Restructuring PIA

PIA`s PLAN to lease at least 21 small and big aircraft between July and December this year for replacing its superannuated fleet is quite in line with the government policy of `restructuring` it before handing it over to private investors through a `strategic` sale of 26pc stakes. Three aircraft are expected to join its fleet by July and the tenders for another 18 have already been floated. The purpose is to dump the 25year-old aeroplanes before the end of the year, rationalise routes, increase frequency of domestic flights to snatch back the market share lost to local rivals over time and revive some international connections to make the loss-making company a profitable concern. The government has spelled out this plan in the Letter of Intent it sent to the IMF in September to secure multilateral dollars to prop up the country`s foreign exchange reserves.

Disinvestment of the airline, the government believes, is the only way of saving it from total extinction. Thecompany is losing Rs87m every day and its accumulated losses have spiked to Rs180bn. The government has already injected Rs11.75bn as equity this year and plans to invest another Rs4.25bn to keep it flying. One-third of its present fleet of 34 planes remains grounded because of overage or want of repairs.

The national carrier`s present management, as well as its staff, insists that the airline can easily be turned into a profitable concern through the acquisition of new aircraft and new routes. The financial turnaround, it is argued, will preclude the need for the firm`s privatisation. The opponents of PIA`s privatisation have a point here.

Investment in its fleet and revival of the profitable routes domestic and international both can help it earn more revenues. Indeed, the experience of the recent induction of three Turkish aircraft in its fleet has shown that acquisition of new planes can help the airline earn profits. But is that enough to turn around a dying company? Notreally. Tough decisions must be taken to revive the airline`s sagging fortunes.

These will include significant reduction in the number of employees to bring the aircraft-staff ratio to acceptable international standards. A truly independent board and professional management will have to be installed to put an end to political and bureaucratic interference in airline affairs, plug massive corruption and improve management.

However, many remain sceptical of its turnaround in the hands of the government and without the involvement of the private sector in the airline`s management. Even though many users of the services of the national flag carrier share this scepticism, there is no harm in giving a chance to those who think they can make the required change happen and bring back its days of past glory. After all, the government always has the option of giving its control to private investors.

[SIZE="5"][B]15-02-2014[/B]
[/SIZE]
[B][SIZE="7"][CENTER][SIZE="6"]Regional concerns[/SIZE][/CENTER][/SIZE][/B]


THERE was a time when a trilateral summit between Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan would spark much interest in various parts of the world and even create hope for some small or even large breakthrough in the intractable Pak-Afghan relationship. Those times are long gone. Here is a small sample of what is on the plate of each of the leaders who gathered at the eighth trilateral summit in Ankara on Thursday. For the Afghan leader: navigating a key presidential election in which there are no clear frontrunners and that can drag on till late summer possibly; securing President Karzai’s legacy and post-election relevance; and finalising a post-2014 agreement with the US that will see some foreign troops stay on in Afghanistan. For the Pakistani leadership: tamping down a violent domestic Islamist insurgency that is twisting the arm of the state as the state flounders to find a solution, even in the short term, to the violence. For the Turkish leadership: dealing with the Syrian crisis on its doorstep; a Middle East that has seen the hopes of the Arab Spring fade into something more dangerous and malign; and potentially arranging a swap of power at the top, with a struggling prime minister still perhaps aspiring to become Turkey’s first directly elected president with expanded powers.

So where does that leave the two central concerns of the Pak-Afghan relationship, ie reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban and curbing cross-border (from both sides) insurgent movement? At first blush, it would appear that those critical subjects could not have moved forward much. But then there were two other participants in Ankara who kept a lower profile: army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and DG ISI Gen Zahirul Islam. The presence of the two generals in Ankara suggests that behind closed doors some hard talk, and possibly bargaining, was done. At least on cross-border insurgency activities, there is more room for cooperation than there might appear to be at first.

Having long been at the receiving end of allegations from the Afghan side, Pakistan in recent years, and especially over the last year, has increasingly been the one levelling the allegations and showing frustration about what is happening in several areas of Afghanistan just across the Pak-Afghan border. The danger is that the Afghan side, new to this old game of proxies and turning a blind eye, may be overplaying its hand, particularly as Mr Karzai grows increasingly determined to be seen as the man who stood up for Afghan interests against all countries, big or small. With the senior Pakistani military leadership there in Ankara, perhaps the game of brinksmanship gave way to some understanding of why diplomacy is the preferred path to solving most problems.


[CENTER][B][SIZE="6"]Compensation promises[/SIZE]
[/B][/CENTER]


HE logic behind the state paying monetary ‘compensation’ to certain citizens during times of crisis is not unsound: the entire family is affected by the death or disability of one of its members, and it is argued that the state must do what it can to offset the financial losses that will, without doubt, be incurred. This is particularly valid when the disaster occurs as a result of the state’s inability to meet its responsibility of looking out for the interests of the citizenry, as can be argued in the context of rising militancy or crime. Yet there comes a juncture when good intentions begin to sound like glib promises being used as a tool for quietening criticism from people who appear to be increasingly insecure and under threat from a variety of sources. This appears to be the case with the promises of compensation made to the families of the scores who died or were injured in the bombing of a church in Peshawar last September. On Thursday, the Supreme Court expressed shock that all the payments had not been made, with the attorney general saying that he would inquire of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat why the promised disbursement of Rs100m had not been honoured. On the other side of the spectrum, also on Thursday, the Sindh High Court gave vent to extreme displeasure over what it called the “lethargic attitude” of the provincial government to pay compensation to the families of lawyers slain in targeted killings in Karachi. According to the petitioner, over three dozen men of law have died in this manner since 2007.

Is there a policy according to which the federal or provincial government decides whose families will receive compensation and whose will not? This is what the state, increasingly under siege as it is, needs to put before the citizenry. At the moment, barring a few cases where the policy has been made clear, such as in terms of policemen killed or incapacitated in the line of duty, the payment and amount seem to depend on the level of interest shown by state representatives making the promise, with disbursement often winding up in convoluted bureaucratic corridors which brings further grief to the already aggrieved.



[B][CENTER][SIZE="6"]Cinemas under attack[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]



FOR the foreseeable future, the curtains have come down on Peshawar’s cinemas in the wake of two deadly attacks targeting movie theatres in the KP capital. While the banned TTP may have officially denied involvement in the attacks, it is highly likely individuals influenced by the militants’ ideology were involved in the incidents, zeroing in on ‘immoral’ targets. Cinema owners say they’ll keep the movie houses closed as police are unable to provide adequate security. The KP police authorities, on their part, say they have their hands full tackling militancy and don’t have men to spare to guard cinemas. While fear of militant attacks had already reduced the number of cinemagoers, the indefinite closure of movie houses could spell the end of cinema business in Peshawar. This would be a resounding victory for the extremists and their war on culture — all sorts of entertainment businesses, including CD shops and music stores, are under threat. If the cinema industry were to permanently pack up, it would embolden the militants to take their crusade one step forward and clamp down on all entertainment activities.

The state’s response has been minimal in reassuring the cinema owners that their establishments will be protected. This needs to change, for while the law enforcers in KP are indeed on the front line, efforts need to be made to protect vulnerable targets that are particularly in the terrorists’ crosshairs. Having said that, cinema owners must also chalk out plans to improve security at their establishments and plug the loopholes. It is clear that if Peshawar’s movie theatres don’t reopen soon, it will send the message that a few grenades can shut down the entire cinema industry. Today it is cinemas; tomorrow it can be shopping centres, restaurants or other public places the militants assume are dens of ‘immorality’. And there is no guarantee the extremists’ campaign will remain limited to a specific geographical area. Caving in would be a complete admission of defeat on the cultural front.

[SIZE="3"][FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Black"]The right stance [/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

THE tougher line the government`s negotiating committee has taken on the issue of talks with the TTP in the wake of the Karachi bombing that targeted and killed policemen and was owned by the TTP is a welcome sign. Having at the outset insisted that talks must take place within the ambit of the Constitution and that any deal would be limited to a geographic area, albeit an unspecified one, this is the third step taken by the government committee to indicate that the state may at long last be behaving like a state should when dealing with groups like the TTP. The government committee is right, and in demanding an end to TTP violence if negotiations are to continue has simply reiterated what Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in the National Assembly when announcing the formation of the committee.

Before getting to what the government team`s demand and the likely response from the Taliban mean for the talksprocess, some facts need to be clarified.

The TTP is being more than a little disingenuous when it claims that the government must announce a ceasefire of its own first. There is no military operation taking place in Pakistan against the TTP. Where there is action being taken, it is by and large in response to TTP attacks. And where TTP members continue to be tracked down and apprehended in the cities, it is the job of the law-enforcement agencies to respond to attacks in their jurisdiction. Much closer to reality is the opposite of the TTP`s claim: it is the TTP itself that has repeatedly attacked unprovoked since the All-Party Conference last September endorsed the talks option.

What is also reasonably clear, with the TTP having now emphatically owned an attack, is that the TTP is not very invested in the dialogue process.

That is hardly a surprise to anyone whohas paid attention to the demands and agenda of the TTP. But the key here is really the government`s and the negotiating committee`s commitment to stand by what they say. Talks simply cannot take place in an environment in which the TTP is still carrying out attacks. If they do, that would be a wretched compromise by the state that would further embolden the already brazen TTP. But can the government be counted on to stand strong? After all, the last-ditch attempt by Prime Minister Sharif to give talks another chance took the country by surprise and came at the very moment where there appeared to be some kind of national consensus on, or at least grudging acceptance of, the need for a military operation in North Waziristan.

The government negotiating team has said the right things. Now the government must demonstrate it is willing to do the tough things.



[COLOR="Black"][B]Another setback[/B][/COLOR]





THE talk of normal business ties between Pakistan and India seems to have again lost the momentum built up by the agreement between their commerce ministers last month to implement certain proposals crucial to liberalising bilateral trade. The proposals that were agreed to by the two sides required Islamabad to permit the 24/7 trade of all goods across the Wagah-Attari border and to dismantle the negative list of 1,209 items, and bring down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the Safta agreement over a period of five years to give India non-discriminatory market access. Recently, India`s minister cancelled his visit to Lahore to open the India Show, citing Islamabad`s `failure to operationalise the proposals`.

Disappointed by the cancellation of his counterpart`s visit, Pakistan`s commerce minister has linked progress on trade between the two countries with the resumption of the composite dialogue. Both sides are now blaming each other for the lost momentum. Mr Anand Sharma was quoted by the Indian media as having said: `I don`t want to land up there [in Lahore] to find they have not moved forward on their commitments.` A Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson put the onus on India, saying that the visit by the minister was cancelled because Delhi was not clear on certain concerns that had been raised by the Pakistani side. As ever, this is yet another instance where the blame game indulged in by both India and Pakistan has hampered advancement in a sector that can have a far-reaching, positive impact on overall ties.

Indeed, both sides have a lot of homework to do before the dream of normal bilateral trade is realised. If Pakistan is dragging its feet on the demand of granting free access to India to its market, the latter is yet to dismantle the non-tariff barriers impeding the flow of goods from this side of the border. But the biggest challenge to normal bilateral trade comes from the security establishments of the two nations as underscored by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. He was spot on when he pointed out that without `economic security`, `general security` would be impossible. Clearly, the security establishments on both sides would do well to understand his point.


[COLOR="Black"][B]Delhi at a distance[/B][/COLOR]





HUNOOZ Dilli door ast ... The Dilli of ordinary dreams, it seems, still lies some distance away from our grasp. In Arvind Kejriwal, the aam aadmi, or common man, in Pakistan did not just see an Indian politician out to entertain peeping neighbours with his public antics. Mr Kejriwal with his simple demeanour and cry against corruption is a model the Pakistani aam aadmi could in time be inspired to try out, depending on Mr Kejriwal`s journey in New Delhi. For now, that journey has been stalled. Mr Kejriwal lasted only 49 days in the chief minister`s office, which is more than Atal Behari Vajpayee`s 13-day first stint as prime minister all those years ago. His party cannot as yet be written off as a flash-inthe-pan player. However, there are serious dangers about its future, given the `uncompromising position` Mr Kejriwal was found in right at the time of his hasty departure. He didn`t just target the corrupt` politicians in his farewell speech,he identified a business mogul as the real ruler of India and hit out hard against him.

That was against the rules which allow pot shots at politicians only, and that too of a selective nature.

The problem with the aam aadmi everywhere is that his understanding of issues and his solutions are simple. Mr Kejriwal had the awareness to peg his politics to corruption but he must have been bluffing when he said he expected established parties such as Congress and BJP to allow AAP a free way for the passage of laws to fight this disease. They did not give him the expected space and he is now left with the task of widening his challenge and relaunching his campaign for real power. He has been advised to be more discreet and practise the art of the possible rather than go for the forbidden.

This is exactly the course other aam aadmis have taken to graduate in politics. Only they are no more aam once they reach up there.

17.2.2014
 

[B][U]Directory of shame[/U][/B]

IT’S long been the most open of secrets in Pakistan. But to see it in black and white, that too from official quarters, gives the problem of tax avoidance by the country’s elected representatives a whole new dimension. The Parliamentarians Tax Directory, published by the Federal Board of Revenue at the behest of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, is really a catalogue of shame. Except, those who ought to be ashamed will probably be defiant or just ignore the whole matter and wait for the next crisis to divert the national attention. The meaningless sums the country’s elected representatives have declared in income tax raise three fundamental issues. The first, which parliamentarians searching for a fig leaf may look towards, is that the whole process of filing tax returns — a legal requirement — is treated as optional or a pointless exercise by an overwhelming number of taxpayers. An awareness and education campaign about the taxpayers’ legal duty to file their tax returns annually followed by a punitive campaign against non-filers would go some way in fixing that problem.

The other two problems are where the truly monumental issues lie. How can the state build an income-tax recovery mechanism when the very people tasked with legislation and oversight of the executive are some of the most egregious violators of the law? Part of the answer, at least to begin with, is a campaign of naming and shaming — one the FBR has pushed for a while and which, to his credit, Finance Minister Dar has allowed to go ahead. Beyond that, however, is the hard institutional work of designing and implementing tax recovery systems that are transparent, effective and fair. That can only happen if it is a priority of the government — which it clearly has not been so far. The final, and perhaps most important, issue is what income tax evasion has meant for the structure and scope of the national tax net. Abysmally low — the tax-to-GDP ratio fell to 8.5pc in the last fiscal year — it is also terribly unjust because it is heavily skewed towards indirect taxes. So not only are the rich not paying their share, they’re making the poor pay more — a truly ugly picture, if ever there was one.

The essential question though: will the situation change? While many of Pakistan’s problems are often reduced to the vague issue of political will, in this case, it may really be true. But historical and international experience suggests that either a country is lucky enough to get a kind of leadership that is truly statesmanlike — which happens once in a generation, or even many generations — or circumstances, because of an economic implosion, prevent hard choices from being deferred. At the moment, however, it looks like Pakistan has neither of those factors present.

[B][I][U]More questions in Baloch saga[/U][/I][/B]

THE saga of the mysterious mass graves discovered in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district sometime ago continues to be a chilling reminder of the impunity with which the forces of darkness in that province operate. As it is, for most Pakistanis, the country’s largest province is a remote world from where few reports trickle out to join the vibrant mainstream media active in other parts of the country. True, sectarian killings, the recovery of dumped bodies and the low-level insurgency by Baloch separatists that has been going on for years have grabbed headlines, but there has been little focus on how the groups involved operate. The Supreme Court has taken strong notice of the missing persons issue, and here the suspicion has fallen on intelligence agencies accused of indefinitely detaining, or even killing, those they believe are involved in anti-state activities. But it is now becoming increasingly clear that there is more than one player that can be suspected of having a role in the unsolved cases of the missing and the dead. There is also a hint of a darker reality — that overlapping interests cause players with different sectarian, security and separatist agendas to collaborate, and that the alleged ‘outsourcing’ of killings has allowed matters to spiral out of control.

It is in this context that our reporter’s recent visit to the site of the graves, an account of which was published in yesterday’s paper, serves as an eye-opener. The graves were located near what appeared to be a training camp for sectarian terrorists. And yet two decomposed bodies were identified by the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons as those of activists picked up in Awaran, a hotbed of the Baloch separatist insurgency. Many pieces of the puzzle are missing and to conjecture at this point will not lead to much, though the picture might become clearer once the judicial tribunal tasked with investigating the matter finalises its report. Even so, it is time that the focus of the issue was expanded to include other possible actors in this deadly drama — and the nexus among them as well as their link to the state’s shadowy agencies.


[B][I][U]A long-overdue step[/U][/I][/B]

FOR a nation with such a strong tradition of philanthropy that provides some succour to those in need of financial assistance, we demonstrate precious little concern for the needs of the physically challenged. Seen through the eyes of such individuals, Pakistan’s public sphere must present a daunting, almost hostile, prospect where little thought is given to facilitating their mobility. Few establishments, including educational institutions, offices, restaurants, etc. have ramps while wheelchair-accessible toilets are virtually unheard of. And that’s aside from the discrimination that people with disabilities face in the employment sphere, even in public-sector institutions, which have a legally mandated quota of 2pc for them. Stories abound of how such individuals are sidelined in the process of promotions and training opportunities, leaving many of them feeling that they work on their employers’ sufferance rather than because they have marketable skills to offer. Moreover, in today’s world with the extended family structure tending towards disintegration, particularly when children move abroad with their families in search of better prospects, the elderly are often left to fend for themselves. With age-related illnesses compromising their mobility it is all the more important that consideration for the needs of the physically challenged receives close attention.

It is therefore heartening that the State Bank of Pakistan has advised banks — commercial and micro finance — as well as development finance institutions to provide special facilities to people suffering from any kind of disability. This includes physical infrastructure aids such as ramps at the entrance to existing branches and ATMs, where possible, to enable ease of access. Financial institutions have been directed to ensure that the design of future premises makes allowance for such infrastructure. Additionally, they have also been instructed to offer preferential treatment and out-of-queue assistance to physically handicapped customers when they seek access to financial services. Hopefully, this will spur other commercial establishments to change their attitudes so that the physically handicapped are not perennially relegated to the sidelines of existence.

18.2.2014
 

[B][U][I]More killings by Taliban[/I][/U][/B]

TALKS are deadlocked, but not dead. The only dead are the security personnel who continue to be killed and sundry other victims of the Taliban. With 23 Frontier Corps personnel abducted in 2010 now allegedly killed by the Mohmand branch of the TTP, the Taliban have once again underlined their agenda and approach to dialogue. For its part, the government has frowned and worn grim looks in response to the latest TTP outrage, but nowhere yet is there talk of deadlines or red lines. Today, the government and its negotiating committee is set to huddle to determine its approach going forwards, but the government is already way behind the curve. Every step of the way, it seems to have been the TTP that has put pressure on the state to bow to its demands instead of the state standing tall.

At this point, with so much flux and uncertainty surrounding the dialogue process, it is perhaps important to return to fundamentals and first principles. What the Mohmand Taliban have done in killing the FC personnel demonstrates two things: one, they are committed to the use of force away from the negotiating table to wrest maximum compromises from the state at the negotiating table; and two, the TTP is either a house divided or is cleverly using its various branches to deflect blame while keeping the pressure on the state. In these circumstances, the only logical option for the state — at least from the point of view of a strong state — is to demonstrate that it will neither be bullied nor manipulated. That would entail an emphatic rejection of talks while such killings and attacks continue. Anything less and the already lopsided negotiating process will tilt entirely towards the Taliban.

While the calculus may be relatively clear, what is still shrouded in mystery is the thought process of perhaps the only individual whose opinion ultimately matters here: Nawaz Sharif. The prime minister has given away virtually nothing about his own red lines or deadlines. If, as many suspect, the only red line the prime minister has is attacks in Punjab, then the strategy of buying the TTP off by handing them limited concessions in their strongholds is fundamentally flawed: while it may buy some time for the government, it will also allow the TTP to plot their next phase of growth. Or is it the prime minister’s perception that a military operation by itself is no solution because the military is not capable of dealing with the threat effectively? If that is the case, then what are the prime minister and the army leadership doing about changing that reality? Surely, pleading with the Taliban to not attack while being resigned to further attacks is no strategy at all.

[B][I][U]Middle-class militancy[/U][/I][/B]

THAT Al Qaeda has been active in Pakistan is no secret, as several top-ranking foreign militants belonging to the transnational terror franchise, including Osama bin Laden, have been apprehended here. However, what is cause for concern is that evidence is emerging that Al Qaeda has made inroads inside urban Pakistan, attracting bright young men to its cause. Police on Friday said they had unearthed an ‘organised network’ of the militant group in Karachi; investigators revealed that Al Qaeda is recruiting university students from numerous middle-class Karachi localities, focusing on young talent proficient in information technology. The discovery of the network has put the spotlight on urban religious militancy, particularly amongst the educated youth, whereas most of the earlier focus had been on extremist madressahs. Similar discoveries had been made in Lahore.

Pakistani militants can be divided into two broad categories; the first consists of students enrolled in extremist madressahs or those attracted to these establishments, who often provide the cannon fodder for suicide missions or foot soldiers for sectarian groups. The second consists of educated youth plucked from universities and colleges and selected to run the infrastructure of ‘jihad’. The second category is perhaps more dangerous than the jihadi foot soldier, providing the brains for transnational terrorism. It is believed that Al Qaeda recruits young, educated Pakistanis to groom them for leadership roles and to provide the technical and logistical support structure for global militancy. The authorities must crack down on similar networks existing in Karachi and other cities. The metropolis does not need the additional infamy of becoming the international recruiting ground for terrorism. At a deeper level, state and society, specifically the religious parties, need to look into why intelligent young men choose to take up the gun. The reasons can be many. Some youths are self-radicalised, reacting to atrocities against Muslims in Kashmir, Palestine and other areas, while others belong to student wings of religious parties or are already members of proscribed groups. Whatever the motivation, the educated militant is politically aware, media- and tech-savvy and ideologically driven. This presents a new de-radicalisation dilemma: while working to wean the madressah student away from militancy, the state must now also work to convince ideologically motivated university students to shun transnational jihad.


[U][I][B]YouTube blockade[/B][/I][/U]
EVOLVING situations require constantly evolving regulatory mechanisms, and one area where Pakistan is lacking is in terms of internet safety — even though the World Wide Web and its benefits can hardly be said to be new realities. Last year, the Federal Investigation Agency received more than 1,000 complaints regarding cyber crime, particularly malicious stalking, the hijacking of social media accounts and faked identities or impersonation, but the country does not have laws that can be invoked in such situations. This forces the FIA to either redirect the complainant to the Ministry of Information Technology, or to the police, or in a few cases, invoke old laws that are insufficient.

Obviously, this glaring gap in the country’s legislative framework needs to be addressed. Yet whether the state has the stomach to do the needful in the wake of the technological revolution is a moot point. Consider, after all, the fact that it has been over a year since access to YouTube was cut off in the country. The piece of offensiveness that led to this is long forgotten, yet the state has not managed to come up with ways to put itself in a position where it can ask parent companies — Google, in the case of YouTube — for the removal of web content through doing the requisite inter-country paperwork, or find a method to filter content while leaving the sites in general accessible. Whether or not the state should even interfere in civil liberties by indulging in censorship is itself debatable. But even if there are extreme cases where this is deemed necessary, after consultation in parliament and with the public, the means to do so legally, transparently and with the least inconvenience must be devised. After the initial furore, those who have the know-how have found ways to circumvent the blockade; those who don’t have had to learn to do without. Legislators and politicians, otherwise so vocal about their commitment to citizens’ rights, have utterly failed to raise the matter again for redressal.

