Friday March 14, 2014

A new dialogue committee

AS with everything dialogue related, it appears to be one step in one direction, another in another direction. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif making the trek to PTI chief Imran Khan’s home for discussions prior to the announcement of a new government negotiating committee at least sends the signal that the political leadership of this country can come together and discuss issues of great national import — even if the politicians in question are bitter political foes. That trend, visible during the last PPP-led government in Islamabad too, bodes well for democratic stability and suggests that the bad old days of decades past may have been buried for good after all.

Now, to the more complicated development: the formation of a new government committee to carry forward the dialogue process with the outlawed TTP. In the government’s version, the original four-member committee had performed some useful services and laid the groundwork for more serious and direct engagement with the TTP and now it was time for a committee empowered to take decisions on what can be offered to the TTP and what is to be demanded of it. The problem with that explanation is the composition of the committee: three serving bureaucrats and one retired bureaucrat and diplomat affiliated with the PTI. To students of how power works in Pakistan and what is and is not possible, it is difficult to see how the new committee is more empowered and independent than the previous one. Bureaucrats with a deep knowledge of Fata and tribal affairs some of the members of the new committee may be, but the Pakistani bureaucratic structure does not allow for much initiative or independence — or even forthrightly presenting conflicting views to their political superiors. If this is truly the result-oriented phase, in government-speak, of the dialogue process, then it would appear that the new committee may be little more than a front for behind-the-scenes confabulations between the political government and the army leadership and among the political leadership.

Away from the issue of the composition of the new committee, there remains the issue of what the principal negotiation points will be and how the political and army leaderships will square their differences on them. The TTP in its meeting with its own nominated committee in North Waziristan will likely lay out its own set of demands, which may give an indication of what the contours of a successful agreement may eventually look like. But what the TTP demands is one thing — how the PML-N government will be able to keep both the PTI and the army leadership on board in addition to keeping public opinion on its side is quite another matter. To wit, to what extent the PTI, the PML-N and the army are on the same page is difficult to say.

Gangsters’ paradise

EVEN though Lyari’s hapless people are no strangers to the sounds of gunfire and exploding grenades, Wednesday’s attack in a crowded market in what is surely Karachi’s most neglected neighbourhood took brutality to a new level. Innocent people have died in the past, caught in the crossfire between rival gangs or between criminals and law enforcers. But in Wednesday’s atrocity the criminals seem to have directly targeted civilians to spread terror in the area. At least 14 people were killed — mostly women and children — while shopping, as criminals appeared to launch the assault to ‘avenge’ the death of a comrade who had reportedly been killed by the Rangers in an operation. While in the past announcements were made to warn people before gun battles, no such warning came before the latest carnage.

Once the hub of vibrant political activity, the working-class neighbourhood of Lyari has been surrendered to criminals by the state and political parties. A virtual no-go area — one of many in a city dominated by mafias of various persuasions — for ‘outsiders’ there are parts of Lyari where the presence of law enforcers is non-existent. Here heavily armed young foot soldiers of gangs rule the street. The situation has come to such a head because for several years now, political parties, including the PPP and MQM, have been accused of patronising rival criminal groups. So strong is the gangs’ stranglehold over Lyari’s affairs that potential lawmakers from the area are said to be ‘nominated’ by crime dons. The PPP, which has strong roots in the locality, is particularly to blame for ceding space to criminals. The root of the problem is that there appears to be no political will to rid Lyari of criminal gangs. To top that, despite the ‘grand operation’ that has been under way in Karachi for several months as well as numerous Lyari-specific actions, the law-enforcement agencies have failed to cleanse Lyari of its gangs in a thorough fashion, adopting a piecemeal, reactive approach instead. Until Lyari’s crime dons are arrested and prosecuted and political parties stop patronising gangsters, the area’s people will not see peace, and outrages like the one witnessed on Wednesday will continue.

Malaysian air tragedy

IT is astonishing that an airliner should go missing in this age of cyber technology and satellite imagery. The Malaysian airliner sent no distress signal and on its last contact with the Kuala Lumpur air control reported the all-normal “all right, roger that”. Then it disappeared on what was to be a long flight to Beijing with 239 people, a majority of them Chinese, on board. On Wednesday, China claimed it had found “smoke and floating objects” in the South China Sea, though US officials say their satellites had detected no heat and wreckage indicating a crash. Chinese officials, meanwhile, have expressed frustration over inadequate efforts by other parties. On Wednesday Prime Minister Li Keqiang expressed his determination to continue the search for MH370 “as long as there is a glimmer of hope” and appealed to other nations not to give up. Without criticising any country, Chinese authorities said there was “too much confusion” regarding the information about the plane’s flight path. Veiled criticism of other investigators was there in Mr Li’s speech also when he asked “relevant parties to enhance coordination, investigate the cause, locate the missing plane as quickly as possible and properly handle all related matters”.

Frustration over the failure to use technology also came from Paris, where it was left to Interpol to detect that two of the passengers had used stolen passports. The international police agency expressed its “great concern” that the passengers were able to use the fake passports without being detected by immigration control. The passports, stolen in Thailand, were on Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database. If the Malaysian immigration had made use of SLTD, the forgery would have been detected — though as yet there is no evidence that any foul play was involved in the tragedy. The records compiled by Interpol since 2002 have a mindboggling 40 million entries. Yet the agency’s spokesman regretted that “only a handful of countries” utilised it. Ultimately it is more the user rather than the technology that matters.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Slow progress on Gwadar

IT has been almost a year since a Chinese company took over the management and operational control of the Gwadar port in Balochistan.

The objective of giving the deep-water port into the control of the Chinese company was to make it fully functional at the earliest by constructing extensive and expensive rail and road links between Gwadar and western China through the development of an economic and energy corridor.

An agreement to develop the corridor during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing shortly after his return to power last summer had reinforced hopes of an early start to work on this trade link.

However, the insurgency in Balochistan is thought by many to be a major hurdle in the way of Chinese investment in the development of the port.

In its present state, the initiative has the look of the classic example that shows a government how not to attempt economic development in isolation of politics and security. The political remedy that should have accompanied the project has failed to materialise and without it progress remains elusive.

The equation is unchanged as a recent visit of the top China Overseas Port Holding Company official to Gwadar signals the revival of Chinese interest in the early development of the port.

China is now said to have agreed to start implementing major development projects in the area, including the expansion of the port itself and to undertake the construction of an airport. In all, nine projects will be executed at a cost of $1.8bn.

Some Chinese companies have also shown an interest in the oil and gas sector and approached the authority with their plans to set up refineries in Gwadar. Yet it is unclear as to when the Chinese investors will begin work on the schemes whose completion is considered crucial to the port’s operations.

The completion of the port at the mouth of the Gulf close to the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s key oil supply routes — is crucial to turn Gwadar and the rest of Balochistan into a major regional trade hub connecting the landlocked Central Asia with the rest of the world through Afghanistan and providing Beijing the shortest access to the Gulf and to Iranian oil.

If successfully executed, it will bring in billions in foreign investment and benefit millions of people in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan. It will also enhance connectivity between South Asia and East Asia.

But before that happens, Islamabad will have to address Baloch grievances, bring the separatists into the mainstream and assure the people that their rights to the resources of the province will not only be respected but kept above every other consideration.

Unless the Baloch agree to own the project the dream of a functional, busy Gwadar port and Pak-China trade corridor will remain unrealised.

Failed by state and society

THERE can be no disagreeing that the young woman from southern Punjab who died yesterday was monumentally failed twice over by state and society.

First, she was unfortunate enough to live in a country where physical safety is low on the list of the state’s priorities, one of the factors which led to her alleged rape on Jan 5.

This form of assault is so grievous, and the topic so taboo in our conservative society that many victims have not been able to muster up the courage to report the crime to even their families, let alone the police.

But this 18-year-old had the resolve to see a case registered against her alleged attackers. The wheels of justice work in strange ways in Pakistan, though, and on Thursday, the main suspect was granted bail by a local court.

That is when she was failed a second time; even then, however, she was determined to fight back within the confines of the law, and went to the Bet Mir Hazar police station to lodge a protest with the investigation officer for having, in his report, apparently favoured the man she accused of raping her. We can only guess at how the encounter played out, but she subsequently doused herself with petrol and set herself alight on the premises. The burns she sustained led to her death yesterday.

Some might argue that rape is a crime of the shadows against which the state has no power. That is entirely incorrect. Every country where allegations of rape are investigated with determination and prosecuted with force has seen its incidence drop.

Pakistan, however, has never made it a priority to make a strong effort to stamp out this horrific crime and to send out a firm signal that rapists will face the full wrath of the law.

And this is because of societal attitudes that create the misogynistic taboos and perverted notions of ‘honour’ that surround sexual crimes. If, in her death, the young lady tells us the story of the legal and law-enforcement systems’ neglect of the crime of rape, so too do those who were witness to her desperate act but made no apparent attempt to stop her.

A friendly appearance

THE Lahore spring has its effect on people. It makes them want to mingle and coexist. The latest evidence of this was provided by that masterly actor of Indian drama, the man with the guy-next-door image, Om Puri. The thespian was here to not just take part in a stage play; he was also in Lahore to win the hearts of its residents.

Crossing over at the Wagah border he drew upon an unabashedly boastful saying about Lahore: “I have come here to be born.” Well, well, the newly born is certainly blessed with a pleasant idiom.

The reincarnation has since vowed not to work in anti-Pakistan films in India. Like a politician who has a sense of who is in power in the host country, he also recalled the famous bus journey to Lahore by former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

As far as performances go, this was cue enough for heir apparent Hamza Shahbaz Sharif to relate all that had been done in recent years for establishing good ties with India.

The Sharif scion did justice to the supporting role as he addressed the press corps with Mr Puri on Thursday. However, he appeared to have jumbled up his lines when he inserted an extra nuance or two about the success of his PML-N in mending ties with India.

He was cast as a Pakistani, and was not at all required by the situation to double as merely a PML-N politician. Mr Puri, though, was not complaining as he spoke simply of a popular desire for friends across the border.

The visits by performing art personalities such as Naseeruddin Shah, Hansraj Hans, Om Puri and Divya Dutta — yes, she was also visiting with Mr Puri in case nobody noticed — indicates a widening of the necessary cultural exchange from across the border. It smoothly enhances the impression of normality that 100 trucks of goods with their need-based justification will struggle to create.

Pakistanis will not hold it against Om Puri even if he does appear in an ‘anti-Pakistan’ role in the future. So long as he maintains his friendly appearance in real life.

__________________
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

Monday, March 17, 2014

Interest rate retained

IT seems that the State Bank of Pakistan considers the recent improvements in various headline economic variables insufficient to lower its key policy rate from 10pc, at least for now. Even a significant drop in consumer prices and a strong rally by the rupee have failed to convince the bank to take the risk of cutting the interest rate. Whether the bank has acted cautiously or its decision is influenced by the harsh conditions of the $6.7bn IMF loan, it must have upset the business community, particularly textile exporters. Indeed, most exporters wanted the bank (and the government) to share the spoils of an appreciating exchange rate with them by cutting the cost of borrowing. Probably the SBP did not want to oblige them immediately. Or, maybe, it believes that the abrupt 6pc revaluation of the rupee since the beginning of this month has not affected their competitiveness much. In either case, it has disappointed exporters who have lost billions of rupees because of the currency revaluation.

There is no doubt that investor confidence in the economy seems to be rising as indicated by the strong growth in large-scale manufacturing and pick-up in the private credit off-take in recent months. The question is whether the government has what it takes to sustain this confidence and maintain the momentum. If the bank’s monetary policy statement discounts the exporters’ assessment of their losses, it is also not very confident of the sustainability of the economic achievements made so far unless the government takes some tough actions to keep it on the right track. The monetary policy statement has noted that almost all major economic indicators have moved in the desired direction over the past few months. But it also warned that the economy still faces many challenges despite positive developments in headline variables like the reduction in fiscal deficit and CPI inflation and improvement in forex reserves etc.

While conceding that the $1.5bn loan from some Gulf countries has helped shore up reserves and appreciate the rupee, it rightly pointed out that the “reliance on one-off inflows and foreign loans may only provide short-term stability”. Long-term economic stability and growth sustainability largely hinge on a higher share of private financial flows, reduction in trade deficit by pushing exports and containing imports and implementation of structural reforms, including but not limited to privatisation of state-owned enterprises and increase in tax collection at the earliest. In the near future, however, the realisation of the anticipated bilateral and multilateral foreign inflows during the last quarter of the present fiscal remains crucial to accumulating foreign exchange and hold down the deficit. Until that happens, it will be impractical to expect the bank to cut the borrowing cost.

Problematic law

WITH 14 individuals on death row, 19 others serving life sentences and countless others awaiting sentences for blasphemy, “Pakistan’s blasphemy law is used at a level incomparable to others”. This is the most recent indictment against the country and the deeply problematic Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. It comes from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in its report Prisoners of Belief: Individuals Jailed under Blasphemy Laws that was released in Washington on Thursday. Whether the country is actually the worst in the world may be somewhat difficult to judge, given that the closed nature of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran — for whom strong criticism is also reserved in the report — can mean that information is obfuscated or kept under wraps. Nevertheless, it is difficult to argue that the misinterpretation of the law is not common in Pakistan — and that this needs to change.

As has been argued in this space before, the so-called blasphemy law as it currently exists on Pakistan’s law books is open to misuse. There is more than enough evidence of this, from it being used as a tool to settle personal rivalries to being invoked to create panic in communities so that people with malicious intentions may seize their land or properties. There have been horrifying cases where, even before the law enforcers got involved or at times despite their intervention, suspicions of blasphemy have led to lynch mobs and violence, as seen in Larkana on Saturday. One incident that comes immediately to mind is that involving Junaid Ahmed in 2011, a Chakwal seminary student whose actions were misunderstood by a passer-by and who was severely beaten by the angry mob that tends to gather whenever such an allegation is made, before being arrested. In point of technicality, the law serves to protect all religions, but is actually invoked only by the majority, not just against non-Muslims but against Muslims too. The fact of the matter is that the existence of this law in its open-to-abuse form lends legitimacy to the actions of those who would take the law into their own hands. It is time for parliament to examine Section 295-C, and take whatever steps are necessary to stop its misuse.

Assault on protesting nurses

WE are frequently reminded that, despite the many encouraging developments in the last few years, Pakistan still has a long way to go on the road to democracy. The violence unleashed against the nurses by the police in Lahore on Friday was evidence yet again that there is scant respect for the rights that are part and parcel of a democratic system. The nurses had been staging a sit-in since four days on Egerton Road to prevail upon the Punjab government to regularise their services. Finding that their agitation had so far made no impact, they decided to up the ante by moving their protest camp to Mall Road, a more central artery of the city, which caused a disruption of traffic. That was when the police sought to disperse them with a shocking display of force, thrashing the women so severely with their batons that a number of them had to be rushed to hospital with head and bone injuries. Even a seven-month pregnant nurse was not spared; the assault left her with abdominal bleeding and related complications, although doctors said her baby had fortunately suffered no harm.

Peaceful protest is the inherent right of every citizen. When the state responds in such a repressive manner to stifle personal freedoms, it gives the lie to any pretensions of a civilised society underpinned by democratic norms. Moreover, by its actions it triggers a counter-response that is also equally reactionary. Take the threat made by the Young Doctors’ Association, Punjab, that they would not extend treatment to any police official at the province’s state-run hospitals. If carried out they would be flouting their duty to treat patients across the board without fear or favour. The government’s attempts to find a solution have come a little late in the day. Although the matter may be resolved even now, the authorities’ initial indifference towards the nurses’ demands resulted in a situation which will leave behind bitterness and resentment in the medical community.

__________________
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, March 18, 2014

Communalism in Sindh

THE sad reality in today’s Pakistan is that religion can easily be exploited to fuel the flames of communalism. The unfortunate events that transpired in Larkana over the weekend amply reflect this. The circumstances were similar to numerous other incidents that have occurred across the country: rumours of the desecration of religious material or blasphemy — often unsubstantiated — spread like wildfire, leading to mob violence directed at members of minority communities or even Muslims in some cases. In this instance, violence flared in the Sindh town after rumours spread on Saturday that a Hindu man had allegedly desecrated the Holy Quran. In reaction, a dharamshala was set ablaze while statues of Hindu deities were also damaged. The violence spilled over into Balochistan’s Nasirabad and Jaffarabad districts, where protesters tried to attack temples. Quick reaction by the law enforcers prevented the rioters from entering Hindu localities, though some shops belonging to the minority community were set on fire. What makes these events all the more ugly is the fact they occurred in the run-up to Holi festivities.

Though extremism has not affected Sindh on the same level it has other parts of Pakistan, it has nevertheless made inroads in a land known for its Sufi culture and plurality. In the recent past, there have been several incidents that point to the growing impact of extremism. These include the alleged abductions and forced conversion of Hindu women, as well as the disinterment of bodies of Hindu men from cemeteries containing graves of both Hindus and Muslims. Sectarian outfits have also been active in the province. But as the weekend’s incidents show, despite the violence the administration was quick to move in and calm things down, though it could be argued that it was not quick enough, or else the dharamshala and other vandalised property could have been saved. Yet when matters as sensitive as religion are involved and in situations where the mob can play judge, jury and executioner, a stronger effort needs to be made by the state and society to work for communal harmony.

Political parties, especially the PPP, that have influence in Sindh as well as civil society must be on their guard to prevent extremism from further poisoning Sindh’s culture. Everyone from the prime minister and the PPP chief on down have condemned the incident and called for steps to protect minorities. But the state’s focus must be on the source of trouble. The administration must take firm action against the elements that try and stir up religious hatred while community and religious leaders need to work to promote harmony and isolate communalists. There is still time and hope that Sindh will preserve its pluralistic traditions. The province’s rulers must remember that if the forces working to spread extremist thought are left unchallenged, Sindh’s complexion may well change — and sooner than they expect.

YouTube blockade

IT was on Sept 12, 2012, that the then prime minister ordered the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to take action regarding an offensive video uploaded on YouTube. Some other countries felt similarly and a handful, including Egypt and India, invoked international agreements to have Google, YouTube’s parent company, remove access to this video from within their borders, leaving the rest of the site intact. But Pakistan, lacking both the paperwork to achieve this and the technological ability to selectively filter internet content, resorted to blocking access to YouTube in its entirety. Since then, there has been much back and forth over the issue, with several assurances that the site would be restored. Indeed, on one occasion this was very briefly done, only for cravenness to set in again. On Sunday, however, Information Minister Pervez Rashid said that the ban would soon be lifted.

This is welcome news. Less encouraging, though, is the proposal of how this would be achieved. Mr Rashid said that software had been developed to filter out content. This leads in a dangerous direction. First, who is to say what might be deemed inappropriate by this or any future government? The sphere of what Pakistanis are not permitted to access online can grow at any time and by any degree, seriously jeopardising internet freedoms and civil liberties. We have not forgotten, after all, the scramble that the government of the day was thrown into when a video appearing to show a certain political party stuff ballot boxes went viral. Second, the software may well also allow the government to snoop on people’s private online lives. Much more wisdom lies in sorting out the paperwork. One is the signing of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US (since Google is a US-based company), so that Pakistan’s laws are given due consideration in such matters. Another is to formulate legislation on liability in terms of objectionable content uploaded by private users, which would pave the way for companies such as Google to localise. This matter has been touched upon by the Cyber Crimes Bill, on which the state has been working for some two years. Without doubt YouTube must be made accessible, but healthier mechanisms should be adopted to make it so.

Unsightly and illegal

ENCROACHMENTS on public or protected land are unhappily hardly a surprise anymore. But when it happens in the nation’s capital in the protected Margalla Hills National Park right in the vicinity of a so-called model village and a stone’s throw from the city and country’s administrators, something is truly awry. As reported in this newspaper yesterday, the CDA has belatedly woken up to the encroachments in the foothills of the Margallas where illegal homes have been built by land grabbers in full view of all — and there are many, many people who visit the area for recreational purposes and sightseeing — who pass by everyday. The problem in this instance is not just that the homes are illegally built, but that trees have been mercilessly chopped down to clear space and, if the homes are left standing, surely more people will be tempted to try and set up their own homes there.

Of course, in the wealthy precincts of Islamabad, land grabbing is not the exclusive, or even main, preserve of the less well-off. Area after area and neighbourhood after neighbourhood has seen the private developer winning against the environment, especially designated public areas and even basic building laws to carve out expensive and large homes for those who can afford them. Rarely, if ever, are the wealthy residents of the capital acted against, leaving the more vulnerable and economically less well-off to bear the brunt of state action. While Islamabad may look more organised and better administered than much of the rest of urban Pakistan, the truth is that the federal capital has an administrative structure that is totally unresponsive to the needs of a city with a population estimated to be in the range of 1.5m. Run like a fiefdom by bureaucrats and lorded over by an autocratic interior minister with immense responsibilities and burdens of his own, keeping Islamabad green, clean and responsive to the needs of its denizens ought to be the job of an elected council.

__________________
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, March 19, 2014

Sartaj Aziz’s reassurances

SARTAZ Aziz’s reassurance to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday that Pakistan will not tilt to either side and will maintain a balance in relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia should serve to remove misunderstandings on this score. The senators’ concerns were motivated by developments that gave an impression that Islamabad was rethinking some aspects of its foreign policy. In February, the joint statement issued at the end of the Saudi crown prince’s visit called for the establishment of “a transitional government” in Syria. This implied Pakistan’s support for moves to oust President Hafez al-Assad. The more recent development is related to a Saudi grant of $1.5bn to the Pakistan Development Fund, which has led to speculations and demands for transparency. Mr Aziz insisted that the Saudi grant had no conditions attached. A governmental clarification was needed to scotch rumours that ranged from two brigades of Pakistani soldiers being sent to Saudi Arabia, to the supply of Pakistan-manufactured arms to anti-Assad forces in Syria. While the adviser on foreign and national security affairs admitted that there indeed was a proposal for exporting arms to the kingdom, Islamabad, he said, would ensure that weapons did not land in Arab conflict zones.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are both oil powers and occupy an important position from the point of view of Pakistan’s economic and geopolitical interests. As a major Arab power with immense financial clout, Saudi Arabia enjoys a privileged position in Pakistan’s eyes, not only because of the hundreds of thousands of Pakistani expatriates working there but also because it is home to two of Islam’s holiest sites. Saudi Arabia has been counted among those countries that have bailed out Pakistan in moments of crises. Iran, on the other hand, is Pakistan’s friend and neighbour, and the two peoples share linguistic and cultural ties. Pakistan thus cannot afford to warm up to one at the expense of the other. This balance needs to be maintained in Pakistan’s ties with the world at large.

Since its inception, this country has often found itself in the eye of international storms because of its strategic location. This is an asset which Pakistan has sometimes exploited to its advantage. Today, when response to terrorism defines world powers’ policies, Islamabad must be clear about its position. All of Pakistan’s neighbours, including friends, have serious complaints about Islamabad’s handling of terrorism and expect a firmer response. It is, therefore, difficult to see how Pakistan can have friendly ties with its neighbours and the world community without taking the terrorists head on. Given the nutcracker situation in which Pakistan finds itself, the country has to make an extra effort to avoid distortions in relations — whether these are with China, the US or the EU.

Pollution in Pakistani cities

HOW serious a problem air pollution in cities has become is illustrated by the desperate measures Parisian authorities resorted to on Monday, when they banned from the roads all vehicles with number plates ending in even numbers. Paris is paying heavily by making public transport and parking free, but this was considered necessary because air pollution particulate levels had exceeded safety levels. Even at its highest, though, the level of air pollution in the French capital did not reach the levels in the world’s 10 most polluted cities in terms of air particulates. Four of these cities, according to a 2011 WHO report, are in Iran, two in India and — unsurprisingly — three in Pakistan: Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore, in that order by decreasing levels of air particulate pollution. If that sounds bad, the cumulative reality is far worse: cities have many other forms of pollution too, from sewage and effluents to garbage poisoning land, air and water. If all forms of pollution were taken into consideration, even casual anecdotal evidence would suggest that several of Pakistan’s cities would figure prominently on the list.

The fact is that Pakistan has never really accorded environmental pollution any sort of priority, let alone made a concerted effort to address the problem. Consider the fact that even where the trouble has been taken to devise legislation and formulate sets of supervisory codes and standard operating procedures, in practice polluters are more often than not allowed to carry on with their activities unchecked. From time to time, public outrage or privately instituted legal action has forced piecemeal efforts — an environmental impact assessment for a project in Karachi, clearing Islamabad of allergy-inducing paper mulberry trees — in this direction. But hardly any measure has so far indicated that the state has noticed the speed at which pollution is overtaking the country. This needs to be urgently rectified. Pollution is not just about towns and cities looking pristine, it is also about severely compromised public health and the huge additional burden this aspect places on state resources. As the West is realising, pollution levies immediate costs in tangible terms. Pakistan, and the region at large, need to take serious steps, individually and collectively, to face up to the challenge.

More jirga ‘justice’

BARBARIC customs die hard, and when state representatives are either involved in perpetuating them or look the other way, there are slim chances these practices will be eliminated. Much has been written about the detestable practice of karo-kari, or honour killing, in Sindh; yet despite legal provisions against it little change has been witnessed on the ground. As reported on Tuesday, a jirga held in Wazirabad town of Sindh’s Shikarpur district recently passed a decision in a karo-kari case. Two women of the Mahar tribe had allegedly been killed by their parents for having ‘illicit relations’ with men of the Jagirani tribe. The Jagiranis were fined a total of Rs2.4m for ‘kidnapping’ and ‘having illicit relations’ with the women. The jirga was apparently held to settle a potentially explosive tribal dispute, but while both parties accepted its decision, astonishingly, no one was penalised for murdering the women. Even more shocking, an MNA, the PML-F’s Ghous Baksh Mahar, presided over the jirga.

Why was an MNA, who represents a lawmaking forum, involved in the promotion of jirga ‘justice’, when laws passed by the august house he is a part of have seemingly been violated? Not only has the Supreme Court declared the holding of jirgas unconstitutional, honour killings also contravene the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2004. But how can such a law be enforced when lawmakers themselves are involved in promoting illegal acts? There are also reports that other government officials in upper Sindh quietly support the jirga mechanism to settle disputes. True, such a forum has its utility when it comes to resolving local disputes, especially when the judicial system is notoriously inefficient. But what is totally unacceptable is when these forums condone crimes such as murder and kidnapping. Police authorities have reportedly launched a probe into the Shikarpur incident. For this deplorable practice to be eliminated, the state needs to take action against all those who commit and abet honour killings, despite their connections and clout.

__________________
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, March 20, 2014

Intelligence convergence

THE National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) has been reformed and the National Intelligence Directorate set up. Intelligence agencies in the country, 26 in total according to the last count by the interior ministry, will now be working under the directorate’s umbrella to fight terrorism. That should, hopefully, remove some of the confusion that would but be a natural consequence of so many agencies working simultaneously. Ideally, it should lead to reformation based on fresh delineation of work. The government, at least on paper, will oversee the collection of terrorism-specific information from the civilian as well as military agencies. The emphasis is on whether the change will give the government the powers governments in Pakistan have been after for long. It will also have to be watched whether it is a gathering of big names with some substance or a collection signifying little.

Some of these agencies have been working by themselves for so long and have acquired a reputation for shunning all kinds of ‘outside interference’ from state organisations. That they are willing to sit together after years of persuasion is described as a ‘momentous’ development. An occasion where they are actually seen to be aiding each other in fighting terrorism would in the same vein inspire the loudest celebrations before it can inspire hope of some kind of security in the people.

Clearly, it is a compromise. In the old Pakistani context, it would appear the agencies have allowed some semblance of authority to the government. The impression is strengthened by the fact that there is still plenty of room for the agencies to work on their own, unhindered by the directorate’s presence. The intelligence sharing in the directorate is to be specific to counterterrorism. Of course, there could always be difference of opinion on what can be construed as terrorism and lines will be blurred and not too difficult to cross. From among these known and unknown 26 agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence has been visibly the most reluctant to lend itself to civilian control. The Pakistan Peoples Party’s last government tried to bring the ISI under the interior ministry, in vain and some say shoddily. An official has now been quoted as saying that “a wing of the military-run agency dealing with issues relating to counterterrorism would report to the new directorate.” And that “the ISI has a vast area of operation and works as the first line of defence against internal and external security threats. ...” This would make it seem as if the Pakistan Muslim League-N has only partially succeeded where the PPP had failed completely. The civilian-military balance will continue to be one of the most significant issues of discussion, but the success of the National Intelligence Directorate will be measured on the basis of some real and quick advances against terror.

No further delay

EVERY time the higher judiciary turns up the heat on the provinces to conduct local government elections, the respective administrations come up with one excuse or the other to delay the polls. Hence it is hoped that the Supreme Court’s orders to hold the polls by Nov 15 in Sindh and Punjab are taken seriously by the provincial administrations that have — apart from Balochistan — failed to conduct this vital democratic exercise. The apex court ordered the centre and provinces on Wednesday to complete all legislation related to the LG polls by November. Meanwhile on Tuesday the SC had directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to hold the polls within a month. The KP government has reportedly said delimitation is complete and it is ready for the elections. Since the KP administration has sent positive signals while the apex court has given Punjab and Sindh nearly eight months to sort out all legal and logistical issues that stand in the way of the LG polls, there should be no more delays. There has been some talk in political circles that local elections should not be held until a fresh census is completed as the current data is outdated. While there can be no two opinions about the need for a fresh census, this need should not be linked to the LG polls. After all, last year’s general elections were also held according to the ‘old’ data, and the political parties did not object to this fact.

The real reason behind the foot-dragging by the parties seems to be that the political elite are not comfortable with devolving power to the third tier, while political players may also be wary about results that do not turn up as per their ‘liking’. This is the case even while three different parties rule KP, Sindh and Punjab respectively. But such attitudes fly in the face of the democratic spirit. The SC and the Election Commission of Pakistan must ensure there is no more dilly-dallying by the provinces on this key issue and polls are not delayed further. Also, it must be ensured that LG polls are held in cantonments. Many civilians live in cantonment areas and should not be denied the right to elect local representatives.

KP police pay raise

AMONG the law enforcement agencies most impacted by the war against militancy in the country are the KP police. Operating in a province contiguous with the tribal areas from where much of the threat of militant violence emanates, their job is a particularly perilous one in which the risk to their lives is constant and unrelenting. Over 30 policemen have been killed and 48 wounded in terrorist attacks this year. Last year, the number of deaths crossed 120. It is only fitting that they be fairly compensated for the extremely demanding nature of their work and the chief minister has taken a laudable initiative in sanctioning a special allowance for the provincial police, thereby effecting a pay raise, despite reservations by his finance department.

It has been pointed out that as the special allowance will be calculated on the basis of the policemen’s daily salary, the measure will benefit higher-ranking officers far more than constable-level personnel. The difference in the numbers appears particularly lopsided when one considers that it is lower-tier cops — constables, inspectors, etc — who are on the front line against militant violence, a fact clearly illustrated by their overwhelming presence in the lists of ‘shaheed’ policemen. However, the typical pyramid-shaped organisational structure means there are far more personnel at the lower levels than in the higher echelons, and budgetary constraints thus preclude what could be seen as a more equitable enhancement in salary. The move is nevertheless a much-needed shot in the arm for the beleaguered force. Meanwhile, police in Karachi too are beset by multidimensional security challenges. In 2013, over 150 were killed in the line of duty. So far this year, 46 have been killed and 67 injured in acts of terrorism. The Sindh government could take its cue from KP and improve the pay structure of its police, the most poorly compensated of the provincial police forces. Those who are our first line of defence against the terrorist threat deserve nothing less.

__________________
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, March 21, 2014

A timely reminder

AN excerpt from an upcoming book written by a New York Times correspondent has caused a predictable kerfuffle in Pakistan, given that it makes the direct claim that the ISI not only knew of Osama Bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, but had a desk dedicated to managing and facilitating the Al Qaeda supremo’s sanctuary in Pakistan. Having issued the obligatory denials and condemnations, the Pakistani state would likely prefer that the entire episode be forgotten once again — as had already happened in the recent past of a country that appears to specialise in glossing over cataclysmic events. However, the book excerpt in the NYT is a helpful reminder that a great big piece of the puzzle is yet to be made public: the Abbottabad Commission report has quietly been shelved and, if state functionaries have their way, is likely never to see the light of day.

Thanks, however, to a leaked copy of one version of the report, the country is already aware of the gross problems on both sides of the only two valid explanations for the OBL episode: incompetence and complicity. As the leaked report detailed, the general level of incompetence and complicity when it comes to the Pakistani security establishment’s ties with non-state actors made it entirely possible that at various tiers of the security apparatus, both complicity and incompetence were to blame for the long-term presence of Osama Bin Laden inside Pakistan. So, with the report staying buried and no one within the state apparatus appearing interested in countenancing its official publication, all the public can do is guess about the extent of the rot within the very state apparatus that is meant to protect the citizenry from national security threats.

The inconvenient truth is that the OBL episode was not a one-off in any meaningful sense of the term. Even if there was absolutely no complicity and it was entirely incompetence, that alone leaves grave lapses to be identified and institutional measures to be taken to lower the risk of another spectacular failure. Surely, as the government today grapples with the challenge of improving intelligence cooperation between the civilian and military arms of the state in the counterterrorism arena, the OBL episode alone could be worth many lessons in identifying what went wrong and how to make sure the state does not get caught out again going forward. But it is also too easy to suggest that incompetence must necessarily have played the greater role in what went wrong. Until the state is able to acknowledge all that is wrong within itself, it is unlikely to ever be able to craft a meaningful policy to fight militancy, terrorism and extremism. That is a reality that can only be denied until the next great cataclysm strikes.

Rangers’ powers

THE plaint made by the director-general Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, on Wednesday that the paramilitary force he commands does not have the requisite powers to maintain durable peace in Karachi is open to debate. This newspaper has argued in the past that the Rangers, originally meant to patrol the country’s frontiers, help the army during wartime and come to the aid of civil power, are not trained to counter urban crime and terrorism. However, the Rangers’ chief feels that the ‘limited rights’ his force enjoys to carry out raids and make arrests is inhibiting the Rangers’ ability to bring peace to Karachi. The paramilitary force has been in this troubled metropolis for over two decades and has thousands of troops stationed in the city. Yet its record of quelling violence is mixed and it has also been censured for the killing of unarmed civilians. While it may be a fit force for the battlefield, the Rangers’ record in Karachi leaves a lot to be desired. Hence we feel any attempt to give the force greater, sweeping powers would be unwise.

Perhaps the reason numerous law-enforcement interventions in Karachi over the decades have failed (including bringing in the army) has been highlighted by the Rangers’ DG himself; our conviction rate is abysmally low while witnesses are too scared to testify against suspects. In short, the investigation and prosecution system is not delivering. This is where the Sindh government comes in. Our flawed investigation and prosecution system must be put right and strengthened so that suspects caught and found guilty are sentenced and are not allowed back on the streets. Also, the Rangers should not be given enhanced powers at the cost of the police. For all its faults, the provincially controlled police force is in a much better position to tackle crime and terrorism in Karachi. That is why the Rangers must work in tandem with the police while carrying out operations in the city. There should not be two parallel law-enforcement entities active in Karachi. The metropolis’s law and order problems can be addressed through plugging the legal loopholes, reforming and depoliticising the police and bringing in the Rangers only in extraordinary circumstances.

Bangladesh democracy falters

THE opposition seems to have been taken care of, the cricket extravaganza has captivated her people, and apparently all appears to be going well for Sheikh Hasina Wajed, third-time prime minister of Bangladesh. But the fact that she has, for all intents and purposes, stolen an election can hardly be forgotten considering that the January polls were boycotted by the opposition which led to half the seats being won uncontested. What has added to this deviation from democratic ideals is the government’s persecution of political rivals. One opposition leader, belonging to the Jamaat-i-Islami, has been executed, 14 others have been sentenced to death and many more, including two members of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, are being tried for ‘war crimes’ in debatable circumstances. The latest target is BNP chief Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister who is her main political rival. Along with others, including her son, she has been charged by a court for embezzlement. Like the ‘war crimes’, Sheikh Wajid has dusted off old files to try her main political rival for a crime she and her associates allegedly committed during her term as prime minister in 2001-06. While embezzlement is a crime that must be investigated, and for which the offenders must be taken to task, the timing has been most unfortunate, and Ms Wajed’s actions have come across as more of a witch-hunt than a genuine crackdown on corruption.

The unabashed persecution of the opposition through such actions may win Ms Wajed some respite in power, but it is Bangladesh that will be the loser in the long run. It is time the Bangladesh government realised what this approach is doing to the country’s nascent democracy. Bangladesh needs peace for sustaining what otherwise has been commendable economic progress. The opposition may appear vanquished today, but when the wheels of politics turn, as they are bound to, no one should be surprised if the rulers are given a dose of their own unpalatable medicine.

__________________
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, 22 March, 2014

NDMA for India delayed

THE postponement of Friday`s cabinet meeting, which was widely expected to give non-discriminatory market access to India in lieu of the controversial MFN status, suggests that the momentum to boost bilateral trade relations has hit yet another road block. The official statement on reasons for the meeting`s postponement is inadequate and vague.

For starters, the government hadn`t even said in so many words that the meeting was being convened to allow India free access to Pakistan`s market. It has repeatedly tried to downplay recent media reports that Islamabad was considering taking such a step. The secrecy surrounding its plans to liberalise bilateral trade has spawned speculations that the powerful security establishment doesn`t favour free-market access for Indian goods, at least not for now.

Improvement in bilateral trade with India is a major economic policy plank of the Nawaz Sharif government. There`s also pressure on Islamabad from globallenders and Western powers to normalise trade ties with New Delhi. The government is committed to boosting bilateral trade with India in a phased manner in its loan deal with the IMF.

The prime minister has been sending the right signals to Delhi. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif`s `sports diplomacy` must be credited with helping the resumption of bilateral trade talks and the meeting of the trade ministers of the two countries in January after a hiatus of 16 months. Both ministers had agreed to implement NDMA on a reciprocal basis to move forward on trade liberalisation.

But the process hit snags when Delhi failed to take action required to dismantle the barriers impeding the flow of Pakistani exports in its markets.

Pakistan linked NDMA with the recommencement of the composite dialogue with Delhi.

Hopes of quick forward movement on the trade front were revived when reports started pouring in that India hadshared non-papers with Islamabad, promising market access to Pakistan`s major exports in return for NDMA for its exporters. Reports that the commerce ministry was quite happy with the details of the concessions Delhi had agreed to extend to Pakistan abounded until the cabinet meeting was deferred.

It is hoped that the delay is temporary.

The opening up of borders for free bilateral trade will benefit both economies. While the grant of nondiscriminatory access to each other will provide a big boost to trade, it will only be a first step towards mutually beneficial commercial ties. After this, the two governments will need to work on facilitating direct business-to-business links, which currently happens via Dubai. As the volume of trade surges, infrastructure will have to be improved at the only land route Wagah-Attari.

The faster work on these issues gets under way the better the prospects of improved trade ties.

PM`s welcome denial

A DENIAL by the prime minister was overdue, given the misgivings expressed by the opposition and the media, besides the earnestness with which the Senate expressed its reservations and wanted to hear the government`s point of view. The issue was not merely the $1.5bn Saudi grant and the visits by Arab royals; there appeared more to it because of the volatile situation in the Gulf and the Levant. Then on Wednesday, the Bahrain monarch visited the Joint Services Headquarters, fuelling further speculations, because the visit had come in the wake of the Pakistan-Saudi statement issued at the end of the Saudi crown prince`s visit which seemed to indicate a shift in Islamabad`s Syria policy.

There were also rumours that included in their sweep tales about N-weapons and troop deployment abroad. Obviously, placing boots abroad is entirely different from cooperation in security matters.

Pakistan has security ties and collaboration in defence technology with a dozen countries. But Pakistani troops being abroad except as UN peacekeepers is an entirely different ball game. On Thursday, at the newly named M.M. Alam Air Base, Nawaz Sharif categorically deniedthat Pakistani troops would be deployed abroad for military operations we hope that there are no deviations from this and said that no country had even made such a request. The prime minister`s policy statement reinforces Sartaj Aziz`s assurance to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday that apprehensions about a possible shift in Pakistan`s Syria policy were baseless.

There is no doubt Pakistan has technological and manpower assets which have enabled it to play a positive role in the Middle East. No wonder the Bahrain monarch should want this country to help him mend ties with Iran. However, in his talk with the media on Thursday, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad, Bahrain`s foreign minister, acknowledged Pakistan`s difficulties and said Islamabad could play a positive role if it maintained balance in its relations with all countries. The Bahraini foreign minister could not have put it better.

Pakistan can ill-afford a tilt in its relations at a time when the Middle East is burning in sectarian fires. A rapprochement between all Gulf monarchies and Iran is in Pakistan`s interest, and Islamabad can advance this cause by following the median course.

Crimean crisis

F there were no nuclear weapons, Europe would be at war. After all, didn`t the two world wars start over lands on the periphery? Despite all the economic and military power the West commands, there is little it can do to undo Crimea`s loss to the Russian orbit. Russia has used force and a questionable referendum to achieve its aim, but not before the West had done everything possible to provoke Vladimir Putin by wrecking Ukraine`s elected government headed by President Viktor Yanukovych. At loggerheads are two traditionally competing forces which throughout modern history have made Eastern Europe a battleground given the West`s relentless advance towards the East, and Moscow`s resolve to reclaim and reassert its position in the region. Busy with setting its house in order after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia felt frustrated when it found itself unable to check what it regarded as Nato`s intrusion into territory Moscow had, since the days of Peter the Great, regarded as its sphere of influence.What it was especially concerned about was Nato`s membership of some of its former Warsaw Pact allies.

Ukraine is Russia`s underbelly, and Moscow would hardly countenance a Kiev government that is on its wrong side. At the same time, Mr Putin is intelligent enough to realise he will not in the long run be able to reverse the former Soviet republic`s pro-EU orientation. For that reason, he has acted decisively in the wake of Mr Yanukovych`s ouster. It should also be considered that the West`s face-off against Russia is part of a wider global competition as a post-Soviet Russia reasserts itself. In addition to Ukraine, the two are poles apart on Syria.

Interestingly, the West, which has shown little consideration for human rights and sovereignty in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine, is now angry at Mr Putin for the way the Russian president flaunted his military power. Perhaps a less perilous path would have been to involve the UN in order to let Crimea`s people decide their own fate.

Sunday, 23 March, 2014

Protection of journalists

THE safety of journalists and the media in Pakistan received some muchneeded and necessary high-profile coverage this week again, following a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a senior delegation of the international Committee to Protect Journalists. It is rarely a good thing when the media itself becomes a story, but these are extraordinary times and there are extraordinary dangers present. The picture is both simple and complex. Simple in the sense that the outlawed TTP continues to directly and menacingly threaten the media.

Complex in the sense that countering the Taliban threat is difficult, as is continuing to report on and cover that most critical of policy initiatives of the government le achieving peace through dialogue with the TTP.

Now that the prime minister himself has announced, in the meeting with the CPJ delegation, that a governmentmedia commission will be formed to both pursue the investigations intoattacks already committed against the media as well as to make recommendations for improving the safety and security of journalists and media personnel, the onus should be on the government to make the security of the media a non-negotiable part of the dialogue with the TTP. For, in having opened the door to making the TTP a legitimate stakeholder in the national political process, the government has a responsibility to ensure that the existing stakeholders are protected from the violence of the new entrants.

In this regard, the controversial fatwas that the militant group has issued against the media must specifically be withdrawn while more generally the TTP must be asked to publicly acknowledge and accept the existing norms of media coverage and criticisms.

For some, given that the TTP has threatened huge sections of the Pakistani state and society, there may perhaps be questions about why the media deserves special protections andwhy it should be the focus of particular state interventions. The answer is relatively straightforward: when physical violence is threatened and perpetrated against the media, the coverage of the groups responsible for that violence necessarily becomes less informative, truthful or critical. Which means the public that the media is ostensibly informing becomes less aware of the true nature and agenda of the forces that exist among it. In the here and now, given the critical importance of the talks process between the Taliban and the government, a climate of fear when it comes to reporting or commenting on the TTP is a monumental disservice to the Pakistani public and its right to a full and complete picture of what is being done, or signed away, in their name.

Prime Minister Sharif has said the right things about the media. Now, like with so much else, it remains to be seen if his government will deliver on the promises made.

What about the big fish?

BIZARRE it may be because of the way in which the executive has gone about obeying the judiciary, but at least the Supreme Court`s persistence has paid off.

On Thursday, on the directives of the defence minister, an FIR was registered by the Malakand police against some low-level military men in connection with 35 persons who had gone `missing`a euphemism for alleged kidnapping by the state. The FIR, a copy of which was submitted to the court on Friday by the KP advocate general, named a naib subedar a junior commissioned officer and others for removing 35 internees from the Malakand internment centre. Where they were taken to nobody knows. However, what is absurd is that the defence minister should have chosen junior military officers to be named in the FIR. Surely, officers at that level could hardly be expected to act on their own in a matter that involved the alleged removal of 35 detainees from an internment centre and taking them to an unknown destination. Rather, common sense suggests they could not have acted without orders from officers higher up in the military echelon. No wonder, thelawyer who has been representing the intelligence agencies for long remarked that the lodging of the FIR by the defence minister against the army officers was `an unprecedented development` The army is an institution, a machine that works because orders are passed and obeyed. The question is: who gave what orders to those named in the FIR? If the suspects had violated any orders from the high-ups and acted on their own, to the extent of whisking away the 35 internees, they should have been court-martialled much earlier. There is no doubt the state`s executive arm finds the low rate of convictions, the threats to witnesses and the ponderous judicial process frustrating.

But the solution does not lie in clandestine operations that go against the fundamental principles of the rule of law. The case has been pending since Dec 10 when the Supreme Court held the army responsible for the mysterious disappearance. Now that a beginning has been made, no matter how gauche, we hope further investigation will uncover the authority actually responsible for ordering the subordinates to act criminally.

Deadly roads

WHETHER it is congested city thoroughfares or long stretches of highway, time and again we are reminded of how deadly Pakistan`s roads are.

Saturday`s horrific accident in Hub, Balochistan, which involved an oil tanker and two passenger buses, was another disturbing reminder of this fact. Over 30 fatalities have been reported as an inferno erupted after the pile-up due to oil spillage. One of the buses was also reportedly transporting petroleum illegally and the post-accident fire considerably added to the body count. Insufficient rescue facilities, such as fire tenders and medical teams, also compounded the tragedy. Such horrible accidents are becoming increasingly common on our roads, but the state`s response is not commensurate with the gravity of the problem, while the public, too, disregards all notions of road safety. It is apt to ask if we will ever learn from such tragedies and mend our ways.

Some important questions need to be answered, such as why a passenger buswas illegally carrying fuel. We also need to ask if our rescue facilities countrywide especially on busy highways used by heavy vehicles can adequately respond to emergencies. Overall, there are a few key areas where the state must direct its energies in order to make our roads safer.

Firstly, the driving licence regime in Pakistan is defective. That is why individuals with no road sense can either drive with bogus documents and get away with it, or they can secure licences without passing the requisite tests through bribery.

Traffic experts point out that computerised licences linked to a national database can help uncover phoney documents. Also, our motor vehicle inspection regime is flawed.

For a few thousand rupees, vehicle inspectors can be bribed into allowing death traps on wheels to take to the roads.

Moreover, badly constructed roads with improper signage add to the number of accidents. Unless errant drivers are held to account and adequately punished and the state makes road safety a priority, such tragedies will only be repeated.

Monday, 24 March, 2014

The secrecy factor

A MEETING was held, decisions were taken, but no one seems inclined to tell Pakistan what was even talked about. All the country has been told is that a secret meeting place has been decided upon, among other decisions taken. Worryingly, the TTPgovernment dialogue has become a secretive process in which anything apparently can be decided and the public is just supposed to accept those decisions, made in their name, as a fait accompli. To be sure, no negotiation process can progress much when there are constantleaks and both sides are rushing to make all their grievances and complaints public. But this is no ordinary negotiation process: the elected government of Pakistan is negotiating with a violent insurgent group with the explicit agenda of overthrowing the state and all the known demands of the outlawed TTP are in conflict with a constitutional, democratic polity where fundamentalrights and the rule of law are meant to be paramount.

What the TTP leadership will demand when face to face with the government`s negotiating team can be guessed at. The release of prisoners and the acceptance of its domination over sections of North Waziristan will surely be at the top of that list. At the moment, it appears that the government wants to stretch out the dialogue process as long as possible to stave off the hard decisions while the TTP is amenable to an elongated talks process if it means a full-scale military operation is delayed. But that is not really a sustainable approach, at least for the government. Hard decisions will have to eventually be taken. And after shrouding the dialogue process in secrecy and mystery, the government may be tempted to make concessions that really ought to be unacceptable within the existing structure of state and society here.While the Taliban must necessarily be viewed with suspicion, neither should the government`s motives and intentions be automatically accepted as above the board.

There are two things the government ought to do before going behind closed doors for direct talks with the TTP leadership. First, the government must publicly and forthrightly reiterate that whatever is agreed upon if an agreement is inched towards will take place within the confines of the Constitution and the structure of the state as it presently exists. Second, the government must take the parliamentary leadership of the opposition parties into confidence too, and keep them abreast of any developments or breakthroughs in the talks process. Those steps would help ensure that the rulers are not secretly making unacceptable concessions and also keep the government in check.

State`s responsibility

OF late there has been a flurry of legislation in Pakistan that has drawn censure for its seemingly heavy-handed approach to fighting terrorism. The KP government, however, appears to be taking a different tack in some respects by placing the onus for security on the citizens themselves. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sensitive and Vulnerable Establishments and Places (Security) Ordinance, 2014, which was promulgated by the governor in February, and has now been referred to a provincial assembly select committee, designates as vulnerable almost every public place, including shops, bazaars, petrol stations, commercial streets and shopping arcades and makes citizens responsible for putting in place security arrangements to protect themselves. These arrangements include those of both the physical and technical variety, including CCTV cameras, biometric systems, walkthrough gates, security alarms and modern gadgetry.

The ordinance was raked over the coals in the KP Assembly recently, and with good reason. The province, given its proximity to the tribal areas where most of the militant sanctuaries are located, is directly in theline of fire. Acts of terrorism are an everpresent threat for its people. Attacks on cinemas, bazaars and places of worship have engendered a siege mentality. The state as the overarching authority must send the message that it is determined to stand firm in the face of militancy instead of abdicating its responsibility at this critical juncture. Citizens can and should play a role in bolstering security by keeping their eyes and ears open for suspicious activity, and the proposal to hold property owners responsible if their tenants are found to have terrorist links is based on this. But it`s the state`s duty to provide security to the citizens and maintain law and order through its instruments of law-enforcement. By contemplating legislation along the lines of the above ordinance, the KP government is conveying to the citizenry that it has given up the battle against forces inimical to the state, which will result in demoralisation; the message will also serve to embolden those bent on violence. Moreover, legislation of this nature will set a dangerous precedent in which the state looks for expedient ways in which to absolve itself of consequences that result from its own shortcomings and lack of clarity.

Indefensible delay

ANYONE who has flown into or out of Islamabad`s present airport will agree that the facility is highly inadequate for the travelling public. Yet work on the capital`s new airport being built at Fatehjung has proceeded at a glacial pace and has been marred by apparent mismanagement.

Launched during the Musharraf government in 2007, the new airport was supposed to be ready in 30 months. But while nearly seven years have passed since the project`s groundbreaking, it is still not ready for operation. In the meantime, the cost has ballooned from Rs37bn to Rs95bn.

Not only is the project like so many others in Pakistan a textbook case for bad planning and management, it is also a glaring example of criminal neglect, considering that billions of rupees of scarce public funds have been wasted on it and with possibly some of it embezzled.

Hence the prime minister`s decision to launch a probe into the indefensible delay in completion is welcome. Visiting the project site recently, Nawaz Sharif said hewanted the airport completed by March 2015, rejecting the Civil Aviation Authority`s plea for two more years. The prime minister also ordered the FIA to look into the alleged mismanagement of the project.

It is unfortunate that prime ministerial intervention was necessary to investigate delays in the key project. We hope the new deadline is realistic. We also hope that all funds are accounted for and if any proof of financial misappropriation of public funds emerges the guilty are brought to book.

However, Mr Sharif`s wish to have an airport `better` than Dubai or Doha needs a reality check. What Islamabad needs is a new airport that is safe, secure, accessible and user-friendly for the modern traveller.

We can ill-afford to imitate Gulf cities and splurge on the project, especially when the construction has already gobbled up billions of rupees. Practicality and utility should be the main features of the new airport, not the razzle-dazzle of facilities that we see in deep-pocketed sheikhdoms.