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[RIGHT][B]Thursday
Safar 02, 1430 January 29, 2009[/B][/RIGHT] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"]As the terror escalates[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] FROM available reports it appears that the war on terror in the border areas of Pakistan is all set to intensify in the coming weeks. Its outcome cannot be predicted at this stage because the government’s strategy and its war aims are still not sharply defined. The only factor that seems to be certain at the moment is that the American policy of carrying out drone strikes against suspected terrorist targets inside Fata is to continue, the change of administration in Washington notwithstanding. Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed this before a US Senate panel when he also disclosed that this decision had been conveyed to Islamabad. In other words, whether the Pakistan government wants to go along or not, it has to be prepared for a protracted war that will be stepped up at America’s bidding and will inevitably bring civilian casualties in its wake. The fact is that the prognosis for the course of terrorism in the region is bleak. Two think tanks have pointed to the rise in bombing incidents and insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent times. According to the Combating Terrorism Centre of the West Point Military Academy in the US, the focus of suicide bomb attacks moved from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan in July 2007-July 2008. In this year the number of suicide bombings in our region went up significantly. The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies has also confirmed that insurgents now roam freely on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and have expanded the area of their activity. As a result violence has also escalated. How is Pakistan trying to counter the challenges it faces from all sides? The army soldiers on in Fata and we regularly receive claims of how many militants are killed in the operations undertaken there. But the violence continues. The government claims that three ‘D’s mark its policy, namely, dialogue, development and deterrence. If this is really so, it doesn’t appear to be working. What is missing is coordination with others who are also supposedly our partners in the war on terror. While there is need for changing military tactics in response to the different compulsions on the ground when an operation is undertaken, the broader need for a unified political approach vis-à-vis the militants is absolutely essential. But that is not the case. Those battling India — in Kashmir or on Indian territory — are treated differently from those fighting the Americans in Afghanistan. There is yet another approach towards the militants whose activities are focused on the domestic front as in Swat. What is needed is a coordinated and integrated approach. Needless to say, this must be pinned together with a broad political consensus on what we hope to achieve. [CENTER]------------ [B][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Cricket, anyone?[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U][/B] [/CENTER] THE writing on the wall, in upper case and underscored, could have been missed only by the short-sighted. Shoaib Malik’s tenure as captain of the Pakistan cricket team was never secure from day one. He became skipper by default when Younis Khan turned down the job in the wake of the World Cup fiasco in 2007. Many said Malik did not merit automatic selection in the Test team, and as such would find it difficult to command the respect of senior players. To be fair he tried, and this paper wished him well when he took over, but sadly his side couldn’t hold its own against quality opposition. The final nail in the coffin came last Saturday when Pakistan suffered their heaviest one-day defeat ever at the hands of Sri Lanka. The loss in itself was not the problem but the nature of the defeat, the manner in which the team succumbed without putting up a semblance of a fight, was frankly appalling. Malik’s days were numbered the moment the game ended. No miracle cures can be expected of Younis Khan, the new captain. In one of his first comments since taking over, Khan said he “would try to forge unity in the team”. Perhaps public speaking is not his forte. On face value, however, his words imply that the national side currently lacks unity. Skippering the Pakistan team is one of the toughest jobs in the cricketing world and he must show steely resolve now that he has accepted the responsibility he refused on two earlier occasions. The road ahead will be uphill. Javed Miandad’s reported resignation as director general of the PCB is anything but timely. With almost every country in the world with the exception of the cricketing minnows and a gracious Sri Lanka refusing to tour Pakistan, our players are short on match practice against quality opposition. Pakistan did not play a single Test match in 2008. It is the rigours of Test cricket that turn talented players into consistent performers as opposed to flash-in-the-pan artists. Pakistan’s batsmen appear to be out of their depth and many of our quick bowlers seem to have lost their mojo in this extended exile from top-flight cricket. We need to explore the option of neutral venues, for some cricket is better than none. Those who ‘defected’ to the ICL should be allowed to play cricket again. The ban isn’t fair and it makes no sense to kowtow to the diktat of the Indian cricket board. [CENTER]------------ [B][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Much ado about nothing[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U][/B] [/CENTER] THE Senate on Tuesday did nothing better than waste its time when somebody pointed to a map in a calendar published in India and sent by post to our parliamentarians. The map visualised a Greater India. Angry senators said this was a conspiracy against the “country’s ideology and integrity”. As was bound to happen on an emotive issue like this, the treasury and opposition benches exchanged barbs and cast aspersions on the patriotic credentials of some senators. But on the whole there was unity in the house on the perversity contained in the map, and the issue seemed settled when the government assured the lawmakers that the FIA would investigate the matter. The debate on a non-issue like the made-in-India calendar-map is typical of the lopsided priorities of our leaders and representatives. There is no dearth of people on the lunatic fringe the world over. There are Zionist maps showing Greater Israel that includes land between the Euphrates and the Nile. The truth is Israel cannot absorb Gaza and the West Bank, much less conquer and annex Iraq and Egypt. There are such lunatics in Pakistan also, and the best response from saner elements would be silence. Regrettably, what the senators uttered was nonsensical. It is ridiculous to presume that Pakistan’s integrity and ‘ideology’ are so delicate that a sketch by a megalomaniac cartographer can threaten it. We have had a taste of this wisdom during Ziaul Haq’s days when anything that even remotely constituted criticism of the government was considered a threat to Pakistan’s ‘ideology’, with Islam itself being constantly in danger in a Muslim-majority country. The ridiculous part of the debate came when a senator demanded the post office censor mail from abroad. Do we want Pakistan to turn into a police state once again? The real threat to Pakistan comes from things far deadlier than an outlandish map — threats like the Taliban philosophy as seen in the blown-up schools of Swat, the sectarian clashes in Parachinar and the general absence of the rule of law. Let our elected representatives focus on that and not give in to distractions. [CENTER]------------ [B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] Khaleej Times Time to hold Israel to account[/B][/CENTER] INITIAL, solitary voices of protest against Israel’s war crimes in Gaza have transformed themselves into a growing global chorus. With eminent human rights agencies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch joining the movement to hold Israel to account for its widespread and well-documented atrocities in Gaza, efforts to build a case against Israeli leaders and generals have gathered pace. While the Middle East media has for long been trying to draw the world’s attention to Israel’s well-orchestrated ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, their feeble pleas have often fallen on deaf ears…. For three weeks, Israel pounded and pulverised Gaza indiscriminately targeting hospitals, schools, mosques and even UN shelters. It used all kinds of banned chemical weapons and substances on an imprisoned population that had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. This is no idle rhetoric. It’s all been captured and preserved for posterity by television cameras. Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have slammed the Jewish state for using white phosphorus shells over Gaza despite its banned use in civilian areas. The Israeli army also reportedly used a new experimental weapon called Dime — dense inert metal explosive — that severs limbs and ruptures internal organs of everyone in the vicinity…. Dr Richard Falk, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories and professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University … argues that both the initial attacks on Gaza and the tactics used during the offensive are serious violations of the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international law and humanitarian law…. — (Jan 26) [CENTER]------------ [B][CENTER][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Education as it has always been[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U][/CENTER] By Dr Pervez Tahir [/B][/CENTER] PAKISTAN has under-invested in education to a notoriously large degree. Worse, the sector has consistently under-utilised whatever money was allocated. This is how the education sector has always been, policy rhetoric and donor-speak notwithstanding. And this is how it seems it will continue to be if some recent actions and inactions are any guide — a university here, a cadet college there, while girls’ primary schools burn where they are needed most. Crunch times like the present affect education the most. While the Higher Education Commission (HEC) funding has been slashed, this does not signify that elementary education is now a priority. As ever, the sector lacks direction. In a land obsessed with the power to post and transfer, appointing heads of the HEC and the education division/departments is a matter that can wait. Primary education has no champions, nor any constituency. A.Q. Khan has argued that mass education does not lead to a developed state. He cites the Sri Lankan case of universal literacy and primary school enrolment. But he will be hard pressed to quote any example of a country which has Pakistan’s literacy and enrolment ratios and happens to be developed. Despite its running civil war, Sri Lanka at least has a much higher Human Development Index than Pakistan. Higher education did get a champion in the person of Atta-ur-Rehman. In a matter of five years the allocation that used to be in millions became billions. To get around bureaucratic resistance and political opposition he got a chancellors committee headed by Musharraf himself. This committee decided that the allocation for higher education should rise by 50 per cent every year. He freed himself from the education ministry and got his own principal accounting officer. Most important, he was able to protect the unspent money also by having it declared non-lapsable. Chancellors who happened to be governors were used for lobbying. For instance, three governors once wrote to Musharraf that the chief economist of the Planning Commission, which happened to be this writer, was anti-HEC. What was I doing? At the project approval meetings, I used to put the emphasis on teachers and students rather than construction and point out the neglect of social sciences. The result, however, was that the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, himself a former executive director of the HEC, banned the economic appraisal of the HEC projects altogether. The point is that higher education had a champion, and allocations, but no vision. It was a huge lobbying effort gone astray. The lesson is that the mere allocation of money is not enough. The sad part is that the enhanced allocations were at the expense of primary and college education. As a whole, annual allocation for the education sector remained under two per cent of the GNP from 2001-02 to 2006-07. It rose from 1.49 per cent of the GNP to 1.86 per cent. Out of a total increment of 0.37 percentage point in the entire period, 0.27 went to higher education. Let it be admitted frankly that allocations for education are unlikely to move beyond two per cent of the GNP until the tax/GDP ratio is jolted out of its present stagnation. Policy has to focus on priorities and effective spending. Priorities were determined by the founder of Pakistan himself who believed that knowledge as a force was more powerful than the sword and that in no country had elementary education become universal without compulsion. Again, the first All Pakistan Educational Conference was told: “Education does not merely mean academic education. There is immediate and urgent need for training our people in the scientific and technical education in order to build up our future economic life, and we should see that our people take to science, commerce, trade and particularly, well-planned industries. But do not forget that we have to compete with the world which is moving very fast in this direction. Also I must emphasise that greater attention should be paid to technical and vocational education.” No less relevant are his thoughts on cadet colleges: “I know the conservative British mind ... that the only method in this world by which you can get suitable boys for a military career is the public school system. Now let me tell [them] that there is no public school system either in America or in Canada or in France or in Germany or any other country that I know of.” As a matter of fact, the intake of the services from cadet colleges is extremely limited. This did not stop the education division from allocating about Rs1bn to 13 existing and nine new cadet colleges in the current year’s budget which on the whole declined in absolute terms. In short, visionaries like Jinnah would prefer to give priority to compulsory universal primary education, non-elitist education, professional, commercial and technical education, and just enough to generalist education, with no discrimination between the sexes. [B]The writer, a former chief economist, is now Mahbub ul Haq Chair at GC University, Lahore.[/B] [CENTER]------------ [B][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Mitchell’s new challenge[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] By Ewen MacAskill[/B][/CENTER] GEORGE Mitchell has long been one of the few who believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved. “Conflicts are created and conducted by human beings,” he said in a speech last month. “They can be ended by human beings.” It sounded naive, especially in Washington where the prevailing mood among current and former diplomats is one of extreme scepticism, given Israel’s Gaza assault and the Israeli election next month that could see the hawkish Binyamin Netanyahu take office. But Mitchell helped resolve the Northern Ireland conflict that seemed equally intractable at the time. He has a doggedness, a willingness to keep going day after day, whatever the setbacks. Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, who worked closely with Mitchell on the Northern Ireland peace process, said on Tuesday: “He is the most patient man I have ever come across in my life. He will just keep going whatever the insults, whatever the pressures, until he gets an agreement.” Mitchell is not new to the Middle East. After Northern Ireland, Bill Clinton sent him to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to produce a report on the origins of the 2000 Palestinian uprising and how to resolve the conflict. He recommended Israel lift restrictions preventing Palestinians expanding their economy, in the hope that job creation might marginalise militants. He combined this with a call for a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a proposal which could see early friction between the US and Israel if Netanyahu, who advocates settlement expansion, is elected. Mitchell also called for the Palestinians to build up their security forces to crack down on militant groups such as Hamas, in order to offer Israel the prospect of prolonged peace. But that proposal is infinitely more difficult to achieve now than when Mitchell first proposed it. Hamas has since taken over control of Gaza and the Palestinians are divided between Hamas and Fatah, the ruling group on the West Bank. What gives Mitchell an outside chance is that he is engaged from the start of the Obama administration. Clinton failed to be constant in his search for Middle East peace; George Bush was never truly engaged. Mitchell made this point in an interview in 2007: “Until now, [the Bush] administration efforts have been periodic, inconsistent and anything but persevering. If there is to be success, that has to change. There has to be a strong and clear determination, a perseverance: not in one day and out the next, not one person one day another person next week, not one proposal now and another proposal next year.” What Mitchell is offering is someone who will stay with it day after day, as he did in Northern Ireland. Judith Kipper, of Washington’s Institute of World Affairs, said that Mitchell had the right credentials. What was needed, she said, was for the US to take a lead in introducing or imposing new ideas. About 90 per cent of a peace agreement had been reached at the 2001 Taba talks in 2001. “For the remainder, the US has to introduce ideas for both the Israelis and Palestinians. We are big and they are little. Tough love,” she said. Mitchell is not afraid of speaking to the militants, as he demonstrated in Northern Ireland. Kipper thinks he will have to do the same in the Middle East. “I think this administration will talk to Hamas directly or covertly ... in the next 18 months.” (Mitchell may have already spoken to Hamas on an earlier mission.) “The issue, certainly at this stage is not one of US direct engagement with Hamas, but a recognition — even if undeclared — that Hamas will have to be brought into the process, either in the context of internal Palestinian reconciliation or in their own right,” said Daniel Levy, who worked for the Israeli government on various peace initiatives. [B]— The Guardian, London[/B] |
[RIGHT][B]Friday
Safar 03, 1430 January 30, 2009 [/B][/RIGHT] [B][CENTER][U][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"] Economic miasma[/COLOR][/SIZE][/U][/CENTER][/B] THE IMF’s forecast that the global economy will grow just 0.5 per cent in 2009 — the lowest growth since the Second World War — is a devastatingly bleak assessment. Economic data can sometimes seem aseptic, but the dire numbers emanating from all corners of the world are nothing short of traumatic. What once seemed like the comeuppance of Vegas-style capitalists overindulging in obscure financial instruments like derivatives has now become a systemic crisis that has seen jobs vanish, wealth deplete and production decline in eye-popping numbers. More worrying perhaps is that the world’s best financial and economic experts have no real idea when the world will touch the bottom of this crisis, or indeed of how bad the global economy may get. Here in Pakistan, the months and years ahead must be eyed with a great deal of apprehension. Last year, a global liquidity crunch and a spike in international commodity prices were the main reasons for key economic indicators blinking red furiously. But the worst may be far from over; indeed, stubbornly high inflation and high interest rates are ricocheting through the real economy and causing cutbacks that will not be aggregated for months, though needless to say their effects on such headline figures as unemployment and GDP growth will be grim. Pakistan’s GDP is expected to grow between two to four per cent in 2008/2009, which would be at or near recessionary levels. And with global demand falling and the domestic energy situation likely to get worse before getting better, whatever competitive advantage Pakistani exports may have enjoyed following the plunge in the value of the rupees is likely to be cancelled. While the Pakistan government may not be able to do much about the global economy, there are several things it can do to cushion the blow. Consider the situation with rice, wheat and sugar. Government intervention has distorted the market and appears to have benefited middlemen, profiteers and big landlords at the expense of small growers and consumers. Elsewhere, a report in this paper yesterday has suggested that meat prices are increasing across the country as a result of the government’s decision to allow the export of livestock. These are all policy and regulatory issues which if handled better and with greater political will can mitigate the worst effects of the global economy on consumers. In addition, there is much talk of increasing our tax-to-GDP ratio, rationalising development expenditure and cutting back non-development expenditure. Each of these measures is necessary if Pakistan is ever to move into the stratum of middle-income countries; however, the measures have been championed a number of times before, only to slip off the radar when the times are better. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Gestures aren’t enough[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] A DAY after President Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world a second time, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, his Iranian counterpart, asked the new American leader to apologise for “crimes” against his country. On Tuesday, as a follow-up to his inauguration speech in which President Obama sought “a new way forward” with the Muslim world, the American president had told the Muslim world in an interview to an Arab channel that “Americans are not your enemy”. He had a point when he said America “was not born as a colonial power”, and he wondered why his country and the Muslim world could not have the relationship they had “20 or 30 years ago”. While these sentiments are no doubt pious, the president should note that America’s behaviour, especially during the Bush presidency, has been little better than that of a colonial power. After all, it is the Muslim countries that have borne the brunt of American firepower, which has mostly killed Muslim civilians. More shockingly, America attacked Iraq even though the Hans Blix commission had found no ‘smoking gun’. In that process America was responsible for the death of at least 300,000 Muslim civilians. What has also antagonised Muslims the world over is America’s rigidly pro-Israel policy controlled in large measure by a strong Jewish lobby in the US. Since his inauguration Mr Obama has done little to suggest that the Democratic administration will do away with old attitudes and adopt a non-partisan approach. This latter is important if the goal of a Palestinian homeland is to be achieved. In the 2006 war the Bush administration maintained a criminal silence when Israel killed 1,000 Lebanese civilians and destroyed Lebanon’s infrastructure. In much the same way, as president-elect, Mr Obama chose to keep quiet during the 22-day Israeli blitz that killed 1,300 Palestinian civilians. The new president will have to be forthcoming in his condemnation of such acts by Israel if he is to demonstrate an even-handed policy. Where South Asia is concerned, Mr Obama now plans a surge in American troop levels in Afghanistan, and going by the frequency of drone attacks, he seems to have embraced Bush’s Fata policy whole hog. We hope that his desire for a new chapter in relations with the Muslim world will be translated into action, and that he possesses the common sense to realise that it is unresolved issues like Palestine and Kashmir that breed terrorists. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Parallel courts in Swat[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] IT is important to keep morale high and not succumb to defeatism. It must also be noted that the army says it is stepping up efforts to root out militancy in the once idyllic valley of Swat. That said, the talk coming from officialdom must match the reality on the ground if it is to be taken seriously. Talking to a veteran Pakhtun leader who is valiantly defying the Taliban in Swat, President Asif Zardari said on Wednesday that “We will not allow [the militants] to set up their parallel judiciary system and threaten the local people.” This statement may have enjoyed currency had it been made several years ago. Not allow the Taliban to set up a parallel judiciary? They had already done so, without asking for anybody’s permission, long before the recent ‘summons’ was issued to area politicians and elders. It has been reported that more than 70 Taliban ‘courts’ are functioning across the Swat valley. The Taliban don’t just threaten but torture and murder local people with impunity on an almost daily basis. It is the welfare of ordinary residents that should head the government’s list of priorities. Instead of insisting that the situation is under control, Islamabad would do well to admit that things are out of hand. Only then can the executive branch and the military devise a strategy that stands a realistic chance of success. Conceding that you have hit rock bottom is the essential first step in the journey towards a healthier state of affairs. Finding something undesirable is one thing, being in a position to disallow it quite another. A parallel may be drawn here with the government’s claims that violations of the country’s sovereignty will not be tolerated. The Americans continue to bomb us nonetheless. How, in any way, are we going to ‘not allow’ drone strikes from happening again? Jirgas, which also represent a parallel judiciary system, are held regularly in Sindh, a province where they are banned. Sindh is free of militancy, yet the government is powerless to stamp out this barbaric practice. We are waiting to see how it will disallow Taliban courts. [B][CENTER] [COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press[/U] [/SIZE][/COLOR] Larawbar, Kabul Kabul’s differences with Nato[/CENTER][/B] THE government officials in Kabul say that if Nato does not support the participation of the Afghan National Army in fighting against the Taliban, they will turn to the people of Afghanistan and ask for their verdict in this regard. According to government sources, the Afghan government has sent a new plan to the general secretary of Nato and this contains credible recommendations that should stop the Nato forces from acting on their own. The government … is of the opinion that Nato’s unilateral assaults against the Taliban have created problems because of the lack of understanding of the local culture. The Afghan platoons will guide the Nato forces because the Afghan army understands and is sensitive to the local culture and traditions. The Afghan government is of the view that insensitivity towards local culture and traditions on the part of Nato forces has done more harm than good in the war on terror. The Afghan government which has of late come under attack from the international community due to a number of reasons has developed differences with Nato and the United States in this regard. The officials say that they would turn to the people of Afghanistan if Nato does not respond to the new strategic plan by the Afghan government within a month. Although the ‘verdict of the people’ has not been explained, it seems that the Afghan government is aware that Nato regards it with mistrust. If this is the case, the Taliban insurgency will become stronger in the near future because of the differences between the Afghan government and Nato. — (Jan 29) [B]Selected and translated by Khadim Hussain[/B] [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]Women, ulema and fatwas[/U] [/SIZE][/COLOR] By Asghar Ali Engineer[/B][/CENTER] MANY of our ulema and theologians usually claim that Islam has given the highest position to women, but having said so they still treat women just as man’s property. By doing so they go against all Quranic positions on women and apply all their medieval values and juristic formulations to degrade women and make Islam a laughing stock. A recent case in point is the treatment being meted out to women by the Taliban in Swat. There is concrete evidence for what I am saying. I have long been fighting for women’s rights as given to them by the Quran, and have succeeded in convincing many Muslim women who thought that Islam was a source of oppression for them and hence their salvation lay only in secular laws. By quoting extensively from the Quran I convinced them that Islam gives them an equal status with men. But some ulema keep negating all this by issuing fatwas to the contrary. Recently I came across two fatwas from the Darul Ulum Deoband, which is among the most respectable Islamic institutions and can even rival Al Azhar. One of their fatwas says that if a man takes a second wife and his first wife resents her husband’s decision and is not happy with the new wife, the second marriage stays valid. Thus, a man can take a second wife. Period. Another fatwa is about divorce. It says if a man types an SMS to his wife with the intention of divorcing her but does not send the SMS for some reason even then divorce will take place simply because he typed the SMS with the intention of divorcing her. I really find this shocking beyond belief. Does it not amount to treating a woman as man’s property? I read one article by a respected scholar that when man unjustly divorces his wife Allah’s wrath descends on him and heavens above him begin to shake, Even then these ulema do not hesitate from issuing such fatwas. Which position is right? Why such glaring contradictions in the approach of our ulema? Can the two positions ever be reconciled? Our jurists and religious leaders need to answer these questions. The Quran never treats polygamy as a licence for men to marry up to four wives, as many of the ulema will have you believe. There are strictest possible conditions and two verses on polygamy, 4:3 and 4:129, when read together, clearly imply that one should not take a second wife as and when one likes. It should be only in the rarest of rare cases and that too under strict conditions. Justice is a must. And, then, how can a marriage without the consent of the first spouse be valid if justice is to be done? Pakistan’s law requiring the wife’s permission for a second marriage is fully justified. The traditional ulema only inquire about the number of wives one has before performing another nikah, and never ask as to why a man wants to take another wife. The Quran on the other hand requires a thorough inquiry as to why one may be taking another wife to avoid injustice being done to the existing wife. It should never be permitted if no need to take a second wife is established. According to a proper reading of both the verses of the Quran on polygamy, it is as good as banned. For divorce, too, the Quran first of all requires an attempt at reconciliation between husband and wife. Along with the husband, the wife has also been given the right to appoint her own arbitrator and the two arbitrators together can decide after hearing both the parties whether divorce should take place or not. In most cases reconciliation can be effected. I think it is the most modern concept which all secular courts also resort to. Quranic formulations are quite compatible with the modern-day approach to marital disputes. But many of our ulema give more importance to a medieval interpretation by jurists over such formulations. It is important to note that the Quran, except in two verses, does not even use the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. Instead, it uses words like zawjain (couple), indicating a complete equality between the two. The words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ imply that the husband has an authority over the wife and hence the Quran desists from using such terms. What is the way out? I think it is very important that those who are leading women’s movements should thoroughly acquaint themselves with the Quranic formulations and also obtain knowledge of factors like culture, feudal values, patriarchal social structure, etc., which contributed to the early formulations of the Sharia positions. The Quran is the word of Allah and binding on all. In the Sharia, on the other hand, there are many differences among scholars, and that is why so many schools of law exist among Muslims. I hope Muslim women will take the initiative and learn the Quran thoroughly well along with hadith literature, adopting an analytical approach towards the genuineness of the traditions and bringing about a change in Muslim women’s position. There seems to be no other way out. [B]The writer is an Islamic scholar and heads the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.[/B] [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]A brand called Pakistan[/U] [/SIZE][/COLOR] By Syed Moazzam Hai[/B][/CENTER] “WHICH is the best cooking oil?” I asked a group of housewives in a focus group discussion (FGD) that was brimming over with random cooking oil users in an exercise to ascertain general brand preferences in the category. Most of them hastened to recall one particular brand so I had to ask why they preferred this particular one. “It’s good for health,” was the reply. Why? I asked. To which the ladies said, “Because it’s light.” The response pushed many parts of the picture together — it was a brand with a top-of-the-mind (TOM) recall, an established brand equity supported by a clear reason-to-believe (RTB) proposition. I felt relieved. Little can be as soothing as this when it comes to the brand one works for. But never in all my years of marketing and advertising have I ever thought of the day when TOM recall for a personally dear brand would spell gloom rather than pride; a brand that is indispensable for most of us — Pakistan. Here’s a look at the competitive picture of Pakistan in the world — TOM: Pakistan; brand equity: terrorism; RTB: incidents and elements of terror. With the world after us for being a breeding ground for terrorism and itching to lynch us at any given opportunity, we really do not need FGD findings on the subject as data support. Pakistanis die everyday subjected to various forms of terrorism franchised by our foes and friends in the East and the West. We continue to be everyone’s favourite punching bag; torn out of shape yet forced into prolonged service for the bullies around us. The Mumbai incident saw our top-of-the-mind recall reaching new, fearsome heights when the Indian media raised the banner of Pakistan-bashing from the first few moments of the siege. Frenzied details of the involvement of Pakistani players flooded the all-too receptive ears of the West. That was followed by ritual oppressive arm-twisting by our American friends and abusive browbeating by our Indian neighbours. Very soon we found ourselves on our toes, and yet again, we demonstrated our level of subservience by swooping down on clinics, schools etc run by certain organisations in the country without much proof in our possession, it is believed. Our immediate compensation was the violation of our airspace to the east and the violent landing of missiles to the west. So the question is: what does one do about our top-of-the-mind recall that makes rogues out of us and a soft target for all and sundry? The least we can do is to be sensibly aggressive about our stance in our own media. We should assert, sans ambiguity, that Pakistan is a victim and not a perpetrator of terrorism and the presence of extremist elements in the country is the offspring of the West’s past fancy for Afghan jihad and the subsequent patronage of the dictator regime in Pakistan. The media should also create an uproar over the terror treatment of Pakistani citizens in various corners of the world. In the absence of their government’s assistance and protection, Pakistanis have become scapegoats for countries eager to either show their performance in the war on terror — e.g. the case of seven innocent Pakistanis killed in March 2002 by Macedonian police presumably to please the US — or to appease their friends. The latter stance is demonstrated in reported cases of missing Pakistanis in Nepal. Some believe these involve alleged abductions by Indian agencies who would want to use their victims as the main cast in acts of terrorism in India. How they are able to show the identity cards and other documents of alleged Pakistani terrorists that many ordinary citizens don’t always carry remains a wonder. If the Indian media can perpetually employ substandard, anti-Pakistan tirade in absolute unison, why should the Pakistani media not follow a determined course to defend the country’s image? We need hasty measures on the subject, before our top-of-the-mind brand recall eventually turns us into a generic name for terrorism. [B]The writer worked as a senior executive in advertising and marketing companies.[/B] |
[RIGHT][B]Wednesday
Safar 08, 1430 February 04, 2009[/B][/RIGHT] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Abduction of UN official[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] MILITANCY and violent crime have risen dramatically in recent years. Life and property are at risk across the country and the state has failed its citizens. But when security personnel feel insecure and high-profile politicians fear for their lives, it comes as no surprise that ordinary people are at the mercy of those toting guns and bombs. This is an appalling state of affairs, and much thought and all available resources must be channelled towards finding a solution that is even halfway satisfactory. The huge problems involved in fighting insurgencies in Swat and the tribal areas are understandable. But there are fewer excuses for letting gun-toting terrorists in major cities escape the security net. Those who come to this country to help people in distress cannot be assured safety either. Monday’s ambush in Quetta that left an employee of the UNHCR dead and led to the abduction of the refugee agency’s Quetta office chief is more than a personal tragedy for the families of those who were attacked. It could have wider repercussions as well. It is an ominous development that sends all the wrong signals to foreign and local agencies providing aid to those who desperately need assistance. As it is many NGOs engaged in vocational, educational and healthcare services in the NWFP and the tribal belt have been forced to leave in the face of threats and attacks by the Taliban. An assault on an international NGO in Mansehra in February 2008 left four staff members dead and many others wounded. In November last year, the UN’s World Food Programme reported that nearly 900 tons of essential supplies “destined for the undernourished” in Pakistan and Afghanistan had been looted in the NWFP the previous month. If such relief programmes come to a halt, tens of thousands of people with no other means of support will lose their only hope for survival. This cannot be allowed to happen in a country where the number of internally displaced persons is on the rise and where poverty is endemic. NGOs and relief agencies must be provided adequate protection. No trace had been found until Tuesday afternoon of John Solecki, the UNHCR Quetta chief. The identity of his captors remains unknown and there is considerable room for speculation as to who they might be. Given that the incident took place in Balochistan, it is being said they could be associated with the Taliban, with Baloch nationalists or a criminal gang. Mr Solecki apparently did not ask for a police escort but it is time that heightened security measures were put in place for all high-profile relief agency officials in Pakistan. At the same time, no effort should be spared to ensure his recovery and bring the culprits to book. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Need for transparency[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] THE National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has done well to scrutinise closely the audit reports of the defence ministry. By investing more time and effort in this exercise it has unearthed many sections in the 2005-06 report that it has described as indicating “financial irregularities” involving Rs100m. Meanwhile, costs totalling Rs23bn are being reviewed as they have not been explained satisfactorily. All this raises several pertinent issues in terms of financial transparency in government spending, especially when massive amounts are involved as is the case with the defence ministry. True, the defence budget for 2008-09 gave more details, although there was no vote on it. Since 1965, the army’s dominant role in politics saw defence spending under wraps with a one-line entry in the federal budget that did not reveal any details of the allocations for essential and non-essential expenditure. While the thrust towards greater transparency is to be commended, it is not enough. The auditors can play a more effective role in exposing corruption and thus help identify the guilty and bring them to book. The irregularities reported on this occasion may or may not run into billions of rupees. One doesn’t know whether or not the auditors have probed deep enough in areas where the scope for embezzlement is greater, for instance in arms procurement where ‘commissions’ can be a lucrative source of income. With better budgeting and auditing practices greater transparency can be introduced in defence planning. These would also facilitate a more meaningful debate on the subject. Needless to say, defence spending has been the subject of much controversy given the country’s limited resources and the fact that a disproportionately large chunk of the budget goes to the armed forces. In fact, it is not just the accounts that need auditing. At stake is the performance of the armed forces, and it is this that also calls for stringent auditing if the cost-benefit ratio is to be determined. Once these issues are addressed in earnest, it should become possible to look into the laws and rules that have been framed to give the armed forces enough leeway to earmark financial privileges for themselves — privileges that have enabled them to build huge business empires. On the pretext of secrecy in the interest of national security and strategy, military rulers have used their clout to shield defence spending from public scrutiny, thus escaping accountability. This should not be allowed to happen any longer. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Oil shortages[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] PETROL pumps in most parts of the country are filling consumers with pain. These are days of acute oil shortages which are blamed on the price adjustment mechanism used by the government to determine domestic oil rates in accordance with fluctuations in the global market. Thus the monthly oil price adjustment mechanism has become part of the problem rather than the solution to the ongoing crisis. Just as global oil prices began sliding last year, pump owners stopped receiving fresh supplies of fuel at a time of domestic price adjustment, so that losses could be avoided in case rates were revised downwards. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) that face a severe liquidity crunch because of the non-payment of their dues by the government are hesitant to supply oil to pumps at the beginning of each month for the same reason. The pump owners — who pay the OMCs for fresh supplies 15 days in advance — want their suppliers to adjust the increase/decrease in domestic prices on the first of every month. The OMCs do not agree. They want to be paid according to the price effective on the day that advance payment is made. The government is well aware of the problem. It took the decision to adjust domestic prices on a monthly basis instead of basing these on the fortnightly assessment system in place earlier. But it appears helpless in dealing with the dispute between the OMCs and the pumps. This apparent lack of initiative on the part of the government is being blamed for the routine oil shortages. Even official announcements — and they are just that — to revise domestic rates downwards, in spite of falling global prices, have failed to calm the market, and supplies to the consumers continue to be disrupted. The government must find a way out of this. If it does not want its image tarnished, it will have to be seen as taking proactive action by an increasingly sceptical public. Further delay will not help anyone as action is desperately needed to stave off the inconvenience that the public routinely faces when pumps stop operating. [CENTER][B][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]OTHER VOICES - European Press[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] Malta Today Blasphemy of censorship[/B][/CENTER] THERE is something deeply hypocritical behind the Censorship Board’s recent decision to ban a play outright, apparently on the grounds that some scenes may be upsetting. The play in question is Stitched, by Scottish author Anthony Neilson, and to be fair this is not the first time it has elicited controversy. UK newspaper The Guardian reported that some members of the audience walked out during a performance at the Edinburgh festival in 2002.... However, this particular example of state censorship stands out from the others, if nothing else because there has to date been no official explanation whatsoever. Considering that the censorship board has taken upon itself to shield us all from indecency, one would assume that the decent thing to do would be to also tell us why. After all, this has always been the case with previous decisions. For instance, when former chairman Tony Mifsud announced an immediate ban on the RSC’s Bible, he explained that the play would have been doubly offensive to Catholic sentiments, because it was intended to be staged during Lent. ...On this occasion, however, we are expected to simply take the Censorship Board’s word for it that the play is “unsuitable” to be staged at all... and this assumes sinister implications, when one considers that the play also discusses abortion: a contentious social issue, which has in the past given rise to all sorts of legal misconceptions. When the government proposed entrenching the abortion ban in the constitution in 2005, there were some who argued that even expressing a pro-life point of view should be made illegal. This in turn prompted a retired judge to write to a newspaper in order to explain ... that breaking the law is one thing; but campaigning to change a law is something else.... Now, a play dwelling on the same subject has been banned outright with no explanation.... This is clearly not conducive to healthy debate, neither to democracy.... But there is another anomaly staring us all in the face. Unlike past censorship acts, this one appears to have less to do with religious sentiments, and more with public decency. Two objections immediately spring to mind: the first is that, in these days of Internet access, when lewd and/or violent images are available at the click of a mouse, it makes little sense to train all the big guns only on theatre — which ... attracts only a few thousand viewers in Malta — while nothing at all is done about a medium that gains access into all our homes. — (Feb 1) [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]The ‘conquest’ of Swat[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] By Dr Tariq Rahman[/B][/CENTER] SWAT has been conquered by the Taliban. Between the guns of the army and the long knives of the Taliban the common people eke out a miserable existence. About 400 private schools announced they would not teach girls from Jan 15 onwards. This means that approximately 40,000 girls will be deprived of schooling. Only girls up to the fourth grade will be able to get basic schooling if more schools are not burnt down. So far almost 200 have been burnt down and about 20 are occupied by the military. But this is nothing compared to the blood-curdling beheadings which are going on. To escape this horrible fate a dancer Shabana from this blighted valley is said to have begged her tormentors to shoot her dead. Indeed, all professions connected with the performing arts are dead. Artistes have fled to other cities. Swat lies under the grim, puritanical control of hate-spewing FM radios and vigilantes out to crush dissent and bring the lifelessness of the graveyard to the ‘Switzerland’ of Pakistan.But why has all this happened? The answer is that the governments of Pakistan have allowed it to happen under their noses. To begin with, the movement against the government, though it used the idiom of Islam, was nothing more than the demand for speedy justice. The Swatis had fast-track justice under their rulers (the walis of Swat) and this is what they wanted. Meanwhile, militancy, again using the idiom of Islam, grew in the whole country. This time, again, the state and its agencies were at fault. The basic idea was that if fighters were sneaked across the Line of Control in Kashmir India would bleed so much that it would come to the negotiating table. On the side these fighters also indulged in sectarian vendettas so that neither mosques frequented by Sunnis nor Shia imambargahs remained safe. What did Pakistan gain as a result? Not an inch of Kashmir but the possibility of being declared a ‘terrorist state’ and the perpetual fear of a war with India. As if we did not have enough troubles of our own making, we got new ones after 9/11. These were the Taliban fighters — including Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks etc — fleeing the American occupation of Afghanistan. Earlier American and Pakistani policies in the region had fostered an environment of religious extremism that led to the creation of the Taliban. Now this monster was coming to take sanctuary inside Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence agencies did not want to fight all these Taliban groups as they still believed they would need them as friends in Afghanistan once the Americans abandoned the country. This disastrous idea strengthened the Taliban. However, as the Americans forced Pakistan to abandon its erstwhile guests, a number of people — purportedly from the Al Qaeda group — were ‘sold off’ to the Americans without the due process of law. In short, two contradictory policies were in place: to look the other way while some Taliban kept crossing back and forth from Afghanistan to Pakistan; to fight the others if they struck in Pakistan. This policy also failed as the Taliban gathered strength in Fata. The armed forces and the Americans fought them through artillery and air bombardment but both methods killed ordinary people causing widespread misery which has strengthened the Taliban even more. These disparate fighting groups, all using the idiom of Islam, have actually created a state within a state. The common people are confused because they operate in the name of the sacred. The media does not condemn them because America is so unpopular that its enemies (the Taliban) are seen as heroes. The government has lost its credibility. It is seen as a stooge of America and, further, it has hardly confessed to its past blunders. Moreover, the government is polarised when it comes to the centres of power (the army, intelligence agencies, the president and prime minister) and does not speak with one voice. The state is weak, the people confused, and the militants further strengthened. What, then, is to be done? There are two options. First, to withdraw from Swat and Fata and create a buffer state ruled by the Taliban or the several factions which go by that name. This would stop the daily deaths of our soldiers and policemen. However, it would be a terrible blow to the state and would also mean abandoning Pakistani citizens to a cruel minority all set to create a hell on earth. Even worse, the Taliban would spread from this new state to other areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In short, the war would go on. The second option is to fight the Taliban after getting everybody on board. For this there should be a plan to look after displaced people and a strategy to win hearts and minds. Also, it is infantry and intelligence which is needed, not warplanes dropping bombs on villages while the Taliban scamper to safety. This option is costly in terms of the lives of our soldiers and also unpopular. But it can succeed, especially if the Americans get out of Afghanistan or at least stop using drones to drop bombs on our areas. But let us remember that fighting means consistently fighting and not just sporadically sacrificing young soldiers and officers while the top brass makes compromises. The real heroes of this unacknowledged war are these young soldiers and officers. Here let me narrate the story of Lieutenant Omar, a boy officer now lying with a wounded leg in one of our army hospitals. Fighting the Taliban this young man found himself all alone as the regiment had withdrawn. Stunned, with a bleeding leg just hit by a bullet, and with the whistle of bullets in his ears, he was convinced he would die. But just then came the familiar voice of a soldier from his platoon. “Sir he is here!” And two soldiers lifted him and dashed across — notwithstanding the whistling bullets — to safety. These three young men need to be recognised as among those who are the saviours of our freedoms. If there are privileges and plots of land to give out then these heroes deserve them more than peace-time officers. Will they be recognised and their mission completed? Or will they have risked their lives in vain? [CENTER][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][B]Rural jobless in China[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] [B]By Tania Branigan[/B] [/CENTER] AROUND 20 million migrant workers have returned to the Chinese countryside after failing to find work in the cities because of the economic downturn. The figure — greater than the population of Australia — is double a previous official estimate and will heighten the concerns of the Chinese authorities about maintaining stability. It came a day after the government warned that 2009 would be “possibly the toughest year” for economic development in China since the turn of the century. Chen Xiwen, director at the Office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work says that a government survey showed that 15.3 per cent of an estimated 130 million rural migrants to the cities had returned home jobless. Adding in new entrants to the rural labour market gave a total of around 26 million unemployed and potentially restive people in the countryside. Some economists believe this is an underestimate and say the real figure could ultimately reach 40 million. The figures do not include the urban unemployed or students. Last month the government said that almost nine million urban residents registered as jobless in December and the first increase in the urban unemployment rate (to 4.2 per cent) after five years of successive falls. Many believe the true rate is far higher. Academics have also estimated that 1.5 million of this year’s graduates could fail to find work. There is a considerable number of rural migrants who are unemployed. After they return to villages, what about their incomes? How will they live? That’s a new factor concerning social stability this year. Local officials have been told to handle unrest with care and go to the frontline to explain to and persuade the public. China sees tens of thousands of “mass incidents” each year and the authorities have issued a string of warnings to officials about the risks of the economic downturn exacerbating problems. Mao Shoulong, a professor at Renmin University, said unrest often developed because there were not clear channels for expressing grievances and disadvantaged groups had no way to protect their rights and interests. But he added that the authorities had learned from experience. “They even try to hold direct dialogue with people and they are more cautious about using armed police,” he said. China has around 750 million rural residents; more than the combined populations of the United States and European Union. But growth in the countryside has lagged far behind the cities, with the rural-urban income gap expanding rapidly over the last two decades. [B]— The Guardian, London[/B] |
[RIGHT][B]February 05, 2009
Thursday Safar 09, 1430 [/B][/RIGHT] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Mumbai and dialogue[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] AS much as we criticise Pakistani officials for their offhand remarks that have a tendency to ratchet up diplomatic pressure against the country, it seems top officials in New Delhi have an equally disturbing tendency to jump the gun. The latest is Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who on Tuesday threw in his tuppence about what the Mumbai attacks have done to Pak-India relations: “The positive gains of the past years have been destroyed by the dastardly attack.” And without specifying what he meant, the minister called on the “international community” to “act decisively and in concert” to get rid of the Frankenstein monster i.e. terrorism. All of this while Pakistan is in the final stages of preparing its report on the Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks and, according to at least one Indian official, has already sought India’s clarification on some issues. Certainly, Pakistan must prove its bona fide intention to bring to justice whoever may have contributed to the Mumbai attacks from Pakistani soil. Yet, remarks such as those made by the Indian defence minister do nothing but harm the environment of cooperation between India and Pakistan that is necessary if those who helped plan and execute the Mumbai attacks are ever to be prosecuted. Curiously, Mr Antony was not able to connect the dots contained in his own statements. “All-out wars are no longer the norm for settling political disputes among states,” said the defence minister, and he also noted that terrorism threatened regional stability. So, if there is a threat and war is not the solution to it, aren’t talks the only way ahead? Moreover, the composite dialogue, five years old and now suspended and whose fruits Mr Antony dismissed so blithely, is in fact the only framework for peace talks that has been acceptable to both countries. Therefore, what the Indian government’s position as formulated by the defence minister amounts to is this: there is a grave threat to India and Pakistan and the wider region from terrorism, but the solution is neither war nor international mediation — to which the Indian government is rabidly opposed — nor direct, bilateral peace talks. The Mumbai attacks were clearly a watershed terrorist attack. A new, brazen, sophisticated breed of terrorists now clearly exists in this region and has found a way to match its murderous ideology with the capacity to execute it. Mr Antony and numerous Pakistani officials are right in identifying this new breed of terrorists as a mortal threat to the state of Pakistan. It is in our interest to defeat it and the state must take the lead in the fight. Equally, however, India must be willing to hold out a helping hand. A victim-enemy dichotomy helps nobody. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Stabilising sugar prices[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] THE government’s decision to import 0.2 million tonnes of white refined sugar in order to stave off shortages — not least because of the expected shortfall in the sweetener’s domestic production and its unchecked smuggling to neighbouring countries — is expected to help stabilise consumer prices in the weeks to come. The decision was delayed by the Economic Coordination Committee by one month under the pressure of the powerful lobby of growers in the federal cabinet, who wanted to make extra money by selling their crop at much higher rates than those announced by the government. Still, all is not lost. It is difficult to imagine domestic sugar prices coming down in view of the sweetener’s rising demand in the global market because of the worldwide gap in its production and demand. Global sugar prices have already gone up by 15 per cent in the last one month to reach $360 per tonne and are projected to spike further to $450 in the months to come, once Pakistan and India begin shopping to meet domestic requirements. Pakistan could have saved some precious foreign exchange had the government made the decision well in time. As the crushing season is still underway, it is hard to estimate the exact gap between the commodity’s domestic production and the consumption requirements of around four million tonnes. But the import of refined sugar will prevent prices from shooting up from the current level of Rs45 per kg. The decision has also been hailed by the domestic industry as a step in the right direction to maintain price stability and avert sugar shortages, by intervening in the market if and when necessary. But the manufacturers want the government to intervene only through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan which already has a buffer stock of 0.4 million tonnes from last year. The involvement of traders in import could jeopardise the effort to stabilise prices. Everything said and done, the import of sugar alone is not going to solve the problem. The government needs to take effective steps to control the commodity’s smuggling to neighbouring countries. Also, it should put in place stringent administrative controls to prevent its hoarding and artificial shortages. These measures are essential to the success of efforts to maintain price stability in the sugar market. If the government fails to stop or check smuggling and hoarding, a severe crisis of the kind seen a couple of years ago is likely to erupt. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]A danger to public health[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] THE inadequacies of the healthcare system have manifested themselves in one form or another time and again. While pathology labs have sprung up in every part of Karachi, the problem is that many of them issue inaccurate reports. This problem creates a dilemma for medical practitioners and agonises patients. Erroneous test reports lead to treatment which is wide off the mark. In other cases, it may result in no treatment at all for a potentially dangerous condition because the report may not indicate any alarming findings. So, who are these laboratories accountable to? Apparently, no one. The thrust of the issue is the absence of a central regulatory authority which experts are repeatedly calling for. The onus is on the government to step in and do what it is supposed to do — provide an accountability mechanism. It has to bring to justice those who are playing with people’s lives and pushing the country’s much-criticised healthcare system into further disrepute. Strict monitoring and accountability are the need of the hour. The authorities must take effective measures to ensure that adequately qualified professionals are in charge at the laboratories. Those laboratories which have been careless in handling patients should be warned to rectify matters or else face closure as a warning to others of their ilk who endanger public health. It is a great pity that such pathology labs have added to the financial burden of patients who must undergo further tests if results are identified as faulty in their case. A regulatory body will go a long way in coordinating efforts to ensure that labs are run in accordance with healthcare guidelines. There is no reason why the health department can’t muster the effort and funds required for this purpose. After all, action was taken to clamp down on blood banks, many of them storing infected or expired blood products, by setting up the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority to oversee these medical units. The task at hand is by no means simple but not impossible if stringent steps are taken to ensure that labs do not get away with issuing faulty reports and adding to the patients’ worries. [B][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] Oman Tribune Continental shift[/CENTER][/B] UNITED States of Africa — it sounds nice. It brings to mind a powerful nation, rich in natural resources. But how practical would it be to bring 53 states in the Dark Continent under a single umbrella? Tough call. But the idea is not bad, irrespective of the fact that it is Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi who has been canvassing support to usher in this style of governance. Perhaps Qadhafi is also nursing the dream of leading such a federal government if it were to materialise. So when African leaders came together in Addis Ababa for the regular African Union meeting, the old topic of United States of Africa did crop up, and as usual it could not be consummated for want of a strong political will all around. It was former leader of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah who had sown the seeds of such a union of African states during his fight for independence of Ghana. However, the Europeans quietly had stolen the idea and got it implemented, it is said. How far that is true, nobody knows. What about the African Union (AU) that is already in existence whose major aim is to promote political and economic integration among its 53 member nations? ...Unfortunately AU — like its predecessor — has been turned into a talking shop. Why is such a grand idea not taking off? ...Many of [the leaders] have been running their countries in a dictatorial style…. ... [H]ow would they coalesce into a single cohesive team is a moot point. Who will be the leader among the leaders is another ticklish issue…. Who will finance it...[?] Despite the prevalence of dictatorship-style rule in several African states, [a] democratic style of governance is slowly creeping in…. South Africa, however, is not all that keen on the ‘USA’ formula and it prefers a slow march towards this unification…. Everyone understands the benefits of a union government ... [b]ut the political will is lacking. It’s time they rise above such partisan sentiments to build a better and strong Africa. It’s within their grasp if they work … slowly. Qadhafi, who had taken charge as chairman of the newly formed AU Authority, has the next 12 months to channelise his energy to realise his own long-cherished dream of a unified Africa. The Dark Continent needs it. Otherwise, it would continue to remain vulnerable.... — (Feb 4) [B][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]Using fear as a political tool[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] By Mubarak Ali[/CENTER][/B] FEAR is an inherent part of the human psyche. If there is a natural calamity, man fears death and disaster; if there is a political or economic crisis he fears insecurity, hunger and starvation; if he experiences religious anxiety, he is confronted with the fear of the Day of Judgment and hell fire. Living in a state of fear weakens him physically and mentally, and shakes his confidence. He becomes pliable in the hands of authorities who want to cast him in a certain ideological mould to be used and exploited politically Realising the worth of this weapon, conquerors, occupiers and rulers have used fear as a political means to make people submissive and obedient. It was the practice of conquerors to unleash terror in the occupied land and to order massacres to terrorise the people into not putting up resistance and recognising their authority without any challenge. The Romans and the Mongols mercilessly butchered whole populations in occupied towns as a warning to others to surrender. They were successful because seeing this bloodshed, the cities and towns laid down their arms and opened the gates to the invaders to save themselves from destruction. We see that throughout history rulers have adopted sophisticated methods to create fear among the people by using state institutions. For example, the splendour and glory of the royal court were a manifestation of the power of rulers and were intended to overawe the people. In the history of India, Balban, who ruled from 1266-1286, was famous for organising his court on the pattern of the ancient Persian monarchs in order to assert his legitimacy and deter people from rebelling. Ziauddin Barani wrote in Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi: “Fear and awe of him took possession of all men’s hearts.” The display of armed soldiers, decoration of the hall of audience, etiquettes and rituals were so overwhelming that ambassadors and visitors received a shock by the show of wealth and power and sometimes fainted. Balban also used royal processions to impress as well as to create fear in his subjects. According to Barani, “Musalmans and Hindus would come from distances of one or two hundered kos to see the splendour of his entourage, which filled them with amazement.” Espionage was the second instrument to keep people fearful. Nearly all rulers employed spies to report all kinds of activities of the people. When he became a target of conspiracies, Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316) used spies to report the movements of his nobles. Such was the network of espionage that nobles ceased to talk to each other suspecting that anyone of them could be a spy. Sometimes they conveyed their message in sign language. The third instrument was punishment. Rebels and criminals were punished publicly. People were asked to come and witness floggings, hangings or beheadings. In some cases, as a warning, the dead body of a rebel would be displayed for many days and was not allowed to be buried. Michel Foucault in his book Discipline & Punish describes the methods of punishment in the case of regicide in detail: “The flesh will be torn … with red-hot pincers, his right hand holding the knife with which he committed the said parricide … and on those places where the flesh will be torn away, poured molten lead … then his body drawn and quartered … his limbs and body consumed by fire, reduced to ashes and his ashes thrown to the winds.” In the modern period, dictators fully utilised the methods of the past to keep people in a state of fear. Hitler organised his Nazi party to use all such instruments which could silence the people. Once he said that people needed “a good scare. They want to be afraid of something”. Thus the stormtroopers created terror among Hitler’s opponents. Gestapo was the secret agency whose task was to trace any critic of the Nazi government, to arrest and summarily execute him. Such was the terror and horror of these organisations that Hitler’s opponents either left the country or maintained complete silence. The judiciary came completely under the control of the Nazi government and sentenced dissidents. Special courts were established and staffed by the loyal judges of the party. Torture and execution without trial were common. Modern-day dictators followed Hitler’s pattern and continued the same brutal methods to silence their opponents. The Shah of Iran and his secret agency Savak were notorious for persecuting dissidents. Israel since 1948 has followed a policy of persecution to create fear among the Palestinians. It is expelling them from their homes in order to occupy their land and launching systematic massacres to eliminate resistance, like past colonial occupiers. Political fear is the product of brutality and absolute power. That’s why it has been used by kings and dictators without popular support. However, in a democratic system, the tools of political fear are diluted and the will of the people dominates coercion. In such a system people are constantly asked not to be afraid to express their views and to act according to their conscience. Of course, a fear-free society would be ideal for society to develop its inner strength and play a creative role. [B][CENTER][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Tide of regulation[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] By Jenni Russell[/CENTER][/B] REGULATION is fashionable. Applied to bankers and markets, we are freshly aware of its virtues. Yet while Britons in the UK have been under-regulating financiers, they have been over-regulating the social sphere. It is having an insidious, destructive effect on the way they engage with one another. In schools, public services and in our dealings with strangers, our rule-bound, box-ticking, risk-averse culture is designed to protect us from one another. Instead it is making us steadily more fearful and passive. Rather than building a safer or more cohesive society, this tide of regulation is steadily snapping social bonds. This week I was talking to a teacher — let’s call him Simon — about the barriers he is instructed to put up between him and his teenage pupils. He and his colleagues are warned by the school never to engage with pupils emotionally, ask a lone child to stay behind for a talk after class, or respond to any confidences about their lives. A fear of paedophilia has morphed into a general panic about adult-child relations. The priority isn’t pupils’ wellbeing but to protect teachers from any accusations, either of sexual misconduct or of responsibility for pupils’ subsequent behaviour. Last year the school had an urgent call from a psychiatric unit. A pupil had made a suicide attempt because he was so unhappy at home; the only person he wanted to talk to was his teacher. Simon was only allowed to call on condition that a senior member of staff was also in the room, writing down his end of the conversation. He was forbidden to show any emotional concern; he was not allowed to ask how the child was, only the facts. With a distraught boy on the end of the phone, all Simon’s instincts were to offer human sympathy. Instead, he tried to convey warmth in his voice. When the call was over the head instructed him to forget the whole thing and not even to think of writing to or visiting the distressed child. Since he was neither a therapist nor a counsellor, he was told he had no role in his life outside class. This emphasis on physical safety and professional boundaries creates invisible barriers between people that are psychologically damaging but which can’t be measured, and so are ignored. Simon’s pupil had no idea why he was being held at a distance and rebuffed. All he has learned is that in a crisis he turns to the one person he wants to trust, and gets apparent indifference in return. Simon was very distressed. “Lots of kids in our school are desperate to find an adult to relate to. I see why so many of my colleagues have cut off. You aren’t allowed to use your judgment, and the sense that you shouldn’t care breeds a sense of hopelessness.” The boy has yet to return to school. This cold professionalism is neither the way we imagine teachers to be, nor the way they had to be in the past. Thousands of people have had lives transformed by teachers who gave them a sense of their worth by being interested in the whole child, not just their classroom performance. Two friends of mine would never have left the confines of their council estates without teachers who listened to them, and introduced them to a world of thought and conversation. The social and human contact gave them confidence and hope. Yet an insistence on systems rather than humanity is becoming the norm all over the public sector. Everywhere there are examples of people retreating from engaging with others because official restrictions discourage it. Local street parties, informal children’s football clubs and church camping groups are all closing, casualties of criminal record bureau checks, risk assessments, indemnity insurance and other rules that tell us we cannot trust others and cannot be trusted ourselves. [B]— The Guardian, London[/B] |
[RIGHT][B]February 06, 2009
Friday Safar 10, 1430 [/B][/RIGHT] [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="4"]UN chief in Pakistan[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit shed light on two important issues. First, the announcement by Mr Ban that the UN will set up an “independent commission of inquiry” to “uncover the facts about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto” means the government has achieved its long-stated goal of having the international body investigate the death of the former PPP chairperson. We welcome any credible investigation into Ms Bhutto’s death; however, 13 months since her death, there are question marks over what such an inquiry can actually achieve. From a forensic point of view, there appears little the UN commission can investigate: the crime scene has been scrubbed, the physical evidence gathered may not have been properly stored and secured, and Ms Bhutto’s body has been interred with little chance for exhumation to conduct an independent autopsy. Nevertheless, while thanking Mr Ban for agreeing to set up the inquiry commission, President Zardari gave a clear indication of what the government hopes to achieve: it wants the commission to expose “the financiers, perpetrators, organisers, sponsors and conspirators of this terrorist act and bring them to justice”. The president’s formulation is remarkably similar to the language contained in UNSC Resolution 1595 which called for an independent investigation commission to identify “the perpetrators, sponsors, organisers and accomplices” of the act of terrorism that killed Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri in 2005. If the Hariri commission is indeed the template for the Bhutto commission, then it must be hoped that the latter will not carry on interminably like the former has. While there is speculation that the Bhutto commission may wrap up its task in six months, the real need is for an adequate time frame that does not compromise the thoroughness of the mission. The other crucial issue that Mr Ban touched upon was the road ahead for Pakistan-India relations. Following the Mumbai attacks and a new US administration that has flirted with the idea of nudging along a Kashmir settlement, Mr Ban was quite expectedly asked about terrorism and South Asia’s flashpoint. In response, the secretary general plainly asked India and Pakistan to resume the composite dialogue and emphasised that the resolution of outstanding issues lay in bilateral discussions. This will have disappointed both countries: India because it is hoping for more pressure from the UN to make Pakistan act on the Mumbai dossier; Pakistan because it is hoping to rope in the international community to convince India to work on a Kashmir settlement. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]New health policy[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] IT is encouraging to learn that the government is working on a new health policy as was confirmed by the federal health minister as well as the director general of health. But little is known about the government’s strategy and one can only hope that all stakeholders are consulted and taken on board. That alone will ensure the successful implementation of the new policy. So far the draft under consideration has not been put up on the health ministry’s website nor has it been sent to the Pakistan Medical Association. Thus the ministry may not benefit from the valuable advice of medical professionals and informed users. So far the tendency has been for governments to hoodwink the people into believing that the healthcare system in the country is being reformed, by announcing a new health policy every few years. None has been implemented and the crisis in the health sector has intensified. Although official surveys claim that there has been an improvement in health-related statistics, Pakistan continues to present a dismal picture when compared to other countries in South Asia, except Afghanistan. For instance, infant and child mortality rates in Pakistan are the highest in the region. The number of health facilities has actually declined over the years while the ratio of population per doctor, dentist and nurse has risen indicating the growing pressure on the limited health delivery system. The last health policy that was framed in December 2001 is on paper only. However, it identified the major weaknesses in the health sector very well and could provide a starting point for policymakers. New health problems have now emerged but the basic flaws that need to be addressed have not changed. The health system is too urban oriented and neglects the bulk of the population that lives in the countryside. Financial allocations have been measly and do not provide much scope for expansion and upgrading. There is greater emphasis on tertiary medical facilities with primary health not receiving enough attention. There is no effective monitoring of the system while the private sector has been given a free rein with no regulatory controls in place, although its role has been growing. Above all, the preventive approach is limited to immunisation strategies with no concept of health being perceived as a sense of well-being rather than the absence of disease. This calls for linking health with a lifestyle that makes the government responsible for providing people with potable water, sanitation and a clean environment. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Obama’s concerns[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] WHILE he has approved the sending of three more brigades to Afghanistan — with an even larger ‘surge’ being talked about —President Barack Obama made it clear in a TV interview that nothing should be done that could destabilise Pakistan, “which has nuclear weapons”. The sources and forces that have destabilised this country and have the potential to do greater harm to Pakistan’s security are the rejuvenated remnants of the Mujahideen armed and funded by America for the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Today, the Taliban are perhaps better armed and better funded than they were when Ziaul Haq’s Pakistan acted as a conduit for the CIA’s overt and covert aid to what then were perceived as freedom fighters. Since the American attack on Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban have been the biggest source of instability for this country. At least 100,000 Pakistani troops are battling the Taliban, who have killed more civilians than soldiers and bombed civilian targets as much as they have attacked military installations. For tackling this major — though not the only — source of instability, Pakistan needs help from the international community, especially America. Part of the American aid flowing into Pakistan since 9/11 has come in the form of military hardware, including electronic gadgetry to monitor the militants’ movements. There has also been a belated realisation that reliance on force alone cannot end the insurgency, and there must be greater efforts to improve the quality of life for the tribesmen. The Biden-Lugar bill, whose revival is being sought, seeks to give Pakistan $1.5bn over a decade and puts emphasis on the socio-economic side of America’s aid policy. There are other sources of instability which are of our own making — like the mess in Balochistan, the absence of economic development commensurate with Pakistan’s potential, and the neglect of the social sector. However, what the Obama administration should note is the concern which its drone attacks in Fata are causing. The change in the White House has made no difference to Washington’s Fata policy, and drones often miss the target and cause collateral damage. While Obama’s concerns about Pakistan’s stability need to be welcomed, his administration — like the previous one — has yet to realise the negative consequences of American attacks in Fata. These violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty create sympathy for the militants, strengthen the pro-Taliban lobby in the country and serve to destabilise Pakistan by undermining the democratic government. [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] Wahdat, Peshawar Sovereignty and civilian military resolve[/B][/CENTER] A MEETING of the three armed forces was held in Rawalpindi on Saturday. The meeting was presided over by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Tariq Majeed and attended by all the three chiefs including Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nauman Bashir, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed, DG ISI and others. According to military sources peace and security matters were discussed and it was unanimously decided to combat every internal and external threat with an iron fist. The same day the defence minister, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, while talking to journalists ... made it abundantly clear that Pakistan would not tolerate drone attacks in its tribal belt. The minister added that the issue had been discussed with Nato and they agreed on working in their respective spheres without compromising Pakistan’s sovereignty. Such pledges from the civilian and military leadership are tantamount to acknowledging the demands of the masses. Pakistan has been doing more in the ‘war against terror’ than any other country but how is it being repaid? In the form of drone attacks and accusations of involvement in the Indian terror attacks. If Pakistan had adopted the right strategy from the start, America would not have dared to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty so blatantly. The bright side of the picture is that now we are seeing in our military establishment and elected government a realisation of [the need to] defend our sovereignty. The nation supports this stance and is determined to remain united no matter what crisis it has to undergo. At the same time, it is significant to care for both internal and external sovereignty. The writ lost to the extremist forces must immediately be restored without damage to the civilian population. In order to retain the integrity of this country, it is crucial to win back the writ of the state lost to non-state actors. — (Feb 1) [B]— Selected and translated by Khadim Hussain and M. Arif[/B] [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]Arrogance and a diseased mind[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] By Sirajuddin Aziz[/B][/CENTER] IF we look around ourselves today, we will find many individuals afflicted with the disease of arrogance. The difference is only that there are varying degrees of the disorder; some suffer from it to a large extent, others betray only traces of it. The wise have long diagnosed arrogance as a disease. People who are afflicted are usually the types who are insecure or those suffering from some sort of inferiority complex. It is the display of pride which costs them dearly in this world and the next. Such people, Allah says, are most disliked among His beings, even if they harbour an atom of pride in their hearts. Islam sees arrogance as among the most despised of attributes because the essence of its teachings delves into utmost humility in mankind. The Prophet (PBUH) is quoted on pride: “One who possesses half a mustard seed of arrogance in his heart shall not be granted admission to paradise; and one who possesses half a mustard seed of faith shall not enter eternal Fire.” History is replete with examples of personalities infested with the ills of arrogance. History also provides us valuable lessons as evident in the stories of Satan, Nimrod, Pharaoh and the likes of Abu Jahl. They all came to a devastating end simply because they considered themselves worthy of all praise, and took pride in their power, pelf and position. On another occasion, the Prophet is reported to have said, “Whoever has an atom of pride in his heart will not enter paradise.” The extent to which Allah despises pride is evident from the fact that He did not consider the long prayers of Iblis when the latter refused to bow in front of Adam. Iblis’s pride was based on his assertion that he was created from fire while Adam was created from clay, and that fire was superior to clay. He was punished and denied Allah’s mercy for all times to come. It is clearly mentioned in the Holy Quran, “Allah will put the proud to disgrace and ill-repute (dishonour) in the hereafter.” We have examples in front of us where Allah and his messengers have despised even an atom of conceit. Then why as Muslims are we plagued with this menace is the question that begs an answer. Why can’t we follow in the footsteps of revered personalities, such as the Prophet and his companions, who despite having power and position never let an iota of vanity cross their hearts? Unfortunately, we have distanced ourselves from the lofty attributes of humility enjoined by Islam. We are unaware of the joy of completing our tasks ourselves; we consider it demeaning to run our own errands. The Prophet used to wash his own clothes, cook his own food and even clean his own house, and had no qualms about it; nor did he ever complain of hardship in life. The cause of vainglory is embedded in assuming superior knowledge, wealth, physical attractiveness, piety, family lineage, status, position and power on one’s part. All these attributes are meaningless to Allah, for He will judge a man or a woman on their character and conduct. One’s wealth, health, colour, caste and creed will be utterly irrelevant on the day of resurrection; only our deeds shall speak for us. Allah has said, “Perish man! How thankless he is! Of what did He create him? Of a sperm-drop. He created him and determined him, and then made the way easy for him. Then He makes him die, buries him, and then, when He wills, raises him.” The verse distinctly states the weakness of man, as he is brought into this world from nothingness by the glory of the Almighty, and subsequent to his transition from non-existence into existence. Allah grants mankind all the blessings in this world and then eventually man returns to a state of nothingness by the will of Allah, to be raised again on the Day of Judgment. The entire cycle depicts the sheer helplessness of mankind. No power except divine resolve can alter this inevitability. It makes one wonder as to what then a sense of vanity is all about. [email]azizsirajuddin@gmail.com[/email] [CENTER][B] [U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Database of art[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] By Michael Rank[/B][/CENTER] TENS of thousands of Buddhist manuscripts, paintings and other treasures scattered around the world have been brought together in probably the world’s largest computer database of its kind. The International Dunhuang Project, based at the British Library in London, is an ever-growing digital assemblage that makes it possible to study online around 160,000 images of 80,000 objects dug up in the deserts of Chinese central Asia and now in institutions across Europe, Asia and North America. More than a third of the artefacts are in British collections, having been taken — some would say plundered — by the Hungarian-born British explorer and archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein who travelled the Silk Road in the first decade of the 20th century. The IDP has centres in China, Russia, Japan and Germany as well as its London base, and early next year the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris will become a partner when its collection of 10,000 treasures goes online. This will make available the vast hoard of manuscripts discovered by Stein’s French contemporary Paul Pelliot in the Dunhuang Library Cave — this includes many secular texts, forming a basis for the development of economic, social and legal history of medieval China. There are also plans for the Institute of Korean Culture in Seoul to become a partner later in 2009. Each centre maintains images from their collections on their own servers. “Keeping their own images on their servers while having everything in one place on the web makes people less anxious about their own data. There are no issues with copyright, with digitisation centres in each institution having read-write access to other data on the database,” said the IDP’s director, Susan Whitfield, who has been with the project since it was founded in 1994 and oversaw its launch online in 1998. The Dunhuang cave complex on the edge of the Gobi desert is the most famous archaeological site in the region, from which Stein took a vast array of treasures including manuscripts in Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan and even Judaeo-Persian, as well as in obscure central Asian languages such as Sogdian and Tocharian. But the IDP does not focus only on Dunhuang, and it includes artefacts from around 200 sites in the far west of China, where more treasures are being discovered all the time. Among the most remarkable items in IDP’s database is a coloured star-map in the British Library dating back to about AD 700, which the project’s website notes is “almost certainly the oldest extant manuscript star-chart from any civilisation”. The scroll can be viewed in great detail on the website, together with Stein’s original map of the Dunhuang caves. Whitfield said the project, which has about 10 staff in London and around 20 in the other centres, does not rely on outside technical consultants. All staff were expected to have a reasonable level of technical skills as well expertise in their own specialist subjects, ranging from early Chinese Buddhism to the history of paper making. “Technical skills are part of our remit,” said Whitfield, who has a doctorate in Tang dynasty historiography. “Outsourcing technical aspects leads to people not understanding what is going on ... It doesn’t work for projects like ours with a large technical element.” The IDP believes in making its technical standards transparent and uniform and local staff are trained so that quality and consistency of data and images are maintained. A Chinese version of the database was developed in 2001-02, and the database was redeveloped in 2005 involving the use of XML based on the TEI standard for the cataloguing and bibliographical data. These are stored in 4D and accessed using a 4D XML plug-in. Active 4D is used to serve the website and database. The website, which is in English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and German, has also been continually redesigned to include more functionality and data. It is now displayed in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and current projects include plans to implement map layers for Google Earth. Photographing delicate manuscripts and textiles is a slow and painstaking process, but by 2015 the project aims to have catalogued, digitised and made freely available online 90 per cent of the Dunhuang collections. The IDP has a budget of around £350,000 a year, which Whitfield said is “fairly modest” given the size of the project. Whitfield said one of her chief aims was to get the National Museum of India on board. The museum in Delhi has around 11,000 items, mainly Buddhist paintings obtained by Stein, few of which have been published. The IDP has been in talks with the Indian authorities for the past 10 years, but has met with countless bureaucratic obstacles. “I am sure we will reach an agreement eventually,” she added. [B]— The Guardian, London[/B] |
[RIGHT][B]February 08, 2009
Sunday Safar 12, 1430[/B] [/RIGHT] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Nuclear proliferation[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] THE Islamabad High Court has declared Dr A.Q. Khan, known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, a “free citizen”. His release is subject to a “secret agreement” the terms of which cannot be made public, under a court order. This move has evoked a strong reaction from some western powers who have expressed serious concern at the release of the man who is seen as responsible for leaking nuclear secrets and technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The order has also prompted western governments to revive their earlier demand that Pakistan should allow the International Atomic Energy Agency access to Dr Khan. With Dr Khan’s supporters euphoric at his release, notwithstanding the conditions imposed on him, and the West exerting pressure on Islamabad in view of the controversy that has surrounded Pakistan’s nuclear programme, the government will no doubt find another troublesome item on its already overloaded agenda. More than Dr Khan’s past role in launching a growing nuclear network, the issue that should cause concern to all now — including champions of the atom bomb — is the danger nuclear proliferation poses to the world today. Nuclear technology has always been a double-edged sword. On the one hand it has been touted as a great scientific invention of the 20th century — America’s “atom for peace” programme was upheld as a model — which would benefit mankind. On the other hand, the US had no qualms about secretly developing lethal nuclear weapons that were tested on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. As could have been expected, this brought with it the risk of proliferation.In the present context, proliferation has another dangerous dimension. The possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors cannot be ruled out. If seized by terrorists — this fear has been expressed repeatedly by governments as well as advocates of disarmament — nuclear arms could pave the way for devastation of the worst kind. One assumes that governments in possession of nuclear arsenals behave with a measure of responsibility and set up control and command mechanisms to pre-empt any brash use of weapons of mass destruction. Can terrorists who are capable of blowing themselves up along with their hapless victims in an outburst of religious frenzy be expected to resort to some calm deliberation before pushing the nuclear button? The problem is too complex to lend itself to simple solutions. The NPT that was flawed from the start given its unequal treatment of the nuclear haves and have-nots provides no answers. Now that proliferation has come to be so closely linked to the phenomenon of terrorism, it is time for all nuclear powers big and small to adopt a global and regional approach towards nuclear disarmament in the interest of the survival of the human race. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Gaza aid: wrong UN move[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] ONE can understand the anger of those who say that the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians has found a pretext to stop the supply of relief goods to Gaza’s traumatised population. Or that Israel, which seized a Lebanese relief ship on Thursday in a deliberate act of aggravating Palestinian misery, has found an ally in the world body. On Friday, the UN Relief and Works Agency announced that it would not resume the supplies until Hamas gave an assurance that it would not “steal” food meant for the Gazans. The charge is unsubstantiated and open to question. If there is an administrative structure resembling a government in the war-ravaged Mediterranean strip it is the one run by Hamas. The party was voted to power in both Gaza and the West Bank and is therefore responsible to its constituents. During the 22-day blitz by Israel, it was Hamas around which the people of Gaza gathered to stand up to Israel and help the wounded, the sick and homeless. Why would Hamas steal any relief goods meant for Gaza’s 1.5 million people, a majority of whom are its voters? A Hamas spokesman said no Hamas or UNRWA representative was present when drivers loaded up the aid supplies, assuming that they belonged to the Hamas government. He said the goods would be returned if it was found that they belonged to the UN agency.However, instead of investigating the “theft”, by stopping aid the UN relief agency is punishing the people of Gaza, more than half of whose population is dependent on UNRWA for food. Does the UN fear that the distribution of relief supplies to war victims through Hamas could add to the latter’s popularity? Such an assumption cannot be used to deny food to those who need it desperately. No wonder, Hamas’s social affairs minister has said that the UN aid agency should not become “a political player in Gaza”. Most unfortunately, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has set no higher example for the UN bureaucracy. On Friday, while he asked Hamas to “refrain from interference with aid distribution”, he did not bother to ask Israel to end its 19-month old blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli navy towed away the Lebanese ship, and its crew and passengers were kicked and later expelled after they were accused of being in Israel illegally. Mr Ban has kept quiet on this act of piracy. [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]Polio hiccups[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] THAT our campaign to eradicate polio continues to be an uphill task is evident by the recent confirmation of our third polio case last month. This follows a setback to our anti-polio campaign in 2008 which saw polio cases soaring nearly four times to 118 from 32 in 2007, according to WHO statistics. This record contrasts with that in 2005 when Pakistan, one of the four countries in the world where polio is still endemic, came closest to eradicating polio with only 28 reported cases, down 25 cases from 53 in 2004. This represented a commendable achievement from the year 2000 when 199 cases were reported. Intensification of vaccination activities with measures like house-to-house vaccination, extra rounds of National Immunisation Days and the addition of Sub-National Immunisation Days appear to be responsible for the earlier downward trend. Such achievements give us reason to believe that similar success in bringing down polio cases can be duplicated and still better efforts can achieve total eradication, provided these efforts are concerted and consistent. But polio resurgence from 2006 onwards is a worrying scenario that has raised concerns about the effectiveness of our anti-polio strategy. Last November, the ministry of health set up a new inter-ministerial oversight body for polio eradication. This week a cross-border coordination meeting with Afghanistan, another polio-endemic country, is also scheduled in Islamabad. However, effectively stemming the resurgence of polio cases would require accurate analyses of the reasons responsible for the upsurge. Some experts have blamed new unvaccinated refugees from Afghanistan for the rise in polio cases. Others have blamed ineffective vaccination drives in the camps established for the internally displaced in the NWFP from where two of the three cases in 2009 have been reported. The fact that the first polio case in 2009 was reported from a district in Punjab earlier declared polio-free and that cases from provinces other than the NWFP were reported last year may also point to possible administrative flaws in the vaccination drives. Our ability to pinpoint the exact causes of the polio resurgence and implement corrective measures will determine the outcome of our anti-polio campaign in 2009 and after. [CENTER][B][U][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"]OTHER VOICES - Indian Press[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] The Asian Age Caste shadows in Maya’s UP[/B][/CENTER] THE coming together of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and renegade backward caste UP BJP leader Kalyan Singh is an effort at a grand consolidation of the state’s intermediate caste vote not attempted since the days of the pre-eminent Jat leader (and then future prime minister) Chaudhry Charan Singh. Ironically, the component missing from the coalition being forged is that of the Jats of western UP, who constitute an influential electoral presence. Mr Yadav had earlier sought to rope in Chaudhry Charan Singh’s son, Ajit Singh, but the RLD leader eventually appeared to sail with the BJP. However, in the light of recent developments, it is not unthinkable that the pragmatic Jat leader would dissociate with the BJP before the forthcoming Lok Sabha election to join the wider backward or intermediate caste phalanx. Two noteworthy differences with the past should be noted in assessing the present effort. ...Under the leadership of Charan Singh, the changes then manifest in UP were part of a nationwide dynamics aimed at ending the hegemony of the Congress. That’s not quite the case today. The second ... is the emergence in UP, virtually as an independent pole of politics, of Dalit leader Mayawati. Dalits in UP have rallied under the chief minister’s BSP banner, broadly speaking, although Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has invested personal energies in wooing them. In the scenario most likely to present itself, a direct clash between the backward castes under the Mulayam Singh-Kalyan Singh canopy, and the Dalits swayed by Ms Mayawati, seems to be in the offing. Such an electoral battle is unprecedented for any state in India, and that imbues the current UP political scene with historical significance. It will be keenly watched if UP’s substantial Muslim electorate will continue to show friendship to Mulayam Singh even after he has courted an alliance with a politician whose role in demolishing the Babri mosque was pivotal. If the Muslims are able to overlook this, the backward caste consolidation may be expected to be a truly formidable force in the electoral arena. If not, it is Mulayam Singh’s bête noire Mayawati towards whom the Muslim voter in UP is most likely to gravitate. Whether the Congress will continue to work for a UP-centric electoral adjustment with the SP is likely to depend on the party’s perception of the Muslim reaction to the Mulayam-Kalyan association. Mulayam Singh making common cause with Kalyan Singh may have been a product of the SP leader’s belief that the Congress was less enthusiastic than previously about reaching accommodation with the SP. A good deal of what happens in UP next is likely to be linked to the positioning of the main players in relation to the Muslim vote. Those who prove lucky are likely to emerge with a strong hand in dealing with the politics of the centre after the general election. n — (Feb 7) [CENTER][B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="4"][U]The curious case of Minou Drouet[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR] By Zafar Masud[/B][/CENTER] LATIN Quarter intellectuals had qualified it as the Dreyfus Affair of the literary world. To get a real load of this you have to bring to your imagination a still un-Americanised Paris of half a century ago. No obscenities on the walls, no junk food joints, no monkey-dance on 24-hour TV networks. Writers and poets spent entire days in cafés, working on their novels, plays, short stories and poems; drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and dying young, hoping to leave something ponderous for posterity. In such an ambiance a little blond girl was introduced to the literary circles of Paris by her foster mother. A youthful prodigy was not something unheard of in 1956 when a collection of poems entitled Arbre Mon Ami (‘Tree, My Friend’), was published. Only a year earlier Françoise Sagan had rocked France, and the world, by her first novel Bonjour Tristesse. But Françoise Sagan was 18 while the poetess in question, Minou Drouet, was only eight. While everyone agreed that Minou’s poems, and the letters that she avidly wrote to anyone who got in contact with her, had great literary quality, not everyone was convinced that it was actually Minou who wrote them. France was split in two. It’s Madame (Mme) Drouet who does all the writing, said the ladies’ weekly Elle. “Is Minou Drouet a fraud or a genius?” asked Time magazine. The storm broke out with such intensity that there was no French newspaper or magazine — Le Monde, Le Figaro, L’Express and Paris Match included — that did not take a pro- or anti-Minou stand. A few lines from Arbre Mon Ami: ‘Tree/ drawn by a clumsy child/ a child too poor to buy colour crayons. /Tree, I come to thee./ Console me/ for being only me.’ The biggest literary scam of the century! The rumpus rose to such a level that the French authors, composers and music publishers’ association felt compelled to propose a public test to put the controversy to rest, once and for all. Minou was left alone in a room with no telephone but only pen and paper for company and with the subject ‘Paris sky’ to try her by now much in doubt poetic gift. Her poem was ready in 25 minutes. Literally moved to tears the chairman of the association offered Minou honorary membership. Her poem, translated into English by Life magazine, is as follows: ‘Paris sky, secret weight/ flesh which in hiccups spits into our faces./ Through open jaws, the rows of houses/ a stream of blood between its luminous teeth./ Paris sky, a cocktail of night and of fear that one savours with licks of the tongue/ with little catches of the heart/ from the tip of a neon straw....’ Newspapers were to discover later that Minou was almost blind by birth and that her vision was only recovered following a series of operations. She took piano lessons and, though she was no Mozart, she played well. Later, she would learn to play guitar just as expertly. Soon after the publication of her book of poetry that immediately sold 40,000 copies, Minou was hobnobbing with the high and the mighty of the cultural world. Celebrity magazines carried her photographs in the company of actor-singer Maurice Chevalier, movie director Vittorio de Sica and the legendary cello player Pablo Casals. Her most ardent fan, however, proved to be the greatest multi-disciplined living French genius at the time, the poet-writer-painter-actor-movie director Jean Cocteau. He paid her the ultimate compliment, though in his own incomparable, inverse diction: “All the children are geniuses, all except Minou Drouet!” Not yet a teenager, Minou Drouet was now leading the life of a celebrity. Her visit to London resulted in the following verse: ‘Mischievous country/ where early every morning/ pink and golden on the plate/ two eggs sing a duet/ lying in the wait.’ And then, one day in Rome, Minou Drouet was bewildered to hear Pius XII saying to her, during a private audience at the Vatican, that he loved her poems. She had enough presence of mind to return the compliment to the holy father on his papal robe. “It is very well cut” she informed a surprised pope. Much moved by this he said: “I’ll pray to God you always stay the way you are.” But that was not to be. As a published author of poetry and fiction books and as an accomplished pianist and guitarist by the time she was in her early twenties, Minou, now married, could be seen flaunting leather jacket and high boots, riding a motorcycle and leading a bohemian Left Bank life with all its possible blessings and pitfalls, and forever ready to plunge headlong into picaresque adventures that were very much the fever of the day. In the mid-1960s, Minou’s life took a dramatic turn. Her grandmother fell ill and she took care of her until she breathed her last. Then she decided to study nursing, professionally. She used her newly acquired skills caring for the elderly, terminally ill children and pregnant women for two years working in a hospital as a nurse. She made another attempt to get back to her bohemian life, giving guitar performances in Left Bank cafés, writing novels and children’s books. When Mme Drouet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Minou was in her early thirties. She was divorced and her heart was no longer in the arts. She returned with her foster mother to her native Brittany, taking care of her, marrying a local businessman and refusing to write or to see any journalists. Upon insistence of her publishers, Minou started working on a somewhat indifferent account of her life, Ma Vérité (My Truth). When the memoir came up on bookstands in 1993, nobody paid attention. It was a different generation of junk-food eaters and rap lovers. Besides, those few who knew about Minou and cared, agreed that the muse had abandoned her, this time definitively. The inhabitants of the small Brittany town Guerche-de-Bretagne are used to seeing a handsome blond woman in her early sixties going to the market and doing her chores unobtrusively. Neighbours know her by the name of Mme Le Canu. But few know about her past. And the former Minou Drouet, bohemian, singer, guitar and piano player and author of eight books, would rather have it that way. [B]The writer is a journalist based in Paris.[/B] [B][CENTER][COLOR="darkred"][COLOR="darkred"][COLOR="darkred"][COLOR="Black"][U][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkRed"]The culture of greed[/COLOR][/SIZE][/U] By Polly Toynbee[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] [/CENTER][/B] CULTURE change may be coming, but it’s not in Britain yet. The UK financial sector will pay itself £3.6bn in bonuses this month: banks are rumoured to be rushing to beat any proposed cap. But there is not much the UK can do beyond what has been done to stop bailed-out boards’ noses going to the trough. RBS’s catastrophic purchase of ABN Amro included contracts with traders to pay fixed bonuses regardless. A one-line bill in parliament denying them the cash can’t be done: they would sue, and anyway, governments can’t simply set aside contracts. Barack Obama’s thundering words resounded around the world this week. He castigated “disgusting payoffs” and “lavish bonuses”, fixing a $500,000 pay cap on bailed-out banks and firms. Is it heartening or depressing that the UK’s ruling Labour party only dares echo such words when Obama has said them? It raised top tax two weeks after Obama won an election promising the same. After 12 years of celebrating the filthy rich, the UK’s current business secretary Peter Mandelson finally tells RBS to reconsider “exorbitant bonuses” and “how it looks and what public opinion will be”. So is this nearly the end of the bonus culture? Not yet. Mandelson added the crucial rider: “Obviously you have to work in a market, you’ve got to recruit the best people and keep the best people in place and motivate them.” No change, then. The rationale for runaway pay was market competition; but the crisis revealed they were not brilliant, just deluded group-thinkers harvesting bonuses in a rising market. Often, when meeting them, they seemed lacking in intellectual curiosity, ignorant about ordinary life and breathtakingly selfish. Responses to Obama’s modest pay cap of $500,000 have been revealing. The chief executive of Deutsche Bank warned that US talent would flee the bailed-out banks: “Talent will be happy to work for us.” But astute observers dismiss that as bravado — the mobility of these masters of the universe was always exaggerated. In Britain as elsewhere, few top CEOs are foreign and few foreigners want our “talent”, as Work Foundation research proved. Even more revealing is the warning to Obama that if bailed-out bank chiefs get no bonuses until they pay back state cash, they will stop lending in order to store capital for that payback. In other words, everything about bonuses creates perverse incentives. It motivated them to take insane risks with bonuses pegged to share price. It encouraged auditors to turn a blind eye. Now withholding bonuses will apparently make banks do wrong again. What could be done? Abolish bonuses altogether. The evidence is that they don’t work or have perverse effects. Performance-related pay demotivates losers without motivating winners. [B]— The Guardian, London[/B] |
[B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Youth seek to enter politics[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B]
[B][I][CENTER]The coming polls may throw up questions about employment and poverty.[/CENTER][/I][/B] [B]By Kuldip Nayar 27/02/2009 [/B] EVEN before parliamentary elections are held towards the end of April or in early May, we can take it for granted that the poll verdict will be fractured. None of the political parties will get a majority in the 545-member Lok Sabha, the lower house. This will naturally necessitate a coalition government which has been the order at the centre for the last 15 years or so. Unlike the last election when Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP’s Atal Behari Vajpayee emerged as the main candidates for the office of prime minister, this time there are many hats in the ring. Since both the leading parties, Congress and the BJP, although vociferous in their claim, have lost their sheen, regional parties, some transcending the states in which they operate, pose a serious challenge to the two. A television network survey shows that Congress may get 45 per cent of the votes if elections are held today. Rather an optimistic picture for the party. My hunch is that both Congress and the BJP will have to try hard to retain their present strength. Congress has 153 seats while the BJP has 130 in the present Lok Sabha. It appears that even the Left which has 59 members will lose 10 to 15 seats. Sensing disarray after the polls, the Left has begun approaching regional parties to rope them in for a third front, an arrangement which had been tried earlier but found wanting. A motley crowd that is assembled disperses at the very first onslaught by prowlers who tempt members with money or ministries in a new government. On the other hand, the main party which sustains the front pulls the rug from beneath its feet when it is found settling down. It is possible that the Left may not have any option other than backing Congress after the polls to stop the BJP from coming to power. However, the Communist Party’s secretary general Prakash Karat has said that under no circumstances would the Left support Congress. He is peeved by the Manmohan Singh government’s nuclear treaty with the US. The Left began the exer cise on the third front by projecting Mayawati, the Dalit chief minister of UP as prime minister. (UP is the biggest state in India, with 80 Lok Sabha seats). Her waywardness made the Left change its mind. But if she were to return with even 60 seats she would definitely be a kingmaker if not the king. Congress is joining hands with its old rival Mulayam Singh heading the Samajwadi Party (SP). It is a left-of-centre outfit which has a large following among the Muslims who constitute some 15 per cent of the electorate in UP as against 12 per cent in the country. Mulayam Singh has, however, run into a problem with the Muslims because of his alliance with Kalyan Singh who was the BJP chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished. The latter has owned moral responsibility. This has lessened the Muslims’ anger against the SP but not their alienation. Yet UP Muslims are Mulayam Singh’s need. He cannot expect to win many seats without them. He is trying to bring them around through the ulemas. Some Muslims leaders have left him, cutting his support base. Kalyan Singh’s defence that he wants revenge from the BJP, which has been its alma mater for decades, convinces only a few. One, he left the party earli er with the same determination but has returned to its fold. Two, the demolition of the Babri mosque is too big a crime to be condoned merely by expressing moral responsibility. After all, in his affidavit to the Justice Liberhan Commission, still preparing a report on the Babri mosque demolition, Kalyan Singh said that he was neither sorry nor repentant for the demolition. The BJP faces the biggest challenge. Practically all its allies which helped the party form the government under Atal Behari Vajpayee are having second thoughts. They miss the fatherly figure of Vajpayee who would pacify them to stay with him. Also, the new vigour for Hindutva has shaken them because they want to retain their secular credentials in line with India’s ethos. They do not want Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as number two as the BJP is projecting. Another worry that consumes the BJP is that the candidate it is selling for the prime minister’s post is L.K. Advani. He is old and outdated in contrast to the 38year-old Rahul Gandhi from Congress who wants to induct youth in his party. It is true that Rahul Gandhi has said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is his candidate. But the debate on the old and the young has begun throughout the country, rather fiercely. A nation with two-thirds of its population below 40 is beginning to feel the burden of the old men riding it. Whether the small parties of young people that have mushroomed in India make any impact is yet to be seen. But a process has begun — as in the coming together of NGOs on a platform called Lok Rajniti Manch. All such groups want to strengthen their democratic and secular base, apart from working for a welfare state. The voters may be impressed by caste or anti-terrorist sentiments. But their attention is getting to be more and more focused on economic problems. They are horrified to learn from a government-sponsored study that even after 60 years of independence 77 per cent of the population earns less than $1 per day and some 40 million go to bed without food. The financial meltdown has aggravated the situation, particularly when a large number of highly trained Indians from abroad are joining a big force of unemployed people in the country. The interim budget was criticised by all sections because it did not have even a single proposal to provide jobs. The coming polls may only throw up questions relating to employment and poverty. The political parties may still garner support in the name of caste or creed. But the awakening of the voters to the real problems has begun. Money still matters and a Lok Sabha seat on average demands an expenditure of Rs40m. But that is because the people in South Asia are extremely poor and wallow in irrational beliefs, sanctified by religion and cultural attitudes. The battle will be won not through force but through peacefully projected ideas. The pace of such a change depends on the sacrifices civil society is willing to make. The positive thing is that it has begun to assert itself. ¦ The writer is a leading journalist based in New Delhi. ********************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]The price of justice[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B][I][CENTER]What is most amazing at this stage is how critical segments of society, in order to sell an illusory peace, are willing to forget about hundreds of wasted innocent lives.[/CENTER][/I][/B] [B]By Ayesha Siddiqa 27/02/2009 [/B] EVERYONE wants justice in Pakistan including the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the lawyers, Mukhtaran Mai and ordinary people. However, the only group that eventually got the government to agree to implement a system of justice they wanted — and popularly called the nizam-i-adl — is the Swati Taliban. So, the moral of our story is that justice will be granted to the most brutal bidder. The rule of thumb now is that political space will only be created with the help of guns. We might also see Islamabad concede to the demands of the Baloch nationalists, especially the Baloch Liberation Army. The timing of the peace agreement is interesting as it came right before Islamabad’s crackdown on its political rivals in Punjab. It was almost as if one front had to be silenced so that the other could be activated. The Swat peace deal is being rationalised on the basis that this is what the people in Swat want. No doubt, the people of Swat want peace. It is not easy to survive the onslaught of the Taliban or the bombardment by military forces. However, it is interesting that the government seems to lump the innocent Swati people’s demand for peace with a desire for the new legal system that was once demanded by Sufi Mohammad and now by Fazlullah. The people of Swat would be equally happy and satisfied with an arrangement where the government tried to implement its writ without making deals with murderers. This is not a popularity contest in Swat as some sections of the media would have us believe. People are bound to accept a legal system negotiated by those who use violence as a tool when the government is absent and unable to impose its writ on everyone. Forget about the political government, even the military is not willing to challenge this violent group. Reportedly, instead of jamming Fazlullah’s radio the army now has plans to start a counter programme. This means that they will allow Maulana Radio the space to air his views and just try to challenge his ideas, which, in turn, means legitimising his propaganda. Again, it is not odd for people to want a system of justice that can be delivered in the minimum time and at the minimum cost. But then, the demand for the Sharia and timely and cost-effective justice are two separate things. It is no secret that people all over the country want improvement in the judicial system that has completely collapsed due to official intervention and rampant corruption in the judiciary. The problem of affordable justice not being found across the length and breadth of Pakistan exists not because of the specific type of law but due to the fact that the more powerful and affluent do not allow institutions to function. Why should one expect that it would begin to work in Swat just because of an agreement between the Swati jihadis and the provincial government? If the same judges become qazis, as the provincial chief minister would have us believe, then what would stop them from extorting money from ordinary people? There will possibly be greater extortion because now people would pay to avoid their hands or heads being chopped off. And what about Fazlullah and his men who have spilt a lot of innocent blood? Will the system of justice apply to them as well? Maybe not because Fazlullah did not get into an agreement to be tried and hanged by a court of law. And we can’t forget that the one force that would ensure that the qazis work and deliver justice is Fazlullah who would see to it that any qazi who deviating from his duty was killed the same way as journalist Musa Khankhel. Interestingly, the NWFP chief minister tells us that de-weaponisation by the Fazlullah gang is a minor procedural issue which will be resolved after peace is restored and life returns to normalcy in Swat. No details are offered about the agreement not even on the issue of who will define the Sharia and make sure that it is implemented in letter and spirit. What credibility do we attach to the guarantors who would have to ensure that the agreement works and does not collapse? Is Sufi Mohammad, a man who led thousands of innocent young men to their death in Afghanistan during the 1990s, credible in this regard? Some have suggested that the answer lies in limiting the jihadis to enclaves and slowly implementing the writ of the state, firstly through the system of qazi courts and then by bringing in police stations and other law and order agencies to carry out the sentences of these courts. But then we are assuming that Fazlullah and his gang will have nothing to do with defining the system of governance. Sufi Mohammad has already stated that he considers democracy to be anti-Islam and Fazlullah has said that peace will only depend on the army withdrawing from Swat. Those who support the above strategy might have been inspired by the results in Sri Lanka where the once powerful LTTE has finally been cornered and almost eliminated. But the success of the Sri Lankan government and the military’s strategy have depended on a combination of factors such as the flaws in LTTE’s planning, a consensus within all segments of government that the LTTE has to be suppressed and the building of a sound strategy that has ensured inter-services coordination amongst the three services of the armed forces. The primary flaw in the LTTE’s plans was the desire to mould political credibility through taking recourse in negotiations with the involvement of the international community rather than just depending on the use of force. So, there were many occasions when it had to scale down its attacks on Colombo. Unfortunately, Fazlullah has no such plans. He is certainly not amenable to international players and does not desire to transform his force into a political one unless his handlers want him to do so. Obviously, the other option is to let the proclaimed agreement drag on until the snows thaw and Fazlullah and his forces regroup for another long battle. What is most amazing at this stage, however, is how critical segments of society are willing to forget about hundreds of wasted innocent lives to sell an illusory peace. ¦ The writer is an independent strategic and political analyst. EMAIL [email]ayesha.ibd@gmail.com[/email] ********************************************************** [B][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A dangerous path[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/B] [B]By Cyril Almeida 27/02/2009[/B] IN politics, ultimately the law matters little. It should, but it doesn’t. Qualified yesterday, disqualified today; high official today, criminal yesterday — and tomorrow always another day, another possibility. That’s the ebb and flow of the life of a politician in Pakistan, and it’s as old as the stars and isn’t going to change. Or is it? Zardari’s bid to overrun Fortress Sharif in Punjab has many similarities to the past. You don’t become as dysfunctional a polity as ours having left many possibilities untried. Use the courts to disqualify an opponent? Check. Use a governor to impose Islamabad’s rule by proxy? Check. Use a temporary alliance with turncoats and freelance politicians to deny the largest party a seat at the table of power? Check. All done before, and all likely to be tried again. But the Zardari-Sharif version of the oldest game in town has added something new to the mix: political feuding on steroids. Having commandeered what was once a slow-motion train wreck, the two have sent it hurtling towards the end of the tracks with staggering speed. In the days to come, comparisons to the lost decade, the decade of democracy, will be rife. The old cycle of alternating PPP and PML governments is back, the pundits will say. But back then there was an incubation period for every crisis. Wheeling and dealing would lead to the formation of a government and it would stagger on for a bit, undone by its own ineptness and inability to govern, before being besieged by an opportunistic opposition. The minutiae of each iteration varied, but the basic unit of time against which such things were measured was the year. Zardari and Sharif changed that. Time is now measured in months. Trouble came in the very first month of the new setup. With the clock winding down on Zardari’s 30-day Bhurban promise to restore the court of CJ Iftikhar, détente was already in question. Two weeks after the deadline, it was over as Sharif withdrew from the cabinet and began the transition to the opposition. Ever since the trenches have been dug and change in Islamabad or Punjab has been the focus of political chatter. Until now the only thing that wasn’t clear was who would make the first move. Now we know. Zardari has swooped in on Punjab to save his government in Islamabad. The flabbergasted jiyalas and the Sherry Rehmans and Farhatullah Babars and Raza Rabbanis may publicly feign innocence and sputter at the suggestion that the Sharifs’ disqualification has Zardari’s fingerprints all over it, but you don’t have to be a jaded cynic to see through their fibs. In private the PPP will probably strike a more defiant tone. If we didn’t slay the Punjab government first, the Sharifs would have laid siege to our government in Islamabad, they will argue. That old canard: do unto others before they do unto you. Me or him — never an us. Having made the first move, the PPP has braced itself for the response. For now the Punjab tiger, the PML-N, will snarl and flash its teeth in Lahore and the province’s cities and towns. Eventually though it will strike in Islamabad. Valuable as Punjab is, it is ultimately only a means to an end, national power. Zardari’s and Sharif’s egos are too big to be contained in a mere province. The upending of the Punjab government is the opening salvo of a national fight; Punjab is where the fight has begun for the simple reason that the road to Islamabad leads through it. But here’s where it gets tricky. Bad as the ’90s were, there is another, forgotten, patch in Pakistani history that was worse: the early- and mid-1950s. We had seven prime ministers in the seven years between 1951 and 1958. In that crucible of turmoil were forged the issues that still haunt us today: a pliant judiciary, an overreaching executive, the security state trumping the development ideal and vicious political feuds. All topped off with our first military dictator, of course. So, more than the fear of a return to the instability of the ’90s and the void of another lost decade, the real worry should be that an era of politics on steroids will catapult us into dark places that we never knew existed. The rapid turnover in the ’50s produced the definitive problems of not just that generation but every generation since. And 50 years on, we’re not any closer to solving any of them. But a system, if it can be called that, had evolved and there were safety valves, army intervention being the most obvious. When the politicians had mucked around enough and lost popular support, the army would step in — and keep the system going long enough until the shoe was on the other foot and it was the army that was the subject of the public’s ire. Soon, however, that luxury of alternating popular support may no longer be available. The army has copped the standard blows in the wake of yet another ill-advised takeover but faces an additional problem: in waging a deeply unpopular war against militants, it has bombed its own territory and killed its own people. There is genuine and deep anger against it. The politicians are never any one’s favourite but the public’s rancour will escalate as the Zardari-Sharif fight unfolds in the weeks and months ahead. For now Zardari is the bad guy, seeing that he is the one who has broken his promises repeatedly, used questionable legal tactics and generally held the bag for governance missteps. But Sharif, the wounded interlocutor, will eventually be forced to step out from behind his principled façade. He is a veteran of old fashioned knock-down-dragout fights for power and isn’t in the game to come second. His meteoric ratings will collapse when he crawls into the mud and makes his bid for power. Given the trajectory that Zardari and Sharif are on, that will happen sooner than later. The frightening question is, what then? A discredited army, discredited politicians, all in quick order, at the same time, with the barbarians at the gate. This isn’t the ’50s or the ’90s. Pakistan is fighting for its survival against militancy. The sweep through the north is a reality. The sweep through southern Punjab may already have started. Even if we stay blind to the threat, on our western border are amassed American troops who have identified us as ground zero in the fight against militancy. Domestic upheaval even at the best of times is deeply damaging to Pakistan. But the unique combination of all major players simultaneously discredited while an exogenous threat to the state gathers, that is a scenario that can have catastrophic consequences for the state as we know it. If they must, let the politicians feud. But they should think about the speed at which they are doing so. Otherwise, compared to what may lie ahead, the troubles of the ’90s, and even the ’50s, may appear like a breezy walk in the park. ¦ EMAIL [email]cyril.a@gmail.com[/email] |
[RIGHT][B]Saturday, 28 Feb, 2009[/B][/RIGHT]
[CENTER][B][U][SIZE=4]Democracy derailed [/SIZE][/U][/B] By Dr Tariq Rahman [/CENTER] PUNJAB is up in flames in the wake of the court decision that the Sharif brothers were not eligible to contest elections or hold public office. This is not surprising. The PML-N had won a popular mandate in the province and there was a general view that Shahbaz Sharif had provided good governance in his year-long rule. What is incomprehensible is why the PPP decision-makers failed to realise that a strong public reaction is to be expected if an elected, popular government is removed and governor’s rule is imposed in its place. This is a major development that threatens to derail democracy in this country. The other decision which threatens democracy is the peace the ANP has made with Sufi Mohammad in Swat. In principle, of course, negotiation and peace are always better than the use of military force. Unfortunately, whenever attempts at making peace were initiated earlier, they made the Taliban stronger and the common people suffered from their domination and barbaric practices. Even this time, according to newspaper reports, military vehicles will move in Swat with the prior permission of the Taliban. If this is true — and I hope it is not — the common people would be left to the mercy of the Taliban. This is not peace; it is the death of democracy in Swat. It is, indeed, the extinction of the hope of democracy and human rights in that unfortunate piece of land. But going back to the derailment of democracy in the whole country, let us consider the fallout of the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab and the ouster of the Sharif brothers. Three scenarios come to the mind. First, the people will be cowed after a few days of anger and an uneasy peace will prevail. The PML-Q and the PPP will form a government in Punjab and the PPP will complete its tenure. However, when elections are held and these are fair it will be voted out and will no longer remain a strong national party. This will be very unfortunate since the PPP is still seen as the best choice for liberals and religious minorities in this country. Other parties, including the PML-N, tend to encourage jingoistic nationalism and also pander to religious prejudices. Both attitudes, if taken to extremes, are inimical to peace, human rights and the spirit of democracy. The second scenario is that the agitation will continue. The lawyers’ movement will also strengthen it and, after much police brutality and bloodshed, the PPP government will have to agree to hold mid-term elections. In this case even if the PPP loses votes the process of democracy will be strengthened and the PPP will gain some credit for having allowed elections. However, the longer the period of agitation the fewer the PPP’s chances of winning elections in Punjab. Moreover, the economy will suffer and the enemies of democracy will get a chance to point out that democracy does not work in the country. The third scenario is that the agitation will be so strong or so lengthy that the army will step in. If this happens the process of democracy will be disrupted once again. That would be the worst possible thing to happen and will weaken liberal and democratic forces in the country more than anything else. In short, we will be back to square one as we have been several times in the past. Besides, there are other possibilities also. For instance, there may be a revolt within the PPP resulting in pro- and anti-Zardari factions, new combinations of political actors may emerge, and so on. However, the chances of all this happening are few, But they could also lead to the weakening of the PPP, mid-term elections or even a new dictatorship. In short, what we are witnessing is a shattering of our dreams of only one year ago. What we had expected was that the judges would be restored with Iftikhar Chaudhry as the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the PML-N and PPP would rule the country jointly for five years and people would truly start believing that democracy can function in the country. The sceptics assure us that if Iftikhar Chaudhry had been restored he would have abolished the NRO and that would have meant the end of Mr Zardari’s career. First, this is by no means certain. It is possible that he would not have touched Mr Zardari in any way. Secondly, if he had been restored after Mr Zardari became the president there would be no problem as Mr Zardari would have enjoyed presidential immunity. And, above all, if Mr Zardari had done all the right things he would have been so popular that he would have had an assured future in any future political set-up even if he had to leave this one. As it is, Mr Zardari seems to have taken steps which will prob ably harm him in the long run. Moreover, he is seen as the architect of a script which has caused widespread disappointment in the new dispensation. The judges illegally removed by Musharraf still remain where they have been for so many months. The functionaries appointed by Musharraf are still functioning. The off-and-on relationship with the Taliban still remains. People still tell us that the armed forces either cannot or will not destroy the Taliban. Investment is still down and young people have little hope of finding good jobs. Bombs still explode in our midst. The system remains the same; only the faces have changed. Democracy has been derailed — but was it even on the rails? [CENTER]------------------------[/CENTER] [CENTER][B][U][SIZE=3][SIZE=4]Kashmir dispute today[/SIZE] [/SIZE][/U][/B] By A. G. Noorani[/CENTER] SOME Indians and Pakistanis behave like stragglers running around in the forests as if the Second World War had not ended. Indians foam at the mouth if “the UN resolutions” are mentioned or if any one uses the D-word for the Kashmir dispute. Pakistanis harp on those resolutions, clamour for settlement of the dispute, and seek foreign mediation. Both are pitiably outdated. It can be said with slight exaggeration that Kashmir is all but settled. Were it not for the blasts in Mumbai’s trains in 2006, the prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, might have arrived in Islamabad to give a fillip to the process, if not, indeed, tie up the loose ends with President Pervez Musharraf. He might have come to Pakistan in mid-2007 were it not for the crisis in Pakistan’s judiciary that erupted in March that year. President Musharraf uttered a crie de coeur in an interview to Aaj on May 18, 2007. “First, let us resolve the situation here, the internal issue, so that we can focus on Kashmir properly.” He revealed that it was a “fairly fair” assumption that the broad outlines of a solution to the Kashmir issue had been worked out between the two countries. “We have made progress on the Kashmir dispute, but we have yet to reach a conclusion.” His foreign minister Mr Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri confirmed this in New Delhi. A settlement requires concessions on both sides the president said: “And when both give up, then in both countries there is opposition and a hue and cry. Every body says develop a consensus. Arrey bhai, how to develop a consensus?” He further revealed that the solution was “moving forward on the same lines that I’ve proposed — along the lines of demilitarisation, self-governance and joint mechanism”. That is the status of the Kashmir dispute today. The formulations and slogans of old have become irrelevant. The president and the prime minister’s public pronouncements converged. The back-channel, comprising Messrs Tariq Aziz and Satindra Lambah, filled in the details. We should be proud of this achievement. We owe nothing at all to the reports produced in the United States; though some of their authors, endowed more with vanity than competence would detect the stamp of their genius on any accord. On Dec 25, 2003, President Musharraf “left that [UN Resolutions] aside”. In New Delhi on April 18, 2005, he said “the LoC cannot be permanent. Borders must be made irrelevant and boundaries cannot be altered. Take the three together and now discuss the solution”. On May 20, 2005: “Self-government must be allowed to the people of Kashmir” and “we do understand India’s sensitivity over their secular credentials”. So, “it cannot be, may be, on a religious basis”. On June 14, 2005: “Autonomous Kashmir is my earnest desire, but its complete independence will not be acceptable to both India and Pakistan.” Thus, both, plebiscite and independence are ruled out. What of the LoC? On Oct 21, 2005, he suggested: “Let’s make the LoC irrelevant. Let’s open it out.” On Jan 8, 2006 he amplified that the quantum of self-governance will be defined by both sides. He stipulated demilitarisation of Kashmir. Lastly, he said: “Joint management would be a solution which we need to go into. There have to be subjects which are devolved, there have to be some subjects retained for the joint management.” On Dec 4, 2006, he indicated clearly that it was not territory that Pakistan was after; Pakistan was “prepared to give up its claim” to Kashmir provided the four-point formula he set out precisely in his memoir Line of Fire was accepted — define the regions; demilitarise them; introduce “self-governance or self-rule”, and “a joint management mechanism” comprising Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris. On March 24, 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said “borders cannot be redrawn but we can work towards making them irrelevant — towards making them just lines on a map”. He was prepared for “institutional arrangements” between both parts of Kashmir. It would be foolish and wantonly destructive to throw out the baby of this achievement with the bath-water of partisanship. Fifty years ago, on Feb 10, 1958, Prime Minister Firoz Khan Noon met the US envoy to the UN, Henry Cabot Lodge, in Karachi. Ambassador James M. Langley recorded: “Noon made no mention of a plebiscite and it seemed to me that he was clearly thinking of a compromise which would provide for a territorial division between India and Pakistan.” By then plebiscite was dead. Nehru offered an accord on the basis of the ceasefire line to Liaquat Ali Khan in London on Oct 27, 1948; to Ghulam Mohammed on Feb 27, 1955; to Mohammed Ali Bogra at the Delhi summit on May 14, 1955; at a public meeting in New Delhi on April 13, 1956; and to Ayub Khan at Murree on Sept 21, 1960. In 1963, Z.A. Bhutto and Swaran Singh parleyed on various partition lines. President Ayub Khan was prepared to drop plebiscite if India offered a good alternative. In a speech at Lahore on March 23, 1962, he said that if plebiscite “was not the best solution” for Kashmir “then let us have another solution satisfactory to all”. This is what the four-point formula accomplishes. It assures Kashmir’s de facto reunification and self-rule to both its parts. It gives Pakistan a say in the state through the joint mechanism while ruling out a plebiscite. Both countries will make significant concessions. Never before had the Kashmir dispute reached so closely the outskirts of an accord as it has now. What is required of all is a constructive critique of the details to improve the scheme. This is an accord which India’s leader can sell to the people from the Red Fort in Delhi; Pakistan’s leader from the Mochi Gate in Lahore; and Kashmir’s leader from the Lal Chowk in Srinagar. |
Swat’s uneasy truce
[B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="darkgreen"]Swat’s uneasy truce[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B]
[B]By Mushfiq Murshed March 02 , 2009 [/B] THE uneasy calm that prevails in Swat as a consequence of the controversial agreement between the NWFP government and the militants through the leader of the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM), Maulana Sufi Muhammad, is accident prone and could prove to be short-lived. This was demonstrated by the cold-blooded murder of journalist Musa Khankhel and the abduction of the Swat DCO. The latter was released shortly afterwards reportedly in exchange for some militants in government custody. The accord envisages the restoration of the qazi courts and the imposition of Sharia. This precarious truce is based on logic bordering on absurdity. A democratically elected government has entered into an agreement whereby the writ of the state is being virtually handed over to a group of clerics who believe that democracy itself is un-Islamic. Sufi Muhammad is reported to have said, “From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections.” Further, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah has to be brought on board if this accord has any chance of survival. The Sharia would, therefore, be imposed by the TNSM and TTP whose skewed interpretation of Islamic laws is well known. They have already relegated women to a pariah status, disallowed girls from attending school and consider dissent an intolerable crime punishable by death. The acceptance by Swat residents to live under totalitarian rule and their willingness to sacrifice fundamental human rights should not be considered as the triumph of extremist ideology but a lack of faith in the state to protect them against this menace. Apparently, the truce, for whatever it is worth, has been negotiated through the wrong person. Maulana Sufi is a mere figurehead and actual power vests in his firebrand son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah. It is unlikely that Fazlullah will agree to surrender his weapons without which any agreement is meaningless. Furthermore, it has been reported that he is demanding amnesty for the death and devastation that he and his followers have inflicted on Swat. Once again, whatever the logic behind this deal, the NWFP government has negotiated it from a position of weakness and is, therefore, being perceived as having capitulated to militant forces. To all appearances, the former has abandoned its responsibilities and has become a passive bystander as the militants decide on how they will enforce their warped interpretation of Islamic law. The experience of Pakistan in recent times has been that the appeasement of extremists does not pay. A case in point is the Lal Masjid episode of July 2007 where the government turned a blind eye to the accumulation of a huge arsenal by the clerics of the mosque. Had preventive measures been taken earlier, the ensuing bloodbath could have been avoided. Furthermore, such appeasement only gives confidence to the militants that they can perpetrate acts of terrorist violence with impunity in any part of the country. The ANP-led government in the NWFP seems to believe that the accord it has negotiated with Sufi Muhammad will result in sustainable peace and stability. The latter’s statement that a Taliban-style dispensation will be replicated in other Muslim countries belies the assumption of the Pakistan government that the cleric and his cohorts will be content with the imposition of Sharia in Swat alone. The cancer of terrorism in the guise of religion is likely to spread as is evident from the recent blasts in Dera Ismail Khan and other similar incidents. Previous deals with the militants in the tribal areas were also acclaimed with similar optimism but had disastrous consequences. In each instance, the hiatus in military operations provided an opportunity to the terrorists to regroup, reorganise and replenish their supplies. The peace accords thus proved fragile and were violated by the Taliban. This seems to have been brushed under the rug by the NWFP government whose “indecent haste” to conclude the agreement with Sufi Muhammad was motivated by fear as well as its inability to stop the carnage in Swat. World opinion on this agreement is also divided. Some subscribe to the point of view held by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that the peace accord can lead to eventual stabilisation and, therefore, could be worthy of emulation by the Afghan government. Others believe, as does the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, that the agreement is tantamount to the capitulation of the state and can only further embolden the militants. Howsoever this truce is analysed is inconsequential; what matters is that the people of Swat have virtually been coerced into accepting the Taliban interpretation of Islamic doctrine. To date the Swat insurgency has displaced approximately 50 per cent of its 1.8 million residents. They are now being asked to return to their homes on the questionable assumption of the NWFP government that lasting peace has been restored in the valley. The actual beneficiaries of the accord are the militants who have consolidated themselves in yet another area of Pakistan. The writer is editor-in-chief of Criterion Quarterly. [email]mushfiq.murshed@gmail.com[/email] ******************************************************************************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Currency chaos[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]By Hamish McRae Monday, 02 Mar, 2009[/B] WHEN western Europe sneezes, eastern Europe catches a cold, to borrow from Prince Metternich’s observation about the importance of Paris in the middle of the 19th century. Well, it certainly has now. The situation varies from country to country but just about everywhere is in recession. Currencies have collapsed and as a rule-of-thumb, the further east, the more serious the pressure. The Russian rouble has suffered the most — yes, it is not in the EU but its economy still has a big impact on the Baltic states and to a lesser extent, Romania and Bulgaria. Latvia and Lithuania (which peg to the euro) are thought to be in danger of devaluing their currencies, while the economies of Romania and Bulgaria seem set to decline by up to five per cent this year. And let’s not talk about Ukraine. In central Europe, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic should be better placed — their economies are more closely integrated with western Europe and they still have a cost advantage. But all three are dependent on car assembly, the hardest-hit industry. As a result the Polish zloty has fallen by 10 per cent and there is talk of putting up interest rates — something the government is loath to do — to support the currency. In the Czech Republic, industrial production is down by more than 15 per cent and unemployment is set to reach 10 per cent, the highest for a decade. In Hungary the numbers are just as bad but there is also the problem that many loans are denominated in euros — their real burden has risen as the currency has collapsed, falling by 30 per cent over the past eight months. Slovakia, which has adopted the euro, might seem insulated a bit but it has faced a similar slowdown as industrial production falls and unemployment nudges towards 10 per cent. Tax revenues are down 40 per cent, year on year. So it is a mega-mess. The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank have announced a rescue package worth £21.7bn for the banking sector in central and eastern Europe. More country-by-country assistance for the economies as a whole may not be far behind. The IMF will be in the driving seat for countries that have not adopted the euro and the EU will probably assume responsibility for Slovenia and Slovakia. The IMF has a model to follow; this is what the organisation is for — to support countries in financial trouble. For the EU, this is a new experience. It already makes considerable transfers of funds to these countries but these are part of its normal procedures. There is no ready rescue plan. Should other EU taxpayers stump up and if so, in which countries? But the EU cannot cut loose its new member states for a powerful practical reason: many continental banks have made large loans to them, either directly or through local banks. Any threat to the stability of those banks is a threat to western Europe’s banks too. At a cost, and with great pain in eastern Europe, the finances can be patched up. What is not clear is what this does to the EU as an entity. Obviously it makes further enlargement an even more distant prospect but it will also not lead to countries leaving the EU. The impact on the euro is unpredictable: should those countries that are not yet members of the eurozone speed up plans to join, or does the chaos put this back another decade? One thing is sure. The EU club had not envisaged a crisis on anything like this scale when the new members lined up to join it. — © The Independent ******************************************************************************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="darkgreen"]Environmental responsibility[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]By Dr Tariq Hassan Monday, 02 Mar, 2009[/B] CLIMATE change is an inconvenient truth that we can no longer afford to ignore. It is causing widespread damage globally with an extensive impact on the environment. Environmental damage is being inflicted through greenhouse gases and the consequent depletion of the ozone layer. The resultant increase in ultraviolet radiation has added to the risk of global warming and contributed to the adverse socio-economic effects of climate change. Increase in the average global temperature of the earth and constant climatic variations are affecting human settlements and economies in Asia. Areas in South Asia, where large populations live in low-lying coastal areas or adjacent to river deltas, are vulnerable to a rise in the sea level and associated backwater flooding. Even in other areas, rising global temperatures are causing significant changes in crop yields affecting low-income rural populations that depend on traditional agricultural systems. Pakistan is among the top 20 countries in the world that will be affected by climate change. Its status as a developing country, dependent mainly on agriculture, makes it particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. Agricultural productivity in Pakistan is being affected by the changes in both land and water resources. Dry land areas in arid and semi-arid regions are most vulnerable and are putting the country’s food security at risk. Climate change does not only affect agriculture and water regimes. It also affects urban centres, industry and human health. Urban centres and industry in Pakistan depend on hydropower for cheap electricity due to the non-availability of sufficient quantities of indigenous oil, gas or fossil fuels in the country. Therefore, depleting water resources are also putting the country’s energy security at risk with all its attendant consequences. These obvious threats notwithstanding, the issue of climate change, even though considered to be important, has not generated an urgent reaction in Pakistan. The reason is lack of awareness among the public and low priority given to environmental issues by the government. However, it appears that the government has started to communicate internationally on the subject and is keen to adhere to international legal instruments regarding climate change. Pakistan is a party to both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol. It is therefore required to enact effective environmental legislation. As a result, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act was promulgated in 1997. This enactment empowers the government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the act and for implementing the provisions of various international environmental agreements specified therein, including the climate convention. As part of its environmental commitments, the government has also laid down various environmental regulations and standards. Furthermore, the government has taken major policy initiatives in the environment sector such as the enactment of a National Conservation Strategy in 1992 and the finalisation of a National Environmental Action Plan in 2001. Both the NCS and NEAP have indirect relevance to climate change issues. The NCS advocates conservation-based development. It envisages various training policies and measures. Government training policies and measures provide an opportunity for academic and training institutions to fulfil their social responsibility to enhance public awareness and provide education to the concerned policymakers. In addition to the government and academia, the largest share of responsibility for climate change mitigation falls on the corporate sector. It has, therefore, been recommended that the corporate and business sector should be mobilised to finance the transition to a low-carbon economy. The concept of corporate social responsibility can be used to promote the transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy. Businesses need to have a common vision centred on ‘enlightened self-interest’, a policy where companies would serve community-specific needs and safeguard the environment knowing that such actions generate greater well-being among existing as well as potential customers, and as a direct consequence generate greater business opportunities. It has been indicated that the energy sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Pakistan but that it is also the sector which is believed to have the greatest potential for devising solutions. Pakistan has vast potential for renewable energy development; three provinces of Pakistan — Balochistan, Sindh and the NWFP — provide vast untapped resources for hydropower, wind and solar energy. These sectors represent an added opportunity for the corporate sector to undertake viable investments that will also assist Pakistan in utilising its cleaner forms of energy. Management of climate change-related risks mostly involves measures to save energy. To the extent that these measures provide substantial energy cost savings, companies may find these to be good business practices and hence be drawn willingly into action against climate change.The climate convention has laid down the theory of “differentiated responsibilities” for the purpose of observing the principles and fulfilling the commitments thereunder. Article 3(1) thereof provides: “The Parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Accordingly, the de veloped country Parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof.” The theory is based on the recognition of differences in capabilities and socio-economic conditions between developed and developing countries. It has been noted that: (i) the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases has originated in developed countries; (ii) per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low; and (iii) the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs. These differences prevail in the context of different state actors in developing countries as well. Corporate bodies are by far the most capable and developed entities in developing countries. Furthermore, being the biggest energy consumers, they have the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Consequently, they should bear the larger share of the commitment to preserve the climate within national boundaries. Within the corporate set-up, foreign companies in developing countries form the higher echelon of the corporate sector and should voluntarily aim to apply higher environmental standards prevalent in their home countries in order to set an example for others to follow. The writer, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, is a lawyer based in Islamabad. [email]tariq@post.harvard.edu[/email] ******************************************************************************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Balochistan: a broken promise?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]By Malik Siraj Akbar Monday, 02 Mar, 2009[/B] PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar’s article in these pages, in response to one by former senator Sanaullah Baloch, cleverly skirted the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and missing persons in the country’s largest province of Balochistan. It is, in fact, these two unresolved issues that have plagued the PPP-led process of reconciliation in the conflict-ridden province. The PPP came to power for the first time in the history of Balochistan after the Feb 2008 polls. The ruling party’s pledge to end the insurgency, restore trust amongst the Baloch and ensure a permanent settlement of the Baloch dispute was heavily hinged on drastic constitutional and institutional changes. The party, despite all its promises, never opted for generous constitutional amendments that could restore the confidence of the Baloch people in Islamabad’s commitment to their cause. A handful of measures taken to demonstrate that the so-called process of reconciliation was being initiated were, in fact, individual-specific. Besides Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Shahzain Bugti, a grandson of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, no commoner among the hundreds of ‘missing persons’ has been released to date. The government has not even acknowledged the case of the missing persons and this compelled a relatively new organisation, the Baloch Liberation United Front, to abduct John Solecki, head of the UN refugee agency in Quetta on Feb 2. The question is, was the PPP government waiting for such an ugly development — the kidnapping of a foreign aid worker — to raise the issue of Balochistan’s missing people? If it is not resolved immediately, can we actually afford another disgraceful incident in the future? Are such incidents what it would take to highlight the plight of the ‘disappeared’? Worse still, Rehman Malik, the advisor on interior affairs, brazenly ridiculed the Baloch list of missing persons by billing it ‘unrealistic’ and ‘exaggerated’. Similarly, Baloch nationalist demands include de-militarisation of the province; they have called upon the government to withdraw troops from Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts that stand ravaged by the military operation carried out during the Musharraf regime. A year after the general elections, neither has the army been pulled out from the conflict zones as a confidence-building measure (CBM) nor has the media been allowed access to witness and record the extent of excruciating damage caused to human life, property and livelihoods Jamil and Talal Akbar Bugti, sons of the late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, are not permitted to enter their native soil of Dera Bugti to offer fateha at the grave of their slain father — an undoubtedly inhuman and undemocratic act. How can Bugti’s sons and tribesmen believe that democracy has truly returned to Balochistan when they live under such cruel restrictions? The members of the opponent Bugti clans have been pitted against Akbar Bugti’s heirs who have no access to their land and other property. The personal library of the slain nawab, once believed to be one of the best collections in the region, is reported to have been looted by none other than big guns in the security forces. Similarly, the PPP government, which clearly lacks the spunk to bypass the security and intelligence agencies, has failed to intervene in the existing humanitarian crisis in Dera Bugti and Kohlu. The five-year long armed conflict in the area has created over 100,000 internal displaced persons; hailing mainly from the Marri and Bugti tribes, IDPs have been forced to take refuge in neighbouring Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts of Balochistan and are in desperate need of medical assistance, rehabilitation and economic incentives. On the other hand, for over two years, security forces — the actual rulers of the area — have kept governmental and non-governmental organisations from not only conducting surveys in the area, but also from dispatching any form of aid to IDPs. How can the Baloch have faith in the PPP-led process of reconciliation when policies initiated by Pervez Musharraf persist? The process of reconciliation can only begin when IDPs receive medical care, food and a promise of a gradual return to their homes. Furthermore, instead of ending the cycle of enforced disappearances, the state secret services have, under the PPP administration, allegedly begun whisking away political opponents all over again. Currently, no one knows the whereabouts of Dr Bashir Azeem, the central secretary general of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), Jalil Rekhi, the party’s information secretary and another central leader of the opposition, Chakar Qambarani. Even a university student, Qambar Malik Baloch, was recently said to have been abducted by government functionaries. Islamabad can no longer afford to oversimplify or underestimate the Baloch issue. It is time the centre treated the province in a dignified manner — empowered it politically, administratively and, most importantly, economically. It is crystal clear that the unrest and sense of deprivation in the province cannot be eliminated until Islamabad concedes to its demand of complete constitutional ownership of indigenous natural resources. Therefore, the PPP government should seriously induct drastic constitutional reforms before the Balochistan conundrum spirals out of control. A powerless and deprived province poses a greater risk to the integrity of the federation of Pakistan. Democratic governments are expected to confront daunting challenges. If the PPP can defend its recent truce with Islamic extremists in Swat, then, as was rightly argued by Sanaullah Baloch, why can it not come up with a similar bold initiative that guarantees economic and political sovereignty for Balochistan? The writer is a journalist based in Quetta. ******************************************************************************************************************** [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - North American Press Skipping Africa in aid[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] [B]Monday, 02 Mar, 2009[/B] CANADA doesn’t spend that much on foreign aid: $4.8bn this year. That’s roughly 0.3 per cent of our economic output, well below the 0.45 per cent target the Conservatives themselves set in 2006. Within the G7, we were last in 2007 in absolute donor dollars and just middling in relative terms. Given this modest spending, Prime Minister Stephen Harper can’t be faulted for focusing on fewer countries, to have more impact. Canada’s new tilt is toward the Americas, and away from Africa. Colombia will get more aid, as will Peru, Haiti, Bolivia, Honduras and the Caribbean. In Asia, we will focus on Afghanistan, but also on Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, key Muslim states, plus Vietnam. They were all in the top 20 five years ago. Still, we will pump more help into a region where the US and its allies are struggling to curb Islamic extremism. Finally, we’ll channel more aid to the Palestinians, also in the old top 20. US policy explicitly aims to give them more of a stake in peace. This shift, while significant, is not seismic. Of the top 20, 13 were on the old list. Still, the Conservatives risk being criticised for adopting a Made-Toronto Star in-the-USA approach to aid that reflects Bush-era thinking, especially with respect to Africa, where poverty is far greater, by dropping places like Cameroon, Zambia and Congo from the top 20. As well, the Conservatives should look for ways to boost funding to multilateral agencies and projects that help Africa. Tending to Canada’s backyard is important. But we should not ignore Africa, where the poorest of the poor still need our help. — (Feb 27) |
Rights and foreign policy
[B][U]Rights and foreign policy [/U][/B]
Monday, 02 Mar, 2009 Demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Embassy for the release from the U.S. Prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.— Reuters/File Photo In an annual exercise since 1977, the US State Department issues its international human rights report at the beginning of the year. Describing the “promotion of human rights” as being essential to American foreign policy, Hillary Clinton promised last week to seek to live up to ‘our ideals on American soil’. Had the secretary of state focused more attention on America’s own record, the report may not have provoked Russia, China and others to react strongly. For one cannot but agree with the Russians that the US State Department adopts double standards in evaluating the human rights records of it allies and its foes. Besides, America is known to have itself resorted to human rights abuses in many instances — Guantanamo comes readily to mind — and it has not been very mindful of upholding the rights of citizens of other countries. At times, other governments violate human rights at America’s prodding or under its approving eye. Had this not been the case, few would be questioning America’s espousal of timeless values which ‘empower people to speak, think, worship and assemble freely’. While America’s motives in this annual exercise may cause eyebrows to be raised, one cannot deny that many human rights violations have been correctly identified. Our own rights activists have been at great pains to highlight cases of abuse and to pursue them relentlessly. Many human rights violations stem from the failure of democracy to take root in a country. Thus an authoritarian ruler tramples on the rights of citizens whenever he feels threatened. That would explain why the US report gives Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal a good mark on this score as democracy made a comeback in these countries last year. But we in Pakistan have learnt from our own experience that often democracy does not ensure respect for human rights until the tradition of political tolerance, observance of democratic conventions and the rule of law take root in society. What we have seen thus far is economic and social rights being blatantly abused in underdeveloped and poverty-stricken societies where no political or legal redress is available to average citizens and where privileged classes are in a position to grab power to suppress the weak. Worse still, cultural and social norms very often militate against the weaker sections of society. Nevertheless governments and citizens must continue to work for human rights since they are an integral part of human development. [COLOR="White"]...[/COLOR] |
[B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Exorbitant school fees[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B]
[B]Tuesday, 03 Mar, 2009[/B] IT is doubtful that the warning issued by the directorate of private educational institutions to schools not to charge exorbitant admission fees will bring any relief to parents who are being fleeced. The fact is that the government has failed to exercise any effective check on the private educational institutions that have proliferated in Sindh in the last few decades. Although many of them are providing reasonably good education to children — and this has been acknowledged by the authorities themselves — their charges have been high and not always affordable for the class they cater for. School managements take the plea that inflation has meant a heavy toll and they can meet the spiralling costs only by charging higher fees. Of course they have a point there, but without an audit of the school accounts one cannot determine the degree of commercialisation that has also crept in. The real need is to tighten the mechanism for the regulation of private schools if they are to be an integral part of our educational system and parents — as well as teachers — are not to be exploited in the name of good education. If the government wants the private sector to share its responsibility of educating children in Pakistan it cannot allow schools to operate in an unregulated manner in a sellers’ market. But, can one expect the education, department, which is ultimately setting the policy and acting as the regulator, to claim the moral high ground in checking the wrongdoings of the private sector? The public school system under its own control is in a shambles. When challenged, the private school operators’ retort is that the government would do well to first put its own house in order. There have also been complaints that ‘regulation’ is in effect another name for harassment and an opportunity to demand the greasing of palms. With this stance of the private school management, it is not surprising — though unjustified — that of the 8,000-plus private schools in Karachi quite a number are not registered with the directorate at all. Technically, the directorate finds it difficult to regulate them as many of them have gone into litigation, while others being well connected resort to political pressure to escape the long arm of the law. How these are to be brought into the net is a wider question and the school fee problem is basically linked to these issues. ********************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Mobile courts[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]Tuesday, 03 Mar, 2009[/B] WITH the creation of mobile courts through a presidential ordinance, President Zardari has within a week committed two acts that eschew good governance for what appear to be short-term political ends. Last week, the president rocked the political landscape by imposing governor’s rule in Punjab. Ostensibly done to prevent a ‘constitutional vacuum’, that fig leaf has since fallen away with the PPP’s declaration that it will install its own government in Punjab. Now the president has decreed that mobile courts will dispense summary justice, ostensibly because he is “satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action”. What those circumstances are will be hotly debated. The president’s team will argue there is an urgent need to repair a broken system of justice. That may well be true, but the president’s detractors will ascribe a more sinister motive to him suddenly waking up to the cries of justice. The last time the land that constitutes present-day Pakistan had mobile courts was in 1919 when the British imposed martial law to quell riots in Lahore. In recent years, several ideas have been mooted to improve the delivery of justice to ordinary Pakistanis. The two most well-known suggestions are evening courts and small-claims courts. Nowhere in the debate has there been talk of mobile courts, which could in fact further undermine the law and order situation if defendants and court officers end up clashing over punishment handed down. The mobile-courts ordinance stipulates that the “district police officer shall provide police force and security” to the courts, but if they are in fact meant to operate in remote areas of Pakistan it is difficult to see how such security can be adequately ensured. However, while in and of itself a mobile court raises many questions, the real focus will be on the stealthy manner and timing of the legislation. Presidential ordinances must be used sparingly and certainly not for tweaking the judicial system of the country. That ought to be the remit of the assemblies, where, ideally, elected representatives should debate such changes comprehensively and then present a bill that passes muster with a majority of members. Anything else reeks of ad hocism and authoritarianism. As regards the timing, opponents of mobile courts will undoubtedly cry foul — and with good reason. The biggest visible threat to the federal government in the near future is the long march for the restoration of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Mobile courts could be used to break up the marchers well before they converge on Islamabad. It remains to be seen if that happens. At the very least though President Zardari should reconsider his lapse into political expediency; it is a slippery slop that history suggests eventually engulfs he who would be master of all that he surveys. ********************************************************** [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"]OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press Media and politics[/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]Tuesday, 03 Mar, 2009[/B] … THERE is a strong body of opinion that the media should work in the service of democracy, while rulers have always tried to use the media to achieve their political ends…. Now politics has become impossible without the media as the latter has an important role to play in running government affairs. The media tries to explain the government’s goals and policies, helping to mobilise and reinforce the public support necessary for effective political action.… Today, with the ‘help’ of the media, it has become easy for the truth to be perceived as a lie and vice versa. Political parties know this and are experts in using the mass media to forward their interests. The electronic media and private television channels are a new phenomenon in Pakistan.... In a very short period, the weaknesses of the electronic media have been exposed. The major weakness lies in the way they are used by the political parties. We have seen the electronic media give undue importance to certain issues. Sometimes it buries the real issues which receive not even a mention. A section of the electronic media has been indulging in this practice. It has been observed that if any event or political decision is not reported in the media, it is [assumed] not to have taken place. It is surprising that the importance and very existence of events and decisions depend on the media. If someone is not in the media, it means that he is non-existent. The electronic media has magnified the crisis stemming from the disqualification of the Sharif brothers by 10 times its original size. Overdoing the Sharifs’ disqualification has caused all other issues to be buried. The live coverage of protests has created a perception that protests have broken out all over the country. Their size and scale … have been presented as larger than life. President Ibrat Asif Ali Zardari pointed out that the PML-N is playing a media game and the media should stop this game. There are a number of political parties which issue statements to the media and try to affect the crisis. In fact, such political parties do not represent a sizeable section of society…. This power of the media can be used in a constructive manner. The media can play an important role in highlighting the real issues and searching for their solutions. This would restrain politicians from misusing the media, and would exert pressure on them to pay due attention to the real issues…. — (March 1) Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi |
[B][CENTER][U][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Tragedy in Lahore[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/U][/CENTER][/B]
[B]Wednesday, 04 Mar, 2009[/B] EVEN our most esteemed guests are no longer safe in this country. Assured of security reserved for VVIPs, Sri Lanka chose to play in Pakistan when the cricketing world at large saw us as a pariah state. We had stood by Sri Lanka in the past and they repaid us in the same coin. They chose to play in a country whose very mention invokes images of the most gruesome violence imaginable in the minds of most foreigners. Many in the Sri Lankan team are probably regretting that decision after the deadly attack in Lahore yesterday that left a number of policemen dead and injured at least four Sri Lankan cricketers. Two of them suffered bullet wounds but thankfully they are said to be out of danger. This paper has consistently maintained that foreign cricket teams should visit Pakistan. Tuesday’s tragic events have perhaps confirmed that the sides that refused to tour were possibly guilty only of prescience tinged with paranoia. By no stretch of the imagination can a Pakistani militant or terrorist organisation bear a grudge against Sri Lanka, let alone its cricketers. The context, then, suggests that the attack was carried out by internal or external elements who wish to either destabilise the Pakistan government or to further isolate it internationally. Whose agenda does this attack fit, is the question that needs to be asked, probed and answered. The dozen or so people who attacked the Sri Lankan team bus with hand grenades, at least one RPG and endless rounds of gunfire were no ordinary terrorists. The footage shows all too clearly that this was an attack carried out by individuals who have received highly sophisticated combat training. Their approach was not dissimilar to that adopted by the Mumbai gunmen. Perhaps the same organisation is to blame for both tragedies. With all due respect to the policemen who died in the half-hour gun battle in which they tried valiantly and successfully to save the Sri Lankans, a security lapse did occur, officialdom’s denials notwithstanding. This aspect of the story must be investigated fully. Tuesday’s assault also highlights the folly of negotiating with those bent on destroying our way of life. The peace deal, or capitulation, in Swat has been described by officialdom as a regional solution to a regional problem. This does not wash, it cannot fly. Militancy and terrorism are national problems that are not confined to a specific region. The obscurantists must be tackled head-on if we are to entertain any hope of redemption. If the state resorts to negotiating with militants from a position of weakness, what we will get is disaster, across the board. The politicians need to wake up, bury the hatchet in the national good and rout the real enemy. ========================================================== [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="darkgreen"][U]Confusion at the top[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]Wednesday, 04 Mar, 2009[/B] EVEN with all hands on deck, overcoming the myriad crises that hold this country in a vice would challenge the best of administrations. Militants roaming the length and breadth of Pakistan, an economy struggling to stay afloat, a transition from a damaging dictatorship to a tenuous democracy — name the malaise and Pakistan probably suffers from it. And in the midst of this all came the mobile-courts ordinance, like a bolt of lightning, with no warning and little justification. Promulgated by President Zardari on the eve of a National Assembly session (itself meant to discuss the president’s controversial imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab), at the very least the ordinance undermined the principles of good governance and parliamentary democracy. But Prime Minister Gilani’s advice to the president to withdraw the ordinance revealed something more: dysfunction in the ranks of the PPP itself. The party will try to brush this issue aside and deny intra-party rifts. Although the ordinance has been withdrawn, the flip-flop has exposed defects in the PPP’s decision-making process that cannot so easily be dismissed. In recent weeks, speculation on the state of relations between the prime minister and the president has been rife. Conspiracy theorists have thrived, but the reality is that the prime minister has done little that could be regarded as a challenge to the PPP co-chairman, President Zardari. However, the structure of the current dispensation in Islamabad does lend itself to causing uncertainty. De facto as co-chairman of the PPP and de jure as a president who has inherited the powers that Gen Musharraf arrogated to himself, Mr Zardari appears to be the boss. But the prime minister sits atop what was meant to be a system of parliamentary democracy with the president confined to a ceremonial role. When one is armed with the powers the other is meant to have, conflict may appear inevitable. However, when the president and prime minister belong to the same party, in theory conflict should be avoidable. In fact, this was supposed to be a settled issue. Last year, President Zardari stood before the combined houses of parliament and grandly announced, “Never before in the history of this country has a president stood here and given away his powers.” But no powers have been ceded yet, and with the abortive attempt to institute mobile courts President Zardari once again tried to bypass parliament. Meanwhile, the other crises that afflict this state continue unabated. Though if it is to ever tackle those issues effectively, the PPP must first put its own house in order. ========================================================== [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][U][COLOR="darkgreen"]Gaza: aid versus politics[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]Wednesday, 04 Mar, 2009[/B] PLEDGING aid to Gaza is one thing; taking it to the victims of Israeli aggression quite another. The amount of aid pledged by the donors on Monday — $4.5bn — is about the same that the international community pledged to Afghanistan in 2002. But only a small portion of it reached the Afghans because of continuing conflict and lawlessness in their country. An added problem was of corruption in the Kabul government. In the case of Gaza, the donors appear to be playing politics for the benefit of Israel. The aid, it seems, has been pledged less to provide relief to the Gazans and more to isolate Hamas. Although even Hamas’s worst enemies have not accused it of corruption, Israel and its backers fear that it will gain in popularity if it is allowed to pass on relief to the Gazans. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced the donors’ fears by saying the aid should not get into the “wrong hands”. The real challenge lies in lifting the 19-month old Israeli blockade of the Strip. The donors went through the ritual of demanding an end to Gaza’s air, land and sea blockade by Israel. They, however, know quite well that the Jewish state has linked the lifting of the blockade to the release of the lone soldier still with Hamas. After all, this is the same Israel whose 22-day blitz left 1,300 Gazans, most of them civilians, dead. The donors are beating about the bush. The first issue to be tackled is to mitigate the suffering of the people of Gaza irrespective of what Israel wants. Tel Aviv has no interest in aid or trade; its sole interest is to continue its occupation of Palestinian territories and block the possibility of a Palestinian state coming into being. At the donors’ conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday Ms Clinton paid lip service to the idea of pushing the peace process forward. However, she, along with the rest of the international community, is aware that Washington will hardly press for Israel’s quitting the occupied territories. All sides are playing politics at the expense of the people of Gaza. =============================================================================================== [B][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][U][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]OTHER VOICES - European Press Playing with fire...[/COLOR][/SIZE][/U][/FONT][/CENTER][/B] [B]Wednesday, 04 Mar, 2009[/B] ALMOST no one wants to say it out loud. But between the threats from extremists, an unravelling economy, battling civilian leaders and tensions with nuclear rival India, Pakistan is edging ever closer to the abyss. In a report last week, The Atlantic Council warned that Pakistan’s stability is imperilled and that the time to change course is fast running out. That would be quite enough for any government to deal with. Then on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court added new fuel upholding a ruling barring opposition leader Nawaz Sharif ... and his brother from holding elected office. That touched off protests across Punjab ... Pakistan’s richest and politically most important province. The Sharifs charge that the Supreme Court is a tool of President Asif Ali Zardari. They are backing anti-government lawyers who have long campaigned for the reinstatement of the country’s former top judge who was dismissed by former Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2007. We don’t know if Zardari orchestrated this ruling, as Nawaz Sharif and many others have charged. (The government actually argued Sharif’s side in the case, which stems from an earlier, politically motivated, criminal conviction.) We do know the danger of letting this situation get out of control. When Zardari became president, he pledged to unite the country. He has not. Like Zardari, Sharif is a flawed leader and no doubt is manipulating the combustible court ruling for personal political gain. [B][SIZE="4"]International Herald Tribune [/SIZE][/B] For Pakistan’s democracy to survive, a robust opposition must be allowed to flourish and participate peacefully in the country’s political life. That includes finding a way for Sharif to run for office. It also means Pakistan must get serious about tackling its problems, including the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Zardari ... seems to understand. Unfortunately, the powerful chief of the Pakistani Army, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, still seems far more focused on the potential threat of India than the clear and present danger of the extremists. He is said to have supported the recent deal in which the government effectively ceded the Swat valley — in the border region but just 100 miles from Islamabad — to militants in a misguided bid for a false peace. Pakistanis need to understand that this is their fight, not just America’s. We hope top American officials delivered that message loudly and clearly when Kayani visited Washington last week. There was a time when Zardari and Sharif pledged to work together for the good of Pakistan. Their country is in mortal danger. And they need to find a way to work together to save it. — (March 1) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Democracy can work[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Thursday, 05 Mar, 2009[/B] WITH the country in the throes of a political crisis yet again, it may appear that we really don’t have a solution to our problems. Give the politicians a situation, any situation, and it seems they will invariably find a way to make a hash of it. Yet, in the past year there have been at least three instances when the politicians have demonstrated what a rules-based democracy could look like, were it ever given a chance to take root. First and most recently is the demonstration by the PML-N that it still has the numbers to form a government in Punjab. More than 200 MPAs responded to the PML-N’s call and have publicly thrown their weight behind the party, an unambiguous informal vote of confidence that should be heeded by Governor Taseer. From the point of view of democracy, the battle for Punjab could have been less damaging if the protagonists had remained within the confines of the assembly. The PPP erred by imposing governor’s rule and scuppering the Punjab Assembly’s will. The PML-N erred by resorting to street protests in which public and private property has been damaged. Governments rising and falling is always destablising, but worse is the outcome where both sides take the battle outside the confines of the assemblies. The second positive example is the unopposed election of 31 senators from Sindh, Punjab, the NWFP and Islamabad after rival parties accepted their relative strengths in the assemblies and worked out a compromise. The alternative, an ugly free-for-all in which money plays a dominant role, occurred yesterday with the contested elections of the remaining 19 Senate slots from Balochistan, NWFP and Fata. A report in this paper last week suggested that a Fata Senate seat, elected by the 11 Fata MNAs, could cost as much as Rs300m. The contrast between the two processes could not be starker: greed and defiance engendered uncertainty; cooperation and an acceptance of how the electorate voted produced stability. The third example is the impeachment process of President Musharraf. The president was expertly isolated by having the provincial assemblies pass resolutions against him and was then left to decide if he wanted to face the humiliation of being ousted by parliament. He chose to resign, and democracy benefited because the battle had been fought inside the assemblies. Apparently then, the democratic method is alive and can and has been used to good effect. The problem of course is that it has been used too infrequently. Yet, while the transition to democracy was never expected to be smooth, it remains the only option for a better future. It is still not too late to put the transition back on track but for that the politicians must remember that rules-based ooperation is always better than no-rules opposition. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]Lapses in security[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 05 Mar, 2009[/B] LIVING in a state of denial is fast becoming a Pakistani speciality. At least one senior police officer in Punjab and a federal minister insist there was no security lapse and that the police did all they could when the Sri Lankan cricket team came under attack. It is said that police officers died trying to save the Sri Lankans, who in the end escaped with injuries that were not life-threatening. This, it is claimed with an astonishing ignorance of the larger picture, is proof enough that there was no security lapse in Lahore on Tuesday morning. The policemen who laid down their lives did indeed do all they could under the circumstances. But the point is this: the circumstances should have been different. If security had been foolproof, there would been have no attackers and no casualties. For months the Pakistan Cricket Board has claimed that visiting teams would be given the kind of security cover reserved for heads of state. This was clearly not the case in Lahore. The convoy should have been more heavily fortified and policemen posted every 50 yards or so all along the route, and that too from early morning. In that scenario, the assailants who so easily took up positions in the area would have either had to take on the policemen on duty, which would have alerted the teams while they were still at their hotel, or done nothing at all. The local superintendent of police in charge of VVIP security has apparently taken the plea that he was new to the job and did not know what measures to take. If true, this is a shameful stance to take. At the same time there are conflicting reports about key errors in choosing a route to the stadium. The Gulberg police station is located a couple of minutes’ walk from where the assault took place, yet its personnel reached the scene after the assailants had fled. And all this when security agencies had informed the Punjab police in January about a possible attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. After the ambush, the Punjab governor told all and sundry that the Sri Lankans would be ferried out by helicopter. This, clearly, was not the brainiest thing to do from a security point of view. Bringing the attackers to book must be the priority right now but the obvious security lapses should be investigated down to the last detail. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Appointment of judges[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 05 Mar, 2009[/B] SOME of us seem to live in a world of make-believe in this country. We believe — and try to convince others as well — that merit is the criterion for appointing people to positions of responsibility. But that is not necessarily the case. How the basic principle of merit has been swept aside for political considerations was demonstrated the other day when a DawnNews team caught on camera a law ministry meeting in which aspirants for various posts in the judiciary were seen putting pressure on the law minister. Mr Farooq Naek’s comments should throw some light on how appointments to public positions are presumably made. Mr Naek pointed to the “compulsions” of accommodating “so many other people to run the government”. The rationale of large, unwieldy cabinets is well-known. In a coalition government where no party has a majority, smaller partners have been won over with offers of cabinet portfolios. We have learnt to live with this aberration. But it is shocking that the same strategy of dangling the carrot is being tried in the judiciary as well. This has profound implications for the independence of the judiciary and it is shocking that a section of lawyers should be party to this kind of wheeling and dealing. Coming at a time when the lawyers’ movement is nearing its denouement and the independence of the judiciary has emerged as one of the most controversial issues in the country, this revelation is most damaging for the government. It means that one cannot be sure that only the best legal minds with moral integrity and no political aspirations find their way to the bench. It robs the litigant of confidence in the judicial system. What is worse is that the government has adopted this approach blatantly and with no holds barred. The meeting was filmed with the participants fully aware that television cameras were recording the proceedings. They laughed and joked about it; hardly bothering that their words would be public knowledge in no time. This just goes to show how little those on the right side of the government care when it comes to amassing all the ingredients that make up democracy. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Cricket redefined[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 06 Mar, 2009[/B] CRICKET was a secondary issue in the immediate aftermath of the Lahore assault, and for good reason. Now the time has come to focus on the purely cricketing aspect of that monumental tragedy. The fine line between cricket and politics has been blurred beyond recognition. True, many major teams had consistently been refusing to tour Pakistan for security reasons, and Zimbabwe on ‘moral’ grounds, which meant that sports and politics had begun to overlap anyway. But even so, without setting foot in the country, no one could actually disprove our stand that it was safe to play international cricket in Pakistan. That position, sadly, no longer holds. Tuesday’s attack showed that our detractors were right and we were wrong. The Sri Lankan tour was supposed to be the ice-breaker that would convince the world that foreign teams could safely visit Pakistan. After what transpired this week, it seems doubtful that even minnows such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will now be willing to play in this country. New Zealand has all but cancelled the tour scheduled for December and it is more than likely that Pakistan will be stripped of its status as co-host of the 2011 World Cup. No major foreign team will play in Pakistan for the foreseeable future, and to try and convince the world otherwise will be tantamount to inviting ridicule. Pakistan cricket has come to be seen in the light of what Pakistan is perceived as a whole: a dysfunctional state where militants and terrorists who subscribe to a medieval ideology can dictate terms to the state. We can’t hold cricket matches without endangering the lives of the players. Let’s face it, we have been reduced to pariah status. Pakistani cricketers will suffer most in the new dispensation. Fans, who have anyway been shunning the stadiums of late, will still be able to watch matches played at neutral venues on their television screens. It is the cricketers who will lose the advantages that come with home conditions. Playing Australia on seam-friendly pitches in the UK is not the same thing as taking them on in Lahore. Cricket across the world will also change. Already there is talk of foreign players reconsidering their participation in the Indian Premier League. Much of the charm of touring, the imbibing of local cultures, will be lost. Cricketers will largely be trapped in their hotel rooms, as has been the practice in Pakistan for some time now, no matter where they are playing. The precedent has been set and copycat attacks will remain a constant threat. As the chairman of the International Cricket Council put it, the Lahore incident has “completely changed the landscape” and the game may never be the same again. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="darkgreen"]Betrayal of Swat[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 06 Mar, 2009[/B] WHAT is going on in Swat? The direction that negotiations between the NWFP government and the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi have taken is quite intriguing. After having announced a nine-point peace accord on Feb 16 and a ceasefire, the two sides have now entered into a 17-point ‘understanding’ on the enforcement of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand. The new agreement makes further concessions to the Taliban. In fact, some points of the new agreement actually negate the provisions of the one agreed to last month, which required the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to direct its fighters to remove the barricades erected by them and stop checking people. Now they are being empowered to act as vigilantes to check obscenity and corruption, close down music shops and expel ‘prostitutes’ and ‘pimps’ from the region. As the Taliban’s demands escalate and the government steps back, the metaphor of the camel’s nose getting into the tent, followed by the rest of the beast’s body, immediately springs to mind. The new understanding points to the problems that will be encountered in the implementation of the agreement. It virtually amounts to handing over charge of Swat to the Taliban and allowing them to determine arbitrarily the distinction between vice and virtue and impose their own values through an extrajudicial system of vigilantes. Is this the form the Nizam-i-Adl is to take? Is the state ready to abdicate its writ and allow the Taliban to take the law into their own hands? The fact is that the people of the NWFP voted predominantly for the Awami National Party which does not stand for what is provided in the new deal that has just been concluded with the Taliban through the TNSM. Since Swat is gradually becoming a no-go area for the media, it is not very clear if this strategy of appeasement is designed to buy time for the army to be reinforced and redeployed before it takes on the militants who appear to have the upper hand. Or, worse still, is the government surrendering its writ in Swat to the terrorists in the hope of containing them in the region and saving the rest of the country? In either case, the matter is greatly disturbing. Once such unreasonable concessions are made, it is difficult to retract them. It is time the government took the nation into confidence on its plans for Swat, especially where official policy and the limits to which the Nizam-i-Adl will be allowed to go are concerned. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Time for a deal[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 06 Mar, 2009[/B] IT was the politics of reconciliation, it was the politics of confrontation... In the political theatre, where we are so used to contrasting the best and the worst, the tale of two Pakistans has entered a decisive stage. Everyone is for reconciliation, from the disqualified Sharif brothers to their tormentors in Islamabad. But ultimately, it is the worst aspects of the show that somehow come to overshadow the positive side. Successful politics is all about trust and it will take nothing short of a handshake and honouring a pledge to change the perception. The PML-N says it is willing to share space with the PPP but it justifiably fears being let down by President Asif Zardari one more time and understandably indulges in power politics of its own. It wants to take back Punjab which was wrested from its grasp through the imposition of governor’s rule following a controversial court decision that disqualified Shahbaz Sharif from sitting in the provincial assembly. The PML-N is pushing for the implementation of the Charter of Democracy and wants Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry restored. While it waits for the president to respond to its demands, its workers are turning on the heat in the political arena. Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Asfandyar Wali Khan are trying to mediate as a PML-N thrown out of power in Punjab closes ranks with hard-line Zardari-bashers such as Imran Khan and Qazi Hussain Ahmed both of whom were so reluctant to make the transition from the Musharraf regime that they chose to boycott the 2008 polls and almost prevented the Sharifs from contesting. Does the full restoration of this old alignment foreclose the chances of a ‘deal’ between President Zardari and the Sharifs? It doesn’t, so long as the mediators do not appear to the Sharifs to be offering a bribe in return for a favour. If the system is to be saved from collapse, this is the time for give-and-take — if ‘deal’ is too offensive a word. For this, the onus is on Mr Zardari since he is widely regarded to be the offender in this case, both by partisan slogan-mongers and independent observers. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Bangladesh Press Woes of BD women [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 06 Mar, 2009[/B] A TERRIBLE tale of the suffering and abuse of some Bangladeshi women seeking employment abroad has been stated by two victims at a press conference in the city on Monday. Zohra Khatun and Laboni Akthar, who have returned home from Malaysia, alleged that over 100 women have been engaged forcibly in prostitution in a Kuala Lumpur hotel by a group of manpower traders. They alleged that manpower-recruiting agents received money and took the women including them to Kuala Lumpur promising lucrative jobs there. But on arrival there instead of giving them [the] pledged jobs the women were sexually abused by the agents and later engaged forcibly in prostitution. The two victims demanded compensation from and punishment [for] the recruiting agents and urged the government to rescue the women from the … hotel. Trafficking of women, girls and children from Bangladesh to foreign countries is going on unabated despite the successive governments’ vows and efforts to stop this. According to unofficial reports well over 10,000 women, girls and children on an average are trafficked from Bangladesh across the border every year. Thus the number of women and children trafficked from the country to foreign countries especially India, Pakistan and [the] Middle East over the last 37 years since independence is estimated at nearly 400,000. The report said, most of them are allegedly employed in household work, abused or forced to play the role of jockeys in camel races in the Middle Eastern deserts. Many women are sent abroad with pledges of lucrative employment there but in fact most of them do not find any jobs. Hundreds of agents … are working across the country to collect women, girls and children…. But once they cross the border, they mostly find themselves trapped in brothels in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi or … Lahore or in the harems of Arab sheikhs…. [D]espite frantic efforts, most of them fail to return home. Sometimes some human traffickers are arrested and some women or children being trafficked are rescued … but trafficking has not stopped leading to a serious crises. It cannot be said that the government is indifferent to this problem as efforts are being made to check trafficking, but the results are far from ... satisfactory. So, time has come to step up the efforts to stop various types of trafficking of women and children from the country in the national interest. More importantly, the manpower-recruiting agents [who] are allegedly engaged in recruiting Bangladeshi women for jobs abroad and virtually sell them out to foreign buyers for engaging them in forcible prostitution should be severely dealt with. Moreover, Bangladesh missions abroad should be asked to remain alert to ensure that Bangladeshi women seeking employment abroad are not abused there. The missions should also monitor closely the activities of the recruiting agents so that they cannot run [the] human trafficking business while camouflaged by manpower export. — (March 05) |
Smoke, but no fire yet
[CENTER][U][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"][B]Smoke, but no fire yet [/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/U][/CENTER]
[B]Cyril Almeida Friday, 06 Mar, 2009 [/B] President Asif Ali Zardari. — APP MANY are wishing it, some are dreading it, everyone’s at least talking about it. Is Zardari on his way out? Two mistakes in the space of a week have set tongues wagging. Im- posing governor’s rule in Punjab was the first. Whatever the purpose, it was clearly a miscalculation. If the move was meant to buy time to cobble together a PPP-led government in the province, that plan has fallen through. The PML-Q is still split and the Sharifs have emerged stronger, while most of the PPP’s partners at the centre and in the smaller provinces have reacted with dismay. Never say never in Pakistani politics, but surely this could not have been the script Zardari had in mind. There is another possibility. Governor’s rule may have been meant to foil the black coats and their political supporters intent on besieging parliament to restore the court of CJ Iftikhar. The thinking may have been, rob the lawyers of the oxygen of the Punjab government’s support and the threat is likely to melt away. But upending the provincial government always ran the risk of sending the Sharifs into a tighter embrace with the lawyers and having to then directly take on two groups instead of one. A smaller headache has now become a full-blown migraine, and even if the lawyers fail, Punjab will remain a tinderbox. In any case, fear of the lawyers led to Zardari’s second mistake: the mobile-courts ordinance. Forced to withdraw the ordinance on the PM’s mandatory advice, Zardari has been exposed as someone who is clearly not the only master of his domains, the PPP and the government. For the speculating hordes, it was enough that PM Gilani met Gen Kayani the day the prime minister, for the first time, publicly disagreed with his boss. All is surely not well in the Zardari kingdom. But does that mean Zardari should be packing his bags? Not so fast. Zardari is nobody’s favourite, that’s for sure. But like him or hate him, politics is about the art of the possible. And right now Zardari, despite the serious hits he’s taken in the last week, still holds the best cards in the game. Start with his own party. While opponents may be hoping for a feud between Zardari and his coterie of ‘outsider’ advisers and the inner core of BB’s PPP, that isn’t about to happen. The party’s leaders are simply too disciplined, or, depending on your perspective, pusillanimous, to mount a coup against their leader. They may chafe under his authoritarianism, resent his personal slights, disagree with his policies and loathe his cronies, but, left to their own devices, they will not do anything to jeopardise the party’s position. Aha, say the conspiracy theorists, but the army may goad Gilani into challenging his boss, secretly assuring him of their support if push comes to shove and it’s either the PM or the president who will be left standing. But even now that’s more wishful thinking than genuine possibility. Sure, the army doesn’t really like the PPP, and probably likes Zardari even less. But the generals aren’t running a Ms Congeniality contest, they’re running the security policy of a nuclear-weapons state beset by internal and external threats. Is Zardari a hindrance to those policies? He and his government have occasionally been a nuisance. The off-the-cuff pledge to reject a nuclear first strike, the attempt to wrest the ISI away from the army and the offer to send the DG ISI to India were all slapped down. But a year since it’s been back in power, differences between the PPP and the army on the big issues — India, Afghanistan, the US and militancy — are hard to find. As long as that continues, the truce between the two institutions will hold. Talk of ‘American agents’ and an agenda to ‘destablise Pakistan’ is pie-in-the-sky stuff. Well, that still leaves the Americans and they are unhappy, the conspiracy theorists will argue. But unhappy about what? Sure, the Americans can’t be pleased with Zardari putting a domestic power grab at the top of his agenda. Yet, there is often a fundamental misunderstanding of the Americans’ role in Pakistan. Far from micromanaging Pakistan, the Americans often react to autonomous local decisions and try to make the best of what comes their way. When asked about the myth of the US puppet master, the Americans sigh. They wish they had that kind of power. In reality, they often have to settle for the acceptable rather than the preferable. Currently, in Zardari the Americans have as good a partner they can find. At least they have a working relationship. What’s the alternative? Nawaz Sharif? That’s just grist to the rumour mill. In private, Sharif worries about his unacceptability, both to the Americans and the army. And he has reason to. Since his return to politics, he’s had the luxury of being in the opposition, from where he can be a populist and avoid having to make hard decisions, and the compromises, that being in power demands. But there are unsettling hints that Sharif hasn’t learned the lessons of the ’90s. Reflexively obstinate and single-minded to a fault, there is every chance that he will take a very different line to the army’s or the Americans’ once in power. What then? So better the devil the army and Americans already know will play ball than the devil who may set his own rules. But even before that, instability right now distracts the country from the war against militancy. Flux at the top is contrary to the Americans’ interests. So Zardari is safe for now. What he isn’t safe from are his instincts. It took Benazir three decades to come to terms with the intricacies of Pakistani politics. Zardari has been playing the game for little over a year. There are two keys to navigating the minefield of Pakistani politics: accept that offence isn’t always the best defence and never leave your opponent with no choice. Zardari appears to have grasped neither yet. Nawaz Sharif may have been cornered by the hawks in his party and the lawyers into continuing to fly the flag for CJ Iftikhar but it’s the dismissal of the Punjab government that has shut his party out of the system. No government in Punjab, no way into Islamabad, isolated from the army and the US, he has one major pillar of support left: the public. Why shouldn’t he run with it? And if panic spreads in the Zardari camp as the lawyers’ march nears, it may yet force more errors that will assume a logic of their own. From there, the point may not be far off when the powers-that-be accept change as the lesser evil. That’s not inevitable yet. History though is replete with examples of men who thought they could conquer all but ended up vanquished instead. |
[SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkOliveGreen"]Thoughts from the brink [/COLOR][/SIZE]By Irfan Husain
[B]Saturday, 07 Mar, 2009[/B]. PAKISTANIS have become so accustomed to terrorist attacks that they are almost incapable of shock when fresh horror strikes. But the attempted massacre of the Sri Lankan cricket team penetrated even the thickest skin, and brought home to us yet again what a murderous place Pakistan has become. However, despite the familiar nature of the attack, many Pakistanis are still in denial, and are muttering darkly about the famous ‘hidden hand’. Within hours of the atrocity, Imran Khan was on television, saying categorically that neither Al Qaeda nor the Taliban were behind the incident. He went on to allege that the whole thing had originated from ‘some other country.’ I wonder how he could be so sure, especially when Salman Taseer, the Punjab governor, stated that the attack had all the hallmarks of the Mumbai massacre of 26/11. The ease with which the killers calmly made their escape speaks of long familiarity with the city. It also speaks volumes for the sheer incompetence of the police deployed to protect the Sri Lankan cricket team. Considering that the gunfight took place for nearly half an hour in broad daylight in the middle of Lahore, one would have expected reinforcements to rush in from the nearby police station to surround the terrorists. It seems churlish to be critical of the cops when six of them died in the line of duty. But clearly, the security arrangements provided for the visiting team were shockingly inadequate. The Australian and English officials who barely escaped with their lives were very critical of the police escort, saying they had been abandoned to their fate as they lay flat on the floor of their van during the crossfire. The traumatised Sri Lankans have been extremely gracious and diplomatic, but even they have said that while they had been promised presidential-level security, there had obviously been serious lapses. Equally obvious is the fact that neither Musharraf nor Asif Zardari have depended on the poorly trained cops who accompanied the visitors. Heavily armed army commandos are on the presidential security detail, and dummy convoys head off along different routes to confuse potential attackers. Apart from the incompetence of our police and administration, this attack once more underlines the complete breakdown of law and order in Pakistan today. We had thought that Lahore, despite suicide attacks there last year, was safer than the rest of the country. But it seems that no part of the country is beyond the reach of the terrorists who have multiplied in the giant safe haven that is Pakistan. Christopher Dell, the American envoy to Afghanistan, recently said accurately albeit undiplomatically: ‘Pakistan is a bigger place [than Afghanistan], has a larger population, it is nuclear-armed. It has certainly made radical Islam a part of its political life, and it now seems to be a deeply ingrained part of its political culture. It makes things there very hard.’ It certainly does. By placing faith at the heart of our political and social discourse, we relinquish responsibility for our actions. When a man-made disaster strikes, those in charge wash their hands of their responsibility by saying that whatever happened was the will of God. This reduced culpability ensures that no remedial steps are taken to prevent a recurrence of the lapse. When Benazir Bhutto was almost killed on her arrival in October 2007, one had hoped that her security would be tightened. In the event, no lessons were learned and she was assassinated two months later. Similarly, I have no great expectations that security procedures will be revised in the wake of the Lahore attack. Another factor that is feeding into extremist violence today is the support these jihadis get from large sections of the media. Each time there is a terrorist atrocity, many pundits either go into denial, or ascribe the violence to western policies. How the Sri Lankan cricketers can be held responsible for these policies is something even rabid nationalists will have a hard time pronouncing on. As Sri Lanka’s Daily News said in an editorial on March 4: ‘Sri Lanka’s cricketers never deserved the horrendous treatment they were subjected to when masked gunmen opened fire on the team bus…. How harming a group of cricketers whose only role is to bring joy and pleasure to the sports-loving public of Pakistan, can achieve whatever object the terrorists had in mind defies understanding.’ Many in Pakistan are searching for clues to prove the presence of the ‘hidden hand’ in this latest act of terrorism. The links between Sri Lanka’s LTTE and jihadi groups are being explored, while others are insisting that somehow, the Indian agency RAW is behind the attack. But the situation in Pakistan is so dire today that local groups must be the first suspects. After the Mumbai attack, weeks passed before Pakistani officials reluctantly agreed that our nationals and our territory had been involved. Meanwhile, hordes of TV pundits and newspaper columnists were jumping up and down, saying, ‘Where’s the proof?’ By denying that there is a real problem in Pakistan with Islamic terrorism disables us from tackling it. Things have been getting from bad to worse for years while our collective head remains firmly buried in the sand. We either blame Washington for our woes, or we say defensively ‘Where’s the proof?’ And our final defence lies in shrugging, and saying ‘It’s God’s will’. All three modes of thought and behaviour absolve us of blame, and make corrective action unnecessary. No amount of pain and slaughter seems to convince us that ultimately, we are responsible for what happens within our borders. When we claim sovereignty over our soil, we must also be able to exercise control over it. We must face the fact that for over three decades, Pakistan has become a breeding ground for religious extremism, and a safe haven for terrorist groups. For years, these gangs have been used by our establishment to further its agenda in the region. Until 9/11, they were provided with money, arms and legitimacy by the Pakistani state. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. Pakistan can purge itself of these killers only if there is a broad consensus that we will not put up with them any longer. But as long as elements in our security apparatus, our judiciary and our media think that their behaviour can be condoned by ‘western policies’, they will continue to bleed us and ensure our isolation. [COLOR="DarkOliveGreen"][SIZE="5"]Bombing shrine [/SIZE][/COLOR] [B]Saturday, 07 Mar, 2009 [/B] Pakistani worshipers gather next to the mausoleum of Sufi poet Rehman Baba, after an explosion that damaged one corner of the shrine, in PeshawarAP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad THURSDAY’S bombing in Peshawar was not the first time a Sufi shrine has been targeted by militants. In March last year, Mangal Bagh’s Lashkar-i-Islam destroyed the four-centuries-old Abu Saeed Baba shrine near Peshawar, in the process killing at least 10 villagers who tried to save the monument. Later in December, suspected Taliban militants attacked and damaged the shrine of Abdul Shakoor Malang Baba, also located near the NWFP capital. But the biggest outrage in terms of symbolic value was yet to come. Thursday’s attack was directed against the final resting place of perhaps the greatest and most revered Pakhtun poet, mystic and Sufi saint of all time. Rehman Baba is still quoted widely and is a household name in many Pakhtun homes some 300 years after his death. He is a legend on both sides of the Durand Line and the desecration of his shrine has been condemned by both the Pakistani and Afghan governments. Unlike the vision espoused by the merchants of death now operating in the garb of ‘Islam’, his was a message of love, peace and tolerance. He was not only a mystic and a poet but a cultural commentator of his time. It would be incorrect to describe the Taliban as ultra- orthodox in their religious views. There are countless people in this country who subscribe to rigid interpretations of Islam but are not in the least inclined to bend others to their will, let alone kill them. But the Taliban specialise in barbarity and aim to destroy everything they cannot abide. They hate music, clean-shaven men and education for girls, so they blow up CD shops and schools and attack barbers. Since they consider Sufis and their followers to be heretics, the Taliban feel it is their ‘religious’ duty to destroy shrines and kill devotees. They cannot tolerate Sufi music, dance or mysticism, or the intermingling of the sexes in shrines, or what they see as intercession between the individual and the Creator. It is believed Thursday’s bombing could be linked to the fact that women used to visit Rehman Baba’s shrine. Sufism with its message of peace, simplicity and equality, and tradition of charity, played a leading role in the spread of Islam in the subcontinent. It is still followed by millions who want little more than to be left alone to pray or rejoice as they please. But bombs and guns do the talking these days and a small minority bent on violence calls the shots. The people are helpless and the government appears incapable of stemming the rot. Rehman Baba’s words still apply, ‘Contemplate the frantic efforts of the age/ Countless are its antics, boundless is its rage.’ |
[B][SIZE="5"][COLOR="Green"]A tale of two countries [/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B]By Huma Yusuf [/B] Monday, 09 Mar, 2009 | Mexican federal police patrol the city of Ciudad Juarez amid a massive troop buildup aimed at restoring order to the country’s violence-wracked border region.—Reuters If you googled the phrase ‘failed state’ this past week, the search result would toss up links to several online definitions of the same as well as news stories and blog posts about two countries: Pakistan and Mexico. Separated by oceans, continents and socio-political contexts, the two countries find themselves facing similar crises. While one tackles militants and the other fights drug cartels — vastly different organisations — the fallout has been similar: destabilisation, compromised governance and deteriorating security. Interestingly, the stakes for the United States in both countries are also alike, leading to parallel levels — if different versions — of US involvement. Comparing the challenges faced by Pakistan and Mexico, therefore, is a useful thought exercise that might shed some light on what our government might do to win its internal war against militancy. In January this year, a report released by the Pentagon pointed out the similarities of Pakistan and Mexico’s predicament and warned that both countries could face ‘rapid and sudden’ collapse. The report notes that the government, judicial and law-enforcement infrastructure in both nations is under assault, resulting in a high risk of implosion. The threat to the US in the event that either nation might fail is also outlined in detail. Sadly, solutions to the problems are less forthcoming. The problems, however, are uncannily similar. In Mexico, drug cartels are openly defiant of government writ. Rampant kidnappings in an effort to safeguard smuggling routes have been reported on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Gun battles between drug gangs and the police are frequent, with the traffickers often coming out on top as they are better equipped with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank rockets, heavy machine guns, night-vision goggles and sophisticated communications technologies. Not surprisingly, then, police officials and army generals have been blatantly abducted, tortured and killed. Last month, in Mexico’s most violent city, Juarez, signs were widely posted stating that unless the police chief stepped down, a law-enforcement officer would be killed every 48 hours (the police chief resigned immediately). Drug gangs in Juarez have also promised to hunt down the city’s mayor. And in an eerie nod to Islamic militants, narco-traffickers are increasingly beheading their victims. Throughout the country, more than 5,000 people were killed in drug-related violence in 2008 and over 1,000 have already been killed in 2009. One can’t help but be struck by the parallels. Here, too, kidnappings are on the rise, gun assaults and assassination attempts are increasingly common, and bomb blasts — suicide or otherwise — are claiming too many innocent lives. Through the autumn of 2008, the Pakistani military came face-to-face with the sophisticated weapons and trenches of the Taliban in the tribal belt, where many of its officers were abducted. Before the recent peace-for-Sharia deal in Swat, militants were beheading innocents, attacking government infrastructure in the form of girls’ schools, and targeting law-enforcement personnel. Militant activities caused widespread demoralisation amongst the police force of the Frontier province and led to unprecedented desertion. Mercifully, the death toll racked up by the militants is less than that of drug cartels — in 2008, 66 suicide attacks caused 965 deaths across Pakistan. But that number seems fated to rise. Interestingly, the similarities extend beyond each country’s troubles to governance issues. In both Pakistan and Mexico, endemic corruption and the unpreparedness of the respective police and military forces have been blamed for the success of militants and drug cartels. For all their problems, both countries remain hell-bent on not being described as ‘failed states’ — in Mexico, politicians talk about ‘failed enclaves’, areas where violence spikes, while their Pakistani counterparts emphasise the unique governing circumstances of Fata and Pata (a tactic that will have to change in the aftermath of Lahore). Lastly, both countries are dependent on the US — whether they like it or not — to help get them out of the messes they find themselves in. From the US perspective, the destabilisation of either Pakistan or Mexico would be catastrophic. Indeed, both countries have been described as ‘a threat to US national security’. A collapse in Pakistan would create a nationwide haven for militants and expose the country’s nuclear weapons to misuse. A Mexican implosion, meanwhile, would spill thousands of migrants and a robust drug trafficking infrastructure across US borders. With the nature of US involvement in both countries, however, the similarities end. In Mexico, the army is a cohesive entity, loyal to the civilian government. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has so far deployed 25,000 troops, but to little avail. For that reason, the US army is now stepping in to train Mexican troops to take on drug gangs. Moreover, the US government is helping Mexico to crack down on gun trafficking (the parallel smuggling enterprise that keeps drug cartels well-armed). Last week, US Attorney General Eric Holder declared that the ban on importing assault rifles to the US would be enforced (to prevent their subsequent smuggling into Mexico). The US government has also approved a $10m package to crack down on gun-trafficking networks. In other words, the attack against drug cartels is being launched on both the martial and policy levels. In Pakistan, meanwhile, longstanding tensions between the army and civilian government make coherent action against the militants impossible. The army’s scattered loyalties and propensity for double games have also been the subject of much local consternation. Troop deployment in the northern areas and tribal belt has thus proved largely unsuccessful, failing to stem militancy and instead causing collateral damage and earning civilian ire. It doesn’t help that the Pakistani government is not consistent in its strategy against the militants, switching constantly between confrontation and negotiation. (In Mexico, negotiating with a drug cartel would be totally out of the question; given the similar methodologies of the militants, however, you’d think the same logic would apply here.) The government’s pandering to cultural quirks is also problematic. In any situation where militias threaten the state, de-weaponisation seems like a good idea. In Swat, however, militants recently engaged in a semantic tango, insisting that they would ‘lay down’ — rather than surrender — their arms, since a Pakhtun could not be expected to live without his gun. Finally, unlike Mexico, Pakistan has not been able to utilise support from the US army in productive ways. In the absence of open collaboration, Pakistan is deprived of counter-terrorist troop-training, resource-building and intelligence-sharing. Learning from that Central American example, Pakistan should stick to one strategy and enhance the capabilities of its military in the fight against militancy. More importantly, Pakistan should heed the warning of the Mexican example, where the rewards of drug trafficking are enabling cartels to out-arm the state. Recently, growing evidence of the link between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s drug trade has been emerging. In February, it was reported that the Taliban generate between $300m and $400m a year from drug trafficking, a figure that was widely understood to be a gross under-estimate. If drug-related financing were to increasingly spill over to militants in Pakistan, they would have access to unlimited financing for state-of-the-art weapons and communications technology. In that case, Pakistan will be saddled with its own — and Mexico’s — problems. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]A possible solution[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Monday, 09 Mar, 2009[/B] HURTLING as this country is towards the brink of political chaos, there is still time for the politicians to slam on the brakes and reverse course. At the moment though none of them appears to want to do so. The Sharifs have sounded the clarion call for Punjab to rise up, the PPP is busy with the mischief of cleaving forward blocs from the PML-Q and PML-N, and the PML-Q is allowing itself to be courted by both sides while its intra-party divisions refuse to die down. If not stopped immediately, the chain of events triggered by the ouster of the Sharif brothers from electoral politics and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab will surely end in tears for everyone involved. The simplest way to defuse the present crisis would be to withdraw governor’s rule, allow the PML-N to prove its majority in the Punjab Assembly and use the collective will of parliament to pave the way for the Sharifs’ return to electoral politics. Yet, notwithstanding the Sharifs’ fierce assaults on President Zardari, what makes that unlikely for now is the lawyers’ long march. The fear of the PPP will be that even if it reverses course in Punjab, the PML-N and the lawyers will still try to bring down the government in Islamabad. That may be directly attempted by besieging parliament and threatening a violent stand-off until the powers-that-be pull the plug on the federal set-up. Or it may be indirectly attempted by insisting the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry be reinstated and having him then tear down the edifice of a government that he has made clear is in some ways a continuation of the Musharraf era. So, if a confrontation on the streets is to be avoided and the crisis resolved within the parliamentary chambers, the key to the solution is the PML-Q. A report in this paper the other day suggested that the PML-N and the PML-Q may be set for a reunion, a result which, from the point of the present crisis, may allow all the protagonists to keep the transition to democracy on track. Because of the PML-Q’s strength in the various assemblies, a union between the two PMLs would greatly simplify the numbers game. In Punjab, a combined PML would have a secure two-thirds majority. In the National Assembly and the Senate, the present coalition government’s simple majorities in both houses would not be turned. Moreover, the PML-Q, which is a partner of the PPP in the Balochistan government, could act to cool temperatures between the PML-N and the PPP in a bid to protect its interests in the various assemblies. But will sense prevail? It must if Pakistan is to overcome this crisis, though at the moment that appears distressingly beside the point for the politicians. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Misery in Darfur[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 09 Mar, 2009 [/B] PURELY symbolic gestures can sometimes backfire. The reign of terror unleashed in Darfur was tantamount to ethnic cleansing and all Muslim countries and the African Union should have condemned the atrocities committed in Sudan in the strongest possible terms. That didn’t happen right away. It was left to western governments and NGOs to tell the world that villages were being razed, that men were being slaughtered, that women and girls were being raped by the notorious Janjaweed militia in accordance with the line allegedly laid down by Khartoum itself. According to the UN, some 300,000 lives have been lost in the six-year-long conflict in Darfur, either on account of violence or through starvation and disease. Most, if not all, independent observers have come away from Sudan convinced that the death and destruction unleashed in Darfur has enjoyed the backing of the government in Khartoum. This week Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir became the first sitting head of state to be issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, charges which in Beshir’s case, according to his critics, appear to be in accordance with the reality on the ground. But here’s the rub. Several African leaders had warned all along that an indictment by the ICC would prove to be counterproductive, and it seems that they have been proven right. In the current global climate it is unlikely that Beshir will be taken from his homeland. Nor can it be hoped that he will set foot outside of Sudan in the near future and run the risk of being arrested by a government that opts to follow international law and the norms of common decency. Obviously he will not surrender voluntarily and let international authorities transport him to The Hague. He is, in fact, more defiant than ever. What Beshir has done in retaliation is expel all the foreign NGOs that fed refugees and provided shelter to the helpless people of Darfur. The Hague may have struck a moral and legal chord but its actions have deprived a marginalised and brutalised people of the only support they could hope for against forbidding odds. Omar al-Beshir may well be guilty of all that he is accused of, perhaps even more, but he cannot be brought to trial. As such the ICC indictment will do little else but inflict more misery on the people of Darfur. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Sindh’s cultural wealth [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 09 Mar, 2009[/B] THE federal government has transferred the administrative control of 130 archaeological sites in Sindh to the provincial government. Given that the Sindh government had been lobbying for this move since coming into power, the province’s areas of historical significance may now receive the attention they deserve. These sites remained under the purview of the federal government’s archaeological department after being declared protected heritage under the 1975 Antiquities Act. In Punjab, the provincial government was given control of Lahore’s Shahi Fort and Shalimar Gardens some years ago. Now that the transfer has been effected in Sindh, the provincial minister for culture and tourism, Sassui Palijo, has announced that Rs1bn have been earmarked for the improvement of archaeological sites. This is a worthy move, for the degradation of Sindh’s archaeological sites can be linked to the paucity of funds and administrative will at the federal level. However, the provincial government must remain wary of falling into similar traps. There is no dearth of projects that were initiated with great hoopla but that fell slowly by the wayside as holders of public office changed, financial and bureaucratic corruption set in and interest waned. It would be sad indeed if this pattern is repeated. The geographical area falling under Sindh has a large number of sites of historical and archaeological significance. Some of them, such as Moenjodaro, are the remains of the earliest urban settlements known to man. Others constitute potential mines of information about communities that once flourished but have now vanished or been reduced to marginalised minorities. Despite this cultural wealth, however, only 130 sites in Sindh have been registered as archaeological sites since 1904. Many more remain in need of attention. Ms Palijo has promised a comprehensive survey to identify locations for exploration and preservation. If her government manages to make good on its promise, Sindh will have the opportunity to not only attract visitors ranging from tourists to archaeologists and anthropologists, but also make a significant contribution to the world body of knowledge about this region. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - North American Press When jobs go missing[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 09 Mar, 2009[/B] THE numbers in the jobs report for February were bad, but the trends were worse. More than half of the 4.4m jobs lost since December 2007, when the recession began, vanished in the last four months. The unemployment rate has also surged to 8.1 per cent last month from 7.6 per cent in January — and from five per cent when the recession began. The ranks of the unemployed now total 12.5m people. It’s fortunate, then, that the nation’s first line of defence against rising joblessness — unemployment insurance — was reinforced in the stimulus law that passed last month. The law increases unemployment benefits by $25 a week and allows states to extend those benefits through the end of the year. It also provides $7bn to the states to cover more than 500,000 workers … who are denied jobless benefits under outdated rules that apply in many states. Those states, of course, must reform their systems.… Some Republican governors have resisted doing that, an act of grandstanding that does nothing but hurt their neediest constituents. Recently, however, several governors … and state legislatures have supported making the changes. Other states must step up soon to ensure that broad relief reaches unemployed workers in a timely way. Congress and the Obama administration must also be prepared to do more as unemployment worsens … In eleventh-hour wrangling last month, a provision was struck from the stimulus bill that would have provided Medicaid coverage to unemployed workers who do not qualify or cannot afford to stay on their former employers’ group health insurance. The measure should be reintroduced and passed into law. Indeed, all job-related policies should acknowledge that employment is unlikely to turn around anytime soon. That’s because the economy’s other headwinds — the housing bust and the stock-market wipe-out — will delay any labour market recovery. With both sales and prices for homes declining in The New York Times most places, many people who might otherwise move to take a new job are compelled to stay put, especially if a sale would not bring in enough money to pay off the mortgage. With stocks tanking, many workers are likely to postpone retirement, impairing upward mobility for other workers and crowding out new entrants to the work force. That means that in addition to providing relief for today’s unemployed, greater emphasis must be placed on job training and retraining and on better education at all levels. If a job slump is short and shallow, old jobs come back. If it is long and deep, like the current one, some old jobs never return and even some industries never revive. That makes it imperative to prepare as a nation for the prospect of a vastly different future. — (March 7) |
[COLOR="DarkOliveGreen"][/COLOR][SIZE="5"]Zardari’s gamble in critical phase [/SIZE]
Tuesday, 10 Mar, 2009 President Asif Ali Zardari seemed to be coming under renewed pressure from political friends and foes alike against the backdrop of fast-paced political developments on Monday. Two developments indicated that the president’s political gamble of recent weeks may well backfire rather than pay dividends as his decision to nominate Law Minister Farooq Naek as the Pakistan People’s Party candidate to run for the Senate chairman to replace the retiring Mohammedian Soomro irked a key party leader. Raza Rabbani, a party loyalist and one of the most trusted lieutenants of the slain leader Benazir Bhutto, is understood to have resigned both as the leader of the upper house and as the minister of inter-provincial coordination to protest against the decision to nominate Mr Naek. Farooq Naek was Mr Zardari’s counsel and defended him over the course of nearly a decade in multiple cases, including those involving corruption charges, and thus came close to the president. It is said he is the key adviser to President Zardari in all matters concerning the judiciary now. It was not just Mr Rabbani’s unhappiness that was threatening to become a major headache for the president as senators belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which the PPP has been wooing in order to have some hope of forming a government in Punjab, unanimously said they wanted their leader Chaudhry Shujaat Husain to run for the Senate chairmanship. It wasn’t clear if they were seeking the governing party’s support for their leader as a quid pro quo for supporting the formation of a PPP-led government in that ultimate prize, the province of Punjab — where the PML-N administration was dislodged through some controversial means — or were just testing the political waters. But political circles were quick to point out that Shujaat Husain still enjoyed good relations with the military establishment and that his sudden candidature to a position that is second in line to the most powerful office in the country may not be without meaning and could hint at the army’s growing unease at the political instability. The PML-Q’s late announcement came after heated exchanges between the PPP and the PML-N that saw the interior adviser and top presidential aide Rehman Malik virtually calling the Sharif brothers’ politics seditious. Ousted Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif accused Mr Malik of using state funds to try and ‘steal the popular mandate in Punjab’. Given the daunting challenges facing the country, including rampant militancy and the downturn in the economy, the current round of political wrestling that is now threatening to spill on to the streets, poses a serious threat to peace in the country. With the lawyers’ movement gaining the support of diverse yet powerful political parties and elements in the country and a planned march on to the capital within a week to seek a return to office of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and a government equally determined to stop this march, the fate of the final showdown was proving very difficult to call. [SIZE="5"]Obama’s approach [/SIZE] Tuesday, 10 Mar, 2009 | Obama replied with a blunt ‘No’ when The New York Times asked him whether America was winning in Afghanistan.—AP Obama the president seems to be gradually distancing himself from Obama the Democratic candidate for the White House. Gone is the rhetoric that once threatened Fata’s invasion to take out the Taliban’s safe havens. Now the vitriol has given way to a sober assessment of the situation in the Afpak region, for he replied with a blunt ‘No’ when The New York Times asked him whether America was winning in Afghanistan. In what is seen as a move to open the door to reconciliation with the militants, the American president emphasised the need for recasting US policies with a three-pronged strategy to ensure that ‘Al Qaeda and extremists’ do not have safe havens. More significantly, he had a word of praise for Gen David Petraeus, who reached out to Iraq’s Sunnis in a move aimed at isolating Al Qaeda. This policy worked in Iraq, he said, and believed military, diplomatic and development moves must be ‘aligned’ to deny safe havens to the Taliban. Pakistan should welcome Obama’s statement not only because of the reconciliation he is talking about but also because he included Afghanistan and ‘the Pakistani region’ in his new scheme. Until recently, Pakistan was being harshly criticised by the American government and media for talking to the militants. The Americans were right up to a point, for one has to admit Islamabad’s own mistakes in the war on terror, the disastrous September 2005 deal with the militants in Fata, and, currently, the over-reliance on Maulana Sufi Mohammad, a doubtful character, to seek peace with the Swat rebels. But the basic principle behind Pakistan’s moves was sound, for it had been speaking for quite some time of the need to combine force with talks, while working for the economic development of the tribal belt. What Pakistan and America must both remember is that there should be no deal from a position of weakness, and that peace should not mean a licence for the Taliban to establish virtually autonomous regions where they enforce their own concept of religion which violates basic norms of civilised behaviour. To be specific they cannot be allowed to oppress women, enforce conformity in dress, prayer and ritual, and close the doors of economic livelihood on barbers and tailors and the like because they pursue professions considered normal by humanity but which the Taliban regard as ‘un-Islamic’. If they agree to live in peace, the militants must abide by the contract in letter and spirit. |
[CENTER][SIZE="5"][COLOR="Green"]Stop the crackdown [/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER]
Thursday, 12 Mar, 2009 The lawyers’ long march was never expected to be a smooth affair. But a day before the first marchers were expected to gather, it was the federal government that swung matters in an ugly direction. By moving against lawyers, opposition politicians and, bizarrely, a human rights activist the government clearly hopes to scuttle the long march long before it reaches Islamabad. However, it is doing so at what may prove to be a terrible, perhaps fatal, cost to itself. For one, history suggests that a crackdown is only the first shot in a downward spiral of violence which greatly destabilises the state. Few governments have been able to contain the fallout of such actions and at the very least the government will henceforth operate under a great cloud of uncertainty. Even if the lawyers are thwarted this week, it is hard to see how the PML-N can be made to go away. Surely the PML-N, which has been shut out of the system since the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab, will continue to agitate until it wrests some power back from the PPP. At the moment, the PPP leadership appears not to be thinking that far ahead, but by ignoring the logic of events it is more likely to become their victim rather than the victor. No less importantly, the PPP is greatly harming its reputation as a democratic party. More than any other party, over the course of its 41-year history the PPP has been synonymous with the politics of protest, often taking to the streets in defence of democratic principles. Today, though, the PPP is taking on two groups that are essentially demanding it adhere to two of those same principles: the lawyers who want to march for an independent judiciary; the PML-N that wants its democratic mandate in the Punjab Assembly to be respected. Previously, we have argued against resorting to the politics of agitation at this critical juncture in Pakistan’s history and cautioned both the lawyers and the PML-N to pay heed to other national crises. However, while that may still be true, it is obvious that the onus is now on the government to defuse this crisis. At least two things can still be done: one, detained party activists and lawyers can be released and a peaceful march facilitated; and, two, governor’s rule in Punjab can be withdrawn and the PML-N allowed to prove its majority in the Punjab Assembly. Neither measure will end opposition to the PPP government and its policies. But together they can demonstrate some commitment to resolving differences within a democratic framework. And without at least that commitment, it is hard to see how the PPP can justify remaining in office. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]A soft start[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 13 Mar, 2009[/B] THERE’S many a slip ’twixt cup and lip. Heralded as a national long march for the restoration of the deposed judges, Thursday’s showing in Karachi and Quetta has cast doubts on the ‘national’ tag of the movement. In both provincial capitals no more than a few hundred lawyers gathered and support from the opposition parties was noticeably scarce. On the day, the largest gathering of protesters was in Lahore, from where the long march is not scheduled to kick off for another couple of days. The lopsided turnout has raised some important questions. In recent weeks, the political upheaval in Punjab has given the long march added impetus, but the raison d’être of the long march is the restoration of the deposed judges. Can the movement be judged to reflect the national opinion if it draws its support predominantly from one province? Surely not. Without downplaying the government’s role in letting the judicial crisis fester, in the build-up to the march we have noted that there are other grave national crises confronting the state. If the lawyers and their supporters wanted to raise the stakes in pressing their demands, they should have paid heed to the need for their movement to demonstrate a national face. Otherwise they ran the risk of appearing to put their narrow interests ahead of the broader national interest. At the very least, the leaders of the lawyers’ movement and opposition political parties should have led from the front in Karachi and Quetta. But in quasi-farce scenes played out on television yesterday, at times it appeared that the hordes of cameramen and reporters easily outnumbered the protesters they were there to cover. Now the long march is shaping up to be a struggle that pits Punjab against the centre, with the almost inevitable result it will be seen through the political prism of a straight fight between the PPP and the PML-N. For the apolitical supporters of the principle of an independent judiciary, that will not be the outcome they could have hoped for. On its part, the government was again guilty of overreaction and an excessive use of force. More sensible hands would have recognised that the protesters in Karachi and Quetta represented little threat and were clearly not pushing for confrontation. Instead, the scenes of scuffles and mass detentions that played out in front of the cameras have added fuel to the perception that the government is nervous and edgy and can easily be goaded into making a catastrophic mistake. What the government appears to have failed to understand is the nature of power. Electing its candidate as chairman of the Senate or having a secure majority in parliament can become irrelevant if it appears the government doesn’t believe it is in charge outside parliament. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]New Senate chairman[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 13 Mar, 2009[/B] MANY in the country feel that there couldn’t have been a more appropriate moment for the upper house to elect Mr Farooq Naek as its new chairman. The unopposed election came on a day when the police terrorised political workers in Karachi and elsewhere to thwart the pro-judiciary long march on Islamabad. Over the past year, Mr Naek has had a busy schedule. As law minister, he toured bar associations in various parts of the country, reportedly offering the lawyers’ community privileges in an attempt to wean it off the movement for the reinstatement of the pre-Nov 3, 2007 judiciary. Lately, he was credited with — and blamed for — the rush of appointments in the judiciary as President Asif Zardari sought to consolidate his hold on power. The consolidation continues in the Senate and Mr Naek’s election is a measure of the trust the president has in his ability and, more significantly, in his pledges of loyalty. Mr Naek had long defended Benazir Bhutto and Mr Zardari in the courts and is believed to have provided the legal wherewithal to the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance that set Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari back on the road to power. He was also the PPP’s lawyer as it negotiated a pact with the PML-N after the February 2008 polls. He drew his share of flak as a new Zardari coterie emerged after the change of guard within the PPP and in Islamabad. He was disliked by opponents and also viewed with suspicion, perhaps mixed with envy, by party colleagues who perceived themselves as having a greater claim to a post in the PPP government. However, to be fair to the new Senate chairman, he appeared more aware than his leader of the problems that the promise to restore Justice Chaudhry would entail. On numerous occasions Mr Naek had either dismissed the possibility of restoring Justice Chaudhry or had pointed out just how complicated the task was. These warnings were drowned in political sloganeering inspired by expediency as promises were made and then broken. The author of the pact with the PML-N was also castigated along with the one who had actually commissioned the document. Senate Chairman Farooq Naek will be happier sitting away from the heat generated by the marchers even if it is presumed that his party and leader are going to continue to deny the lawyers their due. And he knows he will be just a dramatic development away from the most powerful office in the land. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]A ray of hope for women[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 13 Mar, 2009[/B] THE government has taken a commendable step in reconstituting the National Commission on the Status of Women and inducting a number of women activists into this body. Headed by Anis Haroon, who has played a leading role in the women’s movement in Pakistan, the NCSW should hopefully be able to act as an effective watchdog for women’s issues as was the intention when it was founded in July 2000. If the NSCW has so far failed to make an impact on the situation of women in Pakistan it is primarily because it had not been given the autonomy and powers needed to effect changes in the government’s policies and programmes. Although one of its functions was stated to be the review of “all laws … affecting the status and rights of women” in addition to suggesting “repeal, amendment or new legislation essential to eliminate discrimination, safeguard … the interests of women and achieve gender equality”, the commission remained a weak organisation that served more as an appendage of the government. Its earlier chairpersons and members cannot be held accountable for this failure because they were not empowered to play the role they were supposed to. It may be recalled that under Justice Majida Rizvi the commission had recommended in 2004 that the Hudood Ordinances be repealed as their enforcement had brought “injustice” in its wake. This was not done. The mandate of the NCSW is quite wide and comprehensive. If the commission is empowered to play a useful role it should be able to achieve much, given the performance of many of its members in the field of gender rights. One hopes that the government will introduce the required changes to make the NCSW an autonomous body — at present it is a part of the women’s ministry — and grant it financial independence and ministerial powers to enable it to investigate cases, review policies and, most important, enforce its decisions. If similar bodies in other countries have proved to be effective, it is because they are more empowered. One hopes that the new members will make the empowerment of the commission their first priority. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Lessons in democracy[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Monday, 16 Mar, 2009[/B] ON Sunday morning, Pakistan held its collective breath. The Lahore leg of the long march was scheduled to kick off, and as day broke it still wasn't clear what would happen. Would the government crush the protesters? Would the protesters react with violence of their own? Would democracy become a casualty of politics yet again? The events of the first half of the day were not promising. The Punjab administration used the police to prevent leaders of the lawyers' movement and the opposition political parties from appearing in public. As for the protesters who did turn up at the Lahore High Court, the administration tried to disperse them with teargas and baton-charges. It was ugly, it was excessive and it was anti-democratic. But once Nawaz Sharif came out of his residence and his caravan began to draw crowds, better sense seemed to prevail. The police fell back, the barricades were removed and the protesters were allowed to march peacefully. The day of contrasting halves has some important lessons for both sides. First, the government must understand that violence perpetrated by an elected government only weakens it. Every blow of the government against the long march over the last week has in fact been a blow to the government's credibility, which is now in tatters. Softer, sensible hands would have recognised that the government cannot live in a vacuum or wish the opposition away — and that by appearing to want to crush the opposition, the government in fact only ends up emboldening it. Now that the march proper has begun, it is still not too late for the government to respect the right to protest in a democracy and thereby repair some of the grievous damage to its reputation. Second, the lawyers and the political parties supporting the long march must uphold their side of the bargain. The corollary of the right to protest is the responsibility to ensure it is conducted peacefully. Until now, the great unspoken danger of the long march was that it would end in a violent confrontation with the government. The lawyers and their supporters have unquestionably suffered more at the hands of the state, but, on occasions, there have been hints of violent undertones in their campaign. Moreover, the marchers should not dismiss out of hand the government's warning of a possible terrorist attack. Militants are attracted to high-profile targets, and the long march has attracted the attention of the world's media. Whenever a mass of humanity gathers there are always security concerns, so the marchers must cooperate to mitigate the risks wherever possible. We've said it before: cooperation strengthens democracy, conflict weakens it. The long march is a chance for both sides to choose the better outcome. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A waterless world[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 16 Mar, 2009[/B] THE UN’s third ‘World water development report’ presents a grim picture of the planet’s freshwater reserves and the impact of water scarcity on poor or developing nations. Presented ahead of the fifth World Water Forum that is to be held later this month, the report points out that the multiplying demands of expanding human populations, coupled with the irresponsible or inefficient use of water and the effects of climate change, constitute a potential minefield. Water stress, in tandem with climate change, could pose mounting security challenges as competition for water threatens fragile states and fuels regional rivalry. This is because “water is linked to the crises of climate change, energy and food supplies and prices, and troubled financial markets…. Unless their links with water are addressed and water crises around the world are resolved, these other crises may intensify and local water crises may worsen, converging into a global water crisis and leading to political insecurity at various levels”. The report has grave implications for Pakistan which earns significant revenue from agriculture. The sector also constitutes the livelihood of millions of poor farmers who are end-of-the-line sufferers of the effects of inflation and rupee devaluation on the one hand, and of falling trade rates and global financial difficulties on the other. Pakistan is, in fact, no stranger to disputes arising out of water stress: the damming and diverting of up-river flows and water allocation have led to acrimony not only with India but also among the provinces. The provision of water for domestic and industrial use and access to safe drinking water also remain grave concerns. The scarcity of potable water is a major cause of infant mortality amongst poor or rural populations, for example, while water availability and theft is a significant divisive factor in Karachi. Given this situation, urgent steps must be taken to conserve the country’s water resources and use them efficiently. If a future disaster is to be averted, agricultural watercourses and canals must be rationalised and farmers educated about the fallout of unbridled irrigation. Since cash crops such as rice and cotton are water-intensive, modern water-conserving methodologies need to be explored. Concurrently, aging pipeline infrastructures in cities such as Karachi and Lahore, where sewerage and freshwater lines have been found to mix at certain points, must be repaired and leakages prevented. Most importantly, perhaps, concerted efforts are required to achieve consensus on the construction of new dams and reservoirs that can service the needs of water-stressed areas. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Capital libraries[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] Monday, 16 Mar, 2009 FOR many of those living in rural and suburban settlements, mobile libraries provide a major means of gaining regular access to reading and information services. Thus the plan by the Department of Libraries to establish a fleet of libraries on wheels to serve the suburban areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad is significant. The initiative is supposed to complement the mini-library or reading room project in urban areas. Both these projects are aimed at addressing the accessibility problem of libraries and giving residents — urban and rural — easier access to books. But establishing mini- and mobile libraries is one thing and getting these libraries to attract crowds of readers quite another. It is no secret that the lure of books these days faces stiff competition from the internet and a plethora of television channels. Although several grandiose plans to establish thousands of public libraries throughout the country have been put forward since independence, less than 200 libraries exist today. Three of these are in the federal capital and were established in the 1990s. One of them is the National Library of Pakistan inaugurated in 1993. Despite this scant number, library membership and the daily readership in Islamabad continue to below. Services to users are also very limited. Even if one of the three libraries, the Model Children Library, did not fall victim to the Lal Masjid affair and access to the National Library of Pakistan had not been restricted by security measures, one is doubtful whether many more people would have been using Islamabad’s libraries. Ensuring that the new mini-libraries and mobile libraries will not meet a similar fate requires the induction of qualified library staff and the reinvigoration of library services that at present are nowhere near those in countries where the reading habit is ingrained. It is also helpful to make librarians aware of the importance of private funding to improve their services. Reading material for mini-libraries and mobile libraries can also be obtained by soliciting donations in kind from the community. It would be a waste of resources and effort if, several years down the line, Islamabad is left with a string of ‘ghost’ reading rooms and mobile libraries on the pattern of our ‘ghost’ schools. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]The road ahead[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Tuesday, 17 Mar, 2009[/B] MONDAY morning was one for the believers. Fairy-tale endings are indeed possible in Pakistan: Iftikhar Chaudhry will once more be the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The lawyers and their supporters have taken a lot of flak, including in these columns, over the course of their movement. But credit is due to them for having run a determined and largely peaceful campaign in defence of a basic tenet of democracy: the right for a constitutional office-holder to not be ousted in an unconstitutional manner. In this land, where talk of democracy has rarely matched its practice, a potentially important marker has been laid down. There are limits to what a military government or even a democratically elected one can get away with. Importantly, too, it has been shown that a democratic principle can defeat political expediency without triggering chaos. Symbolism aside, the way forward will depend on the response of three groups: the superior judiciary, led by Iftikhar Chaudhry; the government, de facto led by President Zardari; and the opposition, led by Nawaz Sharif. Start with the court of Chief Justice Chaudhry. Upon returning to office, the chief justice will be confronted with many of the issues he was grappling with when ousted from office. Top of that list are constitutional distortions and the tension between constitutional oversight of the executive and interference in its policies. Gen Musharraf’s acts under the Proclamation of Emergency and Provisional Constitutional Order of November 2007 complicated the constitutional mess that his 17th Amendment created. But by reinstating the chief justice and the few remaining holdouts without recourse to parliament or a constitutional amendment, the government appears to have ceded that Gen Musharraf’s actions have no constitutional cover. From here it will be hard to argue that some results flowing from Gen Musharraf’s actions — such as the tinkering with the structure of the higher judiciary and its composition — are correct, while others are not. But the chief justice should exercise caution. Sweeping away the legal detritus of the Musharraf era may appear easy; controlling its effects is not. The chief justice should allow parliament an opportunity to resolve the constitutional imbroglio and to right the balance of power among state institutions. Having said that, the onus is on parliament to take up the constitutional issues urgently — it would be wrong to expect the Supreme Court to wait on the sidelines indefinitely. The second issue that Chief Justice Chaudhry should pay heed to is the superior judiciary’s role as executive watchdog. In a state as governance-challenged as Pakistan, there are seemingly limitless opportunities to use suo moto powers or public-interest litigation to right every wrong. But there is a difference between, say, a court using its powers to find missing persons and a court trying to determine the price of atta. Having been returned to office on the back of a popular movement, Chief Justice Chaudhry will feel the pressure to be the people’s champion. That may well be necessary in certain circumstances, but the Supreme Court must not become a policymaker. If, for example, the people don’t like the government’s food or fiscal policy, the corrective measure is to vote it out in the next election. Judicial intervention may be popular, but what is popular at any given time isn’t what is best from the perspective of systemic stability. Turn next to the government. It has dealt its reputation a grievous blow in recent weeks. While Chief Justice Chaudhry may be back, the fate of the Sharifs and PML-N’s government in Punjab is not resolved. The massive turnout in Lahore sent a clear message: the PML-N cannot be shut out of power. It is now up to the government to extend an olive branch, make amends and show the genuine sense of bipartisanship that was on display in the weeks after the February 2007 election. Actions not words are the need of the hour. Finally, the opposition. The PML-N may be tempted to go for the kill and topple the battered federal government. But it should resist that temptation. On Sunday, the party showed great maturity by leading a peaceful protest which captivated the country rather than shook its foundations with violence. But public agitation is a high-risk strategy and a political slug-fest between the PML-N and the PPP is always bad for the country. If the government makes the right moves, the PML-N should reciprocate and go back to the business of governance in Punjab and opposition within the confines of the parliamentary chamber at the centre. Monday was a good day for the transition to democracy, but the democratic project needs many more good days ahead if it is to succeed. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Respite for Afghan refugees[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 17 Mar, 2009[/B] REFUGEES the world over have always posed a dilemma for the host country. They have to be provided sanctuary on humanitarian grounds. But they are also seen as a burden on the economy of the land that takes them in. And when they overstay their welcome, they pose political and social problems as well. It is, however, considered inhuman to turn back hapless victims of manmade/natural catastrophes who have been forced to flee their homes. That is the case with the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Of late, they have begun to draw fire from different quarters because of the security risk some of them pose and the economic and social implications of their presence in the midst of Pakistanis. A legacy of the Afghan war of 1979-89 when Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan, the refugees sought shelter in neighbouring countries. Pakistan was the most popular destination, given the easy territorial access it provided and the ethnic and linguistic affinities the Afghans share with a section of the local population. Although most refugees (their numbers at one time swelled to nearly five million) have returned home, two million or so still remain. Under the last agreement concluded between the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and Pakistan, Afghan refugees were to go home by 2009. Islamabad has now agreed to extend the deadline by another four years. The significant feature of this accord is that the UNHCR has offered aid for the development of the regions where the refugees are concentrated. Indicative of its recognition of the negative impact the presence of refugees has on poor and underdeveloped societies, the UN agency has introduced the $140m Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (Raha) programme that is designed to benefit Afghans and Pakistanis alike. Until now, the UNHCR’s strategy had been to focus on the displaced persons by providing them with shelter, education, healthcare, nutrition and even training in skills to facilitate their economic rehabilitation when they returned to Afghanistan. Raha directs attention towards development projects in 21 districts of Pakistan, mostly in Balochistan and the NWFP which together have hosted most of the Afghan refugees in the country. This should help promote social cohesion as well as minimise the adverse effects of the refugee presence in any area. In any case, it offers the most feasible approach to the problem since refugees cannot be held responsible for their sorry circumstances. Neither can they be forced to return to a country that many among the younger lot are not familiar with and which continues to be a theatre of war. In a situation fraught with such dilemmas, much depends on the strategies adopted. However, one does wonder how far $140m in five years will take us. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Fix the structure[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009[/B] WHEN the transition to democracy began last year, there was an urgent need to right the constitutional balance of power among the various state institutions. Gen Musharraf had concentrated power in the presidency because that was the office from which he oversaw the executive. But across the political spectrum there is agreement that parliament sans the president should be the one calling the shots. From the executive side, this means, inter alia, the prime minister having the powers to appoint key officers of the state and his cabinet having meaningful powers over ministries like defence. From the parliamentary perspective, it means strengthening the legislative and oversight roles of the assemblies. Meanwhile, vertically, the relationship between the centre and the provinces needs to be revised because the federal government lords it over the provinces in too many areas. The politicians understand all of this. Or at least they do when not in power. In May 2006, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif signed the Charter of Democracy, which has a recipe to resolve many of the structural problems that beset the state. Yet, a year since an elected parliament has been in place, there has been no movement. Both sides are to blame. The government for emphasising the consolidation of power rather than righting constitutional wrongs. The opposition, led by the PML-N, for putting the judges issue before less glamorous constitutional issues. But now that the decks have been cleared — Gen Musharraf is gone, Chief Justice Chaudhry is to be restored, the Senate elections have been held and the threat of street agitation has receded — the politicians must immediately address the structural issues. Two points need to be flagged. One, the window for constitutional change is small. Seventeen amendments to a constitution that is 36 years old may sound a lot, but they have mostly come when one party or individual dominates the political landscape. That is not the case with the current parliament. But after the weekend’s events, there is a sense of cooperation in the air. The politicians must seize this moment before another issue bubbles up and they go at it hammer and tongs. Punjab is clearly a space contested between the PML-N and PPP, so they should use the respite to do good. The second point is that as much as personality may dominate our politics, the rules still constrain them. Gen Musharraf found that out last August when he was cornered by the elected representatives. And President Zardari too knows this, for why else would he have tried so hard to keep Iftikhar Chaudhry out? If we are ever to get out of the rut of instability, the rules governing the system must be reset. Now is the chance. Allow it to slip by, and the country is guaranteed to suffer again. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Taliban courts?[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009[/B] HOW many times do we need to be reminded of the folly of striking deals from a position of weakness and with people who cannot be held to their word? Time and again, governments both past and present have opted to negotiate with militants who flout the writ of the state at will. Such are our limitations that purveyors of barbarity are rewarded for killing civilians, ‘American spies’, security personnel and people — usually women — summarily deemed to be immoral. When the state lost total control of Swat, it chose to enter into a plea bargain with Sufi Mohammad of the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi. He convinced the Taliban to hold fire because the state had capitulated and Sharia was to be introduced in Malakand Division, of which Swat is a part. The ceasefire may still be in effect but it is obvious that the Taliban call the shots in almost all of Swat. They patrol the roads and man their own checkpoints — and kidnap or kill anyone they please. The state, having agreed not to launch any fresh offensive and to enforce Sharia in the region at the earliest, simply looks on. The bargain was that qazi courts would be set up in Malakand Division to dispense speedy justice in accordance with the Sharia, a long-standing demand of the TNSM. Under the agreement, flawed as it was, existing judicial officers were to preside over these qazi courts. But on Monday, Sufi Mohammad announced that judges must stop coming to court because the qazi system would come into effect on Tuesday. How can he unilaterally come to this decision? Confusion prevails as we speak and the government has some explaining to do. Islamabad claims that judges and magistrates will head the qazi courts in Swat. Sufi Mohammad says that they must stop attending office. So who will preside over these ‘courts’? The Taliban? Representatives of Sufi Mohammad and his son-in-law Fazlullah? What sort of justice will they dole out? Will these ‘judges’ abide by the laws of jurisprudence, of whatever ilk, or pass judgment in accordance with their personal likes and dislikes or individual view of morality? Will petty thieves have their hands chopped off? Will women be taken to these ‘courts’ if they dare to venture out of their homes? The state has some answering to do. The people of Pakistan need to know if the government is upholding the rule of law or sanctioning a descent into the medieval age. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Khatami out of the race[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009[/B] MOHAMMAD Khatami’s decision to pull out of the race for the Iranian presidency could prove a setback for the reformists who had hoped to deny President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term after the June election. During his two terms as president (1997-2005), Mr Khatami pursued a reformist agenda that inspired hope for change, even though his efforts were blocked by the clerics who are well-entrenched in Iran’s political system. The latter has multiple centres of power. Mr Khatami’s biggest achievement was in the realm of foreign policy. He succeeded in breaking Iran’s international isolation. He improved his country’s relations with Europe, promised to halt uranium enrichment without abandoning the nuclear programme and engaged in talks with the European Three. He also forged closer ties with the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Iranians could do with a man like Mr Khatami to undo the damage done to their ties with the West by the hard line taken by Mr Ahmadinejad on the nuclear question and his frequent threats to destroy Israel. While announcing his decision to pull out of the election, Mr Khatami said he was doing so to avoid splitting reformist votes. Political analysts say the move could backfire and benefit the hard-liners. There are several reformist leaders in the run, including former parliament speaker Mahdi Karoubi and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi. Both are pledged to reforms, but it is doubtful that all Khatami supporters will necessarily vote for either, thus helping the current incumbent win another four-year term. A moderate is needed at this juncture, especially because under Barack Obama, America has shown some flexibility in its Iran policy. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington may invite Tehran to the conference on Afghanistan scheduled for March 31. However, Mr Ahmadinejad’s response to Obama’s overtures has been to ask the US to apologise to Iran. This attitude won’t do. Iran needs a leader who could move the country away from the politics of confrontation, resume social reforms and set the economy in order. Despite having a populist image, the current dispensation has alienated large sections of the people because of inflation and mismanagement of the economy. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Need for dialogue[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009[/B] THIS is the time for cooperation and dialogue, not one-upmanship. True, relations between Pakistan and India have improved and a potential catastrophe has been averted. Where once threats of war were flying thick and fast, there is talk of joint efforts to crack down on terrorism in South Asia. Intelligence has been shared and progress made by those trying to track down the masterminds of the Mumbai massacre. A top Lashkar-i-Taiba commander was arrested and Jamaatud Dawa, allegedly a front for the LT, shut down after it was proscribed by the UN. Even so, greater goodwill needs to be demonstrated by both countries. In this regard, the onus is heavier on Pakistan as India feels it is the aggrieved party and because most of the attackers are believed to be Pakistani. Against this backdrop, there is little point in saying that the authorities here are not satisfied with India’s response to the 30-odd questions raised by Pakistan in connection with the ongoing investigation. If there are reservations about the information provided by India, such qualms should be conveyed through official channels, not the media. Even if the intelligence shared by India is not 100 per cent complete, any leads that have been provided should be followed up without delay. India too needs to show greater restraint. It is understandable that New Delhi wants quick action. But at the same time it should be recognised that investigators here need to build a case that can stand up in court. Terrorism threatens the very existence of Pakistan and no country has suffered more in recent years at the hands of homegrown extremists. As such it is in our own interest to step up the fight against those who wish to impose their medieval values on others. The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore bore striking similarities to the assault in Mumbai. People who argue that the Lashkar-i-Taiba has never threatened Pakistani interests fail to the fact that never before had the Pakistani state come down so hard on the LT. Of course it is yet to be established that the LT was behind the Mumbai or Lahore attacks. Still, it is clear that our biggest enemies lie within. There are other reasons too why the architects of the Mumbai carnage must be brought to book at the earliest. Without greater strides on this count, progress is unlikely on the core issue of Kashmir and other lingering disputes such as Siachen and the demarcation of maritime borders. Recent reports have suggested that Pakistan and India were close to striking a deal on Kashmir when Gen Musharraf was ousted as president. If trust is restored by bringing closure to the Mumbai tragedy, there is no reason why we cannot strive for that level of understanding again. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Managing civic utilities[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009[/B] IT is encouraging that the need to provide and strengthen municipal infrastructure in Pakistani cities is now receiving the attention of development planners. Given the rapid pace of urbanisation — 50 per cent of Pakistan’s population is expected to live in towns and cities by 2015 — it is time this sector was addressed seriously. The priority must be to devise feasible strategies for water supply, sewerage and waste water management, and public transport systems which are crucial to the quality of life of citizens in urban areas. One would therefore welcome the Asian Development Bank’s interest in supporting the capacity of provincial and municipal governments in developing and implementing urban policies. Focusing on these areas is significant because the country’s failure to develop an adequate municipal infrastructure in any city is attributed to flawed strategies and the inability of local governments to implement plans. The ADB should also share the responsibility for this failure in the past because, as it has itself admitted, there have been instances when it financed projects unsuitable for local conditions. In view of this, one cannot be sure that the Country Partnership Strategy that the ADB signed with Pakistan last week will succeed. At a time when the trend is towards re-municipalisation the world over, the bank speaks of supporting private sector participation in service delivery and urban transport system investment. It plans to set up Urban Services Corporations jointly owned by local governments in some “secondary towns”. The USCs will be staffed by professionals from the private sector with an emphasis on outsourcing, design-build-operate contract modalities and performance-based concessions or lease arrangements. The induction of the private sector in municipal services is a contentious issue in developing countries because it inevitably leads to the escalation of charges citizens have to pay for utilities that are often of poor quality. Karachi has experienced this in failed experiments of privatising KESC and solid waste management in the city. It is time the government tested indigenous strategies which are based on the principle of participatory development and seek to induct local populations to build civic infrastructure on a self-help basis in various neighbourhoods. Under such an arrangement, municipalities provide and strengthen the strategic infrastructure by delivering bulk supplies. This approach has succeeded in areas where it has been tried — the Orangi Pilot Project being the most notable example. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Israeli missile attack talk[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009[/B] REPORTS that Israel could use missiles in its formidable arsenal to attack Iran must be viewed with concern by all those interested in a peaceful solution to Tehran’s nuclear question. A report released by an American think-tank said Tel Aviv could use Jericho III missiles to try to destroy Iran’s nuclear plants at Natanz, Esfahan and Arak. According to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a missile attack suits Israel because planes could be shot down, have limited payloads and the pilots could be lost. Jericho, on the other hand, has a higher payload and is accurate to a few metres. Still there are problems with its use, too, because experts say the Iranian nuclear plants are dispersed and well-fortified, and a first strike must be followed by a second at the same crack to burrow deep into the plant and cripple if not destroy it. These are, however, technical problems, and Israel — given its track record — may well be quite capable of overcoming them and achieving yet another of those ‘‘feats’’ it feels so proud of and wins plaudits from most western governments and the media. The issue, however, has deeper diplomatic and geopolitical implications. There is no doubt Iran has the right to pursue a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, and many western governments accept this. There are also indications that Iran has considerably slowed down, if not abandoned, its uranium enrichment programme. But apparently Tehran is not doing enough to ease western concerns, for even the International Atomic Energy Agency has been complaining against a lack of cooperation from Tehran. Some of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s utterances, including those threatening Israel’s destruction, have evoked a storm of protests in the West. However, the solution to this diplomatic problem lies not in threatening Iran with attacks but in seeking a diplomatic way forward. At a time when America is in the process of re-examining its Iran policy, it is time the Obama administration made it clear to Tel Aviv that it must cooperate with Washington in seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear question rather than aggravate matters with war talk. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]New threat of strikes[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 20 Mar, 2009[/B] HOPEFULLY better sense will prevail and nothing will come of reports that the US may extend its covert operations in Pakistan beyond Fata to Balochistan. According to The New York Times, the Obama administration has been advised by military commanders to strike Taliban ‘safe havens’ in and around Quetta, which they believe serve as the headquarters of Mullah Omar and a staging post for attacks in southern Afghanistan. Pakistan has long denied such claims. Fortunately not everyone in Washington subscribes to the new policy being proposed by the military brass. One senior official has been quoted as saying that “expanding [the] US role inside Pakistan may be more than anyone there can stomach”. We couldn’t agree more. American strikes in Pakistan violate the country’s sovereignty and give those who are fanning anti-western and anti-Islamabad sentiments even more ammunition. At the same time, the civilian deaths caused by such strikes not only alienate but enrage ordinary tribal people without whose cooperation the war against militancy can never be won. That said, certain home truths need to be driven home. Pakistan rightly condemns violations of sovereignty but also needs to accept its own shortcomings. While US policy may be misguided, it is the Pakistani state that allowed the sore of militancy to fester and disfigure large swathes of the country. The folly of ‘strategic depth’, a goal that could only be achieved through non-state actors, is one of the root causes of militancy in today’s Pakistan. Guns that once targeted foreign ‘enemies’ now point inwards. Many also believe that the Musharraf regime deliberately kept the threat of Talibanisation alive to convince the West of his indispensability. Militancy spread first from the tribal agencies to the frontier regions (FRs) and then to the settled districts of the NWFP. Taliban-inspired militants can now be found across the country, including the major cities. As for Balochistan, the FC inspector general may be correct in his assessment on Wednesday that the Taliban do not enjoy political or tribal support in the province. That, however, does not mean that there are no Taliban holed up there. It is after all a fact that top Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud died in district Zhob in July 2007 during an encounter with security personnel. Drone strikes are a low-cost way of taking out targets without risking American lives. The US top brass thinks it is a successful policy because drone attacks have reportedly made inroads into the Al Qaeda leadership. This is a simplistic assessment and the ongoing strategic review of America’s Afghan policy must take the broader picture into account. Targeting Al Qaeda and the Taliban may be important but it is also critical that America not lose its few friends in this part of the world. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Power cuts yet again[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 20 Mar, 2009[/B] IN his inaugural address to the National Assembly a year ago, an optimistic prime minister promised to find a solution to the power crisis in the first 100 days of his rule. Later, a slightly more cautious minister for power set his government a new deadline — December 2009 — for ending loadshedding in the country. All this while, officials have been busy trying to temper public expectations on this count. There have been some efforts but matters haven’t improved. In fact, the cumulative effects of an industry and a people denied energy season after season raises fears of even angrier reactions than have been witnessed so far. The people are once again being told to prepare for eight hours of power cuts starting today as electricity production declines and demand rises. People will be forced to turn off lights, air-conditioners and other devices to make up for the difference of 3,500 megawatts in generation and its demand. The poor, who consume only a fraction of the total electricity production, will suffer the most because they cannot afford generators as substitutes. Just as in the past, the economy will suffer huge losses. Industrial production is feared to dip further and trade will slow down significantly as a result of long blackouts. Many factories have been shut down during the last one year and hundreds of jobs lost because the owners did not get electricity to run their plants. Others were forced to cut production. The government’s attempts to fix the problem have been largely unsuccessful. Like the people, officials too seem to be groping in the dark for a solution to the persisting power shortages. True, the crisis stems from the policymakers’ failure to invest public money or attract private investment for setting up new power plants and dams for hydroelectric power generation in the last 10 years or more. But the crisis cannot be allowed to linger any longer. People want a quick solution to the issue. That, experts say, lies in harnessing wind and solar power, which is relatively cheaper and faster to do than building thermal plants and dams. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Repeal of 17th Amendment[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 20 Mar, 2009[/B] THE euphoria over the restoration of the judges should not blind us to one reality: while the sacking of the chief justice and other judges was at the hands of a military ruler, the reversal of this decision was the result of executive action propelled by a popular movement. Parliament was nowhere in the picture. Gen Pervez Musharraf had rendered Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ‘non-functional’ in March 2007. Even though he was restored to his post through a legal process, Mr Chaudhry was out of the Supreme Court again when on Nov 3, 2007 Gen Musharraf imposed emergency as army chief. Many of the judges refused to (or were not invited to) take oath under the infamous PCO. More recently, the prime minister informed the nation of the decision to restore the pre-Nov 3 judiciary. But the actual notification restoring the top judges was signed by President Asif Zardari. Barring the fact that he cannot enact a PCO by decree — the privilege is reserved for army chiefs — Mr Zardari enjoys all powers flowing from the 17th Amendment. The cornucopia of those laws makes the president more powerful than the prime minister in what is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy. The most controversial of these powers flows from Article 58-2(b), which authorises the head of state to dissolve the National Assembly and sack the prime minister even if he enjoys the house’s confidence. Gen Ziaul Haq had inserted this clause in the 1973 Constitution and used it to sack the Junejo government. Since then, the two presidents — Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari — have used it three times to dismiss elected governments headed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. When Nawaz Sharif returned to power a second time with ‘a heavy mandate’, the PML-N government did away with this article. However, Gen Musharraf revived this clause, which was made part of the constitution through the 17th Amendment. The post-Zia democracy could have survived if presidents Ishaq Khan and Leghari had refrained from invoking Article 58-2(b) for reasons which were political rather than constitutional, and that violated the stipulation in the clause that the president could resort to this extreme measure only if there were circumstances in which the state machinery could no longer work according to the constitution. In at least two cases, the courts declared the presidential action illegal. The current situation provides all parties with an excellent opportunity to do away with the 17th Amendment and restore to the constitution its parliamentary character. |
[CENTER][SIZE="5"][COLOR="Green"]The spread of despondency[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER]
Dawn Editorial Saturday, 21 Mar, 2009 Men inspect the damaged high-voltage power line tower at Ormar area in the suburbs of Peshawar. — AP THE fallout of the ongoing terrorist onslaught in Pakistan is not restricted to civilian deaths and damaged infrastructure. It can also be seen in the unsettling disruptions to routine life in the affected areas. This is part of the militant strategy. Those who are fighting the state seek to undermine its writ by destroying the confidence of the people in the government and its ability to protect the life and property of citizens. Hence when electricity pylons are blown up, as they were in Peshawar on Thursday, the idea is to cause the maximum negative impact on the public. With people already struggling to cope with the inadequate supply and poor quality of utilities — be they electricity or transport or other basic services — terrorist-inflicted damage is an additional burden. Of course, such disruption is not always caused by reducing infrastructure to rubble. Other tactics adopted by the militants have equally devastating results. Thus on Wednesday men armed with rocket launchers patrolled the Ring Road and the Bara Road in Peshawar to disrupt communications. Earlier they had fired rockets on Kohat, and attacked Sufi shrines in the NWFP. They seek to create panic and to cause enormous business losses through such activities. It is unfortunate that the government’s response to this situation has been inadequate. When the power pylons were blown up in Peshawar, the police admitted that they had heard the blasts but did nothing because it was dark and they avoided going to the ‘dangerous area’ as it was the same spot where they had had an encounter with criminals a few days earlier. Such an attitude can only encourage the militants to indulge in more violence while the law-enforcement agencies experience a loss of confidence within their ranks. They have yet to demonstrate their will and ability to confront the terrorists and pre-empt violence. In some areas people have demonstrated their desire for peace, and public rallies have been held to make it clear that a large number of citizens oppose such violence. But the police will have to bolster their efforts by working out a feasible anti-terror strategy and actually implement it. [CENTER][SIZE="4"][B][COLOR="DarkGreen"]PPP in Punjab[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] Dawn Editorial Saturday, 21 Mar, 2009 Supporters of PML-N burn a poster featuring President Zardari during a protest against the Supreme Court’s decision on the disqualification of their leaders in Lahore. — Reuters SEEMINGLY oblivious to the mood in the country, the PPP is pressing ahead with its claim to the Punjab government. But it is difficult to make sense of the PPP’s game plan. Assume that the party does in fact cobble together enough votes in the Punjab Assembly to elect a government. What then? The PML-N, the party with a near majority on its own in the assembly, will be shut out of power — a guaranteed recipe for continuing instability in the province and, if history is any guide, an arrangement that will almost surely not last until the end of the Punjab Assembly’s term. So why aim for something that will cost a great deal to achieve and then continue to cost a great deal to simply retain? But the PPP leadership seems not to care. What the party is attempting in Punjab appears to be nothing more than a power grab. If it isn’t, then where is the talk of the policies that would set it apart from what the PML-N-led provincial government had to offer? The wrongness of what is going on in Punjab is so total that it is difficult to know where to begin to explain it. The PPP itself? Murmurs of internal dissent have become a din that grows louder by the day. The PPP’s coalition partners in the other provincial governments and at the centre? Reaction has ranged from outright hostility to the PPP’s Punjab putsch to musings about a loss of direction. Punjab? The visible signs of the PPP — posters, banners, advertising hoardings — have been torn down and the hostility of the man on the street is palpable on TV screens. The centre? Governance appears to have taken a back seat as ministers and parliamentarians huddle to discuss the latest shenanigans. The ‘extra-parliamentary powers’, i.e. the army and the US? Speculation of ‘concern’ in those quarters over the continuing political crisis is rife. In these columns we have often highlighted the other national crises that beset the country, including a sinking economy and rising militancy, and pleaded for political stability so that space and time is created to address those issues. So when the lawyers and the opposition threatened a long march and a sit-in for the restoration of the deposed judges, we asked whether the possibility of street agitation was what the country needed at this crucial juncture in its history. Even if the cause was just — which the lawyers’ movement was — the means had to be peaceful and mindful of other crises that threaten to overwhelm the state. But now it is the PPP that is distracting itself from the real task at hand. The only positive is last weekend’s events that demonstrated that common sense can still prevail, even if at the eleventh hour. We hope it won’t take that long this time. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Raiwind meeting[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009[/B] THE congenial atmosphere in Raiwind when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani paid a visit to Nawaz Sharif was a welcome relief from the disturbing signs of brinkmanship in recent days. But the PPP and the PML-N have not turned the corner yet, and, photo ops aside, there is reason to worry that the two parties may yet descend into the old pattern of internecine political warfare. Three issues have emerged as stumbling blocks to a political truce: the electoral eligibility of the Sharifs; control of the Punjab government; and structural changes embodied in the Charter of Democracy. On the disqualification issue, Nawaz Sharif has laid down the wrong marker. Mr Sharif has said that cooperation with the PPP depends on the Supreme Court reversing itself. But cooperation should depend on the PPP using every tool available to it to ensure the Sharifs can contest elections again. If the Supreme Court fails to overturn the Sharifs’ disqualification, then the PPP must find a legislative solution to what is a manifestly unjust situation. By demanding a certain mode for return to electoral politics, Mr Sharif has unfortunately sent a signal that only judgments in his favour are correct. But surely political stability and institutional integrity demand that the politicians find political solutions to political problems rather than impose make-or-break conditions on the judiciary. The second problem is the tussle for the Punjab government. Thus far the PPP has failed to gain the requisite majority in the Punjab Assembly and common sense suggests the party should abandon the pursuit immediately. Besides being good for stability in the province, the PPP should be wary of the possible repercussions at the centre. A failed attempt to woo the PML-Q would encourage voices in the latter demanding a reunion with the PML-N — an outcome that would create a formidable opposition to the PPP in Islamabad. In any case, it is difficult to imagine how the talk of cooperation between the PML-N and the PPP could become a reality again if the latter insists on shutting the former out of its power base. Thirdly, the PML-N has made implementation of the Charter of Democracy its main demand at the centre now that deposed judges have been restored to office. Prime Minister Gilani reiterated his party’s commitment to the charter, but the language used by the PPP on the subject is interesting. The party has talked of ‘negotiations’ and ‘cooperation’ and ‘understandings’ on the ‘basis’ of the charter, but has not given a timeframe for its implementation, nor even categorically said that each and every provision will be implemented in letter and spirit. Clearly, notwithstanding public statements, there is much that still divides the PPP and the PML-N. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A precious resource[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009[/B] THE Fifth World Water Forum held in Istanbul recently has drawn global attention to a vital resource that is basic to the survival of mankind. It is ironic that governments have to be reminded of this fact time and again, yet they fail to address those water-related issues that now threaten the very existence of a number of countries. Some of the data released by international agencies is shocking. The burgeoning global population, climate change, wasteful lifestyles driven by consumerism and unequal water distribution have cumulatively led to a drastic fall in water resources across the globe. By the year 2030, nearly half the global population — almost four billion people — is expected to be ‘water-stressed’. Those severely affected will be living mainly in South Asia and China. Yet governments have failed to prioritise the issue of water security. They are still not cooperating with one another to optimise the use of water and thus coexist by sharing resources. True, they face major constraints — the absence of adequate technology and finances to conserve water and make it accessible, political trust deficit among different regions, lack of transparency in water management, and the failure to recognise water as a basic human right of the citizens are some of the problems. The anti-social approach that encourages water politics was succinctly challenged by protesters in Istanbul who insisted on “No to water privatisation”. Pakistan has kept a low profile through all this. If this is indicative of the government’s apathy towards water, it is a pity. Our water problem is expected to intensify as the country moves from the status of a ‘water-stressed’ country to a ‘water-scarce’ one. Only 36 per cent of the people have access to tapped water — only 22 per cent in the rural areas — while per capita availability of water is barely 1,000 cubic metres compared to the 5,000 cubic metres we had in the 1950s. This in itself should shock us out of our complacency. Pakistan still has a long way to go towards improving its water demand management, conserve water flows to prevent wastage and restore the ecosystem, upgrade its water supply infrastructure, promote cooperation on the sustainable use of trans-boundary water resources, build small reservoirs all over the country, improve agricultural practices to increase water productivity and, above all, devise a system to distribute water equitably to all, irrespective of their capacity to pay. If these issues are not addressed on an urgent basis, Pakistan will head towards a water disaster. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Tariq Malik[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009[/B] WHO are the people prowling the streets of Lahore from dusk to dawn, depriving people of their cellphones, cash, vehicles — and shooting to kill if anyone resists? In the last two weeks, they have struck 450 times in the city; yet Lahore’s police remain completely clueless as to their identity and whereabouts. Tariq Malik (1979-2009), a reporter with DawnNews for more than a year and a journalist for four years or so, would surely have been covering this phenomenal police failure had he not become a victim to it. Late on Sunday night, as he tried to resist an armed robbery near his apartment in Defence — considered safer than many other localities in Lahore — he was shot dead by one of the criminals. Malik, an International Relations graduate from the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, had an affable personality and a positive outlook on life. He had stars in his eyes and possessed qualities of head and heart to reach them. For his siblings and parents in the small southern Punjab town of Layyah, his death meant the end of a dream which saw him getting ahead against heavy odds. For the police, though, it is just another entry in the burgeoning crime list they appear least bothered about. While street crime keeps increasing, the police in Lahore seem to be going through endless transfers and postings, which makes it easier for them to pass the buck when they fail to focus on the job at hand. Not that they seem interested in or capable of handling the situation. Events in March demonstrate this: in the first week of the month, terrorists hit visiting foreign sportsmen with effortless ease and escaped without a hitch; by the end of the second week, the long march left the police searching for a working chain of command; and now Malik’s death has underscored their abject failure in making life secure in the city. They have a force of 27,000 for eight million or so Lahoris, yet they are utterly ineffective. How many people like Tariq Malik will die before this changes? |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Militancy on the march[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009[/B] IT could have been much, much worse. But for the extraordinary bravery of a police guard, Monday’s suicide attack in Islamabad may have taken a far heavier toll. A fearless constable, Faysal Jan, lost his life as he grappled with the assailant but probably saved many others present that night at the headquarters of the Special Branch police. In the end the death toll was limited to Mr Jan himself — and of course the suicide bomber. The police department owes the deceased constable a huge debt of gratitude, as does the nation as a whole. Monday’s incident was the first suicide attack in the federal capital in four months but across the country such bombings occur every other day. We have in our midst both local and foreign fanatics who are bent on mayhem. Taliban militias are gaining strength in some areas and the enemy is closing in. Unable to dictate terms, the state is capitulating and striking deals with militants from a position of weakness. It is the Taliban who are calling the shots, not the government or its security apparatus. Little wonder that there is no stopping the march of militancy which threatens to butcher our core values. According to recent intelligence reports, some 20 foreign militants, most of them Uzbeks, have been dispatched by Tehrik-i-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to carry out terrorist strikes in major cities. Needless to say, ceaseless vigilance is required if catastrophe is to be avoided. Suicide attacks must necessarily be prevented in advance, for thwarting a bomber once he has reached the scene of the crime is next to impossible. All available police resources should be diverted immediately to monitoring suspicious movement and intercepting potential bombers and other attackers. One option: the police posses placed at the disposal of VIPs, largely for the latter’s self-glorification, need to be stripped to the bare minimum and put to better use. Intelligence-gathering efforts must also be boosted. The challenge ahead is daunting in the extreme. There are disturbing reports that the rocket launchers and explosives used in the attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team were standard-issue weapons used by Indian forces. If true, these findings suggest that genuine regional cooperation in the fight against militancy and terrorism may still be a distant dream. Finally, a word on the Pakistani political scene. It is encouraging that the country’s two main political parties seem to be pulling together in the name of stability and national harmony. But political stability is not an end in itself and neither is power-sharing or the allocation of ministerial posts. True cooperation will be evident only when the major players unite to tackle the principal problems facing the country. Militancy and the causes behind it head the list. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Tuberculosis: a major killer[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009[/B] AT a time when politics dominates our lives, one should not fail to note that Pakistan is being devastated by health problems that have emerged as silent killers. Tuberculosis is one of them. March 24, observed as World TB Day every year, came as a reminder, albeit a routine one, of how vulnerable we are to this disease which kills almost 70,000 in the country annually. This is a shame, for these lives could have been saved only if society and the state had the will to address the problem. The 300,000 new cases diagnosed every year add to Pakistan’s tuberculosis burden of an estimated four million sufferers. TB is curable, and it is a pity that 127 years after Dr Robert Koch identified the TB bacillus enabling effective drugs to be developed, we still have people dying of the disease. The expansion of diagnostic and health facilities doesn’t seem to have helped much. Many cases are still not detected. Meanwhile, patients who start the treatment often interrupt it — the normal course is of eight months’ duration — end up with multi-drug resistant TB that is deadlier and more costly to treat. It appears that the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) programme, which is designed to ensure that patients don’t abandon medication halfway, has helped but not fully. The fact is that those suffering from tuberculosis are mostly poor, uneducated and malnourished. They lack resistance to disease (some are AIDS sufferers) and their poverty and ignorance compound their health problems. As they live in congested conditions and are not aware of the protective measures that are essential to stopping the spread of TB, they become easy carriers. If untreated, they can infect as many as 10 to 15 healthy people every year. Hence the challenge is not simply the medical dimension of the treatment, which no doubt is important. There is also a need to address the basic issue of health education in communities that need to be taught the art of healthy living. Civic bodies could help by improving their performance in the field of sanitation, water supply and sewage/solid waste disposal. ********************************************************** [COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"][CENTER][B][U]Exit America?[/U][/B][/CENTER][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [B]Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009[/B] WITH the US administration set to unveil its new strategy on Afghanistan next week, President Obama’s remarks about the need for an “exit strategy” and to avoid “perpetual drift” make for an interesting preview. Mr Obama has consistently tried to lower expectations about Afghanistan, talking of a ‘stalemate’ and moving away from George W. Bush’s broader strategy of promoting democracy towards the goal of simply preventing another attack on US soil being launched from Afghanistan. But does this mean the US is losing its appetite for the fight in Afghanistan and is preparing to cut and run? Far from it. President Obama is a sophisticated thinker with a taste for complexity. His short-term plan has already been revealed: 17,000 more US troops will arrive in Afghanistan this spring and summer. More may be on their way next year. And in briefings to Nato allies, Special Representative Richard Holbrooke has outlined the new strategy on Afghanistan, which reportedly has a significant non-military component and includes multi-billion dollar aid for Pakistan, in line with the US administration’s preference for a ‘regional’ solution to the Afghan problem. So clearly the US administration is trying to craft a plan for Afghanistan that pays heed to short-, medium- and long-term requirements. Mr Obama’s reference to an exit strategy may have been meant to pacify his domestic audience and the US’s international partners with a troop presence in Afghanistan, all of whom are worried about losing endless blood and treasure in a faraway place. Here in Pakistan it is important to properly understand the thrust of what the US is attempting to do in Afghanistan in the years ahead. The simplistic, and dangerous, conclusion would be that the western world is preparing to turn tail and therefore our security establishment’s policy of hedging its bets and keeping its links to militants alive stands vindicated. Some home truths need to be absorbed. Pursuing the chimera of strategic depth in Afghanistan has greatly harmed Pakistan, so much so that militancy is today a threat to the existence of the state itself. To survive as a state we must fight militancy with every resource available and seek whatever help we can get. The Americans can be a valuable ally in that fight. No doubt they got many things wrong under President Bush, and President Obama has clung to the deeply unpopular drone strikes. But betting on a quick American withdrawal in Afghanistan will not be the solution to our problems. ********************************************************** [B][U][COLOR="DarkGreen"][CENTER][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES: European Press:- MPs’ expenses[/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER][/COLOR][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009[/B] THE debate over Tony McNulty and Jacqui Smith strengthens the case of a review of the rules on MPs’ salaries, expenses and allowances. The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established by John Major in 1994 amid concern about the unethical conduct of some MPs, notably the acceptance of financial incentives for tabling questions. It is ostensibly an independent standing body; but its terms of reference are set by the government, to whom recommendations are made and advice is given. Its remit is “to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life”. The committee will now investigate the allowances of MPs in the light of continued public unease about the way they are claimed. We believe this is correct. The disclosure that Tony McNulty, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, has claimed some £60,000 in additional costs allowance for the home where his parents live in his London constituency is the latest illustration of a deeply unsatisfactory state of affairs…. Mr McNulty maintains that he has done nothing wrong and that his claims were “within the rules”. It is, of course, possible to have done something wrong within the rules if the rules themselves are flawed.The standards committee is not empowered to investigate individuals, and nor should it. There is a parliamentary commissioner, to whom a complaint has been made against Mr McNulty, to do that. Over the years, the Commons has taken serious action against members whose activities have not been so obviously dissimilar from those of Mr McNulty or Miss Smith. The latter pair should not be treated differently because they are senior members of the government. What is needed is a thorough review of salaries, expenses and allowances of MPs, some hard and fast rules for their dispensation and a clear exposition of the penalties for any breaches. This would necessarily entail the agreement of parliament which is, after all, the highest court in the land, and whose members are assumed to be honourable…. Yet … suspicion has grown among voters that some … are abusing their position by using their expenses to enhance their incomes. This is bad for democracy and bad for the country. The standards committee has seven principles that it believes should apply to all in the public services. They include the concept of selflessness — that public office should not be used as an opportunity for enrichment at the expense of the taxpayer. The suspicion that this is what is happening must be laid to rest once and for all. — (March 23) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Judicial reform[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009[/B] ON his first day back in his chambers, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has spoken of the need to rid the judiciary of corruption. “In my opinion, lawyers will have to continue their struggle for dignity of this institution and make it more respectable,” the chief justice said. Mr Chaudhry is correct; the restoration of the deposed judges is only the first step in a long struggle for an independent, responsive and effective judiciary. The task ahead is nothing short of gargantuan. From providing speedy justice in ordinary civil or criminal cases to putting in place a transparent mechanism for the selection of superior court judges, from making sense of the constitutional mess to shoring up a failing judicial infrastructure — there is no shortage of areas where change is needed. What is important to understand though is that the lawyers and the judges themselves cannot fix a broken system. They may work harder, more honestly and with a greater sense of purpose, but unless the government of the day does not genuinely address the structural problems that afflict the judicial system in Pakistan, change will be limited. Consider the issue of delivery of justice. A report by the International Crisis Group last October painted a very bleak picture: “Under-equipped courts and prisons deny access to justice to citizens…. The limited writ of the justice system and the resulting vacuum [have] also enabled widespread vigilantism.” The math is easy enough to understand: 75 to 80 per cent of cases are handled by the subordinate judiciary, but a lack of resources has resulted in an estimated backlog of 1.5 million cases in the civil courts alone. The ICG report goes on to flag the continuing problem: “Successive government law commissions have recommended a substantial increase in the number of judicial officers, courts and other facilities only to have their recommendations ignored.” On the criminal side, governmental neglect has also been disastrous. The country’s prosecution rate was estimated in 2007 to be less than 10 per cent. Why this terrible state of affairs? “Inadequate pay and resources, limited investigation and prosecution capacities and long gaps between the filing of charges and trial dates during which evidence often disappears are some of the problems,” according to the ICG. Consider also the issue of judicial appointments. The constitution gives the president the power to appoint judges of the superior courts after consultation with the relevant chief justice or governor — a process which has proved deeply personal and non-transparent. The Charter of Democracy suggests an alternative selection procedure with input from the judiciary, the bar associations, the government’s top legal officers, the prime minister and parliament; a thoroughly more inclusive process. Whatever the new mode of selection, the point is the same: change is urgently needed, but it won’t be possible without the government’s cooperation. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Death penalty[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009[/B] MANY in this country are in favour of retaining the death penalty. The argument presented is most often based on the flawed premise that capital punishment somehow deters heinous crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even a cursory examination of the crime graph in Pakistan will show that the incidence of violence resulting in death has registered a sharp increase over the decades. Capital punishment cannot be a deterrent in a country where policemen and magistrates can be bought. Anyone with enough influence or money can gun down another human being and live gloatingly ever after. It is all too easy to subvert justice in Pakistan. Produce money, that’s all, and let corruption take its course. Forget for a moment the ethical concerns about taking the life of another human being. In a system as highly inequitable as ours, there ought to be no place for the death penalty. For the most part, it is the poor who are hanged. The prosperous, almost invariably, get off scot-free. Investigations too can be faulty. In this country where there is so much scope for miscarriage of justice, and where ‘confessions’ are extracted under pain of death, capital punishment needs to be done away with at the earliest. According to Amnesty International, “at least” 236 people were sentenced to death in Pakistan in 2008 and “at least” 36 were executed. We breasted the tape one execution behind the United States in this race towards barbarity. China heads the list of countries that kills its own citizens. The People’s Republic executed more than 1,700 people in 2008, or nearly 72 per cent of the global head count of 2,390. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who has spent considerable time in jail, had promised on more than one occasion that his government would embark on prison reform and also abolish capital punishment. Little or no business has resulted. True, the country has been rocked by political turbulence since the democratic dispensation took office in March last year. But the affairs of the state cannot be put on hold indefinitely. Among the items still pending on the agenda is the abolition of the death penalty. Only when justice is delivered, and is seen to be delivered, will heinous crimes cease to be committed with the impunity that is currently the norm. Hanging someone who may be innocent is anything but a deterrent. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Ideological space[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009[/B] THE predicament in which Lema Sahar finds herself is instructive of the fact that human rights, in the true sense of the term, include the freedom to express creative and cultural ideals — a fundamental part of being human. The young singer from Kandahar shot to stardom last year after reaching third place on the popular television show Afghan Star, a version of American Idol. She beat over 2,000 rivals, and Tolo, the television channel that hosts Afghan Star, gave her an award of courage which included prize money and a recording contract. Now, Lema Sahar finds herself in need of every bit of courage that she can muster. Forced to flee Afghanistan, she has been in hiding in Peshawar for the past two months. For in her hometown of Kandahar, from where the Taliban first launched their repressive movement, she is considered an outcast for not only having participated in the show but having done so without the face-covering burka prescribed by the zealots. It matters little that during her performance she was attired modestly by any reasonable Islamic standards. Nevertheless, she was issued death threats by anonymous elements as well as by neighbours and family members. Now, Lema Sahar regrets having ever tried to fulfill her creative potential. Creativity, talent and the ability to dream are characteristics that separate humanity from the animal kingdom. What is perceived by the singer’s persecutors as ‘baring’ is actually just a function of her being a person: her need to explore her potential and reach for higher goals. By participating in the show, she made use of her right to the freedom of expression. Her subsequent experience underscores the fact that the narrow version of ‘propriety’ prescribed by extremist elements envisages human beings as little more than talking animals. Lema Sahar’s experience serves as a grim warning to Pakistan, too, where in some areas CD shops and girls’ schools are being bombed on a virtually daily basis. At the heart of the battle is ideological space. Once liberal and tolerant elements concede this space, as has been the case of Swat, it cannot be easily reclaimed. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A new strategy[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 27 Mar, 2009[/B] THE rise of militancy correlates critically to economic conditions. So what is the single most important thing America can do to help Pakistan’s sliding economy and, at the same time, restrain militancy? The answer in a nutshell: help build our industry. More specifically, the US must give Pakistani textile exports greater access to its market. This is precisely what both the Pakistan government and textile exporters here have been urging Washington to do ever since Islamabad joined the war on terror in 2001. The US has been resisting the demand all along in spite of clear evidence of the adverse impact of the war on terror on Pakistan’s textile industry. Years of negotiations on the proposed bilateral investment treaty — a first step towards a free-trade agreement — between the two countries have failed to produce tangible results because of the US reluctance to grant Pakistan its wish. In fact, the US has been more generous to other textile producers than it has to Pakistan. All this while, Pakistani textiles have suffered immensely as many American and European buyers have preferred to place their orders with ‘more reliable’, economically more open and ‘cheaper’ manufacturers. Of late, however, Pakistan has found an unlikely supporter in the US Chamber of Commerce, which, together with the US-Pakistan Business Council, has called on President Barack Obama to cut tariffs for Pakistani textiles to make them competitive in the American market. In its report released ahead of the announcement of President Obama’s new Pakistan strategy, the top US business lobby has advised that emphasis be placed on trade with Pakistan. It points out that “trade would be a valuable part of the new US strategy to bring stability to and root out extremism in the nuclear-armed nation. Stronger and more stable economic relations between the US and Pakistan would help advance America’s overarching geopolitical goals in South Asia”. The report also backs a proposal to “make certain products made in the impoverished Afghan-Pakistan border regions duty-free”, and says that the US should, in the long run, consider entering into negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Pakistan. Improved investment and trade ties open immense possibilities for the two countries. Economically, Pakistan’s textile exports, which constitute some 60 per cent of its total export revenues and provide 46 per cent non-farm jobs, would receive a big boost that, in turn, would go far in helping to create new jobs and reduce poverty. Investors and producers in the US would also benefit by accessing a growing consumer market of more than 170 million people in Pakistan, and other markets beyond its western borders. On the political front, better trade ties should help provide an alternative to young, jobless Pakistanis otherwise drifting towards militancy and extremism, and bring about peace and stability in the region. Such economic measures, and not drones, can win the war against militancy. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Balochistan’s needs[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 27 Mar, 2009[/B] FOR a change, Balochistan has lately been in the news for the right reasons. Instead of acts of sabotage or attacks by insurgents, the emphasis has been on putting Pakistan’s least developed province on the path to prosperity. And there is absolutely no reason why Balochistan cannot thrive given its immense natural wealth. It is endowed with fossil fuels such as oil and gas, and is home to huge reserves of precious metals, among them gold and copper. The sad truth is that Balochistan has been neglected by the centre from day one. Its resources have been exploited to fuel engines of growth elsewhere in the country, with little benefit accruing to the people of the province. Only a few tribal sardars, whose very survival is linked to keeping the masses backward and subjugated, have flourished under the policies adopted so far. Promises of autonomy have been reneged on consistently and uprisings rooted in nationalism crushed with brute force. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that many in Balochistan feel alienated and find it difficult to define their province’s role in the federation. A sense of exploitation by the other units, particularly Punjab, is rife among the Baloch people and understandably so. The PPP made a healthy move in February last year when it offered a public apology to the people of Balochistan by acknowledging “the atrocities and injustices committed” against the province. Later, Balochistan’s overdraft with the State Bank was converted into a soft loan, giving the province some much-needed financial respite. But the centre has not lived up to its promise of allowing the provinces greater autonomy and control over their resources by scrapping the concurrent list, nor has much headway been made in hammering out new criteria for the National Finance Commission award. As the minister of state for ports and shipping pointed out on Wednesday, Balochistan’s grievances need to be addressed at the earliest. In this connection, the president’s forthcoming trip to the province can, if honesty of purpose is to be assumed, make significant headway in addressing pending disputes. The insurgency is no longer raging in Balochistan and this is the time for the federating units to give the province their undivided attention. Investment is needed urgently — in industry, schools, vocational institutes, healthcare, road networks. Failure to do so will not only stoke the fires of nationalism but may also drive young, unemployed people into the hands of the obscurantists. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Poor jail conditions[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 27 Mar, 2009 [/B] MANY will be shocked by the Sindh minister for jails’ disclosure that there are only 155 prison vans in the entire province to transport nearly 13,000 undertrial prisoners to court. But this is not news. The appalling state of our prisons is proverbial. Given the overcrowding in jails, understaffing, lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure, corruption and the poor training of wardens, it is hardly surprising that thousands of prisoners are denied the justice that is their due. Shortage of prison vans means that many undertrial prisoners never manage to appear before a magistrate for remand for years. Although the shortage of prison vans is one of the causes of the hardship inflicted on people taken into custody, it accounts for this problem only partially. There are many other reasons that make it a big challenge for those in custody to obtain justice as well as their rights prescribed in the jail manual. Corruption exacerbates an already horrendous situation. Prisoners have to bribe the police to be taken to court and to be allowed jail visits by family and friends. Torture as a means of crime investigation is routine. From time to time suggestions have been made on improving the state of prisons in the country. But they have not been taken seriously. For instance, courts for magistrates could be set up in prison premises so that remand can be obtained on the spot. As for jail conditions, it is important that jail visit committees periodically inspect jails to ensure that conditions are not allowed to deteriorate. There is also a need to monitor the working of the prison staff. But most importantly, overcrowding should be reduced by getting the courts to expedite the cases before them, which is possible only if judicial reforms are approached holistically and accompanied with police and jail reforms. Meanwhile, a system must be devised to release all those prisoners who have already spent more time in prison than what they would if they were sentenced for the crime they have been charged with. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Bangladesh Press Whitening ‘black’ money[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 27 Mar, 2009[/B] THE Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on March 23 in a pre-budget meeting of the business body suggested that the government and the state ought to turn a blind eye to ‘black’ money and permit by some means ... its ‘whitening’ so as to increase the state’s revenue … as well as to get the wheels of the economy rolling at a faster pace. This is not the first time that Mr Annisul Haq, the FBCCI’s president, has come up with such ideas which not only defy all economic and political logic but also all norms of law, justice and morality. If one remembers rightly, Mr Annisul Haq is one of those … who enthusiastically supported the Emergency regime and he and others like him helped form the Better Business Forum … not only ensuring that looters and robbers of public and private wealth get away scot-free ... but are also rehabilitated into the economy, society and politics with full honour.... [B]The Bangladesh Today[/B] What Mr Annisul Haq and his FBCCI friends fail to understand is that the economy of Bangladesh consists of agriculture, the government’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) and the millions of expatriate workers, with a lion’s share of the state’s revenues coming from the myriad of economic activities generated by these sectors. Whitening ‘black’ money … is not going to benefit the national economy or the 150 million people of this nation; it’s going to rehabilitate the few criminals involved…. One can understand the desperation of the AL government buffeted as it is by the global recession and internal political and social instabilities but that desperation must not lead it to measures which will undercut the very foundation of our nation state. The AL must not forget that states, including our own, have ethical and moral dimensions and that the AL had promised in its election manifesto to “envision a democratic system where people choose their government freely and get services from it without hassle, enjoy freedom from fear and intolerance, live with dignity; where every citizen is assured of social justice, human rights and equal opportunities and where the rule of law and good governance flourish. We envision a liberal, progressive and democratic welfare state”. ... Whitening ‘black’ money not only does not go anywhere near this expressed vision but also violates every norm of morality, ethics, good government, governance and politics. The steps and measures of whitening ‘black’ money will lead to further weakening of all the core institutions of our state, already on the verge of near collapse. — (March 25) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Past must be kept alive[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Monday, 30 Mar, 2009[/B] A PAST preserved through well-maintained historical monuments is testimony to a nation’s historical glory that can inspire present generations with confidence in their roots. Such preservation also promotes a sense of shared nationhood. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case when it comes to the conservation of Lahore’s ancient monuments many of which have been subjected to official apathy. Crass commercial activities have taken over approaches to the city’s most sought-after historical site that houses the Lahore Fort, the Badshahi Masjid and other monuments. Newspapers recently carried photographs of vendors displaying their ware on the walls of these buildings. Many companies and influential individuals in the recent past have arranged huge public events in the fort with little regard to its historical status and in clear violation of archaeological laws. In a well-publicised case, a bureaucrat couple some years ago got long nails hammered into the courtyard of the Badshahi Masjid to support tents for their daughter’s wedding. Equally inexcusable is the presence of dozens of shops along the northern wall of Masjid Wazir Khan in the walled city. If that were not appalling enough, houses and shops have sprung up dangerously close to the Shalimar Gardens and the tombs of Princess Zebunnisa and Dai Anga. In fact, the two tombs have been lost among residential neigbourhoods and commercial concerns, some of them built in flagrant violation of rules that prohibit any construction at a certain distance from these monuments. No doubt, the housing and business needs of the present generation are important. But, under no circumstances should they be met at the cost of ruining our history and heritage, and those who violate our laws or are guilty of official neglect of historical monuments must be hauled up. The sooner the wrongs are righted the easier it will be to save the past from total destruction and keep cultural bonding from slipping away. ********************************************************** [B][U][COLOR="darkgreen"][CENTER][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Curse of street crime[/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER][/COLOR][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 30 Mar, 2009[/B] IN the absence of a reliable database, it is difficult to assess the incidence of street crime in Pakistan. Empirical evidence, however, indicates that it is on the rise — and phenomenally so. The death of Tariq Malik, a DawnNews reporter, who was killed a week ago as he grappled with one of the criminals during a robbery attempt in Lahore’s Defence area, comes as a brutal reminder of how every citizen who steps out of his home is a potential victim of a mugger, a car-snatcher or a cellphone thief. If he escapes violent death it is only because he is fortunate enough to have survived. Even the police admit this now, although it is their duty to protect the life and property of this country’s citizens. Some top-ranking police officers claim that street crime in Karachi declined by 40 per cent in 2008. But the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee came up with their data showing that car theft and cellphone snatching had actually increased by 18 and 30 per cent respectively last year. These figures are incomplete because a large number of crimes are never registered given the hassle involved and the general lack of confidence in the police. The sad fact is that people are resigned to living with a high rate of crime in our cities. Citizens devise their own private arrangements for security or take other protective measures. In fact, crime has come to be accepted as so commonplace that no one even calculates the value of stolen goods, the economic loss incurred by some businesses and the gains made by others — or even the impact on the mental health of the people. As for the underlying reasons, these are said to be growing poverty and unemployment. But this does not tell the full story. The involvement of young people from affluent families in such criminal activity belies conventional arguments. There is the additional factor of political and religious groups resorting to crime to fund their programmes. With the police having become dysfunctional it is not surprising that street crime is on the rise. Inefficiency and corruption within their ranks has increased as the law-enforcers have come to be used by the government to further political goals. The police reforms introduced in 2002 were watered down by subsequent amendments and never implemented in their true spirit. Thus the public safety commissions that were supposed to make the force professional, accountable and free from political pressures never took off. Training programmes, which could have made a lot of difference to the working and efficiency of the police, also remained a dead letter. If the task of reforming the police were to be taken in hand earnestly and training improved, we could see a positive impact on the crime situation. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Balochistan package[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 30 Mar, 2009[/B] MONEY alone will not redress the heartfelt grievances of the people of Balochistan. Nor, as the president pointed out in Quetta on Friday, can issues that have strained relations between the province and the federation for six decades be solved in six months. Some serious spadework is required if Balochistan is to be reintroduced to the political mainstream, and if its people are to be given a sense of ownership over what is rightly theirs. Only when people are genuinely empowered will the nationalist cause shed its lustre and insurgents come to be seen as surplus to requirements. Let’s face it, Balochistan has been exploited by the centre from day one and the time is ripe to make amends for past sins. The president’s overtures aimed at bringing dissident nationalist forces to the negotiating table are a welcome move in the right direction. So too is the Rs46.6bn ‘Balochistan package’ unveiled by Mr Zardari the other day. The bulk of the money is to go towards the construction of four large dams, which may help generate employment and assist water-management efforts. But the wisdom behind large dams is questionable and their impact on local people and the environment must be assessed thoroughly before the projects are given the go-ahead. If the centre wants to help, it must ensure that its actions do not inadvertently inflict further misery on the people of Balochistan. In what may be seen by some as a knee-jerk reaction, some Baloch nationalist groups have rejected the package announced on Friday without even giving it a chance. To disprove the naysayers the president will have to live up to his pledge that recommendations made by Balochistan will be taken up in parliament in due course. Balochistan can prosper and feel that it is the master of its own fate only when the province is awarded control over its immense mineral and fossil-fuel wealth. The same applies to Sindh, which produces nearly 70 per cent of the country’s oil and gas and generates a similar proportion of overall taxation revenues. Yet it struggles to come up with funds for development expenditure in areas that need it the most. Why is this so and when will this injustice end? Laws have to be changed. The PPP government spared no effort last year advertising its commitment to provincial autonomy. On March 29, 2008, Prime Minister Gilani announced that the Concurrent Legislative List would be abolished within a year, thereby giving the provinces greater control over their resources. Today is March 30, 2009. Twelve months have passed but the government has not delivered on its promise. The smaller provinces, and especially Balochistan, will feel hard done by until they can call the land their own and identify fully with the concept of Pakistan. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - North American Press Obama vs Al Qaeda[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, 30 Mar, 2009[/B] THE comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that President Obama outlined ... comes with a considerable cost and with no guarantee of success. But it derives from a careful policy review that drew upon civilian as well as military specialists. This is the right way to shape policy.... Afghanistan and Pakistan are deeply troubled countries. As Obama said, they form the crucible that produced Sept 11. So Obama was not conjuring up a phantom danger when he invoked a need “to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and our allies, and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan”. The overall design and particular components of the strategy are grounded in logical and realistic choices. Those choices avoid the simplistic assumptions and self-deception that marked previous US involvement.... A sound premise of the Obama approach is that there can be no solution for Afghanistan’s problems without addressing Pakistan’s. [B]The Boston Globe[/B] ... Obama will provide needed assistance to Pakistan for training and equipping security forces able to root out the terrorists. Aware of past deceptions, however, Obama does not want to give Pakistani authorities what he called “a blank cheque”. He will require evidence of success. But he also called for passage of a bill co-sponsored by Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, the Indiana Republican, that would authorise $1.5bn a year for five years for roads, schools, hospitals and democracy-building in Pakistan. This is an indispensable component of any plan to counter Islamist extremism. Last but not least, Obama has wisely accepted the need for wide-ranging cooperation in the fight against Al Qaeda. He proposes not only “constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan”, but also a contact group for Afghanistan that includes Nato allies and neighbouring Central Asian states, as well as Iran, Russia and China. This is the right vision. We hope it is realised. — (March 28) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Pakistan under attack[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009[/B] IT should be clear by now that we are at war with ourselves as the enemy within grows more audacious by the day. Yet there are educated people in this country who continue to blame American foreign policy and the ever-potent ‘foreign hand’ for the wave of terrorism sweeping the country. This argument is deeply flawed on several counts. For one thing, the Pakistani state threw its weight behind America’s Afghan policy in the late ’70s and after 9/11, and as such we are equally responsible for the fallout. It is also common knowledge that Pakistani intelligence agencies once provided logistical support to militant organisations that could further our ‘strategic depth’ interests in Kashmir and across the Durand Line. It is argued that those behind the storming of the police training centre in Lahore on Monday, and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team earlier this month, were so sophisticated in their methods that they must necessarily have had the backing of a foreign power. Such reasoning overlooks the fact that those who were freedom fighters a few years ago and are now labelled as terrorists were trained by the best in the business. Let us assume for a moment, even if the truth lies elsewhere, that the terrorists who attacked Lahore on Monday were in the pay of an antagonistic neighbour. Does that absolve the Punjab government and the Pakistani state of the charge of gross negligence? Does it in any way disprove those who maintain that such incidents point to monumental intelligence failures and security lapses? It doesn’t matter who the paymasters might be. What we have now are Pakistanis killing Pakistanis, Muslims killing Muslims. And while we are at it, let us discard once and for all the absurd notion that the people who carry out such dastardly acts cannot possibly be Muslims. They are Muslims. In fact, these terrorists and militants consider themselves to be far truer Muslims than those who oppose them. The militants involved in Monday’s siege may have been overcome but it is time to hammer out a political and social consensus on this issue. It is time to show the kind of fervour the obscurantists demonstrate in abundance but the well-meaning couch in carefully chosen words. This is a fight and it cannot be won without throwing punches. The country’s mainstream political parties need to draw a line in the sand and show the people, with no room for ambiguity, where they stand in this battle for the soul of Pakistan. The religio-political parties must also make their positions clear. President Obama says that US ground forces will not enter Pakistan. We would be well advised to not give them the chance. If we can’t do the job ourselves, others might do it for us. And that way lies disaster. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Crisis averted?[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009[/B] IF imposing governor’s rule precipitated a political crisis in Punjab, the timing of its withdrawal seems set to perpetuate the uncertainty in the province. Governor Salmaan Taseer is expected to call a session of the Punjab Assembly tomorrow to elect a new chief minister, but the electoral fate of the man who would otherwise be the front runner, Shahbaz Sharif, still hangs in the balance, with the legal manoeuvring in the Supreme Court set to resume today. Mr Sharif’s legal conundrum is as follows: if the Punjab Assembly elects another chief minister pending the determination of Mr Sharif’s electoral eligibility, would a later victory in the Supreme Court for him mean that he would become eligible to join as an MPA but barred from the chief minister’s office because of the two-term limit rule? Legal opinion is split on the issue. While there appears to be a consensus that the reversal of Shahbaz Sharif’s disqualification before the lifting of governor’s rule would immediately restore the status quo ante, there is no consensus on whether the election of another person as chief minister of Punjab would render the status quo ante impossible. For now, the PML-N is playing a conciliatory hand and has agreed to participate in Wednesday’s confidence vote, without laying make-or-break conditions regarding Shahbaz Sharif’s candidacy. But the PML-N’s overall response to the PPP’s overtures of friendship has been lukewarm. It is not difficult to see why. The PML-N will be aware that the PPP’s offer to make amends only came after it became clear that success in Punjab was not an option for the PPP. And the PML-N may be wondering about the degree to which reconciliation is in fact possible if the two most popular leaders of its party remain shut out of direct power while no such hindrance is applicable to any of the PPP’s leaders. Moreover, with no heads having rolled yet for the PPP’s misadventure in Punjab, the bona fides of the PPP in maintaining a truce in the province will be in doubt. At the moment though there are grounds for cautious optimism that an all-out war in Punjab or the centre has been averted. But more is needed from both sides. From the PPP, confidence-building measures which indicate the party will allow the PML-N to run the province without undue interference are needed. From the PML-N, respect of the mandate the PPP enjoys, as the opposition in Punjab and the government at the centre, is needed. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Setback amid progress in Iraq[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009[/B] THE recent spate of bombings in Iraq must have come as a disappointment to those who had thought the country was returning to normality. On March 8, a bomb blast at a police academy in Baghdad killed 28 people, and on Feb 13 a murderous attack on Shia pilgrims in Baghdad left 32 dead. In the January-February period, 200 Iraqis met violent deaths. In Baghdad again there was a clash on Sunday — surprising as it sounds — between Iraqi security forces and a Sunni militia backed by US forces. Fed up with the extremists, US-backed Sunni groups have been patrolling Baghdad neighbourhoods to maintain peace, though Sunday’s clash came over a wanted man. Of late there has been a change in the Sunni attitude towards the government led by Nouri al-Maliki, who has been trying hard to win over Sunnis and Kurds to his side. He has reason to seek an early reconciliation, for President Barack Obama announced that US forces will end combat operations in Iraq by August, and 140,000 US troops will start returning home. This means the Iraqi security forces and administration must by then be fully ready to maintain peace and start post-war reconstruction. Notwithstanding the recent acts of violence, the Iraqis have reason to be optimistic. There has been a dramatic fall in fatalities, the provincial election in January was peaceful, internally displaced persons and those who had gone abroad have started returning home and business is picking up. But Iraq still has a long way to go. Kurdistan has enjoyed virtual autonomy since 1991, and Baghdad’s attempt to reassert its authority has caused resentment among the Kurds. There has been talk of amending the constitution to settle the autonomy issue, but there has been no progress. It is the duty of the government in Baghdad and those outside it to help restore normality so that the withdrawal of American troops at the end of 2010 does not lead to a new era of anarchy. All sides should ensure that the general election scheduled towards the end of this year is peaceful. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press Balochistan needs[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009[/B] THE way Gen Musharraf dealt with the Balochistan issue was enough to reopen old wounds. He engaged Balochistan’s leaders in dialogue through so-called committees but pushed the people of the province to the wall…. However, there was hope after the general elections that the democratic government would solve the Balochistan issue. People expected that their grievances would be addressed and they would be brought into the national mainstream. President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent visit to Quetta is laudable. He has announced the formation of three parliamentary committees. But there is a need to empower these and the people of Balochistan should be assured that Islamabad will implement the recommendations made by the committees. There should also be consensus among all the stakeholders in Balochistan. We hope that the efforts of President Zardari will yield results…. President Zardari has constituted separate committees for repatriation of families who have migrated, royalty on oil and gas and reconciliation with angry Baloch leaders. If these committees are as passive as the previous ones, then no difference can be expected. There will only be a positive change if the federal government truly understands the Balochistan issue in its proper context and sincerely wants to resolve it. In a democratic set-up every stakeholder should be taken in context as opposed to a dictatorship where only the individual matters…. It is high time the Balochistan issue was taken seriously. The sensitivity of the issue is clear from the ... American policy [indicating] the US may initiate drone attacks against terrorists in Balochistan…. Any action by the US could push the issue to a dangerous point. Therefore, there is cause for concern…. [B][SIZE="3"]Ibrat[/SIZE][/B] This situation demands rational policymaking from representative parties and the sardars of Balochistan who should reconsider their strategy. However, it is up to the federal government to not do what its predecessors did. The government should take concrete steps so that this issue can be resolved through a joint effort and consensus. President Zardari’s visit is an encouraging sign but it all depends upon the intentions of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. — (March 28) — [B]Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi [/B] |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]G20 summit[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Thursday, 02 Apr, 2009[/B] WITH the participants of the two-day G20 London summit all set to discuss the severest global economic recession in decades, there are growing signs that they will have a tough time reaching a consensus on how to tackle the crisis. Even in this so-called global village, countries and regions have differing perceptions that hinder the search for a universal solution. Some want to move away from neoliberal policies. Others are trying to find a solution within the status quo. Such divisions have led to public scepticism regarding the G20’s ability to make meaningful progress on transforming the crisis into an opportunity as Chinese President Hu Jintao had counselled. Little wonder then that American President Barack Obama has called for delivering “a strong message of unity” while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed that the G20 leaders were coming together to make a joint decision, not to compete against one other. But will their words have the intended effect? The participating countries may want to put the world economy back on its feet, but not without first fighting with each other on how to do it. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s pre-summit comments are more revealing about the differences: “We’re proposing a more equitable international financial system … all states are talking about this. The issue is where to put the emphasis and whether we want to move forward or simply remain stuck in the situation we have today.” With the world economy forecast to contract for the first time in 60 years and trade projected to be at its lowest point in 80 years, there is a lot more at stake in London than just the American or European corporations. At stake are the interests of people from developing nations like Pakistan that depend on exports, workers’ remittances, foreign inflows and investment for economic and financial stability. The World Bank has warned that the impact of global recession on the poorer countries would be severe and the 129 poorest nations would face a shortfall of up to $700bn in foreign aid and investment. Only a quarter of them would be able to ease the downturn through job creation or safety-net programmes because richer nations are borrowing more and developing nations are being squeezed out. If failure to reach a consensus on future financial and economic restructuring is going to be bad news for the world, inaction on the part of the G20 to help the poor countries could prove catastrophic. As a World Bank official recently stated: “Clearly, fiscal resources do have to be injected in rich countries at the epicentre of the crisis, but channelling infrastructure investment to the developing world where it can release bottlenecks to growth and quickly restore demand can have an even bigger bang for the buck and should be a key element to recovery.” ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Blow to ME peace prospects[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 02 Apr, 2009[/B] THOSE who were hoping for peace in the holy land must have been disappointed by the new Israeli prime minister’s omission of any reference to a two-state solution and a sovereign Palestinian state. Speaking in the Knesset on Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, a super-hawk who has returned as prime minister for the second time, circumvented the idea of a two-state solution by falling back on Israel’s inexhaustible repertoire of diplomatic sophistry. Offering negotiations to the Palestinian Authority on three parallel tracks — economic, security and diplomatic — the Likud leader gave no timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and merely spoke of the Palestinians running their own affairs: in other words autonomy under Israeli guns. With Israel Our Homeland Party leader Avigdor Lieberman as his foreign minister, Mr Netanyahu has virtually destroyed whatever chances of peace there were. Mr Netanyahu had won the 1996 election with the declared aim of sabotaging the Oslo process and succeeded in that by prevailing upon the Clinton administration to have the withdrawal timetable and other details of the Declaration of Principles virtually re-negotiated. His successor, Ariel Sharon, reoccupied the territories which Israel had earlier vacated, destroyed Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters and put him under arrest. Since then the peace process has remained frozen. Mr Netanyahu’s three-track “offer” is just another attempt to obfuscate the real issue. In the 1990s, America and Israel decided to put the peace process on hold unless Mr Arafat reformed the Palestinian Authority and had a prime minister in place. Mr Ahmad Qorei was appointed as prime minister but Israel continued to occupy the West Bank and Gaza. In November 2007, Netanyahu’s predecessor, Ehud Olmert, signed the Annapolis declaration that called for a sovereign Palestinian state by the end of 2008. Nothing came of it. The truth is that Israel enjoys a carte blanche from America for all its policies that include brazen violations of international treaties and war crimes during its forays into Arab lands. America’s domestic politics is hostage to its powerful pro-Israeli lobby that rules out any effective action by any US administration to pressure Israel into quitting Palestinian territories. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Need to revive the dialogue[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 02 Apr, 2009[/B] THE prospects of the India-Pakistan dialogue being revived in the near future look bleak. Since the Mumbai attacks last November, relations between the two countries have hit a new low and Islamabad’s efforts to get New Delhi to restart the suspended negotiation process have met a stony rejection from the Indian side. The latest confirmation of the Indian stance on a dialogue has come from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who called on Pakistan to first “show visible results” in the investigations into the 26/11 attacks and in bringing the culprits to book. Although the Indian government has moderated somewhat its stiff line vis-à-vis Pakistan and the intelligence agencies of the two sides are seemingly cooperating in investigating the horrendous attacks, ties continue to be strained. It is more a case of blowing hot and cold that does little to lift regional tensions. True, the two governments have agreed on a basic issue: terrorism is a serious problem for both and has to be tackled jointly. But unfortunately they continue to be at loggerheads when it comes to working together. The fact is that trust has been a major casualty of 26/11. The confidence the two countries had built in each other over the last four years has virtually evaporated. Although at present they are going through the process of investigating the Mumbai attacks, exchanging dossiers, sending replies to questions posed by the other, the element of faith is missing. They see the other’s invisible hand in their misfortunes and India’s perennial refrain is that Pakistan is the “epicentre of global terrorism” and that it is not taking effective action to control terror. The immediate need is to restore the confidence that earlier enabled Islamabad and New Delhi to engage with one another meaningfully. The Indian government understands this and the Congress party’s manifesto clearly states that “dealing with terrorism aided and abetted from across our borders does not require a muscular foreign policy”. Hence it is logical that the Congress-led coalition government in New Delhi should revive the dialogue. Or is it that Mr Manmohan Singh feels the need to play to the gallery at a time when elections are round the corner and his main rival, the BJP, is using the nationalist anti-Pakistan card? One hopes that when the electoral exercise in India is over, the two neighbours will choose to adopt a pragmatic stance. Meanwhile, they should refrain from using the media to indulge in their blame game. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 02 Apr, 2009[/B] [B]Counter-terrorism[/B] THE indisputable fact remains that terrorism continues to pose the biggest security threat worldwide. However, the counter-terrorism strategy of many states was often guided by misinformed intelligence and/or misconstrued policies based on knee-jerk reactions. This succeeded in furthering the aim of organisations like the Al Qaeda and other affiliated groups, thus perpetuating the cycle of recruitment. Though reports of a much weaker Al Qaeda may be encouraging, the fact that the group far from being a central, cohesive entity has diffused into hundreds of autonomous cells and subgroups remains a worrisome factor. An indiscriminate targeting of Muslim communities has only served to perpetuate Muslim grievances and turn moderates [into] extremists, thus the security threat…. Britain’s new anti-terrorism strategy that was intended to reassure the public could, on the contrary, lead to paranoia and much controversy. While the … report “reassures” the British public that Al Qaeda is a weaker entity … it warns of a growing threat from “self-starting” militants and attacks…. Britain has, in the past been blamed for its foreign policy that was held responsible for fuelling extremism among its Muslim citizens, as well as its failure to integrate its Islamic communities. In other instances, a misunderstanding or disagreement with certain individual beliefs or positions in an organisation has led to ostracism. It is hoped that a different interpretation of the latest anti-terrorism strategy may not fall in the same trap. — (March 28) [B]Modest success[/B] AS expected, Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al Bashir has emerged with most gains at the Arab League summit which concluded in Doha yesterday. The summit has sent a strong message of support to the Sudanese leader against the arrest warrant issued [for] him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Darfur. “We stress our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the ICC decision against President Omar Hassan Al Bashir,” Arab League chief Amr Moussa said reading the summit declaration. The summit also warned Israel that an Arab peace offer was not open-ended, and vowed to pursue attempts to bring Israeli leaders to justice for alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip that started Dec 27. The leaders also pledged to support the reconstruction of Gaza and attempts to reconcile rival Palestinian factions, and to hold Israel to a timeline for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Another achievement was that the leaders announced food aid for Sudan, Somalia and Comoros…. The start of the summit was overshadowed by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s tirade against … [Saudi] King Abdullah.… But the Emir (of Qatar) brought both the leaders together which cleared the misunderstanding…. The summit’s backing for Al Bashir was expected because most Arab states had already expressed their support for the Sudanese leader in the ICC case…. — (March 31) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]The threat is real[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 03 Apr, 2009[/B] DOES religious extremism and militancy pose a threat to the existence of Pakistan? It does. With violence racking the length and breadth of the country over the past few years, there really should be no doubt about the top threat to the state itself. And yet most of the voices warning of the dangers of militancy to Pakistan are foreign. It may appear paradoxical that while this country is one of the leading victims of militancy in the world today, it isn’t one of the countries that is most up in arms against the threat. The reality though is that Pakistanis are deeply worried about the country’s security, territorial integrity and sovereignty — but they often identify the threat as external. So when a police training school or the Sri Lankan team is attacked in Lahore, talk turns to ‘foreign’ involvement, which is usually a thinly veiled reference to India. And when suicide bombers strike against security forces or blow up buildings, speculation arises about the state subordinating its interests to America’s war in Afghanistan. There is a historical explanation though for the climate of denial. For a generation, Pakistanis were led to believe that armed jihad was a noble cause, first of course in Afghanistan and later in Kashmir, because our security establishment deemed it necessary for the pursuit of its own narrow definition of national interest. The result: a nation with a warped sense of right and wrong. To this day, rare is the voice that questions whether Pakistan should have ever gotten involved in the first Afghan war, which was essentially an attempt by one superpower to give the other existing superpower a bloody nose. And questions about whether support for armed jihad in Indian-administered Kashmir was ever in this country’s interest, border on heresy. The result of this glorification of jihad for decades is that once the militants turned their guns on Pakistan itself, which was inevitable for anyone willing to acknowledge the facts, people were completely unprepared. Yesterday’s ‘heroes’ had seemingly overnight become the new enemy, and for no convincing reason. But there are plenty of reasons to worry about militancy. One, territorial control is a key aim of the militants. It’s pointless espousing a particular worldview if you don’t have a place to implement it. Two, militants aren’t necessarily ‘religious’, even in the extremist sense. Many militant groups in Pakistan today attract criminals and thugs for whom the exercise of power is the primary goal. Three, despite domestic notions of a ‘strong’ state, Pakistan is actually quite weak and can be destabilised relatively easily. In fact, it is being destabilised from within. Denial of the threat of militancy is no longer an option. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]US and Iran[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 03 Apr, 2009[/B] JUST when there was hope that a breakthrough in US-Iran relations could be achieved, Israel decided to create difficulties. The tone was set by the new Israeli prime minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who described an Iran armed with nuclear weapons as the biggest threat to Israel’s existence. He appealed to the US to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. What was the American reaction? Not very helpful, considering that the US has a stake in normalising ties with Tehran. In fact, Israeli fears were practically vindicated when Centcom chief Gen David Petraeus, testifying before a US Senate committee, said that he did not rule out a pre-emptive Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as Tehran had “failed to provide the assurances and transparency necessary” for international verification of its programme. The Obama administration realises that the success of its policies in Afghanistan and Iraq lies in taking Iran on board. Hence the recent overtures. But the US still appears reluctant to compromise its special relationship with a bellicose Israel in the larger interest of America’s Middle East policy. This approach could eventually put its diplomacy with Iran on the rocks. Needless to say the American — as well as Israeli — stance on Iran’s nuclear programme is seriously flawed. America’s own intelligence agencies have confirmed that Iran is not on the road to bomb-making and lacks a stockpile of sufficiently enriched uranium needed to manufacture nuclear bombs. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also not found any conclusive evidence of Iran’s nuclear programme being designed for military purposes. If Israel, a nuclear-weapons state, still continues to harp on the ‘danger’ Iran poses, it only creates doubts about its own credibility and good faith. If wars and cross-border military action were to be justified under international law on flimsy grounds such as paranoid fears or a policy of pre-emption when no violation of the law has actually taken place, the entire global system would go haywire. No doubt nuclear arms do pose a risk to mankind. But the problem needs to be addressed rationally and equitably so that the world is not divided into nuclear haves and have-nots. At the moment America will have to learn to cultivate one-to-one ties with key actors in the Middle East region. It has taken a wise step by extending an olive branch to Iran. By negotiating directly with Tehran, the White House could effectively neutralise the threats it perceives from Iran in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Gaza. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Renewable energy[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 03 Apr, 2009[/B] SOME matters are so vital to our collective well-being that there is no harm in running the risk of repetition. We have said it before and we’ll say it again: the future lies in renewable energy. As oil prices plummeted in recent months, the renewable energy mantra dropped a decibel or two in parts of the West. But most western countries, especially those in the EU, still remain committed to vastly increasing their alternative energy capacity in the near future. Even the United States, which for so long stood rooted on the wrong side of common sense, now seems to be heading in a new direction. Much of the stimulus for the global push towards renewable energy comes from the need to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change. Then there is the realisation that dependency on foreign oil carries with it economic as well as geopolitical risks. Finally, it is generally accepted that the world’s known oil reserves could be exhausted in a matter of decades. A country like Pakistan that must borrow to stay afloat needs to show even greater urgency in tapping indigenous energy resources. A start was made when the country’s first renewable energy policy was unveiled in December 2006. That landmark document offered incentives including tax holidays for both global and local investors. It was also promised that investors in this sector would be spared the bureaucratic hassles that are part and parcel of doing business in Pakistan. Much was made of Sindh’s wind energy potential, which a government-funded study put at a staggering 11,000MW, and the many licences issued to set up wind farms in the coastal areas. Unfortunately, progress in the 27 months or so since the policy was announced has fallen short of expectations. One wind farm near Karachi is expected to be inaugurated next month but otherwise work on the ground has been slow. On Thursday the minister for water and power, offering the usual incentives, asked UK businessmen to invest in Pakistan’s potentially enormous renewable energy sector. Given the lack of political stability coupled with the violence engulfing the country, it remains to be seen how many foreign investors will jump at the offer. |
[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]New Petroleum Policy[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Monday, April 06, 2009[/B] THE Petroleum Policy 2009 is an important first step towards recognising the crucial role of domestic investment in economic growth and should be seen as a radical departure from previous practices. It encourages local investors in the oil and gas sector for the first time since the sector was opened up to foreign investment. At the same time, it boosts incentives for investors to push oil and gas exploration and production to overcome the country’s energy crunch while ensuring that the economic interests of different stakeholders are protected. The policy provides for at least 50 per cent of unskilled jobs going to people hailing from local communities in areas where exploratory work is undertaken and E&P (exploration and production) companies, as responsible corporate citizens, spend part of their revenues on social development. If implemented, such a measure can drastically improve the lives of the local people who have so far lived in poverty. As far as incentives for E&P companies are concerned, the policy offers much better returns on fresh investment than enjoyed by them in the past. Although the previous petroleum policy of 2007 linked domestic gas prices to international crude markets, the new document raises the price advantage cap for E&P companies to $100 per barrel of crude oil or natural gas from the existing $36. True, this would force gas con sumers to pay a much higher price for the cleaner fuel if global oil prices rise as they did in the last couple of years. But it is unlikely that the burden of higher prices would be transferred to consumers before another decade or so as the new gas-pricing formula would be applicable only to new gas discoveries. However, if the market price of crude oil or natural gas condensate exceeds the price cap for E&P companies, the full benefit of the Windfall Levy Gains (WLG) would be passed on to the government. Given this picture, ideally, globally competitive returns should help attract substantial fresh investment in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector. But will that actually happen? The Petroleum Policy 2007 also contained similar incentives for foreign investors. But no new project has been undertaken in the last couple of years mainly because of the growing gap between exploration costs and the lower returns on investment due to depressed domestic gas prices. Yet that has not been the only obstruction to fresh investment. Political turmoil and security concerns in the restive provinces of Balochistan and the NWFP said to be rich in hydrocarbon reserves have also kept investors away. Policies don’t work in a lawless, crime-infested environment. However promising it may look on paper, this policy too will not deliver unless investors’ concerns regarding the law and order situation in the country are eased. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]In the crossfire[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, April 06, 2009[/B] GIVEN the increasing incidents of militancy and political instability in various parts of the country, it is little wonder that journalists carry out their responsibilities under harrowing and often lifethreatening conditions. In turbulent areas such as parts of Balochistan, the NWFP and Fata, media personnel risk their lives in the execution of their duty to report to the citizenry. In fact, it is not uncommon for journalists’ family members to be threatened or targeted in a bid to silence an outspoken reporter. The fact that these threats come from militants as well as the establishment is a telling indictment on the level of insecurity that journalists in Pakistan must contend with. When one factors in the attempts made in recent years to muzzle the press, it is easy to understand why the international Reporters Sans Frontières ranked Pakistan at an abysmal 152 out of 173 countries in its Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2008. Afghanistan was ranked at 156 and Iraq at 158, while the bottom rung was occupied by Eritrea. An open letter sent by the organisation to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani last year said that Pakistan had “become the most dangerous country for journalists in Asia”. The point was raised recently by the International Union of Journalists and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, which noted that “The truth is dying in these areas and so are journalists”. The government must take steps to institutionalise measures aimed at enhancing journalists’ security, such as formulating codes of conduct and establishing complaint and refuge points or support systems at the local administrative level. Crimes committed against journalists must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators given sentences exemplary in their deterrence value. While it is encouraging that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced a fund of Rs50m for journalists who suffer in the line of duty, such measures must be institutionalised and de-linked from personalities. Most fundamentally, of course, efforts must be redoubled to restore peace in troubled areas. Media organisations, meanwhile, must rationalise the sending of personnel to conflict zones. Tempting though the possibility of breaking news from the battleground is, it must be balanced against the safety of journalists. Certain basic measures must become the norm: life and health insurance, medical cover and the extension of support and assistance to journalists sent to work in potentially dangerous situations. Those who perform a service of inestimable value must be protected and supported. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Mock emergency operations[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Monday, April 06, 2009[/B] AN emergency response operation is no laughing matter, even if it is a mock training exercise. But a recent simulated air-crash exercise at Islamabad’s airport was just that. What amused many observers of this training exercise was the sight of ‘passengers’ taking their own sweet time to descend the truckmounted stairways instead of sliding down emergency chutes, and rescuers casually carrying ‘injured passengers’ slumped across their shoulders. There was absolutely no sense of urgency. Such performances may cause hilarity amongst onlookers but can also damage public confidence in the authorities’ state of preparedness for an actual emergency. Annual exercises of the sort are an integral part of emergency preparedness training at our airports. They provide the means to develop adequate responses and beef up coordination among various airport agencies, airlines and other organisations in the event of an actual crash at the airport. This means that such exercises must be made as realistic as possible. For instance, casualty simulation team members can appear as real victims with make-up to depict blood and perhaps in positions to alert the ‘rescuers’ and ‘paramedics’ to the possibility of broken bones and other hidden injuries. The exercise should also see activity in the airport terminal with behind-the-scenes emergency coordination activities and interaction with volunteer staff acting as the ‘victims’ family and friends. There could also be a telephone simulation team to take ‘public inquiries’ to test the airport’s ability to handle such calls in the event of a real emergency. The national airline could also test its emergency response by providing flight and cabin crew to the simulation team. Although it is hoped that such an emergency situation will not arise, the importance of testing preparedness skills through mock exercises cannot be underestimated. True, every contingency cannot be anticipated. But a strong emergency preparedness programme that includes realistic exercises can assist in limiting the negative impact of such events should they come to pass. After all, such exercises can mean the difference between life and death for both the victims and their rescuers if disaster strikes at one of our airports. |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Unabated militancy[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Tuesday, April 07, 2009[/B] THE catalogue of horrors recording the toll militancy has taken on Pakistan grows with every passing day. Yesterday alone stories in this paper recorded the following: carnage in Chakwal after a suicide bomber struck an imambargah; Baitullah Mehsud’s claim that the weekend suicide attack in Islamabad was carried out by one of his foot soldiers; fighting between militants and security forces which claimed 18 lives in the Anbar valley of the Mohmand Agency, not far from Peshawar; that a second suicide bomber may still be at large in Chakwal; the warning of an attack in neighbouring Attock; a girls’ school blown up in Bannu; renewed militant activity in Bajaur; and that tension has risen in Buner after Taliban militants refused to leave the area on the demand of a local jirga. While it is important to remember that defeating militancy will be a long, difficult and messy affair, Pakistanis have the right to question the state’s response so far in many, many areas. Consider Baitullah Mehsud. Ensconced in his quasi-kingdom in South Waziristan, the man has seemingly let loose a reign of terror on Pakistan cities in recent months, ostensibly as retribution for US drone strikes in the tribal areas. But even today, Mr Mehsud picks up a phone and calls reporters and news agencies around the world to lay claim to all sorts of acts of violence with astonishing ease. Can the Pakistan secur ity forces do absolutely noth ing to nab or attack this man? And if our military resources are indeed so poor, can we not elicit the cooperation of the Americans to target him? Surely doing nothing — which, other than periodic denunciations by public offi cials, is what we are doing right now — is not an option. Or consider the attack on the Manawan police training school on the outskirts of Lahore. The security forces are in the cross-hairs of the militants and have been at tacked on numerous occa sions in recent months. Surely Manawan was an obvi ous potential target, so why was it not better defended? As the attack unfolded it be came clear there had been little thought of developing primary, secondary and terti ary lines of defence for the school. Or consider the case of Swat. Three phases of Operation Rah-i-Haq and the militants remained undefea ted. Have there been lessons learned? Has the military studied where its tactics went wrong? Reliance on in accurate artillery shelling from a distance versus hav ing more boots on the ground — does the military know any better about the way to fight such battles now? And what of the politicians? They fought for a political deal with the militants, but abductions, floggings and the Taliban’s writ have continued. Is anyone, any where who is part of the state apparatus even learning, let alone adapting? ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Human trafficking[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, April 07, 2009[/B] IT is human nature to aspire to a better life. Some flee oppression in their homeland, others seek prosperity in Europe or Australia or North America. Africans wash up dead or alive on the coast of Spain and Rohingyas sail for Thailand, where they are clearly not welcome, to escape endless persecution in Myanmar. Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Indians die trying to make their way into Greece, Turkey or Italy. Mexicans risk their lives crossing into the United States. Some Afghans, a people whose continuous misery is perhaps matched only by that of the Palestinians, apparently want nothing more than jobs in Pakistan or Iran. These are not attractive destinations for most people and the desire to get there only highlights the lengths to which Afghans will go to escape from their war-ravaged country. At least 50 Afghans were found dead near Quetta on Saturday in a sealed container loaded on to a truck. It is believed that some of them may have wanted to enter Iran and then make their way to Europe. But one survivor maintained that all they were looking for was employment and better lives in Pakistan or Iran. It is precisely this profound state of ruination that causes poor people to ei ther flee instead of living out the remainder of their days in misery — or join the ranks of the Taliban, who will then treat them with respect. Across the world, on every continent, there is no shortage of people who make it their business to profit from human suffering and the dreams of the underprivileged of a better future. Human traffickers can be counted among these dregs of society who lure women and children with promises of jobs and force them into lives of prostitution and enslavement. They abandon gullible young men to their fate on alien border crossings, lock them in airless containers or dump them into the sea at the first hint of trouble. It has been known for some time now that human trafficking is big business in Pakistan, a country that is a source, destination and transit point for this heinous trade. It is also known that much of this trafficking simply could not take place without the complicity of dubious ‘travel agents’ and corrupt border guards in Pakistan and its neighbouring countries. It is high time the authorities took a serious view of the situation and initiated a countrywide crackdown on human smuggling into and out of Pakistan. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Free at last[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, April 07, 2009[/B] THE release of John Solecki, the head of the UN refugee agency office in Quetta, is a piece of good news that is rare in Pakistan these days. Mr Solecki was abducted in February by members of the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), who have been demanding the release of their activists picked up by security forces since 2005. The government statement announcing the safe recovery of the UNHCR official does not say so but there are reports of several BLUF men being set free by the government to obtain Mr Solecki’s release. While the UN secretary general has thanked President Zardari for his intervention in the matter, the BLUF has only cited humanitarian grounds for its action. We hope that the happy ending to this distressing episode will not close the chapter on the political injustices in Pakistan’s most under-developed province that provoke Baloch nationalists to resort to extreme measures. Such acts of kidnapping and violence have brought a bad name to the country especially when foreigners who risk their lives to provide as sistance to our people become hapless victims. It is now up to the government to address in all good faith the grievances of the Baloch. It would be counterproductive to turn a blind eye to the insurgency in the province. The demands of the Baloch for provincial autonomy are reasonable and fall within the purview of the 1973 Constitution. They want control over their economic resources so that the process of development can be expedited. The federal government has conceded this in principle but has not translated into action what it has reaffirmed in its policy statements from time to time. It should also be noted that the resort to force to suppress the insurgency has apparently led security forces to adopt illegal measures such as taking into custody nationalist activists without proper recourse to legal processes. Thus in Mr Solecki’s case the focus of the BLUF was on the “missing persons”. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry who was pursuing the cases of the disappeared persons will hopefully address those again with a focus on the Baloch as well. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="4"][FONT="Georgia"]Who controls Irsa? Kawish[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Tuesday, April 07, 2009[/B] THERE is dualism in the Indus River System Authority (Irsa). Whenever the issue of the due share of water for Sindh is raised, IRSA poses itself as a powerless body. But in the case of Punjab, it is much more effective and ac- tive. Apart from repeated de- mands by the smaller provinces it is not implementing the Water Accord of 1991. This year too Irsa has adopted the same attitude. It refused to distribute water under the accord’s para two and turned down the request of the federal government and two provinces — Sindh and Balochistan. It opted for the basis of the historic-use formula (1977–82) that benefits Punjab and reduces Sindh’s share by about five per cent. Sindh will get 31.908 MAF water instead of 33.94 MAF. For years Sindh has been bearing the brunt of Irsa’s bias leading to a lack of prosperity. Promises have not been kept and accords have not been implemented. The lands of Sindh turned barren while the non-release of water downstream Kotri caused sea intrusion affecting agriculture and the entire ecosystem of the lower Sindh and delta region. There are other woes as well. When farmers, especially those of the lower regions urgently needed water, the supply was stopped on the pretext that reservoirs need to be filled up. Also the apportioning to the provinces and the flows into two link canals were being controlled most arbitrarily by the former dictator. Along with the fact that Sindh receives less than its due share, water theft continues to exacerbate the problem causing a further reduction in supply. Ill intentions have also been exposed by the failure to utilise the telemetry system installed to monitor the water flow in the rivers via satellite to document proof of water theft in Sindh. Is the ineffectiveness of Irsa due to non-compliance of the directives by the federal government? The main thrust of the issue then is who exactly is calling the shots? We think it is Punjab. Historically undemocratic and unconstitutional decisions have been thrust upon us. However, we are not witnessing a change in di rection even in a democratic set-up. It is true that successive undemocratic governments have used unfair methods with Sindh with regard to the distribution of water and financial resources. But it is especially unfortunate and ironic that Sindh is not getting its share even from the present democratic government. Sindh has protested for not im plementing para two of the ac cord, but will Sindh get justice, es pecially from a seemingly unwill ing government? Its demands are undoubtedly legitimate. It is sug gested that distribution arrange ments proposed may be corrected accordingly and the water may be apportioned as per para two of the accord. The people of Sindh and its government should raise their voice for the rights of the province. — (April 2) ¦ — Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Human rights[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009[/B] WE live in a country where some citizens are clearly more equal than others. Article 25(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan informs us that “All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.” Compare this ideal to the sordid reality on the ground. Article 27(1), which relates to discrimination in services, states that “No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground[s] only of … religion”. Everyone knows how Article 25(1) is flouted in a country where the rich and the connected get away with murder while the underprivileged are routinely implicated in false cases. Let’s move on to Article 27(1). If religion poses no hurdle “in the service of Pakistan”, why then do applications for government jobs require aspirants to disclose their religion? Is this mere curiosity or something more sinister? A tool perhaps for sidelining the ‘undesirable’? Released on Monday, the annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan makes for depressing reading. According to the HRCP, the human rights situation in Pakistan deteriorated in 2008 despite the installation of a democratic government. The high point: an elected government largely respected the right to freedom of speech. Should we be thrilled by this development? What else should be expected of a democratic set-up? It hasn’t done us any favours. Now to the dark side. ‘Honour’ crimes, rape and gang-rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse of children, trading women and little girls to settle disputes — that was the Pakistan of 2008. Girls’ and boys’ schools were blown up, and people who earned the wrath of the Taliban were flogged and even had their throats slit. Bodies were displayed in public squares and graves dug up of people deemed unworthy of a burial. If the government was unequal to the task in the battlefield, it could have made an effort to right wrongs in parts of the country that are backward but not at war. How much police reform have we seen since the elected government took office? As things stand, the victims of oppression stand in mortal fear of the police and are effectively denied access to justice. How many powerful landlords have been taken to task for presiding over jirgas that order the ‘marriage’ of six-year-old girls to men in their 40s and 50s to settle ‘honour’ and blood feuds? If the state cannot subdue the terrorists and the Taliban, it can at least try to enforce the law in areas where its writ could apply if an effort were made. Mindsets that have evolved over generations need to be changed and the battle ahead will necessarily be long. A beginning must be made. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Counter-terrorism in cities[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009[/B] ON the front line of the battle against militancy in Pakistan’s cities are the country’s policemen. But, beset by problems of poor training, inadequate resources and low morale, the police have been pummelled by the terrorists, and urban Pakistan has become exponentially more dangerous over the past few years. Now, the federal government has decided to form a special anti-terrorism force to curb terrorism and suicide bombings that have rocked Pakistan’s cities and towns. But will the plan work? Not without a proper assessment of what ails the police force. Early on in Gen Musharraf’s regime police reform became a mantra, and the push for change culminated in the Police Order 2002. Reform was proposed in four key areas: the police had to be thoroughly depoliticised; it needed full autonomy; strict, external accountability was required; and the resources at the disposal of the police had to be beefed up. Unsurprisingly, the Musharraf regime got cold feet and by 2004 changes to the Police Order had killed off any chance of genuine reform. More resources were admittedly thrown at the police, but the core problem remained: the age-old executive practice of using the police to quell political opposition continued unchecked. On the terrorism front, a report by the International Crisis Group last July found it “hardly surprising” than an “under-staffed, ill-equipped, deeply politicised, and pervasively corrupt (police) force has failed to counter the growing extremist menace”. Firstly, the police ranks have been penetrated by the very sectarian and jihadi groups they are tasked with containing. Secondly, poor coordination at the inter-agency level hampers effective counter-terrorism efforts. As the ICG noted: “In Punjab, for instance, the police maintain updated lists of sectarian activists with criminal records, but intelligence agencies only take action after a terror attack has occurred.” In January, the government did set up the National Counter Terrorism Authority, tasked with coordinating intelligence among the FIA, IB, ISI, etc., and appointed a former DG of the FIA as the NCTA’s national coordinator. But a good idea on paper can only become a good idea in practice if the government shows real commitment to its success, and the requisite urgency has been missing in the case of the NCTA. Clearly, something radical needs to be done to ready our police force to take on the militants. But success will only come if the plans are drawn up and executed by professionals with minimal political interference. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Murder of NGO workers[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009[/B] TERRORISM in the NWFP has not spared anyone. Even civilians working for the welfare of the people and who are not active participants in the armed hostilities are involuntarily being sucked into the conflict. As a result, they come to suffer the bestiality of those who claim to be the champions of Islam. The latest to become victims in this deadly game were three women NGO workers and their male driver. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found in a forest in Shinkiari, NWFP, on Monday. Working for a USAID-funded NGO that runs education projects in Mansehra, the victims are thought to have been murdered by militants whose might is growing by the day in the region. No one has claimed responsibility hence it may be difficult to identify the killers. But given the militants’ aversion to NGOs, they are the prime suspects. In fact, some weeks ago they had attacked the workers of another NGO and killed them in the same area. The war is now also focusing on the struggle to win the hearts and minds of the common people. While civil society seeks to enlist the cooperation of the people to strengthen the state’s writ, militants want to impose their control in areas where they have a presence. Their methods are diametrically opposite. While civil society operates through NGOs to provide the population with education, healthcare and other facilities to make life easier, the militants seeks to drive terror in the hearts of men and women to break their resistance. Quite clearly, the terrorists are gaining the upper hand. In this no-win situation it is the people who are the worst sufferers. As demonstrated by Monday’s incident, it also means that there is no security for NGO workers striving to improve conditions for ordinary people. It is up to the authorities to recognise the services being rendered by NGOs that have assumed the primary responsibilities of the government — often at great risk to their workers’ lives. Under these circumstances, the government must ensure that organisations working in strife-torn areas are given adequate protection. Insecurity and fear should not be allowed to drive NGO workers out of areas which need them most. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - European Press Darling needs to be honest[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009[/B] IT is time for the chancellor to admit he was wrong when he forecast the economy would improve this year — and do something positive to improve matters. It is less than five months since Alistair Darling announced, in his pre-budget report, that the economy would start growing again this summer and 2009 would see GDP increase by as much as 1.25 per cent. This newspaper described his forecast as “wildly optimistic” at the time and so it has proved. In his budget later this month, the chancellor will be forced to announce that his was the most egregious forecasting error in the Treasury’s history, with the economy now expected to shrink by three per cent or more this year and recovery nowhere in sight. Mr Darling’s loose grip on economic reality extends beyond his Panglossian expectations of growth…. The UK’s deficit is, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, running nearly three per cent higher than the chancellor acknowledged, which will leave the government with a £39bn shortfall by 2015/16. To put that into perspective, filling the gap will require a five-year freeze on public spending … or tax rises amounting to £24 a week for the average family. Mr Darling was, in the pre-budget report, being either economical with the truth or blindingly incompetent. Either way, it has left his credibility in shreds. Later this month, he has the opportunity to make amends, when he delivers his second budget. What we want from Mr Darling is honesty and transparency. [B]The Telegraph[/B] The British people have been treated like fools by this government from the start of the credit crunch…. We need some of the hard-boiled realism being demonstrated by Mr Darling’s Tory shadow, George Osborne, who today commits the Tories to renegotiating all public-sector pay deals if they come to power. That must include a review of pension arrangements, for it is no longer defensible for the state sector, where salaries are higher and jobs more secure than in the private sector, to continue to enjoy cripplingly expensive, index-linked final salary deals. Mr Darling should also avoid any repeat of the political game-playing we saw in the PBR, when tax and national insurance rises were targeted squarely at the country’s wealth-creators, to pander to the left, while their implementation was delayed until after the general election, to minimise any electoral damage. Such shabby partisanship is not what the country expects at a time of crisis. In short, on April 22 Mr Darling must give us some solid reasons to start believing what he says. — (April 6) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Iraq: the crucial phase[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Thursday, 09 Apr, 2009[/B] ONE shouldn’t be surprised if President Barack Obama considers the next 18 months critical for Iraq. On a surprise visit to the country that has undergone a bloodbath since the US-led invasion in March 2003, Obama pleaded for national unity and told the US soldiers he spoke to on Tuesday that they had given Iraq “an opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country”. The American invasion, no doubt, led to the decimation of the Baathist police state and to Saddam Hussein’s overthrow and execution, but it is doubtful if this in any way served to unite the Iraqi people or make Iraq a better place. The next 18 months will see the end of combat operations by the US and the gradual withdrawal of American troops, making the pullout complete by the end of 2011. It is this transition period that will determine whether Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki’s government is able to give peace to the people. Even though Mr Maliki sounded upbeat on this score during his visit to Canberra, the recent spate of bombings killing scores of people have sent a troubling message to the world. His government has shown much more resilience than was originally thought, but it is the general election late this year that will show whether the Iraqis will give it another term. Given the fractious nature of Iraq’s politics and Kurdistan’s insistence that it will maintain its autonomous character it would be a big challenge for all Iraqi parties and politicians to maintain the country’s unity and make democracy work. America considers it an achievement that it rid Iraq of Baathist tyranny but forgets the damage it has done to the country’s soul. The huge civilian casualty toll — estimates of which vary between 300,000 and 600,000 — the blow dealt to Iraq’s pride, the looting of Iraq’s cultural heritage and the torture associated with Abu Ghraib will live long in Iraqi memory. The Baathists may be gone, but it remains to be seen whether a truly independent Iraq will be an asset for America which has vital economic and strategic interests in the region. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A new stance[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 09 Apr, 2009[/B] THE statements coming from Islamabad point not to posturing but the adoption of a clearer stance on dealings with Washington. For the first time since the two joined hands in the battle against militancy, both sides have publicly acknowledged that they differ markedly on how the fight should be fought. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was particularly forthright on Tuesday in his joint press conference with Admiral Mike Mullen and special envoy Richard Holbrooke. Stressing the trust deficit between the two allies, he maintained that “We can only work together if we respect each other”. Instead of the usual formal complaints, it was publicly made clear to the Americans that drone attacks in Pakistan were unacceptable. Later, what the army feels is vilification of the ISI in the US media was criticised by Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Islamabad also rejected a proposal for joint operations in the tribal belt. Accustomed to talking while the other side listens, the visitors were reportedly taken aback by Pakistan’s decision to go on the offensive. It shouldn’t have come to this for officials should talk to officials, not through the media. Washington is to blame here because it set the precedent and Islamabad finally reacted. But there is an upside as well. Only when differences are openly acknowledged can progress be made towards their resolution. There may be a political dividend as well. As far as relations with the US were concerned, this government had come to be seen by many as a continuation of the Musharraf regime. America dictated, and we took notes. The new approach could mark a break from the past. It also suggests that the elected government and the security establishment may finally be on the same page vis-à-vis the fight against militancy and terrorism. Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s policy on Pakistan is similar to that of its predecessor. Its tone, in fact, is even more aggressive and threatening. The US needs to realise that drone attacks on Pakistani soil are counterproductive. A few militants may be taken out but many civilians are also killed in the process. This causes outrage amongst tribesmen whose support is critical in the battle against the Taliban. Moreover, such violations of national sovereignty give new impetus to anti-American sentiments across the country and weaken the credibility of the Pakistani government. Then there is the curious expectation that Pakistan will do more even as inflammatory stories are planted in the American press. On the Pakistani side it has to be accepted that this is primarily a fight for our own survival. Right now the militants have the upper hand and we need to put more boots on the ground and improve intelligence-gathering to reverse the tide. If we can’t defeat the enemy, others may feel justified in filling the breach. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Unable to save lives[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Thursday, 09 Apr, 2009[/B] WORLD Health Day this year focused on saving lives by making hospitals safe during emergencies. The theme is important at a time when natural disasters triggered by man-made environmental changes are on the rise. Equally devastating are the wars and violence which many Third World countries are experiencing. These are taking a heavy toll on life especially where the health system is not in a state of preparedness and is unable to cope with emergencies. Pakistan has taken note of the concerns of the World Health Organisation, as it should, given the rise in mortality figures due to natural disasters and violence. Even in normal conditions our hospitals have proved woefully inadequate when it comes to coping with the number of people requiring medical care. These institutions are ill-equipped and under-staffed and suffer from an acute shortage of medicines and other support facilities. When it comes to emergencies — and unfortunately there has been no dearth of these in recent times with almost 1,700 people killed by bomb blasts since 2005 and many more injured and maimed — the system is on the verge of collapse. Resultantly, in many cases lives that could be saved through prompt treatment are lost. WHO has recommended some core actions to improve facilities to save lives in emergency situations. It has called on health authorities to assess the safety of hospitals, provide for the training of health workers and draw up plans for emergency responses. These are very valid suggestions that must be reviewed in earnest. But is it possible to build perfect facilities catering for emergencies when the health delivery system cannot even provide a modicum of care to a person who contracts illnesses that are caused by our unhealthy environment? The need is to upgrade our health facilities in the public sector to meet the needs of the people. Simultaneously, provisions could also be made for emergency situations by setting up a trauma centre in every big tertiary-care hospital. The government is planning to build a network that will link primary healthcare facilities in rural areas to the tehsil hospitals that should be connected to tertiary-care institutions in the cities. Since the health policy has still not been announced it is difficult to say how this system will operate. There has also been talk of increasing the health budget. But pumping in more money without a feasible plan will not bring about the desired changes. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES Middle East Press[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][I][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="4"][FONT="Georgia"]What a waste… [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/I][/B] [B]Thursday, 09 Apr, 2009[/B] SINCE taking office … Minister of Health Dr Hatem el-Gabali has [acknowledged] serious shortcomings in government hospitals. He has even tried to tackle ... corruption in these medical institutions. He has also introduced some disciplinary measures to improve the health-insurance hospitals. However, people continue to complain that governmental, educational and even private hospitals, some of which have been temporarily closed for safety reasons, are still going downhill. After the media repeatedly warned that toxic medical waste from hospitals was being used to make plastic commodities and toys for children … [h]ealth officials admitted that hospitals weren’t disposing of the waste in a safe manner. What was more astonishing was Dr Amr Qandil, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, admitting that some patients contracted hepatitis C while being operated on at public-sector hospitals. Qandil told the People’s Assembly … that a staggering 25 per cent of patients operated on at these hospitals contracted this virus. For years, specialists had wondered why so many Egyptians were contracting hepatitis C (around 12 per cent of the population [is] now suffering from this virus) and now they know why…. [E]nvironmental protection offices … have the judicial authority to ensure that medical waste is safely disposed of. Nevertheless, the respected official failed to explain how these offices are meant to operate when there aren’t suitable places to dump the waste produced by hundreds of thousands of clinics … all over the country. — (April 6) [B]Lethal waste[/B] WHEN Chinese officials found a radioactive lead ball near a steel mill after a few days’ hunt, they had saved the people of the area and its environment from [a] huge potential danger. The potentially lethal football-sized lump of Caesium-137 was lost during the demolition of a cement plant…. Although it was not very clear what it was doing in a cement plant, the ball, which is reported to have been found within a week of its being lost, is presumed to have belonged to a specialised nuclear calibrating instrument used for making precise measurements in the 53-year-old Shaanxi Qinling Cement Company. While the cement factory was torn down for good reason, the loss and retrieval of the radioactive ball is a wake-up call for all proponents of [the] nuclear industry. The radioactive ball might have been mistaken for scrap; or had it come into contact with water it would have exploded and caused blood diseases, tumours and birth defects in human beings. At the same time, Caesium-137 has a wide variety of uses ranging from food and medical industry to calibration instruments and batteries. The loss and retrieval of the nuclear ball is a grim reminder of thousands of devices containing radioactive material either missing or stolen worldwide…. As more and more countries turn to nuclear energy to meet the ever-increasing electric power demand, the waste disposal issue assumes high importance.... But incidents such as the Chinese one send alarm[ing] signals to the global community and raise doubts about claims of foolproof safeguards…. — (April 4) |
[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]IPI without India[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]
[B]Friday, 10 Apr, 2009[/B] THE ‘peace pipeline’, as the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project was dubbed, seems to be inching forward but without a vital partner on board. India appears to have stepped out of this trilateral project but no formal announcement has so far been made to that effect. Iran and Pakistan have now decided to go ahead without New Delhi to finalise the details of the deal that has been hanging in the balance since 1993 when it was first conceived. On Wednesday another hurdle was cleared when Pakistan’s cabinet accepted the price purchase formula offered by Tehran. This is expected to enable the two governments to sign a sale-purchase agreement later this year. India’s absence from the past several meetings of the trilateral body that has been discussing various dimensions of the project has been interpreted as its reluctance to join hands with Pakistan and Iran. While New Delhi has been at loggerheads with Islamabad on issues of regional security, it may not be too happy about entering into an energy project in defiance of Washington’s warnings to the international community to refrain from working with Iran. Be that as it may, the IPI has significance for Pakistan. True, it is a costly project. But the $7.4bn pipeline linking Iran’s gas fields to Nawabshah in Sindh will enable Pakistan to import one billion cubic feet of gas per day. Given the growing shortfall of gas in the country — it is expected to be 700mmcfd in 2009 — the IPI pipeline will ease some of the pressure. However, it will take several years to complete and the government will have to find alternative sources of fuel to meet the country’s energy needs. Another major factor that may pose problems for Pakistan in the long run is the cost of the gas to be supplied. The pricing formula has been under negotiation for years. What began as a reasonable rate has been revised upwards by Tehran repeatedly. Under the new arrangement Pakistan will pay 80 per cent of the oil price in the international market that could work out to be a hefty amount. It will also be foregoing the transit fee of $200m India would have paid had it been a partner. There is also the additional cost of securing the pipeline from attacks by insurgents which is not unlikely. Given the law and order situation in Balochistan where installations are blown up regularly what safety will there be for this pipeline? It is the foreign policy and security implications of IPI that carry great significance for Pakistan. At a time when it is in the grip of a grave security crisis Pakistan’s interest lies in working out a regional strategy. In this context an understanding with Iran, which the IPI would promote, will strengthen Pakistan’s hand. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]The Taliban advance[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 10 Apr, 2009[/B] WHAT next will the Taliban target in their relentless sweep across the tribal belt and the NWFP? Mansehra, Mardan, Swabi? Abbottabad perhaps, or Haripur? Peshawar itself? After capturing Swat courtesy the government’s capitulation, militants based in the valley have now crossed into Buner and occupied at least one village as well as a police post and a government school. Area residents say the Taliban have set up an operational headquarters and it is unlikely that they will leave Buner any time soon. This digging in, possibly for the long haul, follows clashes the other day when a contingent of local tribesmen backed up by the police killed several Taliban fighters. Federal and provincial security personnel must enter the fray without delay because the defence of Buner cannot be left to local residents or the police force. The state has already failed the people of Swat as well as several tribal areas including Waziristan. It must now come to grips with the reality that the enemy is advancing by the day. Decisive action is needed now, not later. Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer recently said that “the day is not far when Islamabad will be in the hands of the [militants]”. This may come across as a tall claim but confusing the improbable with the impossible is always fraught with danger. Reports that Sufi Mohammad of the TNSM has effectively pulled out of the ‘peace deal’ he helped broker in Swat perhaps provide a pointer to what might lie ahead. A Taliban spokesman in Swat wanted to know “what law stops us from going [to Buner]? Our people will go there and stay there as long as they want”. Of course every Pakistani has the right to live in or visit any part of the country. But the spokesman perhaps forgets that the Taliban can be classified neither as job-seekers nor tourists. Also, in theory at least, there are a number of laws that the Taliban are breaking in their attempt to devour Buner. There are laws that state that murderers should be arrested and put behind bars instead of being allowed to roam freely. Storming and capturing private businesses and government institutions at gunpoint is also against the law. Creating states within a state is tantamount to treason. But then the Taliban are a law unto themselves. Successive governments with their duplicity or ineptitude have granted them that privilege. When will the state do its duty? ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]The ‘crime’ of expression?[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 10 Apr, 2009[/B] IT may come in various forms — extremism, political idolatry etc — but the real culprit remains the culture of intolerance that is virtually bringing regular life to a grinding halt. One hopes that the mayhem on the opening day of Karachi’s Shanaakht Festival 2009 over a piece of art that displayed Zulfikar and Benazir Bhutto in the same frame as Gen Zia is not a harbinger of suppressive times ahead. The fact that the violence was perpetrated apparently by PPP supporters is indicative of a philosophy of insularity within the ranks of a party that has long extolled the virtues of democracy and secularism. Party leaders have defended the incident as an emotional response to the refusal of the organisers to remove the ‘objectionable’ picture. Although the Sindh information minister visited the ravaged site of the festival and ordered an inquiry, she should have steered clear of seeking refuge in excuses such as inefficient security deployment at the venue, and use the television footage to bring those responsible to justice. Having paid in blood to restore democracy, the PPP is obligated to adhere to democratic ideals which include freedom of expression. Perhaps, there is no better time than now to evaluate this convenient excuse of emotionalism, for this is also what propels extremists to blacken models on billboards and Baloch leaders to defend archaic customs. Moreover, if endeavours that promote expression have to depend on heavy security to see them through, then regardless of the current democratic clime, the nation has not shed Zia’s shackles. It is lamentable that dissent should be synonymous with violence; the same political workers could have registered an FIR, used the media to voice their objections and approached the ministry of culture to take action. Authorities and political parties must encourage pluralism and create an environment that tolerates all shades of opinion. Prejudice is our real enemy; when faith is out of the picture, other ‘ideals’ take its place to suppress expression. The only way out is for the present dispensation to lead by example and ensure accountability for wrongdoers, including overwhelmed party supporters. ********************************************************** [B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Bangladesh Press Breathing fresh air[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B]Friday, 10 Apr, 2009[/B] GOVERNOR, Bangladesh Bank, in a meeting with chief executives of commercial banks, has announced a few steps to bolster investment and export currently pitted against a dampening of demands in the context of [the] global financial downturn. These mainly include [a] cutback on the lending rate to 13 per cent and the loan rescheduling facility without down payment for six months in … [various] sectors…. The 13 per cent cap on the lending rate is effectively 1.75 per cent less than the existing 14.75 per cent in the productive sector. But in case of all other loans the rate of interest has been as high as 18 per cent. There is a caveat ... the lower interest rate would not apply to credit card and consumer loan. [B][SIZE="3"]The Daily Star[/SIZE][/B] The central bank’s intervention was inevitable against the backdrop of persistent demand from the business community to reduce the spread between the deposit rate and the lending rate which is the widest in the region and the economic experts’ repeated nudges to go for it. The banks, however, got cold feet, even though their profitability has been ... considerably high. The banking sector ... argue[s] that in order to lower [the] lending rate it has to reduce the deposit rate. But to be doing so risks a fall in deposit which is hardly desirable. So, what do we do? The answer lies in reducing banks’ profit margins, or rather spreading profits over a raft of services and yet prosper as the banks go on reaping dividends from the growth of productive, export, commercial and service sectors of the economy. What would be crucial in interest rate adjustment is, however, keeping the inflation rate low, so that the value of money is not eroded and a fillip is provided to saving. Leaders of the business community want the lending rate reduced to a single digit. But … since the loan rescheduling facility will help increase cash flow into the industrial and manufacturing sectors, this factor together with the cut in the lending rate should be on the whole helpful in steadying investment and export. — (April 9) |
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