New ambassadors

July 20th, 2012

Two new envoys in critical posts at a critical time for the region: the replacement of the American ambassadors in Kabul and Islamabad is both a risk and an opportunity for a fresh start. Continuity at such a delicate stage might have worked better than the early departures of the outgoing chief diplomats; Cameron Munter left in less than two years and Ryan Crocker in just one.

And lingering sources of tension with America in both countries will not make these changes simple or easy. Mr Munter had been here for some of the most damaging episodes in US-Pak relations, but much about this relationship still remains to be sorted out, particularly on the counterterrorism front. And while Mr Crocker helped develop the framework that will guide the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the trickiest part of it is likely to be its implementation; the new envoy will have to manage both Afghan anxiety about the country’s security post-2014 and mistrust of the American presence.

But persistent problems also suggest that new faces could become an opportunity to reset ties. In part this is because the success of American diplomacy here depends as much on how Washington works as it does on what goes on in Kabul or Islamabad. Mr Munter reportedly wanted to take a less aggressive approach to Pakistan than the CIA, on drone strikes, for
example. And although Mr Crocker’s health was put forward as the reason for his departure, he is said to have been in favour of a slower withdrawal from Afghanistan than has been planned. The more effective the US wants its new envoys to be, the more coordinated the Pentagon, the CIA, the State Department, the Af-Pak office within the State Department and the White House will need to be — while still allowing the diplomats the independence they need to do their jobs. With Pakistan the main sticking point is counterterrorism, and in Kabul the focus is on war. Ambassadors, military and intelligence will have to develop consistent approaches without constricting the space for diplomacy to work.

For Pakistan an ambassador coming from a post in the Kabul embassy, as is Richard Olson, is not likely to wholly sympathise with its point of view. Alternatively, his contacts with Kabul could help navigate our own tricky relations with Afghanistan and coordinate a more integrated American approach to the region. Most importantly, the hope is that he is able to bring to Islamabad an open mind and the ability to balance America’s counterterrorism demands with Pakistan’s interests, politics and public opinion.

Blow to Assad

July 20th, 2012

Already on its knees, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad took another body blow on Wednesday. The assassination of three of the regime’s top security advisers, including the defence minister, occurred in the heart of the capital and highlighted the continued shrinkage of the area under Baathist control. On Wednesday also, 600 more Syrians, including two brigadier generals, crossed over to Turkey, thus adding to the ranks of the Free Syrian Army. With fighting no longer confined to the provinces — helicopters and artillery are shelling parts of Damascus — there are rumours that President Assad’s whereabouts are not known. There is no doubt the 17-month-old uprising has now turned into a ferocious civil war, with the opposition claiming 17,000 fatalities. After Libya, this is the highest death toll for an ‘Arab spring’ country.

President Assad missed the bus in April when he accepted Kofi Annan’s six-point plan only to renege on it. The plan had provided for a ceasefire and smooth transition to democracy. The caretaker cabinet proposal, too, is dead. Even Russia had agreed to a neutral cabinet in which there would be men from both sides. But President Assad’s intransigence scuttled it when he insisted that he should be part of it. This was not acceptable to the opposition. Fissures in the security establishment have now been so widened and the loyalist ranks so weakened that Assad is pulling troops out of the Golan Heights to bolster security around him. The world has watched the fate of the four Arab dictators who have fallen. It is now for President Assad to decide whether he would choose to seek a Saleh-like amnesty and go abroad or suffer a worse fate. If his regime falls, there could be repercussions in the region. The causes of the uprising are not sectarian, but the fact that the Alawite minority has been ruling for four decades may give a sectarian touch to the aftermath. If there is a sectarian flare-up, there could be political fallout in neighbouring Lebanon. Iran would lose one of its allies and that would also affect Hezbollah and Hamas.

Fowl play

July 20th, 2012

WHEN is an ostrich not a bird? Apparently, when you add Pakistani legislators into the mix. On Wednesday, in its (in)finite wisdom, the Punjab Assembly once again declared by a majority vote that an ostrich was not a bird but an animal, at least for the purposes of officialdom. The issue came up because of the re-tabling of the Punjab Animal Slaughter Control (Amendment) Bill 2012. Although the bill had been passed by the PA earlier, the opposition and the provincial governor had objected to the inclusion of the ostrich in the animal category in the amendment act. The Punjab government’s aim seems to be to facilitate the import, farming and slaughter of ostriches for their meat. As a non-native exotic bird, ostriches were treated under the law — until the latest amendment was passed — in a way that limited their use for commercial purposes. Of course, rather than update the laws that would allow ostrich farming to be regulated and ostrich meat to be consumed, the Punjab Assembly saw fit to declare ostriches as animals and skip the more cumbersome approach.

Puerile as the Punjab government’s approach to legislating the farming of ostrich meat may be, the more important questions are, at whose behest was this done and what are the risks involved for consumers? Special interests lobbying for the change in rules are surely hoping to earn windfall profits and it has yet to be explained what loss the state exchequer may suffer from this. More importantly, by classifying ostriches as animals, are necessary health precautions that specialised ostrich farming may require — as opposed to more conventional animal meat — being overlooked? If the denizens of Punjab want ostrich meat, they are entitled to it — but it must be purveyed in a manner that is safe, healthy and without circumventing the rules.

Multan poll

By-Elections are usually not a good barometer of the mood ahead of a general election. With political governments in place, they are usually tilted in favour of incumbents. But the narrow victory of Abdul Qadir Gilani in Multan on Thursday to the National Assembly seat that fell vacant after his father, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was disqualified by the Supreme Court in April has yielded some tantalising hints about the state of politics in Punjab. First, not all victories are equal and the few thousand votes by which the PPP held on to its former prime minister’s seat will have set alarm bells ringing in the party. Here, after all, was a district that the PPP via Yousuf Raza Gilani had lavished much attention on over the last four-and-a-half years. Here also was supposed to be fertile ground for two other factors the PPP will play up during the general election: a sense of victimhood, which the former prime minister embodies as yet another PPP prime minister ousted before his time, and the so-called Seraiki card, whose time is supposed to have come as an electoral factor. The election result, then, suggests all is not well in the PPP camp. It will not admit this publicly, but the party apparently still lacks a winning formula to overcome the woes of incumbency of a government often perceived as thoroughly incompetent and out of touch.

