Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Opportunity and perils in 2014

NOW the real business begins — or could, if the leadership so willed it. The year 2013 was one of unprecedented transition, even of the unexpected kind with the elimination of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakeemullah Mehsud. Thus far though the new parliament, new prime minister, new army chief and new Supreme Court chief justice have no great achievements to their name — and perhaps having spent only months, and in some cases just weeks, in their new jobs it was unrealistic to expect too much of substance. But at this point the excuses must end. Great opportunity and, as ever, threats are at hand. Most obviously, the eyes of the world will be on Pakistan as the drawdown and handover in neighbouring Afghanistan take place. But internally too there is much that can be fixed — or go further wrong if the right decisions are not taken. And of all the key figures, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be the leader with the biggest stage to prove if he is capable of true leadership.

Start with internal security. The TTP remains a formidable threat to the security and stability of Pakistan as do the other militant and sectarian groups that have spread out across the country. In fact, militancy and terrorism are the single greatest threat to Pakistan today. The security establishment has finally accepted that fact after many years of vacillation, but now it is the political class that remains unsure about the extent of the threat. Whether it is because of the politics of Imran Khan or Punjab’s bargain with the militant devil, the PML-N government has thus far remained content with its anti-militancy strategy resting at talks about talks. That must change, and it inevitably will once the TTP settles under its new chief — for talks, as articulated by the government, is a chimera. And if talks do fail, or never get off the ground, then what is the alternative? It is not enough that the PML-N wants to raise a special counterterrorism force in Punjab. Surely, a national approach is needed and must be demanded of a prime minister who represents all of Pakistan.

The second area which needs urgent focus is the economy and the energy sector. The prime minister has talked a good talk when it comes to the economy, but, as ever, the actions don’t quite match. Take last weekend’s decision to hand over Pesco to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government after Imran Khan demanded it. By now, the PML-N should have a clear road map for reforms in the electricity sector, especially on how to turn around the various component organisations in the sector. If that were the case, then why would the PML-N just hand over a distribution company to a provincial government? It does not send a very reassuring message about the federal government’s confidence in its own plans, to say the least. And there is very little left to say about the terrible budget management of the PML-N so far.

The third challenge is of the political and governance kind. Certainly, there is unprecedented space for the democratic process in Pakistan today. But the political leadership — at the centre or in the provinces — has not been able to raise its own performance yet. Ultimately, be it the civil-military divide or the public’s disenchantment with politicians, it will take better leadership and better results by the politicians themselves to protect and strengthen the democratic project.

As for the prime minister, India and Afghanistan beckon — a historic opportunity to reset ties for the better with important neighbours who will undergo their own transitions in the year ahead. Mr Sharif has said so many of the right things about both countries and does appear to mean them. But history will only be made by a leader who is willing to lead from the front. The country can only hope Nawaz Sharif is that leader in 2014.

Pesco challenge

THE ‘face-off’ between the PML-N and PTI on the critical issue of the country’s power troubles is nothing but political posturing by the two rival parties. When Imran Khan claimed at his party’s anti-inflation rally in Lahore that the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could control the massive financial losses being suffered by the Peshawar Electric Supply Company, plug the widespread power theft and recover bills from consumers, perhaps he was not expecting such a prompt and ‘positive’ response from the rulers in Islamabad. The PML-N government at the centre was quick to accept the ‘offer’ because it afforded the party a very good opportunity to put its rival on the mat. On the recommendation of his water and power minister, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has agreed “in principle” to give Pesco’s control to the PTI government. So what is the hitch, and why the hesitancy?

The KP government has now come up with a long list of demands — such as clearance of the company’s balance sheet, continuation of the federal subsidy to compensate for Pesco’s losses that have been incurred over a period of five years, handing over of all hydel generation projects, the assurance of the supply of 1000MW electricity to the province during winters, and what not — that the centre must accept before it transfers Pesco to the KP government. If the PML-N knows that the provincial government cannot fix the festering power problems, the PTI is also quite conscious of the fact that the centre cannot and will not agree to its new set of demands. It is regrettable that both the parties are trying to score points at the cost of economic progress in the country, and are only exacerbating the anguish that the persistent power shortages are causing to the people. If the two parties are serious about tackling the power problem, they should sit across the table and also invite other major parties and stakeholders to discuss the issue in a manner that leads us all to a durable solution. Political posturing will not address any issue — be it the power crunch, economic slowdown or militancy.

The best course for the KP government, or, for that matter, the other provinces, is to encourage and facilitate investors in setting up power plants in their areas rather than making ‘devolution of the power sector’ an issue of provincial autonomy. The federal government shouldn’t hesitate in extending help to them in wooing investors as it has been doing in the case of Punjab that is also being ruled by the PML-N. It must not let its focus move away from its declared policy of privatising the power sector — generation, transmission and distribution — and let the market forces play their role in fixing it. The mess the country’s power sector has been led into by decades of inefficient, centralised control are too big for the federal and provincial governments to handle. The political parties need to understand that politicking on issues that are stalling the economy and causing huge suffering to the people will not get us anywhere.

D.I. Khan jailbreak: damning report

IN the years that Pakistan has been mired in militancy and terrorism, there has been no dearth of detractors maintaining that it is the inefficiencies of different arms of the state — if not outright collusion — that has allowed matters to reach such a pass. This charge is hotly denied, by state representatives who say they have no part in the mess, and by a citizenry that cannot digest the levels of ineptitude on part of the leadership that this would imply. Unfortunately, there is no denying that with distressing frequency, evidence of such monumental incompetence surfaces that questions cannot but be raised about the state’s levels of political will and operational ability. In this category must be included the revelations about July’s Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak, when militants managed to free over 250 prisoners without so much as a peep from the law enforcement and security apparatus.

The report of the inquiry commission tasked with investigating the incident, the contents of which were made public by this newspaper yesterday, constitutes an indictment of the security and law enforcement agencies. It ought to have served as a wake-up call of no minor proportions at all levels. Instead, it was shelved — to the utter lack of surprise of those familiar with the head-in-the-sand approach in Pakistan. The report notes that over two dozen Mehsud militants, accompanied by several more from Punjab, Uzbekistan and other places, managed to travel all the way from South Waziristan to D.I. Khan. Once there, they set up pickets at 10 strategic locations around the prison, cutting off security and law enforcement personnel’s access to the area. Shockingly, most of these pickets were located not far from police and military checkpoints. The militants blew the prison’s gates open with rocket-propelled grenades and over the next 45 minutes or so conducted a “methodical” search of the cells and barracks, freeing prisoners and even identifying and executing four members of a minority sect. Having done so, they dispersed; some headed back to South Waziristan, others melted into the city. All this was achieved with virtually no interference from the security and law enforcement apparatus, which had in the preceding days been beefed up, according to the report.

It could be argued that a jailbreak on such a large scale would have been difficult to counter — except that not only had a similar incident taken place before, this time there was even intelligence that an attack was imminent. Clearly, no lessons were learnt from the assault in Bannu last April, claimed by the TTP, which resulted in nearly 400 prisoners being sprung from jail. Further, in the case of D.I. Khan, the civilian and security administrations had been made aware of the threat and had even made efforts to ward it off. If this was the state of preparedness of the authorities in an area which has long borne the brunt of militancy and terrorism — one that has, with great fanfare, been announced as having been brought back into the fold of the state’s writ — what the situation must be in other areas can only be guessed at. Most worryingly, perhaps, the report notes that about half an hour into the assault on the jail, a militant came onto the police wireless frequency to taunt the law enforcers and to say the city would be razed to the ground. The confidence is astounding; the image conjured is of a savvy, well-equipped militant network running merry rings around a helpless state and security apparatus.

The report refers to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as a “Frankenstein” and warns that as long as “even a semblance of these outfits” exists, the violence will continue unabated and all strengthening of the security apparatus will be in vain. Is the state refusing to look the threat in the eye? Is it shying away from recognising the enormity of the problem? Or, even more disturbingly, is it impotent, unable to muster the strength and intelligence that the task requires? On the answer to this question hinges the future of the country.

Thursday, January 02, 2014

The wrong choice

A PATTERN seems to be developing in the government’s so-called strategy against militancy: after meetings with security officials, the resolve to defend the country by whatever means — militarily too — is reiterated, while after meetings with political allies, the preference for talks is reinforced. If that were not confusing enough, there is no consistency in the talks strategy either, even on something as seemingly straightforward as who will be the principal interlocutors between the TTP and the federal government. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared to have authorised Samiul Haq, the so-called godfather of the Afghan Taliban because of its leadership’s ties to the maulana’s infamous madressah in Akora Khattak, to reach out to the TTP and set the stage for dialogue.

What, then, has become of Fazlur Rehman, a fierce rival of Samiul Haq, and his efforts to try and set the stage for dialogue? And what has become of the team of so-called notables who Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan had been on the verge of sending to the Waziristan agencies before Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed in a drone strike? Are the interior minister and prime minister even on the same page anymore? For the interior minister appeared to contradict the prime minister hours after the announcement of Samiul Haq’s new task. The questions just keep piling up, with answers nowhere in sight. About the prime minister’s new point man for negotiations too there are several questions. Samiul Haq may have some ties with the new TTP chief and his deputy, but in May this year, in an interview with this newspaper, he admitted to knowing little about the TTP and the various groups that operate under its umbrella. So is the government really still just splashing about, looking here, there and everywhere for anything that may work in its bid for talks with the TTP rather than having a focused strategy?

If the possibility of the government not having a coherent strategy to deal with militancy half a year into its rule is unsettling enough, what is equally worrying is how tone-deaf the government appears on the signalling front. Ultimately, government-appointed interlocutors are supposed to help work towards an agreement that reinforces the status quo of the state and the constitution being the only acceptable centres of power and legitimacy. But how can a known Taliban sympathiser help achieve that? Yet again, the government seems to be willing to cede the narrative, initiative and control of a dialogue process to elements who have more in common with the Taliban’s worldview than what Pakistan should be: a constitutional democracy with modern rights and freedoms.

The struggle to live

THE last six years or so have been hard for the low- to middle-income segments of the population because of the fast escalating cost of living and shrinking real income. But the last year — 2013 — was the most difficult of all. Most families seem to have even lost the dim hope of maintaining their existing ‘standard of living’ in 2014. Many have already used up their life savings in the last few years as they struggled to cope with rising energy, food, healthcare and education prices. The prices of essentials, according to a report carried by this newspaper on its business pages on Wednesday, shot up significantly during the second half of last year to December as the government implemented a harsh economic and financial reforms programme that has again spared the wealthy. This year too doesn’t promise any relief from the rising price of living for the vast majority of the people. Little wonder then that the prime minister’s directive in December to hold the oil prices at the previous month’s level hasn’t impressed many.

It is normal for governments and economists across the globe to compute the impact of inflation on the people through different kinds of indices — consumer price index, wholesale price index, or sensitive price index — that provide an average of the rise in the prices of essential items on various groups of consumers. These indices tell only a small part of the story. No index can tell how many families stopped sending their children to school after a 50pc increase in the electricity prices. Nor has any index the power to predict how many men, women and children will be forced to sleep on empty stomachs when vegetable prices quadruple overnight. Haven’t we seen our friends and relatives avoid consulting a doctor because it could mean cutting back on some other ‘more important’ expense? Policymakers are yet to order a census to calculate the number of people pushed into abject poverty because of the persistently soaring prices and job losses. There is little chance of improvement in the life of common Pakistanis unless the government starts aligning its economic and financial policies to their needs.

Policeman’s murder

THE murder of Inspector Bahauddin Babar on Tuesday in Karachi brought 2013 to a bloody close for the personnel of the Sindh police: over 160 policemen were killed in the metropolis in the year gone by. There could be a number of preasons why Inspector Babar was targeted. The slain officer had taken action against religious extremists as well as criminals associated with gangs, while he had also taken part in a Karachi operation in the 1990s. In fact, the number of theories linked to his death reflects the variety of threats in Karachi, as religious militants, common criminals and political militants all contribute to the violence. However, it is believed that the increased targeting of policemen in 2013 was a reaction to the police and Rangers’ operation against criminals that began last September.

It is widely agreed that to defeat urban crime and terrorism the civil police force must be made strong and effective. But, in the case of the Sindh police, especially those serving in Karachi, it seems the state — particularly the provincial government and police hierarchy — are least interested in the safety and well-being of the force. Despite the large number of policemen falling prey to targeted killings there is no visible zeal on the police department’s part to capture and punish the killers of its men. Public statements aside, police officials do little to ensure proper investigations are conducted into the murder of policemen, while at the prosecution stage the state’s response is equally wanting. And when policemen do lose their lives in the line of duty, the process of obtaining compensation is made unashamedly Byzantine for family members. While the police force is itself guilty of callousness towards its own, the public is just as unmoved about the plight of policemen performing their duty in highly demanding circumstances. The state needs to investigate and punish those involved in murdering policeman while citizens can play their part by at least empathising with officers killed or injured on duty.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Friday, January 03, 2014

Security: mere words

THE National Security Council will be strengthened, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared on Wednesday — a statement that raises more questions than it answers. Perhaps the prime minister misspoke in referring to the NSC, for when the Defence Committee of the Cabinet was restructured in August, the NSC terminology was specifically avoided and what was birthed instead was the Cabinet Committee on National Security. The difference, presumably, was because of the civilians’ long-standing reluctance to institutionalise the security establishment’s role in the crafting of security and foreign policies, at least in a body like the NSC, which would operate alongside rather than under the cabinet. Since the CCNS is viewed as a compromise NSC, the prime minister’s misstatement could be seen as merely a slip of the tongue. Except, it does raise questions about the seriousness with which the government is working on a new security architecture and policy of the country. For if even the name of the body tasked with overseeing national security policy is misspoken, what does that say about the quality of the discussions within it?

More importantly, how, exactly, does this government intend to go about reorienting national security? Mr Sharif has repeatedly stated that the central planks of his security and foreign policies are better ties with neighbouring countries and an emphasis on trade. That means a focus on resetting ties with Afghanistan and India, while ending the domestic militancy and terrorism threat. But when it comes to taking meaningful steps towards those goals, the PML-N has had little to offer so far. Even the latest step it has taken on the dialogue front with the TTP is more bewildering than reassuring, with few able to understand how Samiul Haq’s induction as an interlocutor between the government and the TTP will work alongside the other channels the government had shown interest in following.

To expect some major overhaul in six months of policy problems that are as complicated as they are old would be unrealistic. But it is the lack of initiative and ideas on the government’s part that is truly worrying. On Wednesday, Mr Sharif touted his government’s attempts to facilitate talks between the Afghan Taliban and the Karzai government — but then in late November Mr Sharif had to stand next to Mr Karzai in Kabul and pledge to allow Afghan officials to meet Mullah Baradar months after he had been allegedly released by the Pakistani state. Everything the government claims to be pursuing on the security- and foreign-policy fronts seems to be rehashed versions of previous attempts that no government was really able to follow through on. Where there is originality — as with Mr Sharif’s unquestioned desire to rapidly normalise ties with India — there are just words and meetings. Change will only come if the prime minister is willing to back up words with actions.

Acquitted, but still in jail

BASHIR Bhatti, a 70-year-old inmate at Adiala Jail, could have been out four years ago if the Lahore High Court bench which acquitted him on July 30, 2009 had enough time to write down the ruling. The order was never written and while the following day has been hailed as a defining moment in the country’s history, it had grave repercussions for the accused in this instance. On July 31, 2009, the Supreme Court ordered the judiciary purged of those who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order of November 2007. The two judges who had acquitted Mr Bhatti in a murder case, unfortunately, carried the ‘PCO’ stigma and made their exit. Their unfinished business included the drafting of the judgement that would have set Mr Bhatti free. His lawyer says the appeal will now have to be heard afresh, meaning an extension in the uncertain period for the accused.

This is a glaring example of justice denied, even at a time when the drums were beating in celebration of Pakistan’s advance towards an independent judiciary and rule of law. The accused here has been punished for events he had no control over. He was an appellant looking for relief, regardless of the reputation of the judges. He did not have the freedom to choose a bench of his liking. He moved court, as the court then existed. If anything, the much-maligned PCO judges would appear to him to be the providers of justice as opposed to the judiciary revived or born of the July 31 order, which has paid him no attention since. There may be others like him affected by the sudden change in judges, overlooked by the charged reformists under the leadership of then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Bashir Bhatti has been in jail for more than a decade, which is a long period for a case to be decided. Meanwhile, the grand title of an independent judiciary will ring hollow if it does not entail efficiency by adjudicators at all tiers. Someone has to take the blame for this serious oversight. More importantly, someone has to look into it and see if there are any more like Bashir Bhatti and ensure justice for them without further delay.

Bloody beginning

WHILE most of the world welcomed 2014 with celebrations, Pakistan rang in the New Year with a deadly suicide bombing in Quetta on Wednesday. A vehicle loaded with explosives rammed into a bus in the outskirts of the Balochistan capital carrying Shia pilgrims returning from Iran. As per reports on Thursday, three of the victims had died while several more were injured. The atrocity illustrates that while dates may change and there may be highs and lows in violence, in Pakistan very little changes where the ongoing wave of religious and sectarian terrorism is concerned and the threat it poses to society. It shows that militants are as unrepentant as ever and willing to shed innocent blood to carry forward their agenda — fuelling sectarian hatred in this case. Authorities from the president and prime minister on down have expressed shock over the incident. But much more than outrage and sympathy is required to neutralise the killers that have drenched this country in blood.

For the last couple of years, Balochistan’s roads and highways have become open hunting grounds for terrorists; pilgrims were also targeted in 2011’s bus ambush in Mastung. While the new government in Balochistan has taken steps to increase security, such as providing escorts to buses, clearly more needs to be done. After all, when IEDs or suicide bombers are involved, there is little that escort vehicles can do; a vehicle was tagging the ill-fated bus on Wednesday but obviously could not prevent the bombing. The apparent remedy is to strike at the root of the problem. The security establishment has a fair idea about the whereabouts and bases of sectarian and religious militants in Balochistan, especially considering the thick security blanket over the province. The infrastructure of terror needs to be dismantled while better intelligence is required to prevent future atrocities. Balochistan’s terrorism problem will not be solved overnight; however, if the authorities continue to look the other way while the killers go about their business with impunity, more tragedies can be expected.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Landowner or military?

THE acquisition of land for military use has over the years become the acquisition of land for the military’s use: putting land acquired from private landowners to commercial use instead of for non-revenue generating, military purposes. And even where the land is put to genuine use for military purposes, the manner in which it is identified and acquired leaves a sense of a great privileged military class that can pick and choose from the very best alternatives — a class of super landlords that can have whatever it sets its heart on. Now, finally, a special Senate committee may begin to shine a light on the very opaque methods by which the military has come to own hundreds of thousands of acres of land and decide for itself what use to put it to.

To be sure, the sheer size of the armed forces means that its basic — and valid — needs will involve the legitimate and state-sanctioned appropriation at the market rate of many tracts of land. But also clear is that in the name of defence and national security, the military has built for itself a vast commercial empire that in fact detracts from the core training and preparedness that is required of any military. Take, for example, the particular issue the special Senate committee will also have a look at: the acquisition of privately owned land in Nowshera at knockdown rates by the military for building a firing range. Neither have the previous landowners been paid the market rate as required by the superior courts nor has the land been kept exclusively for the purposes it was acquired for. The Senate has been informed that presumably revenue-earning orchards also now stand on the multi-billion rupee tract of land.

The Nowshera case though is not even the tip of the iceberg. The most egregious example of publicly owned land put to private use for the enrichment of the military is the vast Defence Housing Authorities that have created enclaves of the super rich, all done in the name of creating an allegedly necessary incentive and rewards structure for army officers. In truth, however, it is a very public manifestation of the long-standing civil-military imbalance and the fact that the military is often seen as an institution that cannot be said ‘no’ to. But as the transition to democracy gathers pace, the old configuration of power must be challenged — and that will necessarily involve questioning how the military acquires and uses its assets, especially land. For too long even talk of the assertion of civilian supremacy was seen as an attempt to subjugate or humiliate the military. But it is really about constitutional subordination and the rule of law — where the military remains a strong force to carry out its core duties without taking undue advantage of its might.

Musharraf drama

THE hospitalisation of a prominent person in the dock is a diversion not entirely unknown to this country. Yet, on Thursday, the latest episode in the long-running tradition stood out for many reasons. It came at a juncture when most Pakistanis think that, after having invested heavily in democracy and the rule of law, they must now begin to reap some dividends of their labour. Retired Gen Pervez Musharraf had set the stage with his theatrical hand-on-heart vows just days before he was to appear in court. He had resorted to bravado in his effort to invoke the image of a diehard commando who was ready to fall but unwilling to bow before his persecutors. He appeared to have arranged his cards well, reminding everyone of his relationship with the army and hitting the target in his riposte to some politicians. Then came what many would describe as a formula anti-climax. The former general reported sick.

But really, an anti-climax? So what if the rule of law and democracy did not appear to be able to pin down the prized suspect for the time being. The moment was ripe for indulging in humour of all variety and for catharsis and the settling of old scores. Tongues spoke out, keyboards tapped and the torrent of emotion accumulating against the former dictator swept everything in its path. This was our chance to make fun of the coup-maker. This was our opportunity to expose the real man through the false façade he had been hiding behind all this while. The most democracy-loving — or simply fun-loving? — amongst us went as far as to say that what Gen Musharraf appeared to be suffering from was a doctored heart attack. The point is not whether the plea taken for absence from the court was false or not. That is for the judges to decide and for the doctors to figure out. The worrying part is the routine Pakistanis have made of ridiculing, and just that. It was natural that the idea of a uniformed constitution-breaker being held accountable would stimulate the atmosphere, but what ensued was rather short on substance and high on what Musharraf himself was accused of enacting: drama.

Lyari’s dispossessed

LYARI is perhaps the most blighted of all Karachi’s neighbourhoods. It has long been neglected by the state and the political groups who claim it as their bastion. To make matters worse, criminal gangs have been allowed to proliferate in its congested lanes and are now so powerful that even law enforcers fear treading on the gangsters’ turf. Numerous operations have failed to produce results, as criminal kingpins maintain their hold over Lyari, running it like their fiefdom. So powerful have the criminals become that they now dictate the lives of its forsaken residents. The eviction of hundreds of Christian and Hindu families from Lyari’s Slaughter House area is a prime example of the power that gangsters wield over Lyari. Members of the minority communities from the affected area, accompanied by representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, came forward at a press conference in Karachi on Thursday to narrate their ordeal. What they had to say was harrowing; on Oct 26 last year criminals entered the Slaughter House area to evict its residents as they wanted to occupy the land. Some of the men were murdered and some of the women raped. The victims now lead nomadic lives, staying with relatives across the city.

These are the poorest of the poor. While all of Lyari’s residents live under the gangsters’ reign of terror, the plight of the Slaughter House residents is compounded by the fact that they are non-Muslim, making them more vulnerable. It is also shocking to hear the victims say that Rangers personnel stood by and did nothing when the criminals attacked them. How can a security force stand idle while citizens face threats? The Sindh government must ensure the residents of the Slaughter House area are rehabilitated and have safe access to their homes; they need to be given extra security in view of the threat from gangsters. In the long run, the problem of letting gangs operate in complete freedom must be addressed in earnest by the state.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Controversial politics

WITH local government elections due in Sindh sooner or later, we can expect politicians to ramp up the rhetoric and start playing to the gallery in order to win votes. MQM leader Altaf Hussain’s demand for carving out a separate province from Sindh for Urdu speakers ‘if’ the community was not given its rights, must be read in this context. The Muttahida chief made the remarks while addressing a rally in Hyderabad on Friday; he also alluded to the fact that the demand for a separate province ‘might’ evolve into a movement for a separate country. MQM leaders clarified on Saturday that their chief had not called for a categorical break-up of Sindh but considered this the ‘last option’. Altaf Hussain is no stranger to controversy; his telephonic orations delivered from London have touched many a raw nerve in the past while this is not the first time he has discussed altering Sindh’s and Pakistan’s geography.

Election fever is probably the main reason the MQM head broached the subject, appealing to ethnic sentiments and a sense of ‘deprivation’ — real or imagined — amongst some of Sindh’s people. It is unfortunate that while many of our politicians swear by the higher ideals of inclusive democracy during lean periods, come election time they start appealing to much narrower interests, using the race, religion or language card. The speech may also reflect the MQM’s level of frustration. After all, despite largely retaining its position in the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly during last year’s general elections, the party lost considerable votes to the PTI, and a key Karachi NA seat. Perhaps aware that parties like the PTI are chipping away at its vote bank, the MQM may have played the ‘Mohajir card’ to reassure Urdu speakers in urban Sindh that it is still the primary protector of their interests. Also, the Muttahida is out of power both at the centre and in Sindh for the first time in a long while. Hence, Altaf Hussain’s tough talk in Hyderabad could well be a bargaining chip to let the PPP in Sindh and PML-N at the centre know the MQM means business and that it should not be ignored.

Regardless of the motivation, Altaf Hussain’s comments were ill-advised, while the MQM’s political opponents, particularly the Sindhi nationalists, also overreacted. The context of the speech should not be lost. However, the Muttahida and others must realise that fiery rhetoric can be the catalyst for unrest in Sindh, especially if communal divisions are exploited. If the MQM really wants the division of Sindh, there is a clear constitutional procedure for the formation of new provinces. Of course, a much loftier goal for all political forces in Sindh would be to strengthen democracy and work for securing people’s fundamental rights irrespective of ethnicity, language or religion.

PIA’s Privatization

AT a time when the economy requires a clear policy direction on the challenges it is confronting, the privatisation secretary’s testimony before a Senate panel has caused confusion about the planned privatisation of PIA along with the disinvestment of the other 65 state-owned enterprises. The government has agreed with the IMF to disinvest the company’s 26pc shares to a strategic buyer by December this year. Hence, it has taken PIA’s control away from the defence ministry and split the airline into two firms to prepare it for the sale. The finance ministry, it seems, wants to follow the timeline agreed with the IMF. Or at least the finance secretary’s testimony before the same panel indicates as much. However, for some unknown reason, the privatisation secretary gave a conflicting statement, saying the ‘benchmarks agreed with the IMF were not sacrosanct’ and that PIA’s sale could be delayed by two to three years depending on the report of the financial adviser to be appointed by end-March.

It is true that the $6.7bn loan agreement that ‘binds’ the government to sell strategic shares in PIA by the end of this year is not a sacred document and can be changed. And the government must first watch out for the interests of Pakistan, its people and economy before implementing any condition imposed by the Fund or any other lender and donor in return for their dollars. But we also know that it’s not possible for any government to turn around any loss-making SOE let alone PIA, which has over time accumulated financial losses of Rs180bn. Any delay in its privatisation in the name of national pride or interest or on the pretext of restructuring the airline to fetch a ‘better price’ will only drain more taxpayer money. The example of the Pakistan Steel Mills is before us. Every since the apex court overturned its sale in 2006, the company has never been able to recover and its losses have mounted to over Rs100bn. Calling these companies ‘national assets’ or ‘the family silver’ is wrong. Most SOEs have become a major drain on the country’s financial resources because of years of mismanagement, corruption and bureaucratic interference. It is time to get rid of dead wood. And the sooner we do it the better.

Sectarian tensions

WHEN it comes to law and order, crime and insecurity, and the state’s diffident response to serious threats, the story has become a depressingly familiar one: lamentation and more lamentation; inaction and more inaction. The killing of an Islamabad leader of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Munir Muawia, in the federal capital on Friday ought to be alarming, but it is already destined to become yet another bloody footnote in the once-again simmering sectarian wars and the state’s inability to control them. It is not even surprising anymore that a drive-by shooting can occur in Islamabad and the assassins simply melt away — it ought not to be the case, but helplessness seems to be the only reaction of the heavily financed and resourced capital police. And if the heart of Islamabad cannot be made safe by security officials, then what hope for Peshawar, Quetta or Karachi?

Next, a familiar question. What is the government’s strategy to handle the rising sectarian pressures? Ignorance of the problem is surely not a possibility. Punjab has long been the heartland of sectarian tensions and while the infrastructure of hate has spread far and wide across the country, Punjab, under the control of the PML-N, remains very much a hub of the problem. This is not even about immediately rolling out long-term solutions: that will necessarily require the input and full cooperation of many arms of the state, provincial and federal. But the warning lights on sectarianism are again blinking furiously and urgent steps are needed. Fire-fighting after the problem erupts, as happened in Rawalpindi over Ashura, is only a recipe for awaiting the next big conflagration. The sectarian killers and militants are in most cases known to the intelligence apparatus. While there is sometimes random violence, much of the violence is orchestrated by small cadres at the fringe of the main sects. The religious leaders who can influence events are well known too. Why, then, the inaction by the state? There are few reassuring answers.

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If you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.(Che Guevara)

Monday, January 06, 2014

Muzzling information

THE PML-N has never been known for its openness with the media or its eagerness to discuss policy in public. But this time around, in its third stint in power in Islamabad, the party appears to have taken its aversion to sharing information with the public to new heights. As reported in this newspaper yesterday, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has acted to muzzle the various departments that report to him — ranging from Nadra to the FIA to the Frontier Corps — by requiring that all communications with the media be first approved by the ministry’s spokesperson and then conveniently ensuring that there is no ministry spokesperson on his staff. True, the free-for-all that has become the interaction between parts of the media and public officials may need some streamlining, but the interior minister’s move hardly appears to be motivated by principled pragmatism. Surely, it is no coincidence that many of the affected organisations have been at the centre of various controversies in recent months — controversies that go to the heart of good governance and fundamental rights of the public.

Still, the problem would not be so acute if it were just one minister trying to curtail some officials’ access to the media. But the problem is endemic and it starts right at the top. Even where there is access, there is little real information shared. The prime minister’s latest idea of openness is to invite the media to sit in on a cabinet meeting where the usual platitudes and banalities were spouted. When it comes to one of the most significant moves the government has taken — putting Pervez Musharraf on trial — there is a pervasive uncertainty: is the PML-N still ambivalent about seeing a trial through or has it made up its mind that Mr Musharraf will in fact be tried? The careful language government officials from the prime minister downwards have employed leaves many doubts about its intentions and plans on the Musharraf front.

Compounding the problem is the near total disinterest the government has in parliament, where members of the government cannot dodge questions and scrutiny quite as easily as they can with the media. So acute is the problem that Nisar Ali Khan himself has berated the treasury benches for their lack of interest in parliamentary affairs and conventions. Of course, the interior minister could not state the obvious: many in the PML-N may only be following the example of their leader, the prime minister, who has taken his aversion to parliament to new heights — or lows, as the case were. It may be a forlorn hope that the PML-N will change its ways anytime soon, but the implications for the party are relatively clear: hide behind a veil of secrecy and non-information long enough and others will start to drive the national governance and policy agenda — making it that much more difficult for the PML-N to do its job.

Slide into anarchy

UNLESS there is a dramatic improvement in the situation, of which there is little possibility, Iraq may go Syria’s way — or worse. Unlike Iraq, no Syrian territory is secession-prone. There is a small Kurdish minority, but it is not concentrated in a border region as it is in northern Iraq on the Turkish border. That’s why, despite 33 months of fighting, which has resulted in 130,000 fatalities, Syria still exists. In Iraq, post-America democracy has failed to work, despite two general elections and a third around the corner. Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister since 2006, wants a third term, but there is nothing to his credit, for he has failed to give his country what is every government’s first duty — peace. Friday gave another indication of Iraq’s precarious situation when some 100 people were killed in clashes between security forces and Al Qaeda-linked militants in the Ramadi and Fallujah areas. Violence began on Monday after Mr Maliki ordered the security forces to break up camps set up by Sunni protesters, saying they had turned into Al Qaeda’s headquarters. It is an indication of the militants’ strength that immediately after the government forces left, the jihadis moved in, attacked police stations and were in control of the area, prompting the government to act again.

On the rise in the heart of the Middle East is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is now operating in both countries, and along with Jabhat al-Nusra is the strongest military force in Syria. In Iraq, the Maliki government’s centralised policies have provoked a reaction even from Shia-majority provinces. The provinces complain they are not given their share of oil revenues in violation of the constitution. Many provinces also envy the autonomy enjoyed by oil-rich Kurdistan and seek similar status. A solution needs a political approach, but Mr Maliki has yet to prove he can rise to the occasion. The result is Iraq’s frightening slide into anarchy. Unfortunately, there are no personalities or organisations that could prevail upon all parties in Iraq and Syria to abjure violence and go for a political solution, for both the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are little better than debating forums.

Beaten to death

IN a country where the rights of countless are routinely violated, perhaps what is most appalling about the case of Iram is not so much that she was abused, but that the violence she was subjected to would most likely never have been discovered had it not led to her death. The 10-year-old was employed as a domestic servant in a Lahore household. The child worker was being paid the meagre salary of Rs3,000 a month. On the night between Thursday and Friday, she was dropped with severe injuries at Services Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Police say she was accused by her employers of having stolen cash; the little girl was tied up, beaten and tortured till she died. Three members of the employers’ family have been taken into custody and their guilt or innocence will be decided by the courts.

What there is no doubt about, though, is that there are millions like Iram, and hers is far from the first case of gross abuse to have surfaced. Across the country, domestic servants, including children, oil the wheels that keep their masters’ households running — but they have neither a face nor a voice. Most of them are vulnerable to similar abuse of their rights and dignity; many suffer all sorts of privations and humiliations. And because these violations occur in the domestic sphere, they hardly ever show up on the societal consciousness — rarely, if ever, do even labour rights’ organisations take up the cause of domestic workers. What will it take to make this change? Most obviously, targeted legislation is required; though prosecutions can be made in such cases through laws related to grievous bodily harm, etc, the state has to take a more active position. A strong signal can also be sent out through tough sentencing. But also required urgently is making these hapless millions aware that they can seek help. At the moment, many would find it hard to believe that they have rights at all.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

The sectarian knot

OVER the last few decades, especially since virulently sectarian groups took root during Ziaul Haq’s blighted rule, violence fuelled by sectarian motives has had a devastating impact on Pakistani society. Much blood has flowed while prejudice has begun to colour the thinking of even many ‘moderate’ Pakistanis who now view sectarian ‘others’ with suspicion. While there have been highs and lows in the level of violence, what has consistently been missing is the state’s resolve to tackle the problem, especially the proliferation of violent groups and the spread of hate literature. It seems the state is more interested in trying to control the violence rather than eliminating it. Many in the ulema’s ranks have also displayed a similar attitude, condemning sectarianism on one hand but doing little to counter it on the other.

There is still time to address the issue if all stakeholders play their part. In this context, the ‘peace convention’ of Shia and Sunni religious and political groups held in Islamabad on Sunday is a positive development. It shows that the majority want peaceful coexistence and that only a handful of troublemakers are bent on stoking unrest. Yet holding joint rallies — though a step forward — alone will not solve the problem, which has reached critical proportions. Take the figure of people killed in sectarian terrorist attacks in 2013 released on Sunday by a think tank. According to the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, 658 people were killed in such attacks last year countrywide, while 1,195 were injured.

To try and ensure that 2014 does not see a similar body count, several steps need to be taken by the government and ulema. First, any armed sectarian group from any school of thought found involved in acts of terrorism or targeted killings must be dismantled and its members prosecuted. The security establishment has a fair idea about the operations of such groups and those that give them protection and political cover. For example, the PIPS report says nine suicide attacks were carried out by Lashkar-i-Jhangvi last year. All those who aid and abet the terrorists must be brought to justice. Second, the state, aided by senior ulema, needs to clamp down on the misuse of loudspeakers at mosques and other worship places, specifically where the microphone is used to fan religious hatred. Nearly all religious groups — even some blatantly sectarian ones — swear they want harmony in society. The test of their resolve will only be proved when they help the state single out mischief-makers who spread hatred through mosque microphones. Ultimately, it is a question of whether the state and ulema have the will to sincerely tackle sectarian violence. Unless we see concrete proof of this, joint rallies or a code of conduct, such as that of Tahir Ashrafi, to maintain sectarian harmony, will have little impact in resolving the problem.

Bangladesh electoral hoax

SO Sheikh Hasina Wajed and her Awami League have ‘won’ Sunday’s ‘general election’ — an unqualified fraud perpetrated on the Bangladeshi people. Eighteen parties, including the main opposition Bangladesh National Party, boycotted the polls, less than half of the 300 parliamentary seats were contested, and voter turnout at some polling stations was as low as 20pc. Violence has already led to a number of deaths and is likely to snowball rather than subside given the wave of acrimony the prime minister has unleashed by doing away with the requirement of a caretaker government. Because provisional administrations have been supervising the polls, general elections in Bangladesh had more or less been transparent since 1991. In June 2010, Sheikh Hasina amended the constitution and abolished the caretaker system. Established democracies with strong constitutional institutions may not need a neutral set-up, but for a country like Bangladesh, which has had more than a dozen military interventions since 1971, dropping the interim government clause in the constitution was poor judgement. The big question is what now? Who is going to accept an election in which the Awami League has secured 127 seats unopposed? BNP leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia has called the entire exercise “a scandalous fraud” and demanded that the election be declared null and void and fresh polls held. She has the moral ground plus 17 other parties on her side.

Sheikh Hasina is now on the threshold of a major political crisis. If she doesn’t adopt a conciliatory course and insists on the acceptability of Sunday’s electoral hoax, her morally weak position is unlikely to stand her in good stead against a furious and united opposition alliance that enjoys international sympathy. If violence persists, the Bangladesh army will once again be forced by circumstances, if not by choice, to intervene. The crisis reminds us of the 1977 situation in Pakistan when the army used election manipulation as a pretext to seize power and perpetuate tyranny for 11 years. If the Awami League leader doesn’t want her country to suffer a similar bout of military dictatorship, she should show common sense, let an interim administration oversee fresh polls and prove through a transparent election that she enjoys the people’s confidence.

Conservation tragedy

IT has become an unfortunate hallmark of Pakistan that in terms of heritage conservation and the preservation of historical sites, any step forward is followed by two steps backwards. The country is home to hundreds of sites and monuments, from the forts that sent forth conquering armies in more recent centuries to those from ancient times such as Moenjodaro and the remains of the Gandhara civilisation. What they have in common is that the state that ought to treasure them seems to care not a jot. Take, for example, the Rohtas Fort in Punjab, listed with Unesco as a world heritage site. Construction was started in 1541 by Sher Shah Suri, and once it used to “glisten like a pearl under a full moon” because of its white limestone finish; that is pretty much impossible to imagine now, given the state of disrepair it is in. As photographs published by this newspaper yesterday show, portions of the structure have caved in and the façade is defaced by graffiti and age. Some 200 people have even taken up residence on the premises. The irony is that in 2001, a valuable effort to conserve the fort was initiated through a collaborative private effort that raised its own funds and resources. The monument should have been looked after by the provincial government, but wasn’t so lucky. Since the fort’s ownership was transferred to Punjab, no funds have been forthcoming.

To be sure, the earlier federal and now provincial archaeology departments have a daunting challenge to face. Even before devolution under the 18th Amendment, the then federal department was provided a paltry sum for the over 400 protected sites and monuments that it was supposed to look after. But it is not a matter of funding alone. What we need is more interest — by the state as well as the general public — in preserving links to the past. This is what is missing, and this is what reduces places such as Rohtas Fort to mere piles of masonry.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

IP pipeline: yes or no?

VACILLATION, confusion, indecision — or maybe governments have been unable to understand that the truth will eventually come out. And so it was on Monday that the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee was informed by the minister and secretary of petroleum and natural resources that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline can neither be built on the Pakistani side nor can gas flow through it without attracting sanctions imposed by the US and the international community for doing business with Tehran. This after years of hemming and hawing, first by the PPP government and for months now by the PML-N rulers. Even now, however, neither Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi nor Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed have specified precisely which sanctions — US or UN — affect the pipeline, how they affect the IP pipeline plans and whether there is any discretion available that can allow Pakistan to make a case for an exemption that is much needed by its desperately energy-starved economy.

It would also be reasonable to ask if Pakistan’s ties with Saudi Arabia — which has gone into paroxysms over the recent deal between Iran and the P5+1 group — are part of the equation of the Pakistani government. Surely, Saudi Arabia’s intense rivalry with, if not outright animosity towards, Iran will have caused policymakers there to fret at the idea of an important new economic link between Iran and Pakistan at this point in the history of a tumultuous Middle East and Persian Gulf. Tricky as it may be for Pakistan to navigate all the geopolitical cross-currents affecting the pipeline, that is surely not an excuse to pretend every once in a while that movement on completing the pipeline is in fact taking place while in reality doing little to identify and protect the country’s economic interests.

Failure on the diplomatic front is one thing (and it’s surely a failure to not explicitly explain what the sanctions-related issues are and to refrain from mounting a campaign for permissible exceptions) and failure on the domestic energy planning front quite another. If the IP pipeline cannot be completed, what are the government’s medium- and long-term plans to bridge the enormous gap between supply and demand for gas? Construction of an LNG terminal may be under way as Mr Abbasi told the Senate committee, but the multibillion-dollar contracts for gas to be signed have yet to materialise. And given the enormous subsidies that gas consumers here are granted, how will the government truly be able to charge four to six times the existing gas costs without succumbing to manipulation by the usual special interests? Or is there really no way of ramping up domestic exploration for gas, despite pricing, security and province-centre constraints? Promising good and timely policies does not translate into real policies, as the government seems to be hoping.

Chaudhry Shujaat’s offer

IN offering himself for trial for supporting Gen Pervez Musharraf’s 2007 emergency, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has not only showed courage but also drawn attention to some unpalatable truths about the treason drama that is the current rage in the media. On Monday, on the floor of the Senate, Chaudhry Shujaat said many other well-known persons besides the retired general ought also to be tried for treason — and not only for the 2007 emergency. As the chief of the ruling party at that time, Chaudhry Shujaat knows what went on in the tension-filled corridors of power before Gen Musharraf signed the state of emergency order on Nov 3, 2007. If at all there was to be a treason trial, he said, the starting point should be Oct 12, 1999, when an elected government was overthrown while Mr Musharraf was airborne.

The story didn’t end there. Siding once again with the army, the Supreme Court not only validated the military takeover; their lordships authorised the army chief to amend the Constitution. This way the apex court gave to the army powers that the court itself did not have under the basic law. It is in this sense that Oct 12, 1999 and Nov 3, 2007 are inextricably linked; the latter would not have been possible without the former. Having made that connection, even if the trial now under way is about the 2007 emergency, and not about the 1999 coup, as Chaudhry Shujaat’s words reflect, the emergency was not one man’s decision. While this time the court reacted strongly to the move, right from the political leadership and the prime minister to the army commanders and intelligence chiefs, there was support for the 2007 move. Chaudhry Shujaat’s stance was backed by the JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who demanded the trial of all those who, as he put it, worked for the former general. Whatever views the politicians may have on the issue, it is fairly clear that what is required at the moment is the trial of all those who played a part in the emergency of 2007. As then head of state and army chief, Mr Musharraf’s role was the most prominent. But that should not mean that others be allowed to go scot-free.

Ashes triumph

SELDOM in the 140-year history of Test cricket has a team been so comprehensively outplayed as England was by Australia in the recent Ashes series. Quite simply, it was the complete annihilation of Alistair Cook’s men by the Kangaroos who played like a team possessed. The sheer magnitude of Australia’s triumph, apart from its 5-0 margin, can be judged from the fact that they played an unchanged side in all five Test matches and managed to grab all 100 wickets of England in the 10 innings. This was a rare feat indeed. The succumbing of England, on the other hand, has come as a big surprise for cricket experts and fans since Cook’s army had been turning in admirable performances in world cricket during the past few years. It was a fairly settled squad featuring a number of talented players.

The destruction at the hands of the Aussies, however, has had a telling effect on the England cricketers, in more than one sense. Cook’s men, it seems, have not only lost confidence in their own ability to win a battle on the field, they have also been psychologically dented in the face of the opposing team’s relentless pace battery, so marvellously spearheaded by the fearsome Mitchell Johnson. The abrupt return home of their prime batsman Jonathan Trott citing stress-related illness, the mysterious retirement of leading spinner Graeme Swann, the growing dissensions among their main players, made public through Twitter, show the kind of damage the Ashes mauling has caused in England’s ranks. Besides, the much-trumpeted Alistair Cook-Andy Flower combination of captain and coach is on the verge of collapse with both seriously reviewing their future with the national team. As for the Aussies, the Ashes win signals their resurgence as a major force in world cricket and they certainly have the form and pedigree to mount a major challenge to South Africa as the number one team in world cricket.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Thursday, January 09, 2014

Saudi royal’s visit

THERE are sound geopolitical reasons why Saudi Arabia would like to know where Pakistan stands, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s tour de force being only one of them. As the outcome of the Saudi foreign minister’s visit to Islamabad shows, the two sides have renewed their commitment to deepen their defence cooperation and, in the words of Prince Saud Al-Faisal, “stand by each other”. For Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the first visit in six years by a Saudi personage marked the beginning of a new era, while Sartaj Aziz felt satisfied that the two countries stood together “on the many challenges” they faced. Contrary to reports that the visit was Musharraf-oriented, the Saudi prince said the focus of the negotiations was on regional and international affairs. This means Iran, Syria and Afghanistan must have occupied centre stage in the talks, given the changes in the offing.

The Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes in the wake of the Nov 24 Geneva nuclear deal, which has served to lower tensions in the Middle East, reduced the risk of an Israeli military strike and opened the way for greater Iranian interaction with the West. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies would obviously like to adjust their responses when Iran attempts to integrate itself with the world economy if sanctions, especially those on oil, are eased. Normalisation of Iran’s ties with the West helps Pakistan in many ways, even if the gas pipeline issue remains dormant. At the same time, Islamabad has to maintain and consolidate relations with Saudi Arabia, without compromising its traditionally friendly relations with a neighbour with which it shares the only stretch of borders that relatively speaking is not volatile.

As for Afghanistan, both Islamabad and Riyadh are obviously concerned about the shape of things to come. The US-led International Security Assistance Force is scheduled to leave by the end of the year after more than a decade of war in which America never showed clarity of aim. Having relied on Hamid Karzai and his corrupt cronies all along, America is now discovering it backed a leader who never had his feet on the ground. Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia, fears a renewal of civil war, whose consequences will first and foremost be borne by the Pakistani state and society. Will Islamabad once again soil its hands and fight a proxy war in Afghanistan? It should know that the fighters it backed in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal some 20 years ago are now a different breed and will have no reason to pull Pakistan’s chestnuts out of the fire. It is only by staying away from the new bout of bloodletting that Pakistan — and Saudi Arabia — can help stabilise the regional situation. The same applies to Syria, where Riyadh can have a salutary effect on the situation by reining in non-Syrian militants.

Ghastly crime

THE crime was gruesome even by the standards of local criminals. Six men were found slaughtered at a remote shrine in Gulshan-i-Maymar, located in Karachi’s outskirts, on Tuesday. Along with ending the men’s lives in a grisly manner, the perpetrators of the barbaric act also damaged the shrine. Reports say a note found at the scene, reportedly signed off by the TTP, warned that anyone else visiting the shrine would meet a similar fate. Religious militants are known to bear extreme malice towards all sorts of religious expression that does not fit within their narrow definition of what is Islamic. They have been known to mete out similar ‘punishments’ to unfortunate souls in many parts, while they are notorious for their iconoclasm: the fanatics have attacked many a Sufi shrine in the country. Karachi itself witnessed an attack believed to be orchestrated by militants on its most prominent dargah — that of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in 2010. However, all things considered, the killings in Gulshan-i-Maymar require further investigation to prove whether the TTP was really involved in the outrageous act, or if other criminals used the militants as a cover to settle their own scores.

This is not the first time individuals have been slain in such a brutal manner in Karachi. In November last year, a suspected faith healer was decapitated and his head hung from a city bridge. Investigations into that case have also proved inconclusive. If extremist elements are indeed found to be involved in such acts — only thorough investigations can establish the facts — the state must prepare itself to confront a ferocious new player in Karachi’s deadly vortex of violence. For many years now, there has been talk of creeping Talibanisation in the city, particularly on its outer rim. Police have come under attack, as have polio workers and political activists, in areas where the TTP is said to have influence, while ‘Sharia courts’ are also known to be operating in some neighbourhoods. Karachi has enough violent elements as it is. If the authorities fail to identify and neutralise an emerging Taliban threat, ghastly incidents such as the one witnessed at the shrine may just be the beginning as the extremists expand their targets in the city.

Mars One and Pakistan

THERE’S no shortage of people who want to get away from it all; as an excited French journalist told the press on Tuesday, “I have always felt a bit cramped on Earth.” Her delight comes from having been shortlisted, along with over 1,000 other candidates, for the Mars One project. This, in 10 years’ time, hopes to land a group of 40 people on the Red Planet — with no option of return. Here in Pakistan, as we struggle to live normal lives at a time of scarcity, deprivation and extremism, many amongst us might have reason to wish that it were possible to nominate some people to send as far away from Earth as possible. There they would live, unable any longer to do us harm. Good luck, we might even say, you have now a territory under your control, you’re free to live your life according to your own beliefs without imposing them on others, do as you like — just, please, don’t come back.

That, sadly, is wishful thinking. In the absence of such a definitive solution, Pakistan and its citizens will have to soldier on and hold fast against the threatening black tide. That many are discouraged to a point of abandoning ship, though, is evident enough. More and more people are choosing to find other climes to live and work in, climes that are more conducive to safety and prosperity notwithstanding daunting visa and immigration regimes. Government statistics show that nearly 2.8 million Pakistanis have left over the past five years alone, and if the wrangling in the corridors of power over holding dual nationality is anything to go by, this might include those at the helm of affairs. What holds out hope, then? Just this: we live in an age where the colonisation of a planet is being contemplated, one that has an unbreathable atmosphere, sub-zero temperatures and is some 225 million kilometres away; as compared to this, surely this country’s issues should not be difficult to resolve.

__________________
Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Friday, January 10, 2014

Polio challenge intensifies

IT was a great opportunity. Here was a public health issue that posed grave risk to the basic freedoms of citizens, indeed, was crucial to the very future of the country. Other than those intent on causing harm, everybody else could agree that the polio intervention was necessary. Best of all, there already existed a full-fledged, decades-old, countrywide government initiative to implement the anti-polio drive which employs thousands of workers. In fact, what better evidence could politicians and leaders present to the electorate about their commitment to the welfare of the people than by putting their weight behind the polio vaccination campaign? The crippling disease is on the resurgence in the country, after all, and is even being exported. The level of worry in other countries, most of which are either polio-free or successfully controlling the crippling infectious disease, is such that it has been over two years since the global Independent Monitoring Board for Polio Eradication recommended a travel restriction on Pakistanis who could not produce proof of recent vaccination.

It speaks volumes for the country’s leaders, though, that hardly any voice was raised. And even when it was, it seems that the politicians saw involvement in the vaccination campaign as merely a wonderful photo op. It has been just weeks since PTI chief Imran Khan said that he would be getting involved in the anti-polio effort and that his party would be making it a priority. Around the same time, JUI-S leader and head of the Darul Uloom Haqqania Maulana Samiul Haq expressed his approval of the vaccination, despite his links with the Taliban who have banned the vaccine in the Waziristan region. Both wield influence that could have helped turn the tide. Yet, after the cameras were switched off and the time came to get down to real business, both turned their attention to matters they no doubt considered more pressing. Meanwhile, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was recently photographed in Karachi administering polio drops to a child, but the special citywide campaign that was due to be initiated in the city has been postponed because of insufficient security for polio teams.

Pakistan’s problems on this front are only worsening. It had earlier been thought that the resurgence of the virus, and the resistance against vaccination, were more of an issue in KP, the tribal areas, and in certain low-income areas of Karachi. But as a report published by our paper yesterday shows, the situation is far graver: the WHO and Unicef consider Punjab the greatest challenge since it has the highest number of children who missed being vaccinated. A report sent by them to the government recently warned that an epidemic is set to explode. The country’s leadership needs reminding that if the situation deteriorates — and all indications are that it will — all their politicking would have come to naught.

Pesco politicking

MINISTER of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali’s outburst against electricity thieves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa isn’t new. He’s consistently been going on about theft and the low recovery of bills in the province ruled by its rival PTI. On Wednesday, he accused the PTI ministers and MPAs of protecting power thieves and inciting the public to block the recovery of bills by Pesco staff in many parts of the province. He also warned that power supply to Bannu — where he said theft and default was among the highest in KP — would be cut off. As expected, his remarks created a commotion in the KP legislature where a PTI member from Bannu threatened to stop the supply of (hydel) power from his province to Punjab if the PML-N government in Islamabad chose to disconnect power supply to his city from the national grid. Such verbal sparring between the two rival parties on electricity shortages and losses being suffered by Pesco on account of massive power theft and low bill recoveries has been going on for quite sometime and is unlikely to stop soon.

The problem with the PTI is that it wants to be seen standing on the side of the people ahead of the LG elections expected over the next several months. The PML-N needs someone to blame for its failure to improve the electricity supply situation that it had promised to solve in months, if not weeks, after coming to power. All its new generation projects seem to be getting nowhere at the moment. Nor has it been able to bring down the generation, transmission and distribution losses to improve the power supply situation, which is causing circular debt in the power sector to re-emerge. Both rivals need to understand that such political gimmicks aren’t going to work for either of them. The challenges, including energy shortages, confronting the country are too big for any one party to tackle alone. Both parties should stop playing games with the people. While it is advisable for the PTI to help Islamabad in controlling power theft and recovering unpaid bills, the PML-N must avoid giving statements that add to political friction with rival parties and, instead, help address public problems.

Courage personified

AS the militants’ war on Pakistan grinds on, new tragedies unfold nearly every day. By now, we have become so numbed by violence that suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism have begun to be accepted by Pakistanis as a fait accompli. Yet once in a while ordinary citizens demonstrate such courage that it inspires us to stand up to the onslaught of the militants. Malala Yousafzai’s defiance of the outlawed TTP is a case in point. Similarly, young Aitezaz Hussain’s ultimate sacrifice on Monday deserves to be highlighted for the selfless bravery the ninth-grader displayed. As reported, the young man arrived late for school in the Ibrahimzai area of Hangu and had to wait outside the premises. Noticing a suspicious individual approach the school building Aitezaz signalled him to stop. However, upon the intruder’s refusal to do so the student ran after him. The young lad’s suspicions were correct; as soon as Aitezaz accosted the intruder the individual blew himself up, killing the schoolboy too. Hundreds of students and teachers were reportedly inside the school building at the time of the incident and the carnage can be well imagined had the youngster not challenged the suicide bomber.

There is very little that can console Aitezaz Hussain’s family. But perhaps they can comfort themselves with the thought that their son gave his life so that hundreds of others could live. We must never forget Aitezaz and those like him — both civilians and those in uniform — who have sacrificed life and limb in the fight against militancy. In this case, the militants may have snuffed out a promising young life; but there is little they can do to subdue the spirit which drove the young man to sacrifice his life in order to resist tyranny and fanaticism. The state must condole with the young man’s family and offer them all possible assistance. Equally important, those in power should learn a thing or two from a young schoolboy about courageously standing up to violent extremism.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai