[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]The Agosta mystery[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 13 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE mystery surrounding the deal struck in the ’90s to buy French Agosta submarines and the killing in May 2002 of 11 Frenchmen belonging to the Directorate of Naval Construction who were in Karachi as per the terms of the contract continues to this day. This week, a French newspaper, Liberation, has claimed that Asif Zardari, the country’s current president, received $4.3m as kickbacks for his alleged role in facilitating the contract while military/naval officials received 50 per cent more. Government spokespersons have dismissed the allegations. But this is not enough. As French authorities and journalists continue to probe into the events surrounding the deal and the killing of its citizens, more questions, both financial and criminal, have been raised than answered. From the financial point of view, the cloud of suspicion is no surprise; military-industrial complexes the world over are routinely accused of bribing state officials into buying their wares. What is needed, therefore, is a full and transparent investigation here into all the allegations of financial malfeasance. Given that state officials, past and present, are at the centre of the allegations, the investigation must also be independent.

There is an urgent need for such an investigation because even more sinister allegations have been floated in recent times: that the bombing which killed the 11 Frenchmen was connected to non-payment, or partial payment, of the kickbacks, rather than carried out by Al Qaeda or other militant groups. Three men allegedly belonging to Harkatul Mujahideen al-Alami have been tried in connection with the bombing, but two were acquitted on appeal by the Sindh High Court in May and the third was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court late last month. So more than seven years after the bombing, no convictions have been secured while new allegations have come to the fore. Even by the byzantine standards of the domestic law-enforcement and judicial processes, this stands out as an exceptional case. Perhaps fortuitously for those wanting to know the truth here, the fact that foreigners were involved has kept the issue alive and this should be taken advantage of to bring to justice all those who may have committed what amount to the most serious of crimes.

There is also a wider issue at stake here: the defence procurement system. Opaque and jealously guarded by military officials and senior bureaucrats, little is known about how decisions are made about what technology and equipment are deemed necessary for national security and how specific deals are arrived at. More transparency is needed in this system, not least because we are a poor country going through a rough economic time.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Cricket in chaos[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 13 Nov, 2009[/B]

IT isn’t surprising that no one is buying the official line. Younis Khan, we are told, “asked for a rest” and that is why Mohammad Yousuf was appointed captain of the Pakistan Test team for the series against New Zealand. That explanation, not so cunningly, glosses over a key point: what compelled Younis to go into hibernation? Answer: he was forced to surrender the captaincy through a combination of player power and lack of support from an increasingly inept PCB. He has been ousted by the players, not the Pakistan Cricket Board. Clearly, Younis Khan was not popular with his charges — he has himself admitted that he lost “command over this team”. True, on occasion his captaincy skills left much to be desired. And yes, off the pitch he was prone to utterances driven more by impulsiveness than due deliberation.

All that is neither here nor there when it comes to appointing or sacking skippers. We’ve seen it all before with player revolts against Mushtaq Mohammad, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram. The bottom line is this: the PCB must back the captain it has appointed until the board itself loses confidence in the man. Instead, the board has been arm-twisted — yet again — into taking decisions demanded by the players. As former captain Aamir Sohail put it the other day, the country’s cricketers need to be told that they should quit the team if they don’t like the captain. Replacements will be found.

In the not too distant past, Mohammad Yousuf went public with highly disparaging remarks about former captain Shoaib Malik. What if Shoaib doesn’t feel comfortable playing under Yousuf and a new clique is formed to engineer another change at the helm? This is a vicious circle that can be broken only by a cricket board that has its own house in order. Never a bastion of stability, the PCB under Ijaz Butt has become more or less dysfunctional. The chairman ditches strong stands taken only weeks earlier and denies statements issued at press conferences. As we have said before, Mr Butt is not the man for the job and must vacate his post without further delay.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Cultural expression[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 13 Nov, 2009[/B]

GIVEN the violence at the opening of Karachi’s Shanakht Festival last April, it is heartening that the event has now been held successfully. Fears of violence in the form of a terrorist attack did indeed haunt the recently concluded festival, but luckily nothing of the sort was witnessed. Meanwhile, the event remained free of the sort of controversy that led to its cancellation earlier in the year, when armed men resorted to vandalism in reaction to a picture depicting former premier Benazir Bhutto in a manner they felt was offensive to their political beliefs. The organisers were forced to vacate the premises of the Karachi Arts Council where the festival was being held, and the event itself was called off for security reasons.

The incident was illustrative of the manner in which the freedom of cultural expression is under threat in Pakistan’s rapidly shrinking public sphere. To be sure, abstract ideas expressed through avenues such as art, literature and theatre cannot always hold equal appeal for everyone and may inevitably prove unpopular with some members of the public. Nevertheless, a rejection of them through violent means cannot be condoned. Those who express their ideas through cultural forms face an unenviable challenge. On the one hand, they must negotiate their path through a terrain intolerant of the plurality of ideas, where certain elements are willing to resort to violence in an effort to control social thought. On the other, they must remain intellectually honest and resist censorship.

It is therefore important to ensure the continuance of events such as the Shanakht Festival where ideas of national identity and character and other influences are expressed. Exploration of the Pakistani experience is undertaken primarily in the cultural arena, and this must be actively encouraged. Such exercises enhance social understanding and can promote tolerance for differing viewpoints.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press Hillary Clinton on Pakistan[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 13 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has said that no foreign element was involved in the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, adding that Pakistani extremists were behind them. In a TV interview she said that AlQaeda’s safe havens on the Pak-Afghan border were cause for concern for the US, but that her country knows that the government and armed forces of Pakistan consider the extremists a threat to themselves also.She said the US and its allies were facing a war against the extremists, confessing that her country had been complicit in their emergence. She said Pakistan’s nuclear assets were safe and that the US had faith in Pakistani intelligence agencies in this regard.

In her interview she declared Pakistan a trusted ally in the war on terror.

Ms Clinton’s views come at a time when Pakistan is faced with both internal and external enemies while its people have many worries about their future. Many people in Pakistan think that the war that their country is fighting is, in fact, to the benefit of foreign countries and that Pakistan is sacrificing its own army, police and common people just for nothing.

The world knows that … Pakistan is also to be blamed, partly, for the creation of the Taliban. People who understand the history of this region know that those extremists created by the US for jihad against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, are a problem … in the reDaily Hewad, Peshawar

gion.However, instead of being stuck in the past, it is better to acknowledge that the US has started reassessing its anti-extremist strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is hoped that not only this region but the whole world will get rid of extremist forces soon. To this end it is a must for the US to stop putting pressure on Pakistan to ‘do more’. It should help Afghanistan and Pakistan in every sphere of life so that the people of these two countries understand that the US is not in this region only for its own political and economic interests and is cognisant of the people’s hardships…. — (Nov 12)

[CENTER][B][SIZE="5"]Ethical Medicine[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]

[I]14th nov 2009[/I]

IN the crisis that grips Pakistan today, it is reassuring to note that some positive developments are also taking place. One such move came on Thursday when the National Assembly passed the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Bill unanimously, taking the ordinance promulgated in 2007 a step closer to becoming a law enacted by parliament. The process will be completed when the Senate adopts the bill and it is signed by the president. One of the 37 ordinances from the Musharraf era that needed parliamentary validation under a Supreme Court judgment, the organ bill fully deserved to be adopted. The move had won the country plaudits in the medical community internationally. The National Assembly has done well to honour the person behind the campaign to ban the sale of organs in Pakistan, Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi, the director of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation. It vindicates the philosophy Dr Rizvi has long espoused and put into practice at SIUT that healthcare is the birthright of every man, woman and child.
When transplantation technology arrived in this country in the 1980s and gained prevalence, ethical practices were thrown to the wind. While SIUT stood fast as an institution where related donors provided organs to their next of kin and financial transactions were banned, oth ers made organ transplan tation a lucrative business. Websites announced the facilities offered. These in cluded procurement of or gans from the impoverish ed. Foreigners suffering from kidney failure began to flock to Pakistan to buy a new lease of life. Accor ding to the figures re leased, nearly 2,000 trans plantations were per formed every year in Pakistan before the gov ernment moved to crack down on the sale of organs. Some 1,500 recipients were foreigners. The law now bars foreigners from re ceiving organ transplants. Consequently, 1,590 trans plants were performed in 2008-09 and in a majority of cases (1,498) the donors were relatives. Stringent rules have been stipulated to regulate the cases of un related donors.

Needless to say, the reg ulatory mechanism that has been set up needs to be vigilant at all times. Cases of violation have been re ported periodically and some hospitals taken to court for breaking the law. But it goes to the credit of the authority and the ethi cal members of the profes sion that Pakistan has not gone back to the deplora ble conditions of not too long ago when the country earned the reputation of being a kidney tourism hot spot. That must never be allowed to happen again. One hopes that the tradi tion established by SIUT of ethical and free-of-cost healthcare will be emula ted by others.

in the crisis that grips pakistan today, it is reas- suring to note that some positive developments are also taking place. one such move came on thursday when the national assem- bly passed the transplan- tation of human organs and tissues bill unani- mously, taking the ordi- nance promulgated in 2007 a step closer to becoming a law enacted by parliament. the process will be com- pleted when the senate adopts the bill and it is signed by the president. one of the 37 ordinances from the musharraf era that needed parliamentary validation under a sup- reme court judgment, the organ bill fully deserved to be adopted. the move had won the country plaudits in the medical community in- ternationally. the national assembly has done well to honour the person behind the campaign to ban the sale of organs in pakistan, dr adibul hasan rizvi, the director of the sindh insti- tute of urology and trans- plantation. it vindicates the philosophy dr rizvi has long espoused and put into practice at siut that healthcare is the birthright of every man, woman and child. when transplantation technology arrived in this country in the 1980s and gained prevalence, ethical practices were thrown to the wind. while siut stood fast as an institution where related donors pro- vided organs to their next of kin and financial trans- actions were banned, oth- ers made organ transplan- tation a lucrative business. websites announced the facilities offered. these in- cluded procurement of or- gans from the impoverish- ed. foreigners suffering from kidney failure began to flock to pakistan to buy a new lease of life. accor- ding to the figures re- leased, nearly 2,000 trans- plantations were per- formed every year in pakistan before the gov- ernment moved to crack down on the sale of organs. some 1,500 recipients were foreigners. the law now bars foreigners from re- ceiving organ transplants. consequently, 1,590 trans- plants were performed in 2008-09 and in a majority of cases (1,498) the donors were relatives. stringent rules have been stipulated to regulate the cases of un- related donors. needless to say, the reg- ulatory mechanism that has been set up needs to be vigilant at all times. cases of violation have been re- ported periodically and some hospitals taken to court for breaking the law. but it goes to the credit of the authority and the ethi- cal members of the profes- sion that pakistan has not gone back to the deplora- ble conditions of not too long ago when the country earned the reputation of being a kidney tourism hot spot. that must never be allowed to happen again. one hopes that the tradi- tion established by siut of ethical and free-of-cost healthcare will be emula- ted by others.



[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Kashmir Revisited[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


A WEEKLONG trip to Kashmir early this month confirmed the impression that the Kashmir dispute has indeed entered its penultimate phase. There has been a sea change in the political situation in recent years within and outside the state.
Five significant changes stand out. India has been negotiating with Pakistan a solution to the Kashmir dispute, thus recognising implicitly the existence of a dispute, Pakistan’s locus standi as a party to it. On May 2, 2009 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh revealed “Gen Musharraf and I had nearly reached an agreement”. A skeletal framework exists awaiting the application of diplomatic flesh and infusion of political blood. The cries of old have ceased to be relevant.

Secondly, Pakistan no longer shuns unionists. Both Omar Abdullah, now chief minister and leader of the National Conference (NC), and Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were warmly received in Islamabad.

Thirdly, a consensus between these parties on self-rule has become achievable; more, it is one which the separatists can also share.

Fourthly, New Delhi is prepared to talk to all, unionists and separatists alike.

Lastly, while Pakistan all but dropped its opposition to polls in Kashmir, all the contestants agreed that the polls are no substitute for a solution to the dispute and that there can be no lasting solution without an accord with Pakistan.

These gains are belittled only by those who feel threatened by change, and change, as this writer found, is what Kashmiris desperately desire and assiduously seek. Their despair stems from two factors. One is the terrible plight to which fate has reduced them. The other is the bitter awareness that its improvement depends entirely on accord between India and Pakistan, neither of whom has been, to put it mildly, too respectful of their rights or solicitous of their welfare.

One remarkable case provided a vivid illustration of both the yearning and the potentialities for improvement in the altered situation. I was struck by the articles which Sheikh Abdul Rasheed had contributed to the weekly Chattan edi ted by Tahir Mohiuddin. They reflected courage, independence and originality. I was determined to meet him.

The quest took me to the vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) and, I was told, within the range of the shells that were fired from across it before the ceasefire. He spurned promotion as deputy general manager in J&K Projects Construction Corporation and resigned to stand for election to the state assembly. As an independent MLA from Langate in Kupwara district, he is the scourge of the local administration.

Since 1993 he has been exposing excesses by the security forces as well as the militants. A notable victory was won on July 9, 2009 after he had led a nightlong demonstration of hundreds, before a police station in protest against excesses by an army official.

The deputy commission gave written promises of redress — which included reopening of a road, that was shut to the people for 20 years — and disciplinary action against the offender. Torture neither deterred nor embittered him. As well as active social work, he pleads in the assembly for resolution of the Kashmir dispute, maintaining that mere economic packages offer no solution.

What would have been the character of the state assembly if the Hurriyat had contested the elections? The call for a boycott failed miserably, to their discomfiture. But it influenced very many, in Srinigar district particularly. That enabled the well-organised NC to send its men to vote and thus win seats enough to form a government. The Huriyat’s two factions present a pitiable spectacle.Syed Ali Shah Geelani commands respect. He has just published an erudite work on Iqbal. But his extremism has few takers. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq repeatedly promises to unveil a road map but produces nothing. He said on March 20, 2007 “The Hurriyat Conference will soon strengthen its public contact programme to make people aware of the four-point formula of President Musharraf and take them into confidence on the ongoing peace process.” If he has taken any steps to fulfil this promise, it remains his best-kept secret.

Precisely what is it that he wants? In an interview to Kavita Suri published in The Statesman on Oct 10, 2002, this is what he said: “An autonomous region with the other side being a party to it could address the issue in such a way that India can sort of live with that, Pakistan can also live with that too, and Kashmiris can also get something they have been aspiring for. So we should be ready to discuss all the options and, as I have said earlier, autonomous identity for Kashmir could be the solution.” How is this different from the PDP’s demand for self-rule or the NC’s for greater autonomy? If he still stands by it, he should have no problem in joining hands with them.

New Delhi would not be able to resist a demand for restoration of the state’s stolen autonomy made by a united front of Kashmiri parties. His colleague Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat was more sensible in the plea for such an alliance which he made on Nov 7 at a seminar in New Delhi. “Pakistan wants all Kashmiris to put their heads together. This includes the PDP, NC, JKLF and even Geelani.” On the same day and at the same forum, Mehbooba Mufti said that the differences with the separatists had blurred and a fair amount of consen sus had emerged.

The separatists do not wield the gun and cannot establish peace. As Geelani Sahib honestly noted on June 16, 1998, “We are not in a position to stop the use or misuse of the gun. There is no rapport between the APHC and the gunmen.” The APHC was then a united body. Only an Indo-Pak settlement can establish peace.

Kashmiris can help a lot with proposals; for example to render the LoC irrelevant; “just lines on a map” as Dr Manmohan Singh said on March 24, 2006; to make the proposed joint mechanism real and effective and to provide for a consultative assembly of MLAs from both parts which meets twice every year, alternately in both capitals.

The need of the hour is consensus in the major political parties in India and Pakistan and among Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC. The foreign minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, spoke aptly on July 11, 2008: “We have to look out of the box. We have to look at innovative ways of resolution (of the Kashmir issue).” In this Kashmiris can ill afford to lag behind. ¦ The writer is an author and a lawyer.

a weeklong trip to kash- mir early this month confirmed the impression that the kashmir dispute has indeed entered its penultimate phase. there has been a sea change in the politi- cal situation in recent years within and outside the state. five significant changes stand out. india has been negotiating with pakistan a solution to the kashmir dis- pute, thus recognising implicitly the ex- istence of a dispute, pakistan’s locus standi as a party to it. on may 2, 2009 prime minister manmohan singh re- vealed “gen musharraf and i had near- ly reached an agreement”. a skeletal framework exists awaiting the applica- tion of diplomatic flesh and infusion of political blood. the cries of old have ceased to be relevant. secondly, pakistan no longer shuns unionists. both omar abdullah, now chief minister and lead- er of the national conference (nc), and mehbooba mufti, presi- dent of the people’s democratic party (pdp) were warmly received in islamabad. thirdly, a consensus between these parties on self-rule has become achievable; more, it is one which the separatists can also share. fourthly, new delhi is prepared to talk to all, unionists and separatists alike. lastly, while pakistan all but dropped its opposition to polls in kashmir, all the contestants agreed that the polls are no substitute for a solution to the dispute and that there can be no lasting solution without an accord with pakistan. these gains are belittled only by those who feel threatened by change, and change, as this writer found, is what kashmiris desperately desire and assidu- ously seek. their despair stems from two factors. one is the terrible plight to which fate has reduced them. the other is the bitter awareness that its improve- ment depends entirely on accord be- tween india and pakistan, neither of whom has been, to put it mildly, too re- spectful of their rights or solicitous of their welfare. one remarkable case provided a vivid illustration of both the yearning and the potentialities for improvement in the al- tered situation. i was struck by the arti- cles which sheikh abdul rasheed had contributed to the weekly chattan edi- ted by tahir mohiuddin. they reflected courage, independence and originality. i was determined to meet him. the quest took me to the vicinity of the line of control (loc) and, i was told, within the range of the shells that were fired from across it before the ceasefire. he spurned promotion as deputy gener- al manager in j&k projects construction corporation and resigned to stand for election to the state assem- bly. as an independent mla from langate in kupwara district, he is the scourge of the local administration. since 1993 he has been exposing ex- cesses by the security forces as well as the militants. a notable victory was won on july 9, 2009 after he had led a night- long demonstration of hundreds, before a police station in protest against excess- es by an army official. the deputy commission gave written promises of redress — which included reopening of a road, that was shut to the people for 20 years — and disciplinary action against the offender. torture nei- ther deterred nor embittered him. as well as active social work, he pleads in the assembly for resolution of the kashmir dispute, maintaining that mere economic packages offer no solution. what would have been the character of the state assembly if the hurriyat had contested the elections? the call for a boycott failed miserably, to their discom- fiture. but it influenced very many, in srinigar district particularly. that ena- bled the well-organised nc to send its men to vote and thus win seats enough to form a government. the huriyat’s two factions present a pitiable specta- cle.syed ali shah geelani commands re- spect. he has just published an erudite work on iqbal. but his extremism has few takers. mirwaiz umar farooq re- peatedly promises to unveil a road map but produces nothing. he said on march 20, 2007 “the hurriyat conference will soon strengthen its public contact pro- gramme to make people aware of the four-point formula of president musharraf and take them into confi- dence on the ongoing peace process.” if he has taken any steps to fulfil this prom- ise, it remains his best-kept secret. precisely what is it that he wants? in an interview to kavita suri published in the statesman on oct 10, 2002, this is what he said: “an autonomous region with the other side being a party to it could address the issue in such a way that india can sort of live with that, pakistan can also live with that too, and kashmiris can also get something they have been aspiring for. so we should be ready to discuss all the options and, as i have said earlier, autonomous identity for kashmir could be the solution.” how is this different from the pdp’s demand for self-rule or the nc’s for greater autonomy? if he still stands by it, he should have no problem in joining hands with them. new delhi would not be able to resist a demand for restoration of the state’s stolen autonomy made by a united front of kashmiri parties. his colleague prof abdul ghani bhat was more sensible in the plea for such an alliance which he made on nov 7 at a seminar in new delhi. “pakistan wants all kashmiris to put their heads togeth- er. this includes the pdp, nc, jklf and even geelani.” on the same day and at the same forum, mehbooba mufti said that the dif- ferences with the sepa- ratists had blurred and a fair amount of consen- sus had emerged. the separatists do not wield the gun and cannot establish peace. as geelani sahib honestly noted on june 16, 1998, “we are not in a position to stop the use or misuse of the gun. there is no rap- port between the aphc and the gun- men.” the aphc was then a united body. only an indo-pak settlement can establish peace. kashmiris can help a lot with propos- als; for example to render the loc irrel- evant; “just lines on a map” as dr manmohan singh said on march 24, 2006; to make the proposed joint mecha- nism real and effective and to provide for a consultative assembly of mlas from both parts which meets twice every year, alternately in both capitals. the need of the hour is consensus in the major political parties in india and pakistan and among kashmiris on both sides of the loc. the foreign minister of pakistan, shah mehmood qureshi, spoke aptly on july 11, 2008: “we have to look out of the box. we have to look at innovative ways of resolution (of the kashmir issue).” in this kashmiris can ill afford to lag behind. ¦ the writer is an author and a lawyer.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Our Foes Failure[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


IMAGINE a world where 9/11 did not happen. In such a scenario, the Taliban would probably have all of Afghanistan by the jugular, having overrun the country and defeated the Northern Alliance years ago.
Having achieved total victory, it is highly unlikely that Mullah Omar and his followers would take their orders from their Pakistani handlers. As it is, when the whole world tried to prevent the tragic destruction of the giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan, nobody — including Gen Musharraf and the ISI — could prevail upon the mediaeval rulers next door to halt this wicked act.

In fact, it was this single stroke of vicious vandalism that opened the world’s eyes to the reality of the Taliban mindset. Earlier, they had been just another benighted mob of holy warriors persecuting their own people; now they were viewed with more than distaste. This revulsion ensured that when they were kicked out of Kabul by the Northern Alliance supported by American Special Forces, few tears were shed.

Luckily for the rest of us, neither the leaders of Al Qaeda nor the Taliban appear to have studied military history or psychology. While the former numbers engineers and doctors among its ranks, it does not seem to have recruited social scientists. Over the centuries, a vast number of treatises on the theory and practice of asymmetrical warfare have been written. From Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, to T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, many theorists and military leaders have dwelt upon the lessons weaker forces have learned about fighting and defeating larger armies.

One major lesson is that the commander of the smaller force does not deliberately alienate the population whose support is crucial to success. The masses are ‘the sea guerrillas swim in’. Apart from providing recruits, ordinary people shelter and feed the insurgents. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, jihadi groups have become arrogant through their success, and now terrorise locals into submission.

Had the Taliban tried to create a genuinely egalitarian state in Afghanistan, they would have acted as a powerful magnet for extremists. As it was, they put off many by their brutal treatment of women, and by their stone-age punishments for the smallest infringement of their medieval laws. And by allowing their Al Qaeda guests to plot the 9/11 attacks on their soil — and later refusing to hand them over to the Americans — the Taliban ensured the end of their rule.

Mullah Fazlullah and his cohorts blew a similar opportunity in Swat. Once they had been handed the valley through irresponsible deals, these clerics and their armed band of thugs had a great chance to build a model Islamic state. But they overreached themselves, finally alerting the government and the army to the real and immediate threat they posed. And during their fleeting grip on power, they carried out a reign of terror that thoroughly disgusted the rest of the country. Never again will the people of Swat demand instant ‘Islamic’ justice.

Revolutionaries need to convince people that their vision would lead to a more just order and a better life for them. But utopias are easier to conceive on paper than implement in practice. An absence of economists and managers, combined with a clerical hier archy ignorant of the complex nature of the modern world, made it impossible for the Taliban to establish and run a functioning government. Their ‘emirate’ was dysfunctional and chaotic, focusing only on flogging and executing their unfortunate citizens. Maulana Fazlullah’s thugs went around torturing and decapitating their victims at will.

Given the large number of Pakistanis who continue to believe that a truly Islamic dispensation will solve all our many problems, the Taliban had an excellent opportunity to win them over. As we saw on our television sets, many supposedly educated and loud-mouthed anchors and panellists have held forth at length about the virtues of theocratic rule. They have argued at interminable length about the need to engage these extremists and offer them deals.

Luckily for the rest of us, these ignorant jihadis did not take advantage of this support, and have done everything to turn this large section of the chattering classes against them. The recent suicide bombing of the Islamic University in Islamabad is a case in point. Here were students who would have normally supported an Islamic order, but instead of courting them, the Taliban sent a suicide bomber to blow up several of these young idealists.

Another key potential ally and erstwhile benefactor is the section of the military establishment that is known to have long supported the jihadis for their own ends. Even after 9/11 and Musharraf’s famous U-turn, some elements of our intelligence agencies continued their covert support to the Taliban. But now, by deliberately targeting and humiliating the military, these short-sighted jihadis have sown the seeds of their own destruction.

In Sri Lanka’s recently concluded civil war, we saw that even a highly motivated and well-armed irregular group like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam does not stand a chance against a modern army. There is no way the Taliban can hope to win a conventional battle against the Pakistan Army, backed as it is by air power. Their only chance is to engage in guerrilla warfare that neutralises the army’s natural advantage of numbers and organisation. But for a successful campaign, they need the support of the people.

As the controversial drone campaign has demonstrated, there are many in the tribal areas who betray the terrorists sheltering in their midst. These informers pinpoint targets to the Americans who then send their Predators to hunt them down. Had the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies not antagonised their hosts, many of them might still have been alive.

Another element of support for fundamentalists were the shopkeepers and small businessmen who have been contributing to the coffers of the many jihadi outfits that have proliferated in Pakistan over the years. By causing mayhem in crowded bazaars across Pakistan with their relentless suicide bombing campaign, the Taliban and their ilk have created a crisis for the country’s commercial interests.

So in one way or another, the jihadis have alienated most of the segments of the population who might have backed them. Even Islamic parties are now careful of voicing their support. Although they may appear invincible, they are on the run. Our political parties and the army must stay united in routing them. They are the real threat; everything else is secondary.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Afghanistan Countdown[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


RECENT developments in Washington have cast fresh doubts over America’s long-term engagement in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama decided he would not send additional troops to Afghanistan until a time frame for an American withdrawal and Kabul’s assumption of security responsibilities becomes clearer. He stressed that the US does not believe in an “open-ended commitment” to the conflict in Afghanistan. More American lives could not be risked, he said, for defending the ‘corrupt and inefficient’ government in Kabul. Washington’s concerns are understandable. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s legitimacy was questioned in his own country long before August’s fraud-marred presidential elections. Narco kingpins are said to enjoy open access to the highest offices in Kabul’s corridors of power. And it is also known that the writ of the Afghan state is limited to a few urban pockets in a largely lawless land.
The Karzai regime’s response to Wednesday’s developments was puzzling, to say the least. According to a government spokesman, the international community must “do more to eliminate corruption in spending aid money.” Surely the responsibility for transparency in such transactions rests primarily with those calling the shots in Kabul. Mr Karzai and his administration have long been urging others to ‘do more’ without putting their own house in order. It is high time Kabul also did more to tackle problems on its side of the Durand Line. Curbing the opium trade that funds terrorism suggests itself as the opening salvo. But that is easier said than done in a country where the president’s brother is allegedly linked to leading drug barons. Little wonder that the US envoy in Kabul questions the viability of deploying more American troops in Afghanistan.

Against this backdrop, Mr Obama is entitled to proceed with caution but he must not dither on the Afghan front. The job started in 2001 needs to be taken to its logical conclusion, and it is clear that current Nato-Isaf troop strengths can only minimise Taliban gains. The enemy cannot be defeated in this halfhearted way and holding patterns won’t do. If more boots are not put on the ground, the US might as well pull out.

recent developments in washington have cast fresh doubts over ame- rica’s long-term engage- ment in afghanistan. on wednesday, us president barack obama decided he would not send additional troops to afghanistan until a time frame for an ame- rican withdrawal and kabul’s assumption of se- curity responsibilities be- comes clearer. he stressed that the us does not be- lieve in an “open-ended commitment” to the con- flict in afghanistan. more american lives could not be risked, he said, for de- fending the ‘corrupt and in- efficient’ government in kabul. washington’s con- cerns are understandable. afghan president hamid karzai’s legitimacy was questioned in his own country long before aug- ust’s fraud-marred presi- dential elections. narco kingpins are said to enjoy open access to the highest offices in kabul’s corridors of power. and it is also known that the writ of the afghan state is limited to a few urban pockets in a largely lawless land. the karzai regime’s re- sponse to wednesday’s de- velopments was puzzling, to say the least. according to a government spokes- man, the international community must “do more to eliminate corruption in spending aid money.” surely the responsibility for transparency in such transactions rests primari- ly with those calling the shots in kabul. mr karzai and his administration have long been urging oth- ers to ‘do more’ without putting their own house in order. it is high time kabul also did more to tackle problems on its side of the durand line. curbing the opium trade that funds ter- rorism suggests itself as the opening salvo. but that is easier said than done in a country where the presi- dent’s brother is allegedly linked to leading drug bar- ons. little wonder that the us envoy in kabul ques- tions the viability of de- ploying more american troops in afghanistan. against this backdrop, mr obama is entitled to proceed with caution but he must not dither on the afghan front. the job star- ted in 2001 needs to be tak- en to its logical conclusion, and it is clear that current nato-isaf troop strengths can only minimise taliban gains. the enemy cannot be defeated in this half- hearted way and holding patterns won’t do. if more boots are not put on the ground, the us might as well pull out.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The NRO in Hindsight[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


BLACK as the National Reconciliation Ordinance was, no one can deny it served a political purpose and helped bring democracy back to Pakistan. In hindsight, one gains a clearer perspective on Benazir Bhutto’s viewpoint.
She was being asked to come back to Pakistan and rejoin the political mainstream and provide some semblance of democracy to Gen Musharraf’s rule. The Bush government was in power in the US, and it was reluctant to see Gen Musharraf go, yet was finding it difficult to support him in power on an as-is basis. The idea of Benazir providing a political façade, perhaps with control over some aspects of governance, partnering with Musharraf in control of certain other key matters of state, was devised.

The NRO was the price Benazir set for her comeback — and understandably, whatever the remit agreed for her as prime minister in the new set-up, she wanted to work in the role at least unfettered by politically motivated cases against her and her family.

True, statespersons should not require ordinances conferring immunity from legal cases, but historically Pakistan’s judicial record and tradition had been dismal. Up to that point, the judiciary had proved itself weak and endorsed every dictator and served every civilian ruler. Given that background, the flawed NRO, or specifically its aim of providing relief from a political witch-hunt against Benazir Bhutto, did help spur the return of democracy in the country by al lowing her to return. That much has to be said for it.

Side by side, ironically, a military dictator, to his own later dismay, became instrumental in laying the foundations of a stronger future for democracy by unshackling the media. The people power that brought back Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was made possible only because the lawyers’ movement was able to use the media effectively. Previous such movements by the intelligentsia, such as the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in Ziaul Haq’s time, failed partly due to a weak and gagged media.

Now the judiciary has turned a corner, and is bringing about revolutionary and historic changes in its own ranks, besides helping to make other institutions stronger. The removal of PCO judges was unheard of in the past — now we have seen that too.

The Supreme Court’s referral of Musharraf’s ordinances back to parliament, instead of judging them in the courts, has brought about the miracle of the NRO’s death at the hands of the National Assembly during the PPP’s own rule — though unfortunately, the military had to give a helping hand in choking the NRO. But one is witnessing a display of increasing maturity on the part of the military establishment as well. The media, too, is at its strongest ever in Pakistan. Given these developments, especially in the character of the judiciary, i.e. its newfound independence, the NRO’s original purpose stands dissipated. Firstly, both the PPP and the PML-N have learnt painful lessons with regard to the pitfalls of using the judiciary to settle political scores, which is that only non-democratic forces gain from it in the long run. Secondly, it is highly unlikely that a judiciary that stood up to a military dictator in the recent past, and purged itself of the black sheep thereafter, will be in any mood to become a tool in the hands of any political party or personality, in office or not.

Thus, at the present time beneficiaries of the NRO should not have any fear of political victimisation resulting from a relapse of the ordinance. They should welcome the hearing of their cases by a strong and independent judiciary, bringing to a close the hideous 60-year-long chapter of judicial collusion in the destruction of democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan’s history.

Instead, some PPP personalities like Senator Islamuddin Shaikh are even now being heard criticising the PML-N’s opposition to the NRO, citing the indirect benefit to PML-N leaders in terms of being able to contest elections and become part of the revived democratic process.

These criticisms sound hollow and irrelevant, not to mention suspicious, given that the only purpose the NRO would have served in the new order, had it not died, would have been to offer protection to corruption and crime under the guise of ‘national reconciliation’ — given that it is no longer required for protection from political victimisation. In 2007 it served as the jump cable for the motorcar with dead batteries. A jump-start was achieved, the cable is no longer needed. It is the utter misfortune of Pakistan that such politicians as the respected Senator Shaikh, who refuse to acknowledge or learn from their continuing blunders, instead lashing out at any critical voice, still occupy powerful positions and remain committed to their own preservation instead of to governing the country and directing it away from an unfolding implosion. They just don’t know when to move forward.

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]PPP meeting[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 16 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the PPP in Islamabad is a chance for the party to hit the reset button and steady the ship of governance that has been rocked by political crises in recent times. As the largest party in the coalition at the centre and a member of three of the four provincial governments, the PPP is clearly the most politically powerful party in the country. However, as the recent NRO debacle vividly demonstrated, the PPP’s parliamentary advantage is not large enough for it to go it alone and therefore does not automatically translate into legislative and policy successes. Politically, therefore, the PPP remains vulnerable and under pressure and the party must use today’s meeting to chart a new course for itself. There are some obvious things the party can do to reduce the prevailing political uncertainty: speed up the passage of the 18th Amendment bill, strip away the anti-parliamentary powers of the president, lift the bar on a third-term prime minister, etc. Such measures would be proof that the party leadership can be statesmanlike and rise above the poisonous environment of cut-throat, mutually destructive politics.

But the weaknesses of the PPP-led coalition are not purely political. There is a palpable sense of drift in Islamabad in governance matters. Does anyone know if the PPP has a legislative agenda, and if so, what that agenda is? There are scores of ministries and ministers and ministers of state, but what have been the policy initiatives of the vast majority of them? The PPP has fully backed the fight against militancy and its economic team has helped at least stave off economic disaster — for which the party does deserve the appropriate credit — but the problem is that on the achievement front there is little else of any significance. With nearly a third of this parliament’s full term having already gone by, it is unfortunate that politics, and not policies, continues to occupy centre stage.

Away from the national, inter-political stage, intra-party politics may also need to be addressed by the CEC. One of the persistent uncertainties is the relationship between the president and the prime minister. As co-chairman of the PPP, President Zardari would still technically be the boss of Prime Minister Gilani in party affairs even if the powers arrogated to the presidency by Gen Musharraf (retd) were to be given up by Mr Zardari. As such, any tension or difference in opinion between the two men could impact national political stability. Messrs Zardari and Gilani, therefore, need to demonstrate that they are in fact on the same page.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Poor child health[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 16 Nov, 2009[/B]

LIKE the rest of the world, Pakistan will observe Universal Children’s Day on Nov 20. Sadly, it will have little to show for any progress on the state of the country’s children. For those who take solace in comparisons, it is true that other countries in the region are equally culpable of meting out shabby treatment to their child populations. Along with Pakistan, China, India and Bangladesh are among the six nations in Asia and 10 countries around the world that contribute the most to what a new Unicef report calls the global burden of stunted growth in children due to malnutrition. Indonesia and the Philippines are the two other Asian nations on the list. Some 200 million children in the developing world suffer from chronic malnutrition, and 80 per cent of them are concentrated in only 24 countries. But a favourable comparison with some is hardly a reason for Pakistan to do little for the welfare of its children, especially in terms of their health.

Consumed with defence spending as the government is, it is no surprise that public healthcare has suffered so much in Pakistan. This has grave implications for the health of children who are physically the most vulnerable segment of society. Thus, we remain one of those nations where children suffer from malnourishment — one of the leading causes of under-five child mortality worldwide. It also causes developmental problems and results in young children wasting away — a serious condition that is estimated to affect some 14 per cent of children under five years in the country. This is appalling even in terms of comparisons with other developing countries. Factors such as poverty, child labour, illiteracy and poor awareness among mothers are blamed — which is, no doubt, partly the case. However, those who claim they treat all children as their own can only be believed when they come up with a comprehensive policy to tackle the issue of proper healthcare for the young population.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Probe needed[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 16 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) has exonerated the police of any wrongdoing in gunning down a man in the capital last week. A number of questions remain unanswered. According to the police, the man was dropped off by a double-cabin vehicle and ran towards a checkpoint. He was shot down as, apparently, policemen on the scene feared he was a suicide bomber. The IGP, Islamabad initially stated that the man had been taken out by a sharpshooter. He then retracted his statement after subsequent reports showed that the man was shot from three sides and hit by nine bullets. There are other reasons to doubt the police version: the vehicle that dropped off the ‘suicide bomber’ got away; the body was buried hurriedly and no photograph was released to the press. Moreover, the man was alive for a while after the shooting but, according to the police, did not detonate the explosives because the triggering mechanism of his suicide jacket “malfunctioned”. Most importantly, the inquiry committee did not wait for Nadra to identify the ‘suicide bomber’ through his fingerprints, before arriving at the conclusion that “the occurrence was genuine”.

The inquiry has failed to address suspicions that the incident was staged — little is proved by the mere fact that the man was wearing a suicide jacket. A proper judicial inquiry is therefore in order. Unless the matter is fully investigated by an impartial and competent forum, it could become a chilling precedent for security personnel to shoot first and ask questions later. Such pretexts could be used to cover up extra-judicial killings and ‘encounters’ which police in the country are known to stage. Times are tough for the country’s law-enforcement agencies, but giving them unfettered and unquestioned power is dangerous. The process of the law must be followed in all cases.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - North American Press Obama’s China visit[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 16 Nov, 2009[/B]

CHINA is the focal point of President Obama’s trip to Asia for a good reason. It’s the best opportunity for the new president to utilise his skills in statecraft to push a relationship beset by mistrust in a more positive direction.

Obama’s encounters with China’s leaders and his exposure to the Chinese public must be geared toward preventing the US-China relationship from degenerating into a strategic rivalry.

Such an outcome won’t be inevitable if Obama can convince China’s leaders and people that they need not fear containment by, or conflict with, the United States. If this message is delivered persuasively, Obama will be in a stronger position to ask for Chinese cooperation on other issues of mutual interest. These include the capping of carbon emissions, the prevention of nuclear proliferation by North Korea and Iran, and a long-sought ‘rebalancing’ of the US and Chinese economies so that there will be more consumer spending in China….

Above all, Obama should stress that a Chinese military build-up will usher in precisely the outcome Beijing wants to avoid: a destabilising arms race in Asia. America’s national interest — like China’s — lies with the peaceful ascendance of a self-confident China that competes in the 21st-century global marketplace, not in a great-power conflict with either the United States or India. — (Nov 14)

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]TTP in Orakzai[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 17 Nov, 2009[/B]

WITH the TTP’s strongholds in South Waziristan, the erstwhile ‘centre of gravity’ of militancy, going down like ninepins, another tribal agency is beginning to take centre stage in the counter-insurgency under way in Fata and northwest Pakistan — Orakzai Agency. ‘Taliban’s Orakzai positions bombed’ was a front-page headline in this newspaper yesterday and there is every indication that the ongoing campaign of aerial bombing will continue to chip away at the TTP’s strongholds in the area. Following Operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan, it has emerged that not just the top leadership of the TTP but even many of its foot soldiers had already escaped from South Waziristan and fled, it is believed, mainly to Kurram and Orazkai agencies. Orakzai in particular has become the focus of analysts because of its links to Hakeemullah Mehsud. Hakeemullah is believed to have laid his claim to the TTP leadership slot on the back of the fiefdom he established in parts of Orakzai, making the agency a natural hiding place for TTP militants on the run. Hakeemullah’s second wife is also from Orakzai.

Aerial pounding alone, however, will not do much to disrupt the TTP that may be regrouping in Orakzai. Past experience has shown that without boots on the ground, the militants are by and large able to run their affairs unimpeded. Unlike the other tribal agencies in Fata, the armed forces have an advantage in Orakzai in that there are relatively few entry and exit points and the area could perhaps be sealed by as little as a brigade-sized force of the army. Using the Frontier Corps to do the job is more difficult because at the moment it cannot get past Bara in Khyber Agency where the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-i-Islam has linked up with the TTP to thwart the FC.

However, and this is where it gets tricky, the army’s strategy thus far has been to shut down TTP strongholds sequentially, building up forces and planning for months before entering a new area. While there is no doubt that the army’s strategy has at least been successful in terms of clearing and holding several parts of Fata and northwest Pakistan, a central question has yet to be answered: can a sequential ground campaign in Fata defeat the militants or is it dragging out a campaign that could otherwise be quicker in achieving full-spectrum success? There are no easy answers, in part because the army still seems to be learning about the TTP’s strategies for survival. At the very least, though, the army should be looking at adjusting its strategy against an enemy that is extremely canny.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]NFC troubles[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 17 Nov, 2009[/B]

THERE no longer appears to be smooth sailing for the National Finance Commission that was constituted in August and is to hold its next meeting in Karachi on Wednesday. From reports appearing in the media it appears that the bonhomie that had marked the NFC’s working in the initial stages is now wearing thin. So far the members have been discussing broad criteria without touching on the specifics which are crucial because they will actually determine the share of funds each province will receive. With Islamabad not too keen on relinquishing much of its own share of the national exchequer and the provinces not willing to show generosity towards one another, a consensus in the next meeting may not be attainable. There are far too many issues to be sorted out in the vertical and diagonal distribution of income to hope for an early agreement. If the report is true that Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan are opposing revenue-generation as one of the criteria in the distribution of resources among the provinces, it indicates a change of heart. More trouble may be in store when it comes to defining the various criteria and the weightage to be given to each, namely population, area, poverty and revenue-generation.

The fact is that these are not the best of times to hope for generosity from the various parties on the NFC formula. But an effort has to be made because a deadlock would mean reverting to the status quo that had made no one happy. The government has at least tried to get all the provinces on board to debate the issue rather than impose a formula arbitrarily. Besides, agreement has been reported on some issues such as the general sales tax on services being reverted to the provinces. Efforts must be made to reach an agreement. Whatever agreement has been achieved so far should not be discarded as the smaller provinces have suffered injustice for far too long. The NFC is closely linked to the issue of provincial autonomy and it is that which must be addressed in real earnest.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Suu Kyi’s incarceration[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 17 Nov, 2009[/B]

AT a recent summit of Asean, President Barack Obama called upon Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, other political prisoners and engage in a dialogue with democratic movements. This was the first encounter between a US president and a Myanmar leader in 43 years, and President Obama’s demand gains added significance in view of the fact that Myanmar’s ruling generals have promised elections — the first in two decades — next year. While Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest, is kept out of the running by an October court ruling against her, she must at least be allowed to organise the National League for Democracy, of which she is the general secretary and whose landslide victory the ruling junta refused to recognise in 1990.

Calls for Suu Kyi’s release were also made by President Obama in August, after she was sentenced for having violated the terms of her house arrest: in May, an American man swam uninvited to her house. Her subsequent trial drew worldwide condemnation. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s attempt to negotiate was rejected by the junta leader, Gen Than Shwe. Calls for Suu Kyi’s release were also made by the UN Security Council and Asean. She was nevertheless handed down a sentence, which was later commuted to an 18-month house arrest. This prevents her from contesting elections next year — if they are held. One of Suu Kyi’s most famous speeches begins with the words: “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” It is time for Myanmar’s rulers to accept her right to organise the democratic forces in the country.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press Net of crises[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 17 Nov, 2009[/B]


THE government — despite tall claims about its authority and administrative control — has failed to start crushing in the sugar mills…. The commodity has disappeared in the open market. The rulers … are unable to bring sugar to the open market at a reasonable price. The people are the main sufferers of this administrative inefficiency.

In Sindh cane crushing was to start on Oct 15, but even after a lapse of one month crushing has not been fully started. A number of mills have not lit their burners. There seems to be no possibility that crushing would be started before Eid.

For every problem the government has a ready excuse: it says it inherited the problem from the previous government. But this problem is purely administrative. The previous government was helpless before the millers while the present one is also unable to take any action against them.

Delay in cane crushing would lead to … less production of wheat. Because only after harvesting of sugarcane would land be prepared for wheat sowing. The standing crop of sugarcane would consume the water … meant for the wheat crop.

Another related problem is the loss of sugarcane weight. After the crop is ready, if it is not harvested it would lose weight. The persisting sugar crisis would linger on if crushing is further delayed. A few weeks back when this shortage surfaced, the government took strict measures and carried out raids on some godowns … which led to the availability of the commodity. Unfortunately it lasted only a few weeks. Sugar is being sold for Rs60 to Rs90 per kg. If calculated millions of rupees were robbed from the common man…. Certain quarters claim the government wants to continue this crisis so that sugar can be imported and importers can earn more profit.

The Sindh government should ensure the early start of crushing to avoid the deepening sugar crisis and … a potential wheat crisis…. Action should be taken against the hoarders … to give relief to the common man. — (Nov 15)

[I][B]Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi[/B][/I]

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]The burden of economic subsidies[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Wednesday, 18 Nov, 2009[/B]

ECONOMICALLY, subsidies are a burden on budgets. Politically, subsidies are advantageous because they win politicians quick public approbation. But the political interests of a few should not be allowed to take precedence over the damage subsidies do to the economy. Subsidies mostly benefit those who don’t deserve them. Only a fraction reaches the people who need support. Also, they have undesirable social and environmental consequences. Many of us, for example, still remember that kitchen stoves were left burning throughout the day as gas in the ‘good old days’ was cheap. For that matter, not many of us turned off unneeded lights when power prices were only a fraction of what they are today. Although power conservation is not yet a national habit, the reduction in fuel and power price subsidies has made people more conscious of the need to cut costs at home.

Also, governments in economies like ours are forced to cut expenditure on socio-economic infrastructure to create fiscal space for inefficient spending on subsidies. This can lead to a balance-of-payments crisis as experienced last year due to the Musharraf government’s failure — for political gains — to pass on the rising global oil prices to consumers.

In spite of subsidies being inefficient, no government easily agrees to do away with subsidies due to political advantages. It is only when a government can no longer bear the expense of subsidies that it agrees to abolish them. The PPP government must be given credit for doing what it takes to reduce the burden of power subsidies on the budget, gradually though, in spite of this move’s political fallout. If it had not done so it might not have been able to get financial backing from multilateral lenders like the IMF, whose support is crucial to stabilising the sliding economy. The government has substantially reduced the size of subsidies and their burden on the federal budget. But a lot more still needs to be done as the government would still be spending Rs55bn on unproductive power subsidies — that would only benefit the affluent — this fiscal year despite the proposed 18 per cent increase in electricity rates between January and April next year. Imagine what the government could do with this money — for instance, it could provide educational and healthcare facilities in remote and underdeveloped areas. Or, it could simply put cash in the hands of those who require protection against the rising cost of living. Clearly, the government effort to abolish subsidies must be supported as these harm the economy and do little to provide relief to the common man.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A disappointing outcome[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Wednesday, 18 Nov, 2009[/B]

AS the drumbeat of criticism of the government, and particularly the person and leadership of President Zardari, grows louder at home and abroad, the PPP used the meeting of its central executive committee on Monday to repose its confidence in the leadership of Mr Zardari and in the government at the centre generally. We noted in these columns earlier this week that the party needed to demonstrate its unity at the present juncture in national politics where uncertainty and doubt are fuelling all manner of speculations, speculations that in the past have been the harbinger of political instability. So we welcome the possibility that the signal the PPP sent out on Monday may help tamp down at least some of the more extreme criticism which is proving destabilising just at the time the country desperately needs political stability so that the country can stay focused on fighting the militants and improving the economy.

However, it is disappointing that the PPP did not use the CEC meeting to try and rethink its approach to governance and legislative issues. According to media reports, the CEC spent a good deal of time discussing the NRO and the possible ramifications for its beneficiaries after the ordinance’s expiry towards the end of the month. But the NRO ought only to be a small issue in the wider context of a rather poor showing thus far on legislative activity in the present parliament. After 13 years out of power, the PPP should at least have had a legislative agenda when it took office in March 2008; and after over a year and half in office, the party should have been well occupied by that agenda by now. Unfortunately, neither is the case and Monday’s meeting did not suggest that change is on the cards. The problem with this approach is that while the government remains distracted by political problems, few positive things are happening elsewhere as a result of this particular government being in power. If that continues, the PPP will have little to show for its time in office when it faces the voters next.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]An independent body?[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Wednesday, 18 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s plan — still under consideration — to work out a new admission policy and uniform fee structure for private and public-sector medical colleges should technically have been welcomed as a positive move. But medical education in Pakistan is in a poor state of health and cosmetic changes as envisaged will not improve matters. The first factor is the credibility of the regulator itself. For the PMDC to take a strong position on controversial issues — admissions being linked to a candidate’s capacity to pay high fees and the fabulous fee structure of many medical colleges — it is important that the Council should be a truly independent body that can act on the merit of a case with no stakes in the matter except to represent the public interest. Can the PMDC claim to be such a body? Many of its 100- plus members are proprietors or have links with proprietors of private medical colleges. Under these circumstances, if the PMDC acts to ostensibly check the excesses of the private institutions how can one be certain that its motives are altruistic?

Even before any measure is taken to regulate admissions and fees, it is important to look into the issue of registration of private medical colleges. They have proliferated across the country and regretfully the PMDC’s role as the accrediting body is open to question. Many of the institutions that have received registration are said to lack the facilities and quality that would qualify them as medical colleges. According to a report nearly 40 per cent of the 88 medical colleges in Pakistan are in the private sector and quite a few do not deserve registration. But with the private sector so preponderantly represented in the PMDC this may not appear surprising.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - European Press Australia’s apology[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Wednesday, 18 Nov, 2009[/B]

THERE is a ghastly familiarity to the stories of the ‘forgotten Australians’, the half a million children, many from abroad, condemned to live in state- and church-run orphanages, foster homes and institutions between 1930 and 1970. As in Ireland’s residential institutions, neglect, brutality, humiliation, and, for many, sexual abuse, were routine.

Many children were wrongly told their parents were dead and siblings were separated when they arrived in Australia. To its shame, like Ireland, Australia ignored or repressed the terrible truth for several generations. Since 1997, six reports to government have called for an apology, culminating in a 2004 senate inquiry. It unearthed hundreds of stories of abuse of children placed in care because of family breakdown, because their mothers were unmarried, or because they were considered uncontrollable.

And yesterday Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised in the presence of 900 of the victims for the “absolute tragedy of childhoods lost”, echoing his historic 2008 statement to Australia’s Aborigines.

… Now British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is also to offer a welcome formal apology to up to 150,000 children aged between three and 14 sent during the last century from Britain … to Commonwealth countries… … Mr Rudd spoke of individual cases including that of Gus from Queensland who had arrived from Ireland at the age of four or five in the 1950s, “apparently born out of wedlock, having earlier spent time in a Catholic institution in Ireland … In Gus’s words, ‘that did me terrible mental damage’.” … But, apology notwithstanding, the government has said it will not pay compensation to victims, Mr Rudd promising instead they will receive more counselling and special care in old age. He also pledged the establishment of a national find-and-connect service ... It is an important and welcome first step, but the issue of redress should also be addressed. — (Nov 17)

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]A welcome move [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Thursday, 19 Nov, 2009 [/B]

ONE must welcome President Barack Obama’s decision to seek China’s help in improving relations between Pakistan and India. In what observers have described as a significant departure from previous US policy, Mr Obama emphasised this point both in the remarks he made at Beijing and in the joint statement issued after talks with President Hu Jintao. Supporting Pakistan and Afghanistan’s efforts to fight terrorism, maintain domestic stability and achieve sustainable development, the two sides expressed their willingness to “work together to promote peace, stability and development in the region”. Once again we can clearly see the difference which the Obama presidency has made to America’s foreign policy, for the Bush administration gave the impression that it viewed China as a threat and sought to contain it rather than seek its cooperation in reducing tensions in its neighbourhood. Mr Obama’s policy is thus a recognition of China’s status as a major economic and political power.

For Islamabad, these developments in America’s China policy are in sync with its traditionally warm relationship with Beijing. Even when the cold war was at its peak, and Pakistan was America’s most ‘allied ally’, Islamabad maintained friendly relations with China — sometimes to the annoyance of the Johnson and Kennedy administrations. However, Pakistan’s policy stood vindicated when, during the Nixon era, Henry Kissinger flew from Nathiagali to Beijing to start a new chapter in relations between the two Pacific powers. For Pakistan, it is a matter of satisfaction that the US and China have developed a unanimity of views on the South Asian situation, complicated as it has become by India’s refusal to resume the composite dialogue in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack.

We must now wait for India’s reaction. China and India fought a war in 1962, and since then the unresolved border dispute has bedevilled their relations. Nevertheless, the two have a robust economic relationship, with the volume of trade going up. As such Beijing does have some leverage with New Delhi and can use economic incentives to seek India’s cooperation in defusing tension in South Asia.

For Washington, the goals are clear: it wants Pakistan and India to patch up their differences, so that Islamabad can focus on the war on terror. It remains to be seen whether New Delhi will react positively to the Sino-American move. Specifically, the question is whether India will show flexibility and reduce troop strength on its western border to give Pakistan a free hand in crushing the enemy within. This is in India’s interest too.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Perceptions of corruption[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Thursday, 19 Nov, 2009 [/B]

AS compared to last year, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2009 has seen Pakistan slip five places. These findings will only deepen the already widespread belief that corruption is rampant at all levels of the government and its civilian state institutions. It is little wonder that the citizenry’s confidence in the government is being rapidly eroded. At all levels in all manner of public-sector departments, from land records and tax to customs and motor vehicle ownership or licensing, corrupt practices have become disturbingly common. Sections of the law-enforcement apparatus, such as the police and the lower judiciary, are notorious for taking or demanding bribes. In public-sector health units, where services and basic medicines are supposed to be provided either free of cost or at heavily subsidised rates, citizens find themselves forced to pay through the nose or forego treatment.

Meanwhile, reports are common about financial wrongdoing on part of some of the country’s biggest businessmen, industrialists and politicians. In the recent past, a number of sitting and former representatives of the government have been accused of serious corruption. These have further undermined the public’s level of trust for the state, its institutions and its representatives.

Such loss of faith translates to a lack of support for the government’s policies, at a time when the country is in the midst of an economic and security crisis. But there is also another angle to be considered: Pakistan’s massive military budget does not come under the purview of TI’s corruption monitors. As a result, next to no information is available about any possible irregularities in defence spending, which is now set to increase by some 20 per cent. Citizens contrast this information vacuum with reports of massive corruption in civilian state institutions and representatives. The ‘clean’ look thus acquired by the military — by default really — can be dangerous to a budding democracy that is already on shaky ground. To prevent further loss of public confidence in not just the current government but the democratic system itself, it is imperative that a sustained effort be made to root out corruption at all levels.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Safe drinking water[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Thursday, 19 Nov, 2009[/B]

HOW does one explain the CDWA project’s failure to take off when the link between potable water and human health is clear even to the meanest intelligence? When the Rs15bn Clean Drinking Water for All scheme was launched in 2005 it envisaged the installation of 6,626 filtration plants all over the country by Dec 2007. Although it was periodically reported that work was in progress and some plants had been set up, the project was not completed on time. As is the wont among our policymakers, a new government ushered in a new water policy that was announced in Sept 2009. This speaks of providing clean drinking water to everyone in Pakistan by 2025. Is this another pipe dream? Work on the CDWA project was initiated some years ago but we have not been told how much has been spent and where. Now there are media reports of existing plants falling into disuse. CDWA was to be a joint venture between the federal government as the financier and the district, tehsil and town governments providing land, labour and electricity. The provincial government was to be the executor. Now we have them indulging in a blame game to escape responsibility.

It is time the various tiers of government sorted out this issue. They should realise that the UN Human Rights Council is on its way to recognising access to safe drinking water as a basic human right of people. Millennium Development Goal # 7 also sets the target of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Leaving aside altruistic reasons, there is a down-to-earth pragmatic compulsion to provide safe water to people. Pakistan spends Rs30bn on healthcare for people who suffer from waterborne diseases. A fraction of that spent on safe drinking water projects would save a lot of money and human suffering.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press Arabs should help[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Thursday, 19 Nov, 2009[/B]

AS the fighting against the Al Houthi rebels continues, it is crucial that the next stage should be that of containment.... The Yemeni government has stated that the aim of the current war ... is to bring an end to terrorism, piracy and trafficking. In addition, Saudi Arabia is channelling its efforts to establish a buffer zone that will stand as a barrier to attacks by Al Houthi rebels.

… Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki offered his country’s assistance to Yemen.... “In response to the [Mottaki] remarks … we affirm that Yemen categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs....,” a government statement said. Yemen … should not be blamed for its stern reaction to any Iranian interference in the matter, as the latter has been accused by Sana’a previously of aiding the rebels. The fighting should not be ignored, dismissed, or used as a tactical weapon in bitter rivalries. — (Nov 13)

[B]For safe driving [/B]

... [T]HE percentage of loss to motor vehicle insurance companies in the Sultanate due to accidents was 97 in 2008. While the total amount of premiums collected last year stood at 89.5 million rials, the compensation paid out was 75 million rials. ... [I]f we look at the number of accidents in the country, we know why it’s so huge. The World Health Organisation’s statistics show that the Sultanate ranks fifth in the list of high road accident rate countries in the world. ...For a population of about 2.5 million, the road accident rate is too high to ignore.... [P]roactive steps … rewarding [motorists] for their safe driving … should help bring down the … rate.

One of the steps is the recently inaugurated electronic link … through which police can access the logs of insured vehicles and their drivers. ... Those who have a clean record ... could get as much as 60 per cent discount in their premiums. ...— (Nov 14)

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Israeli defiance[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 20 Nov, 2009[/B]

ISRAEL’S refusal to halt settlement activity has now assumed the shape of a brazen-faced defiance of President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy. Since he moved into the White House, Mr Obama has repeatedly emphasised the need for a halt to the construction of new housing units for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, including Arab Jerusalem. The American president emphasised this point during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and again in his historic broadcast to the Muslim world on June 4. However, Israel seems to have treated Mr Obama’s concerns with a degree of nonchalance that is stupefying. On Wednesday, Mr Obama said in a TV interview in Beijing that the construction of new houses in occupied territory undermined his efforts and made it harder to achieve peace in the region. Similar protests have come from the European Union, which expressed its “dismay” over Israeli policy. The Likud government not only ignored these protests, its tone seems to betray hubris. Justifying his government’s illegal action in building new houses in Jerusalem’s Gilo district, hard-line Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Gilo was “an integral part of Israel, an integral part of Jerusalem”.

Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the West Bank. That explains why all Israeli governments have sabotaged one peace formula after another and have continued settlement activity to ‘create facts’ and alter the West Bank’s Arab-Islamic character. Mr Obama’s assumption of power had aroused hopes of a breakthrough in the Arab-Israeli peace process. But subsequent developments leave little room for optimism. In their last meeting at Abu Dhabi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told President Mahmoud Abbas to accept new housing projects. Earlier she had asked the Palestinian Authority not to take up the Goldstone report, which chastises Israel for crimes against humanity in Gaza earlier this year. Her remarks are a measure of the hold of the Jewish lobby on America’s domestic policy. America, she said, would abandon its mediatory efforts if the PA called for UN action on the Goldstone report. One can hardly hope for peace if Washington continues to kowtow to Israel.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Encroachers run amok[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 20 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE ‘land mafia’ — an umbrella term for a host of criminal elements thriving off the occupation and illegal sale of land — appears to be unstoppable in Karachi. A recent show of strength saw a crowd of close to 500 men, women and children attack a police party trying to vacate a piece of land in Gulshan-i-Maymar as per a court order. That the criminals have begun to use women and children to forward their aims is deplorable. The protesters hurled rocks at the police while some resorted to aerial firing. Two policemen were injured in the melee. Interestingly, flags of a political party were hoisted around the encroached land. This incident follows on the heels of the daylight murder of social activist Nisar Baloch, an ardent campaigner against the illegal occupation of Gutter Baghicha.

Land-grabbers are getting more brazen by the day and are audaciously challenging the writ of the state. Their modus operandi usually works thus: state or private land is occupied and soon enough the land is parcelled out and sold or illegal commercial structures are built on it. As for the encroachers’ increasing tendency towards violence, Sindh’s senior minister believes that the land mafia was behind at least one spate of killings in the metropolis. It appears that a law and order problem has been politicised. Encroachers are known to use political connections to cover up their activities. It is true that the poor have an equal if not greater right to safe and affordable housing while decades-old villages on the outskirts of Karachi cannot be demolished arbitrarily. But something more sinister appears to be at work here. Through the politicisation of the problem and the state’s abdication of its responsibilities, honest citizens are being deprived of the right to own property, while the land-grabbers laugh all the way to the bank.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]CCP in jeopardy[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 20 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE legal existence of the Competition Commission of Pakistan hangs by a thread following the failure of the National Assembly to approve the Competition Ordinance, 2007 before its expiry towards the end of the month. It falls now to President Zardari to rescue the commission by re-promulgating the 2007 Ordinance and we urge the president to do so. The country needs institutions such as the competition commission to rein in private commercial interests and it would be a travesty if the commission were to be consigned to the scrap heap or its powers watered down. The legal attacks raised by latter-day constitutionalists seeking to kill off the commission have been two-pronged: one, it has been argued that competition issues are a provincial matter and should not be legislated by the centre; and two, that an ordinance cannot be re-promulgated after its constitutional life of 120 days has elapsed.

The superior judiciary will ultimately decide the provincial, federal issue, but it must be noted that the issue has only been raised recently, once the commission’s activism had ruffled many a powerful feather in the private sector. But such ‘activism’ is desperately needed in a country where cartelisation and anti-competitive practices have long impacted adversely on the interests of smaller businesses and the public generally. Secondly, while the courts have indeed generally held that an ordinance cannot be re-promulgated by the president, the commission’s case falls within the exceptions that can be tolerated. It is only because of the tardiness of the leadership of the National Assembly that the competition bill has not been approved. As such, an extension of the Competition Ordinance will allow the commission to continue operating legally while parliament decides its fate.

Consider what the competition commission has done to date with a staff of just three dozen individuals: from banks to cement producers and the sugar industry to the liquefied petroleum gas business, the commission has probed into and taken action against businesses for forming cartels, fixing prices and abusing their dominant positions. If anything, the commission’s powers to impose fines are too limited and its actions too timorous on occasion. The maximum penalty the commission can impose on a business is 15 per cent of the latest year’s turnover, no matter how many years the business may have been undermining competition in its sector. And against the cement cartel, the commission only imposed half the maximum penalty despite clear evidence of cartelisation for years. However, the present commission is unequivocally better than no commission — the president must do the right thing and keep it alive.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press War on terror & army [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Friday, 20 Nov, 2009[/B]

ARMY chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani has said that, right now, the nation is at a historical crossroads and terrorists and extremists will not be allowed to keep the people of this country in terror. Addressing the annual passing-out parade of the Pakistan Air Force at Risalpur, he said Pakistan was facing challenges of extremism and terrorism never seen before.… He said the armed forces were cognisant of the terrorist attacks…. He added that successful operations first in Swat and now in Waziristan were proof of the armed forces’ firm determination and their professional capabilities. … He lauded the role of the air force in the war against extremism saying it had played a vital role in the success of the ground forces…. Gen Kayani expressed these views at a time when military operations against extremists are in full swing….

The exemplary sacrifices of our armed forces in the ongoing war against terrorism are known to everyone…. Ever since Gen Kayani became COAS, for the first time since the 1970s the whole nation has warmed up to the armed forces. … [C]ommon people feel that the country is passing through a critical phase…. The short history of the country shows that it is always the armed forces that have lived up to such challenges. Now that the country faces both internal and external challenges, people look towards the armed forces, not the political leadership….

They look towards an army that had cautioned civilian rulers about national interests when the Kerr-Lugar bill was passed by the US Congress. … [T]he people of the country expect the armed forces to turn the attention of the rulers to national interests in the ongoing war against terror…. (Nov 19)

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="4"][B]Environmental costs[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

QUOTING a figure first floated by the World Bank in 2007, the prime minister informed a gathering on Thursday that environmental degradation is costing Pakistan a billion rupees a day. Shocking as it is, this figure is on the low side. As the World Bank pointed out, Rs365bn — nearly $4.4bn a year and six per cent of GDP in 2007 — is a conservative estimate. For want of data, the World Bank could not assess key areas such as fisheries and coastal zone degradation. Though yet to be quantified, the losses here are huge. Raw sewage is dumped into the Arabian Sea, causing untold damage to fish stocks. The massacre of mangrove stands is destroying both hatcheries and a natural barrier against tidal rise. Reduced river flows due to poor water management are also a factor in sea intrusion which is either swamping arable land or rendering it infertile. Clearly, environmental degradation is costing us considerably more than a billion rupees a day.

The highest losses stem from contaminated water combined with poor sanitation and hygiene. Pakistan’s poor, especially those in rural areas, are the hardest hit. Unclean drinking water and inadequate sanitation breed disease across the country, increasing human misery and crippling an already cash-strapped health care system. Livelihoods are lost through sickness and children are pulled out of school, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Ill workers also means lower productivity in the country as a whole. Urban air pollution is another major impediment in the way of good health, and child development in particular. Agricultural soil degradation also features prominently in the list of losses incurred due to our callous disregard for nature’s resources. Since growers in many areas pay a flat rate for water, they use it indiscriminately and over-water their fields. The result: water logging which ultimately causes salinity as salts rise to the surface. Poor water management is also responsible in part for reduced river flows and the resultant damage to riverine and marine ecosystems.

Consider also that poverty alleviation and environmental protection go hand in hand. Environmental fiscal reform, or EFR, is the need of the hour. Metering irrigation water supplies and billing growers as per usage is an obvious place to start. Polluters, meanwhile, must face far stiffer financial penalties and that money should be ploughed back into conservation efforts. Investing in environmental protection now will not only cut current losses but also produce higher revenues over the long term. That is what sustainable development is all about. The investment required is but a fraction of the economic losses we suffer today. Action is needed because business as usual is not an option.

[SIZE="4"]Terror in Peshawar[/SIZE][COLOR="DarkGreen"][B][/B][/[/COLOR]


PESHAWAR remains the eye of a very horrific storm with suicide attacks occurring with such frequency that barely a day goes by without news of an attack in the NWFP capital. On Thursday, 22 people were killed in two attacks in the city, including a suicide attack that was apparently aimed at a judicial complex. In this tragically grim story there are some heroes emerging though: the policemen on the frontlines who are meant to stop and search individuals and cars that may be laden with bombs on their way to their targets. In the attack against Peshawar’s judicial complex, three policemen were killed when they stopped the bomber from entering the main building of the complex. We salute these heroes who are defending the homeland against the most monstrous of enemies imaginable and we encourage the provincial and federal governments to equip law-enforcement personnel with all the resources possible so that they may be able to defend their own lives better.

There is another set of heroes in this otherwise bleak story of violence and death: medical personnel, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, emergency room attendants. A report in this newspaper yesterday gives an indication of the stress and pressure these heroes are working under: “‘Victims are pouring in almost daily now. We start our day with prayers that may Allah spare us from tragedy,’ Dr Ataullah Arif, surgeon in charge of the emergency ward [of Lady Reading Hospital], said. ‘We have been working under severe stress over the past two months. I can’t explain the situation in words. Very often there are bodies and blood, as rows of stretchers start flowing amid shouts and screams’.” These men and women are also deserving of our deepest gratitude — and of the best resources possible for them to do their jobs as well as they can. Quite literally, any problems faced in the medical chain are questions of life and death, the difference between a bombing victim surviving or dying. The people of Peshawar need to know that the rest of Pakistan stands by them.

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="4"][B] Child rights[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

PAKISTAN had little to be proud on Friday, Universal Children’s Day. At a recent meeting of a UN committee on children’s rights, serious concern was expressed over the inordinate delays in acting on the Charter of Child Rights Bill and the Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill that is meant to cover issues ranging from child pornography and sexual abuse to trafficking. These bills have been under discussion for years but have not been enacted into law. The UN committee also raised the matter of the Frontier Crimes Regulation and the Zina and Hudood Ordinances. Both these laws, despite revisions to the latter, contain clauses that conflict with the provisions of the UN convention on child rights. It also pointed out that the proposed National Commission on the Rights of the Child had not yet been constituted.

These delays translate into continuing misery for thousands of children whose rights are routinely abused. Although Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, issues such as child labour and trafficking, violence against children, sexual abuse and child marriages have not been resolved. Legislation such as the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance is encouraging but insufficient. The latter was formulated in 2000 but its stipulated codes of conduct have never been properly implemented. Similarly, despite the Employment of Children Act 1991, child labour has increased in recent years due to a corresponding rise in poverty. It is essential that this dismal situation be rectified. The budgetary allocation for children’s health and education must be increased, and related issues such as development and poverty addressed. With the country’s population skewed heavily towards the young and a rising birth rate, it is high time that the protection of child rights became a priority of both the state and the citizenry.

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="4"][B] OTHER VOICES
[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkGreen"][B]STRICKE(THE nATION)[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]
THIS week saw the second stage of a ‘work-to-rule campaign’ led by employees of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), which drew strength from the support extended by workers of the National Water Supply & Drainage Board … Ceylon Electricity Board … and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority…. The campaign was a sequel to a similar exercise launched a fortnight ago by CPC employees which disrupted fuel supplies, leading to chaos in the streets. On their second attempt though, mercifully for the general public, the impact was much less….

Yet, the unions responsible for the ‘work-to-rule’ campaign have responded defiantly, rejecting the interim relief that has been offered to them, and threatening to launch a ‘non-stop’ campaign to win their demands for substantial wage hikes. We are not for a moment, suggesting that these employees be denied their legitimate right to engage in trade union activity, to win their just demands. However, the manner in which it is done and the underlying motivation calls into question the bona fides of those engaged in this ‘struggle’. Recent reports in the media … suggest that the average wage of an unskilled worker at the CPC is about Rs43,000. We are not grudging these emoluments, if this is in deed the case, but it does neg ate the claims of the CPC un ions that their employees are a neglected lot…. We would also therefore, call into question the motivation of the striking unions. It would be only too naive to imagine that these unions are acting entirely of their own accord, and it is an open secret that the strike has been launched at the insti gation of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.… The fact that the striking unions enjoy political patron age does not by itself negate the objectives of the cam paign. Nevertheless, the strik ing unions should be able to convince the general public that their demands merit the drastic measures that they are adopting, because these tac tics are inconveniencing mil lions of people and depriving the country of valuable reve nue. … — (Nov 15) ¦

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Reading behind bars[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 23 Nov, 2009 [/B]

THE nature of a public library and the reputation of its patrons may stand in contrast with that of a prison and its inmates. Yet libraries in prisons are not unusual phenomena. Practically every prison in the US has a library of one description or the other. Some prisons in India have libraries, as do a few in African countries like Uganda and Kenya. Our jails have been lagging behind in this respect. But a new ‘book club’ project in prisons run by the National Book Foundation may just change this picture — if it can get the continued support needed to provide consistent and meaningful services for inmates. The first such book club has been established at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, and it aims to promote the reading habit among inmates.

Apart from the right to food, shelter and medical services, people held in prison also have the right to recreational facilities and capacity-building. The prison book club can help in this regard. Access to books not only improves prison life by helping inmates pass the time, it provides an opportunity to pursue knowledge. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds can raise their literacy levels, improve educational qualifications and even take vocational correspondence courses. For others, access to books can help develop a deeper appreciation of the world of ideas and education as well as a new direction and purpose in life. The Adiala Jail book club project should be expanded by encouraging publishers, bookstores and individuals to donate reading material. Ideally the facility should one day come to resemble a public library, complete with the services of a librarian. Prisoners elsewhere have long enjoyed such facilities. Inmates in Pakistan deserve the same. But this dream can materialise only if we are convinced that libraries in jails can help change the lives of prisoners.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Private & public security[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 23 Nov, 2009[/B]

ONCE Lahore had just too many policemen for the peace of its dwellers. That impression has changed drastically as we grapple with the new security realities. Loopholes are not difficult to find and people are unimpressed by reports that a large section of the police is dedicated to providing security cover to ‘very important persons’ and their only slightly less important relatives. Lahore has a 24,000-strong police force and various sources put the Punjab capital’s population between eight million and 10 million. This comes to less than 300 policemen per 100,000 people. A report in this paper last week pointed out that some 59,000 cases were registered with the local police in the first 10 months of 2009. Half of these cases are being investigated but obviously the reporter had no means of listing cases which were settled with the active involvement of the police before they could reach the registration stage. On average, three murders are committed in Lahore each day, and there are some 40-odd cases of theft and robbery every 24 hours. The point is the police had their hands full even before this terrorist threat made new demands on them.

Obviously the police have a responsibility to protect people in high offices in these tense times, just as these protected officials have a responsibility towards those living in their jurisdiction. When a court says that private schools make enough money from fees to employ a few security guards of their own, the question that agitates the minds of the people is: what is the government doing with the taxpayers’ money if it is asking people to arrange security on their own? A balance needs to be created between the security of one person and another. An average Lahori is not very keen on trying the newer substitutes to the old system where the state was supposed to provide him with security. A way out could be that the resourceful VIPs employ private bodyguards and free as many policemen as they can to protect the general public.

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Corruption and the NRO[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 23 Nov, 2009[/B]

THE list of beneficiaries under the National Reconciliation Ordinance released by the government on Saturday has brought the issue of corruption and the rule of law squarely back in the limelight. There is some confusion about the actual number of politicians who received relief under the NRO; initial reports put the figure at 34, but it has since emerged that only 282 of the 8,000 beneficiaries were actually named in Saturday’s list. However, whatever the final tally of politicians in the NRO list, this much is already obvious: a large number of the beneficiaries, if not an outright majority, are bureaucrats and other government officials. And zooming out from just the NRO, another truth is apparent: those enriching themselves at the state’s and the people’s expense are not always elected representatives and civil servants; indeed, the shadow of suspicion falls across the full spectrum of those employed by the state and includes those in the armed services and the judiciary.

This is not to say that the outcry against the NRO is a red herring; the NRO was a bad idea — morally, legally and constitutionally — in the first place and the government made it worse with the amendments it introduced to the bill in the National Assembly before it was forced to withdraw the ‘NRO Plus’ recently. It is now up to the superior judiciary to decide the fate of all the cases ‘withdrawn’ or ‘terminated’ under the NRO and we await its ultimate decision on the matter. But there are at least two things that need serious attention when it comes to the issue of corruption by officials of the state, and both those issues go beyond the NRO. First, the issue of delays in the conclusion of investigations and trials in corruption matters. The NRO was promulgated in October 2007, but its effect reached back to January 1986. By any stretch of the imagination, a judicial system which cannot reach a conclusion in a case that may date back to almost a quarter of a century is unsatisfactory. It is in the public interest that those guilty of corruption must be convicted and punished as soon as possible; equally, those who have in fact been falsely implicated — always a possibility in a political culture that can be vindictive and malicious — must be exonerated as soon as possible.

Secondly, the anti-corruption checks at an institutional level — and across institutions — need to be urgently strengthened. Focusing on ‘tainted’ individuals alone misses the point: while past wrongdoers deserve to be punished, what is really needed is a system that deters corruption now and in the future.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - North American Press Hunger in the US[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Monday, 23 Nov, 2009[/B]

CONGRESS should make a priority of expanding federal nutrition programmes that are aimed at helping millions of struggling families feed their children. The need to bolster these programmes was underscored again this week in a dismaying Department of Agriculture study showing that a record number of households had trouble getting sufficient food at one time or another last year.

These facts are troubling enough, but a separate federal study showed that even before the recession began, more than two-thirds of families with children who were defined as ‘food insecure’ under federal guidelines contained one or more full-time worker …

Families were categorised as ‘food secure’ or ‘food insecure’ based how they answered several questions on their eating habits during the previous 12 months. Among other things, adults were asked whether they or any of their children had ever forgone eating for an entire day because the family lacked money for food.

According to the new federal data, the number of people in households that lacked consistent access to adequate nutrition rose to 49 million in 2008, 13 million more than in the previous year and the most since the federal government began keeping the data 14 years ago.

About a third of struggling households had what the researchers called ‘very low food security’, meaning that members of the household skipped meals, cut portions or passed on food at some point during the year because they lacked money. The other two-thirds managed to feed themselves by eating cheaper or less varied foods, relying on government aid like food stamps or resorting to food pantries and soup kitchens …

Mr. Obama, who is travelling in Asia, has set himself the task of wiping out child hunger by 2015. To do that, Congress needs to get busy on a broad plan to expand and fully pay for a whole range of nutritional programmes aimed at school-age children and their families. Only then will vulnerable children across the country get the nutrition they need. — (Nov 18)

[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]NA no-show[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009[/B]

POLITICIANS of all stripes are wont to pledge their support for the supremacy of parliament — at least until they are in a position to actually do something to improve the standing of the house. But once an elected and representative National Assembly is up and running — as is arguably the case at present — principles and ideals are quickly forgotten. The government was given 120 days by the Supreme Court to table in parliament and have approved or rejected 37 ordinances promulgated by Gen Musharraf during the emergency he declared in 2007. On Nov 28, those 120 days will be up and barring the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the fate of not a single one of three dozen ordinances will have been decided by then. The government is hoping to re-promulgate some of the ordinances through President Zardari and we sincerely hope that the presidency does not act tardily. With the ordinances dealing with issues as diverse and important as the National Command Authority, the nuclear command and control chain, and the Competition Commission of Pakistan, the independent anti-monopoly watchdog in the commercial sector, they are no ordinary pieces of legislation and must be protected until the National Assembly and Senate can vote on them.

However, the presidential rescue route should not have been required in the first place. The government did not just have 120 days to get a parliamentary seal of approval (or rejection) of the dozens of ordinances; it has had since March 2008 to legislate on the issues that the ordinances deal with. More generally, the government has had since March last year to kick-start the overall legislative duties of parliament but has woefully failed in this department. It is a depressingly familiar picture: politicians demanding that they be entrusted with the affairs of the state (which is correct), but then failing to fulfil their duties once elected and constitutionally empowered to legislate and govern.

Blame, though, can and must be apportioned liberally across the board on this count. Start with President Zardari, who has yet to allow the government to approve and pass the constitutional amendment needed for parliament to be strengthened. Turn next to the government headed by Prime Minister Gilani, where neither the prime minister nor the surfeit of ministers has shown any interest in legislation. Finally there is the opposition. Those inside the assemblies have shown little interest in legislation while Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N, has been less than eager to even seek election to the National Assembly. Institutions will never be strengthened if officials show no interest in their core duties.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Poor getting poorer[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009 [/B]

THE poor in Pakistan have been doubly hit by the economic crisis that grips the country today. While inflation and unemployment have taken a heavy toll on their spending power, cuts in sectors that provide services to those living below the poverty line have naturally hurt them more. And it is ironical that all this has happened at a time when the government’s subsidies have actually gone up by 226 per cent in the last one year. This might appear to be a paradox but it confirms one basic fact. As Pakistan’s economic pie shrinks, the government — a people’s government — is grabbing the country’s dwindling resources for the rich. A people-friendly administration would have redistributed the available funds more judiciously to give maximum benefit to the poor. The rich can, after all, look after themselves. Take the case of subsidies. Quite a chunk of these go to subsidise the corruption and inefficiency of the privileged classes in the food, manufacturing and energy sectors. In spite of the large amounts spent, food and electricity are becoming unaffordable for the poor.

One cannot deny that the government faces a liquidity crunch and has had to slash its expenditure. But why on social sectors such as education and housing and not on the ostentatious lifestyle of the top-heavy administration? Now it is being predicted that the development budget will also suffer a cut with the social sectors bearing the crunch. Those living below the poverty line using government schools and hospitals will have to bear the brunt of the decline in quality of services. Unsurprisingly, the government’s extravagant spending on the administration and its failure to prioritise its expenditure have made the situation even bleaker for the poor. Funds earmarked for them, such as the Benazir Income Support Programme that is to go to five million families, have failed to neutralise the onslaught of poverty. Should one, therefore, have been surprised when the State Bank in its recently released annual report stated that poverty had increased by 2.3 per cent in Pakistan and now stands at 36.1 per cent?

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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="darkgreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]Discriminatory IDP tax[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009[/B]

IT is more than likely that all Pakistanis of sufficient means would like to help the country’s internally displaced persons rebuild their lives. The losses our IDPs suffered, the trauma they went through, may be beyond the comprehension of their fellow citizens, for the simple reason that the latter did not live the ordeal. But there is no question that the prayers and sympathies of the nation are with those who were caught in the crossfire in the fight against militancy. Individuals and organisations have donated generously towards rehabilitation efforts, and international agencies such as the World Food Programme have not been found wanting either. And as is the case in Malakand today, the military too is active in not just providing a sense of security but also rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the heat of battle.

That said, the government’s move to levy an IDP tax on salaried persons whose incomes exceed a certain limit is blatantly discriminatory. Why shouldn’t similar contributions be extracted from the country’s industrialists, landlords and top-flight businessmen? The reason lies in expediency: Pakistan’s salaried class has no option but to pay taxes because those deductions are made at source. It is perhaps the only segment of society that honestly pays its due share of taxes every year. The system is skewed to the disadvantage of salaried persons, who are squeezed by the exchequer at every turn. The answer lies in widening the tax net, which is appallingly restricted as we speak, not adding to the burden of a class that routinely contributes to the exchequer in accordance with its means. Then there is the lack of trust — will the IDP tax reach those who need it, or will it be used to fund a profligate government or line the pockets of corrupt officials? Whatever the case, the IDP tax is discriminatory and the government must rethink this decision.


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[B][U][CENTER][COLOR="DarkGreen"][SIZE="5"][FONT="Georgia"]OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press Motives behind media campaign[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009[/B]

A SPECIFIC lobby within and outside the media has dug out the dead body of buried cases and unleashed a vilification campaign against the PPP government and its leadership. Does this lobby have a serious mission to eliminate corruption….? If it really wanted to expose corruption, it would have launched a campaign across the board and some non-civilian forces would also have been included in the campaign. Now that the wife of the prime minister too has been hit by this campaign, it appears that this lobby is specifically working against the PPP leadership. Prime Minister Gilani has categorically said that if it is proved that his wife is among the beneficiaries of the NRO, he would resign as head of government.

The National Accountability Bureau [NAB] has clarified that the case against Mrs Gilani was withdrawn. An allegation was levelled against Mrs Gilani that she was the director of a company which later went bankrupt, and in 2003, the chief executive of the company was arrested and awarded 25 years imprisonment. NAB also clarified that after payment this reference was withdrawn through the court. The prime minister had already directed the justice minister to present this list in parliament. This list included more names of bureaucrats than of politicians.

This list also included the names of MQM chief Altaf Hussain and former chief minister, NWFP, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao among others. It is strange that this particular lobby did not utter the names of others….

This list also includes the names of Mian Nawaz Sharif and Pir Pagaro for receiving money to topple the first government of Benazir Bhutto. Did any lobby raise the issue of taking money for overthrowing the elected government? Mian Nawaz Sharif also went abroad and came home after a deal. The Chaudhries of Gujrat have minted money by obtaining a loan and then got it written off. But the media is silent on these issues. Pakistan received billions of dollars in military assistance during the Musharraf period of which $3bn are missing….

If any leader of the PPP is involved in corruption, he should be held accountable; it would be injustice [to involve all PPP men]. ….The establishment is using the media as a tool…. [I]f this practice continues, no one will believe the … media. It would be very tragic for the Pakistani media. No doubt corruption has eroded society. If there is any discrimination in the campaign against corruption, it would mean that it is a vendetta campaign against an elected democratic government. And it should be responded to in equal measure. If we are here to promote healthy trends in society, we should expose all those involved in corruption. If it is directed only against one party, it would mean that it is against the democratic government. — (Nov 21)

[B][I]— Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi [/I][/B]