State Bank’s annual report

THE latest annual report of the State Bank makes for informative reading, after getting off to a slow start. The accompanying press release, and the overview of the economy both hew a line close to what the government would want to hear, but the detailed chapters that follow present a sophisticated analysis of the economy and its mixed track record in the previous year. The year 2015 is important for a variety of reasons. This is the year inflation hit its lowest point in over a decade, when the windfall from falling oil prices came, reserves hit record highs and growth showed a modest revival after years of sluggishness. The report comes at a good time, when a serious analysis of the economic situation is needed, and members of parliament, for whose benefit it has been drawn up, should read its contents carefully.

On the external side, the report acknowledges the rise in the reserves, but warns that this is insufficient for the purposes of reviving growth. “[E]conomic activity in Pakistan depends heavily on imports, therefore, any measure to boost growth would increase our FX needs,” says the State Bank. Thus far, remittances from workers have largely shouldered the burden of incremental foreign exchange requirements, but the State Bank sees potential dangers ahead as oil prices remain low, exports continue to decline, and FDI refuses to pick up. Foreign borrowing is, therefore, “the only possible factor that may support higher growth in Pakistan”, but the repayment burden will serve as a constraint. The story behind the rising reserves is positive only up to a point. Eventually, Pakistan has to find ways of attracting foreign exchange other than borrowing if a revival in growth is to be brought about, the authors of the report warn.

On the fiscal side too, the report presents a clear picture of the challenges facing the state. Revenues have been hit by falling oil prices and a rigid tax system as well as sluggish manufacturing activity. The budget for fiscal year 2015 envisaged revenues growing by 30pc, whereas actual growth came in around 17.7pc. Development expenditures took the brunt of the cuts required to keep the fiscal balance. Structural factors accounted for the poor revenue performance, notably a growing informal economy, low cost of tax evasion, and “administrative issues in tax collecting authority”. For both the external side and the fiscal, the State Bank argues for a national effort to overcome the deep-rooted structural rigidities that are eroding the state’s revenue base, as well as its competitiveness abroad. “These issues cannot be addressed by makeshift measures to increase revenues,” warns the report. In fact, one could add that the same would hold true for the external side. The advice contained in the report needs to be given careful consideration by those in the corridors of power.

Cricket diplomacy

FRENZIED in his politics at home, Imran Khan is a quiet figure in international politics and diplomacy. His meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi was a reminder of how infrequent such publicised meetings are for the PTI chief. Indeed, where the PTI chief does wade into foreign affairs, it is mostly to excoriate Western powers for allegedly stoking extremism inside Pakistan. But when he chooses to make a positive contribution, Mr Khan can be fairly effective. In New Delhi for a speaking event with India’s most famous all-rounder Kapil Dev, Mr Khan’s meeting with the Indian prime minister was highly symbolic. Coming as it did days after the Indian and Pakistani governments announced the resumption of wide-ranging negotiations, dubbed in this new phase as the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, the Delhi meeting has sent a positive signal of bipartisan support for talks with India. Given the resistance to normalisation of ties with India in certain, and some powerful, quarters inside Pakistan, the unanimity of the major political parties when it comes to seeking better relations with India is both welcome and necessary.

There was symbolism too for India. The Indian prime minister meeting an iconic Pakistani cricketer at a time when some hardline Indian government allies are trying to thwart cricketing ties between the two countries could be interpreted as a rejection of these allies’ stance. But when later asked whether Mr Modi had indicated if cricketing ties would be resumed, Mr Khan simply said that the prime minister had given an enigmatic smile in response. Surely, if the two countries can agree to a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, they can agree to some cricket diplomacy. The feel-good factor and intense interest when the two nations face each other on the cricket field, even if in a third country, is undeniable. The cricketing goodwill thus generated could complement the political process too. The scheduled bilateral series is only days away and the schedule for the T20 World Cup next March has kept Pakistan away from Mumbai, where the Shiv Sena is violently opposed to any Pakistani sportsperson playing or artist performing. If Shiv Sena and like-minded extremists in India are allowed to dictate ties, cricketing or otherwise, between the two countries, it will be a darker future for both nations. The Pakistani government, Mr Khan and all right-thinking Pakistanis are in favour of better ties with India. What better way for India to reciprocate that enthusiasm than with some hard Pak-India cricket?

Sindh CM on corruption

A LOT depends on where one chooses to begin the discussion on corruption. If we begin with the role of the Rangers in Karachi, almost inevitably, the argument will favour the civilian set-up empowered by the rules, as it is pointed out that an organisation allowed to work outside its original domain under extraordinary circumstances is vulnerable to overreach. But the debate can also be seen from another, equally important angle. When Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah spoke at a seminar organised by the Anti Corruption Establishment in Karachi on Friday, eyebrows were raised and ears strained uneasily to receive his now plausible, now over-the-top remarks. Quite seriously for the chief minister, many of the objections he raised sounded antiquated and completely out of sync with the realities of our time. He appeared still stuck in the 1980s or the 1990s when the debate about corruption was a favourite of the democrats. They claimed that corruption was not an issue at all but that coup-makers used it as an excuse to justify their actions against elected governments. Over time, corruption has been recognised as an issue the world over, with financial corruption attracting condemnation and penalties from those in whose name the whole political system has been created: the people.

Chief Minister Shah has been the target of the most vicious and unkindest of attacks by many people, as reflected in the media. As he complained about the media at the seminar, he gave his own example and said he was living in the same house his ancestors had built and had cultivated the same land that he had inherited. The onus on him, however, was to answer the long-worrying question of whether his government was doing enough to address a problem that has been identified as the biggest in the land by many people, if not everyone. It was an occasion that could have been used to dispel the impression that some parties and individuals prefer living in the past.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2015

National crises and missing facts

ALL week, the first anniversary of the Army Public School attack rightly dominated the national discourse. Dec 16, 2014, was a day that not only shocked a nation, but galvanised a country too. The memory of the victims has been honoured by deploying the full resources of the state in the fight against the Taliban. But there remains a great deal about the APS attack itself that is unknown — and unacceptably so. Earlier this week, the Senate echoed with some of those concerns as senators called for the creation of an independent judicial commission to investigate the circumstances that made the APS attack possible. Some senators went further — and logically so — in calling for responsibility to be affixed for previous national disasters, from Kargil to the secession of East Pakistan. The US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad was mentioned as well. Each one of those events impacted national security in profound ways, but none of them have led to an open and fundamental inquiry that publicly established the facts and pursued accountability.

All too often, when accountability and national security are mentioned together, there is a tendency in some quarters to deflect the serious questions. The questions themselves are alleged to be unpatriotic or anti-institution. Nothing could be further from the truth. Inquiries properly done — transparently, independently and in a non-partisan manner — can shed light on everything from policy failures to operational issues. Inquiries make reforms possible and can help prevent catastrophes from being repeated. Inquiries are the sine qua non — the essential and indispensable ingredient — of democratic governance. Yet, the institutional aversion to accountability and transparency appears to dominate the true national interest here. A year on from the APS attack, precious few facts are publicly known, even though four individuals have already been executed after convictions in military courts for ties to the attack. The preferred public narrative of the state simply appears to be that the Taliban are savages who are being hunted in counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations across the length and breadth of the country for their crimes against the state and society.

Yet, it was the sixth month of Operation Zarb-i-Azb when the APS attack occurred and the country’s intelligence, security and law-enforcement apparatuses were supposed to have been on the highest alert. What went wrong? When failures, lapses and oversights are identified, institutions can be strengthened. When errors are covered up, future catastrophes become more likely. The state is not, at least in its design, a benevolent overlord of a grateful people. State actions — and its inaction — must be open to public scrutiny and institutions must be amenable to reform. That alone will ensure the true safety and security of the Pakistani people. A year on from the APS attack, however, the unfiltered and unmitigated truth is yet to be publicly known.

Displaced by conflict

IN and of themselves, the numbers are shocking: nearly a million people have made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in their bid to reach the shores of Europe, despite the uncertain, frequently hostile attitudes that await them. The number of people displaced by war and conflict has far surpassed 60 million since the beginning of this year — a record in human history; by the end of June, 20.2 million people were living as refugees worldwide; in the same period, at least five million people were newly displaced, including 839,000 who crossed borders. Averaged out, one in every 122 people on the planet has been forced to flee their home, the UNHCR pointed out in its Mid-Year Trends 2015 report, released on Friday. The report looks at worldwide displacement resulting from conflict and persecution. In his statement, the body’s chief António Guterres underscored the fact that these figures refer to only the first six months of the year. “We believe things will be much worse in the second six months,” he added.

Behind the statistics, of course, lies a world of desperation, pain and helplessness, much of it the result of the extended conflicts that have broken out and been left to fester in large swathes of the Middle East. Yet the world’s response, while positive in some quarters — for instance, Canada and Germany have taken in a number of refugees — has by and large been uncaring. Sadly enough, the latter category includes resource-rich nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United States. As Mr Guterres pointed out, “never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything”. This is a basic reality, and ought to inspire citizens of the world and their governments to undertake some deep introspection in terms of addressing what is a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions. But in the long term, it is even more important for the world to come together, cooperate, and find ways to end the conflicts and instability that have caused large-scale displacements, whether relatively recent such as in Syria, or decades-long, as in the case of Afghanistan. The need for a global push towards this end has long been recognised in saner quarters; the predicament faced by such large numbers of people across the continents ought to constitute a clarion call for concerted action. No one flees their home — whether within the borders or beyond — by choice.

Phone service suspension

IN Pakistan, it is unfortunate that the state tends to address peripheral issues instead of tackling the root causes of this country’s problems. Take the case of Maulvi Abdul Aziz and his attempts to deliver the Friday sermon at Lal Masjid. While the controversial cleric has not been attending the mosque for the past year, he has been using technology — in the form of a mobile phone — to address his flock instead. To counter this, the administration has taken a rather bizarre step: mobile signals were suspended in parts of Islamabad on Friday for a few hours to prevent the cleric from delivering the sermon. This is apparently the third time the authorities have taken such a step. A government official confirmed that mobile signals were suspended on the interior ministry’s orders to counter the telephonic sermon.

While the state now, as a matter of routine, shuts down mobile services in various parts of the country during sensitive times, such as certain dates in Muharram or Rabi-ul-Awwal, to prevent acts of terrorism, the use of this tactic to prevent the Lal Masjid brigade from misusing the pulpit is questionable. For one, why should the people of the federal capital be deprived of mobile phone services on a regular basis simply to stop one man from stirring up trouble? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the administration to prevent a man, who has clear sympathies for militant outfits and whose name is on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, from indulging in public activities, such as delivering sermons through mobile phone, by other means? After all, Maulvi Aziz’s actions appear to violate elements of the National Action Plan, such as those calling for countering hate speech and extremist material, as well as banning the glorification of terrorism and militant organisations. Hence, instead of shutting down mobile services in Islamabad every week, the state must take legal action against Maulvi Aziz if it feels he is breaking the law.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2015

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

THE economy of Pakistan could be poised for a revival of growth in 2016, after languishing in low-growth equilibrium since 2008. Ever since the growth years of the Musharraf regime came crashing down, the economy has struggled to recover. ‹ For almost five years, the predicament was described by the State Bank as ‘low-growth, high-inflation’ equilibrium. Along with this was a severe power crisis, brought on in large part by a severely constrained fiscal situation and low foreign exchange reserves. But in 2015, the tide began to change. Reserves reached historic highs, even if on the back of borrowed money. And inflation fell rapidly throughout the year, picking up slightly only in the closing days. As the tide turns, a window of opportunity opens up for the government in the year 2016, the first of its last two full years in power. Whatever the PML-N government is going to do, this is the year when it must get going. It is worth bearing in mind that the promise of the moment owes itself almost entirely to fortuitous circumstances. The biggest stroke of luck came in the form of sharply dropping oil prices, which stabilised the current account even as exports and FDI fell. It also contributed in no small measure to the drop in inflation.


But the slide also brought in its wake unanticipated consequences that the government struggled to contain. More pointedly, the fiscal consequences of the slide in oil prices began to bite immediately following the first passthroughs of the lower price in November 2014, necessitating resort to extraordinary revenue measures such as a sharp hike in the GST rate and an assortment of miscellaneous surcharges, to offset the negative revenue impact of lower oil prices. So long as they were for the short term and meant to contain the immediate impact of a rapidly changing situation, these measures were fine. But over time, it became apparent that the government did not have many other ideas about compensating for the drop in revenues brought about by the slide in oil prices. The absence of big ideas to manage the changing circumstances has been this government’s biggest constraint thus far, and 2016 will test this weakness to the maximum. This is the year when the promise of CPEC has to take shape, but thus far CPEC projects are being executed without an overarching planning and coordination body (notwithstanding the attempts of the Planning Commission to perform that role) and without any serious transparency. Power-sector reforms do not appear to be advancing, and privatisation appears to be stuck in limbo. Realising the promise offered by improving macroeconomic fundamentals is the big opportunity offered by 2016.

But the year will reveal whether that promise lives up to its transformative potential, or becomes just another shortterm burst of unsustainable growth triggered by fortuitous, external developments of the sort that we have seen on many occasions in the past.



TWENTY FIFTEEN was the year that demonstrated how much can change in 365 days — and how much can stay the same.

A year that began in the shadow of the attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, was one in which at long last the political leadership, the military and the people of the country spoke with one voice: Pakistan must be rid of terrorism, militancy and extremism.

After a decade of fear and vacillation, it appeared that state and society were ready to reclaim Pakistan and reassert its founding principles as a constitutional democracy that protects and advances the safety, security and well-being of its people. But the desperately needed resolve came with a darker side. The political and military leadership appeared to stoke the flames of revenge, casting the need to defeat the militants in the language of vengeance.

Disturbingly and shamefully, the Constitution itself was amended to effectively dismantle the edifice of fundamental rights, in order to allow for civilians — albeit those accused of grave terrorism-related crimes — to be tried in newly set-up military courts. Pakistan may be on the road to recovery, but already unacceptable compromises, including the resumption of execution have been made.

