true federalism is the only to keep Pakistan united.

TNS: What is the state of leftist movement in today’s Pakistan?

RS: With the demise of Soviet Union, the basic argument of ‘Left’ ‘Right’ or ‘Centre’ has to a great extent diluted. In Pakistan political division of the yore has got very mixed up. We have people who are moderate and liberal but the watertight polarisation of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ is no more there.

TNS: Does that mean that the Leftist movement has got diluted into the liberal movement?

RS: There is no liberal or leftist movement in the real sense of the word. What we are facing are peculiar problems. In the post Cold War era, these problems are greatly related to the uni-polar world and enlightened moderation with liberal ideas. The only challenge to it comes from the ideological spectrum. I think liberal and moderate people should provide a strong platform. This is the only way to stop youth from going the other way to the platform provided by the religious groups. This is the only way also to save our youth from being misled. Right now the youth of Pakistan do not have any other alternative platform to address their grievances.

TNS: How would you evaluate Pakistan civil society?

RS: Pakistani civil society is really vibrant which was very much evident during the Lawyers Movement. Not only that, our media is quite vibrant which is a very strong pillar of the civil society; the NGO and technocrat sector is also quite talented.

TNS: You have conducted research on Pakhtoons in particular. Are they peaceful people or bellicose culturally which may be the main factor behind religious militancy and terrorism?

RS: Pashtoons are peaceful and cultural people, historically rich in traditions. They are deeply hospitable; this itself shows they are peaceful and optimistic people. Moreover, Pashtoons have an open society and they want to interact and establish relationship with people from other cultures. Pashtoons provide refuge to people in ‘need’ at the cost of their families and personal lives. So the culture of Pashtoons show they are good people and their history also tells us that they are not as they are today — portrayed as terrorists or militants. It is in fact a political construct that Pashtoons are depicted as terrorists.

TNS: What are the factors responsible for extremism and terrorism in Pakistan?

RS: Extremism and terrorism is a very complex phenomenon and as a historian I cannot single out one factor for its rise and spreading. However, the main cause of violence in our country is the direct outcome of the Afghan conflict.

TNS: Do you think that religious extremism and terrorism in Pakistan has much to do with preventing genuine political actors to do the decision-making by the powers-that-be?

RS: What you are talking about definitely is correct but it played its role at the stage of proliferation of extremism and terrorism. Usually we think that we cannot control extremism and terrorism because we have weak institutions, crisis of leadership and frequent disruption of the political process by the military. These factors have a direct role in the spread of militancy and radicalism. Our entanglement into regional conflicts in Kashmir and Afghanistan has had much to do with the rise of extremism and militancy.

TNS: What is the reason for so many Punjabis becoming Taliban, of late?

RS: With regard to Punjabi Taliban, it more has to do with groups like Jaish etc. which are focusing on the Kashmir dispute. This is the main cause of Punjabis becoming militants.

TNS: What has been the impact in a nutshell of military and civilian bureaucracy’s too much or almost complete involvement in the statecraft or politics?

RS: Military has been contending that politicians are too corrupt and incompetent to run the system and this is one justification they give for their dominating the political arena. I think it is from both the political and military sides, and on top of it the international causes, that the military has come to dominate decision-making in Pakistan. We have a strong and rival country like India on our border, then we have had our political disagreements with Afghanistan regarding border and territorial issues. That insecure situation, with two superpowers playing very strong role behind the scenes, has really been a significant factor in making military to play a dominant role in Pakistan. So there are many stakeholders that inhibited political process to take its own course.

TNS: What is the nature of current wave of religious extremism in Pakistan?

RS: I think the nature is political. Ideology has been use to rally the people around, provide them a platform, mobilise them. All through history whether in ancient or medieval or modern time, ideology has been used to mobilise people. See the history of Afghanistan where mullahs played a role against the British they provided leadership also. Those who have studied the dynamics of Swat crisis have come out with the conclusion that though Swatis have been very peaceful and their area is considered a very stable part of Pakistan, still whenever uprising took place it was the mullah who spearheaded it.

TNS: It means that mullahs have risen due to the leadership vacuum in Pakistan and they have political objectives too primarily to overrun the state?

