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  #581  
Old Thursday, December 01, 2011
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DAWN 1-12-2011

No transparency

SUPRISING are the ways of the state. With a `final` countdown under way for the American presence at Shamsi airbase in Balochistan to be brought to an end, Pakistanis are still none the wiser about how the base came to be under the control of foreigners. At a broader level, despite much public agitation over drone strikes here, the public at large has been given no real understanding of exactly what role the state plays in the strikes, even if in the unlikely scenario the role is limited to just approving the use of Pakistani airspace for drones. Perhaps there was once an era in which Pakistan`s engagement with outside powers could be conducted in absolute secrecy. But as times have changed, as information has become that much harder to suppress and, perhaps most importantly, as relations with the US continue to deteriorate, the skeletons in the Pakistani state`s closet will keep tumbling out.

Several questions need to be asked. Who authorises the transfer of Pakistani property, whether privately or publicly held, to a third country? Under what law is this transfer arranged? Has parliament been taken into confidence? Is there a need for special legislation to approve of such transfers? In the case of the Shamsi airbase, can Pakistan legally lease the property out to another country, in this case the UAE, which can then in turn lease it out to another country? And if the airbase itself can be leased out, what about the airspace over and around the base? Does Pakistan not have control of its own airspace? If armed drones are buzzing around Pakistani airspace, who has authorised weapons of war to be used inside Pakistan by a third country and under what law was this authorisation given?

Outside the world of espionage and covert wars, there are still important questions. From the leasing out of land, such as in Rahim Yar Khan and Jhal Magsi, for hunting purposes to talk of agricultural land being under the control of foreign countries which can then export the produce for their own use, the state here has flirted with novel uses of its own territory. This is all the more surprising given how frequently the `sovereignty` argument is invoked when these covert deals go awry or a foreign power becomes more assertive of its `rights` over Pakistani territory. In the half-truths and half-lies over the Shamsi airbase, there is an important lesson: the truth will eventually come out, so it would be better for the state to find more transparent ways of conducting foreign policy.

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Dangerous precedent

THE All Pakistan Cable Operators Association announced on Tuesday that it would stop relaying the broadcast of a number of international news channels. The `ban` went into effect the same night in many areas. While the primary target appears to be the BBC, other channels` transmissions have also been sporadically interrupted in different areas. The APCOA has said it plans the phase-wise curtailment of access to other foreign news channels too. Through such tactics, it hopes to force them to stop “maligning the country”. This is precisely the sort of narrow-minded nationalism that results in making the country a laughing stock. The APCOA is not just censoring access to information — which cable operators are committed to providing to their viewers — it is also depriving citizens of their right to know what is being said about them in the rest of the world, and amounts to censoring the global discourse on Pakistan.

Secondly, blocking channels can set a dangerous precedent. There have been a number of occasions where attempts have been made by the state as well as by non-state actors to stop certain information from reaching the public or to influence journalistic output. The APCOA`s move opens the window for other, more coercive tactics. The next target could be local news organisations. Meanwhile, the `ban` appears to have been triggered in part by a documentary being aired on the BBC which, the APCOA feels, is “negative propaganda” against Pakistan`s state institutions. Blocking the channel, though, amounts to trying to wish it away. Any journalistic work can easily be countered by providing evidence that it is based on erroneous assumptions. There is also the disturbing possibility that the APCOA`s hand may have been forced. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should step in at this stage. The need is to open up Pakistan`s information and media landscape, not restrict it further. The APCOA has called upon Pemra to cancel the landing rights of “channels maligning the country”. In fact, landing rights to news networks ought to be granted across the board so that Pakistanis have access to various shades of opinion.

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Attack on British embassy

THE mob attack on the British embassy in Tehran on Tuesday and the `law` passed to expel the UK ambassador a day earlier give an astonishing picture of the situation in Iran. Here is a country that is home to one of the world`s oldest civilisations allowing a mob to ravage an embassy. Not surprisingly, Britain has reacted by expelling Iranian diplomats on its soil. The Iranian foreign ministry regretted the attack on the embassy and on the diplomatic compound where British diplomats had been `sequestered`, but Tehran will have to do a lot to convince the world that the government did not have a hand in it. The taking of American hostages during the early days of the revolution, when the US was closely identified with the ousted monarchy, was understandable, though not condonable, given the circumstances. But that a similar drama, though on a lower scale, should be enacted more than three decades after the revolution casts the present set of Iranian rulers in a bad light.

The mob attacked the embassy over Britain`s decision to slap new sanctions on Iran. While we have pointed out in these columns the futility of the sanctions, it should be noted that an oil-producing country like Iran is quite capable of withstanding the sanctions. The country has means at its disposal to engage Britain diplomatically and adopt policies that help Iran economically and politically. But by letting the mob violate diplomatic norms, the Iranian government hasn`t earned any friends. While the UN and western powers have condemned the attack, even Iran`s friends will find it difficult to applaud the mob action. The diplomatic police came after the protesters had done their job. That will only add to the suspicion that a government which is increasingly dependent on religious leaders had a hand in the violence.
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  #582  
Old Friday, December 02, 2011
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DAWN 2-12-2011

Oil prices

HOWSOEVER one refers to it — `a petrol bomb` or `adding fuel to fire` — the problem remains the same: the government decision to raise domestic oil prices for December will put pressure on an already overburdened public. Media reports suggest that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has recommended that the finance ministry keep oil prices unchanged at last month`s level for fear of loss of revenue under the head of petroleum levy. Another reason for the decision is the deteriorating exchange rate over the rising current account gap. In any case, government intervention in the determination of the price of oil has defeated the very purpose of an earlier decision in June to deregulate domestic prices as well as limit the role of Ogra. The hike in oil prices indicates a future trend, and consumers should not expect oil prices to stabilise, at least in the foreseeable future.

First, global crude prices are again creeping up to the $100-a-barrel level on expectations of an economic recovery in the United States and political tensions in parts of the Middle East and Iran. Second, Pakistan`s economy is showing signs of a renewed downturn. Macroeconomic risks have increased during the last two months. The current account has widened to $1.6bn on rising trade deficit over severe energy shortages. The budgetary deficit is estimated to go up to 5.5 per cent of GDP from the estimated figure of 4.7 per cent for the current fiscal year. This is forcing the government to borrow heavily from domestic resources to plug the gap between its income and expenditure as external official and private capital inflows continue to dry up. The rupee is slipping to historic lows. Prices of food and other commodities are resurging, and the inflationary trend is showing no signs of dropping to single digits in the near to medium term. These factors have already forced the State Bank of Pakistan to reverse its policy of monetary easing for the sake of ensuring price stability to the chagrin of businessmen and investors.

But can the oil price hike stop the economic rot? Bluntly put, no. Raising prices to collect indirect taxes is bad policy. It always has negative far-reaching implications for the people and the economy. A better, though tougher, option would have been to implement the long overdue tax reforms. The implementation of tax reforms has assumed even more importance because no one in the international community is ready to proffer help unless we ourselves begin to clean up the economic mess we find ourselves in.

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More powers for ECP

THE Election Commission of Pakistan needs more than financial autonomy. On Wednesday, the ECP decided to send a summary to the prime minister in this connection and sought “full financial autonomy”. While we hope the executive will satisfy the commission on this score, what the body charged with the task of holding transparent elections needs is greater control over the state`s administrative machinery. In some countries, the moment a general election is announced, the state`s administrative apparatus is placed under the control of the election authority. This prevents the ruling party or parties from using state machinery for campaigning or for influencing the electoral process. In Pakistan, even if elections are fair — there have been quite a few of them where the ruling parties were routed — ECP officials are often subjected to pressure by the government and traditional political families. In rural areas, the militias a number of feudal lords keep browbeat opponents and bully electoral officials. Also, governments transfer the `wrong` bureaucrats and police officers to sway voting. As experience shows, even caretaker regimes have undertaken large-scale transfers of police officers and bureaucrats in selected constituencies to make the electoral exercise anything but transparent.

The constitution does indeed declare that it is the duty of “all executive authorities” in the federal and provincial governments to “assist” the election commissioner in the discharge of his duties (Article 220). But this does not arm the ECP with enough powers to stand up to well-entrenched feudal and clan power that resists, if necessary by force, any attempt to erode its traditional base and deny it what it considers its right — to manipulate elections. What the ECP needs is a higher degree of control over the state bureaucracy if all of its functionaries throughout the country are to perform their duty in an atmosphere free from violence and coercion. With the general election due in 2013, there is still time for the prime minister to get in touch with the opposition and devise a mutually acceptable formula to give more administrative powers to the ECP to make it a truly independent organisation.

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Marine life in jeopardy


RULES and regulations may exist on paper but they are not always implemented in letter and spirit. Take the case of our fast-deleting marine resources. The blame here lies not only with large foreign trawlers but also local fishermen who continue to use small-mesh nets even though they are proscribed. This illegal practice results in catches that produce a high percentage of juvenile and other `waste` fish that are set apart from the primary catch and are earmarked for uses such as poultry feed. Some of the areas hardest hit by small-mesh fishing are the creeks and mangrove forests of Sindh which serve as natural hatcheries for marine life. Countless shrimp that are barely a few days old are caught along with mature varieties and are then treated as little more than refuse. The natural cycle of birth and future generation is thus broken in this callous manner that causes the depletion of breeding stock. We could, one day, face a situation where our creeks and harbours have been so stripped of their biodiversity that they can no longer meet the needs of the food chain and the survival of any number of species.

We need a serious overhaul of the fisheries industry. According to a report in this paper, nearly “60 per cent of the total catch … that lands at the Karachi fish harbour constitutes trash fish”. This figure is simply unacceptable if our marine ecosystem is to thrive, even survive. A policy review is also in order about the activities of foreign trawlers that have been granted fishing licences by the local authorities. It is widely alleged that these trawlers do not respect their territorial limits and also offload part of their catch to accompanying vessels in the deep sea before sailing in for quota-weighing purposes. Such practices must be put to an end.
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Old Tuesday, December 06, 2011
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DAWN 6-12-2011

US overtures

SUNDAY`S phone call from President Obama to President Zardari sent another signal that the US is actively trying to defuse tensions after last month`s Nato strike. It follows other high-level communications, including a call from the secretary of state to Prime Minister Gilani. These have been `condolence` calls, without apolo gies. And President Obama hasn`t, likely for domestic compulsions having to do with the Pentagon and US elections, followed reported State Department advice to offer a videotaped statement. That said, his reaching out, including a commitment to a full investigation, should be acknowledged as an effort to lower the temperature. US officials` attempts to convince Pakistan to attend the Bonn conference should also be welcomed as recognition of the country`s importance in brokering an Afghan settlement. Registering loud and quick protest against the Nato strike was the right move, but at this point some reciprocity would be the constructive way forward. Pakistan may have refused to formally join the investigation, but it should at least cooperate to the full extent it can.

Another positive signal was the White House`s denial of Mansoor Ijaz`s latest claim that the Pakistani president and prime minister were aware of the Osama bin Laden raid before it took place. The US government did not need to respond to an allegation made by some one who is neither a security official nor a well-regarded analyst but simply a well-connected Pakistani-American businessman. In fact, it is known for its reluctance to comment on sensitive matters, or at least for taking time before responding. The quick response in this case was a clear signal of support for Pakistan`s civilian administration.

And the context that cannot be forgotten in any evaluation of recent Pakistani or US moves is that both governments are facing severe political opposition in the run-up to elections. Republican candidates for the presidency are in attack mode as their primaries inch closer, and President Obama`s calculations will inevitably include domestic political risk through this stage and over the next year as he fights the chosen Republican contender. At home, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has joined his party officials in the fray, with his complaint to the Supreme Court over Mr Ijaz`s memo being only the latest display of his political intentions. Meanwhile, Imran Khan`s PTI makes quick use of any perceived kowtowing to the US. The next year, then, is going to be qualitatively different for US-Pakistan ties than the last three years have been. Both administrations will have to strike a delicate balance between being sufficiently nationalist for domestic audiences and cooperative and sympathetic enough to save whatever alliance remains.

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Detainees at Bagram

THERE seems to be no end to the human rights abuses committed by various state and non-state actors in the ongoing `war on terror`. As a story in the monthly Herald shows, among the gravest of these abuses is the detention of thousands of people who have not been formally charged. Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan`s Bagram prison have been termed the “twin pillars of American human rights abuse” by rights activists. According to the US Joint Task Force 435 that is in charge of the jail, over 2,400 people have been detained in Bagram for the last decade. Most are there without due process having been followed. In fact, some 400 detainees recommended for release in 2009 remain incarcerated. Human rights activists believe that many of them were ordinary villagers swept up in night-time raids and who have no potentially useful information. The point here, though, is not whether the detained are guilty of a criminal act but of the absence of due process. Holding people without formally charging them or producing them in a court of law cannot be defended. While human rights groups have highlighted the issue, the US has made no move to improve the situation.

Our government, too, has seemingly forgotten the estimated 30 Pakistanis being held in Bagram. It seems that most were picked up in the border areas. Often their families had no clue as to their whereabouts until contacted by human rights activists. Moves to have these detainees charged or repatriated have been few and far between. As a result of a petition filed by the UK-based charity Reprieve last year, the Lahore High Court ordered in October that a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visit Bagram and file a report within a month. But the counsel for the government did not attend court on the appointed day. The Pakistan embassy in Kabul officially identified Pakistani prisoners at Bagram last year, but the detainees` predicament remains unchanged. It is essential that Pakistan pursue the issue more vigorously. Furthermore, the practice of detention without due process must cease forthwith.

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Houbara hunting

THE killing is set to continue this winter. The houbara bustard is an internationally protected species that has seen an alarming fall in numbers in recent years. It is estimated that just about 50,000 houbaras, which nest in arid areas, remain today across the globe, mainly in South and Central Asia. In Pakistan, at least 25 ‘special permits’ have been issued, once again, to hunt down these endangered and highly shy, harmless birds that migrate to this country in winter from Central Asian nations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The beneficiaries are dignitaries from Arab countries including the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. For many years now, Arab royals have turned their attention to Pakistan because they have hunted the houbara bustard almost to the point of extinction in their own lands. Myths and fallacies abound, such as the belief that the meat of these unassuming birds serves as an aphrodisiac. The result: the senseless slaughter of houbara bustards at the hands of foreigners whose deep pockets and influence in the corridors of power allows them to get away with the near decimation of an endangered species.

These special permits bring no additional revenue to the Pakistani authorities, for they are free of cost. The argument usually employed is based on the concept of ‘goodwill’, as if the hunting of birds is somehow in the national interest. It is argued by some that employment opportunities in the Arab states may be hurt if we deny special hunting rights to foreign dignitaries.

This is a short-sighted take on the ecosystem. It is well known Arab hunters often do not adhere to their allotted bag limits — ostensibly acquired only through falconry — and that local wildlife authorities do not have the courage to confront powerful visitors. Such practices must be stopped at the highest level.
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Old Thursday, December 08, 2011
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DAWN 8-12-2011

After Bonn

THE Bonn conference ended predictably with commitments from the international community to continue support for Afghanistan for at least a decade after 2014. However, there was little movement on the core issues of reconciliation inside the war-torn country or on working out relations with Afghanistan`s neighbours that could promote internal stability. Lack of movement on these core issues was almost a foregone conclusion after the Taliban were kept away from the conference and Pakistan opted to boycott the conference in protest against last month`s killings of its soldiers in a Nato air strike in Mohmand. With two major conferences on Afghanistan this year, Istanbul and Bonn, yielding little by way of developments, the fear is that next May`s conference in Chicago will similarly fail to produce significant outcomes.

For Pakistan, Bonn was a missed opportunity. The consensus outside official circles is that the boycott was not in Pakistan`s best interests. That decisions detrimental to Pakistan`s interests were not taken at the conference means Islamabad has not lost ground. But neither has it pressed its case any further in the international community. In truth, between the international community`s determination to not `abandon` Afghanistan, as it did after the Soviet withdrawal, and Pakistan`s insistence that its security interests be important considerations in a post-war settlement, the Afghanistan of the future is likely to produce a configuration in which the various power centres in the country continue to hold sway and influence in their respective areas. So the key really is to find a way to incentivise the various parties in Afghanistan — simply put, warlords in many areas — to not seek to project their power outside their `normal` spheres of influence. It seems apparent that many of those incentives will come from ensuring development and infrastructure building that remain the priorities of the international community in Afghanistan post-2014. If the warring factions can be nudged towards peaceful coexistence over a period of time, the Afghanistan of the future will be the relatively peaceful and stable state that the international community, including Pakistan, seeks.

Vital as Pakistan`s role in Afghanistan is, the state here must also be careful to not overreach. While much of the anger and unhappiness in the wake of the Mohmand killings is justified and Pakistan took several principled decisions, there is a sense that the security establishment is willing to make a bet-the-house gamble that the US cannot engineer a face-saving exit from Afghanistan without Pakistan`s cooperation. Whether true or not, it`s probably best not to engage in brinkmanship with a superpower that often makes rash decisions.

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Australia-India deal

THE decision by Australia`s ruling party to lift the country`s ban on exporting uranium to India raises questions, once again, about the international treatment of Pakistan when it comes to peaceful nuclear technology. It`s true that Pakistan is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Neither is India, however, and its landmark 2008 civil nuclear cooperation deal with the US set a precedent in which a signatory to the agreement was willing to do business with a country that is not. Australia`s prime minister also used this as justification when she argued for the economic and geopolitical benefits to her country, the world`s largest uranium producer, of making an exception for India. With other agreements with France, Russia and Canada, along with a number of other countries, India has firmly been brought into the fold when it comes to the global transfer of nuclear fuel and equipment for peaceful purposes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is struggling with an energy crisis that has dragged down GDP growth and become a source of ongoing frustration for citizens. And as the world signs agreements with India, Pakistan does have concerns that providing new nuclear resources will allow that country to divert existing resources towards weapons development. Whether or not these fears are well-founded, they are serious enough to raise tensions and even lead to the resurgence of a nuclear arms race in the region. Pakistan`s history of nuclear proliferation cannot be denied, and to secure any deal the country must, of course, agree to stringent conditions. Facilities using imported material must be fully accessible by the International Atomic Energy Agency. There is already precedent for this in the Pakistani facilities that are currently under IAEA safeguards and are heavily monitored. There must also be an assurance that the imported material will not be passed on to any other nation. But bringing India into the nuclear fold while continuing to treat Pakistan as a pariah because of past mistakes denies the reality that an even-handed approach would be a better recipe for stability in both Pakistan and the wider region of South Asia.

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Not enough PhDs

IT is unfortunate that the number of PhD candidates in the country is insufficient, and that, consequently, there has been a drop in the number of doctorate courses offered by universities. As a report in this paper says, the Higher Education Commission requires at least three permanent faculty members to supervise doctoral courses, yet many institutions are hiring visiting faculty to cut costs. Many universities also discourage students from pursuing a doctorate degree because “they find PhD courses not profitable to run”. Although it is lamentable that the institutes should have to drop doctoral courses for financial reasons, it is just as sad that Pakistani universities face a manpower crunch where PhD instructors are concerned.

There has been much debate about the impact of Gen Musharraf`s revamp of the higher education sector, specifically the role of the HEC. It has been pointed out that while there has been a considerable rise in the number of public and private universities, only a handful have qualified faculty capable of supervising PhD courses. Many students sent by the HEC have returned after completing their doctorates abroad, and more are due to follow. True, the return of qualified scholars should fill the gap to an extent, but the full impact of their return on the country`s higher education sector may leave much to be desired. Many returning scholars prefer jobs at `good` universities where there is a senior faculty and an established infrastructure. They are not willing to take up teaching positions at institutes which are less developed or less known. It is here where the HEC needs to focus. It must place returning scholars in relatively neglected varsities and equip them with the tools and incentives needed for a positive transformation. However, the focus should remain on the quality and not quantity of scholars.
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Old Saturday, December 10, 2011
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DAWN 10-12-2011

Welcome words

AS rumour and speculation in Pakistan continue and sections of the political opposition and media drop all pretences of differentiating between the PPP-led government and the overall democratic system, it has fallen to Nawaz Sharif to provide some dispassionate analysis about what is really at stake. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Mr Sharif warned that continued rumour and innuendo risked inviting an extra-constitutional intervention by the army and firmly moved to dispel any doubts that he or his party would support anything other than the continuation of the democratic process. No saviours, no `Bangladesh model` of army men and technocrats running the country, no one but the duly elected representatives of the country had a right to rule, Mr Sharif insisted. It is a welcome intervention in an alarming discourse that has gripped swathes of the country in recent days. That the comments have come from the man who is the leader of one of the two largest poli- tical parties in the country is even more welcome. Since his return to Pakistan, Mr Sharif has shown admirable consistency in his support for the democratic process, despite many voices inside his own party calling for a quick wrap-up of the Zardari-led PPP government.

Two points in particular are worth making here. Neither is new but they do need to be reiterated. One, the army does have not solutions to Pakistan`s governance crisis. Four dictators have tried and failed and there is no reason to believe a fifth will succeed. The reason is not one of commitment or application. Even the most committed and capable of self-appointed saviours will suffer from a lack of political legitimacy that will eventually erode his standing. To take Pakistan forward, a sustained effort is needed over several decades but it is difficult to imagine how any dispensation can survive without genuine political legitimacy for that period of time. When back to square one, or worse, is the almost guaranteed result at the end of a dictator`s term, why go down that path at all?

Two, the civilians will have to raise their game and improve their performance if they are to be given the necessary time and space to govern. Unfortunate as it may be, the reality is that the space that ought to be the preserve of civilians is occupied by a domestically predominant army. To expect that space to simply be handed over to civilians regardless of their performance is un-realistic. Until the civilian leadership develops the ability to deliver better results, the threat to democracy will never really disappear.

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Risking lives for rights


ZARTEEF Khan Afridi was a courageous man. He was a staunch supporter of human rights and, in an ultra-conservative part of the country, encouraged the women in his family to vote and openly opposed the Taliban. Despite death threats, he continued with his advocacy of basic rights. In extremely testing times he paid with his life for an ideology based on tolerance and respect. A local coordinator for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan for the tribal Khyber Agency and headmaster of a government school, Mr Afridi was gunned down by two assailants in Jamrud on Thursday as he was on his way to work. And he was by no means alone in the struggle against injustice. Over the years many rights activists have been killed or `disappeared` by actors of all ilk who appear to be above the law.

Sadly the government has done little or nothing to protect people striving to promote equity in the country. According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders` 2011 report — launched in Pakistan by the HRCP the same day Mr Afridi was murdered — perpetrators of violence against those working for human rights are rarely brought to justice. The victims include civil society activists, members of religious minorities who brave all odds to raise their voice in an increasingly narrow-minded nation, NGO employees, journalists, trade union members and lawyers, among others. For instance, Pakistan was listed by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders as one of the deadliest countries in 2010 for media workers who were doing nothing more than working towards creating awareness about injustice in all its forms. Our politicians, especially those in power, need to move beyond their personal squabbles and look at the larger picture. Human rights have come to be so trampled upon in Pakistan that the unempowered see injustice as a fact of life. Meanwhile those with a voice who ruffle feathers know that they need to be prepared for any even-tuality. Society as a whole cannot be expected to advance in such an environment.

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Tubewell subsidy

THERE is no doubt that the government`s decision to remove the subsidy on agricultural tubewells countrywide will be difficult to implement but the current economic climate leaves no other choice. The cabinet decided on Thursday that meters will be installed at tubewells. Until now, most users had been paying a flat rate that cost the state an annual amount of Rs5bn in subsidies. However, we feel the removal of the subsidy should be gradual and that small farmers should continue to benefit from it. Perhaps there can be a cut-off mark — for example farms beyond a certain acreage should not qualify for the subsidy. Large landowners, who don`t pay income tax as it is, should be paying their fair share for the water they use. At the same time, the government must consider the decision`s impact on agricultural output in underdeveloped areas like Balochistan.

The installation of meters at tubewells will hopefully improve water-management practices. The use of traditional irrigation methods in Pakistan results in significant wastage of water, especially at a time when our water resources are dwindling. Having to pay for the water they consume may convince farmers to use the precious resource judiciously instead of flooding entire fields and encourage them to adopt better farming techniques to reduce wastage and improve crop yields. Drip irrigation is one method suggested by experts to promote rational use of water. While it is important to recoup losses sustained by power companies and the state and to promote a culture of paying for what one uses, care must be taken to ensure that the overall impact of the removal of the subsidy does not lead to further inequity. As indicated earlier, a planned and phased removal of the tubewell subsidy, giving a break to poor farmers, is the best way to proceed.
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Old Thursday, December 15, 2011
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DAWN 15-12-2011

IF Pakistan`s foreign policy — in the current context the country`s ties with the US — is a mirror image of its internal needs and aspirations, it took the government quite long to call in its envoys for a review of its interaction with the outside world. On the popular level, the demand for revising the policy had existed long before the Nov 26 Nato attack on Pakistani posts last month. Officially, the need was felt only after Islamabad and GHQ decided that the US had gone too far in attacking Pakistani territory. The ambassadors have given their recommendations. These will be discussed by parliament in an in camera session. Parliament is ultimately going to provide the `new policy` with an official seal.

Critics have reason enough to pull up the Gilani government for shrouding the debate about the revisions in policy and its outcome in secrecy. However, it is also important to identify those who were responsible for making the covert deals with the US in the first place. The deals now under review were entered into by the Musharraf regime, and it is ironical that the military should now want the same agreements to be appraised. While we believe that all such agreements should be transparent, we also hope that all stakeholders are on board in the final decision to endorse, or suggest changes to, these recommendations, and that there is no pressure of any kind on the civilian government from any quarter.

There is considerable truth to the assertion that the sudden urge for a review of foreign policy is rooted in long years of abject submission to the interests of the outside world. On the other hand, it is also true that Pakistan has been unable to do what it has repeatedly promised the international community — not only on the terror front but also in other areas such as the economy. This has brought it into conflict with the same powers whose favour it was compelled to seek. The envoys` conference was tasked with restoring the critical balance and restoring to Pakistan the position of a responsible state, one that is able to honour its pledges to the outside world, especially in contributing to the battle against militancy and poverty, while safeguarding its national interests. In the case of a state that suspects easily and is suspected universally, this becomes hard to achieve. It is about time Pakistan pragmatically viewed its failures and successes with the international community and formulated its foreign policy accordingly. Even in the face of angry public sentiment it must act maturely.
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Default Crimes of `honour`

DAWN 15-12-2011

PAKISTAN, where the regularity with which honour killing is reported is matched only by the frequency with which the perpetrators go unpunished, would do well to take a leaf out of Belgium`s book. On Monday, a court in Mons handed down lengthy sentences to the parents and siblings of Sadia Sheikh, shot dead in 2007 after moving in with a Belgian man and refusing to submit to an arranged marriage. Her brother Mudusar, who confessed to killing her, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, her sister Sariya to five and her parents Tarik Mahmood Sheikh and Zahida Parveen — who are believed to have ordered the killing — 25 and 20 years respectively. While the sentences were lesser than those asked for by the prosecutors, the latter neverthe- less consider their case successful, given that Mudusar had repeatedly said his family had nothing to do with the murder. Most importantly, the sentences are long enough to be prohibitive. In contrast to Pakistan, where the honour-killing debate is still at that mediaeval stage where the practice is defended by some in the name of custom, the Belgian state has said that it will vigorously pursue any such case.

With the conviction comes also the need for Pakistanis to reflect on how adherence to archaic logic in matters of tradition shames them. This is not the first time that people of Pakistani extraction have been accused of such a crime. In June last year, Canadian courts sentenced Muhammad Parvez and his son Waqas Parvez to life imprisonment for killing 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez in 2007 because she refused to wear the hijab. Other countries, too, have seen such cases and while the crime is not limited to the Pakistani community, we seem to almost head the list. Perhaps this is because in Pakistan, the state`s stance on honour killings has been too soft. Most such cases either do not reach the trial stage, or the prosecution`s case collapses for want of thorough planning and investigation. Ridding Pakistanis of the notion that honour killing is a defendable crime entails coming down hard on the perpetrators.
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Default Rampant bank robberies

DAWN 15-12-2011

THE consistent trend of high-profile bank robberies in Karachi indicates a collective failure by the police, bank managements and private security firms hired by banks in checking these incidents. Tuesday`s robbery, in which criminals made off with over Rs5m, is the 17th such incident this year in the metropolis. It is shocking that the bandits spent nearly an hour and a half inside the bank, apparently undisturbed, despite the fact that the bank is located on one of the city`s busiest roads. The incident also suggests criminals are growing more brazen: that they did not bother to remove the CCTV footage indicates the suspects are certain they will not be caught. A CCTV-grab published in this paper shows one of the suspects — his face clearly visible — brandishing a weapon in an utterly nonchalant, calm manner as a bank employee empties the strongroom. As for the guards posted at the bank, one was half asleep at the time of the incident. In fact, the guards admitted they did not know how to use their weapons.

This heist will be a test case for the police: considering that the suspects caught on camera will not be difficult to identify, the police will be expected to track down the criminals. If they cannot do so despite such glaring evidence, of what good is the taxpayer-funded force? And if it is true that the proceeds of bank heists are going towards funding militant outfits and organised crime, it is all the more urgent for the law-enforcement agencies to crack down on this crime. While the police bear primary respons- ibility for investigating the robberies and dismantling the gangs involved, the banks, which often skimp on security costs, and the security companies, which hire untrained guards at miserable wages, also need to be held accountable.
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Default Map phobia

By A. G. Noorani | 12/17/2011 1200 AM

IT is the fate of journals with international circulation to fall foul of governments when they comment on any dispute between them or, worse still, publish a map which depicts rival territorial claims. The Economist earned censorship by India twice within six months; by its issues on May 18 and Nov 19.

The first had an article entitled `Fantasy frontiers` on `Indian, Pakistani and Chinese border disputes`. The accompanying map was not to New Delhi`s liking. Formerly offensive cartography received no more severe punishment than a rubber-stamped warning that the map was neither accurate nor authentic. This time the map was`obliterated` by pasting a piece of paper over it; irremovable except by tearing the page.

Subscribers receive the issues late.

The issue of Nov 19 carried an article entitled `Unquenchablethirst` based on reports from Delhi, Dhaka, Islamabad and Srinagar. The sub-title said `A growing rivalry between India, Pakistan and China over the region`s great rivers may be threatening South Asia`s peace`. The accompanying map, at page 24 was pasted over. But incompetence reared its head over the ire. For, a notice on page 26 was left intact. And this piece instructed readers how to get the obliterated map.

It read thus: `Missing map? Sadly, India censors maps that show the current effective border, insisting instead that only its full territorial claims be shown. It is more intolerant on this issue than either China or Pakistan.

Indian readers will therefore probably be deprived of the map in this briefing.

Unlike their government, we think our Indian readers can face political reality.

Those who want to see an accurate depiction of the various territorial claims can do so using our interactive map at Economist.com/asianborders.

When one turns to this map one finds nothing that could offend, let alone harm, any country`s cause. Proceedingfrom the east to the west, the McMahon Line is clearly depicted but with the qualification `disputed border`. China raised the dispute belatedly two decades after the Simla Conference of 1914; and then through maps privately published. But in 2011 it would be manifestly wrong to deny the existence of a dispute or contest the related note on the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh that its territory, just below the Line, is `largely claimed by China`.

The same holds true for what is known in the lingo of the Sino-Indian boundary dispute as `the middle sector` in Uttar Pradesh (the UP of old). A dispute did arise in 1954. Both parts of Kashmir are shown as being `administered` respectively by India and Pakistan. The Line of Control was clear.

The Aksai Chin plateau, in the Ladakh province of Kashmir, is depicted as an`area held by China, claimed by India`.

It has been held by China for at least 50 years.

There is one statement, however, which is palpably untrue. It concerns the Shaksgam Valley and asserts `area ceded by Pakistan to China`. Pakistan ceded no territory to China under their agreement of March 2, 1963. On the contrary, it received from China 750 square miles of administered territory beyond the watershed; the traditional grazing ground for people in Hunza.

The added assertion `claimed by India` is factually correct. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did contest the validity of the agreement no sooner it was published.

The map is analysed in detail because it is a classic case of much ado about nothing. The map depicts the factual position, steering clear of legality. The Economist had informed subscribers in a message that the map showed `the current effective border` India is not alone in being possessed of a map phobia; only, in its case the malaise results in excessive exertion.

Maps evoke awe as if there is somethingvery consequential about their lines. In truth a map is a statement by cartography, no different from a statement in words. Like any other statement, it can be used as evidence for or against the party. No map and no statement can be published to strengthen a party`s case once a dispute arises.

Earlier maps or statements can be used either as claims honestly made or as admissions adverse to the interests of the country which had published them.

A map is not a document of title. It lacks intrinsic force and cannot, by itself, cede territory. That is done by a treaty of cession.

A map is usually annexed to illustrate the deed. So also, a boundary agreement which defines the boundary in an area where the boundary had not been defined as is the case of the Sino-Pak agreement. The document lays downthe alignment of the boundary; the map illustrates the alignment; after joint surveys, the defined boundary is demarcated on the ground and a new agreed map finally settles the matter.In the classic arbitral award in the Island of Palmas case the distinguished Judge Max Huber said, `Only with the greatest caution can account be taken of maps in deciding a question of sovereignty` What is plain as pikestaff is that no map published in a privately published journal, however reputable, can af fect a country`s case one bit. Maps published in the past in authoritative or specialised journals are relevant; but not decisive. The US State Department removed maps of South Asia from its website, on Nov 22, because it did not wish to annoy either India or Pakistan.

There is, besides, a domestic aspect.

No state has a right to ban maps which go against its stand in an international dispute. Such a ban would violate the citizen`s right to freedom of speech and be unconstitutional. In a democracy, a citizen has every right to disagree with his government`s stand in an international dispute and express his dissent in words or in maps. • The writer is a lawyer and author based in Mumbai
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Default Honour killings

Honour killings
From the Newspaper | Editorial |

CURBING certain sorts of crimes is as much about bringing them into public focus as it is about successful prosecution. This is particularly true for practices such as honour killings which, despite being counted as murder according to the letter of the law, continue to take place because they are underpinned by the medieval mindset of some who defend them as being part of tradition. Such a stance has often been reported from Sindh, where the practice is referred to as ‘karo-kari’. It is therefore worth noting that the issue was brought up before the provincial assembly on Monday. Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional told the house that 43 women have been killed under this brutal custom in December alone, while the year’s toll for the province has reached 577 so far.

While it is praiseworthy that hard facts and figures are being discussed by the province’s lawmakers, it remains unclear what, if anything, the government is doing to curb the practice. Legislation in this regard has been in place for many years. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2004, which amended sections 299, 302 and 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, specifies the criminalisation of offences “committed in the name or on the pretext of honour” and mentions “karo-kari, siyah kari or similar other customs and practices” in this context. The question, then, is how many arrests or prosecutions in courts of law have been made. This is where the state’s performance has been extremely poor. In many instances, legal loopholes allow the victim’s next-of-kin to ‘forgive’ the killer, circumventing legal proceedings, and in others there is either no prosecution at all or the case built up against the alleged killer is not strong enough.

This is the area that the state and its lawmakers must work on if the practice of honour killing is to be stamped out. In every reported case, it is incumbent upon law-enforcement authorities to pursue and prosecute the suspected killers, thus sending out a strong message that regardless of tradition or culture, the crime will not be tolerated. Moreover, the media must continue to highlight all such incidents. Sindhi-language newspapers have been particularly active in this regard; their lead must be followed by other media outlets.
Crimes of honour are generally shrouded in the secrecy of domestic relations. Bringing them out into the glare of public attention is an important step towards changing the societal mindset that allows such excesses to continue to be committed.
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