Special Olympics gold

IF cricket gets a bit tiring with all its unpredictable ups and downs, spare some time to catch up on the proud triumphs Pakistani athletes have been scoring in the Special Olympics. For more than two decades, now, Pakistan’s athletes participating in this event have been bringing home a rich haul of medals and this year too they have already won five medals as the games draw to a close. The event features athletes with intellectual disabilities such as autism who go through a rigorous training regimen lasting six months, during which they spend time away from the families for the first time and are taught the sport they will be competing in as well as basic activities of everyday life like getting dressed and washing hands. For the athletes themselves, the training and the opportunity to compete are often life-changing experiences that give them confidence.

The programme to select and groom special athletes from Pakistan is run by a dedicated core of professionals from the Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) that has been training and preparing Pakistani athletes to participate in the global event for almost 20 years now. In one case, for instance, the 27-year-old swimmer Asim Zar used to be afraid of dipping his feet in the water at the start of his training, according to his parents. This year he bagged a gold medal in the 100m freestyle event, making his parents and his country proud. The shining confidence with which these young Pakistanis have overcome enormous odds to win their triumphs is a source of inspiration for the entire country. They deserve to be received as heroes upon their return. The devotion with which the team at SOP has worked to groom these athletes and win these medals for Pakistan at an international sports event is also an inspiring example of what a small team of dedicated people can accomplish. Well done team Pakistan and welcome back!

Time to move on

POPULAR political parties encompass various sets of opinion, each coming to the fore at its turn. There is a time for the belligerent, the acrimonious and the incorrigibly quarrelsome; once these have caused whatever impact is required of them, it is time for saner minds to take over and appear to save the day — for their parties, for national politics, and for the country as a whole. For the various outcomes of the process the PTI started back when it embarked upon its dharna, that time seems to have come.

Much muck has been thrown around over whether PTI lawmakers should be de-seated or not. It is time now for sober elements to step in and perform the task of reconciling everyone to a compromise. This is true for all parties to the dispute — the PTI, the PML-N, as well as those who have so far stuck to their plan of moving a resolution in the parliament seeking the disqualification of PTI members on technical grounds. Resolution is, by definition, to remedy a situation — not complicate and threaten further. Thus those behind the de-seating resolution must be careful to not take their advance against their common opponent too far — unless they want to risk being viewed as irresponsible elements looking for an answer to the issue through unravelling. The dangers of the drive getting out of hand are very much there; the point has been taken and it is time to move on.

There are a few obvious lines that need to be taken. The PTI must be a little more consistent and far more convincing in its expression of trust in evolving a system. It has been at the receiving end of an intense campaign to discredit it as a political party. A cool-headed analysis will, however, appreciate Imran Khan’s contribution to accelerate the process of reform, including — significantly — in the manner in which the elections are organised. The PTI can — and ought to — take the confidence gained from these successes and invest its energies in effecting improvements wherever it can. The government, on the other hand, must set an example in how committed it is to not wasting time over frivolities and distractions that must be avoided in aid of the people and an urge to tackle their real issues. This is not to say that the PML-N’s refrain against Mr Khan and his party for the ‘wasteful’ sit-in in Islamabad cannot be challenged. But a government which is so eager to point out the damage caused to the national economy by an obdurate opponent must show character when its gets the opportunity. De-seating must not distract; there are serious issues of the people awaiting the kind attention of the elected elite. The bickering has to stop and some real debate should be heard being conducted in its place.

Prosecutors’ exodus

PAKISTAN’S decrepit criminal justice system has suffered another grievous blow. One hundred and fifty public prosecutors in Punjab have quit their jobs to take up posts in the judiciary, after they successfully passed the requisite tests conducted for 378 posts for civil judges in the lower courts. That leaves only 500 prosecutors available to the provincial prosecution department against a sanctioned strength of over 1,200. A few months ago, in a similar haemorrhage of desperately needed resources, 100 prosecutors — again in Punjab — left their jobs to become civil judges. And more are on course for a career move: a substantial number of prosecutors have applied for vacancies for additional district and sessions judges as well, examinations for which were to be held by the Lahore High Court from yesterday. Among the candidates were two prosecutors working in the Anti-Terrorism Courts in Rawalpindi.

Prosecutors are a vital cog in the justice machine; they ensure that evidence is properly collated and presented so that the case against the accused can be successfully prosecuted. In Pakistan, the legal system as a whole is broken, corrupt and inefficient, particularly at the lower court level. This is on account of multiple issues, including a lack of resources and training, while the rot in the prosecutorial sector also owes much to the fact that prosecutors have few reasons to consider their job as little more than a stepping stone to the greener pastures of the bench. But given the circumstances in which they work, can anyone really blame them? Treated as drudges rather than as professionals doing extremely important work, they have few facilities and meagre opportunities for career advancement. Moreover, threats from some of the dangerous individuals it is their job to prosecute are a constant occupational hazard. In 2013, the prosecutor in the Benazir Bhutto murder case was gunned down; some prosecutors have even sought asylum abroad. To add insult to injury, public prosecutors are paid a pittance of Rs33,000 a month — a fact that also contributes to corruption on the job. Compare that with Rs82,000 that a civil judge earns as monthly remuneration and the exodus from the prosecution department becomes understandable. All this means that the already formidable caseload of the remaining prosecutors will become heavier still, thereby inevitably compromising the quality of their work and the ability of the judicial system to send behind bars those who threaten the peace of society.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015
Source: Editorials

Avoid net speak. It is against Forum Rules. Use "you" instead of "u".

These are the editorials published in Dawn Newspaper everyday. Generally, there are three editorials in daily newspaper. So we post them daily in one post.

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Brutal gun culture

THE recent incident involving cricket ace Wasim Akram and an unnamed trigger-happy individual serves as a reminder of the brutal gun culture that prevails in Pakistan, especially its largest city. The legendary fast bowler was reportedly involved in an accident with another vehicle while on his way to Karachi’s National Stadium on Thursday. According to Mr Akram, a vehicle deliberately rammed into his car. As an argument ensued, an individual from the other vehicle pulled out a gun and shot at Mr Akram’s car. It is a relief that the sporting great was unharmed. Police say a suspect is in custody while the investigation continues.

