03.06.2013

A sound move: Balochistan politics

IN a bold and impressive gesture, Nawaz Sharif has handed the top political and executive jobs in Balochistan to the National Party and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. After a difficult and controversial election in Balochistan, Mr Sharif appears determined to reinvigorate the democratic process in the province and what better way to do that than to support Abdul Malik Baloch, the NP supremo, for the chief minister’s slot and hand the governorship of the province to a PkMAP nominee. That Mr Sharif ensured Sanaullah Zehri, the PML-N leader in Balochistan and fierce contestant for the chief minister slot, was also in attendance at yesterday’s press conference in Murree reinforced the impression that the incoming prime minister is serious about giving Balochistan a fresh start: Mr Zehri’s downcast body language told a tale of its own but he too pledged his support to the coalition government to be led by Mr Malik.

However commendable the initial political choices in Balochistan are, they are just that: a very small step in a province that is terribly far removed from normality. The real hard work will begin once the government is in place and the biggest hurdle still looms — Balochistan, for all the denials by the army-led security establishment, is still essentially run by the Frontier Corps and the army-led intelligence apparatus. Quite how — indeed, if — the control of security policy in Balochistan can be wrested from the army remains to be seen. For now, there is little reason to believe that the election and the new coalition in Balochistan will automatically lead to a change of policy in the province.

Nevertheless, as indicated by President Zardari in a TV interview yesterday, Balochistan’s problems during the past five years were compounded by the absence of a genuine and legitimate provincial leadership. The government of former chief minister Aslam Raisani was essentially a beneficiary of the boycott by the moderate Baloch and Pakhtun parties of the 2008 elections. Now the moderates are back in force and though the BNP-M did not fare as well in the elections as the party had hoped, Balochistan will once again be represented by a leadership that will almost certainly be more competent and capable than what has been witnessed in the immediate past. There is no quick fix for Balochistan’s manifold and varied problems and expectations must be tempered — but for now at least, Balochistan has provided a welcome surprise.

Downward spiral: Bloodshed in Iraq

THE past few weeks have been incredibly bloody for Iraq, as fears resurface of a return to the sectarian carnage that was unleashed in 2006. The UN says over 1,000 people have been killed in the country in May while April (over 700 deaths) was not much better. Iraqis — both Shia and Sunni — have died on a near daily basis as militants have bombed mosques, markets and neighbourhoods, with civilians targeted along with security forces. The violence has sectarian overtones as many minority Sunnis feel Nouri al-Maliki’s Shia-led government has been ruling with a heavy hand. Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have stepped in to exploit communal differences; sectarian passions were already running high due to the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Contemporary Iraq’s situation is the legacy of America’s experiment in regime change. After the US invaded in 2003, various types of militant outfits sprang up as the Iraqi state collapsed with the fall of Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate has emerged as probably the deadliest of them all, while there is also a working relationship between the extremist group’s Iraqi and Syrian wings. What is more, a confessional, Lebanon-like system with power divided between the dominant religious and ethnic players has failed to work in Iraq. This shows that even the most well-intentioned system imposed from the outside will not function for long. All efforts must be made to prevent Iraq’s disintegration. A failed state will only add to Iraqis’ miseries, and give more space to jihadi elements. The Iraqi government should concentrate on two areas; it needs to make increased efforts to reconcile with all of the country’s religious and ethnic communities so that the democratic process can continue. Secondly, it must take firm action against Al Qaeda and other extremists who seek to use Iraqi soil to destabilise the region. A divided, ethnically and religiously fractured Iraq is an unwelcome prospect and if not contained, the country’s internal sectarian unrest can flow beyond its borders.

Removing encroachments: Cities’ clean-up

BETWEEN city authorities’ general inability to control encroachment, and the fact that security concerns have increased sharply over the years, the country’s urban areas have been turned into a minefield of impediments to traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian. Offices such as consulates, army and police installations — established in central areas in happier times — have installed barriers, gates and guardrooms, in the process frequently shutting off or restricting pathways. In several affluent residential areas, residents’ committees have for similar reasons cordoned off roads and installed barriers or security guards. Meanwhile, unregulated built structures such as shops or pavement vendors with pushcarts are a characteristic feature of every city. City administrations do carry out various drives from time to time, giving rise to great outcry, but the flood seems to return as inevitably as the tide.

In this scene of anarchy, any push for order must be appreciated wherever it occurs. Traffic impediments must, within reason, be removed without fear or favour. Two news items reported on Saturday demonstrated the seeds of such will in Lahore. The city district government has asked the US consulate near Shimla Pahari — a central and congested city area — to remove gates and pillars that it says have been built illegally, and that have for several years represented an inconvenience to the public. Meanwhile, as part of the clean-up of the Walled City — where the encroachments and congestion are of legendary proportions — structures around the historic Wazir Khan Mosque are being removed, revealing after a long time its remarkable façade in detail. Such moves need to be undertaken by other city administrations, too, Karachi in particular. It is essential to the beauty of a city and to the smooth flow of traffic. Unauthorised barriers and encroachments should be removed wherever possible.

04/06/2013

Unequal burden: Electricity complaints

EVERYONE would like to see at work the principles of fair play and equitable distribution in managing the scarcities of electricity. This sentiment is understandable when citizens of one city have to endure long hours ofloadshedding while they keep hearing stories of the relatively less stressful lives of people in other cities where there is little loadshedding. It is equally frustrating to learn that vast exemptions from load-shedding are being enjoyed by certain categories while the great mass of the citizenry, especially those who are prompt in paying their bills, are suffering on account of the outages. Different sectors of industry are also pressing their respective cases for exemption.

Managing these scarcities is a difficult job, at par in fact with the job of eliminating the scarcities. But a realistic view of the situation confirms that the scarcities are here to stay, they can be mitigated but it is not reasonable to expect that they will disappear altogether. Therefore, how the scarcities are managed is a permanent problem that requires proper redressal at the highest levels of policymaking.

Just and equitable distribution is easy enough to demand, but it is not so easy to deliver. The distribution has to occur geographically, as well as across various categories of stakeholders. In order todo this, it is necessary to generate a regime of entitlements in the first place, so a merit order of priority can be decided. And generating equitable entitlements for scarce public resources is something the state in Pakistan has always struggled with, whether it is the allocation of water or that of fiscal resources.

What is needed is a policy framework that establishes how the allocations are to be governed over a long-time horizon. Something along the lines of the water-sharing accord of 1991 or the NFC award is required in the electricity sector to puttorestresentments that are naturally arising from the way current allocations are being carried out. One model of achieving this is through purely commercial logic, like what KESC is doing in Karachi where the burden of load-shedding falls largely on those communities where bill recoveries are weak. This model cannot be applied at a national level though. One cannot imagine how it would work in deciding allocations between entire distribution areas, or even between different sectors of industry.

Therefore a more nuanced policy framework needs to be developed to manage the scarcities on a national scale. Developing this framework is something the new government should include in its agenda for tackling the power crisis.

Tricky issues: President`s points

SPEAKING about his party`s latest term in power, President Asif Ali Zardari has offered the new government considerable food for thought. He has made three important points which will be central to the performance of Mian Nawaz Sharif`s government, both as popular politics goes and also in the context of Mr Sharif`s relationship with the `establishment`. In the president`s latest interview on Sunday, the tackling of militants and handling of the Gen Musharraf case are two themes that should be of immediate significance to the PML-N.

Mr Zardari also appeared to back the PML-N`s effort to include the nationalists in Balochistan in running that restive province where politicians have always had to balance their act to not incur the displeasure of the security set-up: `...more progress could have been made [during the PPP`s term] had the Baloch people participated proactively in the development of their province`. Put differently, Mr Sharif`s ability to create conditions where theBaloch can assert themselves politically will be tested.

The PML-N has so far remained tight-lipped on Gen Musharraf, even though in one of his postvictory statements Mr Sharif did say he had forgiven all as he prepared to start afresh. If he is ready to do as he says, he will need to convince supporters such as his ally Mahmood Khan Achakzai who remarked during the speaker`s election yesterday that the National Assembly was `overcrowded` with Gen Musharraf`s remnants. The drones are as impossible to wish away; their downing, the president has indicated, not without serious repercussions. The PML-N would want to establish its credentials by first attending to matters such as the economy and the energy sector. In time, however, it will have to face up to the more sensitive affairs in today`s Pakistan that will have a profound impact on politics in relation to the establishment. Mr Zardari has had a go. Now it is up to Mr Sharif to get the balance right.

No experiments, please: Polio cell`s status

AFTER placing the Prime Minister`s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell under the federal ministry for national health services, regulation and coordination in late May, the decision has apparently been reversed by the caretaker government. The move to de-link the cell from the prime minister`s office was criticised by various quarters, including the World Health Organisation and Unicef. The cell, established by the former PPP government in 2011, was apparently doing useful work in the fight against polio. Though the battle is far from won polio cases in the country came down by around 70percentin2012 as compared to 2011, while some estimates suggest that the number of cases recorded this year so far is also less than the number in the corresponding period last year. Hence such indecision on part of the state throwing this key anti-polio cell back and forth between governmentbodies is troubling, all the more so as it caught many stakeholders off guard.

While health is a devolved subject, some sort of national coordination is needed considering the challenge polio poses and the fact that it is an interprovincial problem. In fact, due to our inefficiency in tackling polio Pakistan is considered an `exporter` of the crippling ailment to parts of Asia and Africa. It is the new elected government`s call whether to keep the polio cell under the PM`s office or to make some other arrangement.

However, it must be kept in mind that any decision should be taken after thorough consultations with all stakeholders the provinces, multilateral donors and experts. Also, it must be ensured there are no hiccups in the immunisation programme due to bureaucratic shuffling.

The simple fact is that Pakistan cannot afford to indulge in experiments where polio is concerned.

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Janoon say or Ishq say milti hay AAZADI

05/06/2013

Democracy speaks: No room for dictators

ON cue from Mahmood Khan Achakzai`s speech in the National Assembly on Monday, a sentiment is resonating in the country for the establishment of a solid democratic order free of dictators and their cohorts among politicians. The PkMAP chief wanted political parties to shut their doors forever on those who have betrayed democracy.

The underlying desire in parliament is for the politicians to be allowed to run the affairs of the country a job for which they are elected by the people and for which it is ultimately the electorate that must hold them accountable.

The country`s first smooth transition from one elected government to another is a good occasion for making this vow. While in Mr Achakzai`s case, it may also establish his independence soon after his party`s support for the PML-N in the interest of Balochistan, the sentiment itself should reassure Pakistanis. Betrayed frequently, they will need to be constantly told that the change towards democracy is for real and permanent.

This call for respect and supremacy of the popular mandate is as much a celebration of the positives that Pakistan has finally been exposed to as it is a warning to old interventionists and their easy allies among the politicians. It could be furtherinterpreted as a sign of caution to any individual and group against exceeding their constitutional authority at the cost of parliament. No less significant is the message inherent in it for the politicians. The real empowerment through a continuation of democracy must put greater responsibility on the shoulders of the politicians and leave them with fewer excuses for not delivering.

The voices against dictators and their accomplices did make some uncomfortable in a house `full of people who had supported` Gen Pervez Musharraf.

But it should be seen more as a mission statement than a lament and a complaint. In effect, it was a call for a charter of democracy whose aims were not dissimilar to the famous charter signed by Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif in London in May 2006. Clearly, Mr Achakzai was looking to create a broad base for making a joint pro-democracy statement. Responses to the idea will vary from party to party, from the treasury to the opposition, from those who made compromises in the past to those who must continue to make them now. Consensus will take time and it is the closing of the gaps between various positions that will determine the distance that Pakistani democracy has covered so far.

Turkish unrest: Excessive use of force by police

WITH a left-leaning trade union representing a quarter million workers joining the protest movement, it is difficult to agree with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the stir in his country is dying down. Even though he went ahead with his Morocco visit to show confidence in his administration`s ability to ride out the storm, his government is paying the price for the excessive use of force by the police. The protest against a development project in the heart of Istanbul was initially peaceful; it turned violent when the police fired teargas shells and burnt the protesters` tents. Matters then went out of control in Istanbul, with demonstrations spreading to other cities. What, thus, was an innocuous local protest acquired a political and nationwide anti-Erdogan character.

Even though his Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won three general elections consecutively and enjoys a majority in parliament, Mr Erdogan has oflate been accused of showing authoritarian tendencies. He also seems to have discarded the caution he initially exercised while dealing with Turkey`sdeeply entrenched and powerful secular establishment. He has moved quite fast in such matters as abortion, scarves, alcohol sale and public display of affection, and in that process annoyed a crosssection of Turkey`s middle class. What is important to note, however, is that last week`s protests were a non-political, leaderless and harmless expression of dissent against a park demolition. The trade union`s decision to join the protest has obviously given the stir a political touch, with Mr Erdogan blaming the opposition Democratic People`s Party for instigating the riots, which have so far cost two lives. Nevertheless, Mr Erdogan is right when he pooh-poohs the `Turkish spring`. A `spring` of the kind seen in the Arab world was a reaction against decades of brutal and corrupt military dictatorships. Turkey is a democracy. The protesters may have severalreasons torelease their pent-up anger, but the method should be peaceful and democratic. The best course for the malcontents should be to vote out the AKP government in the next elections.

A wake-up call: PTI leader`s assassination

THE murder of Fareed Khan, a PTI provincial lawmaker in Hangu on Monday, is a brutal reminder of the challenges the party faces as it begins its rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The legislator was gunned down along with an associate while leaving his vehicle. As of now the motives behind Mr Khan`s murder are not clear. Though he was elected as an independent and later joined the PTI, Fareed Khan was also said to have links with sectarian outfit Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat. Hence there may be a sectarian angle to the killing as communal violence is not uncommon in Hangu. But it has also been reported that the slain lawmaker had been receiving threats from a TTP faction and a local leader of the militant outfit has been arrested in connection with the murder. While only a proper investigation can uncover the motive behind the killing, the MPA`s murder highlights the consider-able task of maintaining law and order in KP.

In essence the honeymoon is over for the PTIled provincial government as it now faces the stark reality of tackling militancy. While the ANP has borne the brunt of the militants` bloody campaign over the past few years, the extremists are not averse to targeting individuals with similar ideology.

In the past Maulana Fazlur Rehman has escaped assassination attempts while in May militants bombed an election meeting of JUI-F candidate Muneer Orakzal in Kurram. Militancy is a complex phenomenon and simply stating that dialogue with the insurgents will end the violence is naïve. The MPA`s murder should serve as a wake-up call to the PTI and other parties who believe the militants can be won over simply by inviting them to the negotiating table. The reality of tackling the militant threat is much more complicated.

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Janoon say or Ishq say milti hay AAZADI

06.06.2013

Three is history: Mr Sharif returns — cautiously

THE tables have turned. Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is back in the prime minister’s chair and Gen Pervez Musharraf is under arrest and facing trial. Mian Sahib is the first man to be elected prime minister in the country for a third time. He is unparalleled as a Pakistani head of government ousted in a military coup and brought back by popular vote. There may be more reasons why the occasion needs to be celebrated just as it has to be marked with some solemn vows.

In his speech after his election in the National Assembly by an overwhelming majority, the new prime minister made a conscious effort to build on this reputation as a politician who has undergone the course and has learnt. He solicited political consensus, his emphasis on the economy in accordance with the PML-N’s line since its victory in the May 11 elections. He spoke of merit, about economic and social mobility manifest in his promise to have a train run between Khunjerab and Gwadar and before that he talked about respecting the mandates given to political parties. Nevertheless, it was clear that there are a few issues which he is not ready to take up as yet.
Mr Sharif did not address terrorism and his mention of the drones was too cautious and too fleeting a remark to qualify as a statement of intent, let alone one of policy. It was a mild protest, a polite complaint, a question left hanging in the air. China in Gwadar was easier to handle and it did elicit a word of praise from the new incumbent for
the previous government which had handed over the port’s management to the Chinese.

The supremacy of democracy, a call for consensus, the protest against the drones, the respect for popular mandates — the themes were not out of the routine. Five years ago, the stress was on reconciliation, on the need to shape a national policy on many issues. Those who spoke after Mr Nawaz Sharif’s speech in the assembly on Wednesday did highlight some of the issues where consensus is hard to achieve: law and order in Karachi and elsewhere, and lack of local governments, which was a big subject missing from the first address of a prime minister aspiring to empower people as were energy and terrorism. The new prime minister’s promise in dealing with these problems lies not so much in the numbers he has by his side but in the belief about the security and resultant maturity of the elected collective. Politicians will err and then correct their mistakes, so long as they have the time and the security of tenure.

Inside job: Convicts operating from prison

THE Sindh High Court chief justice’s recent observation that convicts on death row are operating their networks from within jails is worrying. Though many familiar with the state of the criminal justice system in Pakistan will say this is old news, it is still a matter of grave concern that terrorists and hardened criminals can operate with impunity right under the noses of jail staff. Perhaps the most high-profile case in this regard was that of militant Omar Saeed Sheikh who, while incarcerated in Hyderabad jail, placed a hoax call through his mobile phone to this country’s president and army chief following the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In another incident, a raid on Karachi jail in 2011 yielded mobile phones and drugs from prisoners, some of whom were linked to militant outfits. Yet the problem is not limited to Sindh. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for example, jailed militants reportedly maintain contacts with accomplices on the outside while kidnappings are also said to be organised from inside prisons. Jail authorities are hesitant of taking action, fearing reprisals from militants.

As it is, the conviction rate in Pakistan is miserably low. It is unnerving that even the small number of terrorists and criminals that do end up behind bars are able to carry on with their activities with relative freedom. That convicts can carry on like this without the knowledge and connivance of prison authorities beggars belief, and that is why the onus for putting a stop to such activities lies squarely on prison administrations’ shoulders. Pakistan’s jails are overcrowded and ill-managed, while corruption within the jail authorities is rife. Yet the status quo cannot continue. Failing to arrest and convict terrorists and murderers is bad enough. Allowing those that are caught and convicted to carry on with business as usual from inside jail is simply unforgivable. All provincial administrations need to make a thorough assessment of jail conditions to ensure convicts are unable to carry out criminal activities from within prison.

Good intentions: Fata development plan

THE priorities are right. According to a Fata secretariat handout, the financial year 2013-14 annual development plan for Fata places emphasis on the completion of ongoing schemes as well as those with immediate and visible socio-economic benefits, and discourages projects which would have little impact. Unlike many other parts of the country that are also backward, Fata — despite the extension of the political parties act to the area — is still not part of the national mainstream, and international crises on its periphery have added to its misfortunes. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US-led attack on the Taliban-ruled country, and the wave of militancy that spilled over into Fata in the wake of these events destroyed such industry as it had and threw the tribal people decades back into time. While the degree of militancy varies from one agency to another, the cumulative effect on the entire region is hostile to all development activity.

However, the Fata population in its entirety must not be tarred with the same brush. As last month’s elections have shown, the majority of Fata people and tribal elders are keen to shake off retrogressive attitudes and become part of the mainstream. This arms the federal government and Fata authorities with a moral authority to work for the welfare of the majority and disregard the minority standing between the tribesmen and a better life. Yet, going by the fate of annual development plans over the last few years, it is unlikely that the Fata administration will be able to utilise even half of the nearly Rs19bn allocated for 2013-14, particularly if steps to bring the law and order situation under control are not simultaneously undertaken. Much more concerted efforts are required to bring the area at par with the rest of the country.

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"Nay! man is evidence against himself. Though he puts forth his excuses." Holy Qur'an (75:14-15)

Guess who?: Shahbaz Sharif in for third term

BEFORE a ballot was cast, before the first election speech was made, one thing was clear as crystal: Shahbaz Sharif was on his way to his third term as the chief minister of Punjab. He had absolutely no opposition at a time when the experts were not so sure about the likely composition of some other assemblies after the May 11 polls. Given his trademark emotional statements, one point needing clarification was whether Mr Sharif actually meant it when he said he could opt out of the chief minister’s office and instead take charge of the ministry of power. Once it was duly clarified, there was little in the way of a continuation of the PML-N government in Punjab under the old tried and tested leadership. The formality was completed on Thursday when Mr Shahbaz Sharif was re-elected with a record 300 votes. The chief minister echoed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he promised to take everyone along. He vowed to persist with his old policies, such as the computerisation of the revenue record, and said his government will invest heavily in education.

By virtue of his previous terms Mr Shahbaz Sharif is best placed to identify and intervene. Proud of his feats and sure of his goals, it would be in his government’s interests, however, that he lives up to his pledge of taking all people and all areas along with him to avoid the re-emergence of allegations about favouritism. Hopefully, this pledge of his signifies greater room for consultancy and reflection in his new term than was the case in the previous one. Even the flagship projects — the Danish schools, Lahore’s metro bus system — should be reviewed coldly before they are expanded and replicated. Militancy is a crucial area requiring some earnest, quick thinking by Punjab.

Health, energy and other sectors where the province must have good coordination with the centre should take up less of the energies of CM Sharif now that he has good, brotherly relations with Islamabad.

The next big moment: Budget looms up ahead

WITH the inaugural address behind us, the next big moment when the newly minted government of Nawaz Sharif will speak will be the budget speech. In between there are likely to be various addresses and chats with the press corps, but it is the budget speech where the team will, for the first time, unveil its mettle. It’ll be in the budget speech that we will hear how far its ambitions extend, how much its thinking is out of the box, as they say. All eyes and thoughts are now going to steadily swivel towards the team working on the budget, and the macroeconomic challenges as well as the power crisis, to see what it has come up with.

The immediate danger is that after all the hype, after all the build-up and all the talk of a stable mandate and taking the bull by the horns rhetoric, the government will pull little more than a few rabbits out of its hat on that momentous occasion. A tweak or two to federal excise duties, an adjustment in the sales tax rate or other tinkering will only hasten the day when people start to ask aloud, “what’s the difference between this government and earlier ones?” On the other hand, a bombastic approach, signalled perhaps by an overambitious revenue target and an equally pie-in-the-sky expenditure target, will draw groans of disappointment. People are looking for both from this government: realistic promises as well as solutions to enormous problems. Living up to both ends of this bargain pulls the government in two opposing directions.

Therefore, it is important that the planners drawing up the budget realise the complexity of the task they face. They need to slowly dissipate the ballooning expectations, without letting the populace down too hard. Towards this end, they should focus first and foremost on the revenue side and ensure that at least one new revenue measure is introduced to send the message that new ground will indeed be broken in the pursuit of macroeconomic stability. They should also announce the beginning of public sector enterprise reforms, and signal their seriousness by bringing down the allocations for untargeted subsidies. Further, they should use the opportunity to send a signal on normalising trade ties with India. With realistic and visible adjustments on both the revenue and the expenditure side, the government can then claim that its budget will be the benchmark by which to measure its success, and real change may finally be upon us.

Apathy towards history: Taxila lab closure

NOT many in Pakistan appreciate history, and this attitude has resulted in the neglect of our historical heritage. As reported in this paper, the Taxila Museum’s Archaeological Conservation and Research Laboratory is in bad shape. Set up at a cost of Rs30m, the lab was shut down after the ministry of culture was devolved two years ago. Presently, both the museum and the lab are under the Punjab government’s control. Even while the lab was functioning it suffered chronic staff and expertise shortages. In a rather bizarre example of ad hoc measures, for example, apparently cleaning staff were deputed to look after the museum’s relics in the absence of technically trained staff. The central issue behind such a state of affairs is a neglect of and apathy towards history. There is a general lack of interest in — and perhaps even disdain for — the past. Perhaps that is why no one bats an eyelid when flood victims set up camp on historic burial grounds, or when world heritage sites and ancient artefacts are treated carelessly. In Taxila’s case, beyond neglect of the lab and museum, encroachments and industrial activity around the area are also threatening this essential link to Pakistan’s past.

Where the research lab is concerned, though finances are tight the Punjab government needs to make efforts to restore the facility to working condition and hire staff with the necessary expertise to care for the priceless relics. If there is a shortage of trained experts in Pakistan, people from beyond our borders could be sought and students with an interest in history be trained and equipped to look after our heritage. In the big picture, society needs to change its outlook on history so that we can appreciate our past — and, hopefully, learn from it.

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Yes We Can Do It!

Short on vision: Foreign policy priorities

PRIME Minister Nawaz Sharif’s initial despatch to Pakistani diplomatic missions mapping out his government’s foreign policy priorities is a document shorn of ambition and short on vision. Essentially, Mr Sharif has said that his focus will be on economic diplomacy and on stabilising the region on the security front — with a few words, platitudes really, thrown in about relations with the usual countries foreign policy tends to focus on. Perhaps the less-than-invigorating despatch is rooted in Mr Sharif’s decision to, for now, keep the foreign minister’s portfolio with himself and so he would prefer to unveil his major foreign policy initiatives himself at a later date. However, to the extent that the initial despatch is indicative of Mr Sharif and his team’s foreign policy thinking, it appears that a return to first principles is required.

What does the world see first and foremost when it looks at Pakistan? In his note, Mr Sharif has talked about boosting trade, foreign investment and economic cooperation. He has also talked about promoting peace in the region, with specific mentions of the attempted reconciliation process in Afghanistan and the pursuit of “normalcy” in ties with India. All laudable goals, written in Foreign Office-speak, but they miss the point. When the world looks at Pakistan, rightly or wrongly, it tends to see a security threat emanating from this soil. China, the perennial ally, looks to some investment opportunities but always returns to the issue of Islamists traipsing up the Karakoram Highway and into western China, where the rising power’s Muslim population is located. Afghanistan sees a role for Pakistan in the Afghan reconciliation process — largely because it’s tied to its fundamental complaint of Afghan Taliban sanctuaries on this side of the border. India, the central focus of the security state here, worries about another Mumbai, in addition to the original rivalry over Kashmir. The US worries about another 9/11, this time traced back to our tribal areas; the UK fears another 7/7-type attack linked back to Pakistan. Russia worries about Islamist ingress into its zone of influence in Central Asia. The list goes on.

The point is that Pakistan has a perception, reality and credibility problem: we have yet to convince the world that we are not a threat to ourselves and it. Until that changes, it will taint every aspect of Pakistan’s foreign policy. While Pakistanis fret over external violations of our sovereignty by external actors, the outside world wonders why we are unable to take on the threat within and re-establish the state’s writ.

What’s the rush? Replicating the MBS

IT will take some time before the Lahore metrobus service can be established as an economically feasible project that has provided a lasting solution. For that reason the PML-N government’s plans to go for similar projects in Karachi and Rawalpindi-Islamabad look hasty. That all of Pakistan’s fast-expanding cities need comfortable transport systems goes without saying. But each city’s requirements differ, and the Lahore model cannot necessarily be considered applicable to all. Consider Karachi: countless plans drawn up, approved and even guaranteed funding were abandoned because of bureaucratic sloth or political indifference. A Japanese-aided plan is still there, but it is anybody’s guess whether the scheme to revive the Karachi Circular Railway will see the light of day. Islamabad, which otherwise has many features worthy of a modern city, has no government-run public transport system. This is a matter of shame for all governments and shows the car-bound bureaucratic and political elites’ indifference to the people’s needs. If, therefore, Islamabad’s ‘common’ citizens are to have the benefit of modern transport, all they need are comfortable and fast buses, with subsidised fares. Rawalpindi, too, requires buses rather than a Lahore-type MBS for travel within the city and for links to Islamabad.

There are other cities also — Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and Hyderabad — where fast and convenient modes of public transport are conspicuous by their absence. What is to be welcomed, however, is the Planning Commission’s reported decision to include the “notional” cost of Rs30bn for each MBS project in the annual development plan. This undoubtedly shows awareness on the part of the government that it recognises transport as a problem. But there is no room for a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Karachi would be much better served if the KCR revival plan became a reality. Instead of insisting on an MBS, the federal government would do well to ensure that no bureaucratic hurdles are allowed to delay the KCR project, whose first phase is due for completion in 2017.

Challenging the norm: Shahzeb case convictions

IN Pakistan the norm is that the rich and well connected operate as though they are above the law. That is why the sentencing in the Shahzeb Khan murder case is significant. On Friday, an anti-terrorism court in Karachi handed down the death sentence to Shahrukh Jatoi, the main accused, along with Siraj Talpur; the convicts’ families have said they will appeal the sentence. The case made headlines and sparked outrage across the country when young Shahzeb Khan was murdered in December last year after getting into an argument with one of the convicts’ servants, who had reportedly been harassing the victim’s sister. While this newspaper does not support capital punishment, justice has run its course and was not perverted by power and influence. For the impartial dispensation of justice in Pakistan all those who break the law — regardless of their connections or financial might — must be held responsible.

The conviction should also renew the debate on young people — and their handlers — carrying guns in urban Pakistan. Due to the weaponisation of society and the proliferation of armed private guards, schoolyard brawls and rivalries — that in the past usually resulted in cuts and bruises — can today end up with the loss of life. In a case similar to that of Shahzeb, another young man, Hamza Ahmed, lost his life in April when he was reportedly gunned down by an equally young rival’s guard in Karachi over a petty dispute. There needs to be introspection, especially within the upper and upper-middle classes in Pakistan, specifically regarding the value of human life. Pulling out a gun is no way to resolve an argument. This is something parents need to realise and communicate to their children and associated persons — drivers, guards, domestic staff etc.

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Yes We Can Do It!

09/06/2013

Need for review: Focus on the CII

FOLLOWING its `edict` on DNA testing in cases of rape, sections of civil society have reacted strongly and challenged the very raison d`être of the Council of Islamic Ideology. In Karachi on Friday, speakers at a group discussion demanded the CIPs abolition, with some well-known crusaders for women`s rights accusing the council of hindering the work of other state institutions.

Others claimed that various governments had exploited the body for political reasons, and demanded that it be given `improved scholarly shape`. Formed as a constitutional body under the basic law of 1962, the council went through a change in nomenclature in the 1973 Constitution and was tasked, under Article 230, to advise federal and provincial legislatures, besides the president and governors, on whether or not a given law was repugnant to Islam.

Since the council`s formation half a century ago, radical changes have occurred in state and society in Pakistan. The media and civil society today are far more vibrant and unorthodox in approach and content than ever before, and the people better informed and more conscious of their rights. Quite appropriately because of the diversity of ideas they have access to, thanks to the greater reach of information technology andsocial media the people think they do not necessarily need seminary advice to come to conclusions about matters that concern them. In fact, as the results of last month`s general elections show, the Pakistani people attach far more importance to those they can vote for rather than those that are nominated or wish to make pronouncements from claimed vantage points.

It is true that the CII is an advisory body, but because of its dictatorial baggage since the `80s its pronouncements tend to acquire an air of moral authority, as if its edicts constitute the ultimate in what Islamic dos and don`ts are. In this way, the CII has appropriated a role that rightly belongs to parliament. Today, almost all mainstream religious parties are represented in the federal and provincial assemblies. This equips the legislatures with the moral authority to make and unmake all laws. As Iqbal says in his Reconstruction, it is parliament which represents ijma in modern form. As regards the functions of the CII, if such a body is at all necessary, it would be far more suitable to create a parliamentary committee consisting of members already in the house. As a speaker pointed out in the Karachi seminar, the CII is today working virtually as an office of a religious party.

At the crossroads: Mutilated bodies in Balochistan

IT appears that despite the holding of elections and formation of a new government in Balochistan, a parallel system run by the security apparatus is still calling the shots in the province. A strike was observed in several districts of Balochistan recently in protest against the dumping of bullet-riddled bodies in different areas. It is widely alleged that the security forces, and pro-establishment militias, are responsible for the kidnapping and killing of suspected separatists in most cases.

It is a harbinger of the incredibly difficult challenges ahead that as a new elected government prepares to take the reins, mutilated bodies are still turning up in Balochistan.

Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, who was elected chief minister on Saturday, has said that recovering missing persons and ending the practice of dumping corpses are amongst his priorities, while he also made overtures to separatists, urging them to adopt the path of dialogue. However, the new chief minister`s initiatives can only succeed if he is given the space by theestablishment to pursue his policies.

What is required is for the people, especially in Baloch-dominated areas, to regain their confidence in the state and the political process. Heavy-handed tactics such as abducting, torturing and killing activists will do little to foster the spirit of reconciliation. Elections will not make a difference if such brutal methods continue to be used; such actions will only increase the level of alienation amongst the Baloch. If there is evidence that individuals are involved in militancy, separatism or violence, proof of such activities must be produced in court. Extralegal methods of countering separatist sentiment will only be counter-productive. Balochistan today is at the crossroads. It can turn a new page if the elected government is given the freedom by the establishment to continue the political process and bring all elements to the negotiating table. Or, if the present style of managing the province`s security issues continues, we may cross the point of no return. The ball is in the establishment`s court.

Partial solution: Different colour for school buses

THE fallout from the school van fire in Gujrat last month that cost the lives of 16 children and their teacher continues to make the news. And so it should; tragedies of such magnitude must generate policy changes so that they do not recur. It is in this vein that the five-member commission set up by the former caretaker chief minister of Punjab to look into the incident came up with the suggestion, among others, that vehicles that carry schoolchildren be painted a separate colour to distinguish them from vans used for public transport in general. This is presumably to ensure that such vehicles can be subjected to regular roadworthiness checks. To that end the proposed measure is a step in the right direction and should be adopted. In many Western countries, the mode of transport for schoolchildren is almost invariably the ubiguitous school bus, usually painted a distinctive yellow and equipped withlegally mandated safety features such as higher seat backs with added cushioning, a rear emergency exit etc. In Pakistan, however, dedicated school buses are few and far between and differentiating such vehicles by colour, while useful, would not have as much impact as it would elsewhere in the world. To get to and from their schools, most students use private vans that, when not carrying students, double as transport for the general public as well.

At the same time, no one can deny that added safety measures for vehicles carrying schoolchildren are necessary. To that end, it may be more practical to issue special certificates for such dual-purpose vehicles to subject them to a more stringent regimen of roadworthiness, driving licence and other checks. That said, the real test as always will lie in implementation, the Achilles` heel of officialdom in this country.

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Janoon say or Ishq say milti hay AAZADI

Owing the country: Missing the tax targets

THE Federal Board of Revenue is going to miss the tax target again.

Reports suggest that it will not be able to collect even the revised target of Rs2tr, which is 86pc of the original tax estimates of Rs2.38tr for the current fiscal. The board has collected just Rs1.68tr in the first 11 months of the year to May. With an average monthly tax collection of Rs153 billion, the total is unlikely to cross the Rs1.90tr mark by the end of June. This will spell more problems for the new Nawaz Sharif government.

The tax collection shortfall means the government will be forced to either borrow more from banks or print new money, or both, to bridge the widening budget deficit, which is feared to swell to 7-8pc of the size of the economy by the close of the year.

There are many factors responsible for the lowerthan-estimated collection of taxes. The FBR blames a slowing economy for its inefficiencies. While this is one reason, the board could have done a much better job were it not plagued by rampant corruption at every level, and wrangling among its senior officers for lucrative posts. The board requires wide-ranging governance reform and the increased use of information technology in its functions to improve tax administra-tion, plug loopholes for corruption and decrease the discretionary powers of tax collectors at every level. However, the unwillingness of successive governments to tax the untaxed and undertaxed incomes, and to extend exemptions to variaus lobbies either to retain or buy their political loyalties, is the most important factor responsible for the far lower-than-potential tax revenue generation.

This has resulted in a substantial increase in the burden on existing taxpayers and led governments to resort to indirect taxation at the cost of higher inflation and taxing the poor, who shouldn`t be paying any at all.

The PML-N manifesto promises to broaden the narrow tax base. Also, it promises to cut indirect taxation on the poor and increase direct taxation on the wealthy and powerful.

The budget is just a few days away. Early signals on the new government`s tax policy are not very encouraging. With our taxto-GDP ratio of just above nine per cent being one of the lowest in the world, the first real test of the Nawaz Sharif government will be its ability to collect the tax the wealthy and powerful owe. It will also determine the direction in which the government will want the economy to move forwards or backwards.

Polio drive: Role for PTI, clerics

IT is a real pity if some of us have to be convinced into supporting something as basic as the administration of polio drops to children. As the harbinger of a new Pakistan and with a state-of-the-art cancer hospital to his credit, Imran Khan should require no briefing from the Word Health Organisation chief about the threat of polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Yet, such a WHO briefing was given on Thursday just as, in another manifestation of the challenge posed by heartless elements that are resistant to polio vaccination, a gathering of Pakistani and international religious scholars in Islamabad issued an edict declaring the polio drops halal. On the day the two news stories appeared, a polio worker died in Peshawar of wounds she had sustained on the country`s polio front, as a dire reminder of just how critical the situation is, particularly in KP.

At a distance from where briefings take place and edicts are deemed necessary, both Mr Khan and the clerics are wellplaced to act where it really matters. The PTPs support at the grass roots all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should enable it to make a much-needed contribution to the anti-polio drive. This is a statement the PTI chief must make in the interest of the people and his own reputation as a politician who does not like to complicate things and prefers to come up with direct, unambiguous responses. As simple issues go, there is none as straightforward as this one. The failure of the polio vaccination drive puts lives at grave risk and all have a role to play, including PTI workers, the edict-making clerics in Islamabad, and the ulema with considerable influence in KP and the rest of the country. These religious scholars must step up to the duty of taking their support of the antipolio drive right down to the local level. The local mosque, connected to the people and as an institution seeking public good, should take anti-polio campaigners under its umbrella.

Death traps on wheels: Gas authority leads charge

A STATE regulator swings belatedly into action to try and protect the public`s safety; the intended target, a wellorganised and politically powerful special interest, pushes back; a few headlines are generated and slowly, after a while, the matter slips towards an inconclusive end. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority`s attempt to prevent CNG stations from servicing public passenger vehicles that have CNG kits installed inside the passenger compartment of the vehicles is facing stiff resistance from the CNG association and the usual problems of enforcement of state directives has reared its head. Laudable as the Ogra initiative appears and typically recalcitrant as the CNG association`s response has been, as usual the broader questions have been lost in the back-and-forth.

Most obviously, should Ogra be the body leading the charge against death traps on wheels or is this a matter for multiple agencies and governmentdepartments to pursue and coordinate action over? Ogra itself appears to understand the scale of the task in its letter addressed to the provincial chief secretaries and to police chiefs without the help of the administrative and law-enforcement arms of the state, the ban will be largely ineffective.

The gas regulator simply does not have the resources to check all CNGpowered public transport or to ensure CNG filling stations do not flout the ban. More importantly, however, has Ogra or any other regulator or administrative authority made any attempt to truly and scientifically understand the threats that CNG kits in vehicles pose and how to best mitigate them in a cost-efficient and urgent manner? The complex, time-consuming task itself suggests the answer: no.

Safety measures that are truly effective and lifesaving need to be well thought out and designed.

Finally, the CNG lobby needs to be reined in, on this and many other matters.

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Janoon say or Ishq say milti hay AAZADI

Democratic continuity: The president`s speech

A SIXTH, and final, speech by President Zardari to a joint session of parliament confirmed a pattern set early on in his presidential career: Mr Zardari isn`t a master orator and his speeches rarely contain anything substantive. But sometimes the substance can be in the procedure itself and here at long last is a civilian, genuinely elected president fulfilling his constitutional duty before two parliaments, one with a government led by his own party and the other with a government led by his party`s historical opponent. Rebuked by the electorate for his party`s dismal governance record, the country nevertheless owes a debt of gratitude to Mr Zardari for putting the democratic process on a firmer track. An unlikelier hero there rarely has been and Mr Zardari`s flaws are surely manifest and many, but in supporting the democratic process regardless of the outcome for him and his party the president is a unique figure in Pakistan`s political history.

Five years ago, Mr Zardari promised to relinquish the powers that Musharraf had arrogated to the presidency. He did.

The president promised to respect the will of the electorate. Aside from the abortive power grab in Punjab in 2009, Mr Zardari abided by his promise.

The president promised to hold credible and acceptable elections and to pre-side over a smooth transfer of power. He did. The woeful record of governance by his PPP over the last five years is undeniable and will remain a blot on his legacy regardless of what happens over the next five years and the election that will follow but so will the contribution of a man who both grasped the importance of democratic continuity and delivered when given the opportunity.

Lightning rarely strikes twice but the country appears to have received a double stroke of luck in that the man who takes over responsibility for democratic continuity, the prime minister of the house Mr Zardari addressed yesterday, appears to be as committed to the democratic project as Mr Zardari has been. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has commanded much respect for his maturity during the campaign season and his statesmanship after winning an unexpectedly solid mandate. Now comes the next step of the challenge: delivering adequate governance born of a stable mandate. The challenges, as Mr Zardari enumerated, are manifold and serious. Solutions may be slow and painful but at least there is a consensus across the political spectrum about the framework in which those solutions must be crafted and implemented. Democracy and Pakistan appear at long last to be converging towards synonymity.

Secrecy unwanted: Discretion is discrimination

DR Abdul Malik begins his term in Balochistan by doing away with secrecy where he immediately could: by abolishing the chief minister`s secret fund.

He may have many other mysteries to deal with, and some of them he listed in his inaugural speech, but that cannot detract from his strong pro-transparency statement at the outset.

Similar promises have been voiced in other parts of the country, about governments not using public funds clandestinely.

In Islamabad, a PML-N government looking to drastically cut costs chooses to retain the information ministry, but it vows not to sully its hands with the secret funds the ministry is infamous for distributing without fear of audit. Some enthusiastic media reports have gone as far as saying that the federal government is even thinking of discontinuing the old `discretionary fund` that is at the disposal of the prime minister. Reports say the federal government is looking for transparent ways to transfer money to federal and provincial lawmakers,in contrast to the current practice where lawmakers get the funding for development work in their constituencies at the prime minister`s discretion.

A distinction has to be made here. Is this a procedural change or is the suggestion here to apply a basic principle to create a new policy? Discretion gives birth to favourites, who abound in the history of this country. The use of discretionary powers is not limited to the high offices in the government but the people holding senior government posts create an example for others in the system to happily emulate.

Discretionary powers are used to lavish favours, such as cash, from often unaudited funds and plots of land,and they can be used by government functionaries, say the tax officials, to arbitrarily decide tax rates and fines, etc, on an individual to individual basis.

Discretion has to be shunned if the system is to be purged of discrimination.

Where public money is being used, audit and proper public oversight has to be ensured.

Recovered artefacts: Crackdown needed against raiders

IT is laudable that the customs authorities foiled a bid to smuggle a 75kg haul of artefacts, including originals as well as copies, out of Islamabad. As reported on Monday, airport officials swooped down on a Thailand-bound passenger last month, recovering various artefacts with some believed to be from the Greek and Kushan periods. In the past, several attempts to smuggle antiquities have been thwarted. A container impounded in Sukkur in March contained numerous boxes filled with objects reportedly stolen from sites and museums in Punjab. Last year, nearly 400 Gandhara relics later termed mostly fakes were recovered from a container in Karachi. These hauls suggest strongly that the illegal trade in historical objects continues to thrive in Pakistan.

While it appears that the authorities are making efforts, much more needs to be done to protect the country`s historical sites and museums from pillage.Regarding the theft of objects from museums, this means that either there are people within the institutions complicit in the crime, or that the museum managements are negligent in protecting the relics from thieves. As for the actual sites, many historical places in Sindh, for example, are either short of staff or have no watchmen at all.

And observers say Balochistan, where the looting of sites is said to be rampant, needs special attention. Treasure hunters have a field day in this historically rich province not only due to the remoteness of its sites, but also because of the fragile security situation. Unfortunately, the archaeological authorities in Pakistan are under-resourced, outnumbered and outgunned as compared to the tomb raiders and smugglers. The state needs to dedicate manpower and resources to counter criminals, while those involved in smuggling artefacts including those who aid and abet them must be made to face the law.

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Janoon say or Ishq say milti hay AAZADI

EX-serviceman Mohammad Iqbal`s petition to the Supreme Court alleging that he was kept in illegal custody and tortured by intelligence agencies run by the armed forces has cast another harsh spotlight on the role of the country`s intelligence apparatus. Absent any parllamentary oversight and lacking any legal framework under which they operate, the intelligence apparatus both civilian and military has for too long been a law unto itself.

To be sure, an intelligence apparatus is both necessary and its operations must often be conducted in secret. But equally true is the need for robust accountability. The startling, and vividly detailed, claims of torture and imprisonment of Mr Iqbal raise some very disturbing questions about both the scope of the intelligence agencies` activities and the near-impossibility of holding them accountable.

Many of the claims and allegations are only surfacing now because of the existence of a fiercely independent superior judiciary.

The typical reaction from the security establishment to allegations of excess and illegal acts is that the security and intelligence apparatus must not be demonised for aberrations that may have occurred and that by and large they act very much within the parameters of constitutionally guaranteed rights to the citizenry.However, far too often, it is left at that no followup, no investigations or inquiries that the public is made privy to, no sanctions or penalties meted out to violators of the law.

Somehow, none of the allegations are ever admitted to be true and if excesses are admitted, they are somehow justified on the grounds of national security or protecting the public.

Perhaps the most vivid example of this tendency for denial and then justification is the case of the Adiala 11. First, there was stonewalling, then there was an admission that the suspected militants were in fact in the custody of intelligence agencies and finally there was an attempt through selective leaks to the media to overshadow the allegations of torture and murder with proof of the suspects` militant activities.

The way forward is for the newly elected parliament to take the lead: establish intelligence committees of parliament, debate a legislative framework for the activities of the intelligence agencies and pass the necessary laws after consultation with the relevant stakeholders though keeping the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the individual at the centre of all recommendations and legislation. The balance between security and individual rights need not be as skewed towards security as it has been for the last 65 years.




THE army`s withdrawal from Swat is a complex matter involving strategic and political considerations. For that reason, the provincial Jamaat-i-Islami chief`s statement that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is going to `demand` the army`s withdrawal from the tourist paradise deserves attention. As yet, there is no confirmation of this move by the KP government, though the provincial JI chief claimed on Sunday that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had already raised the issue with the corps commander concerned. The `demand` feels odd, because the PML-N government is still in the process of evolving policies on various issues, including the Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan`s (now withdrawn) peace offer.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s first speech in the National Assembly after being elected leader of the house was a low-key affair yet one message was clear the PML-N government is in no hurry to act.

Theoretically, the army should withdraw from Swat as quickly as possible. But, ideally, the army must also withdraw fromevery bit of Fata too. How realistic is this, though, given that the insurgency continues in many tribal agencies? Some regions have been secured, but fighting still rages in many areas. Swat itself is not as secure as we would wish.

A hurried withdrawal by the army without a strong civilian infrastructure in place could allow the TTP to stage a comeback which would prove disastrous. We know, for instance, that the failure of Swat`s judicial system to deliver enabled the Maulana Fazlullah-led Taliban to set up Qazi courts. This laid the ground for Swat and other parts of Malakand Agency being overrun by the Swati Taliban, who imposed their own version of `shariah`. Regaining this territory through a military operation was seen as a success that could be replicated elsewhere. But such gains will be reversed if army withdrawal occurs hastily.

The KP police chief`s confidence in his force`s ability is encouraging, therefore, but more information needs to be made public about the civilian administration`s ability to keep the peace durably.



A TRAFFIC snarl-up of monstrous proportions occurred in the heart of Karachi`s financial district on Monday because of the blockade of two arterial roads as part of the `security measures` While on this occasion it was in reaction to a protest rally, unfortunately the sudden, arbitrary closure of Aiwan-iSadr Rd, on which Governor House is located, and Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Rd, off which Chief Minister House is situated, has become a regular, unwelcome feature of life. Protest rallies can break out randomly, but these and other key roads are inexplicably often kept blocked off under normal circumstances too.

When such busy thoroughfares are closed, the traffic mess on connecting roads becomes unmanageable, with the effects rippling further afield. Similarly, the road next to Bilawal House, the president`s Karachi residence, has been encroached upon and blocked off permanentlyfor a long time. This causes needless misery, especially when security measures go into overdrive during the president`s visits. Perhaps the culture of closing off pubhc roads can be traced back to Islamabad`s Constitution Avenue. There was no objection from any of the state institutions located off this thoroughfare when it was declared part of the `red zone` years ago.

While security concerns are valid, they need to be balanced by consideration for the public. If alternative arrangements are not made, the stretch of Dr Ziauddin Rd leading to CM House may well meet the same fate as that of the Bilawal House road. If securing CM House at its current location is a problem, it should be shifted to a less central spot so that the public is not punished every time there is a security threat. The Supreme Court, which has criticised arbitrary road blockades, could also take up the issue afresh.

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"Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?"