18.11.2013

New focus: Treason proceedings

WITH the country still reeling from the weekend’s sectarian violence and urgent questions being asked about the government’s will and capacity to lead from the front, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan decided yesterday to change the subject. Perhaps not surprising — if still very depressing — the chosen object of the diversion was even less surprising: Pervez Musharraf. The government, the interior minister announced, is ready to initiate treason proceedings against the former military dictator. So why now? The government will predictably hide behind the fig leaf of having had to wait for the mandated investigation to be completed first. It may even be privately argued that as Mr Musharraf slowly and methodically disentangled himself from the legal thicket he had been ensnared in, now was the time to revisit the treason issue lest the former dictator leave the country never to come back. Inevitably, few of the explanations proffered will be accepted at face value, there being an old habit of governments to change the subject when under pressure.

This paper has consistently held that Mr Musharraf should face trial for his October 1999 coup. Unhappily, that is the one issue no one in government or the judiciary seems to want to push. Instead, the focus has stayed on the November 2007 emergency declared by Mr Musharraf and a plethora of other charges that satisfy various narrow political considerations. Even now, there will be plenty of doubt that the proceedings will be seen through to their conclusion with a guilty verdict handed down after the special prosecutor and defence are heard by the special tribunal that will hear the case. After all, in none of the other cases that Mr Musharraf has been embroiled in has there been much movement beyond giving the former army chief bail. Still, having upped the ante so publicly now, there will be some pressure on the government and the higher judiciary to deliver at least something. Quite what that can be short of a conviction is difficult to predict at this moment.

Perhaps the template will be the government

Negative implications: Wealth tax exemption

THE Nawaz Sharif government has already rolled back most tax measures that it had proudly introduced in its first budget with a view to documenting the economy and expanding the tax base. Now it has exempted taxpayers who have less than Rs1m in income or assets from filing their wealth statement and wealth reconciliation statement. The financial implications of the government’s swift retreat for its budget are unclear as yet. But the move will definitely have far-reaching effects on efforts to net tax dodgers. Exemptions from budgetary tax measures seem to have been allowed under pressure from Punjab’s trading community that forms the core of the ruling PML-N constituency. The authorities have been led to believe that the rollback of tax reforms will induce the traders to file their tax returns in droves, without any fear of the tax collectors. Will they? Few, if any, believe that this will be the case.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the business community in Lahore on Saturday that the government would not resort to any ‘harsh measure’ to broaden the tax base. Instead, he said, it would pursue policies that would see people ‘voluntarily’ pay their taxes. His statement has made many wonder as to how the filing of tax returns or wealth statements, irrespective of the size of the taxpayers’ income or value of assets, can be categorised as a harsh measure in a country where less than 0.6pc of the total population files returns. The reversal of the tax reforms will only delay the documentation of the economy and defeat efforts to increase the share of direct taxes in total revenues. In its monetary policy statement, the State Bank of Pakistan has warned the government against relying on inflationary indirect taxation and non-tax revenues and has, in fact, advised it to implement (unpopular) tax reforms for long-term financial stability. The sooner the government’s financial management team heeds the bank’s advice the better it will be for both the economy and the people.

Prisons apart: The Swedish way

OBVIOUSLY, the system in Sweden lacks Pakistani expertise on filling up jails. According to a news report last week, the Swedish justice authorities have decided to close down four prisons and a remand centre. If that was not enough proof of serious work shirking, in a most unabashed admission the prison service head there described it as an “opportunity”, instead of apologising to the public for not being able to duly put criminals behind bars. “Now we have an opportunity to close down a part of our infrastructure that we don’t need at this point in time,” the Swedish official said, and that remark should have booked him a seat on the next plane to Pakistan for a study trip.

The Pakistani expertise in overstuffing prisons is legendary. Not only do the police here have a knack of picking up suspects at will, they work by a system which ensures that an unwanted element that has been put behind bars does not come out easily. Trials and convictions are delayed and bails are often easier denied than granted. The idea is to not rehabilitate but humiliate the guilty, and everyone knows the police in Pakistan do not necessarily need the courts to tell them who to keep captive for how long. The Punjab police lead the pack, generously hosting more than twice the numbers for which the jails in the province were built for. The number goes down as we move to the smaller provinces, and it is in Gilgit-Baltistan that we get an example which can perhaps be compared with the Swedish model. The rioting by inmates or the calls for new prison rules, however, are not limited to Punjab. These calls have been ignored for far too long at the cost of justice.

19.11.2013

Rawalpindi aftermath: Sectarian violence

THE sectarian clash that occurred in Rawalpindi on Friday as an Ashura procession was being taken out is having dangerous repercussions across the country, as violence has refused to subside. Deaths were reported on Monday in a communal clash in Kohat and the army had to be called in to control the situation. And while curfew was lifted in Rawalpindi, the city remained tense, with troops still patrolling, especially in the old city. In Multan and Bahawalnagar, which saw violence on Saturday, the situation was improving. Meanwhile, Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah’s comments in which he appeared to some groups to be apportioning blame for the Rawalpindi riots are a classic example of poor judgement shown by state functionaries at a delicate time. Considering the sensitivity of the matter, specifically in Punjab, the minister should not have made the impolitic remarks he did, especially when the Lahore High Court has formed a one-man commission to investigate the violence.

At this point, all parties need to proceed with great caution to prevent the disturbances from degenerating into a wider communal conflict. Friday’s clash, reportedly sparked by an inflammatory sermon, shows the need for the state to clamp down on hate speech without discrimination. For this, the use of microphones in mosques and other places of worship to rouse people’s religious feelings must be strictly monitored. True, the major ulema of different sects have preached restraint in the aftermath of the Rawalpindi episode; but the real power to incite worshippers lies in the hands of the neighbourhood mosque’s prayer leader. It is his sermons that can set the direction for the worshippers — restraint in the case of provocation or condemnation of different sects and religions can mean the difference between life and death. Such vigilance must be year-round, and enhanced during sensitive periods.

The unfortunate events of the last few days are indicative of the level of polarisation in society on religious and sectarian grounds. The divide has begun to cut through class lines as well, with seemingly ‘educated’ people condoning violence in the name of faith. Religious and community leaders need to work overtime to defuse communal tension, and the state, while aiding such efforts, must improve its conflict-management capabilities. True, security preparations overall were commendable during Ashura, but Rawalpindi proved the exception, the tension spilling into other cities. The LHC commission must be allowed to freely investigate the matter and deliver timely results to the public in the interests of justice and communal harmony.

Unheeded cry for help: March for the ‘missing’

IT constitutes a picture that any society would find unbearably moving — if that society still had it in itself to care: a group of some two dozen people, mainly women and children, resolutely traversing on foot the long and arduous terrain from Quetta to Karachi. Led by Mama Qadeer Baloch, they clutch pictures of loved ones who have ‘gone missing’, a euphemism for men thought to have been illegally apprehended and detained by the shadowy intelligence and security apparatus. The march has been undertaken by the advocacy group Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. Why? Because despite the ‘missing persons’ having been an issue for several years now, despite sporadic initiatives by various parties and the mouthing of good intentions, despite the Supreme Court’s instructions, there has been no meaningful progress. Mutilated bodies of men continue to be found dumped across the province, and even in Karachi; calls for the security establishment to disclose the facts go ignored — as does the plight of the families of the missing by both state and citizenry that seem to have washed their hands of Balochistan and its many legitimate grievances.

Who will really be to blame if things continue to go from bad to worse in Balochistan? Those that resort to extra-judicial detention and killings, of course; but must not a fair proportion of the blame be shouldered by a citizenry and state bureaucracy that shies away from looking gross injustice in the eye, simply because those suffering do not constitute an influential lobby in the corridors that matter? Such is the disillusionment of the VBMP that the marchers refused to speak even to a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan: “They hear us out but they don’t do anything,” said one of the activists. One of the marchers said that “If nobody listens to us in Karachi, I’ll go to Islamabad. If nothing happens there, I’ll go on foot to the UN headquarters.” What will it take to make Pakistanis care?

Time for a probe: Human rights in Sri Lanka

SRI LANKAN President Mahinda Rajapaksa ran into trouble well before the latest Commonwealth summit got under way in Colombo. India, Canada and Mauritius refused to attend citing Sri Lanka’s rights record. That, it turned out, was just the beginning. From among those who attended the summit, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron slipped into Jaffna to ask after the survivors of a three-decade conflict that killed tens of thousands. According to estimates, government troops may have killed up to 40,000 civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan military’s war against Tamil rebels and Mr Cameron made a firm demand of Mr Rajapaksa: undertake a credible probe of your own into allegations of widespread rights abuse or face an inquiry by the United Nations. The summit communiqué did try to bring out other subjects, such as the economy, equality, democracy and human rights. Human rights abuse was, however, too powerful a theme after the British prime minister’s visit to Jaffna to allow other aspects to be in the spotlight.

This issue of a UN probe into the actions by a national government does not make for an easy debate. Where the UN intervenes, accusations of a selective approach are always likely to fly. But nor can too many governments be relied upon to investigate their own acts in a manner that appears to be transparent, fair and credible, which is where the UN option appears more credible. The Commonwealth is a robust enough group and with many of its prominent members having so strongly called for investigation of rights abuse in Jaffna, the consensus appears to be for an inquiry. Signs favour a probe and it is only a matter of how long Mr Rajapaksa can delay it.

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

Profits & healthcare: Expected hike in drug prices

PAKISTANIS could not have feared a worse chapter in the inflationary cycle. Amid the rising cost of living, the drug manufacturers are drawing up a list of medicines whose prices they say should be increased by up to 18pc.

A report in this paper yesterday found the drug-makers determined, with an office-bearer of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association warning: “We will go on strike if the government harasses any drug manufacturer.” This tone can partly be blamed on the frustration among drug producers over the absence of government support for their endeavours in the local market as well as, in the case of Pakistan-based companies, their efforts to expand the business abroad. But it is more a story of a fall in profits, which, technically, is always good enough ground for price revision. Only it is more painful in some areas than in others.

After three meetings with the government in less than a month, the manufacturers claim they have got the official nod for the increase. There are also reports the government has committed to announcing the revised rates in 10 days’ time. The officials could well use this interim for bracing for the attack the rise will inevitably expose them to, for this will be yet one more proof of the government’s anti-people policies. The announcement of such an increase will be met with loud protests and will provide the basis for politicking by opposition parties who must remind the government of its duty to provide affordable healthcare to the people.

Even at a popular level, due to the extent of the constant interaction of drug-makers and the people through their agents, the criticism of and plea for price control could draw heavily on perceptions about the large profits that drug manufacturers have been earning. Expert opinion backs the general view that this has been one of the more lucrative sectors in recent times. And expert opinion that mixes the right amount of common sense with economic aspects stresses a reasonable approach. In a country where only a small percentage of the people have health cover, the government is expected to at least try to achieve some balance between market realities and accessibility. One compromise that has been suggested all along requires an official licence for freer production of generic drugs to ensure affordability. The least the government can do is to balance the manufacturers’ list of demands with a list of drugs whose availability on cheap rates it must ensure.

Cashing in: Extortion under TTP guise

WITH the clarity that comes with hindsight, it was inevitable. For several years, now, the TTP and groups associated with it have put to use the dread they inspire to exert pressure on citizens to do their bidding. It has long been known that the TTP raises funds through kidnappings for ransom. It comes as little surprise to learn, then, that criminal elements are now using the TTP’s terrifying reputation to cash in. Some businessmen and professionals in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi area have been receiving threatening letters, purporting to come from the TTP, with the intent of extortion. Some have come as threats: the target had been found guilty of not living by Islamic principles, and needed to pay a ‘fine’. Others have come as appeals for ‘jihad’, instructing the recipient that his cash is needed to support jihadi armies. For obvious reasons, the fear inspired by such missives is such that many victims do not report the matter to the police; but where they have, it has been established that the TTP was not involved. How big these extortion rackets are growing can be gauged from the fact that the TTP, which has never shied away from boasting about its involvement in the most heinous of crimes, felt constrained to announce through its website that its members were not extortionists and that it considers the “wealth of a Muslim as sacred as his life and announce our disassociation from such acts”.

How much sanctity of life the TTP believes in is well known. That aside, though, the matter of extortionists using the TTP ‘franchise’ is a grave matter given the scale of fear it inspires. Businessmen and traders in Karachi have had to become used to regular, sometimes violent, shake-downs over long years. If the iteration noticed around the capital city spreads, the fear-factor will go up exponentially.

While police are doing what they can, potential victims too should be aware that they may be being duped and recognise the importance of reporting to the police.

An unfortunate decision: DPC’s strike call

AT a time when the ulema are expected to counsel restraint and lower tensions, the Defence of Pakistan Council’s decision to endorse a call for a protest day on Friday is unfortunate. Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Monday, DPC chief Maulana Samiul Haq saw a ‘foreign hand’ in the Rawalpindi riot, demanded a fair inquiry into the tragedy but then went on to support the call by Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat for Friday’s strike. It is not clear in what way a countrywide strike, especially after Friday’s congregational prayers, will advance the cause of sectarian peace or in any way help the inquiry committee discover the truth behind the Rawalpindi tragedy. Pakistanis are living through a nightmare, with the entire country — from the Taliban’s den in Fata to Karachi’s deadly underworld, not to speak of Balochistan — in virtual anarchy and the government’s writ shrinking by the day. The Ashura clash did not remain confined to Rawalpindi; it spread to other towns. This shows that the entire country is a tinderbox. That in such a situation a group of religious and political leaders should call for a countrywide strike amounts to adding fuel to the fire.

Unfortunately, the DPC has not lived up to what its name would ordinarily suggest: a commitment to ‘defending’ the country. Does a call for a countrywide strike in times like these advance its purported cause? The right to dissent is enshrined in the Constitution, and the DPC leaders have every right to enjoy this right. But in potentially explosive circumstances, mustn’t those availing themselves of this right exercise some restraint? The DPC should think twice about going ahead with its plan; the government, too, should try to make it see that this is not a sensible move.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Thrusday, November 21, 2013

Danger to the economy: Depleted reserves

THE State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are down to $3.85bn — barely enough to pay the bill for another four weeks of imports — on substantial debt payments and widening trade deficit. The new SBP reserves report pertains to the first week of this month and doesn’t reflect the debt payments of $320m made to the IMF after Nov 7. Neither does it hint at the possible impact of another payment of $400m to be made to the global lender next week. Hence, it’s safe to assume that the bank’s reserves could deplete to just above $3bn by the end of this month.

With the IMF not scheduled to release the second tranche of $550m from its $6.6bn Extended Fund Facility loan before late next month and IFIs like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank slow in disbursing the promised budgetary support funds, chances are that the bank’s forex stocks could touch another low over the next several weeks. That doesn’t augur well for the country’s sliding economy and currency. Many are already predicting a run on the (commercial) banks, which, in fact, has begun. The savers drew $53m from their foreign currency accounts, whose stocks had declined to $5.23bn by the end of the first week of November. It is only a matter of time when greedy speculators will jump into the fray to cause a stampede in the forex market unless the SBP and government take timely measures. Another fall in the value of the rupee, which has already lost around 8pc against the dollar since July 1, could unleash a new round of steep inflation and make the public’s life more difficult.

The government had seen this coming. The external sector has been under pressure for over a year now, forcing the government to hurriedly negotiate a new IMF loan to avert the imminent balance of payments crisis. But it failed to convince the IMF to frontload the new loan and other lenders to speed up funds disbursement. Nor did it take action to discourage luxury imports — barring a month’s ban on unnecessary, expensive gold imports — to reduce the trade gap because it would hurt the wealthy. With the balance of payments crisis rebuilding, it is time the government took action to prevent legal and illegal outflow of foreign currency as well as convince the IMF and other IFIs to disburse the promised funds at the earliest to avert further economic damage.

Bad omen for region: Beirut bombing

IF there were any doubts about the Syrian civil war spilling over beyond that country’s borders, these should have been dispelled by the double suicide bombing in Beirut on Tuesday. The Iranian embassy was the target of the devastating strike in which many people were killed and injured. While an Al Qaeda-linked jihadi outfit has claimed responsibility, terming it a “message” to Iran and Hezbollah for their support to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Tehran has blamed Israel and its “mercenaries”. Lebanon has seen similar violence linked to the Syrian conflict earlier this year. Massive blasts ripped through Shia and Sunni neighbourhoods in August in Beirut and Tripoli, respectively, while communal clashes have also occurred. But this is the first time in the conflict an Iranian target has been attacked so brazenly. While Syria may be casting a long shadow over Lebanon, if the conflict escalates further into an open sectarian struggle, violence will not be limited to the Levant.

In significant parts of the Middle East today, especially Iraq and Syria, the confluence of sectarian strife and geopolitical manoeuvring has created an explosive situation. Iraq is coming apart along confessional and ethnic lines, its descent into anarchy aided, in no small measure, by the 2003 US-led invasion and the attempt to transplant democracy. Instead of a flourishing democracy, post-Saddam Iraq has transformed into a failed state. Meanwhile, Syria has become a playground of actors both regional and global, with Iran and Hezbollah supporting Damascus while the Gulf Arabs, Turkey and many in the West egg on the rebels. Assad’s forces seem to have the upper hand at this point and the Beirut bombing may be an attempt by extremist rebel factions to spark a wider sectarian war by openly targeting Iranian interests. There may still be time to pull Syria from the brink; this would require the regional and global players to cut arms supplies to their respective clients and pressure them to come to the negotiating table. This is essential if further regional sectarian strife is to be avoided.

Pause for thought: Hate speech on social media

SAD though it is to have to repeat it, the media is but a tool; it can be used for good or bad depending on the inclination of those that hold it. In terms of the sectarian violence in Rawalpindi on Friday, some good may have come of the fact that there was no live broadcast of the unfolding events, which has in the past spread panic, fanned the flames and even led to further unrest. But mischief-makers will always find a way, and Friday saw people turning to social networking sites, particularly Twitter and Facebook, to spread sectarian hatred. The mobile phone network may have been suspended in several areas but that does not affect internet-friendly phones on Wi-Fi, so photographs — some genuine, others fabricated — of the violence were in circulation. All this aggravated an already volatile situation. That, and the events over the next couple of days, led the government to issue a directive regarding the banning of hate material over social networking sites.

To some, this might sound all very well. Most agree that hate speech is abhorrent. The trouble is, precisely how would such a ban work technically, and how would it be decided whether an expressed opinion or comment falls firmly on one or the other side of the dividing line between that which is permissible and that which is not? A more useful exercise would be for the state to ponder over the dangerous polarities that are intensifying in the country, and which are what prompt people to perpetrate or condone violence against members of other sects and faiths. There are many warped minds in this society — and this is the problem that needs to be addressed if inter- and intra-religious strife is to be controlled.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

R

eal issue ignored: Drone strike in Hangu

SEEN from any perspective, it is an alarming development: the first drone strike in the settled areas of KP in five years. As ever, however, the reasons for the alarm in Pakistan are misplaced. Start with the embarrassment that the government will be suffering a day after the prime minister’s senior-most adviser on foreign policy told a Senate committee that the US had indicated a willingness to suspend drone strikes for the duration of talks with the TTP. Sartaj Aziz’s words were carefully chosen: he spoke only of the TTP not being targeted while talks were under way — which they are not. So the killing of an alleged militant linked to the Haqqani network does not, strictly speaking, fall within the ambit of the reported US assurance to Pakistan. Still, such an attack while the government keeps insisting to already hostile Pakistanis that drone strikes will end soon, will force the rulers to adopt a condemnatory mode. Even if that condemnation is mild, it will, yet again, steer the national conversation away from militancy and towards the undesirability of drones.

Meanwhile, the real questions will go unaddressed. For one, after the killing of a senior Haqqani leader in Islamabad last week, the Hangu drone strike is the second attack targeting the Haqqani network on Pakistani soil. If a long-running shadowy war is growing even murkier in the run-up to the Afghan handover in 2014, who is on which side and what does any of it mean for Pakistan’s national security? In addition to the perceived need to protect certain assets in North Waziristan, the state’s reluctance to launch an operation in the agency has often been attributed to a worry about blowback inside Pakistan proper. Does the targeting of Haqqanis inside Pakistan increase the possibility of friction with a group with the proven ability to launch devastating strikes in the region? Is there anyone in the Pakistani state apparatus, uniformed or civilian, who can handle these new developments with skill?

More broadly, though no less importantly, what is the government’s strategy on talks with the TTP and its policy on militancy? Simply lamenting the alleged damage drones do to the possibility of talks is no strategy. The militancy threat is real and immediate. There are far too many areas of the country that have become sanctuaries and hideouts for militants. No people or state can be strong or secure with such internal threats. Is anyone in the state apparatus willing to show any leadership?

Need to act: High food insecurity

OF the myriad issues afflicting this country, food insecurity and malnutrition need urgent state attention. If left unattended, they can create major social instability down the line. As highlighted at a seminar in Islamabad on Wednesday, nearly 60pc of Pakistanis face food insecurity, according to the National Nutrition Survey 2011 that saw its official launch recently. Food security, as described by the UN, is linked to people’s access to adequate food as well as the sustainability of food systems. Figures show that 50pc of women and children in food-insecure households are malnourished. It is also sad that there has been little change in the figures of children suffering from stunting and wasting between 2001 and 2011; if anything, the numbers have gone up in a decade. A growing population, high food prices, as well as natural disasters and militancy have all contributed to increasing food insecurity in Pakistan. And while it doesn’t help to be alarmist, there can be no doubt that unless the state plans ahead, and more importantly implements measures to tackle the problem now, the situation in the future will be grimmer.

As far as measures to address food insecurity go, it is important that the government has reliable data to plan ahead. As noted in the seminar, without a current census the state, at best, can make guesstimates about the number of hungry households. Once the figures are in, the state needs to ensure that the entire population has adequate access to food round the year, as suggested by the UN. The most vulnerable segments of society should have access to subsidies and food assistance, while food prices must not be so high that households are unable to afford basic nutrition. Where making food systems sustainable is concerned, this can be done by improving agricultural productivity and through better land-use practices. While the state may be preoccupied with issues such as militancy and the hurly-burly of politics, we can only ignore food security at our own peril.

A splendid image: Vintage car rally

IT was on a light-hearted note that the fourth annual Karachi to Khyber vintage car rally set off from Karachi on Wednesday, with the owner/driver of the shiny red MG-A convertible that is to lead joking that anyone who tried to overtake him would pay for the group’s dinner that night. The cross-country rally, organised by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan, has become a welcome feature. This year, 15 classic cars have headed out from Karachi, to be joined by another 20 from Lahore and Islamabad. Going through Gambat and Bahawalpur, classic car shows are planned for Lahore and Islamabad, with the festivities coming to an end in Peshawar on Nov 30. Amongst the participating cars are a 1948 MG and a Mustang, a Morris MG and 1957 Humber Hawk, all of them lovingly restored and eased back on the roads.

There is something eternally endearing about the thought of these vehicles tooling down the roads of interior Sindh, the rural areas of Punjab and the winding roads of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — roads that such cars must have graced in a distant age when the violence and fear that characterise Pakistan today were unimaginable. This country has moved on, and not to a better place; with good reason do many people remember the ’60s and ’70s — the period to which many of the participating vehicles belong — with nostalgia. Yet the fact that the VCCCP continues to hold the rally, and that there are many willing participants, holds out some hope. Times are tough, and may continue thus for some time to come. But the image of classic vehicles barrelling along roads from one end of the country to the other is splendid, and indicates perhaps that all is not yet lost.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Intertwined interests: Afghan reconciliation

WHILE the focus of the world and the region remains on the impending US-Afghan bilateral security pact that will allow foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan until at least 2024 and on the Afghan presidential election next year, work on the most critical piece in the framework for a stable Afghanistan — the reconciliation process with the Afghan Taliban — continues quietly in the background. After meeting representatives of the Afghan High Peace Council in Islamabad on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is set to travel to Kabul at the end of the month presumably to see if the dormant reconciliation process can be nudged forward, or at least ensure the groundwork is in place for a speedy process after next year’s Afghan presidential election. However, like much else he has attempted since returning to office in June, Mr Sharif and his team seem busy enough in consultations and meetings without necessarily proposing a way forward in Afghanistan.

Complicating the task for both the Afghan and Pakistani sides is the increasing interconnectedness of the two countries in matters of security and stability. With the appointment of Mullah Fazlullah as the new TTP chief, it is for the first time that both the Pakistani and the Afghan state allege that their respective principal militant foe enjoys sanctuary in the other’s country. With the Afghan Taliban long enjoying fairly unhindered movement across the Durand Line, now the TTP leadership is in the Afghan backyard, from where it targets Pakistan. Whether that improves the odds of both country’s leadership understanding that cross-border violence is in neither country’s interest or exacerbates the already tense security ties between the two countries is a question that the months ahead will reveal. Suffice it to say, in the game of proxies, every side stands to lose.

Given that neither side is about to abruptly change course so late into the scramble that will shape the next phase of Afghan history, perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that at least the cross-border movement and sanctuaries near the Durand Line on both sides are progressively discouraged. From a Pakistani perspective, the state has both much to offer and gain. Nudging the Afghan Taliban towards an internal, Afghan-led settlement in Afghanistan ought to buy some space when it comes to dealing with Pakistan’s internal security problems with the TTP. Surely, both the Afghan and Pakistani states must be aware of the ultimate nightmare: the TTP and the Afghan Taliban uniting to wage war in both countries.

Requiem for KCR: Jica diverts funds

QUITE understandably, Japanese donors have walked out on the Karachi Circular Railway. Not only that: the federal railway minister informed a news conference on Thursday that the Japan International Cooperation Agency has diverted the money to Bangladesh. Nothing surprising, considering Jica’s frustration if not outright anger. The KCR has been dead for nearly two decades, its tracks under tons of rocks. The Japanese offer of money and technology to revive it and make it a going concern had been there for nearly two decades, but somehow the federal and Sindh governments were never available to get things ready for the agency to proceed. Encroachments on railway land are a problem that is complex but not insolvable. This usurpation of government land by squatters and small-time realtors could have been sorted out if the Sindh government had made up its mind to remove all obstacles to the KCR’s revival. Evidently, the political will to give the nation’s biggest city a modern mass transit system has been lacking.

The Japanese plan had crossed many hurdles, not least the sloth that characterises our ponderous bureaucracy, and we were given 2017 as the date by which the new KCR’s first phase would be operational. Thursday’s news conference by Khwaja Saad Rafiq and Qaim Ali Shah essentially constituted the KCR’s requiem. Admitting that the Japanese had been “discouraged” from pursuing the project the two spoke of a new plan in which the federal government would help. The people will have their doubts over Islamabad’s will and resources to help the Sindh government on this project. Lahore has a metro bus system because the Punjab government showed single-mindedness and purpose. In Karachi’s case, Sindh’s two leading parties, which have monopolised political power for many decades, have demonstrated a sense of utter irresponsibility on this issue. Lahore has plans for a metro rail as well, but ‘modern’ Islamabad doesn’t even have plans for a rapid and comfortable transport system — such being the priority of our car-loving elite and obliging bureaucracy.

SBP checks: Loan write-offs

THE State Bank of Pakistan has ‘revisited’ the requirements for writing off irrecoverable loans and advances for consumer financing. It has issued fresh instructions to banks and development finance institutions. The new instructions, which reinforce oversight of directors of banks in such cases, aim at checking the misuse of the facility and curtailing the discretion of bankers while writing off the principal or interest, profit or other charges. The SBP wants the banks to put in place well-defined, transparent write-off policies and make every ‘reasonable’ effort at recovery. What this means is that the bankers, in order to establish that the amount is actually unrecoverable, will now be required to investigate that the person seeking the write-off hasn’t built any other assets with the bank’s money. This should prevent frauds to some extent.

Where banks have secured collateral against (bad) loans, they’ll have to follow a formula for recovering the amount. The assets will be sold off at current prices to adjust the amount so realised against the loan proposed to be written off. In exceptional cases, as those involving widows and orphans, the condition may be relaxed. The SBP wants the banks to obtain prior approval from it in cases where the write-offs are sought in the names of directors, chief executives and sponsor shareholders of banks/DFIs or in the name of their relatives or dependents. Internal auditors have been given powers to review the cases where the written-off principal amount is over Rs200,000. The SBP directive should help minimise ‘favouritism’ and ‘corruption’ by the bankers in loan write-off cases. Equally important is the protection from harassment of borrowers who are really in financial trouble and cannot pay their loans. It is time the SBP issued some directives in this regard as well.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

24.11.2013

Long-term perspective: Pakistan-US ties

THOUGH there can be no two views on the need for the US to respect Pakistan’s borders, ties with Washington cannot be seen through the prism of the drone-dominated discourse alone. Safe havens, 2014, war on terror, the Nato supply line — these will soon pass into history, as did Raymond Davis, Salala and Abbottabad. What will not are Pakistan’s geography and America’s long-term economic and geopolitical interests in the region. The latter comprises the oil-rich Gulf, southwest Asia and the landmass south of the Himalayas. By its very being as a superpower, the US will remain engaged with states in this region for economic and geopolitical reasons. Pakistan must grasp this reality; it must realise the limitations of its elements of national power and project a relationship that will guard its vital economic and security interests in a world in which it has few genuine friends. Misunderstood no doubt, Pakistan must also blame itself for chasing unachievable geopolitical objectives and inviting the suspicion of those who otherwise would have wished it well.

The joint statement issued at the end of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group in Washington on Friday shows that the two sides have not allowed the current irritants in ties to cloud their view of the future. The statement pledges the two sides to a strong defence partnership and counterterrorism cooperation even after America withdraws from Afghanistan and says they believe defence links will endure because it is vital to regional and international security. This unanimity of views on a number of issues shouldn’t make us oblivious to the difficulties in the way. Points of discord between Pakistan and America will always be there, just as they were when they were military allies during the Cold War. The US cannot accept Pakistan’s view of many regional issues, just as Islamabad may find it difficult to endorse many aspects of Washington’s Asia policy. This emphasises the need for developing a fruitful relationship.

With the focus of geopolitical power shifting East, Islamabad must expect a consequent change in American policy towards major Asian players. This makes it incumbent on Pakistan to diversify its economic and defence ties, especially at a time when it faces isolation because of flawed policies. While the relations with America must grow and stabilise, Islamabad needs to mend fences with India, deepen ties with China, seek greater cooperation with Russia and set its house in order in a way that encourages the world to help make this country a regional economic hub.

Rawalpindi blowback: Ancholi blasts

WHILE protests against last week’s sectarian riots in Rawalpindi staged by religious outfits passed off more or less peacefully on Friday, the day came to a bloody close as two blasts ripped through a Karachi neighbourhood late Friday night killing and injuring many. Ancholi, the area targeted, is a mixed locality though containing a large Shia population, while one of Karachi’s main imambargahs is located within it. If there were any doubts the motive behind the bombings was sectarian, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid’s statement on Saturday that the atrocity was “revenge” for the Rawalpindi violence should have made matters clear. The extremists seem to speak with forked tongues. While right-wing elements take out rallies to denounce sectarian violence, the militants follow up with a display of indiscriminate violence designed to further fuel communal hatred. The incident is also a reminder that the TTP is transforming itself from an anti-state pan-Islamist force to a more openly sectarian concern.

While fears of sectarian trouble are never far during sensitive religious periods, the threat is enhanced manifold when militant and sectarian outfits actively try to trigger communal violence. However, the reaction of ulema of all persuasions in controlling sectarian passions has been disappointing. Instead of calming down their respective flocks, they appear more interested in one-upmanship. As for the government, it seems to be more interested in placating extremists; as reported in this paper, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat chief has been staying in Islamabad lately at the state’s request ‘to help maintain peace’. What an organisation known for its divisive religious views and extremist rhetoric can do for communal peace is up for debate. Instead of playing ball with hardliners, the state should bring those involved in the Rawalpindi violence to book: both those who attacked the mosque and madressah and killed innocent people, as well as those who indulged in retaliatory attacks targeting imambargahs must face the law. And in light of the TTP’s pledge to carry out more sectarian mayhem, greater vigilance is needed.

More voices needed: Sexual harassment

IN a country where sexual harassment at the workplace often goes unreported because of social taboos and the fear of losing one’s job, it is a good sign that some complaints are making their way to the authorities that matter. However, as reported in this paper yesterday, complaints of harassment usually come from government departments. To account for this development it has been suggested that job insecurity is greater in the private sector, hence complaints emanating from there have been fewer. The numbers themselves are telling: out of the more than 150 complaints received by the court of the federal ombudsman since 2011, only 13 came from the private sector. But the figures apart, the larger question is, are workplaces taking the law against sexual harassment seriously and doing everything they can to promote an environment where it is clearly understood that such misconduct will not be brooked?

To be sure, the law has taken its course as is evident in some of the cases cited in the newspaper report. But there is a greater need for awareness among workplace staff regarding the code of conduct that the law stipulates and for assurances given by public and private organisations to their employees that charges of harassment will not be given short shrift, and that each complaint will be thoroughly investigated. It is for employers and heads of department to realise that stamping out harassment will help promote productivity and confidence amongst staff members. It is equally important for the staff to understand that reporting cases of harassment will encourage others who have suffered to join in and demand action against sexual predators.

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

Monday, November 25, 2013

PTI’s one-track mind: Drones issue

THE politics of drones continues to heat up and, as ever, at the vanguard of the agitation is Imran Khan. By now, at least two things are reasonably clear: one, the political right in the country will remain fixated on drones, even if it means to the exclusion of any focus on the threat of militancy; and two, drone attacks will not cease, even if their frequency goes further down. Which leaves a basic question: what now? Perhaps sensing that it may have backed itself too far into a corner, the PTI leadership has left itself some little wriggle room in its latest protest. Neither has the provincial PTI leadership been involved nor has the PTI indicated that an absolute blockade is in effect. What that allows is for the PTI to simultaneously claim it is sticking to its principled stance while also bowing to the realities of power. For, as the country learned during the post-Salala supply route shutdown, drones may be operated by the US, but the supply route serves a wide coalition of international forces. The PTI, like all provincial or federal governments over the past decade, appears to have understood that the outside world does not share Pakistan’s obsession with drones while largely giving the militants themselves a free pass in the blame game.

Still, the inherent defectiveness of the PTI’s single-track approach to defeating militancy does not mean that Pakistan does not have a drone problem. Expanding the strike zone to the settled areas of KP is an alarming sign of mission creep that almost inevitably happens whenever an intelligence agency, the CIA in this case, is also handed a trigger. If inaccessible areas of Fata are one thing, the settled areas of Pakistan proper are altogether a different category — surely, it cannot be argued that Pakistan is fundamentally unable to deal with militancy in Hangu? But therein lies a collective failure of the Pakistani leadership, civilian and military and across governments, to articulate any coherent policy on the drones issue. And that is hardly a problem that is about to go away, now that it has become clear a significant presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan is all but guaranteed until at least 2024.

However, if the Pakistani leadership has failed and continues to fail, the Obama administration is equally guilty of focusing on the short term to the detriment of long-term interests. Why stoke such severe anti-Americanism in a country on the frontline in the fight against militancy just to kill a few militants who are all too easily replaced?

Necessary numbers: Call for census

CARRYING out a census is a difficult job anywhere. It is tougher still in Pakistan because of the problems the country is riddled with: political violence, terrorism, ethnic and religious differences, illiteracy, etc. A national population census is a constitutional requirement that has to be met every 10 years, yet its last edition was conducted in 1998. The census before 1998 was held in 1981. But, although the absence of a regular head count has complicated matters, the ECP is hoping that now is the right time to mend matters. It has urged the government to conduct a census as soon as possible for the proper delimitation of constituencies. A census isn’t only about counting people. The very idea of representative democracy in a federation like Pakistan hinges on it. Failure to undertake the 2008 census, for example, meant the share of seats allotted to each federating unit in the National Assembly was to continue to be determined on the basis of its population in 1998. A census is also vital for equitable resource distribution among units as population remains the single most important factor for determining provincial shares. The argument is as good for the smallest administrative unit as for the provinces. It is the census which maps the changing demography and economy to help planners.

Undertaking a census is in the interest of everyone regardless of ethnicity, political affiliation, religious beliefs or social background. The previous government tried to carry out the exercise in 2011, but left it incomplete because of violence in KP, Balochistan and Karachi. It also could not afford to alienate some of its coalition partners by moving ahead with the plan. Undertaking this tough exercise won’t be easy even today because of the challenging security conditions in parts of the country. Still, the PML-N government with its definite mandate is in a much better position to implement this constitutional requirement. It did the job 15 years ago. It must try and accomplish it now as well.

Pursukoon Karachi: Yearning for peace

EVEN for a country where danger is the citizens’ constant companion, the levels of violence and crime in Karachi are startling. From frequent confrontations among various political and sectarian groups to organised extortion rings and rampant street crime, much of it armed, the tragedy of the city is that its negatives far outweigh its positives. Insufficient electricity, water and other resources for Karachi’s citizens and lack of proper urban planning add to the problems posed by crime and violence. There may be roughly 18 million people living here, but perhaps not enough would admit a sense of loyalty to or ownership of a metropolis that is amongst the most crime-ridden in the world.

It is little wonder, then, that the days when Karachi was feted as the city of constant breezes seem nothing but a mirage now — even though that time is within living memory. It is this hankering after the past, this yearning for peace that can be read into the project that got under way on Friday, a day that saw yet more blasts in Ancholi. The Pursukoon Karachi festival, an initiative by Koel Gallery and some 300 artists, and supported by the Karachi Arts Council and the National Academy of Performing Arts, reminds us of what this city once was, and demands introspection into how that environment can be recreated. With a series of programmes including music recitals, dramatic reading sessions, art installations, etc, at multiple venues, the project is a poignant reminder of the track the city should be on — the irony being that in some notable cases, it is the very political groups that should care most about the city that turn a blind eye to, at times even incite, the violence.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Breakthrough at last: Iran, world powers clinch N-deal

INTERIM no doubt, it’s a breakthrough, nevertheless. The deal clinched by Iran and P5+1 on Sunday in Geneva does give Tehran some relief on sanctions in return for Tehran to slow down if not scrap its nuclear programme. The agreement is historic and could determine the future course of the West’s relationship with Iran. More importantly, it is likely to survive because both sides have welcomed it. While President Barack Obama said the agreement would prevent Iran from making nuclear weapons, Iranian negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif pledged to abide by it but made clear the measures visualised in the accord were “reversible”, though he hoped Iran would not have to use this option. More significant, however, were Mr Zarif’s remarks that the deal would restore trust between Iran and the West. For President Hassan Rouhani it is a diplomatic triumph, for the agreement would not have been possible without the blessings of spiritual leader Ali Khamenei. This should help him counter hardliners at home.

The accord halts a greater part of Iran’s nuclear programme and aims to prevent Tehran from expanding it. Specifically, it lays down a 5pc cent limit beyond which Iran will not enrich uranium, and “neutralise” the existing stock above the 5pc ceiling. Similarly, the agreement cripples Iran’s ability to produce plutonium because it forbids Tehran from further developing the Arak nuclear plant. There is no doubt the implementation of the agreement will be carefully monitored, for Tehran has pledged to give inspectors greater access, if necessary on a daily basis, to all nuclear sites. On its part, the West will slap no further sanctions during the six-month ‘watch’ period and give Iran sanctions relief worth $7bn — a pitifully small amount for the world’s fourth largest oil producer. Israel called the accord “a mistake”, and some Gulf monarchies have reacted negatively. President Obama, too, is likely to encounter difficulties in selling the deal to Congress. But six months of monitoring should give results and remove the critics’ misgivings.

For Pakistan, the Geneva deal opens up new possibilities for going ahead with the gas pipeline. It has been delayed for too long because of American pressure. Now that a breakthrough has been made, it is time Islamabad took up the construction of the Pakistani part of the pipeline in earnest and expedited the completion of the project. Pakistan’s energy crisis is severe, and a timely flow of Iranian gas should help it plug the current gap between demand and supply.

Good effort but…: Religious code of conduct

THE code of conduct proposed by Council of Islamic Ideology member Maulana Tahir Ashrafi contains many points that, if implemented, can work to reduce sectarianism in Pakistan. But this is a huge ‘if’. Few level-headed people will argue against measures such as religious groups distancing themselves from violence, banning the toxic practice of takfir or clamping down on hate speech or literature that disrespects religious personalities held in high esteem by various sects. Yet the key questions are: if the code is adopted, will the state enforce it and equally important, will scholars belonging to different schools of thought play their part to make sure it is not violated? Such efforts have been tried in the past, most notably by the Milli Yakjehti Council in the 1990s. But as the vicious sectarian violence in Pakistan proves, efforts to evolve and enforce a code of conduct have failed to tackle the monster of sectarianism. The main reason for the earlier code floundering is that ulema failed to take action against the black sheep within their ranks who were fomenting trouble. So while the preachers were quick to blame the ‘other side’ for violating the code, most kept silent when it came to confronting rabble rousers within their communities.

If the CII does adopt Maulana Ashrafi’s code and if it is to have any chance of success, two main things are needed. Firstly, the state must crack down on all hate speech and literature, regardless of who is involved in the provocation. The Rawalpindi violence is a prime example of how the situation can catch fire simply through the misuse of the microphone. Secondly, the ulema need to play a more impartial role; if preachers from their own sect are found to be fanning hate, then scholars of repute must be the first to condemn such elements. Without consensus from Shia and Sunni scholars and an effective mechanism to clamp down on violators, the proposed code has slim chances of success.

Dangerous consumption: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

IT has been nearly a century since Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin. Now it looks like the global population will have to pay for what experts have been warning against for a long time: misuse of antibiotics including taking them too frequently, leading to drug-resistant strains of bacteria. A commission comprised of globally renowned scientists recently published a report in the medical journal Lancet that concluded that resistance to antibiotics is spreading rapidly worldwide, and that countries are reporting higher figures of deaths because of this. “Within just a few years we might be faced with dire setbacks,” it warns, “unless real and unprecedented global coordinated actions are immediately taken.” The problem is a global one but as always, Pakistan and the developing world are hit harder. We join India and Egypt in being the three countries where over-the-counter sales of a common class of antibiotics have increased, and the country is reporting infections caused by many germs that have developed resistance.

There is anecdotal evidence that the overuse of drugs, even in situations that don’t require them, is rampant. This is partly the effect of a largely uneducated society where medicine is seen as a miracle cure. Similarly, poorly trained or inexperienced medical staff also hands out antibiotic prescriptions in cases where there are grey areas in the diagnosis. Since getting medicines without a prescription is easy, self-medication is common. But it lies within the power of the state, the pharmaceutical industry and the drug regulation authorities to bring matters under control. We urgently need to put a stop to over-the-counter drug sales, which is merely a matter of law enforcement. A mass-scale awareness campaign targeting both society and healthcare workers would also help in curbing the misuse of antibiotics.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Dark times ahead: Water scarcity

THE growing water crunch is often cited as the next biggest threat to Pakistan’s internal security, people and economy after terrorism. Pakistan is already classified as one of the most water-stressed countries because of climatic change, population growth and inefficient use of the resource. More worrying is the fact that water stress is fast developing into water scarcity. Different studies show that per capita water availability has decreased immensely since Pakistan’s inception, mainly because of population growth. In other words, our people today have access to only one-fifth of the water they had at the time of independence. The country’s population is predicted to double by 2050, meaning that the people will have access to just half the water in 2050 they have now even if they start using the available resource efficiently and climatic changes don’t reduce flows in the Indus river system.

So when a top water and power ministry official tells legislators that the country is likely to experience a drought situation 12 years from now if immediate action is not taken to “improve storage and conservation capacity” he is not off the mark. An ADB report has already underlined the need for increasing the storage capacity, the amount of water in reserve in case of an emergency, which currently stands at 30-days’ supply. This is far below the recommended 1,000 days for countries with a similar climate. Any emergency can push the country into socio-economic turmoil. Our cities are already experiencing reduction in water availability owing to excessive pumping of ground water.

Water shortages can have severe political, economic and social ramifications going forward. Some implications of the increasing demand for water for both agricultural and non-agricultural use are already manifesting themselves in the form of inter-provincial water disputes. This has led many — from farmers to opposition politicians to ministers to jihadi groups — to blame India, the upper riparian, for Pakistan’s water crunch. It isn’t without reason that some experts have warned of water wars in South Asia, one of the world’s most water-stressed regions. Moreover, water scarcity can take an enormous toll on the economy and food security. And all this because successive governments have failed to invest in this sector. The situation can still be salvaged. But it’ll require efficient use of water, the development of more storage capacity, resolution of provincial water disputes as well as engagement with India to find a peaceful solution to trans-boundary water-sharing. Unless effective actions are taken now, the future appears grim.

Farcical politics: PTI’s drone rhetoric

FROM the absurd to the farcical, the politics of drones continues to lurch from one unhappy direction to the next. Mocked, slyly, by its political opponents for the FIR of the Hangu drone strike only referring to unknown persons as the perpetrators of death from the skies, the PTI has tried to drag its favourite punching bags, the CIA and the US government, into the mix. High politics or farce, the PTI’s twisting and turning over its rhetoric on drones seems to have trapped the leadership in its own ultimatums and braggadocio. It has almost reached the point where, if it could, the PTI would drag a drone into court, put it on trial before a PTI judge and prosecutor and possibly a jury made up of the Taliban, and then, in full glare of the cameras, flog the drone for its sins against Pakistan’s militants. Or perhaps not — for that may only prompt the CIA and President Obama into launching another Abbottabad-style raid to rescue their drone on trial.

Unhappily, for all the debate over drones and their alleged mass murder of ordinary civilians, the PTI’s political theatrics have had a dangerous effect on the tenuous consensus against militancy in Pakistan. For now the militancy discourse has been reduced to the issue of drones. The PTI is well within its democratic right to protest and petition against drone strikes. The problem is the PML-N federal government and the other mainstream political parties are offering nothing by way of a meaningful counter-narrative. Whether Imran Khan and the PTI are mocked for their stance or supported, the PTI’s is the only narrative that is dominating the conversation on militancy. True, unilateral drone strikes by the US are not acceptable as they violate sovereignty, and the resulting civilian death toll, though relatively low according to government figures, remains a matter of concern. But the way the PTI and other parties are seeking to gain political mileage from the drones issue drowns out any attempt at a broader discourse.

It’s the people who suffer: KESC-KWSB quarrel

A FINANCIAL dispute between two of Karachi’s biggest utilities serving the public has begun to hurt citizens. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board has not paid the money it owes to the Karachi Electric Supply Company, and the latter has chosen to reduce power supply to pumping stations. The KWSB’s biggest pumping station, at Dhabeji, has had its quota of power supply cut by four hours, thus affecting regular water supply to the metropolis. As a report in this paper said, some areas had not received water for five days at a stretch. The KESC had a point when it said the water agency owed it Rs25bn, a huge amount, which is part of the Rs33bn the Sindh government owes to the private-sector power entity. The KESC spokesman backed his claim by saying that the Sindh High Court had authorised it to cut power supply to the KWSB if it failed to clear its dues. However, considering that court cases drag on and detailed knowledge of the power sector is often missing, it is time to evolve alternative, specialised forums where disputes between utilities, both public and private, can be settled quickly. This is all the more necessary as privatisation becomes an increasingly attractive option, with the public sector failing to deliver.

The agencies defaulting on payment include some of Pakistan’s biggest state-owned entities as well as private enterprises, and their refusal to meet their financial obligations merely means bureaucratic incompetence and red tape. The KESC’s decision to curtail power supply to the KWSB was unjustified. The victim is neither the Sindh government nor the KWSB but the citizenry. It is time the two utilities resolved their financial dispute.

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Ye sab tmhara karam hai AAQA k bat ab tak bani hoi hai
May is karam k kahan ti kabil ye HAZOOR ki band parvari hai