19.2.2014
 

[B][B][I][U]Ties with Saudi Arabia[/U][/I][/B][/B]

GIVEN the long history of friendly ties between the two countries, the identity of views expressed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in Monday’s joint statement at the end of Prince Salman bin Abdel Aziz bin Saud’s visit was to be expected. Besides being host to a large Pakistani expat community, Saudi Arabia has bailed out Pakistan in moments of acute economic crises. The relationship acquired new dimensions with the return to power of the Sharif family as evident from the high-level visits by Saudi royals in recent weeks. However, foreign policy is a different ball game, and Pakistan has to prioritise its national interests instead of getting carried away by emotions. In this respect, certain aspects of the joint statement are somewhat disturbing because they suggest a possible shift in Pakistan’s Syria policy. As always, we believe that in the Syrian conflict, as in other regional flashpoints, Islamabad needs to maintain a certain level of neutrality and perform a fine balancing act so as to avoid distortions that may offend friendly states.

The situation in the Levant is far more complex than what is stated in the joint statement. For instance, the call for a withdrawal of foreign forces should have been a bit more specific, as Syria is now home to a multilateral conflict with several regional states backing militias working at cross-purposes. The anarchy in Iraq has served to aggravate the Syrian crisis because Al Qaeda and other militant groups have moved into the country and changed the very character of the Arab Spring. So far, Pakistan has avoided taking sides in the Syrian charnel house. However, in the joint statement Pakistan seemed to agree with Saudi Arabia that President Bashar al-Assad must go, because it called for “the formation of a transitional government with full executive powers” to take over Syria. Given the failure of the Geneva talks and the hard positions adopted by all sides, it seems well nigh impossible how a plan calling for President Assad’s exit can be agreed upon and put in place through talks. This shows Pakistan is in no position to discard neutrality and be a party to a regional conflict that shows no signs of abating. The joint statement coincided with an Iranian warning that Tehran could send troops into Pakistan to recover kidnapped border guards. The statement should not be taken literally, but it does convey Iran’s unease if not anger over the higher level of Saudi-Pakistan ties with security implications.

It is ironic that, in these difficult times, Pakistan has no foreign minister, and our external relations go lurching from crisis to crisis. Parliament is obviously the forum for discussing foreign policy, and it is appalling that serious matters involving potential changes in external relations should not be debated by our legislators before a policy is formalised.

[U][B][I]Attacks on the media[/I][/B][/U]

GIVEN the threats to the media from various actors — chiefly extortionists and religious extremist groups — Monday’s attack came as no surprise. A bomb exploded near the gate of the building that houses the offices of Business Recorder and Aaj TV in Karachi; another that targeted the premises of Waqt TV and The Nation and Nawai Waqt newspapers was defused. While no group had claimed responsibility at the time of writing, the attacks will no doubt aggravate existing fears, especially as the latest incident follows the killing of three employees of the Express Media Group last month. The responsibility for their deaths was claimed by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, that reissued a ‘fatwa’ against the Pakistani media some weeks ago. Not only that, the group also prepared a hit list naming some journalists and publishers, from owners and anchors to field staff. The 29-page fatwa accused the media of siding with “disbelievers” and, to quote Khalid Haqqani, deputy TTP chief and one of the edict’s main authors, of “continuously lying about us and our objectives”.

From the state and its representatives there has been only a muted — if any — response to the increasing dangers from various groups that the media must contend with. This has turned an already fraught situation into one of grave proportions, for it sends out the signal that journalism can be silenced — whether by organisations that deal in terror or others that imitate their methods — with impunity. Yet what is at stake is of critical importance: the ability to faithfully and accurately inform. Freedom of speech already stands greatly compromised in a country where a large section of society has followed the slide to the extreme right; the list of things that can no longer be safely referred to is growing longer. When the state stands by as media houses face those who use terror tactics to muzzle journalists, it adds significantly to the vulnerability felt by the latter. While the state must support media houses and the latter themselves must take security measures, it is also important that a collective voice is raised by the journalist community against the growing threats. Unless journalists are unified, the media’s hard-won liberties will be lost.

[B][I][U]Doctors under threat[/U][/I][/B]

IN Pakistan, hardly anyone’s life or property is safe. However, belonging to certain religious groups, living in certain areas or even one’s profession can increase a person’s chances of meeting an unnatural end. Doctors are among the professionals in Pakistan that have found their security severely compromised; many leading medics have been killed in cold blood, while others have been abducted by criminals. Still others face threats from extortionists. Prof Javed Iqbal Qazi is the latest casualty. The senior physician was gunned down on Monday as he left the Karachi Medical and Dental College, where he taught. Police have termed it a targeted killing, though investigators are unsure of the motive. A respected professional, Prof Qazi was said to be the only renal and hepatic pathologist in Pakistan. Regardless of the motivation for the murder, the country has been deprived of an accomplished medical professional. Karachi isn’t the only city where doctors live under the threat of violence. A doctor was killed, apparently on sectarian grounds, in Rajanpur, Punjab in January, while last year Lahore witnessed the tragic killing of Dr Ali Haider and his young son, also reportedly gunned down by sectarian killers. Meanwhile, the kidnapping of physicians is a major concern, especially in Balochistan; cardiologist Dr Munaf Tareen was released by kidnappers last year after the reported payment of a heavy ransom.

Most doctors can easily jump ship and move to lands where their lives and those of their family members will be much safer. In fact, some in the medical community have already begun planning exit strategies. Hence, doctors serving in such hostile conditions deserve society’s gratitude and extra protection from the state. It is not a pleasant thought to imagine a large-scale exodus of medical professionals from Pakistan, driven out by violence and criminality. But unless the state takes action to safeguard the lives of doctors, our best medical minds will be lost to us. As always, the common man in Pakistan will be the biggest loser.

20.2.2014
 

[CENTER][B][I][U][SIZE="4"][SIZE="5"]Manipulative tactics[/SIZE][/SIZE][/U][/I][/B][/CENTER]

ENCOURAGINGLY, the government’s negotiating committee is standing firm. Cleverly, the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan is trying to muddy the waters further by levelling grim allegations. Yesterday, the impasse continued as the TTP announced its conditions for a ceasefire by the militants, and the government committee rejected a conditional ceasefire. The TTP claims that the security forces continue to pick up members of the militant group and are dumping their dead bodies in various parts of the country. It is a particularly clever ruse because it suggests that the TTP’s violence is a direct response to the provocation by the state — which it is not — and will always provide a fig leaf to TTP violence — since the allegations are infinitely easier to make than to rebut. What it demonstrates though is that the TTP continues to be a formidable negotiator: after all, a deadlock only adds yet more time to that which the TTP has already bought for itself.

On the other side, divining the government’s true resolve from the position staked out by its negotiating committee is a more complicated affair. There is the reality that the most vocal member of the government committee when it comes to demanding an unconditional ceasefire by the TTP is Irfan Siddiqui. Given that Mr Siddiqui is an adviser to Nawaz Sharif and enjoys direct access to him, his words could be taken to reflect the prime minister’s own thinking on the issue. That would be an encouraging sign of a newfound pragmatic resolve on the part of the government. However, there is also the reality of what precisely made the government finally take a clear stand on TTP violence. While many more civilian targets have been hit and many more civilian deaths have occurred, it is the deaths of security personnel that led the government to harden its stance. Those of a more sceptical bent, then, may wonder if the government’s position reflects its own unshakeable resolve or whether it is simply an expedient given the army leadership’s known unhappiness at being attacked by the TTP without being able to mount a significant response.

If the government does fully back its own negotiating committee on the issue, the TTP will be boxed in. Either the TTP will be exposed as not truly believing in dialogue and a negotiated settlement, or it will be forced into ensuring that its sub-groups, franchises and other elements that look towards the militant group for guidance and inspiration will accept its central leadership’s preference for a negotiated settlement. Sly and manipulative as the TTP may be, its strategising and tactical manoeuvring suffer from a basic flaw: if — we repeat, if — the state stands firm, there is little wriggle room left for the TTP.

[B][I][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Baloch protest under threat[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U]
[/I][/B]

NEARLY 1,400km in 70 days. Walking 20km a day. It’s a feat beyond endurance for most people. And that’s not counting the 700km traversed from Quetta to Karachi earlier. The small group of about 15 people — including nine women and three children — is approaching the end of its protest march from Karachi to Islamabad. Led by Qadeer Baloch of the Voice of the Baloch Missing People, the marchers’ purpose is to draw attention to the abductions of Baloch men allegedly by agents of the state, including the Frontier Corps and intelligence personnel, on suspicion of separatist sympathies. The tortured, bullet-riddled bodies of nearly 600 such ‘missing’ people have been found in the last three years dumped in various parts of Balochistan. Many remain untraced, sometimes since years, and the total number of enforced disappearances may run into the thousands. Despite repeated interventions by the Supreme Court, which has particularly sought the FC’s response to the allegations against it, young men in the province continue to go missing.

The protest undertaken by the VBMP illustrates the desperation of people who have run out of options in their quest for justice. Although they, and whoever has offered them food and shelter along the way, have been harassed and intimidated from the outset, matters have now reportedly reached a particularly grave pass as they approach Islamabad. The threats are becoming ever more blatant, and some exchanges between police and the marchers have been captured on video. By responding in this manner to a peaceful protest — the right to engage in which is the mark of a civilised society — the state is exacerbating an already fraught situation. While in the desolate reaches of Balochistan, kill-and-dump operations and abductions can be carried out away from the public eye — although sometimes the stench from improperly buried bodies does expose the inconvenient truth — it is quite a different matter when obstacles are created in the path of those engaged in a peaceful march whose progress is in the public domain via the internet. The repressive tactics to silence the VBMP will ensure that its voice will echo ever louder in the court of public, as well as international, opinion.

[U][I][B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Hardly well spent[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B][/I][/U]

IT can be said with relative surety that the infrastructure in Sindh remains poor, despite the PPP government’s claim of having spent billions on uplift schemes in the province. Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told the provincial assembly on Tuesday that Rs70bn had been spent on various development projects in the province. He was responding to complaints from both opposition and treasury lawmakers that funding had dried up due to reported budgetary deficit. Members said that because of lack of funds, various development schemes in their constituencies remained unfinished. They asked where the released funds had gone. It may be true that funds were released, but were they fully spent on the projects they were earmarked for, and was the quality of work satisfactory? These are valid questions if the condition of most of Sindh’s districts is considered. For example the road network, except at a few places, is in bad shape, with bumpy, potholed roads. Sewerage and drainage facilities in most towns are below the mark, leaving pools of filthy water in the streets. Sanitation facilities are well below par. Even Karachi, the provincial capital, and Larkana, the PPP’s bastion, leave much to be desired where quality and functioning infrastructure is concerned.

So why do the official figures not match the work that has been done? There are the usual suspects, including corruption and negligence, with bribery an essential requirement to move files within most government departments. Even if a percentage of the figure quoted by the chief minister was properly spent on infrastructure, we would have seen visible changes over the past many years of PPP rule in Sindh. There have been genuine obstacles, such as back-to-back floods, but the basic problem is lack of good governance and accountability. It is welcome that Mr Shah told the house that the government was “prepared for accountability by the people for every penny being spent”. The Sindh government must probe where and how the funds have been spent.

[COLOR="Black"][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]World records and realities[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

| 2/21/2014

WITH good reason did the PTI acidly remind the Punjab government on Wednesday that the masses need not world records but electricity, gas and employment opportunities. Organising the former has become a hallmark of the provincial administration, and while this may send out a signal of hope, with each fresh effort the exercise is rapidly being taken into the realm of the ridiculous.

Several newspapers yesterday carried photographs of rows of chairs arranged at the Punjab University campus for 150,000 people to sing the national anthem in a bid to set the world record. Just a few days ago came the news that Lahore had broken the Guinness World Record for the largest national flag created with the most number of people over 29,000 students participated in the stunt. Amongst the records Lahore was instrumental in getting for Pakistan last year was that for the largest mosaic made out of sequins (depicting Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif)and that for opening the most bottles within one minute with the head. In the wake of such grand displays of soft power, many have been left wondering whether there exists a record for being a country vying for the most GWR recognition while having the most serious crises on its hands, and whether Pakistan ought to put in a bid.

Displays of nationalism are all very well, but they need to be moderated by the recognition that there are much more urgent tasks to tackle, not the least of them an economic climate that is leading to rapidly worsening employment and poverty figures. The PML-N was voted in on the back of promises of economic reform and an improved climate for business and industry. Yet nearly a year after it was elected to the centre, there has been little difference in economic and other realities. By all means, it should carry on with attempts to set records if it feels these are of value, but we wouldn`t mind improved governance to go with it.


[COLOR="Black"][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]Dangerous roads[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

| 2/21/2014

IN a news cycle dominated by terrorism, mass murder and general lawlessness, deaths caused by horrific road accidents, like the one that occurred in Karachi on Wednesday, hold our attention for a few hours and are subsequently forgotten or buried deep within the collective consciousness.

Rarely does the shock and outrage transform into concrete action to make our roads safer. Wednesday`s tragedy, which occurred on the Lyari Expressway, was compounded by the fact that the 10 victims belonged to the same family that was en route to a wedding. The unfortunate souls fell into the river when the pick-up truck they were riding in lost balance. Not only was the vehicle said to be speeding, it was a goods carrier that was carrying passengers. According to some accounts, the accident occurred when the driver tried to avoid a police mobile coming in the wrong direction.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan`s roads are becoming increasingly deadly. Official estimates regarding road deaths suggest an average of 5,000 fatalities per year. Tragedies occur with regular frequency, ofteninvolving deaths or grievous injuries. For example, it was only last month that a major accident involving a school van occurred near Nawabshah which took 20 lives, mostly of children. Yet despite recurring incidents little is done to address the issues that make our roads so dangerous. People continue to drive without paying heed to any sort of road sense; traffic police are willing to overlook flagrant violations if palms are sufficiently greased while road safety doesn`t even make it to the priority list of the state. Meanwhile, a fatalistic attitude is common amongst many drivers; if life is to end in a gory crash, it must be written in the stars, it is thought. With such attitudes prevalent, where does awareness of road safety feature? However, it is the state`s job to raise awareness about road safety amongst the public. This can be done through the strict enforcement of traffic rules as well as making sure drivers are issued licences only after they pass road and theory tests. Introducing drivers` education courses at the secondary school level could also help make Pakistan`s roads safer to drive on.

[COLOR="Black"][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]Enemy` of the state[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]



| 2/21/2014

THE interior ministry`s report on the internal security threat presented before the National Assembly`s Standing Committee on Interior is at once an eyeopener and a confirmation of long-held suspicions. The cities of Pakistan not just faraway Fata or obscure corners have thoroughly been infiltrated by militants of every stripe, local and foreign. The names are as familiar as they are scary: Al Qaeda, Taliban, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. So are the targets: ethnic, sectarian, provincial, subnational. Equally telling, however, is what was left off the list: whereas Indian-sponsored militancy in AJK and arms being smuggled into the country across both the eastern and western borders were highlighted by the interior ministry official, nothing was said of the pro-state non-state actors who have also proliferated across the country. And therein lies the real tragedy of Pakistan today: not only has the state been negligent in securing the peaceinternally, it has actively colluded with elements along the very spectrum that is threatening the existence and moorings of the state as we know it today.

Start though with the strands of militancy the state ostensibly does not support or condone, groups such as LJ and Al Qaeda. These are not new threats and, despite the creative rewriting of history in some quarters, existed long before 9/11 or the American return to the region. How seriously has the state taken the elimination of such strands of militancy on Pakistani soil? Officials may point to the dozens, if not hundreds, who have been captured or killed over the last decade but the success rate is neither particularly high nor adequate. If it were, then why is the interior ministry today warning of swathes of the country being at risk from such groups? Yet, as is well known, the problem is not just one of state inaction or inadequate action but of collusion and complicity too. Set aside the Kashmir and India-centric groups that the state, or at least the security establishment, has little interest in reining in. Consider just the sectarian elements that the security establishment and political parties have either coopted or turned a blind eye towards for parochial reasons. In Balochistan, for example, there are persistent rumors of sectarian killers being recruited for eliminating Baloch separatists. In Punjab, nearly every political party has followed the lead of the PML-N in learning how to either buy off or co-opt sectarian elements for electoral purposes. The idea that violent extremist groups and mainstream politics or the state can peacefully coexists a nonsensical one of course.

All the security establishment and parts of the political spectrum have managed to do is to create a bigger, more formidable problem than they could ever have imagined.

A living document
 

Published
2014-02-23 08:17:40
“NOW, therefore,” declares the Preamble to a document passed by almost all those present in the National Assembly in Islamabad on April 10, 1973, “we the people of Pakistan, conscious of our responsibility before Almighty Allah and men, cognisant of the sacrifices made by the people of Pakistan, faithful to the declaration made by the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that Pakistan would be a democratic State based on the Islamic principles of social justice […] do hereby, through our representatives in the National Assembly, adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution.” The 1973 Constitution — that followed previous, short-lived documents — was accepted by elected representatives of political parties with different leanings. No doubt, many of its clauses remain open to interpretation, and the debate on some of the principles it upholds has been extensive, but the document, like any other, provides the foundation upon which the state is built. That today its existence is being questioned by some shows a mindset that spurns the principles of democracy.

A constitution is a basic law that institutionalises the political process and defines the rights of the individual and, in the case of a federation, those of the constituent units. This division of powers and the separation of powers among the three organs of the state lay down rules that govern the working of the state, which must perpetuate itself as an organic unity. Yet, a constitution is made not only for the generation that enacts it but for posterity as well. For that reason, every constitution must be flexible and have room for amendments by future generations which will live in times of their own. The Constitution of 1973 adheres to these principles and lays down a procedure for amending the basic law to make it a living, dynamic document capable of responding to the needs of the future.

In fact, the 1973 Constitution is remarkable for its resilience. Two dictators mauled it, incorporating by decree some obnoxious clauses, arbitrarily changing its parliamentary character and giving the head of state the power to sack an elected government and dissolve the National Assembly. Yet, when the dictators fell, the Constitution re-emerged in its pristine form that heralded its moral strength. Today, elements who do not appear to be “cognisant” of the sacrifices the preamble speaks of have denounced the Constitution. Against this background, the prime minister’s statement deserves to be welcomed. In Raiwind on Friday, Nawaz Sharif said his government would talk only to those who “have regard for the Constitution and integrity of the country”. Let us hope that the prime minister lives by his words and does not compromise on a golden princ

[B]Thursday, February 27, 2014[/B]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Security policy and reality[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

FIRST, the good news. The National Internal Security Policy has been unveiled before parliament and the government appears to have absorbed a basic, but key understanding: there are no quick fixes when it comes to internal security; patience and perseverance will be required. Welcome too is the latest attempt to turn the moribund National Counter-Terrorism Authority into the coordinating policy body that it was envisaged to be. And while the idea of new rapid-reaction police forces in Islamabad and the provinces may not be ideal — the politicians’ penchant for reinventing the wheel instead of working to strengthen existing institutions appears to have won the day again — at least the emphasis on the capacity of the civilian security apparatus is correct. As details of the policy are parsed in the days ahead — and likely parts of the classified section leaked — its likely efficacy will become much clearer. Suffice it to say, without a focus on implementation and adaptation — even the best of plans need to be tweaked when implemented — there will be little long-term success.

Now to the less welcome news. For one, the approach the government has taken is narrow and starts at the wrong end of the policy pyramid. Internal security is not established in a vacuum and, particularly in Pakistan’s case, is linked to the overall national security strategy, which looks both internally and externally and encompasses everything from military power to foreign policy. So, while the NISP does talk of past flawed policies on Afghanistan, India and Kashmir, it spends far too little time connecting the dots — and, perhaps most problematically, appears to assume that the past has been left behind and that all institutions today understand and accept what went wrong and are determined not to repeat the same mistakes. If only. Even if it were accepted that there really has been a fundamental change in institutional thinking, the reality of institutions and decades-old security policies is that change will not come through words alone.

Consider just two small examples of the problem with the overall approach. Yesterday, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan referred to a war that is 13 years old — implying that it began with the latest war in Afghanistan and so ignoring that the militancy in Pakistan has older roots. If the diagnosis itself is wrong, can the prescription work? Secondly, can militancy and terrorism be selectively eliminated after years of cross-pollination and cooperation between various groups and organisations? Every group that has turned its war on Pakistan itself was at one time considered an ally or asset. Are there still some non-state allies and assets today?

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Military intervention[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

SINCE the 2008 elections, parliamentary democracy in the country has been strengthened by politicians who have stood united against any hint of extra-constitutional intervention. Though the political class can be accused of indecisiveness when it comes to taking hard decisions, years of military dictatorship and army interference in civilian affairs have taught it why democratic values need to be cherished. It is saddening then that MQM chief Altaf Hussain should call for army intervention in the event of the government not backing the military’s fight against the Pakistani Taliban. True, the outlawed group has committed horrendous acts of terror across the country. Thousands, including soldiers and ordinary civilians, have died in the bloodbath. Schools, mosques, markets and security installations have all been targeted, and there can be no divergence from the view that militancy in the country must be uprooted, and its perpetrators brought to justice. But surely, it is the elected representatives of the people who should lead the way and make decisions which the army must obey. It is a fact that no strategy against the militants would be complete without input from the military, but in any democracy worth its salt, the final decision rests with those in parliament.

Mr Hussain’s own party has, more than once, been at the receiving end of operations conducted by both the military and civilian law enforcers. So it is ironical that he should call for military intervention. The argument he has used, that the country is more important than democracy, cannot be sustained in the light of history. Military regimes have weakened rather than strengthened the country. One dictator abrogated an earlier constitution. Two others mauled the current one beyond recognition, and it took approximately a decade in each case before the elected assemblies were able to recast the basic law in its original mould. Mr Hussain’s party has sizeable representation in the national and provincial assemblies, and such utterances send out the wrong message to anti-constitutional forces lurking in the wings. It is the Taliban who want to see the Constitution jettisoned; mature political parties should not be seen to even imply this, even if their argument is different.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Dying at birth[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

DEATHS from acts of terrorism may be the overriding concern at present, but it seems that being born itself entails extraordinary risk in Pakistan. According to a report launched on Tuesday by the local chapter of Save the Children, Pakistan’s rate of intrapartum stillbirths (death during childbirth) and first day neonatal mortality is the highest in the world at 40.7 per 1,000 total births, followed by that of Sierra Leone, Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho and Angola. Every year, 200,000 infants die in this country either during intrapartum stillbirth or on the very first day of their life. That’s an average of nearly 550 infants every day. What is most depressing is that Pakistan has barely registered any progress in reducing the newborn mortality rate over the decades; from 52 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 40.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. At this rate, achieving a reduction in overall child mortality rates which is one of the Millennium Development Goals looks like a distant prospect, even though Pakistan has made appreciable progress in lowering its under-five mortality rate.

Not surprisingly, poverty and lack of access to quality healthcare are major obstacles in preventing such deaths. According to the report, the number of intrapartum stillbirths and first day deaths could be halved with trained midwives and free healthcare facilities for mothers and babies. In Pakistan, more than half of all women give birth without a skilled birth attendant present, which poses a risk to both mother and child. The situation is particularly dire in remote areas or those with law and order problems. The provincial governments must take immediate steps to address the issue through expanding the network of community midwives and improving their training — Sri Lanka’s successful programme could offer some pointers — as well as establishing specialised infant care units in district and tehsil hospitals. There is no excuse for such shocking rates of infant mortality in a country with claims to progress and modernity.