Another attack

December 17th, 2012

Another military airbase attacked; another full set of lessons that perhaps will not be learned. Since the attack on the Mehran airbase in Karachi, the militants have demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of both the psychology and methodology of high-profile attacks. Targeting an airbase in even a semi-successful attack captures public attention in a way that a highly successful attack against other military targets would not. And while the security forces appear to be protecting vulnerabilities at airbases better than was the case before the Mehran attack, the militants are also adapting. They appear to be probing for weaknesses by deploying new combinations of fidayeen and suicide attackers, and still have fairly good intelligence on their targets. Why this is so is a question that the public has not received an answer to. So the focus must necessarily turn to more transparency and accountability within the security and intelligence apparatus.

Every new high-profile attack is a reminder of how little is known publicly about the investigations into previous such attacks. Was physical security as rigorous as it could be? Was the vetting of security personnel posted at these installations thorough? Were maps and schematics and other information protected adequately? And after weaknesses were exposed, how effective was the response of the security apparatus to ensure a repeat would be difficult? Clearly, as the attack on a foreign airbase in southern Afghanistan proved, the militants can exploit weaknesses in defences in even the most hostile environment. But in the absence of transparent and public investigations and accountability, we can’t be certain that negligence, incompetence or complicity in the security apparatus here is being identified and punished as thoroughly as it should.

Then there is the broader question that always comes up in these moments. Peshawar is adjacent to the tribal areas and as such will always remain more vulnerable than most Pakistani cities unless a coherent policy for eliminating militancy is developed. But despite having tens of thousands of troops stationed in Fata and launching a series of military operations that have recovered swathes of territory that had virtually been ceded to the militants, the absence of a zero-tolerance policy towards militancy has made it difficult to win this war. Apologists for the Taliban, who refuse to see that the militants’ war is against Pakistan and its people, have stood in the way of a unified stance. North Waziristan, and also the Tirah valley, remains a fundamental threat to security in Pakistan. Yet it is still not clear how the army-led security establishment intends to defang that threat. Paralysis and policy drift will only enable the militants to push harder to find even more weaknesses.

Not a long-term solution

December 17th, 2012

The State Bank of Pakistan managed to cross another rickety bridge on Friday without putting further pressure on the weakening external sector or jeopardising growth prospects. The small cut of half a percentage point in the key policy rate may have dismayed some businessmen. But given the challenges the economy faces at the moment it was perhaps the right response. By continuing monetary easing in response to the broad-based decline in price inflation, though at a slower pace than expected by the private sector, the bank has indicated its desire to support new private investment in the economy to counter weak growth. At the same time, the move is calculated to protect the economy from risks emanating from a deteriorating exchange rate on dwindling foreign financial inflows and huge debt repayments.

But the question is: will the bank be able to continue its monetary easing in its next review two months down the road? Any rise in inflation may force it to put the brakes on, or even reverse, the process of monetary easing. And the risk of inflation very much remains in the shape of a deteriorating exchange rate and massive fiscal borrowing. Unless the government stops or substantially reduces its borrowing from domestic sources and foreign private and official capital inflows start coming in, the inflation risk will remain. The direction of monetary policy in the near term will thus be determined by the successful auction of 3G telecom licences and the release of coalition support fund payments by the US. The medium- to long-term sustainability of low interest rates will hinge on reduction of the fiscal deficit and a substantial increase in foreign inflows. The four-percentage-point reduction in the cost of borrowing during the last 16 months has perked up the economy somewhat. Inflation declined fast, growth momentum picked up and corporate profits rose. Yet private investment remains muted. While investment will not pick up unless interest rates are brought down further, the reduction in credit cost alone is not enough. The energy crisis will have to be addressed, security improved and the fiscal deficit bridged.

Tendulkar’s dilemma

December 17th, 2012

Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s fall from grace in the ongoing cricket series against England has not only dismayed millions of his fans across the world but has also compelled critics to ask him to hang up his boots. Rated as perhaps the greatest post-war batsman, Tendulkar has been a picture of misery in the four-match series, struggling to put together a decent score against an opposition which by no means can be dubbed as menacing for a player of his class and stature. His rare but continued failure with the bat in 2012, both at home and abroad, has drawn boos and jeers from the crowds, even in places like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur where he has been revered as a demigod since making his international debut 24 years ago. His former colleagues Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and a few others have openly criticised him for not looking the part anymore, mainly due to his slow reflexes and poor shot selection.

But Tendulkar is certainly not the first Asian batsman to face this unpleasant situation. A number of great players before him, including compatriots Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, our own Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Zaheer Abbas, and several others have been forced out of cricket after repeated failures or have simply faded into history after refusing to quit the game at the right moment. It was only recently that one of Australia’s most successful captains and batsmen, Ricky Ponting, retired after realising that he could no longer cope with the rigours of international cricket. Tendulkar, unfortunately, has not been able to choose his departing moment and must now be ruing the blunder of not having called it a day in March 2011 when India won the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Set a date

December 18th, 2012

It's time for the government to announce an election date, and not just to silence political opponents calling for change and a population dissatisfied with the current administration’s chronically poor governance. Even more important is the need to fend off forces that seem eager not to let the last elections lead seamlessly to the next. The political rumour mills are churning once again, this time about whether or not polls will be allowed to proceed on time. As much as this may be dismissed as unreliable gossip, recent developments make it hard to escape the conclusion that an environment is being created in which the usual complaints against civilian governments — corruption, incompetence, economic mismanagement — could be used to postpone a democratic transition.

The theory that those currently at the helm of Pakistan’s key institutions aren’t in favour of an outright military takeover doesn’t rule out more subtle moves. An interruption could well be more restrained this time around: delay polls while still keeping civilians at the helm by installing a caretaker government of technocrats, for example, and getting the judiciary to bless the move as being within the bounds of even the updated and more democracy-friendly constitution. What will not be new are the arguments that will be made to defend such a move: the need to stabilise the country, particularly on the economic and law and order fronts, by taking a break from ineffective and dishonest politicians.

None of this is to say that our politicians are not, in fact, ineffective and dishonest. But the alternatives have been tried before, multiple times, and they have failed. More importantly, the answer to Pakistan’s problems is not to deprive its citizens of the right to build up a democratic system, however slowly and painfully, that will eventually hold those politicians accountable. The answer is to get out of the way so that this country can truly embark on the long-term project of creating a sustainable democracy that responds to the people’s needs. From leaks and revelations about corruption and tax evasion to calls for delimitation in the tinderbox that is Karachi and businessmen calling for military interventions, several potential disruptions seem to have sprung up at the same time. In a moment like this, politicians, particularly in Karachi, need to avoid playing into the hands of those who may be out to delay elections. And whether or not it decides to complete its full tenure, the government needs to consult immediately with its coalition partners and the opposition on a date for elections, and announce it as soon as possible.

A ‘business’ of billions

December 18th, 2012

Tax frauds in Pakistan are common. There are numerous loopholes in the system that enable the dishonest to swindle the government. This is in the FBR’s knowledge but nobody cares. After all, FBR officials have a vested interest in preserving the flawed system. The rampant fraud in sales tax refunds and input tax adjustments, for example, is not new. It is as old as the law allowing input tax adjustments and sales tax refunds on imports for exports. Some time ago, the authorities had proudly claimed to have removed the lacunae used for bogus claims. But the practice continues as pointed out in a story in Saturday’s issue of this paper. According to the report, more than Rs63bn were released in bogus refunds and input tax adjustments in the first four months of the current fiscal against fake — often called flying — invoices across the country. In many cases, the refunds were disbursed on a fast track in spite of ‘red alerts’ from the intelligence wing of the FBR.

A few years ago, we had ‘factories’ in Faisalabad selling flying invoices to help fraudsters. Now the swindlers have become more sophisticated. They set up fake companies to file ‘legal’ tax refund claims. As the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan does not physically verify the addresses given in the application for registration or check the credentials of the sponsors of such companies, it is easy for the cheaters to get away with the fraud. Should the SECP examine its record, it would find thousands of such companies that do not exist at all. Since these frauds cannot be committed without the connivance of tax officials, the FBR needs to clean up its own act as a first step to preventing them in future. The guilty should be punished and made an example of. That should be followed by restructuring of the tax regime in such a way that all loopholes are actually plugged. This will not be easy because of the resistance from within the department. Yet it is possible if the authorities have the will to stop tax frauds in future.

Easy accessibility

December 18th, 2012

The proliferation of guns is one of the major problems facing Pakistan today. It is not just a crime-related issue or a danger that leads to the phenomenon that is terrorism; the issue has a bearing on society’s evolution. With a gun in hand, there is considerable possibility of arguments being settled by firing a shot or two. In societies where children are regularly exposed to shootout scenes on screens, the fascination with guns and the temptation to kill and be ‘a hero’ leads to tragic consequences. The latest reminder of the dangers of easy accessibility to guns was last week’s shooting in a Connecticut school. The killing of 26 people, mostly children, was just one example of the senseless massacres in schools and shopping malls in America. The recurring tragedy stems from the failure of Congress to have effective gun control laws in a country where reportedly there are more guns than people. One of America’s biggest lobbies is the National Rifle Association, which has succeeded in pre-empting every move to curtail the easy availability of handguns. The most determined attempt at gun control was made by James Brady, one of Ronald Reagan’s aides who was injured in an assassination attempt on the president in 1981. Yet all that the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act achieved was to ensure checks on the purchaser.

Pakistan’s problems are different than America’s. In the US they know the manufacturers and sellers: it is all legal and constitutional (by virtue of the Second Amendment). In Pakistan, it is all illegal. The constitution says only the state can maintain armed forces; in practice there are dozens of private militias, besides criminal groups. There is no constitutional ban in the way of gun control; what we need is effective law-enforcement.

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

In the dark

December 19th, 2012

Tuesday marked yet another day of violence in Pakistan’s north-west. After the audacious attack on the PAF base in Peshawar on Saturday and the shoot-out in a nearby village with some of the fugitive attackers the following day, the deadly car bombing in Jamrud on Monday, and yesterday’s grenade attack on an army recruiting centre in Nowshera district, the area has suffered from an outburst of organised terrorism. And yet the public remains clueless about what is going on in this troubled area in and around Peshawar, one of Pakistan’s largest and most populated cities. Security imperatives obviously demand some level of secrecy about any plans to tackle the problem. But what is perfectly within the rights of Pakistani citizens, and especially the residents of the affected areas, to expect is some indication about the nature of the various threats and what the authorities intend to do about them.

One particularly opaque question that has emerged as a result of the airbase attack is that of the presence of Russian and Central Asian fighters alongside Pakistani militants. While foreigners are known to have collaborated with factions of the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal areas, this is a rare instance — aside from the Mehran airbase incident and the Bannu jailbreak — of their involvement in an attack in the settled areas. The implication is clear: Pakistani security forces have been unable to convince Fata’s most powerful tribal leaders, either through deals or the threat or use of force, to stop harbouring foreign fighters. In fact, collaboration has only grown more audacious. Maulvi Nazir may have taken a stand against them in South Waziristan, but they have simply sought refuge elsewhere, particularly in North Waziristan, with other Pakistani groups. With both Afghanistan and their own countries no longer safe for them, Pakistan clearly continues to be their safe haven of choice. How many such fighters there are, and who is offering them shelter and using their services, is information that Pakistani authorities have never shared with the public.

The last few days have created yet another moment that demonstrates Pakistan’s militancy problem is far from over. That the airbase attack took place despite available intelligence, and that the Jamrud and Nowshera attacks were able to take place despite the heightened security that should subsequently have been put in place, are worrying facts. But given the official reaction thus far, this will likely turn into another moment that both civilian and military authorities will fail to capture to inform the public about the extent of the danger, or to turn public opinion against those responsible.

Support still needed

December 19th, 2012

Tipped to unite the status-quo parties, Imran Khan has already brought female parliamentarians of all hues on a single platform. On Monday, they joined voices to condemn a statement by the PTI chief in which he opposed reserved seats for women in the assemblies. Mr Khan’s argument was that the women who entered the assemblies on these seats were not directly elected. Though he did subsequently suggest that some sort of system should be developed to elect rather than nominate female lawmakers to reserved seats, his earlier comment raised concerns about his intentions regarding the support that women still need in Pakistan to ensure that they are adequately represented in parliament.

Despite Mr Khan’s qualifications of this comment, the female legislators’ alarm about it was understandable, the result of a genuine concern about any potential changes to the system that might impact women’s representation. Reserved seats are an unfortunate necessity, the continuing need for them a grim reminder of how the group the quota seeks to benefit is still being denied equal opportunities in politics. In an ideal world the most promising candidates would be allowed to represent their parties, contesting against all other candidates regardless of their gender or religion. But Pakistan has not yet provided girls and women with the opportunities that would allow them to enter the public sphere, and especially politics, as equal participants. Mr Khan is right in wishing for a more active role for women in politics. But until that day arrives, there will have to be systems in place to ensure that women’s voices are heard in parliament, particularly to represent a section of the population whose needs are routinely overlooked; the legislative work that has been done during this administration and the last to protect women’s rights is testament to that. Since Mr Khan is in the process of learning the nitty-gritty of the system, he would do well to be more conscious of the struggles Pakistani women face in his future comments on their role in society.

Turkish soaps

December 19th, 2012

What's being aired on Pakistan’s television screens is in the news again, this time because of the Turkish soap operas that are being broadcast by some leading private television channels. They have been broadcast for several months now, and garnered a large and lucrative following. What’s changed, though, is the decision of certain private channels to start airing them during prime time broadcast hours. On Monday, the United Producers Association, which represents a large number of private television producers and production houses, held a press conference in Karachi to protest against this. On the same day, the issue was taken up by the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting and concern was expressed about this programming running contrary to local culture.

But this is to dangerously misinterpret the situation. As was highlighted by the UPA and the Senate committee itself was informed by PTV managing director Yousuf Beg Mirza, the problem is that with such content being run on prime time, the space for broadcasting locally-produced material is being restricted. Those against the broadcast of foreign content at peak viewing hours believe that it could seriously harm the local television production industry, which has grown rapidly since the country’s media policy was liberalised a little over a decade ago. Given the manner in which perceived threats to culture tend to provoke a violent, knee-jerk response in Pakistan, it is important not to confuse matters. The controversy over Turkish programming is about economics, and must be treated as such. The local industry’s concerns should be heard seriously and addressed, but the answer does not lie in restricting viewers’ choices. What the ministry of information needs to do is devise ways to provide incentives to and revitalise the local production industry, so that it is better able to compete with international standards. Other countries have created protectionist regulations without banning material; Pakistan needs to be able to do the same.

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

National shame

December 20th, 2012

Make no mistake. Though it is receiving far less attention, this is no less, if not more, a shameful tragedy for Pakistan, than the attack on Malala Yousafzai. The facts speak for themselves: eight polio workers killed and several injured in the last three days in a chilling succession of attacks. One shot dead on Monday, with little sign of the carnage that was to come in the following days; five shot dead within a chillingly short span of time on Tuesday in seemingly coordinated incidents; a string of attacks yesterday, killing a worker and her driver, carried out by undeterred imitators or co-conspirators. The reported ages of those killed in these incidents vary, but a number of them were teenagers, and most were women. Their crime? Administering free medication to children at risk of polio, a crippling disease that no child in the world should have to suffer in 2012. These were not security forces engaged in a war against militants. They were not the officials of a government perceived to be America’s stooge. They were simply harmless citizens carrying out a service for their countrymen for a pittance and despite the threats to their safety.

How did politicians react? In Sindh, the president distributed awards at a ceremony in Karachi, the scene of many of the attacks, and the Awami Tehrik and supporters of MQM chief Altaf Hussain held rallies in support of their respective political causes. From other parties, too, including the ANP, the party in power in the province where the remaining attacks took place, there was relative silence on the issue. True, there was condemnation of the attacks in both houses of parliament, but was this enough? In the face of an incident that should have brought business-as-usual to a halt, those in power went about focusing on their planned tasks instead of calling off all events and registering strong public outrage and determination against the unjustifiable evil that Pakistan has become home to.

Perhaps the biggest tragedy of all is that Pakistan, one of only three nations where polio is still endemic, was beginning to see a slowdown in the spread of the virus. Down from 173 cases detected by this time last year, only 56 cases have been registered in 2012, a 68 per cent decline. The commitment of international donors, the WHO and the provincial and federal governments had begun to pay off. But the attack against a local polio worker and his WHO colleague in Karachi in July should have led to the establishment of a system in which no polio team goes out unprotected.

In the coming days, the authorities owe Pakistanis answers to several glaring questions. How did the security lapses take place; does the polio campaign have to do a better job of ensuring security, or do the police have to do a better job of providing it? Why are these attacks taking place now, even though polio vaccination has long been opposed by certain groups within Pakistan? Who was responsible? Were these coordinated or copycat attacks? And perhaps most important of all: what next? The WHO has asked for the campaign to be suspended in Pakistan, and until more dependable protection is put in place, that is the wisest course for both international donors and local administrations to take. But failing to resume the campaign as soon as possible will hand victory to those bent upon Pakistan’s destruction.

Three things must be done immediately. Those responsible should be found and punished. Second, a foolproof system to protect polio workers has to be devised and implemented. And third, if there was ever a moment that called for a coordinated response from clerics and politicians and the launching of a high-profile national awareness campaign in support of polio and against the worldview of those who violently oppose it, this is that moment. It is deeply unfortunate that the nation has barely recovered from the Malala incident when we have a new tragedy on our hands. But all Pakistan can do with these moments is capture them to try to turn the ship around.

Better sense has prevailed

December 20th, 2012

Squabbling and occasional brinksmanship may be in the nature of Pakistani politics and the new era of relations between the superior judiciary and politicians, but it is perhaps a welcome sign that at least on the political side, more mature responses than in years past are becoming evident. The call for restraint by MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, ahead of the Jan 7 contempt hearing by the Supreme Court against Mr Hussain should help calm the worrying escalation in accusations and recriminations between the court and the political party that dominates Karachi. Whatever the concerns, legitimate or otherwise, about the court’s foray into Karachi’s electoral and political problems, the response by the MQM until Mr Hussain’s intervention on Tuesday had drifted far from the norms and decorum of constitutional politics and institutional independence. Given the history — and the attack by members of the PML-N on the Supreme Court in 1997 in particular comes to mind here — the call for MQM workers to descend on Islamabad and protest the Supreme Court’s move against the MQM chief could easily have escalated into another shameful chapter in politician-judiciary relations in Pakistan’s history. That the possibility of a dangerous clash appears to have been averted is a testament to the good sense prevailing in a fraught environment.

Rightly, then, the focus should now switch to the Supreme Court’s increasingly liberal use of its contempt powers to stem the tide of criticism of the superior judiciary. The media has found itself in the cross-hairs as have certain politicians — the PPP senator Faisal Raza Abidi is a notable example — and it is becoming clear that some serious debate is needed on where to draw the line between unacceptable criticism that undermines the institution of the judiciary and critiques of the court’s actions that legitimately seek to inform the public and alert the court to differences of opinion rooted in reasoned argument. Robust criticism that questions the court’s actions is part of the process of strengthening the institution of the judiciary and should not automatically be seen as attacks on the judiciary’s independence or as attempts to influence it. The barring of legitimate critique and criticism will only lead to other forms of speculation and rumour. More directly, the court needs to flesh out the proper and acceptable use of contempt powers and apply them evenly. Perhaps Jan 7 can be an occasion for more complete answers.

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

Out of hibernation

December 21st, 2012

There is no shortage of complaints against government departments in Pakistan. Yet it is not always clear to whom citizens should turn so that they can lodge their complaints for meaningful action. The institution of the federal ombudsman, however, was designed to address this concern; its raison d’être is to deal with complaints regarding maladministration in the federal government. Hence it is welcome that Salman Faruqui, secretary general to the president, has been given temporary charge of the institution. The post of ombudsman had been lying vacant for two years, ever since the last occupant left office. As a result, the institution had become dormant.

In fact, some 75,000 complaints have piled up in the last two years as the approval of the ombudsman is required for the resolution of grievances; meanwhile, it is distressing to hear that because of the absence of an ombudsman many foreign agencies have withdrawn support to the institution. The office of ombudsman has much potential and was well-received by the public when it was first set up. Though it is not an alternative to the courts, it has the potential to take part of the burden off the legal system. Its promises are attractive. For example, the institution’s charter says it will accept or reject a complaint within 24 hours, while it will try and resolve grievances within three to six months. In a legal system that is notoriously slow, where the backlog of cases in court is said be in hundreds of thousands and where decisions can take years, this is relatively quick justice. Also, the ombudsman looks into complaints free of cost, which is a big plus for citizens who cannot afford lawyers or court costs. Yet the office does have its limits, as it does not accept complaints regarding matters related to defence or which are sub-judice or other issues concerning external affairs.

If the federal ombudsman remains inactive, people will have no option but to take their grievances to court, thus putting further stress on an already overloaded system. Its reactivation is positive, but has come a bit late in the day, even if Mr Faruqui is a capable individual. The institution must be assigned a permanent head while it must be ensured that it does not go into hibernation the next time the person in charge leaves midway or retires after completing his tenure. The presidency must not be slow to name a new ombudsman when the time comes. What the federal and provincial ombudsmen need to do is to publicise the institution to let people know where they can lodge their complaints regarding the workings of the state.

Where will the money go?

December 21st, 2012

The receipt of another $700m under the Coalition Support Funds comes at an important time for Pakistan. With reserves eroding, and the outlook on the external sector getting darker, any inflow at this time is helpful. But here the good news ends. After this receipt, further inflows are not visible on the horizon. The 3G auction is up in the air, efforts to cajole a balance payment out of Etisalat are under way but chances of success look slim. The rate at which the country’s reserves are falling is set to accelerate further as large debt repayments become due in the second half of the fiscal year, and where $700m is clearly helpful in meeting these obligations, the amount by itself is insufficient to strengthen the outlook. Hence, the unfortunate search for additional inflows continues.

The bigger question is what will we do with the money? The last large inflow, a $1.1bn payment in August, was used to retire money borrowed from the State Bank. It also helped bring our current account deficit into surplus briefly. Buoyed by these developments, the State Bank found comfort in the numbers and gave away a full percentage and half cut in interest rates. The beneficiary was the government, since industry has yet to use the declining interest rate environment to restart investment. So what should be spelt out in clear terms is what these inflows will be utilised for. It should also be made clear at this stage that once the funds arrive, they will produce a small and very fleeting uptick in our external sector, and in some of our fiscal indicators. That small increase must not be used to pop any corks, and there should be no haste in putting the funds to work. Let’s restrain the enthusiasm a little, and recall that the long road ahead is still there, and while foreign inflows are important it will take more than these to meet the challenge. Foreign inflows must be accompanied by restructuring of the domestic economy and tough fiscal reforms to fend off a balance-of-payment crisis.

Mirwaiz’s concerns

December 21st, 2012

Looking at it from the Kashmiri point of view, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s concerns can be understood. Speaking at a seminar in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference couldn’t help saying that, after 2008, Pakistan was not playing the role expected of it. Similar sentiments were voiced by another APHC leader, Abdul Ghani Bhat, who felt that, instead of prioritising other bilateral matters, the Kashmir issue should be resolved first. The impediments arose after the Mumbai tragedy that saw India freeze all talks with Pakistan and call off the ‘composite dialogue’ the two sides had agreed upon in Islamabad in 2004. Talks were later resumed after the two prime ministers’ meeting in Thimphu. But even after that, and despite many high-level meetings on the sidelines of international conferences, the two governments failed to take steps that could be called a thaw in the frosty environment.

The Mirwaiz’s concerns stem from the fact that most of the time Islamabad and New Delhi have been talking about other, secondary issues — Indus waters, Sir Creek, Siachen and cultural contacts — in a manner that may give the impression that Kashmir is no more on Pakistan’s agenda. In fact, Pakistan has made a conscious effort to take up all outstanding issues with India. Islamabad believes that attempts to resolve the Sir Creek and Siachen disputes or to liberalise trade creates the kind of conducive atmosphere that is needed for comprehensive talks on Kashmir. It is a pragmatic policy aimed at improving relations and does not relegate Kashmir to the back burner. On its part, India, whose human rights record in the occupied territory has been severely criticised, knows full well that unless the Kashmiris are given the right to self-determination, chances for lasting peace in the region will continue to be remote.

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

Protection vs privacy

December 22nd, 2012

With its passage by the National Assembly bringing the Investigation for Fair Trial Bill one step closer to becoming law, Pakistan stands on the edge of a new world of legal but risky information gathering. Several countries have gone down this route since 9/11, and there are conditions specific to Pakistan that make it just as important here, if not more, to be able to intercept the communications of those suspected of criminal activities. In combining the country’s terrorism problem with limited forensic tools and training, lack of protection for judges and witnesses and laws restricting the admissibility in court of several kinds of evidence, the need to strengthen the hands of intelligence agencies and police in preventing crimes is clear. As it stands, this inability of the state to punish perpetrators has consequences beyond creating incentives to carry out crimes and releasing terrorists who are then free to strike again. It also contributes to extrajudicial killings, deaths in ‘encounters’ and enforced disappearances that the security establishment has come to rely on as an alternative to the existing legal system.

Be all of that as it may, Pakistan is also a place where the ability to legally intercept communication carries particular risks. Wiretapping and other types of monitoring have been used both by and against politicians as tools of politics and corruption. There is little training, among either the judges who will grant warrants for monitoring or those who will carry it out, on how to balance privacy concerns against the need for information, and little case law to fall back on. The newly legal method could well be overused by overzealous intelligence agents, with investigators tracking too many people who have no intention of committing crimes. And unless some of the other weaknesses of the investigation and prosecution systems are addressed, intercepting communications will be of limited value.

Given the last-minute changes that were made to the bill in the Assembly, the exact language of the legislation is not yet known. Opposition and coalition parties did play an important role by asking for some much-needed amendments, including, reportedly, punishment for misuse by investigators, reducing the time period for which warrants will be valid and restricting the number of agencies that can intercept communications. But as the bill goes to the Senate on its way to becoming law, it still needs to be looked at with an extremely cautious eye — including carefully defining which crimes it will cover and creating a rigorous monitoring mechanism — so that the legislation that ultimately goes into effect doesn’t impinge on privacy and citizens’ rights more than is absolutely necessary.

Renewed cooperation?

December 22nd, 2012

As the text of the latest Pentagon report on the war in Afghanistan submitted to the US Congress is parsed, more nuggets have come tumbling out that shed light on the state of Pak-US-Afghan ties. According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, “complementary raids” have been carried out along the volatile region of the Pak-Afghan border in the Afghan east and Pakistan’s Fata and tribal areas further north. This hints at renewed cooperation over the fiendishly complex problem of cross-border raids wherein Afghan Taliban with sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the border penetrate eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistani Taliban escaping military operations in Fata and the Malakand region have set up shop on the Afghan side from where they harass and target Pakistani security forces. The problem of cross border raids by militants affects not only stability in eastern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan but broader Pak-US and Pak-Afghan relations because of the recriminations and mistrust that such raids generate.

Still, it is far from clear what level of cooperation is actually taking place to try and stem at least some cross-border militant activity. The US military strategy of focusing on population centres has meant a withdrawal from posts in remote border areas, while the Afghan forces are still unable to rise to the challenge that cross-border raids present. This leads to complaints from Pakistan that the necessary hammer-and-anvil strategy cannot be implemented. It also generates suspicion that cross-border raids from the Afghan side are a tit-for-tat response to militant activity from Pakistan into Afghanistan. More worryingly, from Pakistan’s perspective, it also serves to delay the inevitable operation in North Waziristan, from where emanates the single greatest threat to stability on both sides of the border and also Pakistan proper. Perhaps none of this can edge closer to a resolution until the US strategy in Afghanistan is reevaluated and the course of action over the next couple of years made clear. Now that President Obama has been reelected, the reassessment should occur soon. But if it resembles a kind of contradictory surge-and-exit strategy, little may be clarified or resolved.

Politics and state

December 22nd, 2012

Two slogans in Pakistan’s two largest cities — both emphasising the leader. In Lahore the stage is being prepared for the return of Allama Dr Tahirul Qadri. In Karachi, wall chalkings of the MQM’s earlier slogan, ‘Manzil nahin rehnuma chahiye’ (leader not destination) have cropped up once again. The catchphrase for Dr Qadri’s Dec 23 rally is ‘Siyasat nahin, riyasat bachao’. Literally, this means ‘save the state, not politics’ but a clearer translation would be ‘discredit old politics to create room for your own’. This is so typical of born-again tehriks. Politics and the Pakistan Awami Tehrik have somehow not combined well, even though Dr Qadri has a large following and despite his past attempts. Dr Qadri rose to prominence during Gen Zia’s rule as a law teacher and religious scholar. Later, he chose to grace Gen Musharraf’s 2002 National Assembly. It is unfortunate the state could not be saved then and there, leaving it precariously in the hands of who else but the politicians.

Having decided politics was something not worth saving, Dr Qadri is happy over the backing he has got from the MQM — when no one quite knows how PAT is going to go about its campaign. When Dr Qadri thanked the MQM chief for his support recently, he said it was the fight against feudalism that had brought PAT and the MQM closer. It is ironic then that the wall chalkings in Karachi do not reflect this. Unless the objective is to convey that the leader is a destination unto himself, the slogan might come across as somewhat feudal in modern times. In earlier times, when the MQM was subjected to severe persecution by the state, the frustration was understandable, but now that it has entered mainstream politics as a democratic force in its own right it must aim for higher standards.

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

Hope and trepidation

December 23rd, 2012

Punjab is heating up. A new governor is set to take over from Sardar Latif Khosa. Shahbaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Manzoor Wattoo and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi are all out drumming up support for their parties, with Allama Tahir ul Qadri introducing a new angle to it with his appearance. From somewhere an intelligence document by the Punjab’s Special Branch has entered the discussion saying the general polls scheduled after March next year could be delayed. Bridges and roads are fast coming up in Lahore in anticipation of the general vote and their builders are extremely keen on ensuring the elections coincide with the opening of these grand avenues. Chief Minister Sharif has upped the ante by warning against any delay in the polls — and he has accelerated the pace to wind up his projects before going into an election. Also, there are reports the PPP politicians in Punjab are keen on having the election in early April next year, to avoid popular anger generated by long hours of power suspension in hot summer months. These are all signs of a forthcoming election whose delay would be easier sought then effected. Yet confusion seeps into the proceedings from time to time and the old fears about a delay in polls still hang in the air.

In any event, PPP on its own is lacking in authority to put off the polls. It is clear that those who are warning against a postponement are actually warning against some outside intervention in politics. This is where actors such as Allama Qadri are identified as outside agents painting all politics as bad and allegedly seeking to create room for a non-elected setup. These rumours will only die down with the announcement of an election date.

Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood’s sudden selection as the new governor of Punjab will or should add to the pre-election feeling — until there is solid evidence that some conspiracy to put off the elections is indeed afoot. It will boost the alliance-making activity in the province. The federal government will want the effects of this step felt well beyond Punjab, using it as an example of the reconciliatory politics it has been claiming to practice since its arrival in power. The move has been explained in the context of politics in southern Punjab where PPP is looking to woo voters with a new Seraiki province. No less significant is the politics of PML-N whose grand search for allies has won it some notables, ruff-ling the feathers of some big birds. Lagging well behind in the catch-the-influentials race, PPP would be hoping for more crossovers to bring the competition to upper Punjab areas.

CNG prices

December 23rd, 2012

The Supreme Court’s order to Ogra to devise a consumer-friendly CNG pricing formula has apparently put the government in a difficult position. Although the court has told Ogra to consider the government’s policy guidelines on the matter, it has stopped the regulator from following them if these aren’t in the interest of the CNG users. That’ll make it much more difficult for the government to achieve its policy objective of discouraging use of the depleting gas resource for filling the car tanks of the wealthy. While it isn’t advisable for courts to encroach upon the territory of the executive, the government is to blame for the situation it has landed itself in. Its decision in 2008 to let CNG station owners rip off consumers and later to link the fuel’s price with imported petrol without legal backing led the court to intervene in the ‘public interest’. Even the court’s intervention failed to move the government and it delayed determination by Ogra of a new CNG pricing formula. Ever since the court order to de-link the fuel’s price from imported petrol and curtail illegal profits of CNG station owners on Oct 24, the government has been hoping that the hefty reduction in their profits may force them to wind up their business or switch to LPG.

Meanwhile, the consumers, whose interests the court wants to protect and whom the government wants to switch to petrol by increasing the CNG prices, have suffered for the last two months. After all, who would not want to use CNG when it is available at 35-40 per cent of the petrol price even if it means waiting in long queues for hours? Their ordeal is unlikely to end until a new price is fixed as the majority of gas stations remain closed on one pretext or the other as part of their ‘unofficial’ protest against the cut in their margins. The government will need to change the relevant laws if it really wants to restrict the consumption of CNG for public transport to benefit the poorer segments of the population and put the precious resource to productive use.

Sheer madness

December 23rd, 2012

Where is this society headed? Two gruesome incidents that occurred on Friday clearly indicate the depths we have sunk to. In the first, a 1,000-strong mob beat to death and later burnt the corpse of a suspect for allegedly desecrating the Quran in Sindh’s Dadu district. The mob prised the victim out of police lock-up and decided to dispense ‘justice’ themselves. Meanwhile in Karachi, in an apparent revenge attack, the associates of an ANP leader shot earlier in the day barged into the emergency department of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and killed one of the suspected assailants. Firing into the air, the enraged men had arrived at the hospital where the body of the slain ANP leader was brought and, upon discovering that one of the suspected assailants was in the same facility, shot him while he was in the casualty ward.

One can imagine the sheer terror that must have overtaken the patients, doctors, and others present at the hospital. Doctors are often manhandled by emotional attendants. Also, in Karachi it is normal for political activists to resort to heavy gunfire every time a fellow worker is brought to hospital for treatment or autopsy. The JPMC was also targeted in the past, when a bomb went off on Chehlum in 2010. But this is a frightening new development — perhaps the first time a victim has been shot inside a casualty ward in the city. Yet no satisfactory steps have been taken to improve security for doctors or patients at the facility. As far as the lynching case is concerned, suspected criminals as well as alleged ‘blasphemers’ have been meted out similar treatment by charged mobs in the past. Both incidents are indicators of the madness and zea-lotry that is now swee-ping across Pakistan. In this violent, brutal society, logic and sanity are fast becoming nebulous concepts.

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

Undefeated militancy

December 24th, 2012

Bashir Ahmed Bilour, an ANP stalwart and an implacable critic of militancy and Pakistan’s drift towards extremism, is no more. Killed by the same ideology he preached against and which saw him as a threat to the agenda of remaking Pakistan into a darker and more troubling place, the tragedy of Mr Bilour’s death is that it was perhaps a death foretold. In recent weeks, the surge in militant violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata may have come as a surprise to some, but to anyone following the arc of militancy in the region closely, the signs of an unbowed and undefeated militant threat looking to reassert itself were plentiful. And given that the state’s response in the face of the morphing threat from militancy appears to have been yet more uncertainty and near paralysis in some areas, the likelihood of high-profile attacks that would grab headlines and inflict further blows against the morale of the state and the public was very high. Now, Mr Bilour is dead and it’s almost certain that the recent wave of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata will continue.

What can the state do? In moments like this, well-meaning commentary about better strategies and tactics and who to fight where and when are almost beside the point. Once, and only once, Pakistani state and society develop a consensus that militancy, radicalisation and extremism need to be decisively reversed, can any military, political or social strategy work. There is often much focus put on the role of the army-led security establishment in prolonging Pakistan’s association with militancy, radicalisation and extremism. The focus is correct and necessary because until the army adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards militancy, the state is unlikely to ever develop the will or capacity to smother the threat permanently. However, there is a serious burden of responsibility on the civilian political class too — a burden of responsible leadership that few have been able to carry well when it comes to confronting the militant threat.

For all the levers and control the security establishment may have over state and society, if there is to be meaningful change, it is the civilian political leadership that will have to demonstrate courage and clarity. Too much obfuscation, too much dithering, too much doublespeak has characterised many civilian politicians’ response to the threat from militancy. Myopia can only take a politician so far; ultimately, the militants have made it clear: it is them versus everyone else.

Ulema’s fatwa

December 24th, 2012

Even though the Pakistan Ulema Council did not specifically refer to the polio workers’ tragedy, its condemnation of the murder of innocent people deserves to be applauded. A fatwa, issued on Thursday by some of Pakistan’s leading Darul Ulooms grouped under the PUC, denounced all murders and declared categorically that a suspect could be given justice only by the state. The fatwa has a direct relevance to the situation in Pakistan today, because it also denounces murders in “streets or markets”. The PUC fatwa recognises the equality of all citizens when it declares that a non-Muslim killed by a Muslim citizen deserves the same legal process as when a Muslim falls victim to murder. Technically speaking, the PUC fatwa breaks no new ground when it reiterates the justice inherent in Islamic law; but its significance lies in its timing, for it comes at a time when some leading Islamic scholars and religious personalities have refrained from condemning acts of terror and the recent killings in Karachi and KP of anti-polio workers, most of them women. PUC Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said the decree was issued to disabuse some people of the notion that the ulema approved of terrorism or were involved in it.

While the fatwa must be lauded, the silence which most heads of religious parties have maintained is astonishing. Even if some of them have condemned the polio workers’ murder as a matter of form, what is missing is a unanimous and categorical denunciation of the barbaric attacks on people engaged in the noble task of immunising the future generation of Pakistanis against polio. Isn’t it time for men like Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Samiul Haq, Munawwar Hassan, Hafiz Said and others to not only unequivocally condemn these murders by bigoted fanatics but also declare their full support for the polio campaign?

Kerry gets the post

December 24th, 2012

The nomination of Sen John Kerry as the next US Secretary of State is a welcome move from the Pakistani perspective. Sen Kerry has demonstrated two key understandings in his dealings with this country: one, that continued engagement and patient diplomacy are essential if fundamental divergences are ever to be narrowed; and two, the civilian political leadership needs the consistent and serious support of the US, which in the past has too quickly and too fully relied on the Pakistan Army as its principal ally. With elections in Pakistan on the horizon, the drawdown in Afghanistan coming closer and a post-war-in-Afghanistan focus on Pakistan likely to grow, Sen Kerry will steer his country’s diplomatic approach to Pakistan at yet another critical juncture in this country’s domestic political evolution and regional security environment. The more pragmatic approach to Pak-US relations over the last year — gone is talk of a strategic relationship and the like — should help Sen Kerry keep his goals narrow and focused, though that still leaves much to do. Take just the aid under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman law that has not flowed in the quantity originally conceived nor has it really had the kind of impact that its sponsors would have hoped for. On the political front, with elections on the horizon in Pakistan, the further away the US stays from ill-conceived ideas like the abortive Musharraf-Benazir alliance of 2007 and just opts to support relatively free and fair elections with the chips falling where they may, the better off Pakistan’s democratic transition will be.

Even in the pared-back relationship, the challenges will be mighty, though. Complicating the scenario for Sen Kerry, and Pakistan, is the reality that under President Obama, foreign policy has been crafted by a small core of presidential adviser sinside the White House. Secretary Clinton’s relatively innocuous term, at least with regard to policy, may be the template for Secretary-nominee Kerry, who enters the job as an avowed Obama loyalist. So it is to the White House and changes in the national-security positions there that attention must also turn to understand how the Pakistan policy may be tweaked in the months and years ahead.

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

A new contender

December 25th, 2012

All rallies, even mammoth ones, are not equal. Slightly over a year since the PTI rally in Lahore shook the country’s political foundations, another would-be saviour arrived in the Punjab capital to preach a slightly different kind of politics. The turnout on Sunday for Tahir ul Qadri, chief of the Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran, was massive, and expected. As head of a populist, Barelvi group, Mr Qadri commands support from a group of dedicated followers cultivated over the decades through an educational and preaching network that’s especially strong in Punjab but that has also spread its roots to the other provinces. Despite being a political lightweight, the charismatic Mr Qadri has adroitly meshed conservative Islam with modernist values to craft a message that appeals to a far wider cross-section of people than that of the PTI. Which is why, scanning the crowd at Manto Park on Sunday, both rural and urban, rich and poor, highly educated and less literate persons could be seen in large numbers.

Yet, support for a religious leader is one thing; turning out voters quite another. This is where Mr Qadri’s message becomes problematic. Mr Qadri has demanded that a clean, technocratic, patriotic and efficient caretaker set-up to fix all that ails Pakistan be put in place — or else his followers would descend on Islamabad and pressurise the government until his demands are met. Within that demand lies a tacit admission perhaps that the TMQ does not have the electoral support to convert his political agenda into an electoral victory that could lead to reform from within the system.

Mr Qadri’s message will strike many who have followed the trajectory of democracy in Pakistan as old and failed. But the fact that it comes so close to the first civilian-led transition in decades will have raised some alarm bells. For all its failings, the political class, that has disillusioned so many, has the one thing that other would-be saviours do not: genuine political legitimacy. It may be flawed, it may be problematic, but support for the mainstream political parties represents the democratic will of the people. It is this legitimacy, which Mr Qadri and others like him do not appear to recognise or accept, that needs to be protected by the electorate when attempts are made to snatch it away. The country is close to a general election that will be intensely competitive and which represents a genuine opportunity to move the democratic project forward. That is the fundamental change the country needs, no matter what the personal ambition of leaders like Mr Qadri may suggest.

A better democracy

December 25th, 2012

One measure of the maturing of Pakistani politics will be its evolution away from a system in which voters can only choose among a small number of established political parties with money to burn. And yet a couple of the electoral rules being developed by the Election Commission of Pakistan run the risk of preserving the status quo. The limit on election spending is a particularly tricky decision. Set it too high and there’s the risk of legalising an uneven playing field. Set it too low and it will be unrealistic and flouted blatantly. As the ECP proposes a four-fold increase in the limit, to Rs6m for a National Assembly seat and Rs4m for a provincial assembly seat, it needs to publicly share the basis of these numbers — and a plausible plan for how it will enforce them — so that civil society can weigh in on whether they are reasonable. Beyond limits, there is also the question of transparency. Aside from records of how much was spent and on what, it’s important to channel candidates’ personal funds through parties’ accounts, for example, and to document contributions from business interests and other large donors. Campaign finance is not as simple as setting a spending cut-off, and the ECP needs to be more open and consultative about how it plans to enforce transparent political spending.

The other piece of the proposal that needs to be rethought is the requirement that parties demonstrate a specified level of public support or a wide enough national presence to qualify for an election symbol. It’s true that taxpayers’ money should not be spent on supporting non-serious candidates or those simply out to strike deals with bigger parties. But emerging political voices should not be stifled either. One way around this could be a system such as the one in India, where parties are allowed to ‘graduate’ from local to provincial to national polls. The ECP’s efforts at electoral reform, including consulting political parties and civil society, have been a welcome change from prior years. But some of the rules need to be reconsidered to move Pakistan towards a more equitable democracy.

Victory for Morsi

December 25th, 2012

The approval of the new constitution by the Egyptian people, confirmed in the second round of the referendum on Saturday, hands yet another victory to President Mohamed Morsi and paves the way for the general election due in about two months’ time. The low turnout — alleged by the opposition to be 30 per cent — doesn’t serve to denigrate the importance of a 64 per cent ‘yes’ vote. What matters is Egypt’s gradual advance towards democracy after decades of authoritarian rule, even after the country became a republic in 1953. Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power about two years ago, but in this short period — despite some anxious moments, including the refusal of the old guard to quit — President Morsi has on the whole managed to control the situation. He has been tough where necessary and conciliatory where expediency so demanded. His sacking of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi as supreme commander and defence minister and the dismissal of the three services chiefs strengthened his power and dealt a coup de grâce to the Mubarak remnants. His mistake was the decree that debarred courts from reviewing his actions. He, however, had the foresight to take it back when it evoked strong domestic and international criticism.

The National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition parties, has now decided to fuse into one party and struggle by democratic means to amend the constitution. The opposition has reservations about the constitution because it has been crafted by an assembly dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Front says the constitution ignores the rights of Egypt’s Christians, who constitute 10 per cent of the population. There is no doubt the parliamentary elections will be a milestone in Egypt’s march towards freedom. A constitution is in place, and that should serve as the bedrock for the growth of democracy.

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

Economy bombast

December 30th, 2012

Sometimes, election-related messaging and sloganeering can stretch the bounds of credulity. Now it seems that the government is preparing a set of “talking points” to take to the general public regarding its “economic successes”. The minutes of a cabinet meeting held earlier in December are reflective of a weak effort to try and hype up an economic track record for election purposes, to develop a narrative of economic success for a government that is notorious for its indifference to the economy and its myriad ailments. And of all people, it is the so-called technocratic finance minister, only recently labelled a “suitcase economist” by some of his own party colleagues, who has been tasked with developing this blueprint of hype.

From the minutes of the cabinet meeting where the plan was discussed, it appears the common man will be told that between Pakistan and neighbouring countries, the prices of food items are lowest in Pakistan, and this is because of the government’s policies. Will it work? Highly unlikely. Does the common man really care what the state of affairs is in neighbouring countries? And isn’t it possible that in spite of being more dear, such items of daily use may actually be more comfortably within reach of the common man in those countries because their targeted subsidy schemes are better than ours, or the rate at which incomes are growing for the common man over there is higher? It’s a long shot for this government to try and spin a narrative of economic success since the hype and the hopes it seeks to fan will fly massively in the face of the lived experience of the common citizenry of Pakistan.

The one area where this government could claim success has been the effort to normalise trade ties with India. This is a potential strategic game-changer and could form the most important legacy of this government in the decades to come. Yet even here it has not done the needful. Dec 31 was the date by when the grant of MFN status was to have been made and the negative list abolished. Nothing of the sort is about to happen, because the government has not been able to build the consensus, or stand up to certain groups that prefer to remain wedded to the past. With failure as its track record in all major areas of economic management, it might be better for the government to avoid any mention of governance altogether rather than develop a strategy to sell a hyped-up version to the general public.

A shared problem

December 30th, 2012

The death of the female student who was gang-raped on a Delhi bus earlier this month is a tragic conclusion to a shockingly violent event that highlighted the threats to women’s security in South Asia. Rape does happen around the world. But the attitudes towards women in this region make them particularly susceptible to sexual violence. For one, they are considered objects belonging to their male relatives, which leads to rape being used as a tool for settling personal scores, tribal feuds or commercial disputes, defending one’s honour or taking revenge on someone other than the rape victim. In the Delhi case, too, the violence may have been linked to an argument between the rapists and the victim’s male companion. But even when a motive is unclear, the sentiment is not: such attackers not only lack any respect for women, but in this part of the world they also expect no consequences for mistreating women in the worst possible way. This is largely because those who should be helping victims share similar attitudes; the suicide this month of a teenaged rape victim in Patiala harassed by police, who wouldn’t take action against the accused and tried to make her settle the issue out of court, is just one instance of the discrimination rape victims face in South Asia.

The latter instance is all too familiar here in Pakistan. Societal attitudes towards rape victims — who bear the brunt of social disapproval — combined with the likelihood that they will not be taken seriously or their attackers punished, makes reporting rape far more trouble than it is worth. The Protection of Women Act passed in 2006 was an important step to rectify some of the problems with the Hudood Ordinance, and the law no longer allows for a rape accusation to be used as an accusation of adultery against the victim. But the deeper problem — the attitude that paints a rape victim as somehow being the guilty party — persists. Delhi has been dubbed the rape capital of India with good reason. However, thousands of women in Pakistan are the sufferers of a police system that fails to respond to victims’ needs and a society that shuns them.

Cellphone disruption

December 30th, 2012

Cellphone services were once again shut down in Karachi on Friday, reportedly due to threats of terrorism. Such shutdowns have now become a favoured tool of the government every time there is a significant threat of terrorism, especially during religious occasions and major national holidays. In the current year, cellphones have fallen silent nationwide on several occasions, including both Eids, during Muharram and when an official holiday was declared to protest an anti-Islam film. However, while in the case of most previous shutdowns the state gave the public advanced warning, on Friday cellphones in the metropolis went silent for over seven hours without any prior intimation. While the interior minister said the shutdown was necessitated by the threat of terrorism, it is also true that several high-profile visitors were in the city on Friday, including the prime minister, the chief of army staff and the naval chief. Hence, there is some discussion that the cellphones fell silent for the security of these officials.

There appears to be some truth to the claim that terrorists use cellphones to set off explosives. A Sindh government official quoted in this paper has said over 40 improvised explosive devices connected to cellphones have either exploded or been defused this year. However, we do not believe that cellphone bans are the best method to prevent acts of terrorism. If the authorities feel such actions are inevitable, prior warning must be given to the public so they are not caught unawares. For example in a teeming city like Karachi, panic levels can accelerate drastically if cellphones are abruptly silenced and people are unable to contact friends and relatives. The state must resort to cellphone shutdowns very selectively. They must not be used for discouraging revellers during festive occasions like New Year’s, or worse, to sabotage political gatherings in the name of countering terrorism.

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