On the political front, it was a good year for the democratic project. The anti-democratic challenges of 2014 receded and the focus turned to a spate of elections — by-elections and LG polls — which underlined the reality of continuing and deep support for democracy among the people. Seven years since Pakistan’s return to democracy, two general elections and a full set of LG elections later, it is surely the case that the democratic choice is becoming the people’s unquestioned preference. State institutions must recognise and accept that evolving reality. Finally, on the external front, it was an uneven year. Relations with Afghanistan and India are in yet another critical period, and on both fronts 2015 was beset with problems, though it ended on an undeniably positive note. If stability and peace are ever to be realised in South and West Asia, Afghanistan-Pakistan and India-Pakistan relations will need to improve immeasurably. On the positive side, 2015 demonstrated that all sides, domestic and foreign, appear to have recognised that reality. If in 2015, stability and hope reasserted themselves in Pakistan, 2016 should be a year of consolidation. While the business of prediction is a perilous one in this country, there are several challenges and some opportunities that can be identified at the outset.

The paramount concern must remain pushing ahead in the fight against militancy. With the military suggesting that Zarb-i-Azb is likely to be wound down soon, the focus should switch to the long-term rehabilitation and regeneration of Fata. For that, the military leadership will need to accept a secondary role to the political government, while the PML-N government will need to demonstrate greater will to focus on governance and legislative matters. Fata will not be recovered over the long term unless it is a joint effort by the military and the civilians. But the challenge goes far beyond Fata.
The next phase in the fight against militancy will be primarily a counterterrorism challenge — developing the resources and skills to fight a slew of existing and emerging militant threats across the country. That multi-tiered, multiinstitutional challenge is one that the political governments, both at the centre and in the provinces, appear unprepared to take on so far.

Externally, the twin challenge of helping stabilise Afghanistan and normalising ties with India will likely dominate the diplomatic and security landscapes. January may see a continuation of the recent intensive diplomacy on both fronts, with foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan and a PakistanAfghanistan-US-China summit to help restart political reconciliation between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban. Neither process will be easy. A fracturing Taliban that is militarily in the ascendant inside Afghanistan does not bode well for a peaceful settlement.

Meanwhile, on India and Pakistan, the two prime ministers have thrown their political weight behind the upcoming talks process, but it remains to be seen if they can achieve institutional breakthroughs. There remains one significant unknown. November ought to bring the induction of a new army chief. Whether or not that process plays out smoothly will largely depend on the two Sharifs: Gen Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Twenty sixteen could be a year of great breakthroughs, but it would be a success even if there is cautious consolidation.



THE Mardan suicide bombing was a grim reminder of the existing terror threat in the country, but the news from elsewhere is equally worrying. The Punjab CounterTerrorism Department this week revealed that it had broken up an alleged cell of the militant Islamic State group in Sialkot — the cell apparently consisted of eight individuals who had in their possession propaganda material and were allegedly planning to launch a series of attacks across the country. It is too early to know if a pattern is emerging, but certainly there is no room for complacency. IS is the militant group du jour and would-be extremists are likely to be attracted to the latest that the world of ‘jihad’ has to offer. But examples from Karachi — where the Safoora Goth gang, with university-educated members, has been busted — and from Lahore — where recent allegations that a professor of a well-known private university was consorting with Hizbut Tahrir — suggest that extreme vigilance is needed.

The temptation is to believe that this is a new phenomenon. It is not. The murder of Daniel Pearl in 2002 was linked to Omar Sheikh, educated in prominent institutions in Pakistan and in the UK, and suggested an early link between centres of higher education and militant recruitment. Al Qaeda too has over the years tried to appeal to an urban, educated, middle and upper-middle class. The fear, though, is that IS’s appeal is building on the earlier iterations of militancy and that the militant group is significantly more sophisticated in its propaganda machine. When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani referred to the need to counter the negative image of Islam online, he surely was referring to the new and sophisticated tactics of militant Islam. Worryingly, states themselves appear least equipped to handle the emerging threat. Pakistan, for example, has banned YouTube for more than three years now, but still has no strategy for dealing with online hate material. The country’s regulators appear more determined to squash legitimate dissent than eliminating hate speech that encourages violence.

Whatever the attempts of the state, however, they must be aided by society and private-sector organisations. While the boundaries between privacy and security must be respected, it is surely the case that far too many institutions of higher education in the country remain lax when it comes to identifying dangerous elements in their midst. Higher education in the country remains mired in the battles of a generation ago. Today, the challenge is to produce college and university graduates who not only have a set of skills that makes them economically and socially relevant, but who can help put Pakistan on a path to stability and peace. It is not just Fata or other militancyhit areas that have a terrorism problem. All of Pakistan does. Surely the fight to reclaim Pakistan and re-anchor it in its founding principles must be led by the centres of higher education.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/newspaper/editorial

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"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling ,but in rising every time we fall". (Nelson Mandela)

A Joint Investigation Team in Punjab has been surveying the bank accounts of 200 seminaries in Punjab, and it has discovered that none of them channelled any substantial funds through their accounts. So either these institutions, some of which are quite large, are operating on minuscule budgets, or they are using channels to receive funds and make payments that conceal their transactions. ‹ The JIT now intends to question the management of each of these institutions to find out where they are receiving their funds from and how they process their transactions. The JIT would be well advised to first study the myriad options available to anyone in the informal economy to make payments as well as send and receive funds from abroad. Otherwise, it is possible the management of the seminaries could talk circles around them during questioning. The example of the massive growth of hundi and hawala in the past few years provides a good starting point. By some reported estimates, gleaned from exchange companies, the illegal hundi and hawala trade has crossed $15bn annually.

The case of gold imports offers an example: imports of gold as shown in official figures are tiny, but the ready availability of the precious metal in markets around the country, as well as the relative stability of its price, indicates that large quantities are being imported. However, their value is not reflected in official data because the payments are processed through informal channels. There are numerous other examples, such as the misdeclaration of the value of goods in foreign trade, or the straightforward transfer of funds across national boundaries through cash carriers or hundi and hawala operators. A very large payments system exists in the country for managing bulk cash transactions, or cross-border payments and remittances, which conceals the transaction from the authorities in order to evade taxes and duties, or other regulatory requirements and limitations. The same system can also conceal the transactions of militant groups and their facilitators and handlers.

The findings of the JIT suggest that large-scale concealment of cash flows by seminaries suspected of involvement in militant activities is widespread. They may be conducting part of their operations in cash, or using bank accounts belonging to other people in their network, which would not show up in the investigation being carried out because it is focusing entirely on bank accounts registered in the name of the seminary under investigation.

In order to curb terror financing, it will be necessary to also tackle the large informal payments economy, which means more attention being paid to measures to detect and shut down hundi and hawala as well.

So long as these informal channels exist, militant organisations will always find ways to carry on with their transactions without fear of detection. The effort to curb the informal payments economy is, therefore, a necessary part of the larger fight against terrorism and militancy.



IN the year that has just ended, law-enforcement agencies — including the police and Rangers — continued to make widespread use of so-called encounters to eliminate suspects. For example, in Karachi, where clearly ‘encounters’ are a favoured method of law enforcers, nearly 700 suspects were killed in this manner in 2015, while the number of security personnel who fell in the line of duty is 95, as per official figures. If it is any consolation, the number of ‘encounters’ was less than in 2014; around 925 suspects were killed in the city in such shootouts that year. The Punjab police is not too far behind, as regular reports of ‘encounter killings’ also came in from that province in 2015. In fact, one of the most high-profile examples of such slayings was that of dreaded Lashkar-iJhangvi militant Malik Ishaq and his sons in July last year. Though it is difficult to establish a correlation, Karachi police also claim that there was a considerable drop in targeted killings in the city last year as compared to 2014; in 2015, 986 people fell victim to targeted attacks while the number was 1,925 the year before.

As Pakistan wages an uphill battle against crime and militancy, it is clear that law enforcers continue to prefer short cuts such as ‘encounters’. This is a deeply troubling approach. Perhaps the main problem is that senior police officials condone the practice in not so many words. For example, Rao Anwar, a seasoned Karachi police officer who is known as an ‘encounter specialist’, shrugged off questions from this paper recently about the use of extrajudicial methods in the course of police work. Police officials appear to believe that ‘encounters’ are a requirement of getting the job done, especially when it comes to dealing with suspects of notorious repute. However, in order to maintain the sanctity of fundamental rights and due process, the police hierarchy, as well as the high command of other security forces, must take a clear stand against extrajudicial methods, including ‘encounters’, of eliminating suspects. In other words, security personnel cannot be allowed to play judge, jury and executioner, whether they are dealing with violent criminals, or militants of various persuasions. Instead, criminal justice reform — something that seems to be completely missing from the official agenda — is the only way to deal with dangerous criminals and terrorists without violating the bounds of fundamental rights and misusing authority.



ONE more time, a festive occasion was celebrated with unusual gusto around the country. New Year’s Eve saw more people out on the streets of the big cities of Karachi and Lahore, and more organised events — featuring some fairly impressive fireworks displays in some instances. The last time such events were witnessed was on Eid when everyone noted unusual levels of public participation, with traders reporting high levels of spending, and large numbers of people opting to celebrate in public venues with their families. Such festivities in public are a welcome development and they speak of the improving law and order situation in the country, as well as of a certain optimism that is spreading in people’s hearts regarding the direction in which the country is headed.

But despite the general air of festivity, authorities in Karachi once again did their best to try and dampen the excitement by a massive road closure exercise, which was billed as a traffic control measure but that quickly began to look like a blatant attempt to prevent people from celebrating. The road closure plan was accompanied by instructions for markets and restaurants to close by a certain time, which added insult to injury, because the city authorities have really no business to order establishments to shut down for illogical reasons. In fact, the plan was executed so poorly that it made the city authorities look ineffectual. The road closure plan that was announced aday before was departed from almost immediately. Shortly before 11pm, the movement of traffic was largely choked. The authorities in Karachi should draw a lesson from their counterparts in Lahore who made no effort to dampen the spirit of joy in their city, and, instead, focused their energy on controlling the large presence of traffic on the streets. Restaurants and markets were packed, and many among the younger generation felt free to dance in the streets. Why did the authorities seek to deny the residents of Karachi the same right?

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/newspaper/editorial

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"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling ,but in rising every time we fall". (Nelson Mandela)

No let-up in executions

SUCCESSFUL as 2015 was on many fronts in the fight to stabilise the country and restore internal peace, there was one especially grim statistic: following first the partial and then the complete lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty, 333 individuals were hanged to death last year. As a report compiled by Dawn.com has shown, the record executions in Pakistan were only exceeded by Iran and China. None of the three countries, and Saudi Arabia, which executed the fourth highest number of people, has a judicial system that inspires confidence or is a model that other states want to emulate. From the standpoint of justice, it is not an enviable company of nations. Yet, the state here appears to show no intention of slowing down. The new year has begun with the ISPR announcing that the army chief has ratified the death sentences of nine more individuals convicted by the military. The crimes that the men allegedly belonging to various militant groups have been convicted of are clearly of a very serious nature. But the opaqueness of the trials and the sentences handed down do not meet the standards of justice — the fight against militancy can and should be won without the dubious crutch that is the death penalty.

As documented over the course of the last year, the reinstatement of the death penalty in the country had little to do with terrorism — the overwhelming majority of the men hanged had no militant, terrorist or extremist affiliation. Moreover, there is no evidence whatsoever that the reinstatement of the death penalty has acted as a deterrent. While militancy and terrorism were markedly lower last year, military and government officials themselves routinely credited the reduction to military operations in Fata and counterterrorism actions across the country. It is not just the direct effect — while more than 30 individuals have been sentenced to die by military courts, the high-profile nature of those cases has drawn virtually all attention away from the death sentences that continue to be handed down by the regular courts and made even more difficult scrutiny of the non-military cases that have been sent to the gallows.

While wide-ranging judicial reforms remain a distant priority for the government, there are two interventions that could help slow down the frantic rate of executions. Firstly, the government could form a special high-powered committee consisting of judicial and human rights experts to review the cases that are set for execution rather than leaving it to the normal channels of review via the courts and the interior ministry. Secondly, the unacceptably wide range of crimes that the death penalty can be handed down for should be urgently reviewed. If the political will exists, the legalities of both steps could surely be worked out in reasonable time. The shameful record of executions last year should be not exceeded in 2016.

Coalition concerns

IN the extremely fluid situation obtaining in the Middle East, Pakistan has had to maintain a delicate course, and continues to face complex foreign policy choices. Take, for example, the 34-nation, Saudi-led counterterrorism coalition formed last month, of which Islamabad is a part. As reported, a few days ago a senior Saudi defence ministry official was in the country and met the army chief. While the meeting was ostensibly convened to discuss ‘defence ties’, it has been suggested that greater details of Pakistan’s inclusion in the coalition may have been discussed. The Saudis are reportedly due to host a meeting concerning the coalition later this month, and it would not be unusual for Riyadh to be sounding out Islamabad about the fine print of coalition membership.

Pakistan should continue to engage with the Saudis while cooperation on counterterrorism can be a productive exercise for both states. However, if the coalition in question is meant to be an ideological or communal initiative — there has been criticism along these lines due to the exclusion of Iran, Iraq and Syria, the latter two major victims of terrorism — then Pakistan should best keep away from such endeavours. Already, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority state and a country which has also dealt with internal Islamist radicalism, has quietly distanced itself from the alliance. Pakistan, primarily due to its internal confessional dynamics, as well as its domestic security situation, cannot afford to be part of any plan that may increase the divide within the Muslim world further. Last year, efforts were made to ‘convince’ Pakistan to join the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, which Islamabad wisely declined. If anything, this country should push for an inclusive Muslim bloc that can jointly address the menace of terrorism and extremism. Moreover, the country should refrain from getting involved in the ‘good militant, bad militant’ game abroad. It must clearly state that all militant groups active in Syria, Iraq and beyond are not legitimate. Countering terrorism both at home and abroad is a must for this country, especially as the militant Islamic State group is spreading its tentacles across the region, and is inspiring elements inside Pakistan. However, Pakistani boots should not be on the ground in complicated foreign conflicts that show no signs of abating. Also, the state should continue to involve parliament where the role, scope and extent of Pakistan’s involvement in the Saudi-led coalition is concerned.

Amir’s comeback

FROM being a prodigy to a spot-fixer to approver to making perhaps the most-talked-about comeback in cricket’s history, young Mohammad Amir has a knack of taking centre stage. On Thursday, the 23-year-old pacer got a new lease of life when national selectors named him as a member of the Pakistan squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. While there had never been any doubts about the tremendous talent Amir possesses as a bowler, it is to the young pacer’s credit that coming from a lengthy, nerve-wracking five-year ICC ban, he has lost none of his panache. This speaks volumes for his unflinching focus. It is apparent that Amir is keen to shrug off the ‘fixer’ tag and make amends with his bowling as seen in his sharp pace and swing in domestic cricket as well as in the more competitive environment at the Bangladesh Premier League where he rubbed shoulders with many international players.

Having said that, his biggest challenge — other than taming the competitive New Zealand side — remains his integration into the current Pakistan team. With senior pros Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali and a few others still wary of sharing the dressing room with the young pacer, he perhaps realises that it may not be that easy for him to mix comfortably. Fortunately for him, senior all-rounder and T20 skipper Shahid Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis have put their weight behind Amir and have shown enough faith in his resolve to improve his reputation. They have also made efforts to get the required support from the players for Amir. Pakistan’s dismal record in limited-over games in 2015 as well as the shocking ouster of match-winning spinner Yasir Shah in a doping row has left the field open for a strike bowler to take charge. Amir has a part to play here. How successfully he does so remains to be seen; a realignment of attitude by those who are critical of his inclusion will be essential to make it work.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/newspaper/editorial

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"But screw your courage to the sticking place,
And we'll not fail." _Shakespeare, 'Macbeth')

Role of Pemra

PEMRA’s intervention on behalf of the government to warn news channels from airing content or debating the recent Saudi-Iran tensions in a manner that could allegedly harm diplomatic relations with those countries is perhaps unsurprising — but is still thoroughly unwarranted. There are two issues here, only one of which was raised in the National Assembly by opposition speakers on Friday. First, as PTI and PPP MNAs suggested, it does appear that the PML-N government is trying to gag the media in the name of the national interest. Especially scurrilous is the government’s reliance on an unlawful interpretation of Article 19 of the Constitution. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press subject to “reasonable restrictions imposed by law” can in no way be interpreted as preventing public debate on what the government itself accepts is a critical foreign policy issue. The PML-N may consider it a grave offence to be critical of Saudi Arabia’s policies and the Saudi leadership may be prickly when it comes to criticism of it anywhere, but freedom of the press is a cornerstone of a constitutional democracy, which is what Pakistan is and what the political government has been elected to uphold.

Fuelling suspicions of the government’s real intentions, however, is the PML-N’s chequered history of trampling on press freedoms. While news channels are often violators of good sense and even good taste, it does appear that the PML-N tries to use whatever opening it finds to try and bring the media further to heel. But what of the role of Pemra itself? The recent appointment of a well-known journalist as Pemra’s full-time chief had fuelled hope that the apex regulator would work with the media to address genuine issues in the industry rather than hone in so quickly on content regulation matters. Unhappily, however, the regulatory capture of Pemra by the political government of the day appears to be continuing. Regulation of broadcast media is a sensible and necessary measure — as long as freedom of the press is the guiding principle. But for that the regulator itself must be independent — and, until it has full legal independence, those working there must try and distance themselves as much as possible from political agendas. If that does not happen, Pemra will be drawn into an increasingly adversarial role with the media, resulting in even sensible and needed regulation becoming controversial. The new Pemra chief must do better — and soon.

Harassing an activist

THE list of civic problems, each one eminently solvable, that plague the city of Karachi is getting so long and so noticeable that many citizens have been forced to take matters into their own hands, either organising committees for their neighbourhoods, creating online groups to pressure the city administration into action, or in one case, taking to stencilling a picture of the Sindh chief minister next to piles of garbage or open manholes, with the words “fix it!” written underneath. In the latter case, the activist responsible is a young marketing professional who also made a video of himself doing the stencilling and explaining why. One would have expected the chief minister to respond like a seasoned politician by taking the initiative to perhaps reach out to Alamgir Khan, even arrange a photo op of himself accompanying the young man to a number of locations with KMC staff, and ordering immediate action to fix some of the problems that he pointed out. Good politics would be to try and harness and co-opt the energies of activists like Mr Khan, and any seasoned politician would search for a way to do so.

But, instead, it appears the response of the city authorities has been to try and harass Mr Khan into silence. If this is true then it is craven politics, revealing the extremely insecure mind of the ruling party in the Sindh Assembly, which continues to run the affairs of the city despite local bodies elections having being held more than a month ago. If he has initiated any retaliatory actions against the activist, the chief minister should immediately rescind it, and, instead, take note of the problem. It is unfortunate that it is Mr Khan, along with some others, who has reportedly provided covers for some gaping manholes, with the government having apparently abdicated its responsibility. Meanwhile, Karachi’s denizens are entitled to better governance of their civic affairs, and there’s no harm in pointing this out in novel ways.

Property scam

FOR many years it was an open secret in Lahore, discussed in living rooms and other settings, that the brother of the then army chief was involved in massive land deals around the city, particularly in contracts with Defence Housing Authority, Lahore. Last year, we heard for the first time that the National Accountability Bureau had served notice on the man in question, Kamran Kayani, for having sold allotment certificates for DHA land in Islamabad to be acquired and developed by him but failing to deliver on his commitments. Notice was reportedly served on him at the time, and when no response was received, the matter was quietly dropped and fell out of the headlines.

Now he is once again in the headlines, this time in Lahore. Once again it is in a NAB case, although notice has not yet been served and word suggests he is no longer in the country to receive one. And once again, it is for failing to live up to his contractual obligation to acquire and develop 15,000 kanals of land for DHA City Lahore, a contract he apparently obtained in 2009. NAB has confirmed that a formal inquiry has been authorised in their Lahore office against two companies, Globaco (pvt) Ltd of one Hammad Arshad, and Elysium Holdings of Kamran Kayani. Common sense tells us that DHA Lahore, which is the complainant in the case, would not move on this matter without authorisation from higher offices in the military. The complaint is serious: that Rs16bn worth of allotment letters were sold to the general public, the money transferred into Mr Arshad’s own account, and from there forwarded on to his benefactors and partners in the enterprise.

The episode reminds us all that corruption, whether real or alleged, is not necessarily the exclusive preserve of the politicians. We must ask if it was a coincidence that both inquiries, in Islamabad and Lahore, were launched only after Mr Kayani’s brother had relinquished the office of army chief. And although there is no evidence at all to suggest that the former army chief was in the know of such dealings, the very fact that the two were related may lead to scepticism. The sheer rapacity of the snatch-and-grab land acquisition and development scene that has broken out in the country over the past decade is quite a spectacle. The lingering presence of senior military officials, of an institution like the DHA, and now of personalities linked to the highest offices make for troubling thoughts. The present case should not be allowed to quietly disappear from the headlines. The investigating authorities must be pressured to get to the bottom of this affair, and of others where property developers may have reason to believe that they have enough clout to allow them to indulge in unethical dealings.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2016

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

Action under NAP

THE interior ministry may intend the numbers to convey a sense of achievement, but they only raise troubling questions. In a parliamentary update on actions taken under the National Action Plan, the interior ministry has claimed that 2,159 militants have been killed and 1,724 arrested by law-enforcement agencies. Who were and are these nearly 4,000 individuals? Where were they killed or arrested? What are the crimes each of them is alleged to have committed? Disturbingly, neither does the government seem to think such questions need detailed responses, nor do the opposition parties in parliament appear to have any interest in getting answers. Had that been the case, the interior ministry may perhaps have thought twice about clubbing together statistics on alleged terrorists killed with the number of SIMs and websites blocked. Surely, all statistics are not the same — especially when some of those statistics involve killings that are not judicially investigated or specifically authorised.

Clearly, NAP was necessary because there is a serious terrorism problem. It would be unsurprising if, after a year of intensive effort, several thousand militants were identified and captured or killed across the country. The scale of the terrorism threat makes it almost inevitable that thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, are involved. But there is also another reality — if allowed to operate without careful and sustained scrutiny, the state can often veer into excesses. Perhaps the 2,159 killed were all involved in terrorism — but when there are no explanations offered or details demanded, should it be assumed that only actual terrorists have been caught in the cross hairs? Individual names, details about terrorist affiliations or activities and the specifics of the encounters would go a long way to assuage doubts. What about the 1,724 arrested? Where have they been detained? Will all, or even most, of them face trial? It is not unheard of for the law-enforcement agencies to exaggerate their effectiveness by arresting many individuals and then quietly releasing them later.

The lack of transparency and absence of scrutiny in fact impedes NAP. If details are publicly known and shared among the various law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, they would help better direct NAP. Trends would emerge — do certain regions require the application of more NAP resources; are some militant groups bigger or operating in larger areas than previously known? Effectiveness could be better gauged, too. For instance, is the government getting the right targets? How can prosecutions be improved? At its core though there is a question of justice here. Is it right that some 4,000 individuals, all or most presumably Pakistanis, be simply eliminated or imprisoned without so much as their names being shared? There is also the element of propaganda to consider — militants routinely say that the state is eliminating innocent people and use that claim as a recruiting tool.

Child marriage bill

ANY proposal that seeks to place restrictions on male ‘privilege’ where it pertains to women triggers a predictable storm of protest in this country. Whether the issue is that of sexual harassment, domestic violence or child marriage, good sense and empathy are in scarce supply. Instead, self-righteous pontification and regressive obduracy animate the most vocal participants in the debate. So it was on Thursday, when the National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs declared as ‘un-Islamic’ the amendment suggested by PML-N MNA Marvi Memon to the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2014, which proposed that the minimum marriageable age for girls in Pakistan be raised to 18. Under the extant Child Marriage Act 1929, the minimum threshold is stipulated as 16 years. Members of the committee, after seeking the opinion of the Council of Islamic Ideology members, rejected the notion of placing any such limit, decrying it as a ‘Western’ idea and one that went against the culture, traditions and family values of Muslims.

The smokescreen of faith is a handy recourse in this country to counter attempts at ameliorating the rights of women and girls. Tradition is no excuse for retaining customs that are out of sync with modern thinking. Indeed, customs change over time — if that were not so, the practice of slavery would not be illegal in Pakistan. Marriage is not a relationship fit for those categorised as minors in other aspects of life. Operating a vehicle or casting a vote in this country require individuals to be aged 18 and above. And quite rightly so, for 18 is legal age of maturity in Pakistan. Why should marriage, navigating the many complexities of which requires not only physical maturity but also — and far more importantly — mental maturity, be any different? The pernicious custom of child marriage, still widely prevalent in many parts of the country, robs girls of their childhood and deprives them of opportunities to access education and gainful employment. It also puts their immature bodies at risk of conditions such as obstetric fistulae and increases their chances of dying in childbirth. The legislators’ callous disregard for the lives of Pakistani girls in rejecting the amendment could well slow the momentum created by Sindh, which in 2014 became the first — and so far only — province to raise the minimum marriageable age for girls to 18. It will, however, be welcomed by misogynistic sections of society, of which there are sadly too many.

YouTube ban

THE senseless ban on the video-sharing site YouTube might finally be getting closer to being lifted, but it appears there is still some residual reluctance to actually do so in some quarters of the government. According to reports, the government has given a commitment to Google at the highest levels that following the localisation of its domain, access to the site will be opened up. Reportedly, Google has upheld its end of the commitment by investing millions of dollars in the localised domain, following which the prime minister committed earlier this week to a group of American business leaders that the government would now lift the ban. But days after the commitment, the site remains blocked, reportedly due to reluctance on the part of the IT ministry to implement the prime minister’s instructions.

It is imperative that the directive to lift the ban be implemented without further delay. The ban itself has hurt nobody other than the citizens of Pakistan, who have been deprived of the enormous educational benefits the site has to offer. Continuing delay in lifting the ban is now hurting the country’s credibility, as well as the standing of the prime minister before foreign investors, who are left wondering whether they should believe anything they are told by the government of Pakistan. Not only has the ban invited ridicule, it has also damaged the credibility of the government and political leadership. The IT ministry should waste no further time in lifting the ban, or at least provide sound reasons as to why it is unable to implement the directive of the prime minister. If it has not received any such directive from the top political leadership, that should also be admitted openly. Thus far, the IT ministry is either avoiding all contact with the media, or a few officials are providing off-the-record comments only. The ban and the stalled efforts to lift it have dragged the country into an absurd position, and the affair should end now.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016

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

Talks after Pathankot

AFTER days of official comment and frenzied speculation, the India-Pakistan relationship appears to have gone quiet once again, at least officially and publicly. That is an unwelcome lapse into old habits.

There are two things that the two countries need immediately: one, an expedited investigation into the full contours of the Pathankot air force base attack; and two, the initiation of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.

Three weeks from the Pathankot attack, India ought to have completed its initial investigations and Pakistan ought to have done the same.

This, then, is the time for the two countries to try and jointly piece together the details of the attack — and find the collaborators who exist on both sides of the border.

In Pakistan, the symbolic closure of some centres and madressahs affiliated with the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad is simply not enough.

Had the Pathankot attackers been able to kill or injure more individuals or had aircraft been damaged, the crisis would have been of far greater magnitude. It is evident that spectacular carnage was the militants’ real intention.

For precisely that reason, the Pathankot investigations, both in India and Pakistan, should not be allowed to drift towards inconclusiveness.

As for the CBD, what is the point to dialogue when an episode like Pathankot cannot be dealt with inside the proposed framework?

The broadened CBD, which has added two issues to the eight baskets in the Composite Dialogue, covers counterterrorism, peace and security and even confidence-building measures.

The Pathankot investigations and India-Pakistan cooperation regarding them could surely fit into one of those categories. Initiating the CBD would also set an important precedent. If dialogue is to be uninterruptible, it must be seen to be uninterruptible.

The national security adviser channel or secret communications between the Pakistani establishment and Indian intelligence cannot and should not become a replacement for true dialogue.

The very premise of the CBD is that Pakistan and India have disputes and issues to resolve that, no matter how important and urgent the terrorism challenge may be, go far beyond one, near-term incident.

Just as it is necessary to carry the Pathankot investigations to a swift conclusion and initiate the CBD, inside Pakistan there should be urgent attention paid to spoilers who have emerged in recent days.

Syed Salahuddin, the head of the United Jihad Council, for example, appears determined to make a comeback in the public eye.

This week, he condemned the partial crackdown on JeM — a condemnation that followed the UJC’s claim of responsibility for the Pathankot attack.

What is the state doing to address the trouble that Syed Salahuddin is seeking to stir up? Surely, the time has come when public assertions of responsibility for terrorist attacks in another country can no longer be tolerated.

Dialogue between Pakistan and India should be able to proceed in a climate free of intimidation and fear.

Houbara bustard ban

ON Friday, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on hunting the houbara bustard, an activity that has been termed a ‘pillar’ of Pakistan’s foreign policy. However, conservationists need not despair completely, for if the state allows the sustainable hunting of the bird and prevents an all-out slaughter, the creature’s ‘vulnerable’ status on IUCN’s Red List may well improve. The apex court had last year called for a blanket ban on hunting the bird. However, Friday’s decision came in response to a number of petitions filed by the federal and three provincial governments, as well as by others. The state was apparently worried that the ban could negatively affect relations with the Gulf states, whose potentates — together with their entourages — descend upon Pakistan to hunt the houbara bustard every year. That a part of our foreign policy should be based on such a fragile pillar is unfortunate. But now that the court has ruled on the matter, it will be incumbent upon the state to balance foreign policy considerations with conservation of the houbara bustard, which winters in Pakistan every year.

Some independent experts have endorsed the idea of sustainable hunting of the bird as opposed to a complete ban. Still, it will take considerable effort by the government to ensure that the houbara bustard is hunted in a sustainable manner and its population is not decimated. The onus lies on the federal government, as well as the Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab administrations. As the Supreme Court has pointed out, the local communities must be involved in conservation efforts. If they can be convinced that the bird be allowed to breed and be hunted only in limited numbers, the local population can play a crucial part in raising the houbara bustard’s numbers. Further, the concept of trophy hunting should be applied in this case; the hunters should be charged considerable amounts to be allowed to hunt their prey, with most of the money going to the local communities. But all conservation efforts will fail if bag limits are violated by hunters with deep pockets. Does the state have the courage to tell its foreign guests that they cannot hunt beyond a certain limit, and that violators of these limits will be punished? Perhaps the court should also call for independent verification to ensure that its orders are being complied with and that the bird’s numbers are going up despite the lifting of the ban on the annual hunt.

Pakistan’s T20 loss

THERE has been a lamentable lack of consistency in the Pakistan cricket team’s limited-overs performances over the past 18 months. This trait has yet again led to their recent T20 series loss against New Zealand. Shahid Afridi’s men appeared too ill prepared to face a Kiwi side which bounced back strongly to win the contest after losing the opening match at Auckland. In hindsight, and keeping in view Pakistan’s abject surrender in the last two games, one can safely say that in Auckland, the New Zealanders were perhaps caught off guard by the opposition’s rather young bowling attack — or it would have been 3-0. Prior to the start of the tour, much emphasis was laid on the national team’s fitness camp in Lahore. The expectations of fans were unnecessarily raised by tall claims made by not just the captain and the head coach but also the PCB top brass that harped on endlessly about the rich dividends the players stood to reap from the camp.

Sadly, it all amounted to nothing in the New Zealand series. The batting was as brittle as ever, the bowlers lacked rhythm and control, and catches were dropped at crucial stages. It is quite frustrating to observe that no lessons have been learnt from the successive ODI and T20 defeats last year against Australia, New Zealand and England. While there’s no denying the talent of the players, Pakistani teams have perpetually missed a game plan while psychological grooming has been ignored altogether by the coaches. As for Shahid Afridi’s captaincy, some quarters eulogise him for being an aggressive skipper who leads from the front. However, the fact is that the mercurial all-rounder is only a shadow of himself today as far as performance goes. Regretfully, he has struggled to shun the annoying trait of being dictated by his emotions instead of putting serious thought into outwitting his opponents. That has frequently seen his charges succumb in crunch games which doesn’t augur well for Pakistan as the all-important T20 World Cup draws near.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2016

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

Dormant cabinet

WHAT did the image intend to convey? Perhaps the PML-N brain trust believed that a picture of a meeting between the prime minister and his top civilian aides to discuss security matters would suggest a hands-on political leadership that is stable and mature. Instead, a very different signal has been sent. In a week in which the PML-N has been under attack on the parliamentary front, a strong, democratic signal from the prime minister would have been welcome. A meeting of the federal cabinet — the very constitutional forum designed to handle discussions such as the one presided over by the prime minister on Friday and a forum that has not been convened in half a year — should have been the only democratic option. But the PML-N does not appear to be interested in institutional strengthening. Only when the government is in trouble and needs to remind others of the constitutional separation of powers or the proper institutional roles does the PML-N leadership appear to remember core democratic institutions.

Has all hope for institutional reforms in the short-term been extinguished? Part of the problem is parliament itself — most mainstream parties appear to have accepted the primacy of a democratic mandate, but not gone beyond the electoral aspects of democracy. If Senator Aitzaz Ahsan’s taunts about the federal cabinet have been uncomfortably close to the truth, what of the Sindh cabinet, which for all intents and purposes appears to be controlled remotely from Dubai? Even more egregiously, during the life of the last parliament, the political centre of the country was the presidency, where the PPP boss Asif Ali Zardari had taken up residence. Similarly, the PTI is quick to pounce on the PML-N’s parliamentary and democratic missteps, but how effective and empowered is the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly? As for parliament itself, the PTI chief, Imran Khan, still appears to have very little regard for its processes. Rare is the parliamentary day that Mr Khan makes an appearance in the National Assembly.

Yet, it is the federal government on whom the greatest democratic responsibility falls. The tendency of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to centralise power, restrict access to himself and channel most decision-making through no more than a handful of aides and long-standing political allies tends to have a corrosive effect far beyond the corridors of power in Islamabad. With the PML-N itself, many of the next generation of leaders have been reduced to trying to desperately gain access to a chosen few. Even in the federal cabinet, full ministers with what would otherwise be considered meaningful portfolios can do no more than try and catch the attention of Ishaq Dar or a bureaucrat in the Prime Minister’s Office. What Mr Sharif does not appear to realise is that democracy is strengthened not just by the decisions made, but the manner and forums in which they are made.

Lahore’s train project

THE Orange Line train project is proving to be more difficult to implement than anything the Shahbaz Sharif set-up has deemed fit for Lahore in recent years. The voices are getting louder even as the Punjab government brooks little opposition and pounces upon whoever appears to offer the slightest sign of resistance. On Friday, the redoubtable minister Rana Sanaullah rose on the floor of the provincial assembly to counter with typical force the objections made by the leader of the tiny opposition in the house, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed of the PTI. Mr Rasheed reiterated how the project could be disastrous for some historical buildings, and if these were not worth saving, then there were people who had their homes on the line. He said the train lacked the sanction of the Punjab Assembly — one elected body whose blessings could have been sought in the absence of a local government. Mr Sanaullah vehemently responded that no rules had been broken and that it was impossible for the opposition to prove their case constitutionally.

It appears that all governments jealously guard their development projects, especially those very proud of their feats. Unfortunately, there has been little room for debate in this case as the Punjab government sets out to fight those it identifies as troublemakers blocking the orange train and not just your ordinary dissenters in a democratic order. More recently, there have been violent demonstrations by people who have their houses on the train’s route. These cries of anguish have been responded to officially with an assurance that those who lose their houses will be compensated. Full stop. Just as these promises fail to calm fears among those affected by the advancing train, the effort by the project’s opponents to sugar-coat their criticism — by referring to some grand achievements of Shahbaz Sharif — has had little effect on the government. In the event, where a dialogue aimed towards a resolution of the problem fails to take place, it once again comes down to the court’s resolving the issue. Last week, the Lahore High Court stayed the work on the train line within a 200-metre radius of 11 heritage sites and fixed the next hearing for Feb 4. Failing to convince the government on its own, civil society will be hoping for some permanent relief by the court. And it must have the support of all those wary of one-dimensional development initiated without a proper exercise in understanding popular priorities.

Uzair Baloch mystery

AT times our law-enforcement and security agencies work in ways that are unconventional to say the least. Take the example of the arrest of Uzair Baloch, a shadowy figure in Karachi’s underworld. His arrest was announced by the Rangers on Saturday. Apparently Baloch, who heads the banned People’s Amn Committee based in Lyari and allegedly has political links, was picked up “outside Karachi” by the paramilitary force. Yet the arrest has raised several questions; for example, how did Baloch, who had reportedly been detained in Dubai in 2014, make his way to Karachi? In fact, Pakistani police officials had travelled to the emirate to get a hold of him, but returned empty-handed. The authorities need to explain how Uzair Baloch ended up on Karachi’s outer rim when his last sighting was in the UAE.

The suspect’s arrest has uncanny similarities with the apprehending of two men wanted in the Imran Farooq murder case; these individuals were said to have been captured in Chaman, the Balochistan town on the Afghan border. They were earlier thought to be in the custody of the intelligence agencies. Recently, the family of one of the suspects, Khalid Shamim, has contested official claims of the arrest in Chaman; his wife has said Shamim was already in custody. These incidents indicate the need for more transparency where law-enforcement and criminal justice procedures are concerned. Security agencies obviously cannot be expected to reveal operational details, but the basic facts behind the arrest of suspects must be made public. Uzair Baloch was considered a ‘kingmaker’ in the crime-ridden area of Lyari, so much so that he allegedly vetted the PPP’s electoral candidates from the locality. Yet there are a large number of cases against the suspect, including of murder, extortion and terrorism. It is hoped public proceedings against him bring to the fore more details about the nexus of crime, militancy and politics in Karachi. Clearly, explosive details may emerge when Uzair Baloch is produced in court.

Source: Editorials
Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016

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

A road map for Afghanistan

THE Quadrilateral Coordination Group on Afghanistan has produced something of a surprise: talks with the Afghan Taliban are to resume by the end of the month.

With the fighting season in Afghanistan rapidly approaching, delayed talks would have meant the possibility of the Taliban making fresh gains on the battlefield and therefore being in a stronger position for delayed talks.

Now it appears that talking and fighting will take place simultaneously, giving the Afghan government and the QCG some additional leverage at the negotiating table — or at least not losing further ground to the Taliban at the outset. Also sensible is the reported phased approach to a peace process.

Part of the delay in resuming peace talks was known to be the Afghan government’s insistence that Pakistan take action against so-called irreconcilables among the Taliban, some of whom are thought to be based in Pakistan. In recent weeks, there has been some suggestion that the US too was looking for Pakistani action against the Haqqani network and parts of the Taliban.

Both the Afghan demands and American suggestions were deeply problematic — a peace process should begin by identifying those willing to reconcile rather than singling out those unwilling to do so.

It now appears that better sense has prevailed as the QCG joint press release over the weekend once again mentioned “Taliban groups” — a formulation that does not at least rule out any factions. Yet, the very mention of ‘Taliban groups’, used since the first joint press release of the QCG in January, suggests a difficult road ahead. How many groups are there?

Who leads them? And which ones are inclined to come to the negotiation table? The fracturing of the Afghan Taliban has possibly added to the logic of a negotiated peace — can factions and small groups really wage endless war against a state that while weak is not collapsing?

But it will also make the peace process more difficult to manage. A fractured Taliban means multiple leaders, each with agendas of their own. The QCG’s intensive diplomatic efforts will need to be sustained for quite some time.

There are some early lessons to be learned, however, for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. For the Afghan side, the spells of public rancour against Pakistan need to be reconsidered.

For a year now, it has been clear that the Pakistani state is committed to helping create an intra-Afghan peace process and has wanted to work with the Afghan government to address mutual security concerns.

The Afghan side should respond with equanimity when obstacles in the peace process appear, as they will inevitably.

For the Pakistani side, the concerns about TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan should not overwhelm efforts to nudge the Afghan peace process forwards. The dividends of a successful Afghan peace process will be of an enormous magnitude and will positively impact many other national security concerns here.

JI’s textbook concerns

AT a time when the rest of the country is worrying about how to protect our children from militants who have vowed to attack more educational institutions, the Jamaat-i-Islami appears unduly preoccupied with school textbooks that show people wearing trousers, girls in short sleeves and drawings of human body organs.

Such absurdities — especially the last, for what else would a biology textbook be expected to contain — would perhaps be easier to stomach had the party, which is a coalition partner of the ruling PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, actually made some useful contribution towards the ongoing discussions on the best way to protect our educational institutions from terrorist threats.

But thus far we have heard nothing very constructive from it as far as that conversation is concerned. Instead, there is a long list of what the JI, or at least its chapter in the province, considers objectionable that has already been submitted to the education department.

One wonders how this list has been received. Some reports suggest the list has been rejected.

At a time when the education department of the province, headed by a PTI minister, is striving to rebuild schools damaged by floods and protect other educational sites from terrorist attacks of the sort that KP has already witnessed, how exactly does the provincial government perceive this list?

Already the education department has tried to appease the JI, mainly by removing a chapter on Helen Keller — whose story is a ray of hope for the deaf and mute — which was a bizarre response.

Others have shied away from allowing the use of Malala Yousafzai’s book in higher education for fear of offending some with an extremist mindset.

One sincerely hopes that the education authorities will not now feel they have to indulge in further acts of appeasement, if, for instance, they are asked to rewrite science and history textbooks; and that the ruling party will prove equal to the task of imparting a sound education to the children of the province.

The provincial chief of the JI has pointed to an ‘agreement’ that he says his party has with the PTI on education matters in KP, and hopes that all issues will be settled ‘amicably’. It would be troubling if this meant giving in to demands that can only deal a lethal blow to all efforts to bring education back from the brink in KP.

Train compensation

A NOTE from the Lahore Development Authority on Saturday said that the counters processing compensation claims for people who will be displaced by the orange train in the city would remain open on Sunday.

Not only this, the LDA press release rather quietly reminded all concerned that these counters had been set up temporarily.

The obvious message was for the claimant to make a dash for the money on offer lest the ‘temporary’ offer was withdrawn.

The essential element of speed was very much there, which would once again elicit calls for caution from those who believe in a measured and disciplined approach towards doing a job, any job, in order to avoid problems.

The government has chosen to answer the criticism of the orange train project with a brisk processing of claims. It is probably hoping that the positive vibes emanating from some of those who are paid against the loss of their home or business will act as an effective answer to the critics.

But just as there are instances where the compensation has been to the satisfaction of a claimant, not only has there been protest by those who blame the officials of underestimating the value of their property, there are other, newer dimensions that need to be taken into consideration.

There is some kind of a formula that promises to pay the land cost, structure cost and, over that, 15pc acquisition charges to the affected people. But these efforts by a government at its most persuasive will still leave quite a lot of room for doubts and unease among those who are to lose their home and employment because of the fancy train.

There is fear among the affected lot that could lead to some apprehensions regarding the compensation scheme. The process has to be more transparent not only for those who are to be compensated but for everyone around. Otherwise, the rumours that are already doing the rounds will get more vicious over time.

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"Allah is sufficient for us;an excellent guardian is He!