Cashing in on floods?

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 29 Aug, 2010

IT seems that Pakistan will remain hostage to petty politics, even at a time of grave national crisis. Initially it was said that a ‘trust deficit’ was the root cause behind the international community’s slow response to the ongoing flood relief operations in this country. That was possibly a fair assessment given the mismanagement and lack of transparency that are the hallmarks of Pakistani officialdom. Donors have every right, after all, to expect that the funds they provide will go to the needy and not line the pockets of government functionaries. Facts must be faced: Pakistan’s reputation when it comes to honest governance is poor and it is understandable that foreign countries, at least until UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit this month, were reluctant to hand over large sums of money directly to state-run organisations.

The world’s view of Pakistan is one thing. What is more deplorable is the trust deficit that exists between the centre and the provinces as well as the federating units themselves. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif stressed on Friday that the provinces should on no account be bypassed when funds are disbursed for the flood relief operation. The message is clear: Mr Sharif doesn’t believe that Islamabad will treat his province, Punjab, fairly in its time of need. He has also called for a meeting of the Council of Common Interests so that each province’s rightful share in relief funds can be ascertained and distributed accordingly. This is a welcome proposal and should be pursued without delay because the suffering of the public is immense.

No province should be left believing that it has been hard done by, either at the hands of the centre or another unit of the federation.

Political parties of every hue — and that includes both the PPP and the PML-N — apparently want direct access to flood relief funds so that they can build up their political capital. They want to be seen as the people personally handing over money because that could win votes at the next election. But a greedy, distasteful scramble over cash is the last thing that Pakistan needs right now. Why, for instance, should we have a multitude of flood relief funds set up by offices as disparate as the PM House, the army, the National Assembly speaker and the Punjab chief minister? The activities of individuals and NGOs are a different matter altogether and every rupee or sack of flour they raise ought to be commended. But the key players that constitute the state must show unity and act as one. This is a time for giving, not politicking.

Uncertainty at SBP

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 29 Aug, 2010

YET another example of the government’s carelessness and lack of interest in strengthening institutions is before us. Since June 2, the State Bank of Pakistan has been operating under an acting governor following the resignation for ‘personal reasons’ by the previous incumbent. No one is sure why the president or the prime minister has been content with the ad hoc arrangement for weeks, but now a legal hurdle is looming: on Aug 31, the 90-day period during which the SBP can legally operate under an acting governor will expire. This state of affairs is very frustrating. The SBP is perhaps one of the most professional institutions in the country. It may be blamed for issues like allowing the banking spread to grow too much and for lending too much to the government. Still, overall, it is considered one of the few solid institutions in the country. Why imperil its operations unnecessarily?

Experts familiar with the operations of the SBP say that its routine business can be conducted adequately by qualified and competent officials below the level of governor, and that three months of ad hoc leadership will not bring the bank grinding to a halt. However, the experts also point to a potentially serious downside. Consider that the country is fighting a fresh round of inflationary pressure with little or no help on the fiscal side (deficit remains high, for example), therefore giving crucial importance to the monetary side. Surely monetary policy at the moment ought not to be designed with a temporary head of the SBP, regardless of whatever internal mechanisms and committees may exist. Consider also private-sector borrowing from the banks, which is sagging. At the moment, banks are happy to lend to an eager government at lucrative rates, so policy initiatives need to be put in place to encourage lending to the private sector. The same goes for the agricultural sector, even before the floods. From the creation of new instruments to readjusting existing policy instruments, much needs to be done. And without a full-term governor much of what needs to be done cannot be done adequately.

ME talks: no useful purpose

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 29 Aug, 2010

IT is doubtful if Israel’s latest diplomatic move seeking talks with the Palestinian Authority every two weeks will serve any useful purpose, going by an almost similar exercise earlier. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed biweekly meetings with Mahmoud Abbas, after they meet in Washington soon to re-launch talks which President Barack Obama would like to see produce results in a year. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held similar meetings with the PA president but without success. The Abbas-Netanyahu talks are to formally begin on Sept 2, but the crucial date is Sept 26, when the moratorium announced by Israel on settlement construction expires. Sources in the Israeli government have made it clear that the Likud government has no intention of extending the moratorium. This has cast a shadow on the talks which are supposed to tackle all crucial, final status issues.

The man leading the talks on Israel’s behalf is a super hawk. Mr Netanyahu was elected prime minister in the wake of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, who had signed the declaration of principles (DoP) with Yasser Arafat at the White House in September 1993. Mr Netanyahu’s election pledge was that he would wreck the “sell-out”. He succeeded, for he and his successor, Ehud Barak, sabotaged the peace accord by having the DoP renegotiated with President Bill Clinton’s full support. Going by the fact that Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly rebuffed Mr Obama’s call for a halt to settlement activity, the prospects for the success of the latest round of talks next month look bleak. Israelis are experts at dragging their feet and prolonging the negotiating process to “create facts”. This was Menachim Begin’s way of saying that he would continue to build settlements to alter the occupied territories’ demographic character. Mr Netanyahu seems determined to follow the late prime minister.

Time to trade with India

By Moazzam Husain
Monday, 30 Aug, 2010
THE return flight from Bangkok crosses Indian airspace flying low over the physical boundary on the final descent into Lahore.

Unlike the Swiss-German border or indeed even the border at Torkham, there is no line of parked cars, buses and trucks, waiting patiently for customs formalities. Instead, one sees a concertina wire fence complete with searchlights, watchtowers and motion sensors.

Before I folded the meal table I had been drawing three overlapping circles, one each representing South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia — or call it the Middle East. The region where the three circles overlap was Pakistan … an enviable strategic position indeed! The finality of being fenced out would appear to indicate one less circle.

Meanwhile I had folded the drawing paper and was now using it as a bookmark placed inside my in-flight read; Imtiaz Gul’s The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan’s Lawless Frontier resting in the seat pocket in front of me.

“What Pakistan faces today is not a ragtag army comprised of just a few thousand religious zealots,” writes Gul, who also runs the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad. “Beyond a doubt, the TTP [Taliban] is out to destroy the entire Pakistani security establishment. This will be possible only if the security forces face a continuous and sustained challenge all over the border regions, where one-fourth of the Pakistan Army is now deployed. One thing is clear: a long, bloody struggle lies ahead.”

And whilst the mess in Afghanistan may or may not have been influenced by our own blinkered strategic vision, even after 14 years, the supposed trucks from Torkham crossing the Oxus into Central Asia remain a mirage. Effectively, this brings us to only one strategic circle, the Middle East. Even there for the last two decades, Pakistan as a locked state with an impoverished economy has had little to offer (other than a pool of semi-skilled labour).

Judging from the shopping bags my fellow passengers have stuffed in the overhead cabin compartments, it is apparent that not just the Middle Eastern market but Pakistani consumers themselves now demand quality and standards. Accordingly, the last remaining circle, too, fades away. This leaves only Af-Pak. So how do you squander a huge strategic geopolitical advantage? Easy! Hold firm to a flawed strategic vision that is underpinned by an even more flawed ideology — that sees strategic depth to the west and an enemy to the east. How does one change this endemic condition? One way is with economics.

Since 9/11, Pakistan has lobbied for greater market access for its textile products to the US market. “What benefit will this bring?” asked the US administration. “Five-fold increase in exports — from $3bn to $15bn,” responded the Pakistani textile industry; a verbal attestation without any economics research to back it up with.

Ten million new jobs thus created would water down religious militancy, a favourably inclined US administration pleads to a reluctant US Congress. “Well, also please do tell us who will bear the cost: US industry and taxpayers or the other textile-producing Asian countries?” asks the US Congress. Once again, without rigorous quantitative analysis these questions cannot be answered and so the issue of free-market access continues to languish.

The gravity model for trade is an econometric estimation technique to simulate trade volume flows between two countries (or two regions). In similar fashion to a war game exercise, it churns out predictions based on input parameters such as the distance between and the relative sizes of the two economies. This technique has been used to predict the outcomes of trade agreements like Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement).

According to our own logic, Pakistan needs a big market for its export, one that will stabilise the shattered economy. For 10 years we have chased the US market but have missed seeing the huge market next door that even the US and the rest of the world vie for. This is because even while India may have the world’s 10th most regressive trading regime it is still the world’s second or third most sought after business destination on account of the size and growth rate of its consumer market.

India offered Pakistan the most-favoured nation status, a position any other country would bend over backwards to obtain. Pakistan has yet to reciprocate. The Gravity Model has been applied several times to simulate trade between the two countries under varying assumptions. On average, it has indicated a twenty-fold increase — from the present $2bn to $40bn in two-way trade. This implies a doubling of exports in one stroke. It also implies a cheaper total import bill.

In what may be a competitive model to Singapore, the Malaysian province of Penang is positioning itself to become a regional economic powerhouse. In this scheme of things, Penang’s greater economy would incorporate southern Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. All will benefit. In similar fashion, Lahore, together with central Punjab, stands to gain immensely as a potential hub of a greater economy.

From a geopolitical perspective, the Indian cities of Amritsar, Jullunder, Ludhiana and Patiala are closer to Lahore, (and to Punjab’s golden triangle comprising the manufacturing clusters of Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot) than to northern Indian industrial cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Bengal. Generally for the Indian states of East Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Lahore is the nearest commercial hub and Karachi is the nearest seaport and there is a plausible rail link in between.

The GHQ probably realises that a flooded Pakistan, facing an existential threat emanating from its lawless tribal frontier is also a country with diminished economic war potential to ward off this threat. There is nothing unusual about a policy reappraisal following a calamity. In that sense, the opening of Wagah represents the decisive round in the battle between the forces of progress and the forces of reaction. The choice of moment for that showdown has never been more urgent.

http://moazzamhusain.wordpress.com




Floods and after

By Arif Hasan
Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

FOR sustainable reconstruction of the physical and social infrastructure of flood-ravaged Sindh, it is necessary to understand to what extent the damage caused by the flood is manmade. Some of the broad indicators are obvious.

Due to the construction of barrages and hundreds of kilometres of flood protection embankments the floodplains of the Indus have been considerably reduced. They can no longer cater to exceptionally high floods. As such, these floodwaters are carried away by canals to considerable distances away from the floodplains. The canals in turn flood the colonised areas.

An important question is whether the water-carrying capacity of the floodplains can be increased and whether engineering works can reduce pressure on the canals in case of high floods. Preliminary discussions with engineers suggest that this is feasible.

Not only have the floodplains shrunk, the shrub lands and the forests in them have been destroyed to make way for agriculture. This has increased the scale of flooding and the velocity of water. It has also made embankments more susceptible to erosion and collapse. In addition, settlements, some permanent and other semi-permanent, have developed in the floodplains, adding considerably to the vulnerable population.

In the colonised areas, over the last century, hundreds of kilometres of road and protection embankments have been built 10 to 20 feet above the land level. Except for the major drainage channels there are no culverts and/or gates to let floodwaters pass or return through them. If these culverts and gates existed at regular and appropriate intervals, flooding could be controlled and the breaching of these embankments and roads by the force of the water or by design, would not be necessary.

Even in urban centres, large areas, especially low-income ones, are submerged because they are surrounded by high roads, and water from them cannot be drained out. This is especially true of the areas around Larkana, Sukkur and Shikarpur.

There are other issues as well. In search of land to cultivate, inundation and drainage channels and the natural depressions connected to them have been encroached upon for agricultural purposes and around towns for the construction of homes and businesses. This is a major cause of flooding, especially in the urban areas, even during normal monsoons.

And then, there are other issues. Much of the post-1970s’ infrastructure is substandard in quality. In addition, infrastructure, irrespective of its age has not been maintained. Canals, barrages and irrigation headworks have not been properly desilted for years. This is especially true of the minor drainage channels which are the backbone of any efficient drainage system. Most of them are covered with shrubbery preventing effective drainage of fields and agricultural areas. In the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase, there are other issues that will surface as well. The floods have wiped out landmarks and the definition of fields and survey numbers. Re-establishing them is a major exercise and is bound to lead to disputes and conflicts.

During the initial phase of the reconstruction of homes and properties, similar disputes will also arise. In this process the worst affected will be the tenant farmers and the poorer sections of the population. The principles on the basis of which these disputes are to be settled need to be clearly and simply articulated. The institutions that are to settle these disputes will also have to be established at the taluka level.

It is not possible for people to visit the taluka headquarters for the settlement of these disputes. Therefore, mobile teams will have to camp at different locations and invite applications for the resolution of property-related conflicts. If justice cannot be delivered through a transparent, uncomplicated and swift process, then power and production-related relations will be further strengthened in favour of the more powerful sections of society.

The rehabilitation of major infrastructure (roads, bridges, electricity, water supply, sewage) and the desilting process required for it, will be taken care of by the state agencies through contractors and consultancy firms. The manner in which it will be done is clear and the local population can be mobilised for this work through a cash- or food-for-work programme.

Our bureaucracy is well aware of how such programmes are organised and managed. However, it will be necessary to develop appropriate specifications and concepts for the design, maintenance and operation of all major infrastructure items so that they can withstand the scale of flooding that we have experienced. Also, the institutions that develop and manage infrastructure will have to be strengthened, and on the basis of an evaluation of the problems they face, their constraints will have to be removed.

At the local level, rehabilitation work can be managed by local communities provided they are supported by sound technical advice and managerial guidance by local government (where it exists) and NGOs and professional organisations.For home construction and restoration, it is necessary that building materials are easily available and that their prices are kept under strict control. The profiteering and exploitation around the supply of building materials that was experienced in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake should not be allowed to take place. In addition, improved methods and technologies related to mud construction need to be introduced as mud will remain the cheapest and by far the most easily available material.

The above is doable and there is a lot of experience available in the country for doing it. It needs to be accessed and organised.

However, the most important issue is related to livelihoods. It is doubtful if there will be a kharif crop in Sindh this year. For making the next crop possible, cash is required for inputs and for surviving from sowing to harvesting. In addition, livestock has to be fed and looked after. This is perhaps our greatest challenge and this is the concern of many of the IDPs in Karachi.

Discussions with them suggest that many of the tenant farmers and landless labour are seriously considering staying on in Karachi and looking for jobs. Small farmers would like to go back but think that by leaving a member in Karachi they will receive some financial support to rebuild their lives in their villages and small towns. A new relationship between the capital of Sindh and the people of its hinterland is in the process of being established. It should be welcomed and supported.



Back in the news

Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

LIKE a recurring nightmare, South Waziristan is creeping back into the news once again. But each time the situation in the area seems to grow murkier. Now, a militant commander belonging to a sub-tribe of the Ahmadzai Wazirs has demanded that the Mehsuds leave the Wana area, presumably because Mehsud militants are being held responsible for the recent assassination of Maulana Noor Muhammad. Beyond that little is clear. Is the Ahmadzai commander acting at the behest of Maulvi Nazir, the kingpin of the area, or does it mark some kind of rift inside the Nazir group? What threat do the Mehsud militants pose anyway in the area? There are ambushes and other attacks against security forces in the area, but security officials are suggesting that the real threat is coming from different quarters — the so-called Punjabi Taliban who have taken refuge in the area. Why are the Punjabi Taliban a growing threat in the area? Could it be that pressure in North Waziristan is pushing them towards the Wana region? Little can be said with certainty.

The Punjabi Taliban came to the area several years ago but were initially treated as ‘good Taliban’, focused as they were on the battle in Afghanistan and having little interest in fighting the Pakistani state. Things started to get more complicated following a crackdown inside Pakistan against Maulana Masood Azhar’s Jaish-i-Mohammad a couple of years ago, sending Jaish cadres running to the area. The camaraderie between Maulvi Nazir and the Punjabi Taliban is yet another complicating factor, with the latter acting as the foot soldiers of the former and the former in the ‘can-do-business-with’ column of the Pakistani state. Given this complicated overlap and intertwining between these various strands of militant groups in South Waziristan, the Pakistani state has been reduced to a difficult tight-rope walk, having to calibrate its responses minutely in an attempt to maintain some semblance of control over the security situation there.

In the fight against militancy, tactics will necessarily be complicated and on occasion the state may be forced to choose between two unpalatable options. Yet, there is a persistent feeling that the security establishment here may be choosing the wrong strategy, opting to juggle the various militant groups and push the most extreme ones to the mountains of Fata in order to keep the cities safe. If the strategy is flawed, the tactics will not matter.


Rawal Dam pollution

Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

THE Supreme Court’s proceedings and orders on the suo moto case with regard to the polluted waters of Rawal Dam have exposed the inertia of various bureaucratic agencies in checking the contamination of water in the dam’s catchment areas. Rawal Lake is Rawalpindi’s main source of drinking water. Concerns over the flow of untreated sewage from housing colonies and effluents from poultry farms into the lake were first raised some two decades ago. Little has been done to ease these worries. In 1995, a task force for controlling pollution in the dam was set up. Later, a Rawal Lake Catchment Management Committee was established to coordinate the workings of the various agencies involved, including the administrative, development and water bodies in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Murree and the national and provincial environment protection agencies. But despite apparent orders banning construction activities in the lake’s catchment areas upstream and prohibiting the operation of cattle sheds and poultry farms along stream banks, these activities have continued unabated. Moreover, the requirements of proper disposal of waste by those responsible for these activities in the catchment areas have not been met. The result today is that five million gallons of virtually untreated sewage and other dangerous effluents flow into Rawal Lake daily.

As the SC indicated, even building new treatment plants at the numerous housing colonies and poultry farms will not ensure that the lake is protected from polluted water. What must be done, the SC says, is to divert treated water from these settlements away from the dam and use it for other purposes like agriculture. A similar measure comprising the installation of check dams along various water channels to divert the sewage flow away from the dam had already been advocated by the Rawal Lake Catchment Management Committee. The plan has yet to be implemented. The SC has now directed the cabinet division secretary to gather all the stakeholders and devise “effective measures” to ensure that “not a drop of filthy water” enters Rawal Dam. The onus is on the cabinet division to take the lead in putting an end to pollution in the lake.


Picking sides

By Hajrah Mumtaz
Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

THIS country, hardly a stranger to the twists of history, continues to be mired in crises of multiplying proportions.

As if the poverty, the guns, the absence of the rule of law and the desperation were not enough, to the mixture were added the ‘war on terror’, the Taliban, militants, suicide bombings, and most recently the Sialkot murders and the floods’ catastrophe.

And if the various administrative, infrastructural and economic crises were not enough, a host of contentious points with which we are familiar to the point of being wearied are once again in the spotlight: the advantages (as if there were any) and pitfalls of military intervention in politics and governance, the corruption or saintliness of political parties and figures, our love-hate relationship with the US and our sovereignty as a nation state, even though we appear to be asking for international help so often.

Sectioned between footage or column space of the hungry and the homeless, these other — old — arguments are still ongoing.

The house-of-horrors experience of the past, and in recent years the extensive role of the media, particularly electronic, has created a situation where many citizens are now taking a stance — with or against the government, for example — that is not only strong but also often intolerant of opposite views. With the world divided into a black and white philosophy in terms of any contentious issue (in part thanks to the ‘with us or against us’ slogan of the Bush administration), Pakistanis are literally lining up to stand up and take a side.

In terms of the citizenry, this may turn out to be positive for it could lead to an examination of previously unchallenged notions and an avowal of loyalty on the basis of cerebral processes.

A similar trend of picking sides is also emerging in the news media though, both print and electronic, and this can prove deeply dangerous. We live in interesting times, sure, as the old Chinese curse goes, and of course each of us must play a role in ushering in the new order. But newsmen are not just citizens; they’re that and something more. They’re also people who play a very significant role in shaping public opinion.

Therefore, whatever they may think in their guise as citizens, in their professional capacity their job is to report on what is newsworthy on its intrinsic merit, without picking a side. As far as is possible, they must refrain from allowing their preferred ideologies to dictate output. The ideals of balanced journalism and the principles of objectivity are more relevant now than ever before.

The characteristic that marks a truly professional journalist is the fact that he has the ability and more importantly the willingness to examine an issue from the point of view of its intrinsic newsworthiness, rather than whether or not it is one that he is personally concerned about, is interested in or has a stance on.

In practical terms this means, for example, that left-leaning though I may be, as a reporter or editor worth the name I must give adequate coverage to a rally by a rightist organisation if it is a gathering of significant proportions, or the flood relief work undertaken by charities with suspected links to extremist organisations, if they are on a scale that merits reportage.

Whatever my personal views, my job demands that I do not discriminate — and thereby abuse my position of power — on the basis of preferences since that undermines the very ideals of journalism. If I allowed that to happen, where would lie the difference between me and the propagandist?

A news organisation’s job is to report on the news and not to comment on it. Therefore, every story that is broadcast or printed must follow the rules, such as being factual, presenting all sides of the story and refraining as far as possible from taking sides. The correct place for a newspaper to comment on events and to take sides is its op-ed section (a spot that, unfortunately, is not available to the electronic media in such delineated terms).

In the editorials, the management has the leeway to present its own viewpoints, print them under its own name and responsibility. In the opinion section, the newspaper has the right to print articles on the basis of the organisation’s general policy and leaning, rather than just the newsworthiness of an issue. In the news section, however, which forms the bulk and backbone of any newspaper or electronic news organisation, there is no room for opinion and leanings.

Objectivity, of course, is an ideal, not an absolute. True and total objectivity is in practical terms a mirage, virtually impossible to achieve because even the most hardened of journalists — the term itself is telling — is, in the end, only human. Even the most professional and even-handed of reporters and editors cannot always prevent themselves from ending up giving a slight preference to matters that concur with their own ideology, simply because they will find these matters more interesting and more deserving of attention.

Such failings can show themselves in ways both subtle and blatant, and this is the measure by which relative professionalism can be judged. Leaving aside the tone or actual content of an article, amongst the more subtle manners in which one side of an argument can be supported are recurrence and duration (in the electronic media), and placement and lineage (in the print media).

Since I support X political party, I can place the relevant article at a prominent place, give it 300 words instead of 100, perhaps publish a photograph. On television, I can run it for a two-minute broadcast instead of 30 seconds, and retain it as one of the lead stories throughout the day. To keep the issue alive, I can print an update every second day. I can run or broadcast follow-ups. In this way, even without my knowing it, perhaps, I have declared tacit support without commenting directly.

Audiences and readers often read the effort towards objectivity as ‘dry’ or ‘boring’ news coverage. But ‘spicy’ news or its much nastier brother ‘spiced-up’ news often forgets to be entirely factual and is generally regarded as the realm of tabloids. Were a news organisation to expressly take sides, what would be the difference between it and a pamphlet?

hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Cabinet decisions ignored

Tuesday, 31 Aug, 2010

IN any democracy the cabinet plays a key role in the formulation of government policies and decisions. This ‘collective’ decision-making process sets a democratic dispensation apart from an authoritarian regime. It, therefore, comes as a surprise to know that some ministries and departments are either unwilling to follow or are defying several important decisions of the federal cabinet that will have a direct bearing on Pakistan’s economic well-being and future.

A report published in this newspaper yesterday informs us that many decisions made by the cabinet have either been overturned by some ministers — who allegedly draw their powers from the presidency — or are not being executed by the implementing agencies and departments. The report highlights a number of examples where cabinet decisions have been completely ignored or bypassed by the ministries and government agencies and departments. A few of these pertain to the perennial problem of the inter-corporate circular debt in the energy sector and increasing electricity shortages in the country. The provinces, for example, have moved the courts to stop the deduction of their unpaid electricity bills in violation of a decision made at the energy conference in April. Furthermore, the Pakistan Electric Power Company has done little to recover outstanding dues from its consumers or to curtail system and transmission losses that eat up more than a quarter of the total power generation. The petroleum ministry is blocking the diversion of gas to thermal power plants. And so on and so forth.

The decisions, which were supposed to help overcome the problem of circular debt and, perhaps, bring down electricity prices, were taken in consultation with the stakeholders who are now reluctant to implement them. It, however, is not clear why the prime minister is ignoring these ‘violations’. Whatever the reason, he will have to deal with this issue sooner than later if the economy is to be fixed. With the catastrophic floods still ravaging parts of the country, we cannot afford further lack of official focus on the sliding economy. Nor can the government afford to be seen as divided and doing nothing for the public good.

Makli damage

Tuesday, 31 Aug, 2010

THE floods are forcing people to go towards whatever higher ground is available. One such site is the Makli necropolis in Sindh, where an estimated 400,000 displaced people have been living under open skies since the weekend. Not only is their presence a cause of damage to the site, the supply of potable water and food they are receiving is far from adequate and leading to fights between the displaced and the locals. Moreover, whatever supplies are available have been donated by private parties. Despite their desperate situation, these thousands of people have received no attention from the local administration. Given that each day for them is a battle against nature and over scarce resources, it is imperative that the Sindh government take immediate steps to move the displaced to emergency camps or solid shelters such as school buildings or others belonging to the district administration.

The shifting of these thousands of people must be done as a matter of urgency because as citizens they have equal claim to the government’s attention. Furthermore, the damage being wrought to the Makli necropolis by such a massive inrush of people must also be considered. The displaced people have no choice but to set up makeshift shelters, tandoors etc, on the site and in many cases stones are being plundered from the tombs. Some of these tombs date back to the 14th century, and the site has immense historical, archaeological and architectural significance. It is one of the largest necropolises in the world and is included on Unesco’s World Heritage List. Conditions in the necropolis have already deteriorated due to official apathy and the effects of pollution and expanding urbanisation. The site must not now be allowed to suffer further destruction as a result of becoming a camping site for thousands of people affected by the floods.

Cricket in turmoil

Tuesday, 31 Aug, 2010

CRICKET can be a source of joy, therapy even, in a country like Pakistan that is perennially beset by myriad traumas. Floods are wreaking havoc across four provinces, militancy is ravaging parts of the north-west and the majority of the population is enduring a life of grinding poverty. But despite these grave troubles, millions of Pakistani cricket fans continue to follow the national team irrespective of how it is faring on the field. Victories trigger celebration and defeats produce despondency, however fleeting. In either case the Pakistani public has a huge emotional attachment to cricket despite the controversies that have dogged the team over the years. Ours is a nation that is prone to hero worship, and in these troubled times no major cricketing country is in more dire need of heroes. And that, in large part, is why we are collectively reeling in the wake of allegations that as many as seven Pakistani cricketers are on the take and guilty of ‘spot-fixing’ during the current England tour. To borrow from Prime Minister Gilani, the nation today is hanging its head in shame.

Nothing has been proved so far but the ‘evidence’ on offer appears damning. Former captain Ramiz Raja, for one, seems convinced that the case against our players — four of whom have been named — is “watertight”. There is video footage of the fixer or middleman telling undercover reporters that he could tell them precisely when Pakistan’s opening bowlers would bowl three no-balls during the Lord’s Test. His comments that the captain, wicket-keeper and three other players were also on his payroll may be more difficult to substantiate but it is near impossible to believe that the no-ball predictions could be purely coincidental. No ordinary spectator can provide such information.

A thorough probe is in order, not just by Scotland Yard and the ICC but also in Pakistan. It must be an independent investigation because no one has any faith now in internal inquiries conducted by the PCB. Pakistan cricket has been dogged by betting scandals for over a decade and the board, for the most part, has chosen to sweep them under the carpet. If the players currently accused of spot-fixing are indeed guilty they must be banned for life. And the probe shouldn’t end there. If promising young players are accepting money from bookies are they doing so purely out of greed or is there a powerful, corrupt clique within the team that threatens to end their careers if they don’t? Are selection matters completely above board and does the PCB itself have skeletons in the closet? Honest answers are needed.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Lakhvi’s trial

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 01 Sep, 2010

In what could prove to be an important development an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has rejected the bail plea of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. The latter is believed to be the operational head of the banned Laskhar-i-Taiba that has been accused by India of carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Mr Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping to execute the carnage.



The judge presiding over the trial rejected the bail plea, at this stage, on the grounds that there was enough evidence against Mr Lakhvi. It is now up to the prosecution to put up a watertight case based on solid, credible proof — a task that may prove challenging if Mr Lakhvi’s lawyer is correct in stating that there is no concrete evidence linking his client to the Mumbai attacks. Indeed, Pakistani courts have often been unable to convict suspected terrorists because of lack of credible proof. A combination of poor investigation techniques, insufficient security for witnesses and a legal system with loopholes has made such convictions difficult, giving the impression — to both terrorists and the countries they target — that Pakistan is not serious about cracking down on militancy. This can only make for acrimonious relations vis-à-vis the international community.

Ever since the Mumbai strikes, Pakistan-India ties have been governed by the overriding theme of terrorism. Pakistan would like to move beyond such a restrictive focus, and rightly so, but the Indian establishment is not keen to oblige. Although Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh met in Thimpu during the Saarc summit earlier this year, the meetings between the foreign secretaries and later the foreign ministers did not yield substantial results or a cordial bilateral atmosphere. Given this context, the trial is being watched closely by New Delhi that would like to predicate its future actions on its perception of how Pakistan fights terror. Perhaps it is time for Pakistan to evolve a more coherent security strategy with a strong legal system to boost it. Not only would this send a clear message that the country is earnest about fighting terror, it would also be in Pakistan’s own interest to do so.

Discrimination in aid

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 01 Sep, 2010

It is no secret that ethnic, sectarian and religious minorities in Pakistan face discrimination, but recent reports that this deplorable mindset is affecting flood relief efforts are deeply disturbing. On Monday, a large number of people in Hyderabad were driven to taking out a protest rally against the maltreatment of minority community flood victims. They cited two occasions when they were attacked and driven out of a relief camp.



A day before that, flood-affected families at an emergency relief camp in Thatta district complained that they were being refused aid, even by government officials, because they were Dalits. There have been numerous other reports: people being refused shelter because of their ethnicity, caste or religion, being discriminated against in the distribution of aid goods and being driven away from or forced to live on the very margins of the few camps that exist.

Discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds is deeply entrenched in Pakistan and will not change overnight. Yet that it is being used as an excuse to strip people of their rights as equal citizens even during a time of calamity is abhorrent. Whether Muslim, Hindu or Christian, high caste or low caste, the flood victims are all equally deserving of the attention of official and non-official aid channels. Resources are scarce and the desperate number in millions. Providing help across the board to the best of its abilities, irrespective of any ideology, is the first task of the state and society. Apart from the victims’ equal right to survival essentials such as shelter, potable water and food, the fact that the country was even before the floods rent along ethnic, sectarian and religious grounds must be kept in mind. Discrimination at this time will only deepen the divide and cause resentment that could unravel any possibility of future cohesiveness.

Additional judges

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 01 Sep, 2010

The interminable saga of the judiciary-executive ‘clash’ rumbles on, frequently causing collateral damage and weakening institutions. The latest round concerns the fate of 32 additional judges of the high courts whose terms are set to expire in September. Because the process for the appointment of superior court judges has been changed by the 18th Amendment and because the new process is under challenge in the Supreme Court, a cynical blame game of sorts has unfolded.



The SC has intervened and ordered that the judges will continue to perform their duties until the 18th Amendment challenges are decided, an order that has raised eyebrows in some quarters because of its potential implications. Has the SC de facto suspended parts of the constitution, specifically Article 175-A, by allowing the additional judges to continue beyond their one-year term? The ad hoc solution may or may not be on firm legal footing, but the government undoubtedly must shoulder much of the blame in the present instance.

The only thing that can mitigate the government’s responsibility for the unsatisfactory and temporary resolution of the problem faced by the additional judges is that no one really expected the 18th Amendment hearings to continue for so long. Given that the 17-member bench will effectively decide what the valid constitutional process for the appointment of superior court judges will be, the government’s dithering can be attributed partially to that. But only partially. For weeks it was apparent that the hearings would continue into September, which means the government should have thought through its options. Either it should have formed the parliamentary committee that will nominate judges, thereby signalling its intention to use the 18th Amendment procedure, or it should have made alternative arrangements, for example, by invoking the transitional constitutional provisions to allow the additional judges to continue working. Waiting until days before the start of September to begin the process of forming the parliamentary committee is not good enough — after all, the government had months to do so and there’s simply no way, even if the 18th Amendment process were to be used, that 32 judges could be appointed in a matter of a few days.

At this stage, perhaps all sides need to reflect on their basic duties. Consider that the additional judges near-crisis could have shut down the Balochistan High Court, with the term of all judges barring the chief justice set to expire on Sept 6. This in an insurgency-racked province where the state is already accused of abdicating its duties and allowing its writ to disappear. Surely playing politics should have its limits.

Highest amount of donations for Pakistan

Wednesday, 01 Sep, 2010

THE latest figures of the US assistance for Pakistan’s flood relief operations reached $200 million, which is the highest amount donated by a single country.

The aid given by the United States is reaching most of the flood-affected areas through the United Nations and other international organisations and has immensely reduced the burden on the government.

As part of the relief efforts a number of helicopters, medical teams and Marine Corps are also playing a superb role in helping people out of danger and treating them.

The significance of our country being the frontline ally in the war against terrorism is rightly realised by the United States and that’s why the relief efforts are at its peak with contributions in almost every sector.

Apart from the US, the whole world community is pouring in aid for the flood-hit people; France has contributed a total of 7.54 million euros; Saudi Arabia has contributed more than $140 million and the World Bank recently pledged a total of $1bn.

FARUKH SARWAR
Islamabad

(II)

YOUR editorial ‘Indian aid offer’ (Aug 30) has rightly pointed out that the government and the ministry of foreign affairs are not beating at the same frequency. The much hyped Indo-Pak foreign ministers’ level talks made no headway as India remained determined to talk only on terrorism and Mumbai blasts.

The recent devastating floods that drew attention the world over forced India to extend help to Pakistan for the relief of the affected people.

It announced $5 million aid on humanitarian grounds and it was accepted by the PM and the foreign minister. Pakistan, in principle, had accepted the offer but now wants that it should be routed through the United Nations.

Whether it is routed through the UN or received directly makes no difference because it is Indian aid, either you accept it or politely say ‘no’

The afterthought of re-routing the aid through the United Nations may delay the arrival of the aid that is badly needed.

In fact, our direct acceptance could have helped in bridging the gap and overcome trust deficit between the two countries. What is the wisdom behind this move can only be answered by the government.

MUKHTAR AHMED BUTT
Karachi

(III)

ONE quarter of Pakistan has been hit by devastating floods, and millions of people have their homes, crops and livelihood washed away. Now these 20 million people need help.

I am sure we Pakistanis have all the resources to help our fellow Pakistanis who have been badly affected by floods.

We have big businessmen who have the capacity to contribute billions of rupees for flood relief fund. We have a very strong middle class living in Pakistan who has the resources to make a sizable contribution towards the flood relief fund.

On top of that, we have 10 million Pakistanis working overseas who have the potential of contributing a huge sum of money in flood relief fund.

For example, if every overseas Pakistani contributes $100, this adds up to $1bn. I am sure that all Pakistanis want to help generously our fellow Pakistanis who are affected by the flood.

But people are not sure whether their help will trickle down to the needy. We must forget about the mistrust at this time and contribute generously.

At the same time our leaders must work honestly and distribute the help in a transparent way to the needy. By doing so, our leaders can convert this calamity into an opportunity to earn the much needed trust of people. This is the only way to develop the trust deficit.

EJAZ AHMAD
Jeddah

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 02 Sep, 2010

During a Supreme Court hearing on Monday regarding challenges to the 18th Amendment, the Sindh advocate general, Yousuf Leghari, called for the deletion of the Objectives Resolution from the constitution, arguing that it had been incorporated in a dubious manner during a period of military dictatorship. It is difficult not to concur with Mr Leghari since the manner in which the Objectives Resolution currently forms a substantive part of the constitution has led to legal confusion.



Originally the resolution, adopted in 1949 by Pakistan’s constituent assembly, formed part of the preamble to the constitution and could correctly be called a statement of aspiration in terms of constitution-making in the new state. Being neither an act of parliament nor a law, the Objectives Resolution was symbolically important but legally marginal — since a preamble could not be regarded as law. However, through the 1985 Eighth Amendment the Zia regime, as part of its Islamisation drive, extended its effect beyond being part of the preamble and included it as an operative portion of the constitutional text through the insertion of Article 2A. This led to legal chaos, since clauses in the Objectives Resolution such as those relating to the delegation of divine sovereignty, which were designed as symbolic, are now the basis for adjudication.

Through the 18th Amendment, the government has restored a crucial portion to the Objectives Resolution that was deleted by the Zia regime. However, the time may now have come to revisit the need for the presence of the resolution as a substantive part of the constitution. Being a constitutional matter, it is outside the purview of the courts. However, the issue could be taken up by parliament and a debate initiated on restoring the Objectives Resolution to its pre-1985 status and restricting it to the constitution’s preamble — as was the original intent.


Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 02 Sep, 2010

An explanation is all the more needed given the growing concerns across the world of racial profiling at US airports. While this case is particularly high-profile, there have been many similar incidents in the past where passengers have been offloaded, detained, even arrested, apparently because of their race or nationality. - Photo by Reuters.

The treatment meted out to a Pakistani military delegation on Monday at the US Dulles Airport is nothing short of insulting. The eight-member delegation, led by a two-star naval officer and comprising senior military officials, was headed to Florida to attend a meeting at the US Central Command headquarters.



According to initial reports, en route, in Washington, a passenger complained that he did not feel safe sharing the flight with the delegation, reportedly because of an overheard remark by a Pakistani brigadier. Consequently, first the brigadier and then the entire delegation were asked to disembark. Although the delegates disclosed their identities and showed not only their passports but also the Centcom invitation letter, they were offloaded and detained for some time. The US Department of Defence issued an apology, but the delegates had by that time received directions from Pakistan to cancel the Centcom meeting.

It is highly unfortunate that such an episode should have occurred. Relations between the US and Pakistan are already complicated, given the war on terror and the drone controversy. They do not need the additional dimension of the humiliation of a senior military delegation that was in the US on an official invitation. Apologies are not enough: Pakistan should officially ask the US for an explanation and the latter must conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. An explanation is all the more needed given the growing concerns across the world of racial profiling at US airports. While this case is particularly high-profile, there have been many similar incidents in the past where passengers have been offloaded, detained, even arrested — apparently because of their race or nationality. Without a thorough investigation on the part of the US, this case too stands in danger of being understood as racial profiling. Meanwhile, an investigation is also needed at the level of the Pakistan Army to determine what the brigadier actually said, and to whom, since the carrier, United Airlines, told the US media that the brigadier “misbehaved” with a stewardess. If his conduct is found to have been unseemly, then the Pakistan Army must take action accordingly.

Unjust taxation

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 02 Sep, 2010


For a country where the state apparatus, federal or provincial, collectively spends twice as much as it earns and is weighed down by massive debt repayment and security expenses, money for human and infrastructure development has long been scarce.



Now with the floods causing devastation easily running into hundreds of billions of rupees, the cost of recovery has necessitated urgent revenue-generating measures. Quite simply, a tax-to-GDP ratio of under 10 per cent with a consolidated federal and provincial deficit last year of 6.3 per cent of GDP are unsustainable figures. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the government is contemplating new tax measures in the wake of the floods. Unhappily, however, early reports suggest that the government is set to make worse the already deeply unfair and unjust tax system in the country.

For one, the government is contemplating an increase in duties on imports, including essential items. Such indirect taxation in the presence of serious inflation that is creeping upward again is bound to add to inflationary pressures, making it yet more difficult for ordinary Pakistanis to make ends meet. For another, the government is believed to be contemplating imposing a ‘flood surcharge’ on all incomes, including personal incomes above Rs300,000 per annum. For the salaried class and the tax-paying self-employed, this would amount to a staggering double-whammy: hit on the one side by rising prices because of increased taxation on imports (Pakistan also imports essential foodstuffs like cooking oil), they would also find their disposable incomes cut.

It is quite incredible to consider that in a country where millionaire, and sometimes billionaire, parliamentarians, businessmen, traders and farmers pay little to no income tax, someone earning as little as Rs25,000 per month may be forced to pay more income tax on account of the flood surcharge. Surely, the answer should be to begin to plug the loopholes in the tax system that allow people to evade taxes. Why must the already taxed be burdened some more when so many enjoy comfortable lives outside the tax net? If a 10 per cent flood surcharge on income already taxed can yield Rs100bn as estimated, then simply going after those evading the existing income taxes could yield several times that amount. It is not as if measures to catch tax evaders cannot be put in place quickly. For example, expenditures are an easy way to catch income tax evaders. Take a foreign vacation, send a child to an expensive private school, buy an expensive new car; all these things could and should attract the scrutiny of income tax officers. The tax burden needs to be shared, not narrowed.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Crash investigation

Dawn Editorial
Friday, 03 Sep, 2010

It has been over a month since Airblue flight ED202 crashed in the Margalla Hills but we have yet to learn of any meaningful details produced by the consequent investigation. There have been piecemeal reports, with statements and counter-statements coming from Airblue, the Civil Aviation Authority, etc, but little that has given a coherent picture of the tragedy.



The lack of information by credible sources has resulted in a situation where it has become impossible to distinguish between fact and speculation. Meanwhile, some of the details that have emerged, such as the possible presence of a third person in the cockpit as indicated by extracts from the Cockpit Voice Recorder, and Airbus’s claim that there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, have deepened the mystery.

The families and friends of the 152 victims who died in the crash need to achieve a degree of closure. That will only happen when it is conclusively established why the flight went down. They, and the public at large, have a right to know the reasons that led to this aviation disaster, the worst ever in this country. Delays in the release of information about the investigation serve only to increase confusion and deepen the pain of the victims’ relatives and friends. Meanwhile, speculation is also damaging reputations without any solid evidence. For instance, there has been much debate on the character and professionalism of the pilot and co-pilot of the ill-fated flight. It needs to be conclusively proved whether or not they or others, such as those responsible for air traffic control, were in any way at fault. The authorities must step up the investigation and make the findings public. Pakistan has a history of never providing credible explanations for preventable disasters, including earlier air accidents. The Airblue tragedy must not go the same way.

Post-America Iraq

Dawn Editorial
Friday, 03 Sep, 2010

President Barack Obama’s announcement on Tuesday that America has officially ended its combat mission in Iraq should be seen against one harsh reality: some six months after the March 7 election, Iraqi politicians have not yet been able to form a government.



The American president appeared hopeful about Iraq’s future when he said, “Out of the ashes of the war, a new beginning could be born in the cradle of civilisation.” Does the situation in Iraq inspire confidence in Mr Obama’s words? Violence is rearing its ugly head, and the two victorious blocs — Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s National Alliance and Iyad Allawi’s Iraqiya — have not yet been able to strike a power-sharing arrangement. The situation within the National Alliance worsened when a Shia group refused to support Mr Maliki for a second term. On Aug 17 Mr Allawi broke off talks, because in a TV interview the prime minister called the Iraqiya a Sunni bloc. Mr Allawi felt hurt. He insists it is a national group. Even though the talks were later resumed after the prime minister explained his position to Mr Allawi in a letter, the incident serves to show Iraqi politicians’ cavalier attitude towards the gravity of the situation in their country.

Unlike the considerable improvement in the security situation after the ‘surge’ ordered by George Bush paid off, violence has returned, with Al Qaeda reasserting its power. Terrorism is rising, for the casualties in July were twice those in June. On Aug 17 a suicide bomber blew himself up in a line of job-seekers at an army recruiting centre in the heart of Baghdad, killing more than 60 people and injuring 250. A minimum of 1.5 million are homeless, while hundreds of thousands abroad are keen to return but cannot because of the grave economic and security situation. Observers of the Iraqi scene fear a new era of civil war if the politicians continue to bicker. What they should concentrate on is moblising such government machinery as exists to rebuild Iraq economically, create jobs and have in place an infrastructure that will give security to the people.

Sectarian violence

Dawn Editorial
Friday, 03 Sep, 2010

Everyone’s worst fears were realised on Wednesday when a Youm-i-Ali procession in Lahore came under attack by at least two suicide bombers. Another explosion also took place but it remains unclear whether a suicide attacker or a time bomb was involved in that particular blast.



Either way the result was carnage: more than 30 mourners lost their lives and nearly 300 were left injured. The bombings were a grim reminder of the Ashura and Chehlum blasts in Karachi a few months ago and reinforced fears that there is no stopping the sectarian terrorists who are repeatedly targeting the country’s Shia community. Given the bloodshed that recently took place in the Sindh capital, it was generally believed that Karachi was the city most at risk this time round as well. So what did the terrorists do? Apparently one jump ahead of the authorities, they hit the mourners in Lahore instead. Not that Karachi was spared altogether. Mourners were fired at in the Saddar area on Wednesday in an incident that many believe was aimed at triggering not just sectarian but also ethnic unrest.

It is time that Pakistan’s politicians realised that the ultimate aim of such extremist outfits, many of whom are hand in glove with the Tehrik-i-Taliban, is to ignite sectarian conflict in the country. To foil their mission of further destabilising an already battered nation, politicians of every hue must be on the same page irrespective of their ideology or affiliation. There is no room here for playing politics, for the opposition scoring points at the expense of the government and vice versa. The enemy here is common to all and it cannot be tackled effectively without a united front. Much is made of intelligence failures vis-à-vis the fight against terrorism and there is clearly some merit in those arguments. But there is a possibility that the agencies may get the right message if the country’s legislators embark aggressively on a joint strategy for taking sectarian terrorists to task.

That said, the Shia community must also accept the fact that local administrations, inept or otherwise, cannot go it alone in preventing attacks on its members. Community volunteers are already doing a commendable job manning entrance points to various imambargahs and conducting security checks on those who wish to enter. Worshippers do not mind this frisking because it is carried out by their own. Perhaps it is time that such checks, though admittedly a far more testing task, were replicated at checkpoints along procession routes because the police are naturally hesitant to offend anyone’s religious sensibilities. In short, this is a joint struggle and everyone must be on board.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

College admissions

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 04 Sep, 2010

It has been reported that 30,000 seats may not be filled in Karachi’s colleges and higher secondary schools in the public sector as sufficient applications for admissions have not been received. This underlines the appalling state of affairs in higher education in the city and indicates that college education is suffering from poor planning and there is a serious disconnect between demand and supply.



At another level, it confirms the decadence that has beset public-sector education. There was a time when all colleges had been nationalised and private colleges were not allowed to operate. The pressure on government institutions for admission from students passing the secondary school-leaving examination was immense. The slow pace of expansion of college education forced thousands of students to drop out. That would not have been such a bad thing if a sufficient number of polytechnics had simultaneously been established to train young men and women for the job market. Today the scene has changed. The government has opened new colleges while the private sector has been permitted to enter the college education sector as well.

According to the authorities, the low number of applicants for government colleges means that students are showing a marked preference for private institutions. Is this surprising given the relatively better standard of education they offer? Even the higher fee they charge does not deter students from approaching them. There is also another factor: science subjects are in greater demand and there are not sufficient seats for this faculty. In view of the higher cost of establishing laboratories, the government is hesitant to invest in science education even though this makes its planning lopsided.

It would help if the education authorities and those managing the industrial, financial and services sectors were to carry out a joint assessment exercise every few years to determine the nature and number of jobs available in the employment market and match these with the education facilities to be created in various disciplines. It makes no sense to have a glut of unemployed highly educated young professionals in one area with a dearth of trained people in other sectors.

Aid politics

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 04 Sep, 2010

One of the sadder realities of an integrating world is ‘aid politics’: donor countries and organisations are more generous in funding projects that conform to their own interests. But that this pattern is emerging in terms of the flood-relief funding coming into Pakistan deserves to be condemned.



The UN’s emergency response appeal has netted more funds for relatively long-term need projects such as communications, security and awareness-raising. Meanwhile, the appeal for critical-care projects that include emergency medical help, potable water supplies and income creation is going unheard. The three best-funded projects are the UNHCR’s protection project, the International Organisation of Migration’s mass communication project and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ coordination and advocacy project. These have received funding many times in excess of the demand. Conversely, projects in areas such as water and sanitation, reproductive health etc are grossly under-funded, with the UN’s Population Fund complaining on Wednesday that its $6m appeal for the health of mothers and babies got a mere 20 per cent response.

This is appalling. Long-term projects are required, certainly, but what the flood victims need immediately is medical help, food and water, and other such basic essentials that quite literally mean the difference between life and death. Pakistan’s appeal for aid was met by a sluggish international response and while the flow of funds picked up after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit, the UN said on Wednesday that it has now slowed to almost a standstill. Pakistan’s administration must shoulder its share of the blame, for it has been reported that donors are concerned about the possibility of funds being misused or misappropriated by a corrupt system. Yet that should not affect critical-need projects. The victims need immediate help. The international community’s priority should be to save lives. This is no time for aid politics.

Cost to the economy

Dawn Editorial
Saturday, 04 Sep, 2010

Pakistan continues to count the costs of floods to its fragile economy. The other day the prime minister put the economic losses from the deluge at close to $43bn — or more than one quarter of the country’s $170bn economy. Many find his estimates too high. Still, the scale and economic costs of the continuing calamity are staggering and rising by the day.



The country’s worst floods, which submerged almost one-fifth of its area, displaced nearly 20 million people and destroyed standing crops over vast areas, have hit the economy hard. While the exact costs of damage to the economy will not be known for some time, experts agree that the floods will lower growth significantly, feed food price inflation, strain the budget, and put the rupee under considerable pressure. The country is going to miss all its budgetary targets. Macroeconomic stability achieved over the last 21 months is at risk and the Pakistani population has to contend with the threat of food insecurity. More importantly, massive job losses and erosion in rural incomes resulting from a slowing economy will increase the number of poor and feed discontentment.

Indeed, the government will require billions of dollars and years of hard work to recover from the impact of the floods that continue to increase displacement and devastate the social and economic infrastructure. The challenge of reconstruction is enormous. The government’s dependence on foreign loans and grants to prop up the economy, which was already battered by the almost decade-old war on terror, is going to increase in the short to medium term. The world has been slow to understand and respond to the magnitude of the tragedy. True, it has shown considerable interest in helping Islamabad pull through these difficult times and pledged almost a billion dollars for rescue and relief operations. But only a part of the pledges has materialised so far. However, multilateral lenders — the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund — have been quick to commit close to $3.5bn for relief and reconstruction. That should help the country undertake reconstruction of infrastructure without losing much time.

In exchange for financial assistance, the lenders want the government to implement fiscal and tax reforms it had agreed with them before the floods. The reforms should aim at austerity as well as taxing the wealthy. They should be a statement of our commitment to confronting the challenge, helping the affected millions and fixing the economy. Perhaps it is the only way Pakistan can regain the world’s confidence and put its sliding economy back on the road to recovery.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Monday, 06 Sep, 2010

To deter crime, there must be punishment. But in order to punish correctly and fairly, the process needs to stand on two firm legs: one, the police side, the other, the judicial side. Few would argue against the claim that the police and judicial processes in the country are broken and in need of complete overhaul. Yet, it is the continuing neglect of these two vital areas that is astonishing. A report in this newspaper yesterday highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the legal status of Police Order 2002, the law that replaced the mid-19th century Police Act but that after the 18th Amendment may or may not still hold the field. That the country could be functioning without clarity on the law that governs the police is simply bizarre.

If only legalities were the sole problem faced by the police. From a lack of manpower and resources, poor training, endemic corruption and human rights abuses, the police forces in the country suffer from multiple problems — problems so severe that it would be fair to say that ordinary citizens are as apprehensive of contact with the police as with criminal elements. Part of the problem is structural, the other operational and training related. Consider that there is still a fundamental question which is unanswered: is policing a provincial or local responsibility or is it a federal one?



With top officers selected by the federal government to oversee police forces that are otherwise administratively the responsibilities of the provinces and districts, there is no real ownership of the police. Then there are problems with the force size and potential. Senior police officials in Karachi estimate that they have only half as many policemen as a city of that size requires. In Islamabad, senior officials complain that VIP protection duties have left the police dangerously undermanned for performing ordinary law-enforcement responsibilities. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials have been pleading for years to build the police into a potent counter-terrorism force.

The reforms required are not just about legal changes and throwing more money at police forces. There is the issue of proper training, of investigating officers, of policemen performing ordinary law-enforcement duties, etc. The lessons from Lahore, Islamabad and the motorway police indicate that decent wages, educated forces with proper training and equipment and regular human-rights awareness training can and do produce results. As Pakistan struggles to comprehend many of the crimes in its midst, officials need to be reminded that there is no need to reinvent the wheel: a responsive and responsible police force remains the solution of choice the world over.

Dawn Editorial
Monday, 06 Sep, 2010

Apart from a water storage reservoir of 1.3 million acre feet and a power generation capacity of 740 megawatts, the dam’s two planned canals on the right and left banks will help to irrigate nearly 30,000 acres of farmland in Mohmand Agency, Tangi tehsil in Charsadda district and Malakand Agency. -
The report that expressions of interest will be invited for consultancy services for the design and preparation of tender documents for the Munda dam has resulted in optimism that work on the dam could begin soon. The delay in undertaking controversial dam projects for which a national consensus has not been reached is understandable. But procrastination in projects for which there is a consensus — as in the case of Munda dam proposed to be built on the River Swat — is not. The project has been in the pipelines for over a decade. It has already been approved by the various relevant national forums, including parliament. But attempts several years ago to undertake the project through a consortium of private-sector partners landed the matter in court, where the case is still pending.

The building of dams for irrigation and power is a necessity to cope with power and food shortages. Dams also constitute an important measure in flood mitigation. The advantages of the Munda dam project are well recognised and most experts agree its advantages outweigh any adverse impacts. Apart from a water storage reservoir of 1.3 million acre feet and a power generation capacity of 740 megawatts, the dam’s two planned canals on the right and left banks will help to irrigate nearly 30,000 acres of farmland in Mohmand Agency, Tangi tehsil in Charsadda district and Malakand Agency.



Not only is overall farm production expected to increase in these localities, the favourable impact is expected to spill over into the non-farm sector. Besides, the reservoir behind the dam would also provide recreational facilities and give a boost to the surrounding fisheries. All in all, Munda dam can bring considerable improvement to the lives of the people living near it — areas which have been ravaged by terrorism. With national consensus, hopefully there will be no snags this time.


Dawn Editorial
Monday, 06 Sep, 2010


The bombing of the Al Quds day rally in Quetta on Friday left scores of people dead. Amongst the many injured were seven journalists from various news organisations, highlighting once again the fact that reporting is an increasingly dangerous job in Pakistan. Of the injured newsmen, it is unclear who received injuries in the blast itself and who fell victim to mob violence. An emerging trend in Pakistan is that a terrorist attack is often followed by unbridled mob violence and rage, as was witnessed not only in Quetta but in Lahore in the aftermath of Wednesday’s bombing of a Youm-i-Ali mourning procession. In such an event, media representatives — particularly cameramen and photographers — often become a direct target of the mob which wants to prevent the capturing of footage or images that could later be used to implicate individuals.



But the death of a driver of a private television channel van in Quetta cannot be explained away in this manner, by the fury of the moment, for he was shot twice in the chest whilst waiting in the van. Such a killing can only be viewed as cold-blooded murder done under the cover of mob violence, and deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms.

Journalists shoulder the responsibility of reporting from potentially dangerous situations and locations. They have the right to expect that their security becomes a priority with their organisations in particular and society in general. Specific measures that are easy to implement would go a long way towards protecting journalists, such as providing body armour or flak jackets that are to be worn by reporters and news crews heading towards potentially violent venues. Similarly, media organisations must ensure that first-aid kits are available in all their vehicles, with the journalists being given basic training in their use. Most importantly, the culture of news organisations vying for the best and most comprehensive story, even in situations of danger, has to end. A news team must not feel itself under pressure by its employer to get the story at any cost, for the latter could be life or limb.

__________________
Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Cricketers’ suspension

Sunday, 05 Sep, 2010

Suspending the principal accused was the right decision. It is a move that benefits not just Pakistan cricket but the game at large.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir have now been officially charged by the International Cricket Council of conduct unbecoming and their inclusion in the T20 and one-day matches would have cast a shadow over the whole team and rendered the rest of the series entirely meaningless. Headed by the hopelessly inept Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board resisted for as long as it could — insisting that no player accused of wrongdoing would be dropped — but was compelled to change tack when the

ICC pressed charges. The England and Wales Cricket Board had also been requesting its Pakistani counterparts, and rightly so, that players currently under a cloud of suspicion should be excluded from the rest of the tour. Only then could cricket be played for cricket’s sake, if that is at all possible even now. In the end it was largely the PCB’s intransigence that forced the ICC’s hand.

The intent here is not to pass judgment. Messrs Salman Butt, Asif and Aamir have only been charged with spot-fixing and remain innocent until they are proven guilty, even if the evidence at hand seems damning. At the same time, however, it should be remembered that they are accused of serious crimes and their innocence cannot be taken for granted. There is a lot of misguided patriotism in the air on this count. Many in this country are being made to believe that our cricketers were set up in a conspiracy designed to malign the nation. Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK personally gave the trio a clean slate on remarkably dodgy grounds: he had spoken to them and they said they were innocent. They might well be but let’s reserve our verdict for the time being.
Sunday, 05 Sep, 2010

Friday was one such day when the National Assembly in its afternoon session rose above partisan considerations to show a rare degree of unanimity and reaffirm its pledge to “nurture the tree of democracy”. The house passed two resolutions, one each by the PML-N and the MQM, but neither contained the barbs which Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Farooq Abdul Sattar had earlier exchanged. While the leader of the opposition had lambasted the MQM for Altaf Hussain’s Aug 22 speech, the MQM legislator had spoken of “the throne of Lahore” which was “conspiring to destabilise Pakistan”. Nisar was lauded by all in the house when he said that though the system needed change, it should not come through the generals. He also criticised the army for raising funds for flood victims without government approval. Realising perhaps that, as the largest party it owed something to the house, the PPP did some troubleshooting as its lawmakers moved among different parliamentary groups to finally develop consensus on the two resolutions, which the Assembly later passed unanimously. While the PML-N resolution’s focus was on consolidating the constitutional process, the MQM’s motion called for breaking up large landholdings and demanded “all legal and constitutional steps” to do away with feudalism.

This welcome show of unanimity came at a time when large sections of the public and media had felt disappointed over what appeared to be the two mainstream parties’ arrant failure to stop bickering at a time when floods of biblical proportions were ravaging the country. There was also an unseemly quarrel over the quantum of provincial shares in the flood relief money. The nation was aghast when at such an hour the PML-N and MQM moved privilege motions with aims no nobler than that of political mudslinging. Mercifully, the PML-N resolution called upon all political forces, civil society and the media to unite to fight the floods. Let’s hope this spirit persists, and the lawmakers realise they are there in the Assembly to solve their electors’ problems, not to worsen them.

Quetta attack

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 05 Sep, 2010

They will kill Shias, be they children, women or men, simply because they hate minorities and consider them worthy of death. Ahmadis too are being attacked with increasing frequency by extremists who claim to hold the moral high ground but are seen as terrorists by all right-thinking people. Take Friday’s carnage in Quetta where nearly 60 were killed by a suicide bomber. A procession was taken out to condemn Israeli atrocities and mark Al Quds day, a cause that ought to be common to Muslims of all schools of thought. But it was still fair game for sectarian terrorists because the Shia community has, in the Iranian tradition, always been in the forefront of commemorating this particular occasion. Two days earlier, the streets of Lahore were awash with blood when suicide bombers attacked a Youm-i-Ali congregation. Responsibility in both cases was claimed by groups that like to portray themselves as champions of Islam but have no qualms about massacring practising Muslims in Lahore, Quetta, Karachi and elsewhere.

The Balochistan government’s decision to ban religious processions provides no answers to this growing security threat. One, members of every religious denomination have every right to organise rallies and express their core values. The same principle applies to activists of a political or secular bent. That is a fundamental right and it cannot be suppressed under any circumstances. Two, such measures send a message that the terrorists who are holding Pakistan hostage in these testing times are winning the battle. What we need is the complete opposite. Do your worst. We will still be resilient and ultimately crush you and your bar-baric code of conduct.

Still, it must be remembered that these are not normal times. Mutual cooperation is of the essence if lives are to be protected and the aims thwarted of terrorists who wish to ignite sectarian strife in the country. In Quetta it had been agreed upon that the Al Quds day rally would terminate at a designated spot to ensure security. Yet the protesters chose to advance to Meezan Chowk which was not part of the original route. And that is precisely where the suicide bomber attacked the procession, killing and maiming so many people. Tempers may be running high but it must be acknowledged that more bloodshed can be prevented only through increased cooperation between the administration and community leaders. Communal strife is what the militants want and they cannot be allowed to achieve their goal.

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Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________

Dawn Editorial
Tuesday, 07 Sep, 2010


Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh’s warning to officials of the state, delivered in a sombre meeting late last month, could not be clearer: the government, federal and provincial, is on the verge of financial collapse. So dire is the state of affairs that the government may not have money to pay salaries in a few months. Lest this be dismissed as hyperbole, Mr Sheikh’s comments have been echoed privately by many economists and experts familiar with state finances in recent weeks. In fact, if anything the finance minister’s comments are on the more optimistic side of dire.



The basic problem is clear: the Pakistani state, all tiers of government, spends twice as much as revenue generated, while neither is expenditure being curtailed nor are revenues being meaningfully increased. At the level of the citizenry, the immediate impact is felt in the form of rising inflation (sustained budget deficits of the kind Pakistan has had over the last few years are highly inflationary in nature) while in the long term it will be felt in terms of debt servicing crowding out investments in development and infrastructure.

The blame must be shared by everyone. At the federal level, the government has been disastrously uninterested in reforming the tax system or trimming the fat in the budget. Public-sector enterprises blow a Rs250bn hole in the budget each year, but restructuring is something that is only promised, never initiated. On the revenue side, the government has been unable to even resolve the objections of some provinces to the ‘revised’ General Sales Tax, aka the Value Added Tax. Now, the president has suggested widening the tax net with a ‘one-time’ imposition of tax on unaffected farmers and on urban property, but it remains to be seen if the idea leads to anything concrete.



Meanwhile, the government appears content to keep on borrowing from private banks (which crowds out private investment) and the State Bank (which turbo-charges inflationary pressures) — Finance Minister Sheikh has warned that State Bank borrowing is ‘no longer an option’ but that has been the case for the last several years. The armed forces, meanwhile, are engaged in necessary operations to fight militancy, but they have shown little interest in belt-tightening. Experts familiar with military expenditures and budgets suggest that more transparency would slash many unnecessary and bloated expenses.

The provinces, too, are to blame, arguing for and getting more autonomy through the 18th Amendment and more resources under the latest NFC award but showing little interest in expanding their own revenue bases. Responsible spending appears to be a concept Pakistani policymakers do not understand.

Blair’s book

Dawn Editorial
Tuesday, 07 Sep, 2010


Seven bloody years after the invasion of Iraq, there is still strong public sentiment against those western leaders perceived as the architects of this unmitigated disaster. This was evident from the fact that former British prime minister Tony Blair was bombarded with shoes, eggs and other projectiles at the recent launch of his memoirs in Dublin. Though Mr Blair was not hit, protesters in the Irish capital called for his prosecution for war crimes. The former premier had to be whisked away from the bookshop as angry citizens continued to vent their anger.



It must be remembered that George W. Bush, Tony Blair’s senior partner in the war effort, received similar treatment from Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi in 2008. Mr Zaidi’s shoe-throwing incident sparked a wave of copycat protests against political figures across the world. As for the book itself, brief excerpts suggest Mr Blair does not regret participating in the Iraq war. He has said that though he “wept for its victims” and is “desperately sorry” about the deaths, he does not regret entering the war.

The reaction to Tony Blair’s book is in fact a reality check. It shows that even today people are not willing to forget the war. It shows that opposition to the war and criticism of its planners is not limited to the Muslim world; in fact it is more pronounced in non-Muslim societies. This goes a long way to dispel the impression that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have pit the Muslim world against the West. It is a fact that in the run up to the Iraq invasion the most vocal and most visible opposition to the war came from Europe.



Millions of people across the world took to the streets on Feb 15, 2003 to denounce the impending war. Estimates suggest that Rome saw the greatest number of protesters (three million) followed by London (one million). Up to 100,000 people also marched in New York City against the war. It is sad that the Bush/Blair combine chose to ignore such overwhelming public opinion and went ahead anyway.

Attack on journalist

Dawn Editorial
Tuesday, 07 Sep, 2010


No half-hearted police measures or words of consolation from the highest offices in the land will suffice in the aftermath of the brutal treatment meted out to journalist Umar Cheema of The News. This paper’s stand is clear: the government and its intelligence agencies will be considered guilty until they can prove their innocence. Yes, Mr Cheema wrote pieces that were highly critical of the government, and in particular the presidency. Was it for that reason that he was kidnapped, stripped naked and filmed, hung upside down, had his hair and moustache shaved and beaten relentlessly for hours on end?



The Intelligence Bureau answers to the government and it is not outside the realm of possibility that it may have been deployed to humiliate, torture and silence a vociferous critic. That said, the involvement of the police, the FIA or the intelligence wings of the security apparatus cannot be ruled out.

But Mr Cheema was brave. Despite all he had suffered, he chose to go public with his grievances. His torture was a message to not just an individual but the entire journalistic community in Pakistan that a certain type of criticism will no longer be tolerated. The government must probe this incident with honesty of purpose, which is a bit of an ask, and come clean with its findings. Journalists have been killed in Pakistan before. This time though a media person was abducted, subjected to physical pain and then released to send a message to writers at large.



In the past the results of such investigations have never been made public and that same mistake must not be repeated this time round. We hope that the journalistic fraternity will shun all personal grievances and stand united in this fight for freedom of expression.

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Be shak, Main tery liye he jeeta hoon or tery liye he marta hoon.....!(Baba Fareed)
____________Punjab Police Zindabaad____________