RS: I think it is not like that. There are different types of societal leadership. At least two types: political and religious. Maulvis have been enjoying street power all through known history of this area. But it does not mean that that in normal times they are accepted as political leaders. Although Pakistan and Afghanistan are predominantly Muslims, the arena of politics and statecraft is dominated by very secular people. Typical example are Pakhtoon which according to one of their popular saying ‘Pakhtoonwali Is half Kufr.’ Many Pashtoons sport beards and turn rosaries but the same men run liquor and gun shops or are involved in smuggling. So the nature of militancy in our country is political and these ideological and religious tools are used to keep the militants together.

With respect to Afghan Taliban, you could say that they established for some six years a role-model kind of a state. They experimented ideology into a political structure. In this context, you are right that in FATA and some settled areas of Pakistan where Taliban come to establish their own institution and run these according to their own rules they try to govern it which shows they have political objectives.

TNS: Do you think that people in FATA and KPK are prone to ideological manipulations more than other parts of Pakistan?

RS: Of course people are informed; they would not like to follow these people blindly. They would think about it, see the situation around and foresee the future consequences of what they are doing or asked to do by obscurantist elements. There are many Wazirs, Mehsud, Bhittains from North and South Waziristan who are in bureaucracy, military and other important professions and contributing greatly to the state. But there are many back in North, South Waziristan, Orakzai and elsewhere who are leading Taliban and making their ranks and files. So the difference is that of enlightenment.

(Author email: [email]razapkhan@yahoo.com[/email])

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="SeaGreen"]Thirty nine years down the road[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Staying mute on why the East Pakistan required a separate homeland will not help Pakistan

By Abid Qayum Suleri
[/CENTER]
Thirty nine years have passed since fall of Dhaka. For decades it was a taboo in Pakistan to discuss the actors and factors leading to separation of East Pakistan. Even now, very little discussion is held about the people of East Pakistan, why they wanted independence from West Pakistan and a separate homeland. In most history and text books written in Pakistan, the discussion on this topic is very conveniently diverted to the negative role of India. The usual conclusion is that the anti federation elements in East Pakistan got support from Indian Army and the Pakistani Army had to surrender and Bangladesh fought its way to independence. Others blame the stubbornness of Z.A. Bhutto and Sheikh Mujeeb for the creation of Bangladesh.

Well, partition of Pakistan was not as simple as mentioned in the text books. In order to learn a lesson from history we need to confront the truth and truth is that deprivation, social injustice, exclusion and marginalisation suffered by the people of the then East Pakistan had developed soon after 1947. The fact of the matter is that unequal distribution of resources turned their blessings into a curse. Social injustice destroys the basic fabric of a society and lack of democratic governance coupled with economic disparities shake the foundations of a nation. All of the above mentioned factors worked paving way for Indian interference and resulted in the fall of Dhaka.

The history is distorted in South Asia to serve the political interests of ruling elites, civilian and military establishment. Three types of histories prevail here; one that is narrated in our country, the other that is taught in the neighbouring country and a third that is the true history which the masses won’t discuss due to taboos, state of denial, fear or ignorance. The same is true for the history of partition of Pakistan.

One should observe the current state of affairs to understand historic events leading to the inception of Bangladesh. Our civil and military establishment have been denying the Balochistan and FATA crisis for decades. They claimed was that a small minority caused the disturbances in Balochistan and FATA through external support. Establishment forces still deny the disparity in South Punjab claiming it to be the issue of some minor Seraiki politicians. These forces are also denying that inflation, power shortage and unemployment would bring the people to street in Punajb and urban Sindh leading to socio-political sabotage. This is the repetition of same blunder that we committed in East Pakistan when our civil and military establishment denied prevalence of sense of deprivation among people of East Pakistan.

Individual deprivation, poverty and exclusion when gets an identity be it creed, ethnic, provincial, sectarian, or class leads to creation of two groups, "have" and "have nots". Like majority of population in smaller provinces of Pakistan today, back in the sixties the people of East Pakistan found that they were in have not group. They were forced to join the struggle between haves and have nots which culminated in the creation of Bangladesh (although another struggle between haves and have not of Bangladesh is on now).

Unfortunately the angels ruling our country did not learn their lesson and tried to hide the history under the carpet. They followed East India Company model of ruling the masses through few selected elites in East Pakistan and instead of rectifying their mistakes are still following the same model for ruling the people in Balochistan, FATA, and South Punjab through selected tribal lords, Maliks, and feudal lords.

