A soft start

Friday, 13 Mar, 2009

THERE’S many a slip ’twixt cup and lip. Heralded as a national long march for the restoration of the deposed judges, Thursday’s showing in Karachi and Quetta has cast doubts on the ‘national’ tag of the movement. In both provincial capitals no more than a few hundred lawyers gathered and support from the opposition parties was noticeably scarce. On the day, the largest gathering of protesters was in Lahore, from where the long march is not scheduled to kick off for another couple of days. The lopsided turnout has raised some important questions. In recent weeks, the political upheaval in Punjab has given the long march added impetus, but the raison d’être of the long march is the restoration of the deposed judges. Can the movement be judged to reflect the national opinion if it draws its support predominantly from one province? Surely not.

Without downplaying the government’s role in letting the judicial crisis fester, in the build-up to the march we have noted that there are other grave national crises confronting the state. If the lawyers and their supporters wanted to raise the stakes in pressing their demands, they should have paid heed to the need for their movement to demonstrate a national face. Otherwise they ran the risk of appearing to put their narrow interests ahead of the broader national interest. At the very least, the leaders of the lawyers’ movement and opposition political parties should have led from the front in Karachi and Quetta. But in quasi-farce scenes played out on television yesterday, at times it appeared that the hordes of cameramen and reporters easily outnumbered the protesters they were there to cover. Now the long march is shaping up to be a struggle that pits Punjab against the centre, with the almost inevitable result it will be seen through the political prism of a straight fight between the PPP and the PML-N. For the apolitical supporters of the principle of an independent judiciary, that will not be the outcome they could have hoped for.

On its part, the government was again guilty of overreaction and an excessive use of force. More sensible hands would have recognised that the protesters in Karachi and Quetta represented little threat and were clearly not pushing for confrontation. Instead, the scenes of scuffles and mass detentions that played out in front of the cameras have added fuel to the perception that the government is nervous and edgy and can easily be goaded into making a catastrophic mistake. What the government appears to have failed to understand is the nature of power. Electing its candidate as chairman of the Senate or having a secure majority in parliament can become irrelevant if it appears the government doesn’t believe it is in charge outside parliament.
************************************************** ********

New Senate chairman

Friday, 13 Mar, 2009

MANY in the country feel that there couldn’t have been a more appropriate moment for the upper house to elect Mr Farooq Naek as its new chairman. The unopposed election came on a day when the police terrorised political workers in Karachi and elsewhere to thwart the pro-judiciary long march on Islamabad. Over the past year, Mr Naek has had a busy schedule. As law minister, he toured bar associations in various parts of the country, reportedly offering the lawyers’ community privileges in an attempt to wean it off the movement for the reinstatement of the pre-Nov 3, 2007 judiciary.

Lately, he was credited with — and blamed for — the rush of appointments in the judiciary as President Asif Zardari sought to consolidate his hold on power. The consolidation continues in the Senate and Mr Naek’s election is a measure of the trust the president has in his ability and, more significantly, in his pledges of loyalty.

Mr Naek had long defended Benazir Bhutto and Mr Zardari in the courts and is believed to have provided the legal wherewithal to the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance that set Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari back on the road to power. He was also the PPP’s lawyer as it negotiated a pact with the PML-N after the February 2008 polls. He drew his share of flak as a new Zardari
coterie emerged after the change of guard within the PPP and in Islamabad. He was disliked by opponents and also viewed with suspicion, perhaps mixed with envy, by party colleagues who perceived themselves as having a greater claim to a post in the PPP government.

However, to be fair to the new Senate chairman, he appeared more aware than his leader of the problems that the promise to restore Justice Chaudhry would entail. On numerous occasions Mr Naek had either dismissed the possibility of restoring Justice Chaudhry or had pointed out just how complicated the task was. These warnings were drowned in political sloganeering inspired by expediency as promises were made and then broken.

The author of the pact with the PML-N was also castigated along with the one who had actually commissioned the document. Senate Chairman Farooq Naek will be happier sitting away from the heat generated by the marchers even if it is presumed that his party and leader are going to continue to deny the lawyers their due. And he knows he will be just a dramatic development away from the most powerful office in the land.
************************************************** ********

A ray of hope for women

Friday, 13 Mar, 2009

THE government has taken a commendable step in reconstituting the National Commission on the Status of Women and inducting a number of women activists into this body. Headed by Anis Haroon, who has played a leading role in the women’s movement in Pakistan, the NCSW should hopefully be able to act as an effective watchdog for women’s issues as was the intention when it was founded in July 2000. If the NSCW has so far failed to make an impact on the situation of women in Pakistan it is primarily because it had not been given the autonomy and powers needed to effect changes in the government’s policies and programmes. Although one of its functions was stated to be the review of “all laws … affecting the status and rights of women” in addition to suggesting “repeal, amendment or new legislation essential to eliminate discrimination, safeguard … the interests of women and achieve gender equality”, the commission remained a weak organisation that served more as an appendage of the government. Its earlier chairpersons and members cannot be held accountable for this failure because they were not empowered to play the role they were supposed to. It may be recalled that under Justice Majida Rizvi the commission had recommended in 2004 that the Hudood Ordinances be repealed as their enforcement had brought “injustice” in its wake. This was not done.

The mandate of the NCSW is quite wide and comprehensive. If the commission is empowered to play a useful role it should be able to achieve much, given the performance of many of its members in the field of gender rights. One hopes that the government will introduce the required changes to make the NCSW an autonomous body — at present it is a part of the women’s ministry — and grant it financial independence and ministerial powers to enable it to investigate cases, review policies and, most important, enforce its decisions. If similar bodies in other countries have proved to be effective, it is because they are more empowered. One hopes that the new members will make the empowerment of the commission their first priority.

Lessons in democracy

Monday, 16 Mar, 2009

ON Sunday morning, Pakistan held its collective breath. The Lahore leg of the long march was scheduled to kick off, and as day broke it still wasn't clear what would happen. Would the government crush the protesters? Would the protesters react with violence of their own? Would democracy become a casualty of politics yet again? The events of the first half of the day were not promising. The Punjab administration used the police to prevent leaders of the lawyers' movement and the opposition political parties from appearing in public. As for the protesters who did turn up at the Lahore High Court, the administration tried to disperse them with teargas and baton-charges. It was ugly, it was excessive and it was anti-democratic. But once Nawaz Sharif came out of his residence and his caravan began to draw crowds, better sense seemed to prevail. The police fell back, the barricades were removed and the protesters were allowed to march peacefully.

The day of contrasting halves has some important lessons for both sides. First, the government must understand that violence perpetrated by an elected government only weakens it. Every blow of the government against the long march over the last week has in fact been a blow to the government's credibility, which is now in tatters. Softer, sensible hands would have recognised that the government cannot live in a vacuum or wish the opposition away — and that by appearing to want to crush the opposition, the government in fact only ends up emboldening it. Now that the march proper has begun, it is still not too late for the government to respect the right to protest in a democracy and thereby repair some of the grievous damage to its reputation.

Second, the lawyers and the political parties supporting the long march must uphold their side of the bargain. The corollary of the right to protest is the responsibility to ensure it is conducted peacefully. Until now, the great unspoken danger of the long march was that it would end in a violent confrontation with the government. The lawyers and their supporters have unquestionably suffered more at the hands of the state, but, on occasions, there have been hints of violent undertones in their campaign. Moreover, the marchers should not dismiss out of hand the government's warning of a possible terrorist attack. Militants are attracted to high-profile targets, and the long march has attracted the attention of the world's media. Whenever a mass of humanity gathers there are always security concerns, so the marchers must cooperate to mitigate the risks wherever possible. We've said it before: cooperation strengthens democracy, conflict weakens it. The long march is a chance for both sides to choose the better outcome.
************************************************** ********

A waterless world

Monday, 16 Mar, 2009

THE UN’s third ‘World water development report’ presents a grim picture of the planet’s freshwater reserves and the impact of water scarcity on poor or developing nations. Presented ahead of the fifth World Water Forum that is to be held later this month, the report points out that the multiplying demands of expanding human populations, coupled with the irresponsible or inefficient use of water and the effects of climate change, constitute a potential minefield. Water stress, in tandem with climate change, could pose mounting security challenges as competition for water threatens fragile states and fuels regional rivalry. This is because “water is linked to the crises of climate change, energy and food supplies and prices, and troubled financial markets…. Unless their links with water are addressed and water crises around the world are resolved, these other crises may intensify and local water crises may worsen, converging into a global water crisis and leading to political insecurity at various levels”.

The report has grave implications for Pakistan which earns significant revenue from agriculture. The sector also constitutes the livelihood of millions of poor farmers who are end-of-the-line sufferers of the effects of inflation and rupee devaluation on the one hand, and of falling trade rates and global financial difficulties on the other. Pakistan is, in fact, no stranger to disputes arising out of water stress: the damming and diverting of up-river flows and water allocation have led to acrimony not only with India but also among the provinces. The provision of water for domestic and industrial use and access to safe drinking water also remain grave concerns. The scarcity of potable water is a major cause of infant mortality amongst poor or rural populations, for example, while water availability and theft is a significant divisive factor in Karachi.

Given this situation, urgent steps must be taken to conserve the country’s water resources and use them efficiently. If a future disaster is to be averted, agricultural watercourses and canals must be rationalised and farmers educated about the fallout of unbridled irrigation. Since cash crops such as rice and cotton are water-intensive, modern water-conserving methodologies need to be explored. Concurrently, aging pipeline infrastructures in cities such as Karachi and Lahore, where sewerage and freshwater lines have been found to mix at certain points, must be repaired and leakages prevented. Most importantly, perhaps, concerted efforts are required to achieve consensus on the construction of new dams and reservoirs that can service the needs of water-stressed areas.
************************************************** ********

Capital libraries

Monday, 16 Mar, 2009

FOR many of those living in rural and suburban settlements, mobile libraries provide a major means of gaining regular access to reading and information services. Thus the plan by the Department of Libraries to establish a fleet of libraries on wheels to serve the suburban areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad is significant. The initiative is supposed to complement the mini-library or reading room project in urban areas. Both these projects are aimed at addressing the accessibility problem of libraries and giving residents — urban and rural — easier access to books. But establishing mini- and mobile libraries is one thing and getting these libraries to attract crowds of readers quite another. It is no secret that the lure of books these days faces stiff competition from the internet and a plethora of television channels.

Although several grandiose plans to establish thousands of public libraries throughout the country have been put forward since independence, less than 200 libraries exist today. Three of these are in the federal capital and were established in the 1990s. One of them is the National Library of Pakistan inaugurated in 1993. Despite this scant number, library membership and the daily readership in Islamabad continue to below. Services to users are also very limited. Even if one of the three libraries, the Model Children Library, did not fall victim to the Lal Masjid affair and access to the National Library of Pakistan had not been restricted by security measures, one is doubtful whether many more people would have been using Islamabad’s libraries.

Ensuring that the new mini-libraries and mobile libraries will not meet a similar fate requires the induction of qualified library staff and the reinvigoration of library services that at present are nowhere near those in countries where the reading habit is ingrained. It is also helpful to make librarians aware of the importance of private funding to improve their services. Reading material for mini-libraries and mobile libraries can also be obtained by soliciting donations in kind from the community. It would be a waste of resources and effort if, several years down the line, Islamabad is left with a string of ‘ghost’ reading rooms and mobile libraries on the pattern of our ‘ghost’ schools.

__________________
No signature...

The road ahead

Tuesday, 17 Mar, 2009

MONDAY morning was one for the believers. Fairy-tale endings are indeed possible in Pakistan: Iftikhar Chaudhry will once more be the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The lawyers and their supporters have taken a lot of flak, including in these columns, over the course of their movement. But credit is due to them for having run a determined and largely peaceful campaign in defence of a basic tenet of democracy: the right for a constitutional office-holder to not be ousted in an unconstitutional manner. In this land, where talk of democracy has rarely matched its practice, a potentially important marker has been laid down. There are limits to what a military government or even a democratically elected one can get away with. Importantly, too, it has been shown that a democratic principle can defeat political expediency without triggering chaos.

Symbolism aside, the way forward will depend on the response of three groups: the superior judiciary, led by Iftikhar Chaudhry; the government, de facto led by President Zardari; and the opposition, led by Nawaz Sharif. Start with the court of Chief Justice Chaudhry. Upon returning to office, the chief justice will be confronted with many of the issues he was grappling with when ousted from office. Top of that list are constitutional distortions and the tension between constitutional oversight of the executive and interference in its policies.

Gen Musharraf’s acts under the Proclamation of Emergency and Provisional Constitutional Order of November 2007 complicated the constitutional mess that his 17th Amendment created. But by reinstating the chief justice and the few remaining holdouts without recourse to parliament or a constitutional amendment, the government appears to have ceded that Gen Musharraf’s actions have no constitutional cover. From here it will be hard to argue that some results flowing from Gen Musharraf’s actions — such as the tinkering with the structure of the higher judiciary and its composition — are correct, while others are not. But the chief justice should exercise caution. Sweeping away the legal detritus of the Musharraf era may appear easy; controlling its effects is not. The chief justice should allow parliament an opportunity to resolve the constitutional imbroglio and to right the balance of power among state institutions. Having said that, the onus is on parliament to take up the constitutional issues urgently — it would be wrong to expect the Supreme Court to wait on the sidelines indefinitely.

The second issue that Chief Justice Chaudhry should pay heed to is the superior judiciary’s role as executive watchdog. In a state as governance-challenged as Pakistan, there are seemingly limitless opportunities to use suo moto powers or public-interest litigation to right every wrong. But there is a difference between, say, a court using its powers to find missing persons and a court trying to determine the price of atta. Having been returned to office on the back of a popular movement, Chief Justice Chaudhry will feel the pressure to be the people’s champion. That may well be necessary in certain circumstances, but the Supreme Court must not become a policymaker. If, for example, the people don’t like the government’s food or fiscal policy, the corrective measure is to vote it out in the next election. Judicial intervention may be popular, but what is popular at any given time isn’t what is best from the perspective of systemic stability.

Turn next to the government. It has dealt its reputation a grievous blow in recent weeks. While Chief Justice Chaudhry may be back, the fate of the Sharifs and PML-N’s government in Punjab is not resolved. The massive turnout in Lahore sent a clear message: the PML-N cannot be shut out of power. It is now up to the government to extend an olive branch, make amends and show the genuine sense of bipartisanship that was on display in the weeks after the February 2007 election. Actions not words are the need of the hour.

Finally, the opposition. The PML-N may be tempted to go for the kill and topple the battered federal government. But it should resist that temptation. On Sunday, the party showed great maturity by leading a peaceful protest which captivated the country rather than shook its foundations with violence. But public agitation is a high-risk strategy and a political slug-fest between the PML-N and the PPP is always bad for the country. If the government makes the right moves, the PML-N should reciprocate and go back to the business of governance in Punjab and opposition within the confines of the parliamentary chamber at the centre. Monday was a good day for the transition to democracy, but the democratic project needs many more good days ahead if it is to succeed.
************************************************** ********

Respite for Afghan refugees

Tuesday, 17 Mar, 2009

REFUGEES the world over have always posed a dilemma for the host country. They have to be provided sanctuary on humanitarian grounds. But they are also seen as a burden on the economy of the land that takes them in. And when they overstay their welcome, they pose political and social problems as well. It is, however, considered inhuman to turn back hapless victims of manmade/natural catastrophes who have been forced to flee their homes. That is the case with the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Of late, they have begun to draw fire from different quarters because of the security risk some of them pose and the economic and social implications of their presence in the midst of Pakistanis.

A legacy of the Afghan war of 1979-89 when Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan, the refugees sought shelter in neighbouring countries. Pakistan was the most popular destination, given the easy territorial access it provided and the ethnic and linguistic affinities the Afghans share with a section of the local population. Although most refugees (their numbers at one time swelled to nearly five million) have returned home, two million or so still remain. Under the last agreement concluded between the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and Pakistan, Afghan refugees were to go home by 2009. Islamabad has now agreed to extend the deadline by another four years. The significant feature of this accord is that the UNHCR has offered aid for the development of the regions where the refugees are concentrated. Indicative of its recognition of the negative impact the presence of refugees has on poor and underdeveloped societies, the UN agency has introduced the $140m Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (Raha) programme that is designed to benefit Afghans and Pakistanis alike.

Until now, the UNHCR’s strategy had been to focus on the displaced persons by providing them with shelter, education, healthcare, nutrition and even training in skills to facilitate their economic rehabilitation when they returned to Afghanistan. Raha directs attention towards development projects in 21 districts of Pakistan, mostly in Balochistan and the NWFP which together have hosted most of the Afghan refugees in the country. This should help promote social cohesion as well as minimise the adverse effects of the refugee presence in any area. In any case, it offers the most feasible approach to the problem since refugees cannot be held responsible for their sorry circumstances. Neither can they be forced to return to a country that many among the younger lot are not familiar with and which continues to be a theatre of war. In a situation fraught with such dilemmas, much depends on the strategies adopted. However, one does wonder how far $140m in five years will take us.

__________________
No signature...

Fix the structure

Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009

WHEN the transition to democracy began last year, there was an urgent need to right the constitutional balance of power among the various state institutions. Gen Musharraf had concentrated power in the presidency because that was the office from which he oversaw the executive. But across the political spectrum there is agreement that parliament sans the president should be the one calling the shots. From the executive side, this means, inter alia, the prime minister having the powers to appoint key officers of the state and his cabinet having meaningful powers over ministries like defence. From the parliamentary perspective, it means strengthening the legislative and oversight roles of the assemblies. Meanwhile, vertically, the relationship between the centre and the provinces needs to be revised because the federal government lords it over the provinces in too many areas.

The politicians understand all of this. Or at least they do when not in power. In May 2006, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif signed the Charter of Democracy, which has a recipe to resolve many of the structural problems that beset the state. Yet, a year since an elected parliament has been in place, there has been no movement. Both sides are to blame. The government for emphasising the consolidation of power rather than righting constitutional wrongs. The opposition, led by the PML-N, for putting the judges issue before less glamorous constitutional issues. But now that the decks have been cleared — Gen Musharraf is gone, Chief Justice Chaudhry is to be restored, the Senate elections have been held and the threat of street agitation has receded — the politicians must immediately address the structural issues.

Two points need to be flagged. One, the window for constitutional change is small. Seventeen amendments to a constitution that is 36 years old may sound a lot, but they have mostly come when one party or individual dominates the political landscape. That is not the case with the current parliament. But after the weekend’s events, there is a sense of cooperation in the air. The politicians must seize this moment before another issue bubbles up and they go at it hammer and tongs. Punjab is clearly a space contested between the PML-N and PPP, so they should use the respite to do good. The second point is that as much as personality may dominate our politics, the rules still constrain them. Gen Musharraf found that out last August when he was cornered by the elected representatives. And President Zardari too knows this, for why else would he have tried so hard to keep Iftikhar Chaudhry out? If we are ever to get out of the rut of instability, the rules governing the system must be reset. Now is the chance. Allow it to slip by, and the country is guaranteed to suffer again.
************************************************** ********

Taliban courts?

Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009

HOW many times do we need to be reminded of the folly of striking deals from a position of weakness and with people who cannot be held to their word? Time and again, governments both past and present have opted to negotiate with militants who flout the writ of the state at will. Such are our limitations that purveyors of barbarity are rewarded for killing civilians, ‘American spies’, security personnel and people — usually women — summarily deemed to be immoral. When the state lost total control of Swat, it chose to enter into a plea bargain with Sufi Mohammad of the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi. He convinced the Taliban to hold fire because the state had capitulated and Sharia was to be introduced in Malakand Division, of which Swat is a part. The ceasefire may still be in effect but it is obvious that the Taliban call the shots in almost all of Swat. They patrol the roads and man their own checkpoints — and kidnap or kill anyone they please. The state, having agreed not to launch any fresh offensive and to enforce Sharia in the region at the earliest, simply looks on.

The bargain was that qazi courts would be set up in Malakand Division to dispense speedy justice in accordance with the Sharia, a long-standing demand of the TNSM. Under the agreement, flawed as it was, existing judicial officers were to preside over these qazi courts. But on Monday, Sufi Mohammad announced that judges must stop coming to court because the qazi system would come into effect on Tuesday. How can he unilaterally come to this decision? Confusion prevails as we speak and the government has some explaining to do. Islamabad claims that judges and magistrates will head the qazi courts in Swat. Sufi Mohammad says that they must stop attending office. So who will preside over these ‘courts’? The Taliban? Representatives of Sufi Mohammad and his son-in-law Fazlullah? What sort of justice will they dole out? Will these ‘judges’ abide by the laws of jurisprudence, of whatever ilk, or pass judgment in accordance with their personal likes and dislikes or individual view of morality? Will petty thieves have their hands chopped off? Will women be taken to these ‘courts’ if they dare to venture out of their homes? The state has some answering to do. The people of Pakistan need to know if the government is upholding the rule of law or sanctioning a descent into the medieval age.
************************************************** ********

Khatami out of the race

Wednesday, 18 Mar, 2009

MOHAMMAD Khatami’s decision to pull out of the race for the Iranian presidency could prove a setback for the reformists who had hoped to deny President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term after the June election. During his two terms as president (1997-2005), Mr Khatami pursued a reformist agenda that inspired hope for change, even though his efforts were blocked by the clerics who are well-entrenched in Iran’s political system. The latter has multiple centres of power. Mr Khatami’s biggest achievement was in the realm of foreign policy. He succeeded in breaking Iran’s international isolation. He improved his country’s relations with Europe, promised to halt uranium enrichment without abandoning the nuclear programme and engaged in talks with the European Three. He also forged closer ties with the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Iranians could do with a man like Mr Khatami to undo the damage done to their ties with the West by the hard line taken by Mr Ahmadinejad on the nuclear question and his frequent threats to destroy Israel.

While announcing his decision to pull out of the election, Mr Khatami said he was doing so to avoid splitting reformist votes. Political analysts say the move could backfire and benefit the hard-liners. There are several reformist leaders in the run, including former parliament speaker Mahdi Karoubi and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi. Both are pledged to reforms, but it is doubtful that all Khatami supporters will necessarily vote for either, thus helping the current incumbent win another four-year term. A moderate is needed at this juncture, especially because under Barack Obama, America has shown some flexibility in its Iran policy. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington may invite Tehran to the conference on Afghanistan scheduled for March 31. However, Mr Ahmadinejad’s response to Obama’s overtures has been to ask the US to apologise to Iran. This attitude won’t do. Iran needs a leader who could move the country away from the politics of confrontation, resume social reforms and set the economy in order. Despite having a populist image, the current dispensation has alienated large sections of the people because of inflation and mismanagement of the economy.

__________________
No signature...

Need for dialogue

Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009

THIS is the time for cooperation and dialogue, not one-upmanship. True, relations between Pakistan and India have improved and a potential catastrophe has been averted. Where once threats of war were flying thick and fast, there is talk of joint efforts to crack down on terrorism in South Asia. Intelligence has been shared and progress made by those trying to track down the masterminds of the Mumbai massacre. A top Lashkar-i-Taiba commander was arrested and Jamaatud Dawa, allegedly a front for the LT, shut down after it was proscribed by the UN. Even so, greater goodwill needs to be demonstrated by both countries. In this regard, the onus is heavier on Pakistan as India feels it is the aggrieved party and because most of the attackers are believed to be Pakistani. Against this backdrop, there is little point in saying that the authorities here are not satisfied with India’s response to the 30-odd questions raised by Pakistan in connection with the ongoing investigation. If there are reservations about the information provided by India, such qualms should be conveyed through official channels, not the media. Even if the intelligence shared by India is not 100 per cent complete, any leads that have been provided should be followed up without delay. India too needs to show greater restraint. It is understandable that New Delhi wants quick action. But at the same time it should be recognised that investigators here need to build a case that can stand up in court.

Terrorism threatens the very existence of Pakistan and no country has suffered more in recent years at the hands of homegrown extremists. As such it is in our own interest to step up the fight against those who wish to impose their medieval values on others. The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore bore striking similarities to the assault in Mumbai. People who argue that the Lashkar-i-Taiba has never threatened Pakistani interests fail to the fact that never before had the Pakistani state come down so hard on the LT. Of course it is yet to be established that the LT was behind the Mumbai or Lahore attacks. Still, it is clear that our biggest enemies lie within.

There are other reasons too why the architects of the Mumbai carnage must be brought to book at the earliest. Without greater strides on this count, progress is unlikely on the core issue of Kashmir and other lingering disputes such as Siachen and the demarcation of maritime borders. Recent reports have suggested that Pakistan and India were close to striking a deal on Kashmir when Gen Musharraf was ousted as president. If trust is restored by bringing closure to the Mumbai tragedy, there is no reason why we cannot strive for that level of understanding again.
************************************************** ********

Managing civic utilities

Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009

IT is encouraging that the need to provide and strengthen municipal infrastructure in Pakistani cities is now receiving the attention of development planners. Given the rapid pace of urbanisation — 50 per cent of Pakistan’s population is expected to live in towns and cities by 2015 — it is time this sector was addressed seriously. The priority must be to devise feasible strategies for water supply, sewerage and waste water management, and public transport systems which are crucial to the quality of life of citizens in urban areas. One would therefore welcome the Asian Development Bank’s interest in supporting the capacity of provincial and municipal governments in developing and implementing urban policies. Focusing on these areas is significant because the country’s failure to develop an adequate municipal infrastructure in any city is attributed to flawed strategies and the inability of local governments to implement plans. The ADB should also share the responsibility for this failure in the past because, as it has itself admitted, there have been instances when it financed projects unsuitable for local conditions.

In view of this, one cannot be sure that the Country Partnership Strategy that the ADB signed with Pakistan last week will succeed. At a time when the trend is towards re-municipalisation the world over, the bank speaks of supporting private sector participation in service delivery and urban transport system investment. It plans to set up Urban Services Corporations jointly owned by local governments in some “secondary towns”. The USCs will be staffed by professionals from the private sector with an emphasis on outsourcing, design-build-operate contract modalities and performance-based concessions or lease arrangements. The induction of the private sector in municipal services is a contentious issue in developing countries because it inevitably leads to the escalation of charges citizens have to pay for utilities that are often of poor quality. Karachi has experienced this in failed experiments of privatising KESC and solid waste management in the city. It is time the government tested indigenous strategies which are based on the principle of participatory development and seek to induct local populations to build civic infrastructure on a self-help basis in various neighbourhoods. Under such an arrangement, municipalities provide and strengthen the strategic infrastructure by delivering bulk supplies. This approach has succeeded in areas where it has been tried — the Orangi Pilot Project being the most notable example.
************************************************** ********

Israeli missile attack talk

Thursday, 19 Mar, 2009

REPORTS that Israel could use missiles in its formidable arsenal to attack Iran must be viewed with concern by all those interested in a peaceful solution to Tehran’s nuclear question. A report released by an American think-tank said Tel Aviv could use Jericho III missiles to try to destroy Iran’s nuclear plants at Natanz, Esfahan and Arak. According to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a missile attack suits Israel because planes could be shot down, have limited payloads and the pilots could be lost. Jericho, on the other hand, has a higher payload and is accurate to a few metres. Still there are problems with its use, too, because experts say the Iranian nuclear plants are dispersed and well-fortified, and a first strike must be followed by a second at the same crack to burrow deep into the plant and cripple if not destroy it. These are, however, technical problems, and Israel — given its track record — may well be quite capable of overcoming them and achieving yet another of those ‘‘feats’’ it feels so proud of and wins plaudits from most western governments and the media. The issue, however, has deeper diplomatic and geopolitical implications.

There is no doubt Iran has the right to pursue a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, and many western governments accept this. There are also indications that Iran has considerably slowed down, if not abandoned, its uranium enrichment programme. But apparently Tehran is not doing enough to ease western concerns, for even the International Atomic Energy Agency has been complaining against a lack of cooperation from Tehran. Some of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s utterances, including those threatening Israel’s destruction, have evoked a storm of protests in the West. However, the solution to this diplomatic problem lies not in threatening Iran with attacks but in seeking a diplomatic way forward. At a time when America is in the process of re-examining its Iran policy, it is time the Obama administration made it clear to Tel Aviv that it must cooperate with Washington in seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear question rather than aggravate matters with war talk.

__________________
No signature...

New threat of strikes

Friday, 20 Mar, 2009

HOPEFULLY better sense will prevail and nothing will come of reports that the US may extend its covert operations in Pakistan beyond Fata to Balochistan. According to The New York Times, the Obama administration has been advised by military commanders to strike Taliban ‘safe havens’ in and around Quetta, which they believe serve as the headquarters of Mullah Omar and a staging post for attacks in southern Afghanistan. Pakistan has long denied such claims. Fortunately not everyone in Washington subscribes to the new policy being proposed by the military brass. One senior official has been quoted as saying that “expanding [the] US role inside Pakistan may be more than anyone there can stomach”. We couldn’t agree more. American strikes in Pakistan violate the country’s sovereignty and give those who are fanning anti-western and anti-Islamabad sentiments even more ammunition. At the same time, the civilian deaths caused by such strikes not only alienate but enrage ordinary tribal people without whose cooperation the war against militancy can never be won.

That said, certain home truths need to be driven home. Pakistan rightly condemns violations of sovereignty but also needs to accept its own shortcomings. While US policy may be misguided, it is the Pakistani state that allowed the sore of militancy to fester and disfigure large swathes of the country. The folly of ‘strategic depth’, a goal that could only be achieved through non-state actors, is one of the root causes of militancy in today’s Pakistan. Guns that once targeted foreign ‘enemies’ now point inwards. Many also believe that the Musharraf regime deliberately kept the threat of Talibanisation alive to convince the West of his indispensability. Militancy spread first from the tribal agencies to the frontier regions (FRs) and then to the settled districts of the NWFP. Taliban-inspired militants can now be found across the country, including the major cities. As for Balochistan, the FC inspector general may be correct in his assessment on Wednesday that the Taliban do not enjoy political or tribal support in the province. That, however, does not mean that there are no Taliban holed up there. It is after all a fact that top Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud died in district Zhob in July 2007 during an encounter with security personnel.

Drone strikes are a low-cost way of taking out targets without risking American lives. The US top brass thinks it is a successful policy because drone attacks have reportedly made inroads into the Al Qaeda leadership. This is a simplistic assessment and the ongoing strategic review of America’s Afghan policy must take the broader picture into account. Targeting Al Qaeda and the Taliban may be important but it is also critical that America not lose its few friends in this part of the world.
************************************************** ********

Power cuts yet again

Friday, 20 Mar, 2009

IN his inaugural address to the National Assembly a year ago, an optimistic prime minister promised to find a solution to the power crisis in the first 100 days of his rule. Later, a slightly more cautious minister for power set his government a new deadline — December 2009 — for ending loadshedding in the country. All this while, officials have been busy trying to temper public expectations on this count. There have been some efforts but matters haven’t improved. In fact, the cumulative effects of an industry and a people denied energy season after season raises fears of even angrier reactions than have been witnessed so far.

The people are once again being told to prepare for eight hours of power cuts starting today as electricity production declines and demand rises. People will be forced to turn off lights, air-conditioners and other devices to make up for the difference of 3,500 megawatts in generation and its demand. The poor, who consume only a fraction of the total electricity production, will suffer the most because they cannot afford generators as substitutes. Just as in the past, the economy will suffer huge losses. Industrial production is feared to dip further and trade will slow down significantly as a result of long blackouts. Many factories have been shut down during the last one year and hundreds of jobs lost because the owners did not get electricity to run their plants. Others were forced to cut production. The government’s attempts to fix the problem have been largely unsuccessful. Like the people, officials too seem to be groping in the dark for a solution to the persisting power shortages.

True, the crisis stems from the policymakers’ failure to invest public money or attract private investment for setting up new power plants and dams for hydroelectric power generation in the last 10 years or more. But the crisis cannot be allowed to linger any longer. People want a quick solution to the issue. That, experts say, lies in harnessing wind and solar power, which is relatively cheaper and faster to do than building thermal plants and dams.
************************************************** ********

Repeal of 17th Amendment

Friday, 20 Mar, 2009

THE euphoria over the restoration of the judges should not blind us to one reality: while the sacking of the chief justice and other judges was at the hands of a military ruler, the reversal of this decision was the result of executive action propelled by a popular movement. Parliament was nowhere in the picture. Gen Pervez Musharraf had rendered Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ‘non-functional’ in March 2007. Even though he was restored to his post through a legal process, Mr Chaudhry was out of the Supreme Court again when on Nov 3, 2007 Gen Musharraf imposed emergency as army chief. Many of the judges refused to (or were not invited to) take oath under the infamous PCO.

More recently, the prime minister informed the nation of the decision to restore the pre-Nov 3 judiciary. But the actual notification restoring the top judges was signed by President Asif Zardari. Barring the fact that he cannot enact a PCO by decree — the privilege is reserved for army chiefs — Mr Zardari enjoys all powers flowing from the 17th Amendment. The cornucopia of those laws makes the president more powerful than the prime minister in what is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy. The most controversial of these powers flows from Article 58-2(b), which authorises the head of state to dissolve the National Assembly and sack the prime minister even if he enjoys the house’s confidence.

Gen Ziaul Haq had inserted this clause in the 1973 Constitution and used it to sack the Junejo government. Since then, the two presidents — Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari — have used it three times to dismiss elected governments headed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. When Nawaz Sharif returned to power a second time with ‘a heavy mandate’, the PML-N government did away with this article. However, Gen Musharraf revived this clause, which was made part of the constitution through the 17th Amendment.

The post-Zia democracy could have survived if presidents Ishaq Khan and Leghari had refrained from invoking Article 58-2(b) for reasons which were political rather than constitutional, and that violated the stipulation in the clause that the president could resort to this extreme measure only if there were circumstances in which the state machinery could no longer work according to the constitution. In at least two cases, the courts declared the presidential action illegal. The current situation provides all parties with an excellent opportunity to do away with the 17th Amendment and restore to the constitution its parliamentary character.

__________________
No signature...

Dawn Editorial

Saturday, 21 Mar, 2009

Men inspect the damaged high-voltage power line tower at Ormar area in the suburbs of Peshawar. — AP THE fallout of the ongoing terrorist onslaught in Pakistan is not restricted to civilian deaths and damaged infrastructure. It can also be seen in the unsettling disruptions to routine life in the affected areas. This is part of the militant strategy.

Those who are fighting the state seek to undermine its writ by destroying the confidence of the people in the government and its ability to protect the life and property of citizens. Hence when electricity pylons are blown up, as they were in Peshawar on Thursday, the idea is to cause the maximum negative impact on the public.

With people already struggling to cope with the inadequate supply and poor quality of utilities — be they electricity or transport or other basic services — terrorist-inflicted damage is an additional burden. Of course, such disruption is not always caused by reducing infrastructure to rubble. Other tactics adopted by the militants have equally devastating results.

Thus on Wednesday men armed with rocket launchers patrolled the Ring Road and the Bara Road in Peshawar to disrupt communications. Earlier they had fired rockets on Kohat, and attacked Sufi shrines in the NWFP. They seek to create panic and to cause enormous business losses through such activities.

It is unfortunate that the government’s response to this situation has been inadequate. When the power pylons were blown up in Peshawar, the police admitted that they had heard the blasts but did nothing because it was dark and they avoided going to the ‘dangerous area’ as it was the same spot where they had had an encounter with criminals a few days earlier.

Such an attitude can only encourage the militants to indulge in more violence while the law-enforcement agencies experience a loss of confidence within their ranks. They have yet to demonstrate their will and ability to confront the terrorists and pre-empt violence. In some areas people have demonstrated their desire for peace, and public rallies have been held to make it clear that a large number of citizens oppose such violence. But the police will have to bolster their efforts by working out a feasible anti-terror strategy and actually implement it.




Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 21 Mar, 2009

Supporters of PML-N burn a poster featuring President Zardari during a protest against the Supreme Court’s decision on the disqualification of their leaders in Lahore. — Reuters SEEMINGLY oblivious to the mood in the country, the PPP is pressing ahead with its claim to the Punjab government. But it is difficult to make sense of the PPP’s game plan. Assume that the party does in fact cobble together enough votes in the Punjab Assembly to elect a government. What then? The PML-N, the party with a near majority on its own in the assembly, will be shut out of power — a guaranteed recipe for continuing instability in the province and, if history is any guide, an arrangement that will almost surely not last until the end of the Punjab Assembly’s term. So why aim for something that will cost a great deal to achieve and then continue to cost a great deal to simply retain? But the PPP leadership seems not to care.

What the party is attempting in Punjab appears to be nothing more than a power grab. If it isn’t, then where is the talk of the policies that would set it apart from what the PML-N-led provincial government had to offer?

The wrongness of what is going on in Punjab is so total that it is difficult to know where to begin to explain it. The PPP itself? Murmurs of internal dissent have become a din that grows louder by the day. The PPP’s coalition partners in the other provincial governments and at the centre? Reaction has ranged from outright hostility to the PPP’s Punjab putsch to musings about a loss of direction. Punjab?

The visible signs of the PPP — posters, banners, advertising hoardings — have been torn down and the hostility of the man on the street is palpable on TV screens. The centre? Governance appears to have taken a back seat as ministers and parliamentarians huddle to discuss the latest shenanigans. The ‘extra-parliamentary powers’, i.e. the army and the US? Speculation of ‘concern’ in those quarters over the continuing political crisis is rife.

In these columns we have often highlighted the other national crises that beset the country, including a sinking economy and rising militancy, and pleaded for political stability so that space and time is created to address those issues. So when the lawyers and the opposition threatened a long march and a sit-in for the restoration of the deposed judges, we asked whether the possibility of street agitation was what the country needed at this crucial juncture in its history. Even if the cause was just — which the lawyers’ movement was — the means had to be peaceful and mindful of other crises that threaten to overwhelm the state.

But now it is the PPP that is distracting itself from the real task at hand. The only positive is last weekend’s events that demonstrated that common sense can still prevail, even if at the eleventh hour. We hope it won’t take that long this time.

__________________
The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Raiwind meeting

Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009

THE congenial atmosphere in Raiwind when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani paid a visit to Nawaz Sharif was a welcome relief from the disturbing signs of brinkmanship in recent days. But the PPP and the PML-N have not turned the corner yet, and, photo ops aside, there is reason to worry that the two parties may yet descend into the old pattern of internecine political warfare. Three issues have emerged as stumbling blocks to a political truce: the electoral eligibility of the Sharifs; control of the Punjab government; and structural changes embodied in the Charter of Democracy. On the disqualification issue, Nawaz Sharif has laid down the wrong marker. Mr Sharif has said that cooperation with the PPP depends on the Supreme Court reversing itself. But cooperation should depend on the PPP using every tool available to it to ensure the Sharifs can contest elections again.

If the Supreme Court fails to overturn the Sharifs’ disqualification, then the PPP must find a legislative solution to what is a manifestly unjust situation. By demanding a certain mode for return to electoral politics, Mr Sharif has unfortunately sent a signal that only judgments in his favour are correct. But surely political stability and institutional integrity demand that the politicians find political solutions to political problems rather than impose make-or-break conditions on the judiciary.

The second problem is the tussle for the Punjab government. Thus far the PPP has failed to gain the requisite majority in the Punjab Assembly and common sense suggests the party should abandon the pursuit immediately. Besides being good for stability in the province, the PPP should be wary of the possible repercussions at the centre. A failed attempt to woo the PML-Q would encourage voices in the latter demanding a reunion with the PML-N — an outcome that would create a formidable opposition to the PPP in Islamabad. In any case, it is difficult to imagine how the talk of cooperation between the PML-N and the PPP could become a reality again if the latter insists on shutting the former out of its power base.

Thirdly, the PML-N has made implementation of the Charter of Democracy its main demand at the centre now that deposed judges have been restored to office. Prime Minister Gilani reiterated his party’s commitment to the charter, but the language used by the PPP on the subject is interesting. The party has talked of ‘negotiations’ and ‘cooperation’ and ‘understandings’ on the ‘basis’ of the charter, but has not given a timeframe for its implementation, nor even categorically said that each and every provision will be implemented in letter and spirit. Clearly, notwithstanding public statements, there is much that still divides the PPP and the PML-N.
************************************************** ********

A precious resource

Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009

THE Fifth World Water Forum held in Istanbul recently has drawn global attention to a vital resource that is basic to the survival of mankind. It is ironic that governments have to be reminded of this fact time and again, yet they fail to address those water-related issues that now threaten the very existence of a number of countries. Some of the data released by international agencies is shocking. The burgeoning global population, climate change, wasteful lifestyles driven by consumerism and unequal water distribution have cumulatively led to a drastic fall in water resources across the globe. By the year 2030, nearly half the global population — almost four billion people — is expected to be ‘water-stressed’. Those severely affected will be living mainly in South Asia and China. Yet governments have failed to prioritise the issue of water security. They are still not cooperating with one another to optimise the use of water and thus coexist by sharing resources. True, they face major constraints — the absence of adequate technology and finances to conserve water and make it accessible, political trust deficit among different regions, lack of transparency in water management, and the failure to recognise water as a basic human right of the citizens are some of the problems. The anti-social approach that encourages water politics was succinctly challenged by protesters in Istanbul who insisted on “No to water privatisation”.

Pakistan has kept a low profile through all this. If this is indicative of the government’s apathy towards water, it is a pity. Our water problem is expected to intensify as the country moves from the status of a ‘water-stressed’ country to a ‘water-scarce’ one. Only 36 per cent of the people have access to tapped water — only 22 per cent in the rural areas — while per capita availability of water is barely 1,000 cubic metres compared to the 5,000 cubic metres we had in the 1950s. This in itself should shock us out of our complacency. Pakistan still has a long way to go towards improving its water demand management, conserve water flows to prevent wastage and restore the ecosystem, upgrade its water supply infrastructure, promote cooperation on the sustainable use of trans-boundary water resources, build small reservoirs all over the country, improve agricultural practices to increase water productivity and, above all, devise a system to distribute water equitably to all, irrespective of their capacity to pay. If these issues are not addressed on an urgent basis, Pakistan will head towards a water disaster.
************************************************** ********

Tariq Malik

Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009

WHO are the people prowling the streets of Lahore from dusk to dawn, depriving people of their cellphones, cash, vehicles — and shooting to kill if anyone resists? In the last two weeks, they have struck 450 times in the city; yet Lahore’s police remain completely clueless as to their identity and whereabouts. Tariq Malik (1979-2009), a reporter with DawnNews for more than a year and a journalist for four years or so, would surely have been covering this phenomenal police failure had he not become a victim to it. Late on Sunday night, as he tried to resist an armed robbery near his apartment in Defence — considered safer than many other localities in Lahore — he was shot dead by one of the criminals. Malik, an International Relations graduate from the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, had an affable personality and a positive outlook on life. He had stars in his eyes and possessed qualities of head and heart to reach them. For his siblings and parents in the small southern Punjab town of Layyah, his death meant the end of a dream which saw him getting ahead against heavy odds.

For the police, though, it is just another entry in the burgeoning crime list they appear least bothered about. While street crime keeps increasing, the police in Lahore seem to be going through endless transfers and postings, which makes it easier for them to pass the buck when they fail to focus on the job at hand. Not that they seem interested in or capable of handling the situation. Events in March demonstrate this: in the first week of the month, terrorists hit visiting foreign sportsmen with effortless ease and escaped without a hitch; by the end of the second week, the long march left the police searching for a working chain of command; and now Malik’s death has underscored their abject failure in making life secure in the city. They have a force of 27,000 for eight million or so Lahoris, yet they are utterly ineffective. How many people like Tariq Malik will die before this changes?

__________________
No signature...

Militancy on the march

Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009

IT could have been much, much worse. But for the extraordinary bravery of a police guard, Monday’s suicide attack in Islamabad may have taken a far heavier toll. A fearless constable, Faysal Jan, lost his life as he grappled with the assailant but probably saved many others present that night at the headquarters of the Special Branch police. In the end the death toll was limited to Mr Jan himself — and of course the suicide bomber. The police department owes the deceased constable a huge debt of gratitude, as does the nation as a whole. Monday’s incident was the first suicide attack in the federal capital in four months but across the country such bombings occur every other day. We have in our midst both local and foreign fanatics who are bent on mayhem. Taliban militias are gaining strength in some areas and the enemy is closing in. Unable to dictate terms, the state is capitulating and striking deals with militants from a position of weakness. It is the Taliban who are calling the shots, not the government or its security apparatus. Little wonder that there is no stopping the march of militancy which threatens to butcher our core values.

According to recent intelligence reports, some 20 foreign militants, most of them Uzbeks, have been dispatched by Tehrik-i-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to carry out terrorist strikes in major cities. Needless to say, ceaseless vigilance is required if catastrophe is to be avoided. Suicide attacks must necessarily be prevented in advance, for thwarting a bomber once he has reached the scene of the crime is next to impossible. All available police resources should be diverted immediately to monitoring suspicious movement and intercepting potential bombers and other attackers. One option: the police posses placed at the disposal of VIPs, largely for the latter’s self-glorification, need to be stripped to the bare minimum and put to better use. Intelligence-gathering efforts must also be boosted.

The challenge ahead is daunting in the extreme. There are disturbing reports that the rocket launchers and explosives used in the attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team were standard-issue weapons used by Indian forces. If true, these findings suggest that genuine regional cooperation in the fight against militancy and terrorism may still be a distant dream. Finally, a word on the Pakistani political scene. It is encouraging that the country’s two main political parties seem to be pulling together in the name of stability and national harmony. But political stability is not an end in itself and neither is power-sharing or the allocation of ministerial posts. True cooperation will be evident only when the major players unite to tackle the principal problems facing the country. Militancy and the causes behind it head the list.
************************************************** ********

Tuberculosis: a major killer

Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009

AT a time when politics dominates our lives, one should not fail to note that Pakistan is being devastated by health problems that have emerged as silent killers. Tuberculosis is one of them. March 24, observed as World TB Day every year, came as a reminder, albeit a routine one, of how vulnerable we are to this disease which kills almost 70,000 in the country annually. This is a shame, for these lives could have been saved only if society and the state had the will to address the problem. The 300,000 new cases diagnosed every year add to Pakistan’s tuberculosis burden of an estimated four million sufferers. TB is curable, and it is a pity that 127 years after Dr Robert Koch identified the TB bacillus enabling effective drugs to be developed, we still have people dying of the disease. The expansion of diagnostic and health facilities doesn’t seem to have helped much. Many cases are still not detected. Meanwhile, patients who start the treatment often interrupt it — the normal course is of eight months’

duration — end up with multi-drug resistant TB that is deadlier and more costly to treat. It appears that the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) programme, which is designed to ensure that patients don’t abandon medication halfway, has helped but not fully.

The fact is that those suffering from tuberculosis are mostly poor, uneducated and malnourished. They lack resistance to disease (some are AIDS sufferers) and their poverty and ignorance compound their health problems. As they live in congested conditions and are not aware of the protective measures that are essential to stopping the spread of TB, they become easy carriers. If untreated, they can infect as many as 10 to 15 healthy people every year. Hence the challenge is not simply the medical dimension of the treatment, which no doubt is important. There is also a need to address the basic issue of health education in communities that need to be taught the art of healthy living. Civic bodies could help by improving their performance in the field of sanitation, water supply and sewage/solid waste disposal.
************************************************** ********

Exit America?

Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009

WITH the US administration set to unveil its new strategy on Afghanistan next week, President Obama’s remarks about the need for an “exit strategy” and to avoid “perpetual drift” make for an interesting preview. Mr Obama has consistently tried to lower expectations about Afghanistan, talking of a ‘stalemate’ and moving away from George W. Bush’s broader strategy of promoting democracy towards the goal of simply preventing another attack on US soil being launched from Afghanistan. But does this mean the US is losing its appetite for the fight in Afghanistan and is preparing to cut and run? Far from it. President Obama is a sophisticated thinker with a taste for complexity. His short-term plan has already been revealed: 17,000 more US troops will arrive in Afghanistan this spring and summer. More may be on their way next year. And in briefings to Nato allies, Special Representative Richard Holbrooke has outlined the new strategy on Afghanistan, which reportedly has a significant non-military component and includes multi-billion dollar aid for Pakistan, in line with the US administration’s preference for a ‘regional’ solution to the Afghan problem.

So clearly the US administration is trying to craft a plan for Afghanistan that pays heed to short-, medium- and long-term requirements. Mr Obama’s reference to an exit strategy may have been meant to pacify his domestic audience and the US’s international partners with a troop presence in Afghanistan, all of whom are worried about losing endless blood and treasure in a faraway place. Here in Pakistan it is important to properly understand the thrust of what the US is attempting to do in Afghanistan in the years ahead. The simplistic, and dangerous, conclusion would be that the western world is preparing to turn tail and therefore our security establishment’s policy of hedging its bets and keeping its links to militants alive stands vindicated. Some home truths need to be absorbed. Pursuing the chimera of strategic depth in Afghanistan has greatly harmed Pakistan, so much so that militancy is today a threat to the existence of the state itself. To survive as a state we must fight militancy with every resource available and seek whatever help we can get. The Americans can be a valuable ally in that fight. No doubt they got many things wrong under President Bush, and President Obama has clung to the deeply unpopular drone strikes. But betting on a quick American withdrawal in Afghanistan will not be the solution to our problems.
************************************************** ********

OTHER VOICES: European Press:- MPs’ expenses

Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009

THE debate over Tony McNulty and Jacqui Smith strengthens the case of a review of the rules on MPs’ salaries, expenses and allowances. The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established by John Major in 1994 amid concern about the unethical conduct of some MPs, notably the acceptance of financial incentives for tabling questions. It is ostensibly an independent standing body; but its terms of reference are set by the government, to whom recommendations are made and advice is given. Its remit is “to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life”. The committee will now investigate the allowances of MPs in the light of continued public unease about the way they are claimed. We believe this is correct.

The disclosure that Tony McNulty, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, has claimed some £60,000 in additional costs allowance for the home where his parents live in his London constituency is the latest illustration of a deeply unsatisfactory state of affairs…. Mr McNulty maintains that he has done nothing wrong and that his claims were “within the rules”. It is, of course, possible to have done something wrong within the rules if the rules themselves are flawed.The standards committee is not empowered to investigate individuals, and nor should it. There is a parliamentary commissioner, to whom a complaint has been made against Mr McNulty, to do that. Over the years, the Commons has taken serious action against members whose activities have not been so obviously dissimilar from those of Mr McNulty or Miss Smith. The latter pair should not be treated differently because they are senior members of the government.

What is needed is a thorough review of salaries, expenses and allowances of MPs, some hard and fast rules for their dispensation and a clear exposition of the penalties for any breaches. This would necessarily entail the agreement of parliament which is, after all, the highest court in the land, and whose members are assumed to be honourable….

Yet … suspicion has grown among voters that some … are abusing their position by using their expenses to enhance their incomes. This is bad for democracy and bad for the country. The standards committee has seven principles that it believes should apply to all in the public services. They include the concept of selflessness — that public office should not be used as an opportunity for enrichment at the expense of the taxpayer. The suspicion that this is what is happening must be laid to rest once and for all. — (March 23)

__________________
No signature...

Judicial reform

Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009

ON his first day back in his chambers, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has spoken of the need to rid the judiciary of corruption. “In my opinion, lawyers will have to continue their struggle for dignity of this institution and make it more respectable,” the chief justice said. Mr Chaudhry is correct; the restoration of the deposed judges is only the first step in a long struggle for an independent, responsive and effective judiciary. The task ahead is nothing short of gargantuan. From providing speedy justice in ordinary civil or criminal cases to putting in place a transparent mechanism for the selection of superior court judges, from making sense of the constitutional mess to shoring up a failing judicial infrastructure — there is no shortage of areas where change is needed. What is important to understand though is that the lawyers and the judges themselves cannot fix a broken system. They may work harder, more honestly and with a greater sense of purpose, but unless the government of the day does not genuinely address the structural problems that afflict the judicial system in Pakistan, change will be limited.

Consider the issue of delivery of justice. A report by the International Crisis Group last October painted a very bleak picture: “Under-equipped courts and prisons deny access to justice to citizens…. The limited writ of the justice system and the resulting vacuum [have] also enabled widespread vigilantism.” The math is easy enough to understand: 75 to 80 per cent of cases are handled by the subordinate judiciary, but a lack of resources has resulted in an estimated backlog of 1.5 million cases in the civil courts alone. The ICG report goes on to flag the continuing problem: “Successive government law commissions have recommended a substantial increase in the number of judicial officers, courts and other facilities only to have their recommendations ignored.” On the criminal side, governmental neglect has also been disastrous. The country’s prosecution rate was estimated in 2007 to be less than 10 per cent. Why this terrible state of affairs? “Inadequate pay and resources, limited investigation and prosecution capacities and long gaps between the filing of charges and trial dates during which evidence often disappears are some of the problems,” according to the ICG.

Consider also the issue of judicial appointments. The constitution gives the president the power to appoint judges of the superior courts after consultation with the relevant chief justice or governor — a process which has proved deeply personal and non-transparent. The Charter of Democracy suggests an alternative selection procedure with input from the judiciary, the bar associations, the government’s top legal officers, the prime minister and parliament; a thoroughly more inclusive process. Whatever the new mode of selection, the point is the same: change is urgently needed, but it won’t be possible without the government’s cooperation.

************************************************** ********

Death penalty

Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009

MANY in this country are in favour of retaining the death penalty. The argument presented is most often based on the flawed premise that capital punishment somehow deters heinous crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even a cursory examination of the crime graph in Pakistan will show that the incidence of violence resulting in death has registered a sharp increase over the decades. Capital punishment cannot be a deterrent in a country where policemen and magistrates can be bought. Anyone with enough influence or money can gun down another human being and live gloatingly ever after. It is all too easy to subvert justice in Pakistan. Produce money, that’s all, and let corruption take its course. Forget for a moment the ethical concerns about taking the life of another human being. In a system as highly inequitable as ours, there ought to be no place for the death penalty. For the most part, it is the poor who are hanged. The prosperous, almost invariably, get off scot-free. Investigations too can be faulty. In this country where there is so much scope for miscarriage of justice, and where ‘confessions’ are extracted under pain of death, capital punishment needs to be done away with at the earliest.

According to Amnesty International, “at least” 236 people were sentenced to death in Pakistan in 2008 and “at least” 36 were executed. We breasted the tape one execution behind the United States in this race towards barbarity. China heads the list of countries that kills its own citizens. The People’s Republic executed more than 1,700 people in 2008, or nearly 72 per cent of the global head count of 2,390. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who has spent considerable time in jail, had promised on more than one occasion that his government would embark on prison reform and also abolish capital punishment. Little or no business has resulted. True, the country has been rocked by political turbulence since the democratic dispensation took office in March last year. But the affairs of the state cannot be put on hold indefinitely. Among the items still pending on the agenda is the abolition of the death penalty. Only when justice is delivered, and is seen to be delivered, will heinous crimes cease to be committed with the impunity that is currently the norm. Hanging someone who may be innocent is anything but a deterrent.

************************************************** ********

Ideological space

Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009

THE predicament in which Lema Sahar finds herself is instructive of the fact that human rights, in the true sense of the term, include the freedom to express creative and cultural ideals — a fundamental part of being human. The young singer from Kandahar shot to stardom last year after reaching third place on the popular television show Afghan Star, a version of American Idol. She beat over 2,000 rivals, and Tolo, the television channel that hosts Afghan Star, gave her an award of courage which included prize money and a recording contract. Now, Lema Sahar finds herself in need of every bit of courage that she can muster. Forced to flee Afghanistan, she has been in hiding in Peshawar for the past two months. For in her hometown of Kandahar, from where the Taliban first launched their repressive movement, she is considered an outcast for not only having participated in the show but having done so without the face-covering burka prescribed by the zealots. It matters little that during her performance she was attired modestly by any reasonable Islamic standards. Nevertheless, she was issued death threats by anonymous elements as well as by neighbours and family members. Now, Lema Sahar regrets having ever tried to fulfill her creative potential.

Creativity, talent and the ability to dream are characteristics that separate humanity from the animal kingdom. What is perceived by the singer’s persecutors as ‘baring’ is actually just a function of her being a person: her need to explore her potential and reach for higher goals. By participating in the show, she made use of her right to the freedom of expression. Her subsequent experience underscores the fact that the narrow version of ‘propriety’ prescribed by extremist elements envisages human beings as little more than talking animals. Lema Sahar’s experience serves as a grim warning to Pakistan, too, where in some areas CD shops and girls’ schools are being bombed on a virtually daily basis. At the heart of the battle is ideological space. Once liberal and tolerant elements concede this space, as has been the case of Swat, it cannot be easily reclaimed.

__________________
No signature...