Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 08 Sep, 2010


It is a matter of irony that even as millions of people across the country struggle to cope with the devastation caused by the floods, tail-end canal users in parts of Sindh are complaining about severe water shortages. Here the fault lies not with nature. Apparently administrative incompetence is to blame.



Farmers in Badin are accusing the irrigation authorities of having failed to release water into the branch canal Sultani Wah, which originates from the Phuleli canal. They say that no water has been released for over a month and, consequently, fields of paddy, sugarcane and other crops are dying. In some spots, even drinking water supplies have dried up. This is not the first report of its kind. A fortnight ago, farmers held demonstrations in Khipro, Jhol and Jamrao, complaining that the water rotation system that had been installed during the drought-like conditions that preceded the floods had not been adjusted.

This situation must be rectified immediately, and an inquiry conducted as to who in the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority and among the administrators of the canal networks is to blame. As the farmers have pointed out, if their communities don’t get water soon their crops will be gone for good, leaving them with no source of income and little to eat. Their fate then will be similar to that of the flood victims. It is shocking that the ranks of people who have lost their livelihoods may swell simply because of administrative negligence. The country has already lost far too many standing crops to the floods; whatever is left must be protected. The administration must plan for the future. Water shortages are endemic in parts of Sindh. They can be addressed to some extent by building outfall canals and reservoirs in places where water collects naturally during the rains.


Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 08 Sep, 2010

With Afghanistan devastated by continuous warfare for more than three decades, one shouldn’t be surprised if an overwhelming majority of the Afghan people are desperate for peace. As the results of a survey show, 74 to 76 per cent of Afghans not only want talks with the Taliban to end the war, they wouldn’t mind the Taliban getting a share in government, provided they stop fighting. This is a reasonable demand.



Holding fire is not the same thing as laying down arms. The survey result seems to back President Hamid Karzai’s decision to set up a peace council to pursue talks with the militants. His peace move comes a fortnight ahead of Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections, which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. Even though they have said that they will target only foreign and Afghan security forces, their track record shows they have seldom cared about civilian deaths. However, these matters shouldn’t serve to cloud the bigger issue i.e. the need for ending the war.

How the Taliban respond to Mr Karzai’s peace overtures is a big question. Their threat to wreck the Sept 18 election could well be public posturing, for we know elements within the Taliban are not averse to a negotiated end to the war. After all, they did take part in the Saudi-initiated talks, though nothing came of it. Also Mr Karzai did not speak of good or bad Taliban and perhaps showed a bit of realism by including some ‘jihadi leaders’ in the peace council. It all now depends on how Mr Karzai plays his cards and whether the Taliban are willing to see reason. The militants may draw heart from the fact that the military situation is going their way, and America is scheduled to begin withdrawal in July next. But, at the same time, it should be obvious to the Taliban leadership that while they can continue the insurgency for long they cannot hope to defeat the Nato forces. The Afghan people have been pauperised by constant war. To end their misery, the two sides have no choice but to talk and end the war.

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 08 Sep, 2010


In rural Pakistan, the security of the people is tied to the state of the land, and at the moment the danger could not be higher. According to a Food and Agriculture Organisation report released this week, 1.61 million hectares (3.97 million acres) of farmland with standing crops has been damaged by the floods. Cotton, sugarcane, fodder and rice are the main crops affected, but that is only part of the problem, the other being the scramble to prepare land for the wheat-sowing season that begins in September and runs until November in parts of the country.



Apart from the humanitarian crisis at the moment, the biggest short-term challenge is to ensure that enough wheat seed stocks make it to areas in which sowing can begin. Indeed, in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab there is hope for a bumper wheat crop — if the crop can be planted in time, for which the availability of wheat seed and fertiliser are key. For those to be made available widely, the state here and experienced international organisations will have to act quickly and efficiently. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.

With the agricultural sector decimated, every problem has grown infinitely more complex. In parts of the country, the wheat-sowing season may be adversely affected by a shortage of labour, potentially because agricultural workers and small farmers may not want to return to land where there is no guarantee of food being available for immediate needs. The straightforward reality is that farmers can survive perhaps one season with no crop to sustain themselves; two seasons may be a stretch too far. So the land that can be prepared for agricultural purposes immediately must be prepared on a war-footing, or else a knock-on effect could cause a complete breakdown of the agricultural sector in parts of the country. Already experts out in the field are warning that the floods could lead to a lasting and significant change in the demographic profile of the country, with the rural areas losing a chunk of their population to urban areas. Such unplanned and sudden demographic changes rarely prove to be a boon.

With all the focus on land, however, the colossal damage to the livestock sector has sometimes gone unnoticed. The dairy and livestock sector makes up half of the agricultural sector and while big farms are believed to have escaped serious damage, the overwhelming majority of the sector is informal, i.e. people who have few animals. For many, the loss of a few goats or cows could be the difference between survival and economic ruin — they must not be forgotten.

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 09 Sep, 2010


As the issue of land politics assumes greater prominence in Pakistan, it is unsurprising that more and more deceptions are being unearthed. Land-grabbing is a long-standing problem, particularly in urban areas. In some cases the issue has been linked to violent crime, as in Karachi where there are growing indications that some of the violence mistaken for ethnic or political rivalry is actually motivated by disputes over land.



While such activities are difficult to quell, other sorts of scams involving land are easier to trace. Quite often they represent fraud of massive proportions and the loser is usually the government. Take, for example, a recent assessment carried out by the Punjab Board of Revenue, which found that over Rs666m was owed to it by various land developers who had not paid the requisite royalty fee while converting agricultural tracts into residential or commercial property. The exercise threw up 227 such cases in six divisions of the province, including Lahore, Faisalabad and Sahiwal divisions with Bahawalpur division topping the list for the greatest number of infractions. Of the massive sum of money owed, the BoR has so far been able to recover just over Rs15m. Efforts are under way to obtain the fee from the rest of the defaulters.

Such illegalities will only increase in a country where urbanisation is often unchecked and the demand for land, particularly residential and commercial, far outstrips availability. It is time the government started taking the issue of land scams and politics seriously, for land is now amongst the biggest and most ruthless businesses in Pakistan. At stake is not just the loss of revenue for the government: Karachi presents us with a case where powerful land mafias and vested interest groups have infiltrated political parties and ethnic groupings. If the sector remains so unregulated, the rot could spread.


Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 09 Sep, 2010


Undaunted by the failure of the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers’ talks in Islamabad in July Prime Minister Manmohan Singh believes in carrying the Thimpu spirit forward. His remarks made to Indian editors on Monday show both his desire to “engage” Pakistan and an awareness of the domestic pressures on him.



In words that appeared to be directed at the hawks in Indian media and politics, Dr Singh said “engagement doesn’t mean surrender” and that the best way to convey India’s “concerns” was to stay engaged with Pakistan. To make his stance clearer, the Indian leader said that harsh statements in public or parliament were not the best way of improving ties with Pakistan.

The last meeting between foreign ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi and S.M. Krishna was more than a failure. While the Pakistan side claimed that the Indian delegation had not come prepared and that there were too many telephone calls to and from New Delhi, the Indian foreign minister later blamed India’s home secretary for a judgmental statement even before the foreign ministers had met. Apparently, large sections of India’s media and politicians remain fixated on Mumbai. This has made the India-Pakistan relationship hostage to an act of terror. That the pressure on Pakistan has not worked was recognised by Dr Singh, though he gave his own reason. Pakistan, he said, had acquired “leverage” in dealing with America.

Islamabad’s ties with Washington are part of a complex trilateral relationship involving India. It would be wrong to drag them into every bilateral India-Pakistan matter. On the whole we agree with Dr Singh’s assertion that “if we don’t want to go to war, then engagement and dialogue are the only way out”. Pakistan must welcome Dr Singh’s views, constituting as they do a message both to Islamabad and to the hawks in India, and speed up the trial of the Mumbai suspects at home. The least the two sides can do now is to fix a date for Mr Qureshi’s visit to India so that the talks’ process agreed to at Thimpu by the two prime ministers is revived.


Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 09 Sep, 2010


Two bomb blasts in two days targeting policemen and their families expose the weaknesses of our intelligence apparatus. First it was Lakki Marwat, where a suicide attacker rammed his vehicle into a police station. Then, on Tuesday, a bomb was detonated in a police residential colony in Kohat with deadly consequences. Add to this the deadly attacks on processions in Lahore and Quetta.



The intent of the militants is clear: they wish to demoralise the security forces of a country that is struggling for survival. This latest upsurge in violence is no coincidence — the enemies of Pakistan are attempting to inflict maximum damage at a time when resistance levels are low. As the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister pointed out, terrorists are hitting the police when the country’s attention is diverted from militancy because of the ravages of floods. Such attacks should have been foreseen and the intelligence failures involved are simply unacceptable.

True, the country’s military is stretched to the limit as we speak. It is in the forefront of rescue and relief operations that were beyond the capacity, and perhaps will, of the civil administration. Still, not for a moment can the fight against militancy be forgotten and nor can terrorists be allowed to regroup. The reports trickling in from the tribal areas are troubling. On the run last year following the armed forces’ fierce offensive, groups operating under the umbrella of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan are now said to be making a comeback and making the most of the nation’s misery. They cannot be allowed to succeed in their mission.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s remarks about Balochistan do not help at this critical juncture, because the problems plaguing that province are dissimilar from the wider fight against terrorism. Playing to the gallery, he said in Quetta on Tuesday that “use of force” was the only option available for restoring law and order in Balochistan. Missing the point entirely, the interior minister appears to be in favour of a Malakand-kind military operation in Balochistan which is only bound to fuel tensions, not quell them. Instead, he should be looking into tracking down those who fund militancy in this country and seem to have easy access to explosives. The minister needs to set his priorities right and gather better intelligence on terrorist networks and the routes they use, apparently with abandon. What is needed here is prevention. The ‘Balochistan issue’ is entirely different in its complexity from the insurgency raging in the tribal belt. Balochistan’s woes have been decades in the making and can only be resolved through dialogue.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Friday, 10 Sep, 2010

THE macabre drama of targeted killings in Karachi keeps repeating itself, with the violence alternately taking ethnic, political and sectarian hues. The most recent episode in this gruesome series had a sectarian colour, with four activists of the Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat killed in the metropolis in as many days. The latest incident saw the spokesman of the party being gunned down on Wednesday as he was getting his vehicle’s tyre changed. The ASWJ is of course the newest avatar of the proscribed Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, a virulently sectarian outfit. It is a miracle that the killings have not sparked large-scale violence in this edgy city, with the exception of brief rioting following the murder of a party activist on Monday. However, the frequency of the murders is alarming and could lead to escalation. The communal cauldron is already bubbling in Karachi and it will not take much for it to boil over.

Sectarian and ethnic groups are clearly active and settling scores through the barrel of the gun. Yet the Sindh government and the law-enforcement apparatus have abdicated their responsibility of keeping the peace. It seems the authorities are looking the other way while rival militants wipe out each other. But this approach is not sustainable. If the vendettas escalate, they will have very negative consequences for the city. Clearly, if rival militants can spot and eliminate each other, why can’t the police work to neutralise these violent elements? According to the police’s own data, there were 249 cases of targeted killings in the first seven months of this year; charge-sheets have been submitted in only seven cases while 233 incidents are pending investigation. This indicates that the police need to do much more to investigate these cases and prevent further bloodshed, while the state must speed up efforts to defang all violent sectarian outfits.


Friday, 10 Sep, 2010

INTERIOR Minister Rehman Malik’s doings can often be puzzling. A two-day trip to Balochistan is in keeping with Mr Malik’s mercurial time in office, with the trip leaving observers more puzzled than ever. Firstly, why has the interior minister taken it upon himself to solve the problems of militancy and insurgency in the province? At first glance, or even after a deeper look, the interior ministry isn’t the vehicle for resolving Balochistan’s problems. Mr Malik initially suggested a Swat-like operation to clear the province of militants was in the offing, but then, thankfully, he quickly backtracked — a military operation in the province turbo-charged the insurgency there several years ago and would probably produce similar results if attempted again. Then the interior minister announced the banning of militant groups and the freezing of bank accounts, largely symbolic steps and meaningless when the government has little clue about where the militants are hiding and how they are operating. If the government and Mr Malik’s ministry had such knowledge, presumably they would be going beyond freezing bank accounts.

Another question: has the government changed its approach to Balochistan? The Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package appears to be in the doldrums, and that was the case even before the floods. There is little engagement of the moderate Baloch nationalists, little progress on the issue of missing persons and no real attempt to go after the main threat, the armed militants. Balochistan appears to have largely fallen off Islamabad’s radar once again. Worse, when it does reappear on the government’s radar occasionally, it does so in bizarre forms such as Rehman Malik’s visit.

The solution to the problems of Balochistan is a combination of counter-terrorist tactics and political strategies to draw the Baloch away from the gun. At the political level, the time for mid-level interventions has long since passed. Only serious and sustained high-level political attention given to the province can recover the security situation there. Sending in the interior minister, seniority notwithstanding, is likely to be counter-productive: the Baloch oppose the presence of the Frontier Corps, which is administratively under the control of the interior minister, in the province as much as they do the army, which contributes to the senior leadership of the FC. What seems to be lost on policymakers in Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, too, is that the fifth insurgency in Balochistan in 63 years is in a dangerous phase, one in which there is a serious risk of it spreading across an entire generation of Baloch youth. That would be a loss that the state would have to struggle to recover from.


Friday, 10 Sep, 2010

THE attention garnered by a Florida pastor planning to burn copies of the Holy Quran on Sept 11 illustrates how the acts of fringe groups can colour perceptions about an entire community. It reminds us that in today’s world of an increasingly integrated media industry, attention focused on groups that are not representative of the mainstream can widen polarities and swell the ranks of those who spew hatred. Terry Jones leads a fringe church with a 50-member congregation. Yet the outcry his plan has invoked, partly because of sustained media coverage, is global. The sheer number of high-profile personalities and institutions — the US president and the Vatican among them — has raised the question of whether the condemnations themselves are magnifying the cause of what is otherwise a very small extremist group. Meanwhile, even though no rational person would consider Mr Jones as representative of America or the Christian community, the controversy has tainted the image of both. The Obama administration is rightly concerned that it will deepen anti-US sentiment. We have seen protests in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bahrain, and there is a danger of the issue becoming a catalyst for violence targeting Christians and foreigners, as in the case of the Danish cartoons some years ago.

Many examples are available of resentment towards entire communities because of the actions of a minority. Consider how Muslims have suffered discrimination because of the crimes perpetrated by Al Qaeda. The Mumbai attacks, committed by a handful of people, scuppered for a while relations between two countries. Blogger Pamela Geller’s campaign against the Cordoba Initiative damaged New Yorkers’ reputation for cosmopolitanism and communal tolerance. The examples stretch across national, religious and other community lines. In most cases, one finds that the sustained attention of the media, and the slant taken, is what elevates a minority’s beliefs to significance. There will always be extremists in the world, but they must not be allowed to occupy centre stage by being given disproportionate attention. In this context, if the condemnable act does take place, religious and other leaders would do well not to overreact thus playing into the extremists’ hands.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Saturday, 11 Sep, 2010

THIS is an Eid with a difference, the traditionally festive mood of the day tempered by the grim reality we face. A flood of epic proportions has devastated large swathes of the most fertile lands in the country. Some 20 million people have been hit, crops destroyed, thriving communities uprooted, roads and bridges washed away and canals breached. To add to the nation’s sorrow, terrorists haven’t failed to make their presence felt, for they have continued to destroy and kill. Doomsayers are now painting a picture of the chaos they predict will grip the country in the post-flood scenario: mass starvation, anarchy and collapse. We plead with them to be a little less sure of themselves, for going by what history tells us the people of Pakistan have more than once demonstrated a resilience that has astounded friends and foes alike.

Just recall the 1947 drama. That Pakistan was able to stand on its feet and create a state structure out of scratch as millions crossed both ways in a sea of fire and blood is a miracle that should be an eternal source of strength for us in times of sorrow. Again, following the 1971 tragedy, the world had written the country off. But Pakistanis proved the pundits wrong. Nearer in time, the 2005 earthquake unleashed the Pakistani people’s philanthropic and self-help virtues as they rose like one community to the rescue of an estimated three million people traumatised by the quake.

The present too will pass. Pakistan never stopped ticking. Already, life in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, southern Punjab and upper Sindh is returning to normality. In Muzaffargarh, one of the worst-hit towns, people have begun rebuilding homes on their own and in the Swat valley, devastated both by floods and the dogs of war, local entrepreneurs are readying to welcome tourists that dare to take the plunge. A more pleasant sight has been children poring over books in makeshift schools. Factories continue to clank. The railways, damaged but not crippled, have successfully handled the Eid rush. Not for nothing did Feldman name his classic on Pakistan From Crisis to Crisis. Each crisis has made us Pakistanis tougher and that’s how it is going to be this time round. That said, it has to be asked if the resilience of the people is matched by the commitment of their elected representatives. Can our politicians in any way be described as a ray of hope? Must we always go it alone, on the charity of those whose hearts are big? Where are the institutions, the systems, which guarantee the welfare of the people?


Saturday, 11 Sep, 2010

NINE years since the tragic events of Sept 11, 2001 there is an unmistakable sense that Islamophobia is on the rise in the West, a development that could have dangerous consequences on the fight against militancy across the world. Consider that in the early years after 9/11, the Muslim community in the US was heralded as an example of how followers of Islam could find a comfortable niche for themselves in western society. That is no longer true, with the furore over the ‘ground zero mosque’ and a malevolent attempt by a fringe pastor in Florida to deliberately hurt Muslim sentiments dominating the news in recent weeks. Of course, not all of this is happening in a vacuum. Faisal Shahzad (the young man of Pakistani origin who attempted to bomb Times Square in New York) and the ‘Virginia Five’ (young Muslim men who travelled to Pakistan in search of jihadi inspiration before being caught and convicted by an anti-terrorism court here) are just two examples of disaffected Muslims in the US turning to militant Islam — a dangerous development for security in the West.

Nevertheless, it remains true that while the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the West do not in any way identify with the violence of Al Qaeda or the Taliban, Muslims as a whole are being tarred by the brush of terrorism and violent jihad. The worst offenders, strangely enough, are politicians, ostensibly the ones who are supposed to uphold the values of tolerance and inclusivism of western society. Having figured out that Islamophobia may be a potent vote-getter, Republicans have been keen to exploit the issue of the ‘ground zero mosque’ and continue to peddle the ‘suspicion’ that President Obama may be a closet Muslim. The problem goes beyond American shores of course, there being a real fear among western Muslims that right-wing, anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe may be whipped up again. Looking at this uncomfortable state of affairs, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Al Qaeda must be pleased: what better way to prove that the West is out to undermine Islam than to expose its intolerance towards Muslims?

Non-serious lawmakers

By .G.A Noorani
Saturday, 11 Sep, 2010

THE performance of our lawmakers is less than inspiring. But when legislators show lack of seriousness in discussing such sensitive matters as the country’s worst-ever natural disaster, some introspection is in order. According to a report in this newspaper, only 10 per cent of members participated in a National Assembly debate on the flood situation in the recently concluded session, which was specially requisitioned by the opposition to discuss the disaster. Members veered wildly from the agenda, spending a large part of the session criticising each other. The floods were only discussed on the third and final day. Resolutions that had nothing to do with the floods were adopted; 30 points of order — statements and speeches and not actual points of order — gobbled up nearly five hours of the session; on the last day only about 21 lawmakers were present, indicating that the house was clearly inquorate.

The problems highlighted in the report, which quotes figures from the Free and Fair Election Network, a watchdog body, are perennial. Figures suggest that even in normal times only half of the lawmakers participate in the house’s proceedings while many items on the agenda remain unfulfilled. This non-serious attitude is not limited to the National Assembly; provincial legislators usually turn in similarly lacklustre performances. We must ask the question: do our lawmakers understand what is expected of them as elected representatives of the public? The prime minister has called for an all-parties conference to discuss the floods. But what will be the use of such an exercise, considering that the politicians failed to utilise their time for this purpose in parliament? Better discipline in the house and improved legislative output is in order, especially concerning vital matters such as flood relief and rehabilitation. Otherwise the impression that politicians are callous, self-serving and petty will only be reinforced.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Bane of illiteracy

Tuesday, 14 Sep, 2010

ALONG with the flood-affected people, one of the chief victims of the raging waters has been the country’s vulnerable education sector. Indeed, even before the floods, the state of our schools had been a constant reminder of how Pakistan is falling behind in meeting the Education For All targets set by the UN. With no adult literacy programme worth the name and primary school enrolment in a shambles, it is not surprising that Pakistan’s literacy rate is one of the lowest in Asia. If after all these decades, the government has still not recognised the benefits of an educated population for economic productivity, social cohesion, public health and democracy, it is shocking. That it has not is the only explanation for successive governments’ failure to expand and upgrade the education system in the country which Islamabad is obliged to do under the constitution and the numerous international conventions to which it is a signatory.

If enough attention had been paid to this sector, the need for adult literacy programmes would have been more or less eliminated. An entire generation of school-goers would have raised the literacy rate considerably as the older generation of illiterates would have been eased out. But this did not happen and Pakistan continues to have people of all ages who have never learnt how to read and write.

What is to be done now? Given the state the country is in today, it would require a massive effort to create the infrastructure, the teaching resources and pedagogic aids as well as mobilisation to put a system in place. While finances are essential for the purpose of upgrading and expansion, money is not the only factor that could make a difference. It is equally important to monitor the system which was derailed mainly because of corruption. Dishonest people swindled money that should have gone into the education of children. The need for adult literacy classes will also have to be addressed. All this calls for a collective effort. A positive impact might be made if industries and the services sector that employ a large number of illiterate people were to accept their social responsibility and devise ways and means to provide opportunities for literacy acquisition to their employees.

‘Yes’ vote in Turkey

Tuesday, 14 Sep, 2010

THE ‘yes’ vote in Sunday’s referendum on constitutional amendments has both long- and short-term implications for Turkey, where democracy seems to be taking a new shape. With a 58 per cent positive vote, the result of the referendum has handed a victory to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose prospects for a third term in the general election due next year have brightened. The most important result of the reform will be a weakening of the army’s hold on politics. Among other things, the reform makes the military accountable to civilian courts and gives the right to appoint judges to parliament. The amendments will enable Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) to organise the high courts on lines conforming to the European Union’s entry criteria. What must have hurt the army most was the lifting of immunity for those involved in the 1980 coup.

Time will tell whether or not those who view the reform as Mr Erdogan’s attempt to gradually strip Turkey of its secular character are right. Traditionally, the army, along with the judiciary and bureaucracy, has considered itself the self-appointed guardian of the Turkish state’s Kemalist character and has overthrown elected governments four times. One reason for the army’s success in banning ‘Islamist’ parties was the series of mistakes committed by Mr Erdogan’s mentor and predecessor Necmettin Erbekan in taking on the army. Mr Erdogan has handled the situation with greater acumen, declaring that his party accepted secularism. Since 2000, when he became prime minister the first time, Mr Erdogan has proceeded cautiously, chipping away at the army’s powers gradually, beginning with the transformation of the army-controlled National Security Council into a civilian institution. His stature was raised when the EU agreed in 2004 to begin entry negotiations with Ankara after the AKP government enacted a series of legal and political reforms to conform to the Copenhagen criteria.

The EU has welcomed the ‘yes’ vote, and President Barack Obama congratulated Mr Erdogan and “acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkish democracy”. Straddling the continents of Asia and Europe, Turkey has a key role to play as a moderating force in the turbulent Middle East to its south. The passage of the reform package should help expedite Turkey’s EU entry negotiations.

A callous culture

Tuesday, 14 Sep, 2010

MONDAY’S death of a newborn in Lahore has once again brought the abhorrent VIP culture into focus. News reports suggest the infant died when it did not receive medical care at the city’s Children’s Hospital. Access to the emergency section was apparently blocked because of tight security as the Punjab chief minister was visiting the facility. The newborn’s father was reportedly asked to fetch a copy of his CNIC in order to enter the hospital. The Punjab government has said that the parents of the infant will be compensated. Such crass and insensitive statements do nothing to lessen the tragedy; what compensation can possibly be offered for an innocent life lost due to the state’s ineptitude?

Tragic as the incident is, it is not the first of its kind and the VIP culture is certainly not limited to Punjab; in fact, it is a nationwide malady. Ambulances cannot get through traffic jams whenever major public figures are on the road, and not too long ago a woman gave birth in a rickshaw in Quetta as access to the hospital was blocked because of the passage of the presidential motorcade. The Punjab law minister was quoted as saying that certain personalities — including the Punjab chief minister — face a “strong security threat” while terrorists have also set their sights on hospitals. While this may be true, the visit of a politician or official to a medical facility does not justify causing massive inconvenience to the public. Those under threat can be offered sufficient protection even if public convenience is incorporated in security plans.

Closing down roads and barricading buildings is a very ham-fisted approach to security. What the state needs to do is implement security protocols that cause the least inconvenience to the public while shielding public figures from potential threats. Protecting the lives of the elite while not caring about the security and wellbeing of the general public is a despicable attitude that needs to change fast.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 15 Sep, 2010


Fifteen more deaths in Indian-held Kashmir on Monday testify to the continuation of the Kashmiri desire for freedom and the brutal government response to it.



The killing of the protesters, mostly urban youths, comes within a week of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s plea to his security forces to use humane methods to deal with the demonstrators.



Even though the immediate cause for the protesters’ anger was the burning of the Holy Quran by an individual in America, the protests — recognised worldwide as indigenous — are a continuation of the anti-India demonstrations that have rocked the valley since June 11, leading to at least 85 deaths, mostly civilian.

The choice is now before New Delhi: will it handle the situation politically or will it intensify its repressive measures that are bound to be counterproductive?



Last week, a Bharatiya Janata Party delegation that included super hawk L.K. Advani called on Dr Singh and asked him not to “surrender” to Kashmiri protesters.



Will the Singh government succumb to such pressure and try to crush the Kashmiri movement by force or will it listen to reason and try by all means possible to handle the explosive and deteriorating situation in the valley using political means?



Before it decides to take the former course, it should know that such a move would not only lead to greater violence and more fatalities, it would also sideline the moderate Kashmiri leadership and drive what is basically a nationalist movement into Islamist hands.

The security forces have been armed with draconian powers by the Armed Forces’ Special Powers’ Act, which has been in existence for two decades but has failed to deliver.



Even though there have been calls from Indian rights’ groups and a section of the media for revisiting this act, the Indian government has turned a deaf ear to their pleas. This has made the jackboots trigger-happy.



In a recent interview, Lt Gen B.S. Jaswal, the Indian general on the spot, defended the powers he had under AFSPA and said such laws were “imperative” for carrying out “smooth operations”. Going by the blood that is flowing in Indian-held Kashmir, what Gen Jaswal’s men are carrying out are anything but “smooth operations”.



The choice ultimately is New Delhi’s — whether it listens to civilian and military hawks or decides to go for a political solution.



While at it, we can only feel astonished at the lack of a response by the international community to the killings in Indian-held Kashmir. The silence of the world to the rights violations in the valley is a reflection on Pakistan’s diplomacy.

Power sector reforms

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 15 Sep, 2010

To consumers of electricity, the intricacies of the power sector may matter little. There is, after all, a simple, effective benchmark to judge the sector’s performance: do consumers get electricity regularly and is the electricity priced reasonably?



On both counts, the power sector here has failed miserably in recent years. Worse, though, is the unhappy reality that the government appears to be doing little to turn the sector around and return it to profitability and better efficiency.



A report by the Asian Development Bank has criticised the government for its failure to shepherd through to completion the creation of the Central Power Purchasing Authority, described in the report as “the heart of the power sector” which acts “as the centre of demand and supply in the electricity market”.



Most consumers may be unaware of the CPPA or even its previous avatar, the National Transmission and Despatch Company.



Once again, the ADB report helps clarify its importance: “The CPPA … acts as counterpart to all power purchase agreements between government and power generators/IPPs. A well-functioning CPPA underpins contractual obligations between the power purchasers and power producers and acts as a barometer for future investment in the power-generation sector.”

What did the ADB make of the government’s cooperation during the million-dollar technical assistance? “Although the power sector in Pakistan is mature enough to graduate towards formation of an independent CPPA, the lack of thrust and political will impeded its implementation in true spirit … the weak capacity of [the executing agency] and political will of the [Ministry of Water and Power] stalled the full establishment and operations of the CPPA.”



These are terribly familiar charges: lack of thrust and political will and weak capacity. Lest there be any doubt about the enormous impact the government’s failure may have, the ADB report ends on a grim note: “The delay in institutionalising CPPA operations would add to uncertainty surrounding the dynamics structure of the sector and retard critical private-sector investments to ensure energy security.”



Translation: consumers can expect to live with power cuts for the foreseeable future. Is anyone in the government paying attention?

Adding to pollution

Wednesday, 15 Sep, 2010

If stone quarrying in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills could not be stopped in the National Year of the Environment in 2009, the latest attempt to curb the practice is likely to be futile.



Stone quarrying has already denuded the western portion of the Margallas and is endangering archaeological sites in Taxila.



According to a Dawn report, the latest plan to curb stone quarrying involves getting the electricity authorities to cut off connections to the quarries.



The next step would be the confiscation of machinery by the relevant local administrations. But the plan is a non-starter as the electricity authorities say they won’t take action as some stone-crushers have obtained stay orders from the courts.

Other quarries are known to be operating even though their licences are believed to have expired. Quarrying, thus, continues — despite numerous ostensible attempts over the past two decades to end a practice which was rendered illegal when the area was designated as a national park in 1980.



While the ‘connections’ of some stone quarry owners is often blamed for the failure to stop the activity, the real reason lies in the lack of political will and the poor coordination effort of various federal and provincial/local government departments to put an end to quarrying in the Margallas.

Quarrying is also detrimental to human health because of the airborne pollution it engenders. Besides, settlements in and around Islamabad have expanded, and these quarries are no longer far from the residential areas.



If a complete halt to quarrying in the Margallas is next to impossible, an attempt should be made to get quarry owners to reduce dust pollution.



Environmental protection measures practised elsewhere in the world include the reintegration of quarried localities in the natural environment through re-cultivation. These measures should be implemented in the country, wherever stone quarrying thrives.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 16 Sep, 2010



With global recognition of the impact of development on the environment, it is encouraging that the matter is gaining attention in Pakistan.



Official quarters have finally started to turn their attention to environmentally destructive activities, which often continue despite the existence of relevant laws and in the absence of legal enforcement and political will.



For example, recently Islamabad’s city police provided the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency with two squads to initiate action against commercial buildings in Murree that are discharging sewage into the Korang River.



Similarly, after recent Supreme Court orders, the Punjab EPA has formed two teams to launch an operation against the polluters of Rawal Lake. Both these water bodies have suffered great degradation because of the mushroom growth of enterprises such as poultry farms, commercial plazas and recreation spots.

These moves ought to be replicated wherever industry, urbanisation or development is taking place at the cost of the environment.



Across the country, we have seen entire lakes and rivers being poisoned, the deforestation of large swathes of land at the hands of timber mafias and vested interest parties, and the condoning of administrative inaction as slow desertification afflicts fields upon fields of previously arable land.



Through neglect and apathy, and in some cases because the state machinery turned a blind eye to irregularities, Pakistan has for years been allowing wholesale environmental degradation.



This has to stop, and that will only happen when the state makes it a priority. The issue will gain heightened importance in future months: once the floodwaters recede we will have to take stock of the environmental damage, for example in terms of habitat loss for flora, fauna and human communities that depend on a certain type of environment for livelihood and subsistence.



That exercise ought to become the pivot that shifts the country’s attention to the importance of the environment.

MNAs’ assets

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 16 Sep, 2010

Making money is in itself neither objectionable nor a crime. But concerns are bound to be raised when it transpires that Pakistan’s MNAs, the country’s elected representatives, somehow managed to increase their collective wealth three-fold over six years.



That is the conclusion reached by Pildat, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, which has closely scrutinised the assets declarations submitted by members of parliament between 2003-04 and 2008-09.



MNAs are not simply private entrepreneurs, even if they have businesses to run or landholdings to till. They are accountable to the public and the people of Pakistan are fully justified in asking two basic questions: what caused this sudden influx of cash and did the honourable MNAs pay the income tax due on this increased prosperity?



Their status in our society, such as it is, has never been in doubt. They are powerful in an almost mediaeval fashion and few are in a position to question their authority.



But perhaps it is now time for right-thinking citizens to question whether the explosive growth in the wealth of our MNAs is the result of legitimate enterprise or tactics that can’t be so easily explained.

Some MNAs declare multi-billion-rupee assets and live the accompanying lifestyle for all to see. That is their right, one supposes, in a nation crippled by poverty but at least they pay taxes on that income because they’ve put it down in writing.



What is far more deplorable are political leaders who swank about in sports-utility vehicles and live in big bungalows and still claim to be paupers.



Are they hiding their wealth? That is up to the reader, not this paper, to judge. Both the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue need to look into reports that many MNAs are far wealthier now than they were six years ago — and the FBR should make our parliamentarians’ tax returns public.



What gold mine did they strike in this short period? While the public bore the brunt of crippling inflation exacerbated by the short-sighted policies of the Musharraf regime, our ruling elite was able to transform its millions into billions.



That is the reality of Pakistan today. This is a country where the salaried-class taxpayer — who has no option but to pay taxes — continues to be milked for all he or she is worth while many among the politically powerful contribute little or nothing to the exchequer.



It is time to ascertain whether the lifestyles of many among our politicians are in keeping with their declared assets. And if the two don’t match up, action must be taken.

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 16 Sep, 2010

Political posturing is what the latest statements by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hizb-i-Islami, can be attributed to.



The Afghan warlord, once a favourite of the Pakistani security establishment before falling out of favour and now back — marginally — in its good books, has sent mixed signals in recent months.



Mr Hekmatyar’s most recent comments suggest that, one, no peace is possible in Afghanistan unless the foreign forces leave, and two, that if the first condition is met, the insurgents would ensure that Afghanistan would not become a haven for foreign militants, read mostly Al Qaeda, and that no harm would come to the US in future.



What are we to make of this? The Hizb-i-Islami is not considered a major player in the insurgency in Afghanistan, mostly being confined to eastern Afghanistan and having some links to the province of Baghlan.



As such, a major question mark hangs over whether Mr Hekmatyar speaks with the support of Mullah Omar, the supreme commander of the Taliban.



Without the support of Mullah Omar, no one can hope to deliver on any pledges to the Americans, and it should be noted that the supreme commander pledged over Eid to defeat the foreign forces.

There is also the problem that after making overtures towards the Karzai government earlier this year, the Hizb-i-Islami is believed to have come to the conclusion that the Afghan president has no real power and cannot deliver on any deal himself.



This may explain why in his recent interviews Mr Hekmatyar has played down the possibility of a deal with the Karzai government and focused on speaking to the Americans.



For its part, the US is believed to have had back-channel communications with Mr Hekmatyar for years, but the experienced Afghan warlord is understood to have repeatedly promised much only to quickly backtrack, a frustrating circular exercise that continues with no side having much faith in the process.



In any case, presently a review of the Afghan strategy is under way in the US, with decisions expected by December — meaning that for now it will likely be status quo in Afghanistan.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Friday, 17 Sep, 2010

We have been hearing of the imposition of a one-time flood tax to raise money for the huge reconstruction job ahead ever since the first hamlet was destroyed by the recent floods and the first community displaced.

Much time has elapsed since then but the government still appears clueless as to what tax should or can be levied and the modalities of such a tax.

Whatever proposals have been voiced so far appear to lack direction and hardly inspire hope of a consensus. In cases, there are indications of narrow interests, which defies the slogans of ‘nationalism’ often raised by our politicians.

A finance ministry official, for example, was reported to have proposed a flood tax on income and imports. The proposal did not take off, probably because of some legal hitches.

The Punjab government has abandoned the idea of levying a flood tax because of the possible political fallout of the move and in the hope of forcing Islamabad itself to cough up sufficient funds.

President Asif Zardari had recommended the imposition of a tax on urban immovable property and agricultural land. Punjab is strongly opposed to the idea. The Sindh government, however, is reported to have finalised plans to implement the president’s recommendation to raise funds for meeting its post-flood financial needs.

The MQM opposes the tax saying it would burden the residents of Karachi and Hyderabad, the two cities from where the party mainly draws its political strength.

In any case the MQM’s demand that such a tax should be levied at the federal level has considerable weight as the floods have caused vast destruction in all the provinces.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, meanwhile, has come up with the idea of imposing a ‘religious tax’ on property and agricultural land. The tax could be called ‘zakat’, ‘ushr’ or ‘khairat’ as deemed fit by taxpayers, according to an ANP leader.

In spite of the absence of a political consensus, or logic, the proposals reflect one thing: the government does not have enough money to finance post-flood reconstruction despite generous contributions from the outside world.

The financial constraints stem from the government’s unwillingness to stand up to pressure and tax the rich and powerful.

Given a less than 10 per cent tax-to-GDP ratio, no country can hope to sustain itself, let alone meet the costs of a calamity.

Every time a disaster strikes, the authorities force the fixed- income segments of the population — already burdened with price hikes and squeezed incomes — to foot the bill. The government must roll up its sleeves and start taxing the rich.


Dawn Editorial
Friday, 17 Sep, 2010

A barrage of drone strikes in parts of North Waziristan Agency recently has once again thrust the controversial programme in the spotlight.

The escalation appears to be linked to time running out for America’s strategy to stabilise Afghanistan and prevent that country and the border areas with Pakistan from remaining a safe haven for groups inclined to attacking the US.

Beyond that, little is certain. The strikes over the past couple of weeks have focused on specific areas of one of the three divisions in North Waziristan, areas believed to be largely Haqqani strongholds.

This indicates that the pursuit of Al Qaeda has gone down a notch, perhaps because that group’s size is believed to have shrunk to no more than a few hundred members.

Increasing pressure on the Taliban, however, should not be read as a fixation with just the Afghan Taliban. In North Waziristan, even the Pakistani Taliban are believed to be oriented towards Afghanistan and as such would also be in the cross-hairs of the US drones.

When the strikes in North Waziristan are considered along with US pressure on militants in eastern Afghanistan, the other side of the border from North Waziristan in particular, it becomes evident that America is willing to act even in the absence of the much- demanded military operation in North Waziristan. The window for America to produce military results is closing.

The Pakistani government, rather the security establishment led by the Pakistan Army, needs to come clean about the drone strikes.

US Special Representative for AfPak Richard Holbrooke has claimed the government and the army are very much on board regarding the drone strikes — something privately acknowledged by the Pakistani side.

If there isn’t cooperation on every strike, then broad permission appears to have been granted by the Pakistani side. Secret deals on strikes which are public appear to make little sense. Ideally, the US should transfer drone technology to Pakistan to remove qualms over violation of sovereignty.

For this, greater mutual trust is needed. Till then, a private understanding on drone strikes would have to suffice as the use of Pakistani bombers could mean greater collateral damage.


Dawn Editorial
Friday, 17 Sep, 2010

The rousing reception Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi received upon his return to Pakistan on Wednesday is well-deserved. He is the first Pakistani to make it to the finals of a tennis Grand Slam.

In fact, Aisam achieved the admirable feat of reaching two finals at the recent US Open: the mixed doubles and men’s doubles. Though he and his partners lost the matches, they fought hard and came close to victory.

Aisam’s sporting success has strengthened his image as a role model for Pakistani sportsmen and women. The euphoria surrounding his achievement is understandable on several counts.

It has proved that Pakistanis are capable of excelling in fields other than the usual negative stereotypes (terrorism, corruption etc.) associated with this country.

The fact that Aisam’s partner in the men’s doubles event, Rohan Bopanna, is Indian is also significant. It shows that the people of both nations can work together and cut through the miasma of hate and mistrust that prevails across the subcontinent.

The tennis star’s success has also raised the nation’s spirits amidst the misery caused by the floods. And of course, considering the fact that cricket has been dragged through the mud due to the alleged shady dealings of leading cricketers, Aisam’s success has given Pakistanis something to cheer about.

Hopefully, Aisam’s achievement will raise the profile of tennis in Pakistan and encourage youngsters to pick up the racquet and practise hard.

It should also prompt the government to pay serious attention to sports and help create the infrastructure and environment for young people to channel their energies in a healthy, positive direction. Though cricket may be a national passion, the lopsided attention given to it by the state and the people should not translate into the neglect of other sports.

With encouragement and training, there may be many more Aisams in the making.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Murder in London

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 18 Sep, 2010

PAKISTAN has witnessed no dearth of political assassinations. Many heads of state and government as well as senior political leaders have met a violent end in this country. MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq’s grisly murder in London on Thursday is the latest addition to this morbid list. He was stabbed to death near his home in the British capital. The killing stunned the party as well as political circles and sent Karachi into a state of virtual lockdown. Markets, schools and fuel stations remained closed on Friday as an air of dread prevailed in the metropolis. But the violence has been minimal and thankfully no lives have been lost.

Imran Farooq was a founding leader of the MQM. One of the moving forces behind the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation — forerunner of the party — in the late 1970s, he held several top posts within the organisation as well as represented the MQM in the National Assembly. He went underground at the time of 1992’s infamous Operation Clean-Up, only to re-emerge in London in 1999. He faced several criminal cases in this country, though these were withdrawn under the NRO. Imran Farooq was also considered the ideologue of both the political and militant cadres of the MQM. Though a member of the old guard, he was suspended from the party for a time and despite apparently being rehabilitated, he had practically been out in the cold during the last few years.

The MQM is no stranger to political murders. It has seen several of its high-ranking leaders assassinated. Former party chairman Azeem Ahmed Tariq was gunned down inside his house in 1993 while parliamentarian Khalid bin Waleed was ambushed in 2003. MPA Raza Haider’s murder in August sparked violence in which nearly 100 people were killed. None of these — as well as other political murders — have been solved. Imran Farooq’s killing is the first known murder of a senior Pakistani politician outside the country. Scotland Yard is investigating and the results of the probe will show whether the MQM leader was a victim of street crime or if Pakistani political militants have exported their vendettas to foreign shores. The party has blamed no one and no group has claimed responsibility. All eyes are on the investigation because unlike Pakistan, it is highly unlikely that the British authorities will succumb to political or government pressure while investigating the case. If a political motive is traced to the murder, it will mean that a bloody new chapter in Pakistani political violence has been opened beyond this country’s borders.

Brutalised society

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 18 Sep, 2010

VIOLENCE is an expected consequence in a society where want and deprivation are the norm. It is not surprising that deteriorating conditions in Pakistan, amongst them spiralling poverty and a worsening security situation, have rendered society brutal to the extreme. It seems that employing violent means comes almost naturally to a citizenry that has witnessed countless atrocities that include mass killings, suicide bombings, lynchings, beheadings and the stringing up of corpses by groups such as the Taliban. While these grim realities can be used as a route to understanding how Pakistanis have become inured to violence, there are many individual cases where the scale of brutality simply beggars belief, and points to the lava that may erupt at any point from the simmering volcano that is Pakistan. One of these was Thursday’s incident in Gujrat, when a man was bludgeoned to death over a minor traffic row. Eyewitnesses say that the victim, Tariq Mahmood, narrowly avoided a collision with a motorbike. An argument ensued after which the bikers, whose apparel indicated their association with the legal fraternity, started hitting the car driver. Mahmood took refuge in his car but the enraged bikers, joined by three of their colleagues, broke the car windows, pulled him out and beat him with bricks until he was dead.

The tragedy, coming so soon after the lynching of two brothers in Sialkot, makes us wonder how far Pakistani society is from the level of beasts. The incident reminds us that education or even a certain social level — as indicated by the men’s garb and mode of transport — is no bar to brutality. Deplorable too, as in the Sialkot case, was the role played by the police: they stood by and watched. An eyewitness says that he appealed to three policemen present a few yards away but they refused to intervene on the truly shocking pretext that they had been deputed merely to check vehicles. Neither did they make any attempt to apprehend the killers. Quite clearly, matters in Pakistan are rapidly reaching such a pass that the rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle.

A crucial vote

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 18 Sep, 2010

AFGHANS go to the polls today to elect a parliament whose role will be crucial to the negotiations in the air. The exercise will constitute Afghanistan’s second parliamentary elections since the ouster of the Taliban regime in October 2001, and its successful completion may be considered a major step towards the consolidation of democratic trends in Afghanistan. It remains to be seen whether the Taliban’s threat to disrupt the election will deter voters from exercising their franchise. The turnout in the 2005 elections was 50 per cent, the voting was marked by widespread irregularities and the ‘indelible’ ink turned out to be washable. A foreign watchdog has already warned that today’s elections will be “disputatious”, because there will be “plenty of fraud”, with no less than 2,477 candidates contesting 249 seats.

The elections are being held against the backdrop of two realities: the level of insurgency has increased and the American troop withdrawal will begin in July next. This has given confidence to the Taliban but has at the same time spurred the movement for peace. The big question is which way the new parliament will go. Common sense suggests that three decades of conflict and all that it means should goad the Afghan people’s representatives into hastening the move towards ending the war. However, the fact is that the militants are as much divided over beginning talks as those who have been running the ‘war on terror’ for nine years, for the latter too have failed to devise a coordinated strategy for clinching a peace deal. From this point of view the composition of the new Afghan parliament will determine how peace moves fare. The new elected lot will not be the only actors in the war and peace drama, but being the people’s representatives their views should matter a great deal.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 19 Sep, 2010

Given Israel’s track record, it is difficult to share US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s optimism that a Middle East peace is “within reach” or Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s conditional hope that a two-state solution can be attained in half a year.


Wednesday’s talks in occupied Jerusalem between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas failed to produce results.

They talked because Mr Netanyahu has said he will meet his Palestinian interlocutor every fortnight to continue the talks renewed in Washington earlier this month after a 20-month lapse.

But Wednesday’s session in Jerusalem saw no sign of a thaw, with Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas resorting to diplomatese to cover up what obviously was a failure.
They will meet again next month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session to pick up from what actually is the debris of a promising peace process begun by Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin in 1993.

While the talks are supposed to solve ‘final status’ issues, the key question at the moment is settlement activity. US President Barack Obama has time and again emphasised the need for Israel to halt all construction activity on Palestinian territory but has been rebuffed by the Likud government.

The least Israel could do now is to extend the moratorium on housing, but reports from Tel Aviv suggest Mr Netanyahu has no intention of extending it beyond Sept 26.

Mr Abbas has said he will walk out if construction activity is resumed, and the PA chief’s stand makes sense.

A halt to Jewish colonisation is not an end in itself; the end is the emergence of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

But a halt to colonisation will indicate Israel’s sincerity about the negotiations, whose aim is to give the holy land lasting peace.

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 19 Sep, 2010

Strange are the ways of politics and the media in this country. Tune in to a primetime political talk show on any day and the discussion is about some vague ‘change’ being in the air, everything from the wrapping up of the transition to democracy to mid-term elections to some unspecified internal house-cleaning exercise by the political government at the behest of the extra-constitutional forces that lurk in the wings of power.


All of this talk then seemingly jolts the government into some kind of ‘action’ — an extraordinary, emergency meeting in Islamabad jointly chaired by the president and the prime minister with over 40 ministers and advisers in attendance has fuelled yet more talk that the government is ‘under pressure’ and may be panicking.

Step back from the conspiratorial whispers and dark rantings for a minute, however, and several things become apparent.

One, the media is playing, to put it mildly in some cases, an unhelpful role in the democratic project. Some television programmes and news ‘reports’ do not even bother to hide their desire to see the back of the present government, whatever the consequences.

For a country that has flirted with and embraced military interventions so many times in the past, only for these to inevitably lead to disastrous consequences, the media’s sometimes barely concealed cheerleading for extra-constitutional measures is astonishing.

An institution ostensibly meant to keep the public informed, and thereby indirectly hold the government to account, seems to suffer from the shortest of memories.

Whatever the sins of the government, and let there be no doubt there are many sins of commission and omission, the media needs to reflect on what it is that sets apart a democracy from a dictatorship and remind itself why only a few years ago it was calling for the end of a military-run political dispensation.

Two, the political government in Islamabad has run out of excuses for its incompetence and political tone-deafness. The meeting held in Islamabad on Friday has revved up talk of ‘change’ rather than dispelled it.

In any case, what exactly did Friday’s meeting achieve? The government’s popularity has plummeted not due to a poor PR job but because of its poor, nay terrible, performance on the governance side.

Action is what’s required, on the economy, on the recovery effort from the floods, on the fight against militancy, on the delivery of basic services, not mere words.

At another level, it is hoped that the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the 18th Amendment soon as a clear decision will help clear up the air of uncertainty.


Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 19 Sep, 2010

It is difficult to assess the economic impact of the ‘limited’ trade concessions the European Union proposes to give to Pakistani textile goods entering its market because the details of the incentives will not be available before mid-October.

The EU concessions are being given to help Pakistan mitigate the effect of the recent flood disaster on its fragile economy. Whatever information has trickled down to us through media reports reveals that the deal is punctuated with many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’, and is for a limited time.

Its implementation is also subject to a waiver from the World Trade Organisation to avoid violation of international trade rules and aggravating the EU’s other trading partners in the region.

Thus, the proposal can prima facie be described as a case of ‘too little, too late’. Islamabad has long been calling for duty-free entry for its textile goods into the EU market under the GSP Plus scheme to stabilise an economy battered by the long-drawn-out war on terror and the recent floods.

The request was rejected on the grounds that Pakistan doesn’t meet EU criteria on human rights and governance. Also, the size of its economy is too big to qualify for those concessions.

The EU’s protectionist policies and global economic downturn, however, have been the strongest odds against Pakistan’s request for GSP Plus.

Indeed, the increase, however modest, in its textile exports to the EU will help Pakistan earn an additional few hundred million dollars and create new jobs.

But it requires much more than small mercies to revive its economy and industry on a sustainable basis. Europe and America should give Pakistani textiles duty-free access for a longer period, say for 10 years, if they want to help the country’s people and economy.

Bangladesh has more than tripled its value-added textile exports to $18bn from $5bn in just five years because it got duty-free market access to the European and American markets.

Pakistan deserves similar treatment from its allies in the war on terror — and immediately. It is important to prevent the poverty- and flood-stricken people from turning to crime and violence.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________