Muharram security

November 12th, 2012

Many parts of the country remain on edge as Muharram approaches. In Karachi, several people — both Shia and Sunni activists — have been murdered in the past week in a renewed wave of sectarian killings. Victims have included an adviser to the Imamia Students Organisation and a Shia scholar as well as activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and students of a Deobandi madressah. Quetta has seen its share of targeted killings, particularly of beleaguered Hazara Shias. The situation in Gilgit-Baltistan, which experienced an outburst of sectarian violence earlier in the year, is also tense. There are intelligence reports of threats in Khairpur, Sindh too.

While the law and order situation in many parts of Pakistan is already precarious, the administration faces additional challenges during Muharram. Large numbers of people are on the streets on their way to and from mosques and imambargahs, while countless majalis are organised and processions taken out across the country. Securing the venues in such a charged atmosphere, with the threat of terrorist violence ever present, is indeed challenging. The authorities have begun to go through the usual motions. For example, pillion-riding has been banned in certain cities while meetings have been organised with ulema to ensure harmony. Scholars from all sides must ensure harmony while the Shia community needs to cooperate with law-enforcers, and vice versa, for a safe Muharram. Enhanced security, greater deployment and effective intelligence-gathering and sharing are all required. Where need be the army should be deployed; it has already been tasked with maintaining peace in Hangu during Muharram and is reportedly on the standby in Quetta.

Police officials point out that it is essential for military and civilian intelligence agencies to share advance intelligence in a timely manner so that action can be taken. Coordination becomes all the more important when a number of agencies are involved in gathering different types of intelligence. Also, the intelligence passed on to the police and Rangers needs to be ‘actionable’ and specific — vague information helps little to avert attacks. Increased surveillance of suspected militants on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act is also necessary. Reports in the media that security agencies in Punjab have lost track of 50 terrorism suspects are not encouraging. And in case anything untoward does occur, security forces, specifically the police, should be properly trained in disaster management and crowd-control techniques, especially in non-lethal methods of managing crowds. With cooperation from all stakeholders — the general population, the Shia community, the security establishment and the state — the terrorists’ plans can be foiled and the period of mourning observed peacefully.

Cops as bill collectors

November 12th, 2012

With unpaid electricity dues well in excess of Rs300bn, the power crisis in the country needs to be urgently addressed. To this end, the Council of Common Interests has approved the use of the police force to aid power companies in the recovery of electricity dues from defaulters. Provincial police departments are to designate one DSP with 40 personnel to be placed at the disposal of each distribution company to accompany recovery officers in their quest for the elusive dues. While none can quibble with the objective, the means proposed to achieve it raise concerns regarding fairness and practicality. For one thing, it appears that this modus operandi will be employed against defaulters across the board, at the institutional as well as individual level. The biggest defaulters of power dues are public-sector institutions, not to mention government departments and the armed forces. Until these recalcitrant offenders are proceeded against, the process cannot be seen as transparent and even-handed. However, one can safely assume that they don’t face the prospect of a police contingent beating down their doors to recover the dues any time soon. Politically well-connected private defaulters can also rest assured that the all-pervasive culture of patronage will continue to protect them. In areas where kunda (illegal) connections are rife, power personnel seeking to disconnect these have often been confronted with mob violence from locals and there is no reason to believe that matters will be any different if police officers accompany them. It may even result in the situation getting completely out of hand.

Moreover, the potential for abuse in the proposed method is enormous. The prospect of the police, an institution that does not — to put it politely — have a sterling reputation in terms of integrity, being given the power to barge into private homes on the pretext of dues recovery is alarming. It would serve the power distribution companies far better to implement the methods so far employed only in a lackadaisical manner, such as lodging FIRs for power theft and pursuing them to their logical conclusion, and doing so without fear or favour.

Tough climb ahead

November 12th, 2012

As the world geared up to mark the Global Action Day for Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistan government launched on Friday a literacy programme to provide free education to children, primarily girls. The four-year Waseela-i-Taleem initiative, undertaken under the umbrella of the Benazir Income Support Programme, aims to educate three million poor children, with President Zardari noting during its launch that “no country can make any progress without investing in its human capital”. We hope the state remains committed enough to achieve its goals. There is no doubt that, as report after report has pointed out, Pakistan faces an education emergency with the young not being able to attend school due to a wide variety of reasons ranging from convention or poverty to security — as the injuries suffered by Malala so horrifyingly demonstrated. Not only are there not enough schools in the country, Pakistan’s dropout rates are much higher and enrolment figures woefully lower than they should be.

The grim picture of the fate of the next generation, particularly its female members, is drawn in clear lines by the recently released Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Pakistan is among the bottom 10 countries in terms of education for females in straitened financial circumstances. It was also amongst the last 10 for the amount of time girls spend in schools in their lifetimes, with almost two-thirds of the poorest girls never going to school at all. These figures are cause for serious concern, for coupled with population growth and demographic figures, they point towards a future where growing numbers of people are not just poor but illiterate as well, thus further decreasing opportunities for uplift. Only if the government takes strides towards achieving the Waseela-i-Taleem initiative’s goal can it be considered to have demonstrated its commitment to this crucial sector.

A rare opportunity

November 13th, 2012

Even as the ruling party tries to make what political capital it can out of the Asghar Khan case, it will probably not be able to sweep under the carpet the real question: who will punish the generals? If Nawaz Sharif and other politicians took bribes to rig polls, who doled out those bribes? And here’s another complication: at whose direction was the money handed out? For all the temptation to use the case to make the main opposition look bad before the general elections, the ruling party knows it will look just as bad if it tries to implement only those parts of the Supreme Court verdict that suit it best. Because along with sordid tales of how low Pakistani politicians can go, there are two other important things at stake as the IJI saga unfolds in all its gory detail: the government’s courage in the face of the military, and its willingness to accept that a Pakistani president should not be involved in politics.

Perhaps that is why the FIA has yet to start investigating who received the money, despite the ruling party’s protests about the evil machinations of the PPPs opponents and the PML-N itself now courting a probe. For the opposition party, this appears to be a reasonable political gamble at the moment: invite accountability, betting that the ruling party will not have the fortitude to open up a can of worms that will require trying retired but very senior army generals and will also invite more questions about the PPP co-chairman’s occupancy of the presidency. Add to this the assessment that concrete proof about who received bribes will be hard to come by, and the opposition’s push for an investigation emerges as a reasonable risk-reward calculation.

But that is consistent with the opposition’s primary goal at the moment — performing well in the general elections. For a ruling party that claims to have achieved a milestone for Pakistani democracy, something more last-ing should be at stake. Through a combination of its own political savvy and because of the leanings of the current chiefs of the military and the judiciary, the government and the president have managed to bring the country to the brink of completing a full democratic tenure. But during that time they have hardly been willing or able to assert their authority as the military’s commanders. This could be the last real test of the current set-up’s commitment to democracy. With just a few months left to go, a civilian trial of generals Beg and Durrani, rather than leaving their fate to the military, would add to a lasting legacy.

Pragmatic approach

November 13th, 2012

A potentially disruptive confrontation involving the Election Commission of Pakistan and a number of lawmakers over the issue of dual nationality has been put off, at least until Nov 30. That is the new deadline the ECP set on Monday for lawmakers to submit their affidavits declaring that they do not hold dual citizenship. While the original deadline had expired last week, according to the latest reports around 200 lawmakers, including the prime minister, had not filed their documents. MNAs, senators and members of the provincial assemblies are all on this list. The Supreme Court had ruled in September that holding dual nationality for lawmakers is unconstitutional, and the ECP proceeded to seek affidavits following the apex court’s verdict. Around 12 legislators have already been disqualified for holding dual citizenship.

As a matter of principle, since the Supreme Court has ruled on the matter and as the ECP is insisting on it, lawmakers need to file their affidavits along with the requisite paperwork without delay. Senators especially should submit their documents as the upper house will remain after the present assemblies complete their tenure. Yet it is also true that general elections are on the horizon and with only a few months remaining before the assemblies complete their term, any drastic action taken against a large number of lawmakers at this point may upset the apple cart and create another unwanted confrontation between state institutions. Hence, it is imperative that all stakeholders — the lawmakers, the ECP and the Supreme Court — handle the matter tactfully and pragmatically to ensure a new crisis does not emerge. The ECP should work on creating an effective procedure through which candidates are thoroughly scrutinised for the upcoming polls to ensure dual nationals do not contest. Also, if the SC deems it fit, it can review its earlier order on the issue to facilitate a smoother democratic changeover. And if the legislators feel the law is unfair, perhaps they should amend the constitution to allow dual citizens to hold public office, though this newspaper agrees with the view that dual nationals are, as per the constitution, ineligible for public office in Pakistan.

Airblue crash

November 13th, 2012

It seems to be a case of ‘who do they think they’re fooling?’ The investigation into the causes that led an Airblue plane to crash two years ago, dragged on for long. After a series of delays, a report on the tragedy prepared by the Safety Investigation Board was released by the government. It seems to pin the blame on the crew in charge of the ill-fated plane. But if the families of the victims — 146 passengers and six crew members — thought that they had finally been allowed closure, they were wrong. After the Peshawar High Court issued an order opening a reinvestigation into the crash in January, a fact-finding team of the International Civil Aviation Organisation visited Pakistan in June. No words were minced in pointing out that the report released by the government was not only inadequate, but that the “accident investigation authority — SIB as well as the investigation process — is indeed not independent”.

The ICAO report noted that the fact-finding team was not provided a copy of the main report and was only allowed to examine it under supervision. And, there were omissions that even to the layman must seem glaring: no information, for example, about the crew members’ flight hours (which would indicate experience), medical history and duty and rest times, or about maintenance checks carried out on the aircraft. As a result, not just the victims’ families but anyone who travels by air is left wondering. Was the plane safe to fly or not, and if it wasn’t, what guarantee do we have that domestic fleets and their crew comply with international safety standards? This confusion must end. A credible and comprehensive inquiry into the tragedy needs to be conducted with speed, and the results made public. Further prevarications will not be acceptable.

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

Saving the saviours

November 14th, 2012

While the security situation has been derailed across the country over the past decade or so, it is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that has borne the brunt of increasing incidents of bombing. Lives are not only lost when terrorists hit security or civilian targets; even the bomb disposal squad is at risk when it attempts to defuse an unexploded device. The latter point was underscored by the death of explosives expert Inspector Hukam Khan who was killed while defusing an IED device in September. The incident highlighted the fact that bomb disposal is a potentially lethal line of work and each attempt at defusing explosives is haunted by potential tragedy. It is fitting, then, that yesterday’s newspapers carried photographs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police dep-artment initiating the use of robotic systems operated remotely through a computer interface and capable of defusing explosive devices. Purchased from the British government, the robotic systems can scan a suspicious object or vehicle and defuse explosives if present. Equipped with camera sensors and with the capability to dig up explosives, they can be used for dealing with IEDs, bombs, parcel bombs and vehicles rigged with explosives. Indeed, on Monday such a robot was used to defuse a device in Peshawar’s Nasirpur area.

Police departments all across the country, particularly in metropolises where bomb attacks are common, need to be equipped with such technology. The hard fact is that militants and terrorists are conversant with technology of various kinds for their grim purposes — from cellular communication tools to the Internet to ever-mutating methods of blowing things up. Worryingly, however, the country’s law-enforcement agencies, particularly on the civilian side, continue to operate with archaic methodologies and insufficient technology. Investing in machines and systems that can help save lives and avert tragedy is expensive, but the country’s hostile — and worsening — climate demands just this.

New wave of violence

November 14th, 2012

Even as the law and order situation in Karachi gets increasingly out of hand — dozens have been killed since the start of the weekend — the reaction to the sectarian violence that has flared up has been as inadequate as the usual response to political violence in the city. When clashes erupt between activists of ethnic or mainstream political parties, those parties let a certain amount of bloodshed take place before they hammer out a deal and then issue instructions to their workers or affiliates to retreat. While that process is taking place, law enforcement appears to be at a complete loss as it sits back, taking only reactive action, and waits for the politicians to sort out the mess. Meanwhile, the interior minister blames mysterious and unnamed external forces. As sectarian clashes now dominate the Karachi hea-dlines, a similar pattern of response — or lack thereof — seems to be emerging.

In this case it is the ulema who are issuing empty platitudes in public while in reality being unable or unwilling to order their followers to stop the bloodbath. Over the weekend the Milli Yakjehti Council met in Islamabad — not in Karachi, where a meeting of this particular organisation, meant to promote cooperation across sects, would have sent a strong signal against sectarian violence. And while it discussed everything from the role of religious parties in Pakistani politics to unity of Muslims across the world to supporting the blasphemy laws, what got lost in all this talk was the carnage taking place in Karachi, which should have been the focus of the meeting. A couple of days later, the interior minister made the rather remarkable assertion that there is no sectarian conflict in Karachi and that the recent clashes are being carried out by “invisible forces”. He said this after another meeting of the ulema — again held in Islamabad.

The upshot of all this is that officials and lead-ers appear to be doing nothing, leaving an ill-equipped, poorly trained and understaffed law-enforcement structure to react to incidents once they have already taken place. Putting in place extraordinary Muharram security arrangements is a necessary step, but that is only a short-term fix. What it will not improve is the fundamental inability of law enforcement to tackle a problem that is simply beyond its scope; even the army is now vulnerable to anti-state groups, and the Rangers have demonstrated that they cannot fill the void created by an undermanned and easily influenced police force. As long as the ulema and the government fail to develop a more lasting political solution, there is only so much any of these organisations can do.

Changes to Army Act

November 14th, 2012

Though the army may not seem to be too enthusiastic about changing its internal justice system, the Supreme Court has asked the government to consider amendments to the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, to allow for documents of the field general court martial to be made available to the accused. The apex court said this while hearing two related petitions concerning the army’s internal judicial process on Monday. As per the current practice, convicts or the accused in military courts do not get copies of judgments or depositions immediately, which makes appealing decisions difficult. The petitioner also claims that taking a statement from an accused under oath in a court martial and using it against him as evidence clashes with the Qanoon-i-Shahadat, an assertion some legal experts agree with as, according to them, the investigators need to establish independently whether the charge is correct. The court adjourned the hearing of the petitions for three weeks on Tuesday due to the Ministry of Defence’s plea for more time.

Constitutionally, every citizen has the right to a fair trial and due process. Considering the SC’s observations, the Army Act should be amended to bring it in line with constitutional requirements; providing the accused with judgments and other details immediately would be a first step. As far as the appeals process is concerned, some lawyers recommend that a special appellate tribunal be constituted that features members from outside the military hierarchy, as it is highly unlikely that serving officers will take decisions that differ from those of the high command. If military trials cannot become more open, at least the appeals process should be made more transparent. The accused also need to have access to the defence counsel of their choice. While the army’s concerns about internal discipline may be valid to an extent, these have to be balanced with other factors, such as constitutional requirements and respect for fundamental rights. Also, as the SC observed on Monday, if the air force and navy have made certain amendments to their internal judicial processes, there is no reason why the army cannot do the same.

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

Beyond lip-service

November 15th, 2012

It has been argued that if one were to look for a starting point that has led Pakistan to the woeful place where it is today, it may be lack of education. Alongside the low literacy levels, the curricula, the lack of oversight and the knowledge base of even those who have been to school have continued to be called into question. The challenges faced by the country on this front are myriad and multi-dimensional and begin from the general lack of infrastructure. A population skewed heavily towards the young features low enrolment and high dropout rates, with one in every 10 out-of-school children in the world being Pakistani. Add to this a worsening economic climate which forces parents to keep their children out of school, and the targeting of schools by terrorists, and it is hardly surprising that, as a study undertaken last year estimated, there are 26 countries poorer than Pakistan, but that send more children to school.

Fortunately, though, in the recent past there have been a couple of developments that give some hope. As a consequence of the 18th Amendment, Article 25-A of the constitution directs the state to provide “free and compulsory education” to children aged between five and 16 years. And on Tuesday, the National Assembly adopted the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2012 — it has already been passed by the Senate — and called upon the provinces to adopt similar bills. The legislation has worthy features, including infrastructure development and teacher training, stricter regularisation of private schools and punishment for employers who do not send children working for them to school. There is no denying that much would improve if the country could educate its children.

As usual, though, the devil lies in the detail. Has the state the will to undertake the change in mindset that is necessitated to put every child in school? To put every child in school, we would immediately have to see teachers being trained and schools being built on virtually every street. We would need a countrywide strategy to reduce the need for children to work, or for their parents to keep them out of school for other reasons, to create employment opportunities for matriculates or incentives for further education, and to install an educational net that embraces all children, everywhere. And doing that would require far more spending — by some estimates six or more per cent — than the 1.7 per cent of the GDP currently being spent. So, the question then becomes one of political will. Is the state willing to put its money where its mouth is?

China’s new leader

November 15th, 2012

Immense challenges face the new leadership as Xi Jinping, whose assumption of office is now only a formality, becomes the first post-1949 Chinese to become the Communist Party’s general secretary. The astonishing pace of China’s economic development has made its econ-omy the world’s second largest. But this has not been without a price in terms of social pressures, a widening rich-poor gap and such a high level of corruption that outgoing president Hu Jintao had to devote a considerable part of his speech to the subject on the opening day last week of the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Congress. Mr Hu said if China failed to tackle corruption it could prove “fatal” to the party and cause “the fall of the state”. These are grim words from a veteran during whose decade-long rule China overtook Japan as an economic power. Western experts forecast that the Chinese economy will pass America’s during the Xi rule. But voices within party and government are calling for urgent political and economic reform to address growing discontent as seen in the social media.

While the Bo Xilai affair highlights the ideological dissent within the party, the conviction of Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel laureate, shows dysphoria in the fast-expanding and vibrant middle class, especially among the intellectuals. Mr Bo was a powerful member of the politburo and a candidate for the top post. His reservations about what is called Dengism and emphasis on a return to Maoism triggered a rift within the top brass, leading to his expulsion from the party. Mr Xi, the fifth-generation leader, is said to be a man of vision and must move fast to reform the system. There are indications the party constitution may be amended, and the economic reforms could include the breakup of large state-owned enterprises. Mr Xi, who will replace Mr Hu when he is elected president by parliament next March, will also have to tackle some knotty foreign policy issues and develop rapport with a re-elected American president to remove differences on such issues as Syria, Iran and the quarrel with neighbours over disputed islands.

A welcome initiative

November 15th, 2012

Speaking to a counter-narcotics conference on Tuesday, the president called for regional efforts to eliminate the drug trade. A contact group has been formed in this regard and the initiative seeks to target all stages of the illicit trade — from the cultivation of raw material to the trafficking of the end product. This is an important step as Pakistan, partly due to its geography, is a major transit point in the global drug trade. Afghanistan to our west is considered the world’s largest opium producer and according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, around 40 per cent of Afghan opiates end up in or transit through Pakistan. This situation has had very negative consequences on Pakistan; considerable numbers (estimates range from 500,000 to over a million people) in this country are struggling with heroin addiction while the drug trade is also big business for the Taliban and criminal groups. Also, UNODC says that Pakistan is a “known destination and trans-shipment point for precursor chemicals — substances used in the production of drugs”. Ephedrine, over which there has been much domestic uproar, falls in this category.

It is welcome that a regional approach is being applied to the problem. Yet simultaneously, we need to put our own house in order. On paper our anti-narcotics policy is fine, but the problem occurs in its implementation. Better efforts need to be made to prevent the transportation and transit of illegal drugs through Pakistan. Spots along the Balochistan coast and the area along the Afghan border need to be particularly monitored. The manufacture of drugs in mobile labs must also be addressed while the Anti-Narcotics Force’s capabilities, specifically its ability to gather advance intelligence, must be vastly improved if Pakistan is not to be considered a major conduit for international drug smuggling.

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

Shift in the wind?

November 16th, 2012

Finally, a possible breakthrough. After months of apparent reluctance to help facilitate Afghan reconciliation, Islamabad’s handing over of a handful of Afghan prisoners is a promising sign that Pakistan’s thinking on the issue might be shifting. Little is known publicly about who the released prisoners are, and what level of influence they have on decision makers within the Afghan Taliban. Mullah Baradar and other high-profile prisoners the Afghans requested remain in Pakistani custody. The rifts within the Taliban over whether or not to talk to the Karzai government are well-known. But Pakistan’s move has at least two important positive implications. It could, if the prisoners handed over are able to help, breathe some life into an Afghan reconciliation process that appears to be stalled.

The more likely and long-term benefit of the exchange, of course, is that it has the potential to become a turning point in Pak-Afghan relations, creating the opportunity for future initiatives that could pay off even if these particular prisoners aren’t able to do much. There is also the matter of a lack of willingness on both sides to take action against groups carrying out cross-border attacks, something they may be more willing to do as relations improve. As the clock winds down, bringing the region closer to Afghan elections and the Nato withdrawal, the lack of a constructive relationship is not something either Pakistan or Afghanistan can do without. Pakistan’s coming to the table is hopefully a recognition of just this fact. Also promising is how this move could boost Pakistan-US relations, even as America’s role in this exchange, of whatever nature and extent, was wisely played down. The focus on the bilateral aspects of this particular agreement is important, a confidence-building measure between the two countries that will have to manage affairs once Western troops leave.

No matter what choices Pakistan makes regarding a role in Afghan peace, it is hard to predict how things will play out. If, for example, the Afghan Taliban have a role in a future Afghan government, one facilitated by Pakistan, might they provide shelter to Pakistani Taliban seeking refuge there? But if reconciliation doesn’t work and the country descends into further conflict once Nato forces leave, might there be spillover in Pakistan? The outcome of any given Pakistani approach is hard to predict. But one thing we now know for sure: impeding peace in Afghanistan by trying to hedge our bets through proxies has been a losing strategy. Supporting or sheltering them has only caused damage here at home. It is time to back a peaceful political process next door instead.

Inhumane punishment

November 16th, 2012

Given the strong pro-death penalty lobby in Pakistan, it has been difficult for the country to join the ranks of the majority around the world where this most ultimate of punishments has either been removed from the law books or is not administered. Nevertheless, during the tenure of the current government, a middle ground had been found and there was a de facto moratorium on executions. Since the PPP came to power in 2008, Pakistan has been one of 36 countries that do not implement the death penalty. Conversely, it is also one of the countries with the highest number of prisoners on death row — according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the figure is over 8,000, while prison records show that it is at least 7,164. But the moratorium came to an end on Thursday as a soldier, sentenced to death for having killed a superior officer four years ago, was hanged early Thursday morning in Mianwali Jail. His mercy petition had been rejected by the president last December.

Human rights agencies refer to the death penalty as the ultimate in cruel, degrading and inhumane punishments. They see it as violating the right to life as enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The global campaign to abolish it spans decades and two-thirds of all countries have done just this — either by law or in practice. Pakistan, too, needs to follow suit. Right to life takes on added significance here. The prosecution process and investigation methodologies are so flawed in most cases, it is difficult to ascertain whether the accused is indeed guilty of murder beyond any shadow of doubt. There were some indications that the government wanted to take up the issue. Early this month, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the government was planning to introduce in parliament a bill converting the death penalty to life imprisonment. Since then, though, nothing has been heard on the subject. That bill needs to see the light of day at the earliest. Meanwhile, the de facto moratorium on executions should be restored. The world needs to see capital punishment being abolished.

New names

November 16th, 2012

Lahore had set out to rediscover Shaheed Bhagat Singh by pressing for a city square to be dedicated to the freedom fighter close to where he was hanged. The process has helped it to find many others whom it should have honoured long ago. A committee established by the government has now given recommendations for honouring others close to the people’s heart. We are in urgent need of our heritage being recognised. It was no small coincidence that on Wednesday as the committee searched for a spot worthy of boasting the great Bulleh Shah’s initials, a group was protesting in Shadman, imposing their own ‘anti-Islam’ and ‘unconstitutional’ identities on the proposed Bhagat Singh memorial. This makes the public honouring all the more desirable.

Of the 26 names endorsed by the Dilkash Lahore Committee, the formality of seeking feedback has been completed for the Bhagat Singh and Chaudhry Rehmat Ali chowks. The remaining will be advertised for comments before being officially notified. From among these, someone like Jalaluddin Akbar would have perhaps liked a memorial closer to his fort instead of the rather distant placement he has been given. Also, the committee could have looked for a few more female names to adorn the city’s expanding landscape in addition to Habba Khatoon’s. Obviously, some political choices have been accommodated and great caution seems to have been exercised in celebrating non-Muslim personalities. Apart from Bhagat Singh, only Justice A.R. Cornelius and Jogindar Nath Mandal, who chaired the first constituent assembly of Pakistan, have made it to the list. The old practice was to choose a spot drawing its name from a British colonial personality and to give it a new name. This has been shunned. The effort to not encroach on the past signifies progress. The addition of new names while the old identities remain undisturbed will make Lahore richer.

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

Another clash?

November 17th, 2012

It's that time of year again. For the more conspiracy-minded Pakistanis, enough has happened in the last few days to get them wondering if a new front has opened up in the land that lurches from one real or perceived clash of institutions to another. Through a slew of cases, the judiciary charges or accuses serving and retired army generals of everything from picking up people in Balochistan and rigging the 1990 election to mismanagement and corruption at the NLC, Pakistan Railways and Fauji Foundation. The chief justice announces that “missiles and tanks” will not keep Pakistan secure, and a few days later issues another public defence of accountability and the constitution. A petition questioning the army chief’s extension is revived, and the Rawalpindi bar passes a hard hitting statement against the COAS. Meanwhile, Gen Kayani publicly asks institutions to stay within their domains and the lawyer filing the petition against extension gets beaten up by unidentified thugs.

That is enough to lead to wild speculation and rumour-mongering in Pakistan, but it is also enough to raise the need — yet again, sadly — to urge all parties involved to take a deep breath and a step back. The government and the judiciary seem to be getting along better, especially since they reached an understanding on the Swiss letter, even though the Supreme Court continues to intervene in some areas where the executive should have the last word. And while the government has from time to time tried to challenge the military, it has largely accepted the limits of how far it can go on that front and has worked out ways to keep itself in power, if not fully in control. But now a judge-versus-general tussle could be brewing, and it has the potential to create instability just as Pakistan is six months away from the finish line of on-time elections.

This is not to say that corruption charges against the military should not be investigated to the fullest extent. The revival of the petition against Gen Kayani’s extension is also perfectly legitimate. The timing of the move is arguably suspicious, since the petition has been rejected before, but on its merits the case is a strong one. What is needlessly provocative, though, are public speeches asserting the judiciary’s superiority and tacit encouragement to lawyers’ associations to jump into the fray. The same goes for the khakis: public pronouncements and a blatant physical attack on a perceived troublemaker will achieve nothing more than raising tensions. Both these institutions have plenty of work to do to address the real challenges the country is facing. Can they afford these petty distractions?

Lame excuses

November 17th, 2012

This week the Supreme Court was informed by the national carrier’s own counsel that PIA’s accumulated losses have risen to Rs119bn. This is a staggering figure even though it has been at least eight years in the making. In the nine-month period running from January to October 2012, PIA posted a loss of over Rs22bn, which had been Rs19bn in the corresponding period the previous year. The airline’s losses began in 2004 and have gathered momentum ever since, in spite of sharp increases in the cost of travel. The present authorities, through their counsel, have told the Supreme Court that they will not accept responsibility for the failures of past managements, thus implying that since the accumulated losses were largely incurred by previous PIA managements, no explanation will be provided for them today.

This is a deplorable attitude. Ever since the current losses started becoming apparent, the airline has been serving up one excuse after another to explain them away — all the while increasing passenger fares sharply. Last year’s annual report, for instance, blamed the losses on factors like “slow economic growth in developed economies” and “the Gulf countries, natural disasters and continued global recession” and the depreciation of the rupee. The latest quarterly results, filed in October from where the carrier’s counsel took the figure of Rs119bn in accumulated losses, add “turmoil in the Middle East, uncertainty about eurozone economies, stress on Pak-US relations” to the list. This is an old trick that managements typically use to explain their poor performance as they hide from the headlines. The board of directors has a duty to ask the necessary questions that cut through this fog of hype and zero in on the main issue: why are operating losses mounting in spite of passing the costs of rising fuel prices to the passenger? The fact that PIA has been able to include such diverse and frivolous reasons in its annual reports shows that the board of directors has not been doing its job of properly monitoring the management’s performance. Perhaps the Supreme Court should ask the board to explain.

Ineffective solutions

November 17th, 2012

High drama was witnessed on Thursday when Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that motorcycles would not be allowed to ply the roads of Karachi and Quetta on Friday, the first day of Muharram. In its turn, the Sindh High Court, responding to a petition, swung into action late Thursday night, suspending the interior minister’s ban. While Karachi’s million-plus motorcyclists must have been pleased with the court’s intervention, the Balochistan government decided to implement Mr Malik’s order, though the ban was challenged in the Balochistan High Court on Friday. The action against two-wheelers was taken due to fears that motorcycles may be used in acts of terrorism; Mr Malik told the Senate on Friday that motorbikes had been used to carry out over 400 bombings across the country. And in what now appears to have become standard operating procedure during any major religious occasion or whenever there are heightened threats of terrorism, cellphone services in Karachi and Quetta were also suspended on Friday.

These methods are arbitrary and unlikely to counter terrorism in a big way. They are easy ways for the government to wriggle out of its responsibility of maintaining law and order. The logic behind the motorcycle ban is shaky; if tomorrow there are intelligence reports that cars or trucks will be used in acts of terrorism, will the state order all vehicles off the road? True, perhaps the SHC should have acted more prudently and listened to the government’s view before suspending the ban as it is not clear whether the court was aware of the threat level. Nevertheless, while various remedies have been given for the security situation, especially in Karachi, and have included Senator Raza Rabbani’s impractical solutions, little has been done to beef up intelligence-gathering and counterterrorism efforts. These would be far more effective than stopgap measures which paralyse daily life.

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

Customer comes first

November 18th, 2012

The automobile industry in Pakistan is correct in registering its protest against the flood of used cars that have been entering the country for the last year and a half. It takes courage and tenacity in business affairs here to lay down large stakes in the economy, and substantial fixed investments require a stable policy environment in order to be viable. It’s true that in the past, demands for policy stability have been used to cover up rent-seeking opportunities. But this isn’t always the case, and the present situation with the automobile companies protesting against the tsunami of used car imports should not be seen as a demand for rentier protections. It’s a fair and reasonable demand for policy stability and the government needs to treat it accordingly.

But on the flip side, the government also has a point in underlining the rising costs of local cars, and the degradation of quality. The auto companies are reminding us all of the jobs that they create, and the foreign exchange that is saved through local assembly. But they should also recall that the main purpose of any business is to make money thro-ugh satisfying consumer demand. There are legitimate complaints of constantly rising prices of local cars and constantly falling standards of quality. The automobile companies need to understand that there are grounds for the suspicion that they are using the protections afforded to them as opportunities for making rentier profits. Of course some of the complaints are very challenging to address, such as artificial shortages created by speculators who buy up large quantities of new cars and then sell them on with ‘own money’ charges. But addressing these complaints must remain a priority, and the companies are welcome to publicly ask for the government’s assistance where it can help, such as in tracing speculative buyers.

So where does one take things when both parties have a valid point? In this case, the automobile industry and the government should sit down together to devise a long-term policy for the sector. The mixed experience of previous strategies should be allowed to become a source of discouragement. The last long-term strategy was the so-called deletion programme which sought to use the sector as a job-creating motor by emphasising the growth of indigenisation and local manufacture. Those are worthy goals, but in today’s world, where further liberalisation of trade is a certainty, the emphasis needs to be on competitiveness. And our auto sector can only hope to become truly competitive when it is more sensitive to the needs of its customers.

Gaza violence

November 18th, 2012

There is no better way for Benjamin Netanyahu to win the January election than to have yet another murderous go at Gaza. Dozens of Palestinian Gazans and three Israelis have been killed in four days of rocket exchanges between Palestinian militants and Israel as reports mount that the Likud government has called 75,000 reservists for a ground assault. What has piqued Israel is the extended range of Palestinian rockets, some of which Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system failed to intercept, for one of them hit Jerusalem. Mr Netanyahu, however, could strengthen his claim to another term as prime minister because Israeli strikes have killed Ahmad Jabari, Hamas’s military commander, and destroyed hundreds of Fajr missiles supplied by Iran to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The issue before the international community is to move fast and stop Israel from launching yet another invasion of the kind it did in 2008-09. That invasion had flattened Gaza’s cities and killed 1,417 people, most of them civilians. Of the war crimes committed by Israel, the most barbaric was the use of phosphorus shells on civilian targets as confirmed by international human rights organisations and the UN. There is every possibility that Israel may repeat this performance and, as always, will get away with it because of its overwhelming military advantage, its utter disregard for the laws of war and its diplomatic clout with the US and the European Union. While Russia accused Israel of disproportionate use of force, President Barack Obama said he supported Israel’s right to “defend itself”, and asked Egypt and Turkey to use their influence to end the rocket war. With Egypt under a Muslim Brotherhood leadership and Turkey still sore over the peace flotilla attack, it is unlikely Mr Netanyahu will listen to them. Israel has no intention of quitting occupied Palestinian territories, the 2005 ‘disengagement’ of Gaza being a fraud, because Israel continues to control the strip’s air, land and sea exits. So long as Gaza remains occupied, the Palestinian people will continue to fight for freedom, and in this lie the roots of the violence now in evidence.

Poetic licence

November 18th, 2012

A full court meeting headed by Pakistan’s chief justice on Friday adopted the song ‘Justice for All’ written by Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jillani and first heard at a Supreme Court function on Aug 14, 2006. The meeting also deliberated upon and granted a request by the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council seeking permission to play the song at PBC events. The etiquette followed by the PBC here may be a bit confusing to those outside legal circles. Why would an organisation — even of lawyers — need the court’s permission to adopt as its anthem a piece of verse — even one written by an honourable judge? The PCB likes it and can have it, in the same way lawyers, if they so desire, can address the judges as janab-i-wala without petitioning the courts. If there is a case here, it may be one for the literary critics to judge.

Feared as a law unto them, the most unyielding of critics would concede a trend is shaping here. The bench likes to quote from literature to add emphasis to their observations — turmoil facilitates the lavishing of all kinds of poignant sayings on this beloved land. This nation has been pitied and it has been reminded of Faiz’s lines in recent times. If these were allusions made within the larger body of a court ruling, the anthem is different in that it is an original. “The toil, the sweat, the tears and the blood … Thou may belong to any religion, creed or caste, Oh! The vision is distorted, the march is thwarted, Castles in the sand, babes in the woods.…” This is poetry — that too of the revolutionary variety to which all struggling people have a right. Once the poet has spoken there can be absolutely no embargo on who can adopt the lines as their own.

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

Witness protection

November 19th, 2012

Much has been said about the absence of an effective witness-protection programme in Pakistan. The fact that Haider Ali, the sixth and last witness to the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar, was killed in Karachi on Nov 11 only underscores the immediate need for one. Reportedly, there were 23 witnesses to Mr Babar’s January 2011 killing in the metropolis. Only six took the risk of testifying. Each man was gunned down in a frighteningly systematic manner. Mr Ali, for whom the Sindh High Court had ordered extra protection, was shot dead despite being underground. Policemen have also numbered among the murdered witnesses. These killings expose the callousness of the state and its inability to protect witnesses; when it knew that the men were at risk of being eliminated, stronger efforts should have been made to protect them. Witnesses in other high-profile terrorism cases have been similarly killed. This creates a frustrating situation: when people are afraid for their lives they will not testify, which means suspected killers will walk free.

The Sindh information minister said on Friday that Rs10m would be given to the home department to provide protection to witnesses. While this amount, however meagre, is welcome, as it is expensive to relocate witnesses and give them new identities, funds are just one aspect of the issue. What is also required is direction and planning. The president has reportedly ordered the Sindh government to draft a new witness-protection law. Yet a clause for protecting witnesses exists in the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2007, so perhaps the main focus should be on strengthening this provision. Anti-terrorism experts suggest that a witness-protection programme should be implemented incrementally as local authorities lack the capacity to initiate a programme similar to what is being practised in developed nations. Initial steps can include making sure that witnesses get to court without their identities being disclosed, and in-camera trials have been proposed. Another suggestion is to give witnesses financial incentives, as presently they get nothing for risking their lives.

Meanwhile, the police must revise their standard operating procedures where the gathering, preservation and analysis of forensic evidence is concerned. A forensic lab exists in Lahore, so police investigators should be required to submit evidence to this facility, while similar facilities need to be built in other cities. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, recently told his counterparts in Sindh and Punjab that he controlled rampant crime in that Indian state through speedy trials, strong prosecution and taking action against suspects irrespective of their connections. Perhaps our officials should have been taking careful notes.

No boost to the economy

November 19th, 2012

The cabinet’s approval of an amnesty scheme offering millions of tax dodgers a ‘last’ chance to legalise hidden assets and income and to register themselves as taxpayers by paying the paltry amount of Rs100 to whiten their black money has spawned a new controversy. The scheme will have a life of three months and take effect after it gets legal cover from parliament. The approval of the amnesty scheme — comprising the Tax Registration and Enforcement Scheme and Tax Investment Scheme — in spite of widespread opposition shows the authorities’ desperation to increase the number of active taxpayers and generate additional revenues to raise the abysmally low tax-to-GDP ratio of less than 10 per cent, equivalent only to that of some extremely poor African nations. The success of the scheme is also expected to enable the government to win back the confidence of the IMF, upon whose approval of Islamabad’s policies hinges the flow of billions of dollars in multilateral and bilateral loans and grants. Islamabad had to terminate the IMF loan facility in 2010 because of its failure to implement tax reforms due to political problems.

That the amnesty for tax dodgers has drawn flak from all quarters indicates the low level of trust in such measures. Its opponents have been pleading with the government to launch a crackdown against the 3.8 million tax dodgers it has identified and to shame them publicly rather than offer them yet another opportunity to launder their illegal money at the expense of honest taxpayers. Their criticism has a valid point: such schemes haven’t delivered in the past and will not work in future years. The government promises it is a one-off opportunity for tax thieves and plans to take stern action against those who do not avail themselves of it. Why not take action now? Only a few tax evaders are likely to sign up for the amnesty and millions will line up for yet another scheme some years down the road. The authorities’ obsession with the scheme appears to justify the perception that the amnesty aims at benefiting some powerful and wealthy people rather than helping the economy.

Tip of the iceberg

November 19th, 2012

It is a discovery that ought to cause more worry than is what is currently visible. Access to fake driving and weapons’ licences, identity and travel documents, etc can facilitate crimes that range from terrorism to human smuggling to remaining unidentified after a traffic violation. It was thought that the creation of the National Database and Registration Authority, which in many respects has been a success story, and the changeover to computerised documents would plug many of the gaps. Yet the police had an inkling that forged documents were in circulation since many times during verification certain individuals had remained untraceable on Nadra’s database. Their fears turned out to be well-founded when an operative of a gang involved in forgery was arrested in Islamabad. Subsequently, the police uncovered a network that specialises in forging crucial documents. And it seems that this is only the tip of the iceberg, for the arrested man told the police that the gang has separate wings in different cities; the main operators of the gang remain undiscovered which is disturbing to say the least.

The investigation instituted by law-enforcement agencies should be lent urgency by the fact that terrorists apparently have obtained fake identification papers and arms licences in large numbers from different operatives of the gang. Wherever documents of the type that the gang is known to have replicated are required to be produced, such as at airports or cellphone outlets issuing Sims, more stringent checks need to be put in place immediately. Reportedly, it was very difficult to identify the differences between 30 documents recovered during the operation and the authentic article. Further, Nadra must step up its campaign to have people switch to its new Smart national ID card, which is chip-based and would be much harder to forge.

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

‘Unverified voters’

November 20th, 2012

It is encouraging that Pakistan is finally undertaking much-needed electoral reforms. An important step in the right direction has been the linking of the electoral rolls to Nadra’s identity cards’ record. But that has also thrown up the ongoing contentiousness over the issue of ‘unverified’ voters. On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan disclosed that it had detected some 4.8 million ‘unverified voters’. The estimated figures per constituency are such that legislators have expressed the fear that these could upset the entire election scenario. Some of them have demanded these ‘unverified’ voters be immediately removed from the lists. Thankfully, the next day Nadra clarified that ‘unverified’ voters did not mean false identities or bogus votes, but referred instead to verification of voters’ places of residence. All these people have valid and verified identities, confirmed Nadra chairman Tariq Malik, and CNICs have been cross-referenced with other data such as bank accounts and machine-readable passports.

The problem, evidently, is that these 4.8 million people are ‘unverified’ because their current place of residence — as opposed to the permanent place of residence listed on the CNICs — has not been verified through the door-to-door contacting process. The current place of residence determines the constituency in which a citizen would vote. Nadra says that for all these individuals, verification was attempted three times. According to Mr Malik, not contacting the ECP for changes indicated that the individuals were “satisfied with the status of their entries”.

Certainly, no one should be disenfranchised — and it is worth noting that the unverified millions include 69 lawmakers, six judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, and many bureaucrats and army officers. What we need then is a large-scale campaign involving the administration as well as citizens to set the record straight and to ensure that people’s status is verified. The question is, where are the politicians in all this? The only interest they have shown so far is in demanding the arbitrary disenfranchisement of several millions. Are they not the primary stakeholders in a free and fair election? They should be far more involved in the process of registering people on the electoral rolls, helping verify their places of residence, the constituencies in which they are eligible to vote and other relevant details. Once the elections take place and results start rolling in, it is easy to predict that bickering will occur. How about helping the ECP and Nadra with the unwieldy but crucial task now? That would be a more valuable contribution to the democratic project than constantly complaining.

Muharram fears

November 20th, 2012

Sunday's blast at an imambargah in Karachi has heightened the immediate fear of the city’s residents that this year’s Muharram could be a bloody one. This was a nagging concern even before the weekend, both because of the record of violence during the holy month in past years and especially because of the sectarian violence that has plagued Karachi in the weeks leading up to it. Now, with an attack having been successfully carried out despite heavy security and several days still left to go before the particularly sensitive first 10 days of Muharram have passed, the spectre of another, and possibly more deadly, attack has become more real than ever.

As is the case every year, extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place for the month and volunteers from various communities and law enforcement are present at religious gatherings and processions in large numbers. And last year’s success in preventing large-scale attacks in the city shows that the authorities have built up some expertise in how to address the risks that Muharram brings. But Sunday’s blast showed that existing measures are still not enough. The attack, in which a motorcycle parked near the imambargah blew up, makes it clear that one obvious measure is to increase the radius around at-risk places of worship within which vehicles should not be parked, however inconvenient this might be for worshippers and nearby residences and businesses. But it also remains important to balance the need for security with citizens’ basic needs; this attack should not be taken as a reason for a blanket ban on motorcycles, on which over a million people in the city depend. Given this year’s record of sectarian violence across Pakistan, Sunday’s blast also begs the question of where else in the country an attack might take place and argues for an even greater effort in other sensitive areas as well. Karachi’s horrific Ashura blast of 2009 is still a recent memory, and this year’s trajectory suggests that law enforcement will have to step up their efforts to prevent another tragic event.

Public’s responsibility

November 20th, 2012

CNG cylinder blasts are not something that can be entirely blamed on the government while the public plays the innocent victim. In fact, such explosions — the latest blast in Karachi on Sunday took two lives — are very much of the people’s own making. They are mostly the result of greed, disregard for safety and a general disrespect for life. They can hardly be attributed to the lack of a public-awareness campaign. The frequent explosions are loud enough in themselves to remind the public of the dangers posed by faulty CNG kits. CNG stations have to prominently display a notice refusing gas to the drivers of those vehicles that do not carry certificates declaring that their gas kits are in working order. There has been no let-up in official and media reminders about the urgency of a CNG kit examination. Aside from private hands — some of them competent, others adept only at complicating matters — there is the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan that requires these kits to be examined every five years and has its own designated inspection centres. At around Rs500 per kit the job doesn’t entail too high a price. It is criminal how vehicle owners ignore all these warnings at such huge risk to life and limb.

Of course the government can be asked to set up more examination centres and expedite their working. It also has a responsibility to haul up all those vehicles fitted with all kinds of improvised and unfit CNG cylinders and find effective ways to punish their users. At the same time, for their own sake, the citizens must look around and help in the identification of lawbreakers. Provided that everyone is willing to come out of their false security zones and get their kits checked, many precious lives may yet be saved.

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

Deadly consequences

November 21st, 2012

A picture carried by this newspaper yesterday was certainly worth a thousand words. It showed rows upon rows of military uniforms on sale at a market in Mardan, despite a ban on such sale. It is pertinent to highlight here that several major terrorist incidents over the past few years have been carried out by perpetrators clad in army uniforms. These include, among others, the massacres of Shia bus passengers in Kohistan and Mansehra in February and August this year, respectively, as well as the attacks on the PNS Mehran and Minhas Kamra airbases. The army itself fell victim to this ruse when terrorists in army uniform attacked the GHQ in October 2009, after which a ban was imposed on the unauthorised sale of military uniforms. By all accounts, the ban has never been enforced.

Impersonating members of the army or law-enforcement agencies is a virtually foolproof tactic of gaining access to at least the outer parameters of high-security areas, not to mention an effective way of intercepting vehicles on the road. It is thus incomprehensible how army uniforms, as well as those of civilian law-enforcement agencies, can be openly sold in markets to which the public has access. Moreover, the particular market depicted in the photograph mentioned above is not in some remote outpost in the tribal areas but in Mardan, the second largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is the province most affected by terrorism. While it may be difficult to completely prevent people bent on creating mayhem from acquiring such uniforms, the government can at the very least ensure that the ban is strictly enforced and those flouting it are penalised to the fullest extent of the law. In a country where terrorists are running amok, let’s not make their job easier.

Slaughter in Gaza

November 21st, 2012

International efforts to effect a ceasefire in Gaza had not succeeded when these lines were being written, but eight days of Israeli rocket fire on the Mediterranean enclave’s crammed population centres has led to over 100 deaths. More menacingly, as reported by a Western wire agency, Israel has “signalled a readiness to expand” the war. That was hardly a reportable “readiness”. Delegates from the two sides have met in Cairo to stop the killings, but the United Nations has done nothing to put an end to them. Instead all that the diplomats at the Security Council have done is to draft a statement which they have sent to their respective foreign offices, while the international media continues to convey graphic scenes of the death and devastation inflicted on the Palestinian people.

A ceasefire will sooner or later come into effect, but the pertinent question to ask is: when will Israel launch its next blitz? Are peacemakers — from the secretary general of the United Nations to the re-elected president of the sole superpower — really making an effort to solve the problem for good and seeking a solution that will last? In other words, do they really think they can put out the fire by tackling the flames instead of going to the source of the blaze? The issue is the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination; the issue is the continued occupation of the Palestinian people’s ancestral land by settlers; the issue is how to end the occupation of the Arab lands and give to the people of Palestine a state of their own, with Jerusalem, now under Israeli occupation, as its capital.

Not that the world doesn’t know of this historic injustice. It does, but only in theory. The UN has passed at least two landmark resolutions — 242 and 338 — calling for Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian territories, and at least two American presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, had the wisdom and courage to make Israel accept reality and give up what was not its own. The 1978-79 Camp David agreement made Israel withdraw from the Sinai while the 1993 Declaration of Principles laid down a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal. But, after the man who signed it for Israel, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, was murdered, successive Israeli governments have reneged on it. Since then, there has been a stalemate, and Israel continues to build new settlements on the West Bank to alter the occupied territory’s demographic character. As experience shows, a ceasefire serves to end a slaughter only temporarily; it doesn’t root out the cause of the conflict that has continued for decades.

Anti-polio efforts

November 21st, 2012

For several years now, any progress on Pakistan’s anti-polio efforts has been followed by several steps backwards. At one point, there was hope that the crippling disease would soon be eradicated in this country. Instead, along with Nigeria and Afghanistan, we remain one of the world’s last three polio-endemic countries. Formidable challenges have raised their heads on numerous fronts. On the side of the state, these have included vaccinating teams missing children because of the remoteness of their area of residence and interruptions in the cold-chain storage system. Immense damage has also been done to the vaccination campaign by the rhetoric of hard-line clerics in the northwest that the drops would harm children. To add to this, the Pakistani Taliban ‘banned’ polio vaccinations in areas under their thrall, while a jirga decided that they too would resist the campaign unless drone strikes were halted.

All this has meant that cases of polio are being reported in an increasing number of spots in the country with alarming frequency. Now, it seems, officialdom has realised that in the north, Peshawar is a ‘polio reservoir’, with at least 10 new polio cases reported over the province’s five districts having originated in the provincial capital. Reportedly, the provincial health secretary chaired a meeting and ordered that special anti-polio drives should be initiated in 42 high-risk union councils. Further, it was decided that records would also be kept of those children that had missed vaccinations. This last step may prove useful in identifying the trends in the failure to administer the drops and to create more targeted interventions. No doubt the challenges are myriad but they must be surmounted. The resistance to polio vaccinations may actually be growing in Pakistan, as indicated recently in a survey conducted in Karachi: of well-off parents interviewed in five large shopping malls across the city, 72 per cent believed that the vaccine was harmful while 8.5 per cent said it was unnecessary, indicating that the problem is not one of low-income or the lack of education. This profoundly depressing finding should add to the impetus of anti-polio efforts.

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