Some estimates suggest there are between 18 to 20 million firearms in the possession of civilians in Pakistan. This is a frightening figure, and it is evident that millions of gun owners are not shy about flaunting their deadly toys. In Karachi, from ‘influentials’ with an armada of guards in tow down to the common mugger — all are armed to the teeth, and a neighbourhood argument or burglary can result in tragedy. Over the past few days there has been a spate of shooting incidents in the metropolis, including a botched robbery in which a leading lady doctor was murdered. The issue of regulating firearms is a joke, as the state has initiated many de-weaponisation drives with great fanfare, only to eventually lose steam. Government officials have themselves admitted that many purported gun licenses are faked, while others have been issued without proper verification. This is the state of the official licensing mechanism; on top of that, there are the countless illegal guns floating around. What is needed is a thorough, countrywide de-weaponisation campaign; ideally, only police and military personnel should carry guns, and there too they must use deadly force as a last resort. Law-enforcement agencies have done a reasonable job in reducing Karachi’s violence in recent months. Street crime remains a problem, though. A similar effort is required to rid the city — and country — of guns.

Saudi suicide attack

WHILE the occupation of territory within Iraq and Syria by the self-styled Islamic State sent shockwaves across the Middle East — if not the world — should the extremist movement gain a foothold in Saudi Arabia, the consequences would be even grimmer. And over the past few months we have witnessed IS expand its footprint within the kingdom in a devastating manner. On Thursday, a suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the city of Abha frequented by security men; at least 15 people have been confirmed dead while the attack has been described as the deadliest aimed at Saudi security personnel in recent years. Though the attack took place in a province that borders Yemen — where the Saudis are fighting the Houthi militia — it has been claimed by IS in an online statement. It seems that after targeting the kingdom’s Shia minority, the group has turned its guns on the Saudi state. In May, IS suicide bombers attacked two Shia mosques in the Eastern Province in different incidents, while there have been a number of confrontations between the militants and security forces. That IS does not intend to stop here is evident; it has urged young Saudis to carry out attacks and has promised to continue targeting the Saudi state.

Riyadh has been taking action against militants on its soil. Last month over 400 individuals with suspected links to IS were picked up in swoops. Yet clearly, the IS support base and militant pool in the kingdom remains, indicating that more needs to be done. The Saudis should not underestimate their foe, especially when there is a radicalised segment of the population with sympathies for the ‘caliphate’. Though Riyadh has battled an Al Qaeda insurgency in the past, and emerged victorious, this time things are a little more complicated. For one, Saudi Arabia is involved in direct hostilities in Yemen, which has kept its security forces occupied, while its reported support to questionable militant groups in the Syrian civil war continues. Perhaps to address its internal militancy issue Saudi Arabia needs to disentangle itself from these regional conflicts and help the belligerents reach negotiated settlements. The fact is that IS seeks to bring down the Middle East’s regimes and remake the region in its own image, which makes the outfit a threat to Saudi as well as regional security. Therefore, all regional states need to coordinate efforts to halt the expansion of this ruthless concern.

Afghanistan: future uncertain

THE bloodiest 24 hours in Kabul in years suggest two things. One, the issue of who is to succeed Mullah Omar as leader of the Afghan Taliban is anything but settled. It could be that, as many observers have suggested, the weekend attacks in Kabul are the result of factionalism and a challenge to Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The Kabul attacks could also have been authorised by Mullah Mansour himself, possibly to demonstrate that he is not in the pocket of Pakistan or desperate to make peace with the Afghan state. Either way, the succession issue is far from settled. While it is still not clear quite who leaked news of Mullah Omar’s death and why, it does seem that hiding Omar’s death for two years has hurt Mullah Mansour’s credibility. A new leader who hoodwinked his fellow militants in an attempt to make sure he inherited the leadership mantle is hardly the kind of figure who compares well to Mullah Omar.

The question for the Afghan government and the outside world, in particular Pakistan, is what next? The facts suggest a gloomy picture. The possibility of a dialogue process resuming, or starting anew, soon seems low. There are also a couple of months at least left of the principal fighting season this year, suggesting more military gains for the Taliban ahead. Worryingly for the Afghan state, it has already lost record numbers of soldiers and policemen in Taliban attacks this year. The government of President Ashraf Ghani is also hampered in its ability to regroup and reassess its security strategy because of internal political divisions. Parliament has yet to approve a defence minister. It is difficult to know whether and if the Afghan Taliban will stay politically united or how long it will take for the present convulsions inside the insurgency to settle down.

For Pakistan, at least, the political goal should be to continue improving ties with the Afghan government, while the security goal should be to curb militant activity along the Durand Line. With the Afghan Taliban, the goal should be to reaffirm the state’s preference for a negotiated settlement between the Taliban and the Afghan government while simultaneously encouraging — and this will be a very fine balancing act — the Taliban to end internal rifts and unite behind the pro-peace faction without seeming to create a new Taliban leadership that is little more than a front for the Pakistani security establishment. Perhaps also the political leadership can try and contribute more to Afghan policy and take a more visible role. A visit to Kabul by the prime minister, for example, could send the right signal and would give the political leadership of both countries an opportunity to discuss how to move ahead. It should be obvious: security or foreign policy without major civilian input is hardly good for Pakistan or the region.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2015
Source: EDITORIAL

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Vigorous celebrations

AFTER many years Pakistanis, especially in Karachi, celebrated Independence Day with unusual vigour. It was heartening to see the outpouring of the festive spirit on this day that had been losing its lustre over the years as terrorism and rampant crime cast a pall of gloom over the city. Perhaps a sign of an uptick in residents’ confidence in the security outlook, Karachi saw packed roads and loud motorbikes, with crowds gathered wherever possible. This may have irked a few, but the enthusiastic mood certainly succeeded in taking most along. It would be premature to say what the reasons were behind the exceptional fervour that the metropolis witnessed this year on Aug 14, but for now it’s enough to simply note that the citizens’ desire to celebrate is alive and well.

That said, it was a little disappointing to see all this energy spilling out on the streets with nowhere to go. The youth particularly have large reserves of enthusiasm, and it is a pity that much of it ends up dissipated through hormonally fuelled displays of bravado rather than being channelled through creative initiatives. In the future, perhaps the Karachi authorities could do more to arrange venues and events, to come up with a menu of fireworks displays and music concerts, along with that evergreen ingredient of patriotic revelry: food. Road blocks and bans on stunts are needed at times like these, but they need to be supplemented with other measures so as to not only impose penalties and restrictions, but also provide outlets for the energies that brim over on days like this. The public in Pakistan is starved for quality entertainment, for any occasion that gets them away from their TV screens and out on the streets to enjoy life in all its fullness, and national days like Independence Day provide the perfect occasion. May the festivities in Pakistan never diminish in days to come, and may there be many more occasions for the country to celebrate together.

Trading with China

IN an informal chat with the media on Friday, the governor of the State Bank Pakistan floated an interesting proposal. He mentioned that Pakistan and China “should trade in their local currencies” to make the China Pakistan Economic Corridor more beneficial to both parties. The proposal is in line with some practices already being followed by China, in trade with Russia for instance. Suggestions for increasing the use of local currency in international trade have been made in many other forums as well; most recently they were heard in Ufa during the seventh BRICS summit. The suggestion is gaining ground as the strains on the dollar’s dominance as a global currency mount. Pakistan is not a large enough trade partner with China to urge the latter into giving the proposal due consideration, but perhaps some of that famous goodwill that Pakistan enjoys in Beijing can be leveraged to bring some focus on the proposal.

China is Pakistan’s second largest trade partner after the US, and the deficit in our total trade is less than half of what it is with the US. But this deficit means that a swap arrangement between the rupee and the yuan will be necessary to make the proposal work. It is also likely to encourage yet more imports from China, something that could have adverse consequences for local industry. Besides, there are some challenges to making the proposal a reality. For one, China is already struggling with its external sector situation as its growth falters and is therefore unlikely to view any concessions to Pakistan favourably. Second, there is no convertibility between the rupee and the yuan, which would mean the dollar will retain its importance as the currency through which conversions are done. In order to realise the proposal, not only in trade but also in settlements of the CPEC investments where some Chinese sponsors are asking for dollar denominated returns, it would be helpful for Pakistan to have a stronger negotiating position vis-a-vis China, something that can be attained if the east to west axis can also be included in the corridor. In any case, it is a good sign that the proposal is being floated from a platform as high as that of the SBP governor, and it would be encouraging to see it find some traction in Islamabad as well.

Needless firestorm

A YEAR on from the Imran Khan- and Tahirul Qadri-led attempt to oust the PML-N government, the repercussions are continuing. The first anniversary of the beginning of the four-month-long sit-in in Islamabad has resulted in an extraordinary set of allegations by a member of the federal cabinet and frontline PML-N spokesperson, Mushahidullah Khan, that resulted in an immediate firestorm. That it came only weeks after the Supreme Court-led inquiry commission rejected the core of the PTI’s allegations regarding the May 2013 general elections and after the PML-N itself had taken a generally conciliatory and forward-looking approach towards the whole affair makes the senator’s comments especially perplexing. Either the PML-N is not convinced by its own rhetoric that damaging as the dharna was, the country needs to move on or the PML-N is unable to maintain party discipline and avoid shooting itself in the foot. Neither of those explanations is particularly comforting. Simply, this was an entirely unnecessary and avoidable firestorm.

In a more evolved, deeper democracy the events of last year would never have happened. The PTI and Tahirul Qadri tried to use street power to oust a legitimately elected government on the flimsiest of grounds. Principal blame for the whole sordid affair rests with those two groups, then. But it should also not be forgotten that the whole affair was turbocharged by a sense that the military had not backed the elected government. Had that been the case, the widespread apprehensions that the government was at risk and that democracy itself may be in trouble would never really have been present. Instead, the military chose to announce its neutrality in the matter, effectively putting an elected government and a patently unreasonable street movement on the same level. Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri explicitly tried to involve the military in their ouster bid too and at one time Mr Khan even travelled to GHQ to meet the army chief, who briefly appeared to play the role of interlocutor between the government and its opponent. There was also the memorable ISPR statement pledging neutrality and urging a political settlement at the height of the drama.

Clearly, civil-military relations remain a complicated affair. The PML-N has been bullied on occasion and the military is becoming ever-more forthright about its internal role, be it in Karachi, Fata or in certain legislative matters. It is not really clear what the government, indeed the political class as a whole, can do to slow down the ingress, let alone reverse it and work towards constitutional civilian supremacy. The PML-N does appear outmatched, unwilling or unable to bring to bear the accumulated experience of three terms in power to the problem. Perhaps Mushahidullah Khan decided to speak out on his own and did so out of deep frustration. But the fallout from the senator’s comments have only worsened the situation.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2015

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !

Farmers’ case

AGGRIEVED farmers recently brought their case to the area in front of the Punjab Assembly. For those who cared to take note, and who did not want to dismiss them out of hand as another lot of troublemakers out to block commuters in downtown Lahore, theirs has been one of the more significant protests going on for many months. These farmers after all, theoretically, form the backbone of the agriculture-based Pakistan economy. Those who care to scratch the surface a little deeper will find reason to sympathise with these growers.