Second, the Multan by-election appears to have been a trial balloon for a possible revival of an alliance similar to the IJI, which fought it out with the PPP in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The runner-up in Thursday’s election, Shaukat Hayat Bosan, was supported by the PML-N, JI and PTI — all parties with similar politics and united to some extent by their opposition to the PPP. An electoral alliance may still be far off, but behind the scenes the debate over seat adjustments for the general election will inevitably pick up. Though it is far from a sure thing — at least publicly, the PTI and the PML-N are rivals — the lure of seat gains at the expense of the PPP will have Punjab’s eternally churning politics in a fresh state of excitement.

Third, the Multan by-election is a powerful response to the worrying speculation about care-taker set-ups and extra-constitutional interventions. The argument for recourse to the extra-constitutional has always been that the democratic process will not produce change. But as the highly competitive race in Multan has shown, the electorate isn’t so easy to manipulate and is ready to be wooed by other possible representatives.

Afridi and the US

A date has been set for an appeal hearing in the case of Dr Shakil Afridi, and it should be used an opportunity to set things right. From its inception his trial has raised questions about the real intentions of the state. To begin with, if he was thought to be guilty of treason in helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden through a fake vaccination program, he should have been tried in an open court. But even within his trial under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, there are problems that should be addressed in appeal. Why haul him up under the FCR apparently for a crime committed outside its jurisdiction, only to convict him for allegedly colluding with Lashkar-i-Aslam instead? Media reports from Khyber Agency that deny such militant links, combined with the uproar in Washington, imply that the procedure followed and the charges filed may have been designed to keep the trial behind closed doors, keep Dr Afridi behind bars and relieve international pressure. So the validity of the conviction, and the long sentence handed down, need a close look during appeal, which will unfortunately take place behind closed doors again.

There is also the matter of a possible cut in US military aid for reasons that include the Afridi trial. It is true that the tenacity with which the Pakistani state has gone after a man who may have helped in the hunt for Osama bin Laden contrasts sharply with the lax justice meted out to many with real links to terrorism. But that is no justification for linking this matter to the aid programme. Whatever Washington’s concerns about the Afridi case, they should be discussed in that specific context. Slashing assistance in response, as one chamber of Congress voted to do on Wednesday, will simply be counterproductive. Using aid cuts as a tool to punish Pakistan only undermines the US administration’s attempts to repair relations and put them on a more stable basis. The case is an embarrassment for Pakistan, but allowing it to overshadow other features of the already fraught relationship will do anything but allow for the rebuilding of ties.

Tailor-made

Officialdom awoke from its slumber in a corner of Pakistan not to deal with trifles such as security, health or hygiene but to take on — wait for it — tailors. In Landi Kotal on Thursday the administration detained a number of tailors for ‘overcharging’ and rejecting customers’ Eid orders. As reported in this paper, the unfortunate individuals were rounded up (though later freed) when residents complained to the authorities. Understandably, the tailors’ fraternity is up in arms over the incident, complaining that long hours of loadshedding have prevented them from taking on more work and claiming that charges have only been increased ‘nominally’. The authorities’ move is bizarre; under which law can tailors be arrested for not booking orders? Besides, Ramazan is crunch time for tailors due to Eid, so perhaps the disgruntled parties should have booked early.

The misguided zeal aside, the fact is that overcharging remains a major problem in Pakistan, especially during Ramazan. While many unscrupulous traders overcharge consumers year-round, it seems profiteering is religiously adhered to during the month of fasting. A story in this paper on Friday indicated that retailers in Karachi have increased prices of many food items popular during Ramazan, making a mockery of government-notified prices. Every Ramazan the state announces packages and other moves to reduce the impact of inflation on the consumer. Yet these measures have little effect, mainly because traders ignore official price lists. Also, subsidised goods are often either unavailable or of inferior quality. What is needed is a countrywide price-control and anti-profiteering mechanism during all times of year to keep a check on the more unscrupulous elements of the market that fleece consumers. Authorities in Landi Kotal and elsewhere should consider this rather than hauling up tailors.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Media soul-searching

July 22nd, 2012

Journalists in the dock, media houses hurling accusations at one another, public scepticism growing. It’s time for the mainstream media in Pakistan, particularly the freewheeling and hugely influential electronic media, to assess where it stands and how to rebuild public trust and faith in an institution that is quintessentially Pakistani in its nature — there are some good parts but there are far too many dark spots. While the accusations are manifold and the protagonists many, the crux of the scandal is that several media proprietors and journalists are alleged to have discarded the industry’s raison d’etre — informing the public and holding public officials to account. Instead, they stand accused of having fallen into cosy relationships with power brokers, politicians and sundry other vested interests, selling their viewpoints in return for financial gain to the media entities and individuals involved. With intra-industry regulation lax, state regulation viewed with hostility and a public with an insatiable appetite for all things political, perhaps it was inevitable that scandal would seep through Pakistani journalism.

What can be done? The attempt by some quarters to move the superior judiciary to investigate misdeeds in the media industry may seem noble to some but it is misguided. For one, unethical and unprincipled as bribery may be, it’s not clear if private sector employees or employers would attract criminal sanction even if it were to be proved. In addition, the superior judiciary itself is a frequent subject of media discourse, so the potential conflicts of interests are too obvious to ignore. In any case, what exactly can the court realistically do to determine whether someone has, say, received a house in a foreign country or a large sum of money in a foreign bank account?

A better course of action is also a more difficult one: the industry itself — proprietors, journalists, viewers and readers represented by civil society — will need to draw up guidelines for separating news from opinion, fact from fiction and paid content from independent thought. State oversight is definitely unwelcome given the nature of the Pakistani state but that does not mean the state cannot have a facilitating role in creating an independent oversight body that reflects the commercial imperative of the news business while at the same time safeguarding it as a special sector with the public interest at stake. Over time, then, perhaps some of the worst excesses would be curbed. Realistically, though, the Pakistani media is drawn from, operates within and caters to a deeply flawed Pakistani society. To expect it to exist as a beacon of righteousness amidst a sea of mediocrity and worse may be a stretch too far.

Khanewal stoning

July 22nd, 2012

Just when the shock at the last grotesque outrage begins to wear off, Pakistani society seems to throw up a new incident to recoil at. As reported in this paper, the Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on the Punjab administration over reports that a woman had been stoned to death in a village near Khanewal. Adding to the shocking — though, can it be termed as shock anymore? — Maryam Bibi, a 25-year-old mother, was lynched on the orders of a local panchayat. She had reportedly refused a landlord’s advances, which led to the man levelling questionable charges against her and to the woman’s eventual lynching in her own home. The incident reflects a frightening proclivity for violence on the flimsiest of contexts.

The negative role jirgas and panchayats have played in Pakistan, particularly where the abuse of women is concerned, is no great secret. Going on the available facts of this incident, this sort of twisted system of ‘justice’ punishes women even if they try and defend themselves from rape and assault. Passing laws and making commissions is great, but two major steps need to be taken to check incidents such as these. Firstly, the specific laws regarding human and women’s rights must be taken up in a methodical way. This includes punishing police and administration officials who look the other way or are complicit in the crime by protecting ‘influential’ suspects. For example, in this case the apex court has censured the police for not taking action despite knowing about the crime. Secondly, a social catharsis and rebirth of sorts is needed — difficult as it may be. It would be a slow process and would require civil society, politicians, community leaders and the clergy working together to end such crimes. The road towards eradicating violence in the name of tradition in Pakistan is long and bumpy. Yet the state and society cannot sit idle and must act to ensure incidents such as the one in Khanewal do not occur in this country, while those responsible for the woman’s murder must be punished.

Neglected artefacts

July 22nd, 2012

The place for archaeological relics is a museum. If they are not there, they could suffer neglect or be stolen. At a Karachi police station some Gandhara-era pieces became logical victims of neglect: they were damaged and stolen. An ‘honest’ thief broke the news to our reporter and said he had stolen a Buddha bust from the Awami Colony police station, where a large number of illegally excavated artefacts belonging to the 2,000-year-old Gandhara civilisation were lying uncared for. The priceless pieces had been recovered earlier in two stages: first, a lorry containing the objets d’art was seized by the police; second, on further investigation, the trail led to a house where more such curios had been stolen and hoarded. Since the police recovered these artefacts, it is they who became their temporary custodians, and that’s where it became evident how ill-trained they are in handling objects which are a valuable part of Pakistan’s cultural heritage. The recovered lot was loaded and unloaded in a way that damaged many of them, and as the conscientious lifter said the bust was part of a statue that broke during the grossly unprofessional handling.

While the recovery of the stolen material was obviously police responsibility, archaeological experts should have been quickly brought on board. It would be unrealistic to expect the policemen to even appreciate the value of what had fallen to their lot. In any case, this is not the end of the story. While the artefacts still lying with the police need to be handed over to their rightful keepers, all sides, especially the archaeological department, should work out a plan of action for dealing with a repeat incident — as there almost surely will be when it comes to Gandhara art.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Make or break?

July 23rd, 2012

Another week of reckoning may be upon us as the Supreme Court and the PPP resume their private struggle on the national stage. With the Supreme Court set to take up petitions against the new contempt law today and the issue of the prime minister’s refusal to write the so-called Swiss letter also up before the court on Wednesday, a decisive showdown may be upon us, or yet another round in a long-running cat-and-mouse game may be notched up. At least as far as the new contempt of court law is concerned, the government appears to be fairly clearly on the wrong side of the law. The specific sections that baldly seek to give total immunity to a range of high officials and hold off court action in contempt cases for as long as possible are at the very least ill-advised and at worst, blatant violations of existing law and constitution. Even from a political point of view, the new contempt law typifies the government’s muddled response to its legal woes. After failing to appeal then-prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s contempt conviction – a move that could have bought the government some time – the government has gone back to its delay tactics, hoping to throw hurdles in the court’s path towards ultimately convicting a second prime minister, or worse.

However, unwelcome and unlawful as the government’s moves may be, the court faces an even bigger choice: oust another prime minister and further fuel the destabilising speculation that the demoratic system may be on the verge of being wrapped up or allow the prime minister to stay and let the upcoming general election run its course? All it took was one by-election in Multan last week to switch the national debate back to electoral politics and the sense of rejuvenation an election can bring. By the same token, however, a court-engineered ouster of a second prime minister in a matter of months will switch the conversation back to extra-constitutional steps being contemplated.

At its heart, the court’s ouster of one prime minister and possible ouster of another is about the Swiss millions allegedly stashed away by President Zardari. Without condoning or countenancing corruption, this newspaper has long held that on this particular issue at this particular stage in the country’s democratic development a verdict by the electorate was preferable to a judicial verdict. Put it this way: are some 60 million dollars worth ultimately derailing the democratic process? The answer in 2009 was no and in 2012, on the eve of an election, the answer is an even more resounding no.

OBL compound

July 23rd, 2012

The house has been destroyed, but that is apparently not enough. The empty plot that marks where the world’s most wanted terrorist was found living in Pakistan is in the process of formally being declared government property. And just as the demolition of Osama bin Laden’s house in February — which was carried out mainly at night and under tight military watch — smacked of defensiveness and secrecy on the part of the state, so does this latest attempt to control a reminder of one of the most embarrassing incidents in the country’s history. It is also in line with the general paranoia with which security personnel had handled the house when it existed, harassing locals, visitors and journalists who dared approach. This despite probably having removed every shred of intelligence or evidence available in the house, and even though the structure was more of a curiosity and a tourist attraction rather than being in any danger of becoming a shrine for bin Laden supporters. In trying so hard to control the location, the authorities have only deepened the general air of suspicion about Pakistan’s role in the whole affair.

Meanwhile, reports of the government takeover of the plot are a reminder that the authorities remain much less efficient when it comes to investigating, or at least sharing, why and how bin Laden ended up living in Abbottabad. All physical traces of the man are being erased, and Dr Shakil Afridi has been detained one way or another for possibly colluding with the CIA to nab him. But though several deadlines have come and gone, no investigation report has emerged over a year after a commission was formed to carry out a probe into why bin Laden was here and why America was able to get him in the way that it did. As with the compound itself, the fear now is that the answers to these questions will remain shrouded in secrecy. Like other security failures and policy mistakes in our history, one gets the distinct feeling that this one is also being swept under the rug.

Attacks on vaccinators

July 23rd, 2012

It is frustrating enough that Pakistan remains one of only three countries — the others being Afghanistan and Nigeria — that have failed to eradicate polio. Where it once seemed that the dreaded virus could be brought under control, several factors have led to a resurgence. One is the crisis of the millions of people displaced internally by conflict or natural disasters, which resulted in the virus being reintroduced in what were earlier polio-free areas. Another has been the propaganda against polio drops spread in the north-west by conservative and extremist elements. Pakistan’s polio eradication campaign has always had to operate in a hostile environment. Even so, the turn the situation has taken in recent weeks is unprecedented. What was earlier resistance seems to be in danger of turning into a sustained campaign involving life-threatening violence. It was bad enough that the Taliban announced a ban on immunisations in Waziristan. But it’s nearly calamitous that a grand jirga of tribal elders, tasked by the government to persuade the extremists to allow vaccinations, said that there would be no polio immunisation until the drone attacks ceased.

Friday’s killing in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth of a doctor associated with the World Health Organisation’s anti-polio campaign adds to that worrying trend. Just a few days ago, on July 17, another WHO doctor associated with immunisations was wounded in a gun attack in the same area. It can be speculated that Fata’s politics are having a spill-over effect in Karachi, given that these attacks took place in an area that has received many of the people displaced from the tribal areas. But there have been other instances as well: WHO polio workers were beaten and fired upon in Islamabad and Jacobabad respectively. Unless by a miracle better sense prevails in obscurantist quarters, the situation looks set to get worse, leaving child health hostage to a virulent cross-section of politics and militancy.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Election preparation

July 24th, 2012

WHO will get to vote, and will the Election Commission be able to protect that vote? The new chief election commissioner was sworn in yesterday, and these are the two major issues he should focus on before the next polls. As many as 20 million Pakistanis of voting age — the majority of them women — are estimated to have been unregistered in the draft electoral rolls revealed in March. The other major problem was registration of citizens at the wrong addresses, especially migrants registered in their hometowns. What is important now is that the time is taken to fix these flaws if they still exist in the updated rolls due this month so that no citizens — especially women, migrants and young people who have recently turned 18 — are disenfranchised. There has been a general hurry about this, with the ECP, in part pushed by the Supreme Court, rushing to draft rolls, producing a flawed list and missing several self-imposed revision deadlines. But if the new list is also flawed, the ECP needs to ensure citizens have an easier way to check and correct their status this time by increasing the number of display centres and making the process more efficient. In the worst case, if problems are widespread, it may have to conduct another door-to-door exercise. But ensuring that all citizens have the ability to vote is worth the effort.

There is also the issue of the ECP’s authority over polling staff. Brought in from the local bureaucracy, they are not subject to disciplinary action by the commission. Nor does the ECP have the authority to transfer or discipline administrators, such as those from Wapda or the police, who can influence outcomes in their areas. Electoral reforms to address these issues have been praised in the Indian context, but they are languishing somewhere between the ECP and parliament in Pakistan, and now is the time to pass them. There are other issues with staff too — both polling staff and many returning officers are under pressure from local politicians. Posting them outside their districts, or appointing more lower-court judges as returning officers, are alternatives to look into.

Much progress has been made since the last election. Linking electoral rolls to Nadra data has reduced duplication and will allow more reliable identification of voters. We now have an ECP and a CEC appointed by consensus between the government and the opposition. But these improvements are not enough. More people need to be able to vote, and the commission needs to be empowered. It is worth taking the time to do this before the country goes to the polls.

Addressing change

July 24th, 2012

THE Saudi king has called a summit of Muslim leaders for next month to address risks of ‘sedition’ within Muslim countries. It is not yet clear if this will be a purely Saudi-led initiative, or if it’ll happen under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s aegis. Over the past few years, confronting change from within has become the biggest challenge for Muslim-majority states. However, even though the events of the Arab Spring have severely shaken the status quo, many Muslim autocrats remain in a state of denial. First and foremost, that is about clinging to power in a world that is crumbling around them. As in the case of Egypt, Middle Eastern rulers rallied to Hosni Mubarak’s support at first, frightened by the possible repercussions for them if a symbol of the old order collapsed. But, as in the case of Bahrain and Syria, sectarian dimensions have also crept in.

The lack of fundamental freedoms is what is driving the fury and anger against Muslim rulers. Apart from a handful of democracies, Pakistan — imperfect as it is — being among them, most Muslim-majority nations are either ruled by absolute monarchs or strongmen in republican garb. Democracy and representative rule need to be gradually structured into the systems so that people don’t take to the streets or, as in Syria’s case, take up arms and seek to violently overthrow the system. The often violent suppression of dissent in many Muslim countries has also been citied as a key factor behind the growth of extremism and terrorism. The mode of ruling countries through families and clans needs to be reconsidered. If the meeting in Saudi Arabia can succeed in discussing meaningful reform for the people’s welfare, it’ll be a considerable achievement. If it is just another OIC-like talk shop, or worse, an attempt to protect Muslim autocrats, the masses shouldn’t expect much from the summit. The proposed meeting also raises questions about the OIC’s utility, for the pan-Islamic body has been a perpetual underachiever. In short, Muslim leaders can choose to address and accommodate change, or wait for the anger of the masses to boil over into the streets.

Archives in distress

July 24th, 2012

IF anyone ever wonders why Pakistan seems to learn no lessons from the past, part of the answer can be found in the manner in which we treat our links with history. Even when the state’s intentions are good, poor execution means that the end result is far from desirable. Just recently, the Karachi police intercepted a truck-load of Gandhara-era artefacts. Yet the police then went on to handle it with such carelessness that a number of pieces were damaged; others were stolen from the police station premises. No better treatment is being meted out to the treasure trove of archival material collected at the National Archives of Pakistan, including irreplaceable documents such as the Quaid-i-Azam Papers that include Jinnah’s personal notebooks, Fatima Jinnah’s letters and royal orders from the Mughal emperor Akbar. But the collection is aging and decaying, partly due to insufficient temperature-control facilities and partly because of the institution’s inability to carry out restoration work.

Preserving and restoring documents is a specialised field, and it is to some extent understandable that NAP is unable to do much in this regard. However, that such historical records are allowed to be damaged by the elements — heat, humidity, etc — is unpardonable. The fault lies not so much in funding as in interest, as is evidenced by the fact that the same careless attitude is evident in institutions across the country. Paintings in Islamabad’s National Art Gallery are suffering damage because the administrators have not been able to ensure a suitable environment, for example. The situation at the permanent art gallery at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore is no different. For such cultural and historical treasures to be saved, it must become a priority. And for that to happen, Pakistan must learn to recognise the value of such material. That is a far harder task than installing air-conditioners and dehumidifiers.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Fake identities

July 25th, 2012

A British tabloid’s exposé of the ease of obtaining fake identity documents and UK visas in Pakistan has become a scandal of international proportions because of its link with the upcoming Olympics. But the problem is not a new one. Despite the money and expertise that has been poured into modernising CNICs and passports in recent years, getting hold of fake ones remains shockingly easy. The old days of manual processes for creating these documents are long gone. But even now, when they are computerised and managed through automated processes and electronic databases, the systems — which apparently meet international standards — remain vulnerable to corruption. If you can find an agent with the right links inside Nadra and the passport directorate, procuring another person’s identity is simple enough for anyone willing to pay a price.

And as long as it doesn’t crack down hard enough on people on the inside who are willing to tamper with the process, Nadra, where the CNICs that become the basis for fake passports originate, has limited options. It can continue building more sophisticated checks into the system, but much of the technology used is already world-class, including software that carries out fingerprint and photograph matching. Ultimately, the problem comes down to corrupt individuals being willing to manually override systems and tamper with records for a fee. While there have been multiple raids within Nadra over the years, many of which don’t make it into the media, they have obviously not been effective enough as deterrents. Fixing responsibility is not difficult — the names of operators are entered at every step of the process — so this seems to be a simple enough matter of being more vigilant about detecting irregularities and cracking down more frequently on operators on the inside and agents on the outside.

Despite the implication that the UK visa scam could have been used to smuggle terrorists into the Olympics, at the moment this seems like pure speculation. And the history of Islamist terrorist attacks in the UK indicates that it is largely a home-grown problem there. But for Pakistan itself, this is a national-security matter. Fake Pakistani documents have been found on foreign terrorists, including former Iranian Jundullah head Abdolmalek Rigi and Ramzi Yousef, and been used by members of banned Pakistani outfits to leave the country. So while such forgeries take place in other countries too, in Pakistan’s case they are particularly risky, further damaging its international reputation and allowing domestic militants to get away. World-class systems may be in place, but Nadra and the pass-port directorate need to carry out some significant housecleaning.

Rehabilitating extremists

July 25th, 2012

The tentacles of radicalisation have seemingly infiltrated all parts of society. In addition to ideologically motivated leaders and members, extremist groups also sweep into their embrace other people for reasons such as a warped understanding of camaraderie, economic need or simply because they are misguided. In such cases, rehabilitation measures can act as the crucial pivot. But earlier moves by sections of the security establishment to set up de-radicalisation centres for people detained in conflict zones came under criticism on a number of counts, including the need to keep the civilian government at the forefront of such initiatives. The same grey areas do not exist with the programme undertaken by the Punjab Counterterrorism Department (CTD), a representative of which told this newspaper on Monday that under its de-radicalisation programme, some 300 former members of proscribed outfits have undergone three-month training and rehabilitation sessions. The people joined up with the programme voluntarily, went through sessions conducted by religious scholars and psychologists, and were imparted training in 40 trades by the Punjab Technical and Vocational Training Authority. An additional 1,300 people are to be targeted, with the Punjab CTD hoping to replicate the programme.

Such interventions could prove beneficial — as they have in other countries — but their success must be judged over years, if not decades. Yet for Pakistan to be able to turn the tide, deeper issues must be addressed. Sympathisers and apologists for radical ideologues exist at the top tiers of society. Elements within the political and lawmaking elites make no bones about their support for extremists of various stripes, on occasion sharing public platforms with leaders of proscribed outfits. How much long-term good can be achieved by targeting only those who are far lower down the pyramid? For the country to counter radicalisation it must own up to the fact that it has for decades maintained a treacherous policy towards militancy and extremism, never honestly or fully rejecting their ideological underpinnings, which elements within the state have at various times, for various reasons, endorsed. What we really require is a definitive state policy on the factors that lead to radicalisation.

Sialkot footballs

July 25th, 2012

Pakistan will not be a part of football matches at the Olympics, but footballs manufactured in Sialkot will. After a Chinese machine-made ball was selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, breaking years of Pakistani domination, Sialkot’s official selection as producer for the Olympics should please Pakistani fans of the game and serve as a morale booster for the Sialkot sports-manufacturing industry. Until 2000, Pakistan was the world leader in football production. But several factors, including global concerns about child labour, competition from China and Thailand, and production issues related to the power crisis have reduced the country’s share considerably. The Chinese ball used in 2010 had come under intense criticism from leading players, and the selection of the colourful Sialkoti ball for the Olympics instead is a sign that despite the industry’s difficulties Pakistani footballs were able to meet players’ needs and that leading multinational sports brands continue to look to Sialkot for world-class footballs.

The challenge now is to regain the city’s slot as world leader in the sector. Proper attention paid to Sialkot’s sports-manufacturing sector can not only provide much-needed jobs and bring in valuable foreign exchange, it could also help improve Pakistan’s unenviable global public image. Manufacturers need to be able to compete with the savvy and technology of foreign producers while adhering to global standards against child labour. The power shortage is, of course, a national issue and needs to be addressed from the top. With commitment to quality and proper marketing, it should be possible for Sialkot to recapture its share in the global sports market. In the meantime, we should celebrate the contribution Pakistan will make to
global sporting competition this summer.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

SC restraint

July 26th, 2012

With apprehensions running high and speculation running wild, something needed to be done to lower the political temperature. That something came from the Supreme Court yesterday in the form of an accommodating and conciliatory hearing in the NRO implementation case. Without giving any specific directions, the court essentially asked the government to find a compromise and return on Aug 8 with some kind of solution to the writing of the so-called Swiss letter. What could a compromise look like? Perhaps just writing to Swiss authorities that the state of Pakistan no longer con-siders the letter written by the Musharraf-era attorney general, Malik Qayyum, to be legally valid. By stopping at that and not going on to specifically say that the state of Pakistan renews its request for legal assistance, wants once more to secure its status as a civil party in any revived proceedings against President Zardari in Switzerland and is once again laying a claim to the money that was once lodged in the Swiss accounts and which allegedly belonged to Mr Zardari, a compromise of sorts could be fashioned — the Malik Qayyum letter would stand void but the Swiss would not have to consider whether to restart the proceedings against the president. Will the government meet the court halfway now and save its second prime minister and the country from more political instability? The country will know more between now and Aug 8 on that front.

The government should think hard about how it wants to proceed. Welcome as the court’s restraint is, it is unlikely to last indefinitely. At least two reasons — other than perhaps a change of heart at this late stage — can be discerned for the court’s soft approach yesterday. One, the Supreme Court hearings into the new contempt law passed by the government to try and protect Prime Minister Ashraf are still continuing. While that matter has yet to be decided, contempt proceedings against him would be difficult to initiate — after all, were the court to choose to move against Mr Ashraf, would it do so under the old, presently repealed law, or the new, presently under-challenge law?

Two, after having suffered strident and increasingly direct criticism, the court may be aware that it has to tread softly at the moment. Throwing the ball into the government’s court to find an acceptable compromise now will make it more difficult for blame to be pinned on the judiciary later were Prime Minister Ashraf also to find himself in the dock. Now is the time, then, for the government to compromise to disperse the clouds obscuring the election on the horizon.

Steel Mills bailout

July 26th, 2012

Another crisis point, another bailout. Pakistan Steel Mills is to receive Rs8.6bn of public money — in addition to Rs6bn received since December — in yet another attempt to keep the ailing state-owned enterprise on its feet. Over the last few months the finance ministry has provided less money, slower, than it had promised. That is in part why the company racked up more than Rs20bn in losses in 2011-12 alone. But it is also a well-known story that cash injections simply serve to keep PSM afloat for a few months while no fundamental changes are made. In effect, pumping them into the company in its current state means pouring money into a black hole.

The irony is that the main problems and solutions are by now widely discussed and agreed-upon. Professional and independent management and corporate governance are lacking, the company is overstaffed, equipment is outdated and energy-inefficient, capacity utilisation — currently at an abysmal 15 per cent — is unworkably low, and political interference and corruption over the years have bled PSM dry. In part these problems have to do with shortage of cash, but equally they have to do with political will. One simple and immediate step that could be taken, for example, is to install an independent board of governors, consisting of professionals with real authority to hire, fire and review audits they have commissioned, who would appoint a CEO accountable only to them — not a political appointee or a former army officer, as the CEO appointed in April is, but a professional with relevant experience. But the restructuring and crackdown on corruption that could result from this reform might be too unpalatable in an election year. Also, much of the overhaul that is needed cannot be carried out without significant investments much larger than the size of the bailouts PSM is typically given, something the government clearly cannot afford. But privatisation would also be tricky politically as elections app-roach. In the absence of genuine concern for the economy, no one in power at the moment has the incentive to do what is needed to turn PSM around.

Samosa justice

July 26th, 2012

The days of the cheap samosa are over. While the savoury little delight is consumed with great relish by Pakistanis around the year, sales of the samosa skyrocket during Ramazan as it is a staple of the iftar spread. However, the Supreme Court has set aside a notification of the Punjab government regulating the price of samosas. As reported in the media, in 2009 the Lahore local government had fixed the price of the crispy delight at Rs6 a samosa. The local government’s machinery took action against some shopkeepers found to be selling more expensive samosas. However, not satisfied with the price set for their product, the bakers and sweet-makers of the Punjab went to court. When the Lahore High Court turned down their petition, the bakers appealed to the Supreme Court. They felt the samosa did not fall within the purview of the Punjab Foodstuffs (Control) Act, 1958, hence the government could not fix its prices, a notion the apex court seemed to agree with.

While the commercial bakers will rejoice at the verdict, others waiting for justice in Pakistan’s ever-clogged judicial system may be wondering when their turn will come. With a question of interpretation of a law at stake, the Supreme Court was the ultimate forum for resolving the matter, however trifling it may appear to the average citizen. The question, then, is whether the superior judiciary should devise some rules and a system to fast-track more urgent and serious matters for justice rather than spend valuable time on a regulation that is virtually unenforceable in any case — the proof of that being a visit to any market in Lahore where samosas are openly being sold for much higher than Rs6. Samosa-makers may be happy and another case struck from the superior judiciary’s docket, but was it the court’s best use of time at this stage?

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

National conference

July 27th, 2012

In theory, it’s a sensible idea: assemble the country’s political leadership for a roundtable conference and get them to focus on the country’s internal and external problems. In Pakistan, however, practice is far removed from theory. So is the MQM’s attempt to reach out to other political parties for a roundtable conference likely to yield anything? In recent years, seemingly every political party has mooted a national conference for one problem or the other. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani popularised the idea of national conferences — on Balochistan, on power, on solving poli-tical problems — and soon the opposition was doing the same. But as Balochistan continues to burn and power continues to run short, the national conferences and roundtable ideas clearly have not amounted to much so far.

However, past failures shouldn’t deter further attempts and already in the MQM’s outreach there is at least the possibility of one positive development: violence in Karachi may dip as the various political players in the city get together on the national stage for a round of consultation and frank discussions. The meeting between MQM and ANP leaders in Islamabad on Tuesday will have come as some relief to the beleaguered citizens of Karachi who must deal with news of killings, bombings, attacks, kidnappings and extortion rackets on a daily basis. Of course, of one meeting peace is not made in a city as complex as Karachi. Nor will a national conference necessarily bring down the organised violence and crime in Karachi immediately. Nevertheless, as long as channels of communication are kept open and expectations build that something positive will happen, there is possibility that a peaceable solution will be found. After all, while it may not seem so at the moment, Karachi is too important a city to be left at the mercy of forces of disorder and violence.

Beyond Karachi, the MQM’s outreach to parties from the Jamaat-i-Islami to the PML-Q to the PML-N could be the right tonic for stabilising national politics at a time that the judiciary vs government spat is fuelling all manner of speculation. The MQM’s status as a regional party is a positive in the sense that other major parties, such as the PML-N, may not necessarily feel they are being lured into a public relations’ trap by a national rival. Then again, the MQM’s historically prickly relations with most other political parties could be an impediment to a well-attended and successful roundtable. Still, it’s worth a shot, particularly if the politicians can hammer out a realistic strategy on education or health — the polio crisis, for example — and boost the public’s faith in the democratic process.

Flood plans

July 27th, 2012

The lessons of the past two years have taught us that long-term, concrete plans are needed to deal with flooding in the country, and that piecemeal efforts will be of little help. Keeping that in mind, it is welcome that the National Disaster Management Authority has announced that a flood contingency plan has been finalised. Yet as a report published in this paper on Thursday points out, Pakistan’s flood forecasting system is flawed. Having a plan ready to deal with natural disasters is only the first step. If flood forecasting technology is flawed, even the best plans can prove to be insufficient. The country has been provided remote-sensing technology through foreign help. But lack of reliable data and an outdated weather radar system means that the advanced technology cannot be optimally used to predict floods.

As far as the flood forecasting system is concerned, the loopholes need to be plugged so that the system can provide effective early warning to vulnerable areas. As for the NDMA’s contingency plan, it should be followed at all levels. For example, it must be ensured that those with influence are not allowed to divert any floodwaters elsewhere, as was alleged in the past. The logistical issues also need to be addressed with some haste, as the forecast is of erratic showers. In this regard, the centre and the provinces need to provide the requisite funds to ensure funding gaps do not hold up relief work, while the required number of tents and blankets also needs to be procured. As for the situation in Sindh, which bore the brunt of past floods, reports indicate that repair work on river dykes is mostly complete. However, encroachments in the kacha areas have not been removed. Needless to say, those who set up house on embankments and river beds put themselves in harm’s way and it is the state’s job to clear these areas of encroachments. Natural disasters are by definition unpredictable. Yet it is entirely possible to prepare for such scenarios as best as possible. We hope this time around all tiers of government area ready to deal with the floods and their aftermath.

Religion for ratings

July 27th, 2012

It's been apparent for a while now that the country’s electronic media will go to extreme lengths to spice things up. But religion is now fair game too. In yet another example of how the industry’s commercial goals trump ethics, open-mindedness and common sense, on Tuesday a television show broadcast an imam leading a Hindu boy through a live conversion to Islam carried out in the studio as part of the show, complete with the audience joining in to suggest Muslim names for the new convert. There is no reason to think the boy was not converting of his own free will, but the whole event had the distinct air of being carried out to give viewers something new and different to watch, even if that meant dragging an intensely personal and spiritual experience into public view.

More disturbingly, what the channel obviously didn’t stop to consider is the message this broadcast would send to the country’s minorities. The joy with which the conversion was greeted, and the congratulations that followed, sent a clear signal that other religions don’t enjoy the same status in Pakistan as Islam does. In a country where minorities are already treated as second-class citizens in many ways, this served to marginalise them even further. After the uproar over her pursuit in a park of innocent couples — who she later claimed were actors, making that episode even more questionable — one would think the host and her management would have been more careful with her programming. But then that is the problem with Pakistani media: it is missing a responsibility chip, hurtling ahead with what seems like exciting content without stopping to consider the ethical implications or appropriateness of its programming, or the message it will send to all Pakistanis, not just those it considers the mainstream.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Parliamentary process

July 28th, 2012

THE PML-N’s blistering response, via Chaudhry Nisar Ali, to the Supreme Court’s observations earlier this week about the proper role of the opposition in the parliamentary legislative process is worth parsing. To the extent the largest opposition party in the National Assembly is offended that its conduct came under criticism from the Supreme Court, perhaps the PML-N’s unhappiness is justified. While strictly speaking the comments by the justices did not violate the letter of any law, a Supreme Court that is sensitive to others’ comments about it should perhaps also be sensitive enough to avoid riling up other pillars of the state, which the parliamentary opposition undoubtedly is.

However, if the criticism came from perhaps the wrong quarters, that doesn’t make the criticism itself wrong. The new contempt law that the government steamrolled through parliament could not have been voted down by the opposition given that the government has a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament. But that does not mean the opposition had no role to play whatsoever and should have just surrendered and walked out in protest as it did when the bill came up for a vote before the National Assembly. A few well-argued speeches from the floor of the house by leading members of the opposition would have at least put on the parliamentary record the flaws in an obviously flawed bill that history will not judge kindly. When certain fundamental principles of the law are at stake — as in the new contempt law, which attempts to give an unacceptable carte blanche to executive decisions — the opposition needs to use the parliamentary megaphone it has to alert the country and parliament about what is at stake.

Cynical as the government’s motive was in moving the new contempt law, it is not impervious to criticism — in fact, after the law was passed, the PPP has turned to the legal community for suggestions about how the new contempt law can be improved. So if the PML-N, or some other opposition party, had stood up inside the house and cried out about the very obvious flaws in the new contempt law, perhaps the PPP would have accommodated some of the opposition’s concerns. The point goes beyond the new contempt law, however: a government with a majority in parliament may sometimes pass good laws and sometimes bad ones — what the opposition must do is try and use its parliamentary privileges to minimise the creation of bad laws. Staging walkouts and playing to the television cameras outside parliament is not enough. Governmental unreason inside parliament must be countered by opposition reason inside parliament.

Bahriagate probe

July 28th, 2012

Just yesterday it was one of the most significant corruption scandals in Pakistan’s history. But the Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz saga barely makes it to prime time television or front pages anymore. Even by Pakistani standards it is extraordinary how soon the media has forgotten the whole sordid affair despite the fact that its real implications go far beyond the behaviour of two individuals. Partly this is a natural result of Pakistan’s frenetic news cycle. But given the enormity of the case, involving as it does possible misconduct not just among individuals but in the supreme judiciary and the media, the speed with which it is disappearing from public discourse suggests a general reluctance, outside of officials investigating it, to look too deeply into the matter.

Meanwhile, Dr Arsalan is resisting giving a statement to the joint investigation committee appointed after the Supreme Court called for an enquiry over a month ago. He is within his legal rights to claim bias on the part of the investigators. But for one, his allegation that everyone from NAB to the FIA to the police are unfit to investigate the case because of prejudice against him or links to Mr Riaz leaves no one to carry out the probe. This is a case in which money trails have to be unravelled, and people with technical expertise are needed to deal with it. More importantly, it involves the independence of the Supreme Court itself, and it erupted at a time when the SC was locked in a contest for moral supremacy with the government. The country deserves to know what the motives were behind Mr Riaz’s disclosures, whether the son of the chief justice took bribes in return for promises of favourable verdicts and to what extent the chief justice was aware of what was going on, even if favourable judgments were not delivered. Dr Arsalan can always legally challenge the findings of the JIT if he doesn’t trust them. But as the SC itself implied when it refused to stay the investigation while it hears Dr Arsalan’s objections, the probe itself needs to be able to proceed.

Water for fuel

July 28th, 2012

This wasn’t the first time a local version of a car purportedly run on water was being displayed in Pakistan. Like every other part of the world, the country has had its share of dreamers run on a desire to replace the current automobile with one that moves either exclusively on water or on a mix of water with a variation of oil. It was the presence of Khurshid Shah, the religious affairs minister, at the preview of the new water-run model that lifted the event from being just an ordinary show of laudable intent into a celebrated launch the government was willing to place its faith in. This was a rare occurrence, a brave show by a government whose previous flirtation with energy matters has only fuelled criticism. The minister was not only there at the ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday, he actually drove the car around. His predictions about the success of the much-awaited car, he said, enjoyed the support of no less a person and no less a seeker of energy in the country than the prime minister. The minister of science and technology was also present and called it a gift to the nation to mark the upcoming 65th anniversary of independence. For the gift to materialise in time he announced “all required” tests would be completed in the next two weeks.

It is a test previous such models have failed to pass, unfortunately. The details of these failed experiments will make a thick book full of technical jargon but one old point these experiences reiterate is that it is always better to wait until you are done before you come up with a declaration about a scientific discovery. The experiment may take two weeks or two years or two decades, and as yet lead to nothing new, necessitating a fresh trial altogether.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Message of good faith

July 29th, 2012

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has received yet another invitation to visit Pakistan — and this time it could just do the trick to work around the opposition of the hawks in both countries. President Asif Ali Zardari’s invitation to the Indian premier to come to Pakistan for the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in November and visit Mr Singh’s ancestral hometown in northern Punjab ensures that the trip will not be an official state visit. That could help defuse the criticism in establishment circles here that Pakistan has embarrassed itself by inviting Mr Singh to visit Pakistan time and time again, to no avail. In India, meanwhile, Mr Singh faces opposition from within his party and from the political opposition on visiting Pakistan while no real movement has taken place on the Mumbai attack investigations and trials inside Pakistan. So if Mr Singh were to visit Pakistan in his private capacity — albeit as a very high-profile visitor — the Indian premier and his civilian counterparts in Pakistan would be able to send a powerful message of bonhomie and good faith in the full glare of the media without invo-king the stiffest of opposition from hardliners in both countries.

That something forceful has to happen at the highest political levels in both countries if Pak-India ties are to be genuinely stabilised and pushed toward normality is quite obvious. This paper has long regarded Mr Singh as a genuine partner in peace, a leader who understands that the old paradigm of hate and suspicion only hurts both countries and prevents them from reaching their full economic, political and diplomatic potential. Similarly, on the Pakistani side, there is an important consensus across the mainstream political parties that better relations with India — if not outright peace — is not just desirable but achievable. Clearly, in both countries there are power centres that are reluctant to buy into the language of peace. Not all of that is mindless hostility — Pakistan and India do have genuine issues to resolve that are complex and somewhat understandably complicated by decades-old history. But the old paradigm does need to be shed. While it will be a long road towards achieving that, gestures such as a visit by Mr Singh could prove to be a significant step in that long journey.

Here in Pakistan, to complement the invitation, perhaps the political government can bring together the key principals on relations with India — the army, the foreign office and the political opposition — to work out where the opportunities for forward movement with India exist, particularly if Mr Singh agrees to the most recent invitation from Pakistan.

Olympic hopes

July 29th, 2012

The head of Pakistan’s contingent to the Olympic Games wanted the athletes to parade in national dress, so that’s the way it ended up during the opening ceremony in London on Friday evening. Pakistani Olympians strutted their stuff in shalwar kameez instead of the gear the organisers had sent. According to the chef de mission, this was done “to show our culture.” Pakistan was not alone, for others — such as the Saudis in flowing thobes and Indians in bright yellow pagris — also displayed their cul-tural attire during the opening of the games.

If the ideas was to promote the national culture, rather than the shalwar kameez for the men it might have made more sense to wear the national dress, the sherwani, or even regional dresses to highlight the cultural diversity of Pakistan. But sartorial preferences are really secondary; what truly matters at the Olympiad is performance on the field. This time around we have sent athletes to compete in the disciplines of athletics, field hockey, shooting and swimming. While Pakistan has been competing in the games since the 1948 London Olympiad, over the past few decades the country’s performance at the Olympics has been highly unsatisfactory. The last time the country won a medal was at the Barcelona games in 1992. Compare this two-decade long dry spell with the fond memories of how Pakistan dominated Olympic hockey for nearly 30 years, starting with a silver medal at 1956’s Melbourne games to 1984’s unforgettable gold at Los Angeles. Sadly, the condition the national sport is currently in is quite depressing. Observers say chances of a medal in hockey are slim. For one, the team has not performed well in the warm-ups. Politics and mismanagement are partly to blame, while experts say the players are also having issues adjusting to the new blue turf. Aside from hockey, Pakistani athletes have also won medals in wrestling and boxing in past Olympiads. Despite the considerable odds, we will keep our fingers crossed in the hope that Pakistani athletes will bring home medals. Ultimately, however, it is hoped that the country’s athletes simply give it their best at the biggest sporting spectacle in the world.

Doing good

July 29th, 2012

Rare though it is for South Asia’s raucous television industry to throw up informed programming with a social conscience, Bollywood star Aamir Khan seems to have managed it with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ (Truth alone prevails). An estimated 500 million people will tune into the last episode of the show’s first season, which is due to be broadcast tonight. The content is common enough: throw light on social problems through inviting victims to share their stories with a live studio audience. The issues taken up by ‘Satyamev Jayate’ include gender selective abortions, dowry requirements and caste discrimination. What lifts this show to such popularity, though — ecessitating its distribution in seven languages — is not just the celebrity status of its host but also his handling of those being interviewed and the thoroughness of his team’s research. While it is not without its detractors, the show is having an effect. One of the early programmes highlighted seven-year-old footage of more than a hundred doctors in Rajasthan offering to illegally abort female foetuses. The doctors continued to practice while the legal cases against them languished in the courts. After being taken up on Aamir Khan’s show, though, the chief minister of Rajasthan said the cases would be transferred to special courts where decisions are expedited.

It has been argued that some of the success of ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is because Aamir Khan has managed to do what many others have failed: tug at the heartstrings of India’s mainstream by putting Bollywood tropes to work in the service of larger social causes. Others maintain that the loyalty Aamir Khan invokes from fans draws from them greater honesty. Regardless, this is a praiseworthy example of a celebrity using his unique status to do good. Internationally, wherever causes have been espoused by celebrities, the result has been beneficial. The world needs more such people.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga