[B]24.04.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Out in the cold: Women on general seats[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

ONCE again, it seems the electoral field is going to be a largely all-male spectacle. Now that tickets have been awarded for the May 11 polls, it’s clear that while political parties may court the female vote for its strategic value, they cannot bring themselves to consider women as viable candidates for general seats. The list of candidates for 272 National Assembly general seats includes only 36 women, a figure that has remained more or less unchanged since the last two elections in 2008 and 2002.

While religious parties such as the JI and the JUI-F have predictably bypassed women as potential candidates, one would have expected other mainstream parties to do better. The PPP has nominated 11 women on general seats, four less than in 2008. The MQM has given tickets to only seven female candidates, nominally more than in the last two elections and the ANP has merely two women in the running. The PML-N, with seven, has also scarcely improved upon its past performance, while the PML-Q’s tally has dropped from eight to four, although the party contends that this is on account of it having nominated fewer candidates overall. The PTI, whose campaign is predicated on the mantra of ‘change’, could only come up with five women among the 227 candidates to whom it has awarded tickets for the National Assembly. At this rate, the presence of women in the country’s premier house of representatives would have been little more than token had it not been for the 60 reserved seats for women, a quota that, ironically enough, was increased by a military-led government in 2002.

The last five years of democracy, although flawed in many ways, saw considerable pro-women legislation, an important step towards raising the status of women in a patriarchal social milieu. Female legislators also demonstrated initiative in parliamentary pro-ceedings, outperforming their male counterparts in many respects, a fact proved by statistical reviews of the outgoing parliament. To build on what they have achieved in terms of legislation, the political parties should have taken the lead in raising the profile of their women members instead of caving in to a conservative, risk-averse approach. A few women in some of the country’s most backward areas have challenged this mindset by standing for election as independents. It’s a pity that our political parties have not demonstrated the same courage and instead, on the threshold of a historic juncture, relegated women’s participation in the transition of power to the sidelines.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Uneven campaign spirit: Electioneering efforts
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ELECTION meetings are finally taking place. The flags have been unfurled, the chants pierce the air and rallies move the crowds. The media is projecting the electioneering as an exercise which signifies the Pakistani people’s hope in democracy of which a general election is the first and basic ingredient. The debates between candidates, the exchange reflected in the speeches made by politicians at their rallies, the focus on issues even when personalities remain prominent — all this is good advertisement for the system, and let us hope that this is how it will continue right up to the May 11 vote. Let us also hope that poll activity will be diversified with time, for there are complaints that not every party is enjoying equal opportunity to project itself before the people as their worthy representative.

To begin with, the militant moral keepers of this land have made it absolutely clear that, while they oppose demo-cracy per se, when it comes to dishing out penalties, they consider some of the players more guilty than others. This has forced some visible campaigners of the past, such as the PPP and ANP, to keep a low profile this time. Just as the interim administration and the media need to strive towards creating as even a playing field for everyone as possible, the leadership of these ‘restrained’ parties must find openings to reach out to the people. And for that to happen, the leadership must first be seen to be leading in the face of the odds. It may sound cruel to be preaching bravery to the targeted but there is simply no other option. This fact has been to an extent illustrated in the ANP’s controlled electoral drive. The PPP, which has been least visible on the election radar, must also realise this. It must somehow arrange for itself to be seen electioneering and being led by someone who is in command and seen to be so. So uneven is the contest. Such is the truth.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The regional battleground: Syrian conflict
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IT is all quiet on the diplomatic front while the slaughter in Syria continues. Damascus, according to eyewitnesses, is unrecognisable. A week’s fighting in one of its suburbs has led to 500 undocumented deaths, making it one of the bloodiest weeks in 25 months of civil war. The world community’s indifference to the misery of the Syrian people is to be seen in the transformation of the Syrian scene. The hopes aroused by the Arab Spring have vanished in the Levant, for the anti-Baathist revolt has fallen victim to a larger conflict that has acquired a sectarian and geopolitical character. For all practical purposes, it is now a proxy war, with regional states and world powers training and arming rival militias. The battle lines are not difficult to see.

Iraqi and Syrian factions loyal to Al Qaeda have come together and caused dissensions in the Free Syrian Army. Iran has supplied the government of President Bashar al-Assad with arms worth $12bn, while Hezbollah, Iran’s ally, is in action on the government’s side. America is training the FSA’s moderate, Jordan-based factions, which are also getting arms and money from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. The American camp, however, has slightly reduced arms supplies to the FSA for fear they may fall into Al Qaeda’s hands. The result of this manoeuvring is that neither side is able to clinch victory. The silver lining is that Russia and China, the Baathist regime’s backers, no more insist on President Assad’s political survival. Both are willing to go for a settlement in which Assad loyalists will have a place but not the president himself. Peace can perhaps come to the blood-drenched land if rival powers pressure the opposition into accepting this proposal.

[B]25.04.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Joint effort needed: Combating pre-poll violence
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FOR months, the Pakistani Taliban had threatened to disrupt the elections; now, they are delivering on their promise. The attack on an MQM campaign office in Karachi on Tuesday has bloodily underlined the severity of the challenge: from Peshawar to Quetta and now Karachi, violence against political parties, or rather just a subset of political parties, is radically reshaping the electoral battle ahead. Given that elections are essentially participatory and open in nature, it is impossible to secure every single potential target and prevent every single attack. But that does not mean that all those who have a role to play are doing everything they can to discourage the violence and secure the elections. For one, the caretaker administration has been far too quiet and passive. The essential responsibility of the caretakers is to ensure elections take place in a relatively free and fair environment. In the present circumstances, that means mobilising the security and intelligence apparatus on a war footing to go after the militant cells and communication networks. While zero violence unhappily appears out of reach, the state still has a formidable capacity to take on violent elements — when the state is focused, committed and crystal clear about what needs to be done and why.

There is also a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of politicians and political parties who have avoided the Taliban’s wrath. Keeping quiet is the safe option — but only in the short term. Today, the Taliban have marked the ANP, PPP, MQM and sundry ‘un-Islamic’ politicians as their targets. But the Taliban have also been clear that they regard the very system of democracy to be unacceptable. So for parties like the PML-N, PTI and the religious bloc, silence may seem like a good idea while the price of speaking out is painfully high; in fact, this attitude only strengthens the anti-democratic forces in the country — something which is to the detriment of all political parties, including the ones not in the Taliban’s crosshairs at the moment.

Finally, there is a responsibility that falls to the political parties and politicians who are under attack: they must soldier on and give the voters a genuine choice on May 11. It is a horrible choice to make — having to stand in an election while knowing they could lose their lives — but withdrawal or a boycott would give the Taliban precisely what they want. State, society and politics must stand by and encourage politicians making the hardest of choices in a grim electoral climate.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]On the rampage: Lawyers run amok
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RAMPAGING lawyers are back in the news. Over the past few days members of the legal fraternity have featured in a number of violent attacks. A melee erupted outside the Rawalpindi district courts on Tuesday when some black coats clashed with supporters of Pervez Musharraf. Both groups came well-prepared as they attacked each other with rods and projectiles. Some lawyers have made it a point to protest — often violently — when-ever the retired general, or his counsel, makes a court appearance. On Saturday, a number of lawyers had given supporters of Gen Musharraf a hiding in Islamabad. Meanwhile, the beginning of the week saw lawyers in Lahore scuffle with an income tax official. In fact, policemen, political workers and journalists have all tasted the wrath of the lawyers, some of whom have been accused of threatening witnesses and obstructing justice. Not even fellow legal practitioners and members of the judiciary have been spared, with reports of judges being mishandled and locked up in their chambers. Evidently, the success of the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary has gone to the black coats’ heads, and many members of the legal fraternity now resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

Meanwhile, it is unfortunate that this tendency is hardly criticised by a society that has become inured to violence and condones thuggish beha-viour in general. Bar councils have taken action, but their efforts have been a drop in the ocean. Apparently, senior lawyers and bar councils do not take serious note of the antics of their more violent colleagues due to reasons of bar room politics; often it is the same hotheads who are most effective in rallying support when bar elections come around. It is high time the higher judiciary and the bar councils took steps to end this hooliganism. With the faces of lawyers clearly visible in video footage and photographs, it should be fairly easy to identify at least some of the errant black coats who must be made to answer for their violent tendencies.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Battle for life: Falling immunisation rates
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IF any proof were needed of Pakistan’s tendency to regress, one has only to look at the country’s social indicators. Take, for instance, child health. Much of the world, as it gears up to mark World Immunisation Week at the end of the month, has seen success in protecting children through vaccinations. But in Pakistan, immunisation coverage that hovered at 90pc a decade ago now stands at an abysmal 20pc to 50pc in different parts of the country. Of the staggering 435,000 deaths of children under the age of five every year, approximately 20pc — or 100,000 deaths — are the result of illnesses such as pneumonia or measles, which can be easily prevented through available vaccines.

As pointed out at Tuesday’s news conference in Karachi to mark immunisation week, a large section of our population is either unaware of or careless about having children vaccinated. Shockingly, this is the case even though over the years some 7,000 centres under the Expanded Programme for Immunisation have been set up across the country where nine crucial vaccinations are available free of cost. This situation is as frightening as it is unacceptable, especially given the fact that the EPI has been operational for four decades. With focus narrowing in recent years to the polio immunisation campaign that has met with a great deal of resistance from hard-line elements who have frequently killed polio workers, other routine vaccinations seem to gave gone off the radar — even though over 80 children have died of measles in Sindh alone since the beginning of the year. Poor access to information is a major reason for this state of affairs. Why are we see-ing no push for raising awareness about the critical need for vaccinations and their free availability amongst Pakistan’s millions?

[B]26.04.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]No clear signals: Brussels talks
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WHEN Pakistani, Afghan and American leaders meet, the inevitable focus is on the US drawdown in Afghanistan over the next year and a road map for peace and stability post-2014. But, while official details about what transpired in Brussels between Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, President Hamid Karzai and Secretary of State John Kerry are predictably non-existent, the backdrop to the meeting is telling enough. With tensions along the Pak-Afghan border escalating in recent weeks — disputes over Pakistani checkposts in Mohmand Agency, missiles fired into Kunar and an Afghan military delegation postponing a scheduled visit — Mr Kerry will have been keen to get the Pakistani and Afghan sides together to ratchet down tensions and focus on the goal the Americans care most about: ensuring stability in Afghanistan post-2014 and preventing an eventual Taliban takeover.

The public comments made later by Mr Kerry — “results are what will tell the story, not statements at a press conference” — suggest that strong views were exchanged behind closed doors and perhaps not much movement was made or common ground found. Privately, the American and Pakistani sides express a growing understanding of each other’s positions and baselines in the region while both also suggest a frustration with the Afghan side led by Mr Karzai, for whom the clock is winding down rapidly with presidential elections slated for a year from now. Then again, convergences between the US and Pakistan on Afghanistan have proved transitory, or even illusory, in the past and it is difficult to pinpoint which among the three sides has a less coherent framework for achieving long-term stability in Afghanistan and the wider region, particularly the tribal areas of Pakistan. Brussels could prove to be just another dot in a regional picture that refuses to become clearer, even as the self-imposed US deadline for winding down its war in Afghanistan approaches.

From a Pakistani perspective, perhaps the most obvious talking point is Gen Kayani’s presence at the meeting with an elected Afghan leader and the cabinet appointee of a US president. With no interim foreign minister, Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has charge of the foreign ministry portfolio. Even though he is caretaker prime minister with a limited mandate, he should have been the one formally leading the Pakistani team in Brussels with Gen Kayani by his side. Much as it may reflect the reality of the situation, it sends a dismal signal when a military chief is seen publicly and directly negotiating national security and foreign policy issues with leaders from other countries.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Playing with lives: Bomb detector scam
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THE whistle was blown on him in 2008, and after a police investigation lasting nearly three years, the jury at Old Bailey in Britain found businessman Jim McCormick guilty on three counts of fraud on Tuesday. It was far from an ordinary case of deception: McCormick’s company ATSC manufactured devices that could supposedly detect explosives; the millionaire’s company claimed they worked even long range and through lead-lined rooms or multiple buildings. The devices were sold to and extensively used by several countries — including Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Niger and Lebanon — with internal security issues. In fact, these devices were useless. As the judge told the Old Bailey jury, tests found that there was “no way in which the device could work according to the presently known laws of physics”. While McCormick got rich, “both civilians and armed forces personnel were put at significant risk in relying upon this equipment”, to quote the detective who led the investigation.

Why is this relevant to Pakistan? Because back when the British government and scientists denounced the device, the ADE651 was being used in Pakistan, particularly at airports. When contacted by this newspaper in January 2010 after McCormick’s suspected scam came to light, the Airport Security Force at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport bypassed the matter, saying that what they were using was not actually the ADE651 but a similar device based on the same principles that had been designed by the ASF. Yet a written request for an opportunity to test the device was refused. What’s worse, whether it’s the ADE651 or its clone, the use of the antenna-bearing device continues to be in evidence. True, there have not yet been cases here where the device has allowed explosives to be slipped through security cordons — but it could be only a matter of time before this happens. The security situation in the country is nightmarish enough; is it too much to ask that the use of bomb-detecting devices known to be ineffective be curtailed?

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]More questions: Secret funds
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FOR reasons of propriety and ethics, transparency in financial dealings between the government and media is essential. In this respect, the release of the list of alleged recipients of the information ministry’s ‘special publicity fund’, as ordered by the Supreme Court recently, has not resulted in any earth-shattering disclosures. But it has raised a number of questions regarding payments made by the state to media organisations and individual journalists. Most of the expenditures fall within the domain of the routine and banal, such as payments for rent-a-car services, airfares and iftar dinners. Yet certain payments fall in a much greyer area and demand further explanation. For example, relevant data in some of the boxes is missing as is a whole set of serial numbers. In other instances, payment has been made to journalists without explaining why, while relatively large sums paid to individuals for ‘special assignment’ also piques our curiosity. ‘List A’ has been challenged by some journalists as there are suspicions that it might have been doctored or the information contained is faulty. Meanwhile, ‘List B’, pertaining to ‘secret service expenditure’, has not been made public.

Further clarification is required because as Justice Jawwad Khwaja, who is on the bench hearing the case, said, the nation needs to know what is spin, what is paid content and what is independent writing. We feel List B should be made public while the information ministry should shed further light on aspects of List A. The Supreme Court has ordered the audit of List A so hopefully more information should be available in the coming weeks. Once a clearer picture emerges, media houses need to conduct internal inquiries if there is any indication that their representatives might be guilty of financial impropriety.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (27th April 2013)
 

[B](27th April 2013)[/B]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Evading the truth Ulema moot outcome[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

THE proceedings of Thursday`s ulema conference should dispel the impression in many quarters that the religious right as a whole is opposed to democracy. That a majority of the ulema at the Islamabad gathering belonged to the Deobandi group and supported some positive resolutions condemning terrorism sends a strong signal to retrogressive forces which oppose democracy and consider violence a legitimate means for imposing their rigid philosophy on all. The booklet released at the congress contains the views of scholars, including the conference participants, on a number of electoral issues, including women`s right to vote and take part in politics. Even though there were dissenting voices from some hardline elements, the majority of ulema agreed that women had every right to vote and to be voted in. As chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Ashrafi`s stance was encouraging: that those who believed change could occur through violence were wrong.

Nevertheless, religious leaders including the PUC chairman and Maulana Samiul Haq, who also emphasised the sanctity of the ballot, already believe in electoral politics.

Indeed, for them, the way to an Islamic state is through the ballot. Hence, what was said at the conference, while no doubt encouraging, was not alto-gether surprising.

Also, while the presence at the conference of some religious parties taking part in the May elections may have been a reassuring sight for pro-democracy forces, the participants fell short of identifying those who categorically disown democracy and the parliamentary system. In fact, some religious figures at the conference went to the extent of justifying violence. The reticence to condemn unequivocally may have stemmed from a desire to keep all options open after the elections, including retaining links with the militants. But such a stance will do little to send a clear message to those who perpetrate violence that religious forces are united in their opposition to the militants.

This is especially true as a number of parties did not attend the conference,presumably because of ideological and political differences with the participants and organisers. This together with the fact that the proceedings themselves showed up the divisions that exist in Pakistan`s religious establishment on elections, democracy, sectarian issues, and above all, terrorism, is of concern. While democracy is all about the right to opinion, there can be no two views on terrorism it must be condemned and its perpetrators identified.

The failure to do so was perhaps the conference`s biggest lapse.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]An opportunity Funds from the US and IMF[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

THE Pakistani team returning from Washington after meetings with IMF and US officials a few days back brought some good tidings for the next elected government. First, the US has agreed to release the coalition support fund of $1.8bn before the end of this fiscal on June 30 to help the government close the year with a smaller than anticipated budget deficit. The receipt of CSF will also refurbish the country`s dwindling foreign exchange reserves in the interim. Second, the IMF has expressed its willingness to provide an extended fund facility of $5bn or more to support its weakening balance-of-payments position. This must provide the new government the much-needed fiscal space to start implementing its economic agenda with some peace of mind and without fretting aboutthe exchange rate.

But the new government will be required to implement a few revenue actions to make upfront budgetary adjustments of Rs770bn or equal to 3.5pc of GDP in the next two years as part of the IMF`s programme.

These budgetary adjust-ments will involve the generation of additional federal and provincial tax revenues of Rs550bn through the imposition of new levies and the removal of exemptions to different sectors, and the withdrawal of power subsidies of over Rs220bn through tariff rationalisation and improved governance. The process of revenue adjustments has to start from the next year and will have to be articulated in the budget. The poorer segments of population that will be affected by higher electricity prices will be compensated by anincreasein targeted cash grants under the social protection programme. The IMF facility will be followed by financial assistance of $2bn from other multilateral and bHaterallenders and donors. This will be an opportunity that the next government should not squander. If it seriously undertakes the restructuring of the economy without wasting time, the new government may also attract foreign private investment for building social and economic infrastructure to put the economy back on the road of growth.



[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The road topeace PKK`s withdrawal[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

THE announcement of a withdrawal date by the Kurdistan Workers` Party, or PKK, from Turkish territory is a major step on the long road to lasting peace between the Turks and the Kurds. PKK leader Murat Karayilan announced on Thursday that the insurgent group would start withdrawing to northern Iraq an autonomous region already under Kurdish control on May 8. In a Middle East awash with conflict, this is a rare bit of good news. It follows last month`s groundbreaking announcement of a ceasefire by the PKK`s jailed chief Abdullah Ocalan. Still we must greet this development with guarded optimism as the PKK has yet to disarm (that is supposed to come later) while Mr Karayilan cryptically warned the withdrawal would cease if the PKK was `provoked` by the Turkish military.

It`s that hardliners on both sides may try to derail the process; these include more militant Kurdishgroups as well as ultranationalist Turks, who view the Kurds with intense suspicion.

Much blood has already flowed in this conflict, with some figures suggesting around 45,000 killed as the Turkish state and Kurdish insurgents have battled each other for three decades. Clearly the conflict has reached a stalemate, with Ankara unable to totally crush the insurgency while the Kurds have realised their goals either independence or greater autonomy cannot be achieved through armed struggle. Hopefully as the peace process continues both sides will repose greater trust in each other. Turkey should constitutionally recognise the Kurds` cultural and political rights while Kurdish groups must refrain from threatening Turkey`s territorial integrity. If the deal succeeds, it may prove to be a model for Iran, Iraq and Syria to resolve their issues with their own Kurdish minorities.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (28th April 2013)
 

[B](28th April 2013)[/B]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The cost of shutdowns: Frequent strike calls[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

KARACHI has a long history of protests and shutdowns that have had an adverse affect on businesses in the country’s financial hub. On Thursday, port activities were affected as roads were blocked when Lyari residents protested against the killing of three men by law enforcement personnel. Former PPP MNAs claimed that they were party activists. Earlier, on Wednesday and then again on Friday, businesses were shut in response to strike calls given by the MQM whose election offices had been targeted. The business community has frequently pointed out that the losses accrued during days when business comes to a grinding halt run into billions of rupees, while the suffering of daily-wage workers is also a matter of grave concern. When transport is not running and workers cannot make it to their industrial units, production falls, affecting export orders and delivery schedules. Previously producers kept large inventories, but with improved communication and transportation facilities keeping a huge inventory is no longer considered cost-effective. Hence whenever unscheduled disruptions in production occur firms have a tough time meeting their delivery deadlines. When companies fail to deliver to international clients on time Pakistan is inevitably seen as an unreliable market. Meanwhile, contract employees constitute a good proportion of the labour force and every strike means the loss of a day’s wages. With many households barely making ends meet even on normal days, the major impact that frequent shutdowns have on family budgets can only be imagined.

Under these circumstances, the ANP’s categorically stating that businesses and transporters should continue as usual on Saturday, even though it was observing a day of mourning for those killed in an attack on an election corner meeting in Orangi, should be welcomed. All parties have a right to stage protests. But they must also consider what form these protests should take and how they can be made effective without disrupting the city’s financial machinery and causing citizens to suffer.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The need to condemn: Election violence[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

UNHAPPILY, and tragically even, the 2013 elections are rapidly becoming a tale of two countries. There is Punjab, where election campaigns are in full swing and the vibrancy and the intensity of electoral competition can be felt across the province. And then there is Balochistan, Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, where many a campaign has either come to a shuddering halt or is limping along. In the PPP’s case outside Punjab, the party has yet to even launch a serious campaign, knowing full well the ferocity of the attacks that will come its way when — if — it does launch its campaign. By now, the very worst fears about militant violence marring this election have already come true.

The choice between death and campaigning that many politicians and several parties are confronting is so fundamentally anti-democratic and fearsome that it amounts to savagely distorting the electoral process even before a single vote is cast. The asymmetry is as obvious as it is expected: liberal and left-of-centre parties are in the militants’ cross-hairs while the religious right and centre-right parties are able to campaign and mobilise support largely unmolested. Now, with each passing day, there is a greater and greater need for the mainstream parties not targeted so far to speak out and denounce the violence — particularly the PML-N and the PTI. Watching Imran Khan and the Sharifs campaigning furiously in Punjab, the parties outside Punjab increasingly consigned to the fringes of the campaign season must be wondering what it will take for those two parties, and the religious right, to denounce in unequivocal terms each act of violence and rise to the defence of the under-siege democratic process.

Cynically, the leadership of the PML-N and PTI may be calculating that in a tough electoral climate where the two parties are fighting hard for largely the same slice of the electorate, it is best to not add to the complexity of the electoral challenge by drawing the attention of militants presently occupied elsewhere. If that makes sense, it does so only in the narrowest of contexts and shortest of terms. Silence and acquiescence are the militants’ allies in achieving their goal of an anti-democratic, narrowly defined Islamist Pakistan. Imran Khan’s words of condemnation last evening are a necessary and important statement, indicating an awareness of what is at stake and why political parties, whether rivals or not, need to present a unified front against militancy. Winning an election at the cost of losing the country is not a model of sustainable democracy, as Khan has rightly suggested.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Slide into anarchy: Iraq’s sectarian conflict[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

IT could be a throwback to the 2006-07 days if the sectarian conflict now in evidence in Iraq is not checked. The death toll in five days of violence has crossed 200, and, judging by the situation, is likely to keep increasing. Bomb blasts and clashes with security forces have taken place not just in Baghdad but in many Sunni-majority provinces as well. Although violence erupted on Tuesday, when security forces attacked a protest camp in Hawija near the town of Kirkuk, the situation worsened after Friday prayers in several cities after four Sunni mosques, located in and outside Baghdad, were bombed. In Ramadi in the Anbar province, a mosque imam warned there could be more bloodshed, unless the army withdrew from the city. The Sunnis are now demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has appealed for calm and warned of sectarian conflict. He has appointed Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni, as chairman of the Hawija enquiry committee. But the Maliki government is unstable, and some Sunni ministers have already resigned as a protest against the raid.

Iraq seems to be coming apart at the seams, with Kurdistan enjoying autonomy and dealing with multinationals directly for oil sales. A worsening of sectarian animosities could lead to anarchy and provide ideal conditions for Al Qaeda to turn Iraq into a base of operations. If such a scenario is to be prevented both the Sunni and Shia communities must exercise restraint, and not play into the hands of those advocating violence. Mercifully, some top Shia and Sunni clerics have come together and appealed for peace and sectarian harmony. Their efforts will get a boost if Saudi Arabia and Iran can use their influence to stabilise the situation.

[B]29.04.2013[/B] [B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Valid concerns — Teachers refuse poll duty[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

THE announcement by a schoolteachers’ association in Balochistan that its members are refusing to perform polling duties in 11 of the province’s 30 districts because of security threats has thrown another spanner in the provincial electoral machine. Already electoral campaigns of political parties are operating under a dark shadow of violence and there are fears of a record low turnout in a province where the number of those casting their vote is historically low in any case. Given the very real threat to their safety and security, the schoolteachers’ fears are understandable. However, there is an onus on the Election Commission of Pakistan, the caretaker government and the security apparatus to ensure that polls are held on time and in as secure a manner as possible.

What can be done? Several things, some of which the responsible authorities are already working on. A massive security blanket is expected to be thrown over the troubled parts of the province from the start of May and plans are being prepared to ensure that the electoral machinery and set-up is as well protected as possible. Of course that leaves the broader question of fear among the voters and that can only meaningfully be addressed by a significant and urgent public relations campaign to both explain to voters the measures being taken to safeguard the elections and to encourage them to exercise their democratic right. There are also the fears of the political parties that have to be addressed. While campaigning is continuing in a low-key manner in the troubled areas, large rallies have been avoided and the energy of an election is missing. Corner meetings and local offices of candidates are not a meaningful substitute for even medium-sized rallies — election and state authorities ought to reach out to the parties to work with them to help create as much of a healthy election environment as possible.

While Balochistan faces a different set of threats, the overall security challenge is the same as across swathes of Pakistan. With elections now less than two weeks away, it is time that the political parties, the caretaker governments and the ECP sent out an urgent and unified message: namely, that elections will be held on time, that they will be secured as best as possible and that the immediate threats to the democratic process will not be allowed to prevail. For that, action is as important as words. Can Ehsanullah Ehsan, the TTP spokesperson, for example, not be captured and swiftly brought to justice to send the necessary signal?

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Appalling tragedy: Bangladesh building collapse
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WITH the appalling garment factory fire in Karachi in which over 280 people lost their lives a little over six months behind us, Pakistan is sadly well placed to empathise with Bangladesh, where the collapse of a similarly used building on Wednesday caused the deaths of at least 320 people. While intensive rescue efforts were witnessed, and some of those trapped in the rubble provided with oxygen cylinders, an estimated 3,000 workers were present when the building came down, and hundreds remain unaccounted for. As in Pakistan, the story behind the tragedy is one of negligence and desperation: in terms of the former, the failure of the buildings’ management and the countries’ governments to ensure workplace safety, and vis-à-vis the latter, the lack of choice available to the hapless who are forced by sheer need to continue to toil in such environments. There couldn’t be a starker, more heartrending example of the costs borne by the people of the callousness of their governments.

But if building managements and governments are to be blamed for disasters of this sort, should strong censure also not be reserved for a world order where such inequity is tolerated because it satiates richer countries’ populations’ thirst for consumer lifestyles? The boom in the Bangladesh garment industry, where poor conditions give rise to tragedies in potentia, is because of the fact that the clothes retail business is a billion-dollar sector in the West, and low-cost labour in the Third World keeps prices down and the customers returning for more. It is not just Bangladesh’s government or businessmen that need to introspect; a much more thorough look inwards is required on the global level. Where consumers have demanded a shift towards ethicality, it has been achieved, a prime example being Pakistan’s football industry which has largely been free of child labour. The images of Bangladesh’s anguish flashed around the world should become a reason for swift action.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]A grim picture: PIA’s financial losses
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THE delay in restructuring and reforming PIA is adding to the financial distress of the national flag carrier. During 2012, the airline recorded a huge after-tax loss of over Rs32bn, up by more than 20pc from Rs27bn a year earlier. The company’s net revenues dropped, albeit marginally, to Rs125bn from Rs127bn. The fall in the revenues is not unexpected given the fact that the airline has cut down its daily flights to 100 from 150 sometime ago as out of a fleet of 39 aircraft 15 are not operational because of want of repair on account of shortage of funds. The expenditure on keeping the company afloat, on the other hand, is continuously increasing because of growing operational and other inefficiencies, overstaffing, poor governance and, last but not the least, political and bureaucratic interference. The airline needs an immediate bailout package to survive. While a package was announced, it has yet to materialise.

More importantly, the airline immediately needs complete restructuring of its management and operations on modern business lines to improve governance and eliminate political and bureaucratic interference. The restructuring of the company will be a painful and politically tough decision as it will not be confined to replacement of its aging fleet or changes in the top management or induction of professionals. It will also involve retrenchments, a major factor that kept the previous government from moving ahead with the reforms. In its annual report for the last financial year, the State Bank of Pakistan had underlined the need for “rationalising” staff — most of which was inducted on a political basis over time. This is essential if the idea is to help the national
carrier get back on its feet. The sooner we implement the needed reforms the better.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (1st May 2013)
 

[B](1st May 2013)[/B]

[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Need to speak up Condemning election violence[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]


THE joint statement on Monday from the PPP, MQM and ANP in Karachi saying that the parties would contest the elections despite the terrorist violence they have been confronted with is a bold move. It reflects political maturity as these very parties have in the past fought it out between themselves on the streets of Karachi. In fact, the statement in Karachi should be echoed by the parties` top leaders at a national level. Obviously there has been a realisation that there is a bigger common enemy (religious extremists, mainly the TTP) to contend with and there is more at stake (the democratic transition) here than petty political gains. After all, these three parties have been most affected by the violence: the ANP has relentlessly been targeted in KP and the MQM`s election offices in Karachi have been bombed while one of its candidates was killed in Hyderabad. The PPP has not even begun its campaign due to the security situation. It is also important that the parties have called for the elections to be held on time. A delay will only serve as a victory for the militants.

That is why it is essential that the state vastly improves its security measures.

All parties must send out a strong message ofhaving polls on time and not bowing to the extremists`tactics on the national stage. In particular, those parties need to speak up who have escaped the militants` wrath so far. After much debate Imran Khan has spoken out against the targeting of political parties, even if this has come in the form of making an appeal to the militants to cease their campaign of destruction. At leasthehasspokenup.On the other hand, major political forces such as Nawaz Sharif and the religious parties have either remained silent or been ambiguous in their condemnation of pre-poll violence. JI chief Munawar Hassan has called for an `all-party conference` to discuss the national situation. But with such a small window left between now and election day this may not be a feasible option, considering that many leading candidates are out on the campaign trail.

Instead, the JI and all other political stakeholders need to condemn the violence in unequivocal terms and express solidarity with the parties that have been targeted and are under threat. If silence is maintained, it will only add to the feeling that certain parties are indirectly gaining from the militants` campaign against liberal and left-of-centre political forces.


[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Baloch voters need security Army steps in[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]


THE decision to deploy the army in Balochistan ahead of the May 11 polls was a long overdue and difficult one considering the security establishment`s controversial role in the province. Nevertheless, given the level of threat from the insurgents, the army`s role in maintaining security should be welcomed as polling day approaches.

The deployment began on Monday in 11 `sensitive` districts; by Tuesday evening, many other districts had been covered, sending a message to both democratic and antidemocratic forces. The former need security and the latter an adequate force response. Separatist elements have targeted a number of parties and candidates they are even against Baloch nationalists contesting the polls. Their tactics and the mainstream parties` determination to contest makes the holding of these polls even more important, as the elections could prove to be a turning point in Balochistan`s quest for its rights through peaceful and democratic means.

While the TTP has targeted candidates and election offices in KP andKarachi as well, Balochistan faces threats from both the Taliban and the separatists. The Taliban may have nothing in common with Baloch insurgents whose ideology is not based on religion, but both are against the electoral process. Against this background the presence of the security forces should deterboth`secular` and `religious` militants and at the same time give a sense of security to all candidates, party workers and the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, the army should not overstep its mandate and strictly restrict itself to election security. Its duties are supposed to begin today and last till May 15. There should be no reason for it to stay on after this date.

Meanwhile, KP and Karachi also need attention. No province has suffered more from the TTP`s murderous policies than KP, and no city has been subjected to terror attacks the way Karachi has been since the start of campaigning. Controlling the terror attacks will constitute a major step towards creating a level playing field for all parties and candidates.


[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Absent unions May Day[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]


THIS year, with May Day being observed just before a general election, the loss is felt all the more.

Trade unions are missing from the scene. We have only numbers and statistics to justify and disprove. Individuals and groups have taken a backseat as life is held hostage by percentages. There is no antithesis. It has been presumed trade unions are a luxury which can be done without for the sake of progress, that unions actually prevent development, and that the prevailing system will, as if by magic, self-correct and eventually ensure fairness for all if not equality.

These are all excuses for laziness and resignation, for perpetuating an exploitative system and for a lack of understanding of the realities and indeed of market logic.

When the elected government took power in 2008, one of its earliest vows was to restore theunions. Later on, the same government was repeatedly attacked for its failure to honour its words over so many issues; but no one thought it necessary to remind it that it had once promised the revival of trade unions also. It has been said and it will no doubt be reiterated in the future that an organised workforce could provide an effective counter to the retrogressive elements in society, some of which go as far as wanting to derail the entire system. But then, a union empowers people against monopolies and against basic inequalities, as, in parallel terms, does an elected local government. Thus it naturally scares powerful political players. The worst part is that, while the local governments do find a place in election speeches, the unions remain absent even from rhetoric a sadcaseofahugeforceno one is ready to exploit.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (2nd May 2013)
 

[B](2nd May 2013)[/B]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Refreshing comments: Army chief’s speech[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


TEN days after Gen Kayani stoked controversy with his ‘Pakistan is Islam and Islam is Pakistan’ speech in Kakul, the army chief has taken on the critics of the war against terrorism with some straight-talk. “However, despite all this bloodshed, certain quarters still want to remain embroiled in the debate concerning the causes of this war and who imposed it on us…. [D]oes the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war?” Wrong as he was 10 days ago in his ill-advised comments, Gen Kayani’s speech on Monday is precisely the kind of direct rebuttal that is needed for those advocating a policy of appeasement when it comes to the Taliban. For over a year now, the army chief has underlined just how much the war against terrorism is Pakistan’s own war — not one imposed on the country by the outside world nor one that we can avoid fighting in any circumstances — and coming from the chief architect of Pakistan’s national security policy, Gen Kayani’s words carry great meaning.

But, and unhappily there is always a but when dissecting the army-led security establishment’s policy against militancy and extremism, the army chief and his high command are not able to carry their words to the logical conclusion. Yes, those advocating the appeasement of the Taliban fighting the Pakistan state are doing a disservice to state and society by making it that much more difficult to develop a much-needed consensus on why the anti-Pakistan Taliban need to be taken on directly and decisively. And yes, by using his significant megaphone to shout down the critics, Gen Kayani is helping dismantle the argument against taking on the Taliban militarily. But why does the argument for appeasing the Taliban gain such traction among the public in the first place?

The answer has much to do with the army’s own dual policy. The Afghan Taliban are ‘good’; the Pakistani Taliban ‘bad’ — that tends to perpetuate the confusion first sown by the state and the army wrapping its arms around the jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s. If sponsoring jihad against Afghanistan’s invaders in the 1980s was a legitimate policy, then so it must be against the Americans and the outside world in the 2000s — and because the Pakistani state is half-supporting the US-led effort in Afghanistan, then it too must be considered a legitimate target. Until and unless there is clarity about why armed jihad anywhere is bad policy, there will always be confusion inside Pakistan — no matter what Gen Kayani or anyone else says.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]No lessons learnt: Another bank heist in Karachi[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


TUESDAY’S bank heist at a UBL branch was Karachi’s tenth this year. It highlights the police’s failure to combat crime and exposes the bank staff’s disregard for security precautions. The involvement of the armed guard in the robbery doesn’t mean that all private security men are unreliable. Many have shown commitment to duty and were killed resisting robberies. But in this case, as the investigation showed, the antecedents provided by the guard were fake: the address he gave and the names of guarantors turned out to be fictitious. This points to one major aspect of bank heists: all applicants for security jobs need to be thoroughly vetted. In the past, guards posted at banks have aided and abetted criminals linked to proscribed militant groups as well as organised criminal gangs while funds robbed from banks have reportedly been used to finance terrorist activities.

In this case it would be unwise to focus on the security guard alone; the bank management has much to answer for. It had no back-up digital video recording system, and when the armed men took away the available record, the police had no footage to go by. The bigger part of the cash looted — Rs53 million — belonged to other branches, which send their money at the end of every month to the University Road branch, which is the regional headquarters. The police accuse the bank staff of disregarding security considerations, for the money was being handled not in the strong room but outside it. The banking high command ought to overhaul the security system, look into these legitimate police complaints and penalise the staff where they failed to follow standard procedures. The latest heist is just one more reason why security overhaul and background checks of guards should be a priority for all banks.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Time for action: Striking at militants[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


MUCH blood has already been spilt in the run-up to next week’s general elections, most of it by religious militants. Considering the ease with which militants have managed to pervert the democratic process — effectively vetting parties and unleashing destruction against those not in their good books — the state needs to take decisive action against the extremists. It is up to the government to decide whether it chooses to strike now or after the polls. However one thing is clear: not taking any action against the militants will only embolden them. Despite the army’s claims that the extremists’ back has been broken, the constant targeting of political forces over the past few weeks has proven that the TTP and those of their ilk are far from a spent force. The military is taking action; on Wednesday jets reportedly bombed militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency killing a number of fighters. But there is a need to expand such actions in Orakzai and beyond, wherever the militants have established bases. North Waziristan seems to top this list, as it is often described as the ‘nerve centre’ of militant activity. Parts of South Waziristan have also been singled out as militant strongholds.

Moreover, going after small-time operatives and foot soldiers in peripheral areas will not be effective until those directing and planning the militants’ campaign of destruction are targeted. Masterminds such as Hakeemullah Mehsud and other forces, such as the Punjabi Taliban and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, who are using the tribal belt to plan attacks against the rest of Pakistan, must be brought to justice. If today the militants get the feeling they are winning and can control the political process, tomorrow they can launch campaigns to dislodge governments they don’t like. Action against militants will have public support, as the 2009 operation in Malakand has shown, while it will also symbolically prove that all pillars of the state are determined to protect the democratic process from the extremists’ assault. The time is now.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (3rd May 2013)
 

[B](3rd May 2013)[/B]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Judicial overreach: Musharraf ban[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


BANNED for life — Pervez Musharraf’s abortive return to politics has been brought to a screeching halt by the Peshawar High Court order on Tuesday. Parsing the logic of the order is delicate business: Musharraf has clearly committed grave crimes against the Constitution and the superior judiciary was a direct target of Gen Musharraf in 2007. But there are two other, relevant matters here: one, the issue before the PHC chief justice was simply the former general’s disqualification from contesting a National Assembly seat in Chitral; and two, Gen Musharraf has yet to be convicted in any of the numerous cases, and countless allegations, lodged against him. So in many ways, the high court has put the judicial cart before the horse — an unhappy situation of judicial overreach where perhaps none was necessary.

For Gen Musharraf, the tightening of the judicial noose means he has largely run out of options, at least public, legal ones. All legal routes ultimately lead to the Supreme Court — and no one need be reminded who and what awaits him there. The issue, however, is larger than a former dictator and a superior judiciary unwilling to extend to him the legal proprieties a less controversial accused may expect. As much as there is a legal side to how best the case of Gen Musharraf ought to be dealt with, there is a political side too — ultimately, the decision to prosecute the former dictator and keep him out of politics ought to be one taken by the people’s representatives. Where the elected representatives have not moved as quickly or efficiently as the courts would have liked, the superior judiciary has tried to produce ad hoc solutions. But in the case of Gen Musharraf, the judiciary itself has much to account for given that his 1999 coup was sanctioned by the Supreme Court and that the referendum which allowed the then-army chief to stay on in power beyond the initial three years granted to him by the court also occurred with minimal judicial interference or objection.

Perhaps what the country needs most — and Gen Musharraf’s determination to return to Pakistan has created an opportunity for — is a meaningful and wide-ranging revisiting of Article 6 of the Constitution and the 1973 law operationalising the punishment for treason, a job a strong parliament after May 11 could undertake. More specifically, treating enablers and aiders and abettors at the same level as the general taking over in a coup, could perhaps help make it more difficult for a would-be coup-maker.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Blaming others: ‘Foreign hand’ behind violence[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


HOLDING ‘hidden hands’ and external forces responsible for our security woes is an old excuse that officialdom trots out to deflect criticism. And in keeping with this practice, the head of the interior ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell has told this newspaper that “terrorists who have infiltrated from Afghanistan are to blame for much of Pakistan’s poll-related violence. While it is believed that some fugitive Pakistani militants such as Fazlullah are based in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has asked Kabul to take action against them, the fact is that the major security threat to this country is internal, ie militants based in Pakistan are responsible for the recent poll-related havoc. The TTP has proudly claimed responsibility for bombings and has also distributed pamphlets warning citizens not to take part in polls. It has also threatened liberal parties such as the ANP, MQM and PPP. The leaders of the extremists’ campaign against democracy and their spokesmen are all located within our borders. Even the army chief, while blasting “external enemies” for rampant terrorism in Pakistan the other day, conceded that internal elements also need to be dealt with.
Hence what further argument is required to convince the state that the problem is very much internal? What is more, playing the blame game does little to tackle militancy in practical terms.

It is true that in a geopolitically complex world elements based outside our borders could well be trying to destabilise our security. But proof is needed of this and more importantly, what is the state doing to prevent such activities? However, in the context of our predicament vis-à-vis religious militancy, the problem is a product of our own follies — we have allowed the internal militant threat to grow into a monster. Instead of passing the buck the state needs to come to terms with the issue. Admitting the problem, and that it is our problem, will help us deal with it effectively; maintaining a state of denial will only have adverse consequences.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Winds of change: Women’s vote encouraged[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


THE change in the offing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may be due more to reasons of hard-nosed electioneering than altruism, but it is certainly very welcome. Areas such as parts of Malakand division, the outskirts of Peshawar and Upper and Lower Dir have historically resisted women casting their vote; indeed, there are some places where women have never voted at all. This is because tribal elders or jirgas decree that the women in their area will not vote. Either cultural norms are cited for this decision or contesting candidates settle the point among themselves. This time, however, no such agreements have so far surfaced anywhere; in fact, there seems to be a concerted push towards encouraging women to participate in the upcoming elections. The two major mainstream religious parties, the JI and the JUI-F, are running an active campaign across the province to address female voters and win over their vote. Indeed, the latter is holding a Khawateen Ijtema, or a women’s meeting, on Sunday in the Talash area of Lower Dir, while the JI is running door-to-door campaigns across the province to connect with female voters.

Conservative though these parties are — although the JI has an active women’s wing — it is nevertheless to their credit that they have not attempted to disenfranchise women. This is crucial in the context of KP politics. If norms are to change, this is the starting point, and it would be a step in the right direction for the Election Commission of Pakistan to set up, where advisable, separate polling stations for women, as has been decided for areas such as Talash, Timergara and Mayaar. Moreover, the electoral statistics collected should include gender-specific data so that women’s voting patterns can be studied and their choices taken into account.

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper (4th May 2013)
 

(4th May 2013)

[B][SIZE="6"]Uneven playing field Election violence[/SIZE][/B]


The concerns of the Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim that free and fair elections are not possible without proper security arrangements were further justified with the killing of a National Assembly candidate in Karachi yesterday. There will now be no elections on May 11 to the seat he was contesting.

On Tuesday, a provincial assembly candidate in the Jhal Magsi area was killed polling in his constituency too has been suspended. Meanwhile, on Thursday, two polling stations in Balochistan`s Nasirabad district were blown up while an MQM election office in Karachi was bombed. The militants` campaign of violence is in full swing.

There have been over 40 election-related acts of violence since April 11. Over 70 people have died in these while more than 350 have been injured. Parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, and Balochistan, along with Karachi, are the worst affected while thousands of polling stations countrywide have been declared `sensitive`. All this violence has proved that there is anything but a level playing field especially for those parties that have been singled out by the militants for their `secular` leanings. However, the parties that have been spared by the extremists, including the PML-N andPTI as well as the religious parties, have either been lukewarm in their criticism, `appealing` to the militants to hold their fire, or have maintained a deafening silence. Quite naturally, there are many concerns about how the ongoing mayhem will affect voter turnout. With such frequent shootings and bombings, the public cannot be faulted for being wary about stepping out on election day, especially in areas that have witnessed the most violence.

This is where the role of the state and the Election Commission of Pakistan comes in. The deployment of 70,000 troops for election security has begun and hopefully this will reassure jittery voters that matters are under control.

Yet public confidence will only rise when there is a noticeable decrease in the acts of violence in the days leading up to May 11. The state needs to project that troops are on the ground for the safety of candidates, political workers, polling staff and the voters while the ECP needs to launch a major media campaign reassuring voters that it is safe to come out and cast their ballot. It is essential to convince the voters and ensure a sizable turnout for two main reasons to defeat the extremists` campaign and to grant legitimacy to the continuity of the democratic project in Pakistan.


[B][SIZE="6"]Grim repercussions Sarabjit Singh`s death[/SIZE][/B]

THE death of Sarabjit Singh on Thursday should be taken by Pakistan`s prison administrations as a wake-up call they should be forced to review their treatment of prisoners who may be at risk because of the nature of their crime or their identity. Across the world, incidents occur of inmates attacking each other and therefore it is standard practice to provide convicts at risk with extra protection. Singh was an Indian national convicted of spying and of playing a role in the bombings that killed several people in 1990. Had the prison authorities been more vigilant, this sad incident could have been prevented. The same can be said of India, where a Pakistani prisoner, Sanaullah Haq, in Indian-held Kashmir was attacked by a fellow inmate and critically injured yesterday.

Singh was given a state funeral amidst the din of angry protests and a hawkish stance on part of the country`s media; the government in Indian Punjab declared a three-day period of state mourning and its assembly unanimouslypassed a resolution terming Singh `a national martyr`. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, meanwhile, referred to him in a statement as a `brave son of India`. So who was Sarabjit Singh and what was he doing in Pakistan? If he was merely someone who had crossed the border accidentally, as his family claims, why the state funeral? If, on the other hand, he was an agent of the Indian government, as Pakistani courts found him to be, why the decades-long silence in Indian diplomatic quarters over his incarceration here? Or was he merely a pawn in the spyvs-spy game that many suspected characterised the hostile India-Pakistan relationship during the period he was arrested and sentenced? Given the anger being voiced across India over Singh`s death, and possible resentment here against the attack on Sanaullah Khan, it is necessary to remember those years and exercise restraint. The process of the normalising of ties must continue; hawkish attitudes yield few benefits while restraint and goodwill offer many.


[B][SIZE="6"]Lack of substance Parties and foreign policy[/SIZE][/B]

USED only as rhetoric, foreign policy has not received serious attention in the current election campaign. More often than not, it has been subjected to demagogy and exploited to rouse emotions. Afghanistan, Kashmir, nuclear policy and relations with America, China and India are sensitive issues that need responsible handling, because those now treating geopolitical issues flippantly will be called upon to handle them one day. As participants at a seminar, organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs in Karachi on Thursday observed, none of the party manifestos released recently attached much importance to foreign policy and resorted to clichés and generalisations. The manifestos spoke of `a balanced` or `independent` foreign policy, without explaining precisely how this would be conducted by a country that had an external debt running into billions of dollars. As pointed out by a former ambassador, one major party omitted any reference to drone attacks,another said it was against attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles, while another party that expects a landslide win merely spoke against `unilateral attacks` and didn`t even use the word drone.

The poverty of ideas on foreign policy stems from the absence of input by experts, because no political party has a shadow government. In countries where a shadow government exists, politicians show responsibility in utterances because they know that one day they could be called upon to manage the affairs themselves. In Pakistan, there may be specialists here and there, like some former foreign ministers and economists now in the electoral arena. But the parties haven`t bothered to set up permanent think tanks and committees, each devoted to a specific subject foreign policy, economy, education, environment, mass transit, etc. This has militated against the development of serious intra-party dialogue on crucial foreign and domestic issues.