The farmers have spoken in plain terms. They say the cost of inputs has been going up whereas the price at which they were forced to sell their produce — cotton, rice, etc — have declined sharply. This makes survival extremely tough and the future uncertain, if not dark. The farmers have been raising their voice trying to wake up the rulers, with little effect, forcing them to organise demonstrations in bigger urban centres such as Lahore and Islamabad. They have warned of social upheaval unless their basic demands are met. These include subsidies ‘where they matter most’ and where — which could be a problem to a government keen on making a grand show of whatever concessions it issues to the people — they are less visible. The demand is for subsidies on various inputs to bring down the cost of crops. Also, they are pressing the government to fix the support price of at least cotton, paddy and potato, all three of which have been hit by the increasing gap between the cost of production and prices in the market. Of course, these assertions are backed by reasonable arguments and models from around the world, with India, as usual, providing the prime example. These are ideas well worth exploring. The farmers have to be given a patient hearing. It is clear that they cannot go on like this. There has to be a solution to the issues they have been agitating about.

MQM’s dilemma

THE political leadership of the MQM has to decide on its own whether or not it wishes to remain a part of the political set-up. It cannot toss this ball into the court of the federal government. Using resignations as a bargaining tool to extract some assurances from the government is not without risk and could land the MQM leaders in an absurd situation, at the same time weakening their grip on the meagre quantum of power they still retain. It may be true that the party’s political leadership is in a very difficult situation at the moment. It is caught between the demands of the more militant elements within the MQM on the one hand and the Rangers’ operation, which has targeted many of the party’s political activists, on the other. Given this environment, wisdom and magnanimity are necessary when dealing with the political leadership of the party because even small gestures have considerable significance — without compromising the aims or execution of the operation. The prime minister could have asked after the health of Rashid Godil, for instance, and at least given some expression of support for tracking down those who sought to murder him while wishing the injured MNA a speedy recovery.

Such a gesture would have limited impact, however, in placating the political leadership of the MQM. The party in Karachi has some decisions to make, and they must be made by its leadership alone. Playing a drawn-out game with the resignations is likely to make it look weak and indecisive, while the act of resigning will damage the party’s political standing even more. For its part, the government should sharpen its actions while blunting its rhetoric. It is one thing for the interior minister to seek to advance a legal reference with the UK government against the MQM chief Altaf Hussain. But it is quite another to issue public statements following every meeting with the UK high commissioner stating the facts that came under discussion. What is the purpose of this, other than to taunt the party’s political leadership? If a legal reference is indeed going to be handed over to the UK government, then it is better to simply advance the matter without rubbing it in the face of the MQM constantly. And for its part, the MQM leadership needs to avoid getting stuck in a manoeuvre that it cannot follow through on without damaging itself even more.

India-Pakistan spectacle

RARELY, even by the tortured standards of the Pakistan-India relationship, has there been as much farce and confusion surrounding the now cancelled talks between the national security advisers of Pakistan and India. The dual news conferences yesterday of National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had made the late-night cancellation by Pakistan a mere formality. While it was obvious that neither side wanted to be seen to officially call off talks, it was also patently clear that neither side was willing to do much to rescue them in Delhi. That the Indian government reacted so angrily to what was to have been a fairly innocuous and standard meeting between a visiting Pakistani leader and representatives of the Hurriyat Conference is perhaps a sign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s true intentions. He does not really want dialogue with Pakistan, but does not want to be seen rejecting talks outright in front of the international community. Yet, for all the Indian obstinacy, there have been some serious errors by the PML-N government in Pakistan. To begin with, what was the understanding in Ufa, Russia, that led to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Mr Modi issuing a joint statement? Did Mr Sharif mention the Kashmir dispute or bring up the composite dialogue? If not, why not?

Then, there was the statement itself – initially welcomed by many, including this newspaper, as an unexpected breakthrough, but pounced on by hawks in Pakistan for its so-called pro-India stance. That terrorism was made central to the upcoming round of talks without any mention of the broader Kashmir issue appeared an error on Prime Minister Sharif’s part. At the very least, the government should have expected the domestic backlash and prepared for it. Instead, the government seemed to have been caught unawares and quickly found itself under intolerable pressure. Then came the next error: seemingly reversing itself on Ufa and demanding that the Indian government talk about Kashmir too. That elicited a predictable response from the Indian government in the form of an angry denial that the Ufa agreement had been about broader issues and a rejection of the Pakistani attempt to include Kashmir in the agenda. Finally, without a full-time foreign minister, the talks switched to being conducted at the NSA level, an awkward fit for full-spectrum dialogue and the Kashmir dispute.

Perhaps what is truly discouraging is the trend that has become apparent in the Sharif-Modi era. The prime ministers themselves mostly have encouraging words about the bilateral relationship, but they allow their underlings to damage goodwill and trust. Mr Modi in particular seems not to have a clear Pakistan policy at all. How does refusing to talk to Pakistan address any of the concerns that India has? But Mr Sharif needs to demonstrate stronger leadership internally too. How can a three-term prime minister find himself in a self-created bind?

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2015

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !

Working Boundary violence

ONCE again, the Pakistani and Indian states are resorting to violence and, once again, it is civilians who are paying the price. The eruption of serious violence along the Working Boundary and the deaths of several Pakistani and some Indian citizens is as tragic as it is unnecessary. The usual set of accusations and recriminations have been on full, tawdry display. The Indian side claims to be responding to either infiltrations from the Pakistani side or to prohibited security-related activities along the boundary. The Pakistani side vehemently denies the Indian claims and alleges instead that India is attacking Pakistani civilians unprovoked or that India is using disproportionate force to settle relatively minor disputes. The claims of both sides are never independently verified and all that is certain is the death toll — though even there the numbers are sometimes manipulated to whip up nationalist sentiment in one or the other country. It is nothing but callous madness — and it needs to stop.

Once the guns fall silent, there is an immediate opportunity for high-level consultations on Line of Control- and Working Boundary-related issues. While the NSA talks were cancelled, the meeting between the DG Rangers and the DG Border Security Force is still scheduled to take place in New Delhi in September. Face-to-face meetings between the commanders of the forces exchanging fire are a time-tested way of reducing tensions along the LoC and Working Boundary. Both the directors general will know the details of what is really taking place in the zones of violence and will surely, if the Delhi meeting is not politicised, be able to identify measures to help restore calm and relative peace. Not only can they do so, they also owe it to the respective populations whose security they are in charge of in the Kashmir region. The problem though clearly goes beyond local commanders. The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has almost boasted about its use of disproportionate force along the LoC and Working Boundary since last year — without having anything meaningful to show for it in terms of disproportionate force acting as a deterrent. Similarly, if infiltration has gone up, what real benefit has Pakistan accrued from tweaking its policy?

There is another tragedy — India and Pakistan appear to have learned all the wrong lessons from history. Could the latest violence be linked to jingoism in the run-up to the 50th anniversary commemorations of the 1965 war? Quite possibly. But that conflict ought to really stand as a warning of how seemingly small miscalculations can lead to all-out war. Fifty years on, there have been two other wars and nuclear weapons added to the equation. Perversely, there may be a temptation to believe that this makes low-level violence and conflict more permissible and manageable. But when it comes to the old rivals, it is best that theories of violence not be tested so brazenly.

Turkey-PKK tensions

THE condition of the Middle East is already precarious, with wars in Syria and Yemen, instability in Iraq and the security of the entire region threatened by the self-styled, expansionist Islamic State. In such a bubbling cauldron, another conflict can only add to the chaos and give IS and other extremist entities room to manoeuvre. Unfortunately, the situation involving Turkey and Kurdish dissidents is heating up, and if sagacity and statesmanship are not shown by both sides, it may prove destabilising for Ankara’s internal security while taking the focus away from the fight against IS. Though Turkey and Kurdish group PKK had announced a historic ceasefire in 2013, that accord is now in tatters as the gulf between both sides has widened. The Kurds say the Turkish state is targeting them under the cover of the anti-IS campaign, while Kurdish militants, as a reaction, have stepped up attacks inside the country. Yet as with most conflicts, there are multiple dimensions to the situation. While Ankara and the PKK do not trust each other, they both oppose IS. In fact, while Turkey has recently started targeting the extremist outfit, Kurdish groups have also confronted the ‘caliphate’ in Syria. Despite the fact that they share a common foe, each side has opened up a front against the other.

Turkey and the PKK need to return to the political process to resolve their differences. Using force to address what is essentially a political problem will only distract both sides from the bigger challenge: confronting ascendant Islamist militancy in the region in the shape of IS. The Turkish state should take the lead and keep the channels of dialogue open with the PKK so that it can concentrate — working with other regional states — in countering and eventually defeating IS. We must remember that IS struck roots in Syria and Iraq because a vacuum had been created by internal conflicts. Turkey should study the experience of its neighbours to make sure that the same mistake is not repeated.

Integrated stock market

MORE than three years after the passage of key enabling legislation, stock market reforms took another step in the right direction this week when the finance minister put his signature down for integrating the three stock exchanges of the country. The step had been held up since the passage of the Stock Exchanges (Corporatisation, Demutualisation & Integration) Act, back in 2012, but the memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday has got the process moving once again. The demutualisation of the stock exchanges — basically separating ownership of the exchange itself from trading rights — is an important step in the right direction. Although some progress has been made in removing the influence of brokers at the stock exchanges, there is still a long way to go. The presence of brokers on the board of directors has shrunk since talk of demutualisation began about a decade ago, but it needs to end altogether before the frontline regulator’s autonomy is secure.

The next step is crucial because that is when the real material progress towards this goal begins. The process of acquisition of shares of the integrated stock exchange, and the reconstitution of its board is the goal towards which progress must be made rapidly, although thus far it appears there are no strategic buyers on the government’s radar. There are also concerns that integration will produce a monopoly in the country’s share market, although it is not possible to see how this can be avoided given the sheer disparity in weight between the Karachi Stock Exchange and all the others, unless a host of smaller regional exchanges are organically grown and merged together, which can take years. The influence of brokers on the management of the stock exchange can be reduced, but curbing it on the trade floor will be the bigger challenge, especially given the enormous concentration of holdings in the hands of a small number of brokers. Practices like insider trading and price manipulation will be harder to eliminate if the regulator is not ramped up, and the rumoured role of brokers in selecting the heads of key capital market regulators is not curbed. In short, demutualisation is an important step for Pakistan’s capital markets to take, but it must be accompanied by a host of other steps as well for the process to have genuine credibility. Perhaps this is why the search for a strategic buyer is proving so elusive.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, Sunday, August 30, 2015

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !

Fifty Years on

THE 50th anniversary of the Indo-Pak war waged in 1965 is an opportunity to acknowledge and pay thanks for the sacrifices of the men and women who serve in the Pakistani armed forces. Fifty years ago, Pakistan lost nearly 4,000 soldiers. Those staggering losses, however, do not tell the full story. The strategic mistakes of the military leadership aside, the heroism and bravery of the soldiers and pilots who fought to defend Pakistani soil should not be forgotten. To those ordinary armed forces personnel who displayed extraordinary courage, the country will forever owe a debt. Fifty years on, the militant enemy continues to inflict losses on the armed forces. In Operation Zarb-i-Azb alone, several hundred soldiers are believed to have laid down their lives. Rarely has a country called upon its soldiers to sacrifice so much and so often. The determined rank and file, the valiant ordinary soldier — they have been and continue to be Pakistan’s heroes.

How best does a country honour its fallen and injured? By honestly and truthfully reckoning with the past — even as it recalls the courage and sacrifices of its defence forces. Fifty years on, both India and Pakistan appear to be in denial. Unwise and disastrous as operations Gibraltar and Grand Slam proved to be — the extraordinarily reckless attempts by the military leadership to try and unfreeze the Kashmir dispute or even militarily wrest India-held Kashmir from India — they did not occur in a vacuum. Specifically, India had refused to negotiate with Pakistan on Kashmir; it attempted to amalgamate India-held Kashmir via the courts and legal instruments; it attempted to grab territory in the Rann of Kutch in the run-up to the 1965 war; and it embarked on a massive military reorganisation and upgradation after the Sino-Indian war of 1962. All those factors contributed to the anxiety and urgency in Pakistani policy circles. Therein lies a lesson for both countries: when conflicts are allowed to fester, unintended consequences can cause them to reignite. Refusal to learn that lesson had further disastrous consequences: the Indian territory grab in Siachen region in the early 1980s is widely considered to be the genesis of the Kargil conflict a decade and a half later. Unwise decisions tend to have terrible consequences, often years later.

That bi-national failure to learn from history is once again on full display. A jingoistic Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to revel in India’s supposed military prowess. Meanwhile, a military stretched and under threat in Pakistan appears more interested in giving a befitting verbal and visual response to India than focusing on the domestic security challenge. It is a familiar, if distressing, cycle. Fifty years ago, Pakistan and India fought a second war, a thoroughly unnecessary one. Fifty years later, civilians continue to die along the Working Boundary and the Line of Control. If calm does prevail, the real challenge would be to end the cyclical nature of Indo-Pak relations.

MQM Deadlock

THE government’s efforts to convince the MQM to return to parliament hit a snag on Thursday as the Muttahida broke off parleys in an abrupt fashion. The MQM — which resigned from parliament last month to protest what it considers is the victimisation of its leaders and workers under the cover of the Rangers-led Karachi operation — left the talks as the party felt the prime minister was too “helpless” to address its concerns. The move has surprised the PML-N as well as Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whom the ruling party mandated to negotiate with the MQM.

In the MQM’s case, it is not clear what the party seeks to achieve by quitting parliament and closing the avenues of dialogue. For one thing, it is unfair for the party to accuse the PML-N of non-seriousness where acceptance of its demands is concerned. After all, if the ruling party wished it could have accepted the Muttahida lawmakers’ resignations in August.The fact that the federal government has made efforts to engage the MQM appears to show the PML-N’s sincerity. For its part, the government should speed up formation of the proposed committee to look into the MQM’s genuine grievances about the Karachi operation. The Muttahida, on the other hand, should shed its rigid posture and concentrate on the upcoming LG polls in Sindh. For while the party scrambles to generate coherent responses to the many crises that confront it, its political opponents are taking advantage of the situation and planning to make electoral gains. For example, at a recent meeting in Hyderabad organised by the Jamaat-i-Islami, a number of parties decided to form an anti-MQM electoral alliance to contest LG polls in the Sindh city. Should the Muttahida cede ground by leaving electoral space open, it will have few to blame but itself. To prove it has severed all links with militant elements and is solely concerned with fighting its battles at the ballot box, the MQM needs to formulate a policy for the LG polls.

No Thaw With Kabul

NATIONAL Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz’s visit to Kabul was not expected to produce any breakthroughs — and that is what appears to have happened. Yet, these meetings are important in that they help both sides address issues face-to-face and there is surely a need for a great deal of frank and open discussion between the Pakistani and Afghan governments at the moment. What is worrying though is that President Ashraf Ghani still continues to publicly jibe at Pakistan. While that may improve Mr Ghani’s standing at home, it may end up hardening the Pakistani position when it comes to dealing with his government. The two country’s security fates remain very much intertwined. As has become apparent, the military operations in Fata, particularly Zarb-i-Azb, dislodged militants from the Pakistani side of the border, but in many cases caused them to move to the Afghan side. At least in part, the surge in militant violence in Afghanistan over the past year is linked to that phenomenon. As for Pakistan, the sanctuary that anti-Pakistan, TTP militants have found in Afghanistan will likely be a source of long-term trouble. If Afghanistan and Pakistan do not cooperate, both will hurt. This is something they must understand.

More confusing though is quite where the possibility of a resumption of talks between the Afghan Taliban and Kabul stands. Is it simply that talks cannot resume because of intra-Taliban trouble or is that the Afghan government is also baulking at talks resuming at the earliest, perhaps in a fit of pique because of the spate of attacks in Kabul? President Ghani needs to reassess his position on talks soon. As has now been proved, Pakistan can and will nudge the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table — but surely only if there is a willing negotiating partner on the other side of the table. It may not make sense to Pakistani policymakers to expend capital with the Taliban insisting that they remain open to talks immediately if Kabul itself is not ready to resume dialogue right away. Yet, Pakistan should also understand the core of Mr Ghani’s complaint — he cannot be seen to be trying to make peace with the Taliban if they are violently attacking Kabul. Perhaps a fresh round of border management steps and improved intelligence coordination could go some way in restoring trust. The two states have several options to help stabilise ties quickly.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2015

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !

Bureaucracy reform

THE government has created a grand map for reforming the civil service of the country, and shared some details of it with the media at the ‘unveiling ceremony’ in Bhurban on Monday.

The plan is to be implemented next month — not long after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared he had no confidence in the country’s bureaucracy and asked for wholesale changes in the system.

Some of the basic reforms envisaged include: hiring of specialists through separate exams for each service group rather than the current system where all candidates sit for the same test and the successful amongst them are able to choose their beats; increase in the retirement age; lifting of the ban on lateral entry into the civil service; allowing hiring from the private sector; and of course, offering higher salaries and better perks, as is always the intention, to prevent corruption.

Also read: PM calls for reforms in civil bureaucracy

This is quite a bureaucratic shakeup in the offing. The plan that lies at the very heart of the system seeks to introduce the standards followed by the private sector — this in turn will have repercussions all over the country and will affect the lives of all citizens.

There will surely be objections, but let them be corrective and constructive in nature rather than a hurdle in the way of what everyone agrees has been needed for a very long time now.

Reform in the bureaucracy is every government’s dream. But while the civil service is thought to have lost its efficacy, this is a simplistic, convenient explanation.

Quite often censuring a government functionary could well be a cover for much else that is wrong with the system. The counter argument is that the need is not to recreate officials or the system but to give both the confidence to work by the book and free from any undue influences.

There is also a view which says matters concerning the bureaucracy have improved with greater awareness and a vigilant media.

There are cases of young government officers in commanding positions, sometimes preferred over civil servants much senior to them, performing feats that were least expected from the old-style ‘babus’. The officers have to be sufficiently empowered and free to be able to perform.

This remains a crucial question in the context of a party known for concentrating power in its hands, whose leaders are attempting to set the bureaucracy right.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2015

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“All men are created equal; some work harder in preseason.”
Emmitt Smith

TTP sanctuaries

THE militant attack on the PAF camp in Badaber, Peshawar, appears to be part of a trend that demands a serious rethink in both Islamabad/Rawalpindi and Kabul: when Pak-Afghan relations are strained, it is usually the militants on both sides of the border who benefit. If, as the military has alleged and the banned TTP has claimed, the Peshawar attack was conceived of and orchestrated from TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan, it would be further evidence of the long-running problem of military operations in the border region causing militants to scatter and then eventually regroup in more hospitable locations. The problem is a multifaceted one. To begin with, most military operations inside Pakistan have not led to the capture or elimination of the senior-most militant commanders. Then, the porous Pak-Afghan border requires constant vigilance and a great deal of security and intelligence cooperation between Pakistani and Afghan security if militants are to be interdicted or the flow in both directions of militants is to be curbed. Finally, once militant groups do find new sanctuaries along the border region, it becomes a question of political will for Pakistan and Afghanistan to take the matter seriously.

Pak-Afghan cooperation on combating militancy is possible. After the Army Public School attack in Peshawar last December, Pakistan requested, and Kabul assisted in providing, intelligence cooperation against TTP elements in Afghanistan. Later, the Afghan security forces undertook some limited military operations in regions thought to be the hideouts of TTP militants now based in Afghanistan. Unhappily, the breakdown of ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan following the cancellation of talks between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban appears to have eroded both the tenuous trust and the newfound security cooperation between the two countries. It must be urgently repaired. The ISPR chief, Maj-Gen Asim Bajwa, set the right tone by not blaming the Afghan state for the Badaber attack. Afghan officials could take a cue from their Pakistani counterparts by similarly refraining from blaming attacks in Afghanistan on collusion with militants by the Pakistani state. The emphasis, instead, should be on rebuilding intelligence cooperation and better border management.

In addition, there is a need to work on a framework for the resumption of talks with the Afghan Taliban. Now that the succession issue has been seemingly settled and Akhtar Mansour is believed to be consolidating his position, the Afghan government needs to reassess its reluctance to talk after a series of devastating attacks by the Afghan Taliban. Partly the logic of talks with the Afghan Taliban was rooted in the emergence of a common potential threat — the self-styled Islamic State. The TTP in particular has shown its willingness to embrace IS and its message. The Afghan government should be wary of tolerating sanctuaries for anti-Pakistan militants who have a transnational agenda. Resumption of talks with the Afghan Taliban could help block space for IS in Afghanistan.

Tax puzzles

THE latest testimony given by the chairman FBR before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance has raised more questions than it has answered. For one, we were all told in the budget speech that starting this year, our CNIC number would become the National Tax Number, meaning one step in the registration process will be eliminated and it will bring more people into the tax net. Now we learn that this is not really about to happen. It will still be necessary to register people first with the FBR, so the NTNs are going to be required for the foreseeable future. One would think that they would have thought through the process of replacing the NTNs with CNICs, but apparently they had not.

The hearing also saw the re-emergence of the controversy over how many individuals the FBR has identified who are leading a lavish lifestyle but are not registered with the tax authorities. An earlier exercise had produced 700,000 families on this list, but the current FBR chairman has been refusing to own that number, claiming his list has only 43,000 families on it. The number of cases pending appeals was also questioned, as were the amounts of refunds stuck up with the FBR. One senator shared a rather intriguing new method for conducting cash transactions that he claimed was gaining in popularity, involving bank lockers with money stashed away and their keys used to represent the value of the funds within them, which he said was a response to the withholding tax on bank transactions of non-filers. The hearing made clear that the FBR has a hard time determining the number of people that are evading its net, the amounts owed to those who are within its net, and the fact that it may face new challenges in its attempts to get people to register themselves as taxpayers. If anyone needs an idea on why this country has such a hard time developing sustainable sources of revenue, he or she need not look beyond this hearing.

Curbs on cyberspace

THE issue of formulating a law regarding cybercrime — which has slowly but surely been acquiring urgency given how internet tools and features can and are occasionally being used to facilitate a whole range of transgressions from militancy to blackmail — has been with Pakistan for several years. The 2007 Pakistan Electronic Crime Ordinance lapsed in 2009, and since then there has been much back and forth over the matter. However, the draft law that was finally produced earlier this year by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom came under a barrage of criticism from digital and human rights groups on the basis that it was a loosely worded piece of legal drafting, contained ambiguities and did not answer questions about overlaps with other laws. Detractors insisted that the draft betrayed a poor grasp on the technological and technical aspects of the World Wide Web and digital communications, and could be used to, for example, stifle political criticism, hold users responsible for a transgression even if accidental or committed unawares, and restrict free speech. When the National Assembly committee held further consultations with experts in May to correct the problematic sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015, therefore, the move was greeted with relief.

That gain, however, now stands all but lost. The draft cleared by the committee on Thursday, say rights groups, is the same troubling piece of legal drafting as it had been earlier, with merely some clauses having been lightly amended. And, indeed, there is certainly enough in the draft to indicate that much more thought needs to be put in, particularly since the proposed legislation will not only be bringing a hitherto unlegislated-upon domain into the ambit of the law, but will also become the baseline standard for future formulations. The bill is now to be tabled before the National Assembly, and it is vital that members familiarise themselves with the draft, and the criticisms against it, so that they are prepared for debate on the matter. It must not be allowed to be rushed through, for the issue is simply too connected to the fundamental rights of the citizenry. The information as to how a fair and forward-looking cybercrime law should be shaped is available with all the rights groups that have been campaigning on the matter. It is necessary for the people’s representatives to step up and carry out their responsibilities.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, Sep 20, 2015.

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !

Tragedies compounded

THIS year, a number of tragedies have marked Haj, even as the general state of affairs in the Muslim world remained deeply problematic.

On Thursday, the pre-Eid mood in Pakistan was sombre as news broke of the stampede in Mina, with reports indicating that hundreds of pilgrims had died or were injured in the tragedy that occurred in the site outside Makkah.

Similarly, the run-up to Haj had been marked by the loss of over 100 lives as a crane crashed at Makkah’s Grand Mosque.

This is not the first stampede during Haj; hundreds have died in similar incidents during past pilgrimages. Saudi authorities have taken measures to address issues like crowd control and pilgrim safety.

Nevertheless, a detailed study of the whole Haj process is required to improve management of the pilgrimage and minimise chances of accidents.

Moving beyond the immediate misfortunes, the Saudi Grand Mufti’s Haj sermon in Arafat on Wednesday was significant — both for what the cleric said and for what was left out of the sermon.

Shaikh Abdul Aziz al-Shaikh raised the alarm against “misguided people” in a reference to the self-styled Islamic State. He also termed Yemen’s Houthi movement, against whom a Saudi-led coalition is fighting a war on behalf of the Yemeni government, as “deviants”. It is unclear why the cleric chose the Haj sermon — which is supposed to be free of sectarian or nationalistic rhetoric — to forward the aims of his country’s foreign policy.

There was also much the Grand Mufti did not say, at least not in unambiguous terms. For example, while IS has gained ground at an alarming speed in Iraq and Syria, it is also true that much of the Muslim world’s present miseries are due to the lack of sagacity on the part of Muslim leaders.

Take the Yemeni and Syrian wars: instead of choosing to resolve these conflicts through dialogue, some Muslim states have, instead, fanned the flames. The result has been a brutal, extended nightmare for the Yemeni and Syrian peoples with no end in sight.

Similarly, it is odd that the Grand Mufti did not mention the migrant crisis: arguably most of the migrants making their way to Europe hail from failed Muslim states, which is a stinging indictment of the Muslim world’s collective failure. In fact, the rich Gulf monarchies have been criticised for not doing enough to lessen the miseries of those fleeing conflict-ridden Muslim states.

The Haj sermon is a critical vehicle that can help shape debate in the Muslim world. Rather than expressing concerns in nebulous terms or promoting national agendas, it should be used to address concrete issues. Unless the Muslim world — especially its leaders — confront issues such as terrorism, extremism, disease, poverty and illiteracy that are rife in Muslim-majority states, it is unlikely that the future of over a billion of the world’s people will change soon.

US-India declaration

THE hyphenated relationship is back, it appears. Pakistan-India, or India-Pakistan to much of the outside world, has at various points in history irritated one side or the other, the contention of Pakistan and India being that the other country’s issues and concerns were being given too much weight.

During the Af-Pak era, the hyphen was dropped by the US. Now that most of the US troops have gone from Afghanistan and the US-India strategic partnership is getting fresh attention, the hyphen appears to be back.

Take a look: US-India joint statement assails LeT

Following the India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj issued the Joint Declaration on Combating Terrorism. Its Pakistan-heavy emphasis will surely upset security establishment circles here.

Not only did Pakistan earn an explicit reference — “call for Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack” — but so did Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Haqqani network and the so-called D Company.

Over and on top of that, there is specific condemnation of the Gurdaspur and Udhampur militant attacks earlier in the summer — attacks that India blames on Pakistan-based militants.

Set aside emotions and there are really two aspects to consider here. First, for all the various claims made by both sides in recent years, the Pak-US relationship is essentially transactional in nature and, on key issues, there is a great deal of divergence.

Because national security here has been militarised, there continues to be a degree of security cooperation between the US and Pakistan. But there is little real understanding, sympathy or even interest in Pakistan in the US beyond the narrow security-based relationship.

The US may be one of Pakistan’s biggest trading partners and a significant percentage of Pakistan’s, admittedly paltry, foreign investment comes from there, but economically and politically the relationship is stagnant.

Worryingly, Pakistan has few friends in the US Congress, suggesting more episodes such as the recent withholding of a portion of CSF funds may be on the cards.

Second, this country and its leadership need to ask themselves a hard question: why does Pakistan continue to be such a hospitable place for extremist and militants elements that threaten the region and friendly countries further away?

There may be a right-wing government in India hostile to Pakistan, but the latter’s terrorism problem has much deeper roots. Zero tolerance for extremism and militancy is in Pakistan’s interest. Such a policy though has yet to manifest itself here.

Hide collection

FOR many, a day that should be dedicated to profound reflection on the spirit of sacrifice becomes a time to worry.

The growing populations of Pakistan’s cities over the years coupled with urban density and the lack of adequate civic management means that citizens are generally forced to carry out the Eidul Azha sacrifice in whatever space is at hand — with all the attendant problems of hygiene.

Moreover, there is the issue of the proper disposal of the unusable parts of the animal. Thankfully, in recent years, the major cities have seen some increased activity in terms of the collection of waste and the cleaning up of streets.

Also read: Going door to door to collect hides banned in Sindh

It is to be hoped that today and over the next two days, the citizenry as well as civic management authorities act responsibly in this regard.

Where the hides of the sacrificed animals are concerned, though, there is another situation since the numbers in which they are produced, as well as the need of tanneries and other industries for them, means they are as good as cash in hand.

While their disposal may be an issue for the average citizen, this is not the case for organisations that every year put up banners and create collection points in every city.

These groups include many that have been banned or are suspected of indulging in problematic religious, political or sectarian activities, yet they continue to operate. This raises the problem of cash from the sale of sacrificial hides being used for the purposes of crime and terrorism.

In lawless Karachi, there is the added challenge of criminals seeing Eid as an opportunity to snatch hides at gunpoint. City and law-enforcement authorities are working on the issue and the incidence of this crime has come down in Karachi since the clean-up of the city began. But a much more stringent effort must be made.

The people, meanwhile, can play their part by making sure that the group to which they donate the hides of the animals they have sacrificed are not suspect in any way.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2015

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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion !