[B]Tuesday, 25 March, 2014[/B]

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]A dark message[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

IT is meant to be a day when Pakistanis celebrate Pakistan and the idea of one nation, but March 23 took on a surreal and disturbing meaning this year. Across the country, rallies were held by the religious and political right, and even militant organisations, all trying to reinvent the meaning of Pakistan and propagate an ideology rooted in a narrow and intolerant version of Islam. The show of force by the far right can be explained by several factors. One, with the TTP-government talks dominating the national conversation in recent weeks, other players in the militancy and right-wing spectrum perhaps felt the need to remind the country of their existence and relevance and also to establish that the TTP alone will not set the agenda of the far right and militant club.

Two, the state has surrendered the narrative space to the far right by progressively withdrawing from the symbolic parades and events thattraditionally used to be held on March 23. True, this year the presidency did try and revive in a small way the pomp and ceremony that used to be identified with March 23, but security concerns still hang heavy and no one in either the civilian or political leadership seems inclined to run the risk of holding a big public event anymore. Three, the state continues to show an extraordinary acceptance of certain stripes of militancy. Among the many groups holding public events in Pakistan on Sunday, some still continue to be perceived as being close to the army-led security establishment. And the PML-N, as per its habit of old, seems to have once again offered extraordinary concessions to some extremist organisations regarding their visibility and pervasiveness in Punjab and even nationally in a Faustian bargain that can at best be described as misguided and naive.

The problem is that neither thegovernment of the day nor the permanent state/security establishment has ever seemed to understand that short-term concessions have long-term impacts.

Allowing extremist groups to appropriate March 23, to become the loudest and most vocal of lobbies when it comes to articulating a vision and identity for Pakistan, to package hate and intolerance as piety and faith, all of that will help nudge this country further to the right and towards a future where fear and hate will dominate. What should March 23 stand for? For liberty, for self-determination, for democracy and the rights of all, for freedom from coercion and violence, for the economic and social progress of a citizenry of 200 million, for equality of all before the law and in the eyes of the state. Those are the values that the country should be celebrating on March 23. Instead, too many had to shut their ears to the dark message that dominated on Sunday.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Devolution hiccups[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

NEARLY four years after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the process of devolution is continuing at a mixed pace in Pakistan. While some provinces are proceeding smoothly towards absorbing the powers formerly held by the centre, others have miles to go. As highlighted in this paper on Sunday, non-implementation of the legislation due to `post-18th Amendment confusion` is affecting service delivery in key sectors such as health and education. Punjab is faring better where devolution of powers is concerned, while the process in KP is also going relatively well. But Sindh and Balochistan are far behind. For example, in Sindh there have been reported hiccups concerning transfer of powers of some departments, while in Balochistan the lack of trained human resource is an issue. There are also reports that funds meant for certain projects in the province have been held up. Overall, the provinces, especially Sindh and Balochistan, need to vastly improve their capacity-building abilities, and display a greater sense of urgency to fully accept the responsibility the landmark 18th Amendment brings so that the fruits ofdevolution can reach the people. The task of transferring powers is indeed complex, especially in a set-up where centralism has long been favoured by the state; nevertheless, Islamabad and the provinces need to display greater resolve to implement the 18th Amendment in spirit.

It is also the view of a number of experts that there are legal loopholes standing in the way of smoother devolution. The provinces need to amend some laws and introduce new ones to give legal cover to the process. In Balochistan`s case, the focus should be on training local manpower to run the province`s departments, while any blockages affecting the transfer of funds must be cleared. The PPP, which was at the forefront of the drive for devolution, needs to address the lacunae in Sindh, which it rules, in order to fix the problems in service delivery. And while the transfer of powers is a lengthy process, some sort of time line is needed as the procedure should not be open-ended. The provinces particularly need to address the structural deficiencies as lack of capacity should not be used as an excuse to support talk of a `roll-back` of powers.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Erdogan`s Twitter ban[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

THE Twitter issue has taken Turkey by storm, widened the fissures in the ruling party and perhaps made Recep Tayyip Erdogan realise that the ban on the social media site in no way helps him in the issue involved corruption. The extent of the Turkish prime minister`s overreaction to charges of corruption in his government is astonishing. He alleges that the social media site is being misused, says he will prove how strong the Turkish state is and promises to `wipe out` Twitter. None of this fits with a third-time democratically elected chief executive of a country keen to join the European Union. The ban on Twitter violated by his own president isn`t the only display of anger on his part. It comes in the wake of several other repressive measures: the excessive use of force against the Taksim Square protesters, the closure of schools run by his one-time mentor and now critic Fetullah Gulen, a law that tightens the executive`s grip on the judiciary, a bill now in parliament forgiving more powers to the intelligence agency for eavesdropping, and the restrictions on the internet and YouTube.

All this comes at a time when Turkey has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of journalists in prison.

As statistics show, of the 211 journalists in prison worldwide at the end of last year, Turkey tops the list with 40 mediapersons imprisoned.

That President Abdullah Gul and the deputy prime minister should violate the Twitter ban shows not only the unpopularity of the move but also a rift within the AKP which otherwise has many achievements to its credit, including a booming economy. By not drawing strength from these achievements, Mr Erdogan is showing a surprising degree of impetuosity, thus adding to his problems.

Instead of flaunting the `deep state`, Mr Erdogan should take back some of these measures, punish the corrupt and thus present himself and his party in a better light for the March 30 municipal polls.

[B]Wednesday, 26 March, 2014[/B]

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Nuclear record[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

THE third Nuclear Security Summit held at The Hague saw Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif repeat the long-standing Pakistani demand that the country be included in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the 48-member nuclear export club focused on non-proliferation.

Membership of the club bestows many advantages, but perhaps the biggest attraction it holds for Pakistan is the legitimacy participation bestows on a country as a responsible member of the global nuclear community. Within the NSG, Pakistan would likely position itself as both a buyer and seller a buyer a la the Indo-US nuclear deal of 2006 and a seller because of the advance nuclear fuel cycle capabilities that Pakistan has developed. But all of that remains a distant dream, undone by a record of nuclear proliferation centring around the A.Q. Khan saga that Pakistan would like the world to move on from, but that the outside world is less keen on doing.In truth, Pakistan meets the criteria for entry to the NSG, but entry is also decided on political grounds. With India, whose entry to the NSG the US sought in 2010 but that has yet to be formally granted, trade and investment opportunities and a growing diplomatic closeness helped smooth the way to de facto nuclear power status. Pakistan, wracked as it is by violence and often on the wrong side of global terrorism and proliferation concerns, has no such benefits. And there the matter appears to rest, despite Pakistan having taken great strides towards tightening its nonproliferation regime and ensuring the safety and security of its nuclear programme and assets. Yet, distant though the achieving of the goal may be, the country`s leadership is right to keep reiterating its credentials and qualifications for NSG membership at every available opportunity. In this way, when the moment does arrive for membership to be considered, Pakistanwill have a long and verifiable record of abiding by the principles of the nuclear club that sets the international rules for trade in civilian nuclear technology.

In the meantime, however, there are civilian nuclear projects where the Pakistani government ought to consider involving international expertise to help mitigate domestic concerns and perhaps even regional and international ones.

As the PML-N government prepares to implement massive new nuclear energy projects in the country, there have been questions asked in some quarters about the location and design of the new projects. If even the safety-obsessed Japanese could suffer a Fukushima-type disaster, surely the Pakistani government must go to whatever lengths it can to ensure the public in a potentially affected zone and the international community that it is not putting pride and prestige ahead of safety and environmental concerns.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Sham trials in Egypt[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

THE world`s silence on barbarism in Egypt under legal cover is shocking. On Monday, a court sentenced no less than 529 Muslim Brotherhood members to death after a sham trial with two hearings in which the judge became angry when the defence lawyer demanded his recusal. Over 1,200 more people are to be tried as part of what appears to be the relentless persecution of the Brotherhood since the army overthrew Egypt`s first truly elected government, headed by Mohammed Morsi, in July last. Over 1,000 people were killed in August last when the army cracked down on two Brotherhood camps; thousands of people, including Mr Morsi, are in jail and those to be tried for murder and rioting include the Brotherhood`s supreme guide, Mohammed Badie. Monday`s verdict is subject to two appeals, and reports say the Grand Mufti may overturn the judgement.

But that reversal cannot hide from the world the reality of abject military dictatorship in which Egypt has landed. Army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi now has no shame in announcing plans to contest presidential elections which are bound to be a big hoax designed to perpetuate the army`schokehold and thus undo the gains of the Arab Spring.

The truth is the army-backed government has been emboldened by lack of regional and international opposition to its murder of democracy. The West, for instance, only mildly rebuked the generals for overthrowing Mr Morsi`s government, but the Gulf monarchies welcomed the July 3 coup, and the US made clear that aid to Cairo will continue. Mr Morsi`s behaviour could, of course, be criticised for the haste with which he made the controversial changes in the constitution. But the ouster of an elected government and the unabashed persecution of the party and politicians out of power are not the solution. Apparently, the dynasties ensconced in their oil affluence shudder at the very thought of their own people catching a whiff of the Arab Spring. What they and the West forget is that by persecuting and banishing dissent, they are forcing democratic movements to go underground and become violent. This will have disastrous consequences for the region and for the kingdoms themselves, unleash forces that could destabilise the region and create many more Syrias.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Horrendous crime[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

THE latest attack on a polio vaccinator is barbaric even by the most brutal standards. Salma Farooqui, a wife and mother of five and an active participant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s Sehat ka Insaf antipolio initiative, was kidnapped from her village in suburban Peshawar on Sunday night and tortured and killed. The victim`s bullet-riddled body was found in a field on Monday. It boggles the mind to think how those who justify or at least tolerate attacks on polio workers will defend this horrific crime. As reported, the victim`s body seemed to have received blows from rifle butts and cuts from knives. There were no claims of responsibility till the time of writing and police said the motive for the murder was unclear. However, Ms Farooqui`s family are convinced she was targeted due to her polio work as she had been receiving threatening calls. Even though the banned TTP may have in recent days `distanced` itself from attacks on polio teams, some militant leaders have also admitted there are `hard-liners` within their ranks who still regard vaccinators andthose who protect them as kosher targets.

At least a dozen security men escorting vaccinators were killed in Jamrud, Khyber Agency, earlier this month while polio workers were kidnapped from Frontier Region Tank in February. At least three health workers were gunned down in Karachi in January. Overall, one estimate suggests around 60 people related to the anti-polio campaign have been killed since December 2012.

Salma Farooqui soldiered on in her brave mission despite mortal threats; but on Sunday night the monsters who insist on crippling Pakistan`s children and murdering those who wish to vaccinate them against disease registered another `success`. For the countless other Salma Farooquis in this country working to save Pakistan`s children from permanent disability and even death, the state must bring the criminals responsible for her killing to justice and strike at the root of the problem. In the meantime, we will wait for the TTP and its political supporters to openly condemn this outrage.

Thursday, 27 March, 2014

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Child marriage bill[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

IT is not often enough that we see a move in parliament to counter the ultraconservative lobby, something that is particularly true of events in recent months when the right-wing has been in full cry. However, the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill introduced in the National Assembly on Tuesday attempts to do exactly that by pushing back against the Council of Islamic Ideology`s recent declaration that laws barring child marriage in Pakistan are un-Islamic. The bill seeks to amend the British-era Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, by making underage marriage below 16 for girls and 18 for boys according to the law a cognisable offence and empowering family courts to take notice of the law`s violation. Those contracting marriages with children or solemnising such unions will both be held liable. The bill also stipulates punishment of up to two years` rigorous imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs100,000, or both, thereby enhancing itfrom the present one-month simple imprisonment or a fine of Rs1,000.

Although the CII functions in an `advisory` capacity, the reactionary environment in Pakistan at present offers fertile ground for the body`s appallingly regressive recommendations to influence public debate in a direction that would leave women and children far worse off than they already are. There is no better forum to check this than the country`s primary representative body, and the introduction of the bill in the National Assembly by five PML-N parliamentarians is a timely and muchneeded assertion of its legislative role that it must employ for the protection of the most vulnerable segments of society.

However, the timorousness of legislators in the face of right-wing onslaught was once again evident with the religious affairs minister suggesting that, if needed, the CII`s input should be considered while the bill is deliberated upon, which would surely consign theproposed legislation to oblivion. Instead, this is as good a time as any to definitively sideline the CII and reinforce the supremacy of parliament.

Another silver lining in this unexpected dredging up of an issue that should have long been settled, is the opportunity it affords to craft effective legislation to check a crime that can have devastating consequences for a child`s mental and physical health. For instance, it is well-known that maternal mortality in Pakistan, which already fares poorly in the region on this score, is highest among girls below 16, whose bodies are not mature enough for the rigours of child-bearing. The existing law against child marriage is a toothless one that is often flouted with impunity in the name of `culture`. An amendment in the law is thus a very welcome move, and legislators must stand firm against resistance from those attempting to advance medieval traditions that have no place in modern society.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Warning signs ignored[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

WHEN terrible events or a devastating episode occurs, there is a tendency here to regard them as utterly unexpected. But, more often than not, the warning signs have been there all along ignored at our own peril. The New York Times has reported that the US government believes that several Al Qaeda veterans have left the Pak-Afghan border area to go and join the rebels fighting the Assad regime in Syria. In and of itself, the claim is not new or surprising, though many of the details are. One of those details in particular ought to alarm policymakers here, not least because the NYT has referred to it in a matter-of-fact manner. The phrase in question: `Al Qaeda`s senior leadership in Pakistan, including Ayman al-Zawahiri`.

Once upon a time, Pakistan used to scoff at and dismiss US claims that Osama bin Laden was hiding inside Pakistan. Then, to Pakistan`s lasting humiliation, bin Laden was indeed found to have been living comfortably inside this country for many years.

The problem is, no lessons appear to have been learned from that debacle. If alZawahiri is in Pakistan, what are theauthorities here doing to help track him down before the Americans do? For who can, in the wake of the OBL raid, believe that the Americans would hesitate to launch another unilateral raid to take out al-Zawahiri if they track down his exact location and are unsure of whether he is being given protection by elements within the state or not? And what of the aftermath of such an incident? The benefit of doubt seemingly given to Pakistan in 2011 may not be so easily extended in 2014 with the drawdown of foreign forces in Afghanistan a certainty.

Inside Pakistan too the rising tide of antiAmericanism may be harder to contain, given the space ceded to militancy of all stripes over the last year in particular. Al Qaeda never has been an ally or friend or even a tolerated non-state actor of Pakistan. It is in Pakistan`s own interest to eliminate the group, especially its leadership, from Pakistani soil.

Incompetence or complicity, as was suspected after the OBL episode, is simply not an option anymore at least if Pakistan wants to be considered a responsible state internationally.

[SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]Flagging foolishness[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

THIS is what good neighbours are there for. Just when some Pakistanis are suffering from guilt pangs born of our everrunning love affair with jingoism, we have someone else on the subcontinent intervening to lighten our conscience.

Recently, when the weak-hearted here cowered under the impact of the media`s effort to turn the Asia Cup games into a war between the Shaheens and the rest, some crazy mind in India came to the fore.

Some students, who called Kashmir their home, were booked on charges of sedition and it was as if the whole of Pakistan with its suspicions of India had been vindicated.

The media routine of projecting cricket games as full-fledged wars of supremacy has continued during the current T-20 tournament also being held in Bangladesh.

Mercifully for Pakistanis looking for vindication of their charged sentiment, the tradition has continued of foolhardy officials blowing the whistle when the only ones indulging in foul play are they themselves. The Bangladesh Cricket Boardhas come up with an idea to be placed in a future museum of patriotism. It has banned Bangladeshi fans from bringing to the games` venue flags of any country other than their own. Already, Pakistanis are linking the BCB order to all kinds of conspiracies and ultimately to the hidden dictates of those who control the game.

Pakistanis have `evidence` that their players are popular in Bangladesh, which is currently in the process of trying Islamists with old Pakistani links and is therefore extra mindful of any show of support for Pakistan. Our information minister has expressed his disappointment over the ban and the ICCandindependent commentators have strongly questioned it.

There is little more that can be added to this wave of disapproval. There has been a genuine failure to use the sport to offset serious political matters. Instead, sport has been made into a vehicle to invoke the darkest emotions. But as examples go, the BCB ban will rank among the ugliest manifestations of a lack of sportsman spirit.

[LEFT][B]28-03-2014[/B]

[CENTER][B]Off-track again[/B][/CENTER]

NORMALISATION of ties with India, spearheaded by the normalisation of trade, was supposed to be the centrepiece of the PML-N government’s foreign policy. It was a point underlined, reiterated and spelled out time and again by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before and after the election. If there was anything the government was going to do, the consensus was, it would be forward movement on India by sweeping away the old excuses and constraints. Unhappily, the relationship with India has become yet another area in which the government inexplicably appears to have allowed policy drift and paralysis to settle in. Why has a trade deal with India, so tantalisingly close just last month, stalled? The government is offering a raft of excuses about why it has backtracked on its own initiative, but few of them are credible or particularly believable. The idea that the government’s negotiating team was unaware what the formal start of the Indian general election campaign meant for both the timing and possibility of a trade deal is, quite simply, laughable. In fact, the deadline was the very reason Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir travelled to India earlier this year.
So, what happened? Perhaps the government here realised that a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not going to materialise and so, miffed by the diplomatic rebuff, decided to wait until after the election. If that is in fact the real reason, it would suggest a naivety and ingenuousness in policymaking that would be shocking for a third-term prime minister. Surely, the answer must lie somewhere else — and, in the Pakistani context, it is never very difficult to guess where that somewhere else lies. Did the army leadership indicate an inability to endorse the government’s big initiative with India, thereby scuttling a trade deal, for now or perhaps even the foreseeable future? Despite denials by both sides about the army leadership exercising its veto, there is a plausible scenario where Prime Minister Sharif decided that his other main initiative — dialogue with the TTP — needed army facilitation and so decided not to press too hard on the India front as a tacit quid pro quo. If so, it would be a sad capitulation by a political government at a time that the transition to democracy is supposed to be moving forward stronger than ever.
Yet, it was the vast, coordinated and unprecedented show of force by the LeT/JuD in Punjab on March 23 that was more shocking still. Even if the PML-N does not have the will to push through its own agenda on trade with India in the face of the army opposition, how and why does it allow the group to so brazenly promote its anti-India agenda on Pakistan Day? The already evident policy paralysis of the PML-N is drifting alarmingly towards total disarray.


[CENTER][B]Prisoners’ swap[/B][/CENTER]

THE first direct government-TTP contact on Wednesday had more of an exploratory character, with both sides sounding each other out. But among the few concrete issues reportedly discussed were the extension of a ceasefire declared by the militants earlier this month, and a possible prisoner swap between the state and the outlawed TTP. While most TTP demands made recently, including withdrawal of the army from parts of Fata and the imposition of the group’s brand of Sharia in Pakistan, are clearly unacceptable, the militants’ call for the release of ‘non-combatants’ allegedly being held by the state could be looked into. The militants say around 300 women, children and elderly men are being held by security forces and a list of names has reportedly been forwarded to the government. On the government’s part, the negotiators have called upon the insurgents to release high-profile hostages believed to be held by them. These include a son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and a son of assassinated Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer as well as the vice-chancellor of a Peshawar varsity.
It is not known how credible the TTP’s claim of the state detaining non-combatants is. For example, it has been noted that there are hardly any women or children from Fata or KP in the lists of missing persons, while the courts have also not been approached for the retrieval of any such prisoners. The military has denied it is keeping women and children in captivity. But, it can be said with near certainty that Ali Haider Gilani, Shahbaz Taseer and vice-chancellor Ajmal Khan are being held by the TTP or one of their affiliates as bargaining chips, even though the militants have not confirmed the hostages are in their custody. To prove their intentions, the militants need to set these detainees free. And if the security forces are indeed keeping women and children in detention centres or elsewhere, they must also be released. As to the demand made by the militants for the release of their comrades-in-arms, while human rights principles dictate that non-combatants be released, hardened militants in state captivity must face the law and not be set free under any amnesty.

[CENTER][B]Israel’s disastrous plan[/B][/CENTER]

ON Wednesday, the Arab summit in Kuwait lent its categorical support to the Palestinian Authority by refusing to accept Israel as a Jewish state because doing so in its eyes would be tantamount to reducing Palestine’s sons of the soil to the status of serfs on their own land. That Israel should be a Jewish state was inherent in the Balfour Declaration issued by Britain in 1917, and all Israeli governments have followed this policy by encouraging Jews from all over the world to settle in the country and squeezing the Arabs out of Israel proper and the occupied territories. The hardline government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu has officially adopted this policy and has been pressing the PA to accept it. More pernicious has been the plan to repudiate the 1967 border and draw up a scheme for territorial ‘adjustments’ and ‘transfer’ — nothing less than a euphemism for expulsion — of Palestinians from their ancestral lands. As reported in the Western media, this plan is being studied from the point of view of international law. If Israel succeeds in this scheme, gobbles up more territory and manages to evict a majority of Palestinians from their ancestral land, it would only exacerbate tensions.
Even if Israel was envisaged as a homeland for the Jewish people, does that mean that the state should consider draconian steps to ensure that those who have equal right to the land but are not of the Jewish faith should be forced to leave, losing forever the ‘right of return’? Onwards from the 1990s, after that historic handshake on the grounds of the White House that saw the Israelis and Palestinians seal a deal to implement a two-state formula, the peace process is headed in anything but the right direction, with Israel, and the US policy of going along with the latter’s intransigence, primarily responsible for this faulty trajectory. In an already burning Middle East, Israel’s plan if implemented would be nothing short of a catastrophic blow to the region.[/LEFT]

[B]29-03-2014[/B]

[CENTER][B]A tricky beginning[/B][/CENTER]

[LEFT]THE first face-to-face session between the government negotiation team and the TTP leadership was tense and difficult, but, if the various insider accounts are parsed carefully, it does appear that both sides were laying down markers for fu
Predictably, the TTP rolled out its two key initial demands: the release of prisoners and a zone in which the TTP can move around unimpeded during the dialogue process.
On the prisoner front, at least this much has now been admitted by the TTP: they are in a position to dictate the release of Shahbaz Taseer, Haider Gilani and Ajmal Khan, a former vice chancellor of Peshawar University.
While the TTP was allegedly unwilling to release the men tied to the PPP, a twist in incentives could nudge the government to keep up the pressure on the militants: securing the release of the two PPP scions could blunt some of the strongest criticism of the dialogue process by the political left in the country.
Yet, there may be more disturbing twists ahead, especially with the TTP now providing a list of the so-called non-combatant prisoners held by the state. While the TTP can and does lie to manipulate public opinion, if it were to turn out that the state has in fact held in detention even a few women, children or elderly people as leverage, it could turn public sympathy in the TTP’s favour.
So, instead of going back to the TTP in secret and updating them on the government’s search for the alleged prisoners, the government should go public with the list and clarify that none of the people named are in the custody of any state agency.
Beyond that, the government will have to think hard about making further concessions to the TTP.
Already a concession has been made by essentially sending the government negotiating team to meet the group on its own turf.
Is negotiating on the TTP’s own turf more of an embarrassment or less so than giving the TTP its own enclave for free movement in or near the tribal area, as it has demanded? It is a tricky question and the TTP has been clever in making where and how negotiations are to be held a part of the pre-negotiation process.
Yet, whatever the modalities, ultimately what matters is what long-term concessions are made. So
far, the government has at least insisted on the need for talks to take place within the parameters of the Constitution and the democratic nature of the polity.
But what long-term shape would a deal with any part or even the whole of the TTP take? What kind of role does the TTP see for itself in a post-deal Pakistan? It is one thing to talk to absolutely anyone. It is quite another to find acceptable compromises.[/LEFT]

[CENTER][B]Return of CNG[/B][/CENTER]

[LEFT]THE pro-CNG lobby in Punjab seems to finally have prevailed, albeit at a time when the change in weather ensures that there is less pressure on natural gas.
The government has decided to allow CNG stations in the province to stay open eight hours a day throughout the week. This decision has been taken in spite of the fact that some in government, such as Minister Khawaja Asif, had spoken against the CNG station owners.
The latter had been accused of cheating the government and the consumers, and the conversion of an estimated 3.5 million vehicles to the cheaper fuel was termed to be a major drain on a precious and depleting natural resource. Indeed, the government decision, if implemented from next month, will help mitigate the pain of millions of CNG users.
It will protect the investment of billions of rupees made by the CNG station owners and bring down the country’s oil import bill as the government tries to shore up its foreign exchange stocks and tame inflation.
There is little doubt the Nawaz Sharif government was faced with immense pressure from its middle class supporters in the province to restore CNG supplies.
By deciding to keep the stations open eight hours every day of the week, it has found a way of giving relief to the users as well as the politically powerful lobby of the CNG owners.
Heavy investment has been made in this sector, especially in Punjab, over the last 10 years.
A shutdown would be unjust to small car owners but the fact remains that the usage of a diminishing resource to fuel thousands of private vehicles for an unlimited period is also unsustainable and a drag on the economy.
The better and more desirable usage of the fuel will be to produce cheaper electricity from it and power the industry to produce goods for exports. Therefore, the government should announce a reasonable time frame for both the CNG station owners and consumers to convert to LPG.
Those who do not comply with the time frame could be made to pay a price equivalent to the cost of imported petrol to remove the price incentive in the larger interest of the economy and the people[/LEFT]

[CENTER][B]Death for blasphemy[/B][/CENTER]

[LEFT]ONCE again, minorities in Pakistan are left feeling insecure, in an unforgiving milieu that preys on their vulnerability. On Thursday, Sawan Masih, a sanitary worker in Lahore, was sentenced to death for blasphemy.
The incident occurred in March last year during an argument between Masih and a Muslim friend, and triggered rioting by an enraged mob that ransacked and set fire to over 100 homes in Joseph Colony, the Christian-majority neighbourhood where Masih lived.
There was no loss of life simply because residents had already fled their homes in fear of such an attack. Masih’s lawyer has said that he will appeal the decision.
Given that no death penalty awarded for blasphemy has yet been confirmed by the higher courts — apart from one handed down in 1998 that was later set aside by the Supreme Court — perhaps this sentence too will be set aside at some point in the future. What can be said with certainty, though, is that Masih became a marked man from the moment he was accused of blasphemy.
The reality of Pakistan today is that mere accusation of this crime, howsoever unsubstantiated, instantly imperils the life of the individual concerned, and that threat persists not only throughout his incarceration, but even after acquittal.
Minorities are particularly impacted by the blasphemy law. Firstly, they are disproportionately targeted as compared to their actual representation in the population.
Secondly, when one of them is accused, the entire community is made to suffer, as illustrated by the mob violence in Joseph Colony, Gojra, etc or in lesser known cases where communities have been intimidated into moving en masse out of the locality. In fact, the desire to grab land or settle personal scores often underlies blasphemy allegations. That is all the more reason the law needs to be revisited.
Moreover, what message does it send to Pakistan’s Christian community that while Masih is on death row, the trial of those accused of the horrific attack on Joseph Colony is proceeding at a snail’s pace?[/LEFT]

[B]30-03-2014[/B]

[CENTER][B]Tough economic choices[/B][/CENTER]

[LEFT]NOT many will dispute the government’s claims of a perceptible improvement in economic indicators over the last nine months. Price increase has slowed down, large-scale manufacturing growth is escalating, fiscal deficit remains in control, pressure on the external account has somewhat eased and foreign exchange reserves are building up, and the exchange rate has improved in spite of projections to the contrary. Business and consumer confidence in the economy is surging as indicated by different surveys carried out in recent months and the increase in private credit off-take.
Observing these ‘positive’ changes in the economic outlook, few would challenge the perception that the incumbent government has somehow proved itself to be a ‘better manager of the economy’ than its predecessor. Indeed, it has. The IMF and the State Bank have acknowledged it again in their separate reviews of the performance of the economy on Friday. Similar improvements in the economy were noticed a few months after the previous government signed a loan deal of above $11bn with the IMF in 2008 and agreed to implement some tough conditions to stabilise the economy. Both the IMF and the central bank had extolled the ‘achievements’ in similar fashion. But the mirage of economic recovery did not last long. To be fair to the IMF and State Bank, it should be pointed out that both had consistently warned the finance team of the risks of losing sight of governance and the fiscal reforms needed to sustain the gains made in the early months of the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement.
The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also facing the same choice today. The fiscal gains made so far have been achieved at the cost of development and improvement in tax collection. The external account and exchange rate stability owes to the one-off dole from Saudi Arabia in return for we don’t yet know what. Short-term growth prospects hinge on the sale of next-generation mobile spectrums, official foreign inflows and the recovery of unpaid PTCL privatisation proceeds. But medium- to long-term sustainability will depend on implementation of tax and financial reforms, the removal of structural impediments including the energy crunch, improvement in security conditions and the flow of private domestic and foreign investment. Mr Sharif is considered much better placed to take the politically unpopular decisions necessary for a sustainable economic turnaround because of his strong mandate and the unwavering faith of the bazaar in him. He has taken a few difficult decisions such as raising electricity prices for all and sundry but stopped short of taxing the wealthy and powerful. If he fails to take tough decisions thus sparing his core constituency, history will not judge him much differently from his predecessors. Nor will the voters forget.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Another attack on the media[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]THE motive for attacking Raza Rumi, a liberal and outspoken national commentator on politics and society, is relatively easy to guess: it was meant to silence his voice forever and to send a message to anyone else espousing similar views in the public sphere. For the media as a whole, the attack in Lahore on Mr Rumi, in which a driver lost his life and a guard was injured, is yet another ominous sign that the pressure building on the media may be about to reach the point of explosion. While individuals, including Mr Rumi, have been named in militant hit lists, the signs are that something far bigger and terrible in scale and impact against the media may be imminent. Quite what that may be is difficult to know, but the lethality and ferocity of the militants and their willingness to kill and intimidate must never be underestimated.
The challenge really is for the media now to band together and figure out an effective strategy to counter the militants’ pressure. The Express Media Group, which had been targeted four times, tried the tactic of muting any criticism of the TTP and sundry militant groups after three of its employees were killed in January, but that has clearly not worked. In truth, there is little individual media houses or under-threat journalists can do on their own to ensure the safety of all who work in their organisations. However, collectively there is much that can be done — if owners, editors and heads of news channels sit down together and urgently work out both a set of demands and recommendations. The state is not entirely powerless and the militant groups are aware of the power of the media to inform the public and shape national discourse — which means a united front by the media can help win back the space that has been eroded for an independent and free media to operate in. The stakes could not be higher. A democratic polity in which the rule of law, civil society and democratic institutions dominate is only possible when the media is free to inform and act as a watchdog. Whatever the flaws of the media, surely a frightened and intimidated community of journalists is a disservice to everyone.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Modi’s anti-Pakistan rhetoric[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]IT is a pity that one of the strongest contenders for prime minister in India should find it necessary to play the anti-Pakistan card. In a recent speech at Hiranagar in India-held Kashmir, the BJP’s Narendra Modi labelled two of his political rivals “agents of Pakistan” and called them enemies of India. One of the politicians he referred to is A.K. Kejriwal, New Delhi’s former chief minister, who will challenge Mr Modi in Varanasi. Coming from a man whose party could sweep the polls, this kind of demagoguery is disheartening and raises serious questions not only about India’s future relations with Pakistan but also about the general direction that India’s politics and society will take if the BJP is elected to power. Popular passions once aroused can jeopardise efforts to normalise ties. We can relate to this observation, for it is not only the right-wing in Pakistan that indulges in India-bashing, mainstream parties, too, have resorted to it, thus weakening the peace process. But mercifully, Pakistan’s mainstream parties seem to have moved on, for India hardly figured in Pakistan’s last two general elections. Similarly, it would be better for Mr Modi to concentrate on national issues — such as inflation and corruption — and the failure of his political rivals to resolve these. In fact, he would be well-positioned to flaunt his home state’s economic progress during his rule, and promise a similar lift for the entire country, since the corporate sector would want a business-friendly BJP to be in power. Instead, he has chosen to debase the political dialogue.

Already, Mr Modi’s reputation has been tainted by his alleged role in the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, and by demonising Pakistan in his speeches he will only reinforce the image of being anti-Muslim. In Pakistan, while there have been hiccups along the way, overall the PML-N government has shown that it is keen to revive the peace process. Mr Modi would do well to reciprocate and refrain from employing anti-Pakistan rhetoric to win votes.[/LEFT]

[B]31-03-2014[/B]

[B][CENTER]Forgotten Balochistan[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]THE attack on a radar station in Pasni may be a small incident in the larger, darker scheme of things in Balochistan, but it is yet another reminder that the low-level insurgency in the province could explode once more with devastating consequences for the province and the federation. Unhappily, Balochistan appears to have once again become the forgotten province. Vast swathes of the Baloch populated areas are all but cut off to the outside world and to the media. Quetta is heavily barricaded and while still relatively accessible, is hardly the preferred destination of anyone outside Balochistan. Bodies of activists linked to separatist politics continue to turn up. The missing persons issue continues to inflame. Meanwhile, the provincial government, of which there were such high expectations last summer, has descended into internecine coalition warfare. Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch seems a man overwhelmed and unable to give much, or any, attention to his principal task: returning normality in a security sense to the province.
Just as egregious, given the role that the centre has to play in brokering a peace between the army-led security establishment and the separatists, is the approach of the federal government. Having ceded its claim to the top job in the province, the PML-N leadership in Islamabad, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in particular, appears uninterested in investing any further political capital in the provincial government, meaning little headway can be made. The juxtaposition between the pre-election promises and the post-election actions of Mr Sharif are startling: where he once talked bluntly and repeatedly about the need for dialogue in Balochistan, it seems the only dialogue the prime minister is interested in today is with the outlawed TTP. Is it the case that once again the perceived relative importance of some regions over others is making itself felt? Is Balochistan destined to remain on the back burner forever, or at least until events cause a fresh conflagration?
If even the interest and will to bring peace to Pakistan’s geographically largest and strategically vital province are in question, there is little point in reiterating the well-known first steps that have to be taken. Who to talk to and how to go about it becomes a secondary issue when it’s not even clear that the governments, federal and provincial, even see talks as a priority issue. In fact, perhaps the most important preliminary step the federal government could take now is to stop the infighting in the provincial coalition government by issuing clear instructions to the provincial PML-N leadership. Surely, Prime Minister Sharif could not have believed that once he had overruled his party leadership in Balochistan and installed the National Party’s Abdul Malik as chief minister, it would be smooth sailing. But the prime minister seems far too distracted by the dialogue with the TTP to pay much attention to Balochistan at the moment.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Drug price increase[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]REVISION in the prices of drugs in Pakistan has been hotly debated for sometime now. Pharmaceutical companies have been arguing a price increase is long overdue and in November last year they said an 18pc increase in the price of many medicines was imminent. The impression gathered at the time was that the government was ready for a compromise, on two conditions. One, the government wanted the makers to shortlist drugs for the increase. Two, the government insisted on a 15pc rise at the most. Finally, on Nov 28, 2013, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan notified a price increase of 15pc on a number of drugs, excluding those categorised as life-saving. The hike was criticised as a cruel blow to Pakistanis who were already struggling in the face of high inflation. An immediate withdrawal of the increase was demanded and the call was heeded by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on whose direction Drap withdrew its notification only a day after its issuance.
Everyone knew this was not the end of the drive for price increase. The pharmaceutical companies were determined to pursue their case further and four months down, reports now say prices of a large number of drugs, including life-saving ones, have been increased in one leap by an average 30pc. The sharp rise has been pointed out by an organisation called the Young Pharmacists Association. Some established drug companies say they have never heard of the YPA and question the given figures. It is also said in some cases the increase is a result of a Sindh High Court ruling which had stayed the withdrawal of the notification issued by Drap last November. In any event, the matter is once again before the government and the pharmaceutical industry is soliciting the prime minister’s involvement for price rationalisation. Given the intensity of the lobbying and that ways have already been found to up the prices of some if not all drugs, this is a difficult one for the government and it could end up conceding some ground to the drug makers. The question is what price compromise is finally agreed to, and just how big a drain it will be on the people’s pocket.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Hindu temple desecration[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]INCIDENTS of communal violence targeted at Sindh’s Hindu population are occurring with disturbing regularity. On early Friday morning a Hindu temple in Hyderabad was set on fire by unidentified arsonists, resulting in damage to an idol and the structure itself. Earlier this month a dharamshala in Larkana was attacked by rioters after a Hindu man in the town allegedly desecrated the Holy Quran. These attacks send ominous signals to Sindh’s Hindu community while they indicate that the pluralistic atmosphere of the province is deliberately being poisoned. Sindh is not immune to the tide of fanaticism that has overwhelmed Pakistan. And unless consistent efforts are made by the state and society to address such violent incidents, the situation will only deteriorate. A number of suspects were picked up on Saturday while Sindh police officials are looking into different angles to unmask the culprits behind the temple attack. Apart from the involvement of extremists, the possible role of IDPs and land-grabbers is also being examined. Unless proper investigations are conducted, this case, like many before it, will remain unsolved, which will not bode well for religious harmony in Sindh.
As historian Dr Mubarak Ali stated in a lecture in Karachi on Friday, to sit quietly as intolerance grows against non-Muslims is akin to acceptance of communalism. Political parties and civil society in Sindh have spoken out against the acts of desecration. Yet more needs to be done to promote interfaith harmony amongst the people and to actively oppose the communal narrative. It is not enough to simply say that Sindh is the land of Sufis; society must indicate through its actions that the message of amity and brotherhood preached by the mystics of yore is still alive in today’s Sindh and that the hateful narrative of zealots has no place here. The state, on its part, must bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice to show non-Muslims it is serious about protecting their places of worship and to send a strong message to communalists.[/LEFT]

[B]01-04-2014[/B]

[B][CENTER]Musharraf’s indictment[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]A HISTORIC day it was yesterday as for the first time ever a former army chief and military dictator stood before a judge and faced charges of violating the Constitution. Whether a trial of Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution will make it more difficult for future coup makers is an important question, but not the only one. Surely, if the Constitution is sacrosanct and the democratic will of the people is to be protected as a foundational value of the state, then a power grab in violation of the Constitution and democratic values ought to be punished, as stipulated by the Constitution itself. And while a court judgment alone is unlikely to deter a future dictator, the polity here has evolved and a trial could be the capstone of a new Pakistan in which coups are much more unlikely for a variety of reasons.
Now for the complications. As known to one and all, Mr Musharraf was indicted for the November 2007 Emergency that saw him try to extend his hold on power by ousting a superior judiciary that may have stood in the way of him gaining yet another term as president. But, as also known to one and all, nothing Mr Musharraf did on Nov 3, 2007 would have been possible if it were not for the fact that he had already overthrown the Constitution and grabbed power — back in October 1999. Trying the former dictator for actions that were only possible because of the original sin, the original coup, without so much as a mention of the original sin is problematic, and inadequate. Yes, the events of 1999 have gone through a far more complicated legal path and validation than the events of 2007, which were not sanctified by the courts or parliament, but there is a simple, undeniable fact that ought to hold: power was grabbed illegally in 1999 by Mr Musharraf under the same Constitution that he stands accused of violating in 2007. Furthermore, there must be questions asked about whether Mr Musharraf alone should face history’s judgment, or whether the many individuals whose collaboration was necessary for sanctifying and perpetuating Mr Musharraf’s rule ought to also face trial.
Nevertheless, a process is under way now and the immediate question is what will be its outcome. If indictment took far too long, a trial itself with Mr Musharraf inside the country is still far from a certainty. The will-he, won’t-he question has immediately taken centre stage: will Mr Musharraf be allowed to travel abroad, thereby reducing the likelihood of a return to Pakistan ever again, or won’t he be allowed to do so? For now, the matter appears to be the federal government’s to decide, but it is likely to seek direction from the Supreme Court first. The pre-trial circus may yet continue for a while.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Importance of standards[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]IN an increasingly globalised world, compliance with international standards concerning labour conditions and quality control is playing a key role in determining who has access to lucrative foreign markets, and who gets locked out. Due to the negligence of both the state and the private sector, Pakistan has in the past lost foreign clients; the EU ban on import of Pakistani seafood, lifted not too long ago, is a case in point. Another possible ban may be on the horizon as US entertainment giant Walt Disney is considering ditching Pakistan as a source for products. Unless the situation changes drastically, over 12 Pakistani firms will lose their Disney contracts because the country has scored poorly on an index grading performance on indicators such as working standards and human rights. It is believed that 2012’s horrific Baldia factory blaze in Karachi, in which over 250 were killed, as well as the failure of provincial governments to conduct physical inspections of factories, played a role in convincing Disney to part ways with Pakistani producers unless things improve. As some exporters fear, if Disney leaves other major American and European players may also stop doing business with us.
Pakistan is paying a heavy price for poor governance in multiple ways. The lack of physical inspections and other oversights not only put workers’ lives at risk, they also mean loss of business. Over time provincial labour departments have become dysfunctional and almost redundant. Labour unions have also failed to raise a voice for workers’ rights and to demand the enforcement of standards mandated by the International Labour Organisation and other global bodies. In the near term, sustained economic diplomacy is needed to convince Disney and others that Pakistan is working to improve labour conditions, while practical steps need to be taken to support the country’s claims. If provincial governments, especially Punjab and Sindh, publicly announce that physical inspections of factories are to be resumed, it may play a role in convincing foreign buyers to stay, while attracting new business. Global markets are becoming increasingly competitive and unless all stakeholders are willing to face the challenge and work towards implementing international standards, Pakistan will trail far behind fast-developing economies.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Intra-party elections[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]THE Jamaat-i-Islami is Pakistan’s only mainstream political party which practises internal democracy. Sirajul Haq’s election as emir on Sunday after a trilateral contest reaffirms this point in a country where most parties are controlled by political dynasties. This is true of South Asia at large. In India, the Nehru family monopolises the leadership of one of the biggest parties, the Indian National Congress — Rahul is the fifth generation Nehru. In Sri Lanka, the Bandaranaike family has phased out, but in Bangladesh Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed have for decades headed the parties representing their husband and father respectively. One reason for the JI’s democratic structure is the fact that it is an ideological party. Ghaffar Khan’s party, too, was ideological in Pakistan’s early decades. But barring the election of Ajmal Khattak as its chief, Bacha Khan’s party — its name changing many times — went back to the family fold. As inevitably happens, such parties split not on principles but because of family quarrels. Today Begum Nasim Wali Khan heads her own party but with the same nomenclature.
The PPP is in a class by itself. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the fourth generation of the Bhuttos to be in politics, and he is now the populist party’s fourth Bhutto to head it after founder-grandfather, grandmother and mother. The split within the party was again not on principles, for it is Murtaza Bhutto’s widow, Ghinwa, who calls her party PPP, with ‘shaheed’ added to differentiate it from the family rivals’ enterprise. Surprisingly, even though feudals do not head the PML-N, its ownership pattern is hardly different from parties in feudal control. It too has become the Sharifs’ monopoly, with scions Maryam and Hamza being groomed for tasks ahead. In Balochistan, with a small middle class, no one should be surprised if the Balochistan National Party-M and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party have become family enterprises, with sons succeeding fathers. With this perpetuation of family control, and lack of elected hierarchies, most politicians’ commitment to democracy appears hollow.[/LEFT]

[B]02-04-2014[/B]

[B][CENTER]Problematic mismatch[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]THE wide gap of close to Rs1.50 in the price of the dollar in the inter-bank and kerb market means that Pakistan is effectively maintaining two exchange rates.
Such a large difference between the official and unofficial exchange rate for an extended period of time can hardly be considered a good sign for an economy such as Pakistan’s that is facing a balance of payments crisis.
The gap offers many people an incentive to conduct their foreign exchange transactions in the black market, out of the regulator’s view; it affects foreign flows into the country and impedes the smooth movement of foreign currency.
More importantly, it can be a cause of abrupt and disruptive changes in the exchange rate.
Pakistan has experienced in the past all the negative effects of a loosely regulated kerb market operated by private currency dealers.
There have been times when the activities of the open market overshadowed the official channel and pushed the Pakistani rupee into a freefall, encouraging the flight of capital from the country to more stable destinations.
This always makes the job of the State Bank — the key regulator of Pakistan’s financial markets — to defend the rupee more difficult, especially when it is low on foreign exchange reserves.
While inadequate regulatory controls and their loose application for fear of political clout of the dealers is one important factor behind the growing discrepancy in the inter-bank and kerb rates, we cannot ignore the fact that this is also a sign of insufficient supply in the market of the reserve currency — the dollar in Pakistan’s case.
Indeed, the government has been successful in its recent efforts to cause the rupee to appreciate against the dollar by almost 10pc.
But the fact remains that official reserves with the State Bank remain dangerously low in spite of the recent foreign flows, mainly in the form of a $1.5 billion grant from Saudi Arabia, and the supply of the greenback in the open market remains tight.
Demand, on the hand, has seen a considerable rise, expanding the official and unofficial exchange rates. This difference is unlikely to be bridged without building reserves.
Even the realisation of flows estimated in the last quarter of this fiscal may not succeed in narrowing this mismatch.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Saga of the ‘missing’[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]WHILE relatives of ‘missing’ people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan soldier on in the quest for their loved ones, the earth continues to throw up grisly evidence of some of the disappeared in the latter province. Since Sunday, four decomposed bodies have been found in the same area of Totak where 13 corpses, some partially buried, were discovered in late January.
A judicial commission appointed by the Supreme Court has been investigating the matter.
Redressal for the families of the missing also suffered a setback in court on Monday when a witness in the case of Masood Janjua from Rawalpindi was not allowed to testify via video link from a UNHCR camp in Sri Lanka.
The apex court has consistently pursued the issue of enforced disappearances since 2006, and its tenacity has resulted in a number of such individuals belonging to KP and Fata being produced before it, thereby bringing some relief to their families.
By summoning senior military officials to answer questions from the bench, the court has underscored the principle that no individual or institution is, or at least should be, above the law.
The government’s recent step of seeking the trial of two military officers for their alleged role in the disappearance of the Baloch — though unlikely to address the issue in any meaningful way as the officers are scarcely senior enough to have taken such action without orders from above — can also perhaps be interpreted as taking its cue from the Supreme Court’s proactive approach.
The problem of enforced disappearances has particularly bedevilled efforts by the Balochistan government to establish its writ in the province.
Needless to say, the security establishment, accustomed to acting with impunity in furtherance of its definition of the ‘national interest’, has not given up its secrets easily.
It has only partially complied with court orders to produce the detainees, that too after much prevarication and empty assurances. Still, the court must continue to maintain pressure until each and every forcibly disappeared person is accounted for.
As citizens of Pakistan, whatever their ideological affiliation, such individuals deserve nothing less.
Even in the case of Masood Janjua, who it is claimed was killed by ‘non-state actors’, the court must demand further investigation so that the truth behind his disappearance can be established. Other organs of the state should step up and play a responsible role at this critical juncture.
Confronted with overwhelming evidence of its culpability in enforced disappearances, it is time the military undertook a clear-sighted appraisal of its tactics, and held senior officials accountable for human rights violations instead of offering up junior personnel as scapegoats.
At the same time, parliament needs to craft legislation that allows the war against terrorism to be conducted and prosecuted effectively without sacrificing the principles that underpin the claim to being a democracy.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Cycle of exploitation[/B][/CENTER]
[LEFT]WORKING in conditions that amount to modern-day slavery, brick-kiln workers in Pakistan are exploited by greedy kiln owners and ignored by a state that has little interest in their welfare. Bonded labour is a national problem, though it is particularly acute in Punjab, where most kilns are located, and Sindh.
Agriculture is another sector where bonded labour is a matter of concern. And as a story published in this paper on Sunday points out, the deplorable practice of bonded labour is thriving even in the suburbs of the federal capital.
Even though the state has mandated that kiln workers be paid a few hundred rupees per 1,000 bricks, many owners pay even less than this pittance. At the root of the problem is the payment of peshgi, or advance, by kiln owners;
labourers take relatively high advances due to sheer poverty to pay for children’s wedding expenses, meet medical emergencies or other essential needs and end up working to pay back the amount for the rest of their lives. Some die before paying back the advance, which then has to be paid off by their children or other family members.
Millions of people are caught up in this dehumanising cycle of exploitation.
There is, of course, a federal law against bonded labour and the peshgi system.
But who in Pakistan is interested in enforcing laws that protect the poor and the weak? Moreover, after devolution only Punjab has passed a specific law against bonded labour, though enforcement leaves much to be desired.
Along with passing relevant legislation, the provinces need to take practical steps to ensure kiln workers and labourers in other sectors are not being
employed through the peshgi method or forced to work under conditions that violate fundamental rights. Kiln owners who flout the law must face the music regardless of the clout they enjoy. Empowering district officials in this regard is essential. Also, kiln workers need to be registered with the state in order to have access to social security benefits.[/LEFT]

[B]03-04-2014[/B]

[B][CENTER]Intel challenge[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]AMONG the many things Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised upon returning to power for a third time, one of the more interesting, and important, was a pledge to restructure the Intelligence Bureau to make it more effective and less politicised.
The idea was to finally put the IB in its rightful place as the pre-eminent civilian intelligence organisation.
As reported in this newspaper yesterday and sourced by an IB insider, the federal government has partially delivered on its promise by providing more money, equipment and manpower to an organisation that suffered very real neglect during the near-decade-long military rule of Pervez Musharraf.
Most immediate has been the change seen in Karachi, with the IB playing a significant role alongside the law-enforcement agencies in the operation there.
However, much as the IB may want to pat itself on the back, there are enormous challenges that still remain to be addressed for the intelligence community as a whole.
The list of problems is long, both the generic and the
specific. In the case of the ISI, there is little to no clarity on the scope of its mandate, its drift from intelligence-gathering to operational activities or even its legal origins. Surely, having grown to the size and influence the ISI has by now, a mandate that is legislated and parliamentary oversight are two basic, and still missing, requirements.
But there are wider problems, not least of which is politicisation. The IB itself has recently been drawn into a semi-controversy over its alleged spying on politicians and journalists.
Beyond the vaguely worded accusations and the equally murky denials, there is little clarity on the matter, leaving many to wonder whether professionalisation of the IB still means politicisation to some degree.
Then, there is the elephant in the room: the civ-mil imbalance. The National Internal Security Policy drawn up by the interior ministry has a section that deals with intelligence coordination between civilian and military spy agencies, and the creation of a ‘National Intelligence Directorate’ appears, at least on paper, to be a reasonable step.
But the real issue is whether the government has the capacity or the will to change the habits and thinking of entrenched and powerful intel organisations and their institutional backers.
It is in the very nature of the intelligence business to be suspicious of other organisations within even the same state structure, to drift into areas where they have no business or legal mandate to do so and to all the time raise the spectre of threats real and imagined to justify their ever-expanding presence. To be sure, Pakistan needs both an internally and externally strong intelligence set-up.
But what is needed and what is actually produced can hardly be assumed to be the same thing. The intelligence community needs serious attention and detoxification.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Madressah reform[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]THE issue of madressah reform was raised in the National Assembly on Tuesday when the house adopted an opposition resolution demanding that the government take steps to “improve and regulate” education in seminaries.
As militancy has gained ground in Pakistan over the past few years, the role of madressahs, particularly those promoting extremist mindsets or worse and acting as nurseries for jihadi and sectarian groups, has come under close scrutiny.
Though it would be wrong to tar all seminaries with the same brush as many madressahs genuinely focus on purely religious studies and do not promote violence, ever since the 1980s, the politicisation of seminaries, in the shadow of the Afghan ‘jihad’, has resulted in some madressahs becoming hotbeds of extremism. Attempts have been made to ‘reform’ the seminaries, including during the Musharraf years and the last PPP government’s tenure.
Yet these have made little difference mostly due to the pressure of the religious right. Religious parties feel that the government wants to control the madressahs under the guise of reforms, hence they are guarding their turf fiercely. But reforming madressahs should not necessarily be about control of institutions or doing away with religious education.
Rather, it should focus on ensuring that madressah curricula do not contain hate material, and, in fact, equip the thousands of graduates that seminaries produce every year with marketable mainstream skills that will help them get jobs in different sectors.
The fact is that madressahs have also mushroomed because the state has failed to create a viable, equitable system of public education. Our system is class-based and skewed against the poor.
Though some people do send their offspring to madressahs out of religious beliefs, many simply have no other choice. Either there are no public schools in their native areas, or the schools that do exist hardly deliver quality education.
Meanwhile, the free boarding and lodging many madressahs offer is an added advantage to poor parents. Madressah reform is essential and religious quarters should work with the state to bring seminaries into the mainstream.
But more important is the need for the state to overhaul the broken public school system to deliver decent education to youngsters that will help them become productive, enlightened citizens.[/LEFT]

[B][CENTER]Utterly disgraceful[/CENTER][/B]

[LEFT]PAKISTAN’S topsy-turvy campaign at the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh ended on Tuesday with an ignominious 84-run defeat against the West Indies.
The capitulation of Mohammad Hafeez and his men in the key clash, upon which had hinged hopes of the team’s making it to the semifinals, was unbecoming of a club outfit, let alone a national team.
It must surely rank as one of Pakistan’s worst performances in international cricket. It is also the first time that Pakistan has failed to make the World T20 semis in the seven-year history of the event.
While millions of fans around the world are feeling cheated by the manner of the defeat, critics are not surprised. Many had been highly sceptical of the team’s composition from the outset.
They had rightfully questioned the appointment of Hafeez as skipper for the important ICC event following his below-par showing during the past two years, both as player and leader.
Besides, the induction of the ageing trio — Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul — had not gone down well with the critics either as the three have looked completely out of sorts in this ‘slam bang’ format of the game. The inexplicable sidelining of Mohammad Talha and Sharjeel Khan too, defies logic and must be looked into.
To say the abject loss warrants a postmortem is an understatement. And not just of the players but also of those running the show at the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The defeats in the opening match against arch-rivals India and the West Indies on Tuesday have yet again exposed the brittle strategy of our cricketers in pressure situations.
They may have the talent to overcome mediocre opposition such as Bangladesh and a few others but certainly lack the calibre and technique to tackle top international teams.
The team’s poor show also puts the much-trumpeted line-up of coaches including Moin Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Shoaib Mohammad and Mohammad Akram under the spotlight. They must shoulder the blame for cricket’s dark hour.[/LEFT]