It is evident from SDPI-WFP-SDC latest report of food security in Pakistan that doling out money and privileges to this elite did not work. Inter and intra provincial disparities have increased manifolds. FATA has the highest percentage of food insecure population (67.7 percent) followed by Balochistan (61.2 percent), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) (56.2 percent). Among the districts, Dera Bugti has the highest percentage of food insecure people (82.4 percent).

Balochistan has the maximum number of districts with worst conditions for food security. Twenty six out of twenty nine districts of Balochistan are food insecure. The 20 districts of Pakistan with worst conditions for food security include 10 districts from Balochistan, 5 from FATA; 3 from KPK; and 1 from Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh each. The number of districts from Balochistan in this category has doubled since 2003.

It is not only a coincidence that most food insecure districts in Pakistan are most militancy hit districts too. This is not only true for Balochistan, KPK, and FATA but for Sindh and Punjab too. In Punjab Rajanpur, D.G.Khan and Muzafargarh are the most food insecure districts and they are hit by Southern Talbanisation too. In Sindh the most food insecure districts include Kashmore, Kandhkot, Shikarpur, Dadu, Jacobabad and these districts are hit by tribal militancy too.

Today militancy is the single largest threat to our national existence and one needs to dig deeper to understand the roots of militancy and violence. It would be difficult to exclude the role of external actors for the mess we are in. However, we also need to admit and learn from our mistakes. Social injustice and lack of inclusive development policies paved the way for creation of Bangladesh. Thirty nine years down the road, are you not sensing a few more Bangladeshs in the making here?

Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri is the Executive Director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute and can be reached at [email]suleri@sdpi.org[/email]

[CENTER][COLOR="Green"][SIZE="4"]Taxing agricultural income[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Both the
federation and provinces under the
Constitution are bound to follow the definition of "agricultural income"

By Huzaima Bukhari and Dr Ikramul Haq[/CENTER]

Taxing agricultural income is the sole prerogative of provincial governments under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. These days confusion prevails about the laws in force for levy of income tax on agricultural income.

It is strange to note that politicians, parliamentarians, TV anchors and so-called experts are not clear about these laws. They keep on criticizing federal government for not levying income tax on "agricultural income" without realising that the fault lies with the provincial governments.

The total collection by all the four provinces under these laws was dismally low in 2009 at just Rs1.89 billion collected against the actual potential of Rs200 billion. The share of agriculture in GDP that year was about 22 percent.

The low collection proves beyond any doubt lack of will to tax the rich absentee landlords in Pakistan; their number is meager but their clout in politics is very strong. This influential class includes the generals and other high-ranking military officers, who now own substantial state land, given to them as awards. They have emerged as a new landed aristocracy. Like barons of feudal Europe, they control our politico-economic system.

Ruthless exploitation of the landless tillers and industrial workers (most of the industries are now also owned by feudal lords in parliament) is the real issue that has never been addressed by any political party.

Presently, the provincial governments are not levying and collecting tax on agricultural income but charging a fixed tax on per-acre basis. The charge is usually Rs150 per acre from the irrigated areas and Rs100 per acre from non-irrigated lands. This acreage-based charge is in gross violation of the Constitution that stipulates tax on agricultural income as defined in Article 260(1).

Entry 47, Part 1 of Federal Legislative List contained in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution (it remains intact even after the 18th Amendment), empowers the federal government to levy "Taxes on income other than agricultural income". The expression "agricultural income" is defined in Article 260(1) of the Constitution, which says: "Agricultural income" means agricultural income as defined for the purpose of the law relating to income tax."

The word "means" signifies that this is an exhaustive definition that binds all the provincial legislatures to levy tax on "agricultural income" as defined in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. However, the provinces, instead of following that definition, are levying fixed tax. Nobody has taken note of this gross violation till today.

Both the federation and provinces under the Constitution are bound to follow the definition of "agricultural income" as provided in the Income Tax Law while determining their legislative powers in terms of Article 70(4), Article 141, and Article 142 read with the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution. However, it is a matter of great concern that all the four provinces are perpetually violating the command of the supreme law of Pakistan.

Even a cursory look at laws (and amendments therein from time to time) promulgated by them, to tax "agricultural income" shows that:-

(a)Khyber Pakhtunkhaw has not even provided the definition of "agricultural income" in its Northwest Frontier Province Agricultural Income Tax Ordinance, 1993. The tax levied under the name of "Income Tax" is, in fact, a land tax on the basis of produce index units. This is nothing but a mockery of legislative process. If there was no political will to impose income tax on "agricultural income", then what was the need to hoodwink the people by calling it Agricultural Income Tax? Since 1993 no government of the province has bothered to correct this anomaly. This shows the level of understanding of Constitutional provisions by our legislators (sic).

(b)The same is the case with Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act of 1994 as amended from time to time. The PPP government is keen to collect VAT or sales tax on services, which it should as its constitutional right, but it has no desire to tax the rich pirs and waderas. Would this nation be informed how much tax is paid by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and many other feudal-cum-pirs of Sindh on their agricultural income?

(c)The Punjab Agricultural Income Tax of 1997, as amended from time to time, is no exception. No effort was made till 2000 to impose income tax on total income earned from this source. A face-saving device was introduced to levy yet another tax on acre basis at different rates in respect of irrigated and non-irrigated lands. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has never bothered to tax rich absentee landlords of his province — many of whom dominate PML(N). Proper legislation should have been made as per Constitution to tax the Khosas, Gilanis, Quershis, Tiwanas, Sardars, Chaudharis, Maliks — just to mention a few. Such taxation could have provided room to initiate a number of meaningful welfare and job-oriented schemes for the have-nots, unlike the gimmick of sasti roti that was not restricted to the needy alone. But certainly, even the Sharifs have no intention to tax the rich and mighty feudals. They themselves have joined this class by grabbing many lucrative lands. See palatial palaces in Jati Umra, flats in Mayfair London, property in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and elsewhere.

(d)In Baluchistan, the position is no different. From 1993 to 1999, the Governor of Balochistan promulgated various Agricultural Income Tax Ordinances that were amended from time to time, following the same pattern as in the other three provinces.

The above analysis shows that none of the four provinces, while levying income tax on "agricultural income" followed Article 260(1) of the Constitution. All the agricultural income tax laws passed by them are superficial whereas in substance no tax on "agricultural income" has been imposed by any province, showing an attitude of contempt and apathy towards the Constitutional provisions.

None of the four provinces has levied income tax on "agricultural income" as defined in the Constitution. The military and civil governments have consistently shown disrespect to the Constitution. This explains why constitutional democracy has failed to work in Pakistan; economic interests of landed aristocracy have primacy over the Constitutional rule whereas it should have been the other way around.

No country can become a democratic society by merely following the system, rather nomenclature, of parliamentary democracy, restricting it to electioneering, unless it demonstrates by action.

In Pakistan, we have witnessed just the opposite behavior. Lawmakers themselves blatantly violate the law but insist that others respect and follow the rule of law for the perpetuation of their economic interests. The beginning of change in Pakistan will be the day when these classes are taxed to give a blow to their ill-gotten money.

The writers, authors of many books and tax advisers, are Visiting Professors at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Green"]Taxation in times of crisis[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Will RGST and flood tax help the government?

By Irfan Mufti[/CENTER]

The government is still struggling with its resource gap to meet the basic needs of flood survivors. The gap is still too large to be filled with the existing or expected resources committed for flood rehabilitation.

Among several options, the government is also considering levying the one time 10 percent additional flood tax on income to raise approximately 60 billion rupees needed for reconstruction and rehabilitation purposes. The tax will help generate additional finances for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected population and reconstruction of the affected areas.

However, the governments' 'indecision' over the proposed flood tax is worrisome. The government's inability to raise resources locally is creating problems for the donors to generate funds for people affected in Pakistan's worst calamity.

Despite assurances from government that flood tax would be nominal and would not put additional burden on the tax payers the business community and tax payers are reluctant to accept these proposals. Government has assured that one-time flood surcharge would not be imposed on income, sales tax, import and export but it would be charged on property, land and higher income groups who can bear the burden.

Similarly the government's proposal for Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) has met with serious criticism in the Senate and its coalition partners do not seem fully committal on supporting the proposal in the parliament. The major political parties within and outside the government as well as business and industry leaders are vehemently opposing these taxes. This article is to discuss if there is a genuine reason to oppose these taxes.

Pressure is mounting even though the government has been saying all along that the proposed RGST and flood tax will not burden the poor and would be imposed after the complete consensus of the provinces through proper legislation and approval of the parliament. The proposal also aims to bring more sectors into tax net by abolishing the tax exemptions and bring reforms in the current tax system. The government is also considering keeping the RGST ratio at 15 percent.

The RGST appears to have been misunderstood by the taxpayers and hence is facing stiff resistance from different quarters. The RGST is a consumption-based tax: the more we consume the more we pay taxes. It is levied on any value that is added to a product. There are 141 countries that have implemented this tax successfully and are reaping benefits of higher revenue. If it can work well in those countries why can't it work in Pakistan?

The general perception about this tax is that it is highly inflationary and will increase the tax burden of poor consumers, and will destroy businesses and trade in Pakistan. Lack of affective communication with stakeholders and general public has led to the building up of these misperceptions, for which the government is to blame.

Taxing to rehabilitate flood mitigation, management and rehabilitating affectees is not a new concept in the modern world. Several countries have introduced such special taxing arrangements to raise extra resources for disaster management. Citizens are charged special taxes for flood control or rehabilitation tasks. It is however done after making some safeguards for the poor and those that are already burdened by state taxing. Such taxes are normally imposed on those that can afford or bear the burden of economic strains or help governments in special objective like rehabilitation and reconstruction in post disaster situations. What is different in Pakistan's case is lack of confidence and trust of ordinary citizens on the credibility, efficiency and effectiveness of government. Little do they believe the promises of the government thus unwilling to contribute even in the noble cause of helping the flood affectees.

It also seems the present government hasn't done its homework before introducing these taxes at a time while ordinary citizens were already facing price hike and inflation. Adequate homework hasn't been done to present these concepts to the public and build their confidence and clarity on the importance and usefulness of these important taxes.

The timing of levying these taxes is also not opportune. The sense of unity displayed at a time when the ravages of floods were unfolding, when the nation was coming together to help flood affectees, has diminished in the last two months. This tax will be imposed on salaried persons and the urban middle-class who are already paying income tax and also facing the brunt of higher food prices. The feudal earning billions from agriculture have remained out of the direct tax net and will remain exempt from flood tax as well. The way these taxes are presented they indeed are against the principles of equity and justice.

In recent years the profitability in agriculture sector has increased due to the surge in the prices of agricultural commodities such as cotton, sugarcane and rice. This surge has transformed the profitability of Pakistan's rural economy and its large landholders. Cotton prices have been almost doubled in the recent crop and generated additional income of more than Rs250 billion for fairly large cotton growing farming community in Pakistan. Similarly the record increase in the price of sugarcane has given lucrative profit to sugar growers and sugar cartel in Pakistan. Rice growers are also raising heaving profit due to significant increase in rice prices. Additional Rs 390 billion, in the last two years, has been generated through the recent increase in support of wheat. Will it be fair to exempt several hundred billion rupees of income originating from agriculture from income tax?

It will be however very unfair if the government levies additional flood tax on the incomes of the urban middle class while the agricultural sector, reaping lucrative profits, is exempted from the tax net. The government must consider mobilising additional fiscal resources by taxing agricultural incomes.

Among other measures government can consider levying withholding taxes at the time of sale of commodity to the miller or at the time of export will be very effective in quickly mobilising fiscal resources. A relatively small tax of around 7-8 per cent of the price could yield tens of billions of rupees for the government. If the flood tax is imposed without taxing the gains in agriculture, it would be unfair and against the principle of equity and justice.

As far as inflation is concerned, theoretically the reduction in tax rate, if passed on to consumers, would reduce the prices of consumption goods. When the RGST is introduced to hitherto exempt items, the prices of these items would necessarily go up. On balance, the introduction of the RGST would not be inflationary if the businesses and trade pass on the benefits of reduction in their tax burden to the people. It is generally observed that such reductions are seldom passed on to consumers. To that extent, the profit margin of businesses will go up and the consumer may see some rise in prices.

It seems that the crisis in hand is not resource crunch or citizen's reaction to any government reforms but a total loss of trust, confidence and alienation of citizens from the state and government functions. These are important questions for our leaders to consider seriously before they are discredited further.

The writer is Deputy Chief of South Asia Partnership Pakistan and Global Campaigner

[email]irfanmufti@gmail.com[/email]

[CENTER][B][COLOR="Green"][SIZE="4"]Water conservation[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan needs a revamped water policy before it’s too late

By Tahir Ali[/CENTER]

The prevalent drought has more forcefully reminded the policy makers in Pakistan what has been earlier established by this July’s devastating floods: that the country should build more water reservoirs to accommodate the rain/floods water sooner rather than later.

It has also underscored the need for utilising the waste-water resources for irrigation purposes to guard against the danger of having rain-fed areas without crops in case of drought as is being witnessed.

The devastating flash floods have inflicted huge losses of about $10bn to the national economy. But if we learn from this calamity and become vigilant to volatile climate hazards by taking some measures, the calamity will be turned into an opportunity for development and prosperity.

The situation is even dismal for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where non-irrigated land accounts for over 50 percent of wheat acreage. The irrigated wheat area there is usually is around 0.8 million acres and the rain-fed area is over 1 MA.

With only a few days left in wheat sowing season, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is likely to miss its wheat sowing target of around 1.8mn acres this year.

Gul Nawaz Khatak, the chief planning officer of ministry of agriculture in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said most of the wheat-specific southern districts like Laki Marwat, Tank, Bannu and Dera Ismail waited for rains, saying the rain-fed areas could have been cultivated had there been rain.

"Even if it rains till 20th of December, it will make sowing possible. Otherwise the area will be left without wheat this year. As of now only those areas in non-irrigated lands have gone under wheat cultivation that had some moisture in it. If there is no rain, wheat target will be affected by about 10 to 12 per cent," he said.

This inability to sow wheat due to lack of water at the provincial and national level, means farmers’ poverty, debt cycle for them, food inflation and food security problems. But it will also have serious financial repercussions for the cash-strapped provincial and national kitties.

A loss of one million tons of wheat cost a whooping Rs24bn of exchequer. The province is expected to lose around 0.5 million tonnes and its woes would be further increased by this loss. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has already sustained a loss of around Rs200bn for floods and another Rs300bn for militancy shocks.

Secretary irrigation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Ashfaq Khan said the irrigation sector has suffered a loss of Rs11bn in floods. "As international donors and the federal government has not provided us the funds for reconstruction so far, we have decided to suspend our annual development programme and diverted funds to reconstruction efforts," he says.

"Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for lack of infrastructure, is unable to utilise 3.28MAF of its share of water as per the 1991 accord. This is why new dams and canals are required in the province," he adds.

An official said due to droughts the provincial seeds industry could sell only three of the target of six thousand tonnes seeds to farmers. "The situation is indeed very dismal this year. You know wheat can be sown till January but delay from December onward brings per hectare yield down considerably. The per hectare yield in the province already lower than rest of the country, it is not a good omen for the food deficient province," he said.

He says the government would give around 1600 metric tonnes of the left over seeds to farmers free of cost now. The cost will be borne by a Kuwait based NGO.

"By giving this residue of seeds to farmers, not only the farmers will get relief but if utilised, its expected production will be around 42000 metric tonnes. This will help reduce the gap between the wheat target and actual acreage," the official says.

The land under wheat cultivation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 1/5th of the 2.75 million hectare total cultivable land in the province. This needs to be increased.

"The government must increase per acre yield, bring more land under cultivation and ensure mechanised farming and bigger land-holdings," Shah says.

"This is why province badly needs the construction of promised but delayed/denied Chashma right bank canal’s lift scheme. This will irrigate 0.3MA of land. This will make the province food sufficient but it will also be in a position to export wheat," Shah argues.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is dependent for 3/4th of its annual wheat requirements of 3.73 million tonnes on Pasco, Punjab’s government or imports.

Ghulam hussain, a farmer said first they faced shortage of seeds at the beginning of the sowing season and also DAP went out of the market. Later prices of fertilizers surged. How can we achieve the target when each and every input is scarce or costly," he says.

"The climate change scenario was an established phenomenon for which the researchers and the government should try to introduce air/drought/ high temperature and excessive rainfall-resistant varieties that could resist the vagaries of the weather and yielded more grain," Shah says. "The yield per hectare has reached to over 5000kg in China, but we still have about 2400kg per hectare in the country and still lower in the province," he adds.

The provincial government has prepared detailed designs, feasibility study, pre-feasibility report of around 100 new small dams. The federal government should finance these and the Kurram Tangi dam, Munda dam and some other dams and rivers advocated by the provincial irrigation department. Reservoirs for rainwater should also be built. This is vital for Khyber pakhtunkhwa as 49% of cultivated area is rain-fed.