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  #511  
Old Saturday, May 12, 2012
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Powerless people

May 12th, 2012


The recent power riots that have broken out across Punjab do not come as a surprise. This was being expected by many for quite some time, with power available in larger cities for barely 12 hours a day or less, and in smaller towns for a far shorter period. In some areas, people have even complained of bulbs barely flickering on for an hour or two every day. While rising temperatures have added to the anger of the people, a major concern is the immense loss being suffered by businesses. This, of course, also means job losses and increased desperation in a situation where unemployment is already high. In Faisalabad, power loom workers have raised this point many times. Now, with the power supply situation worsening again after a brief period of improvement, they have taken to the streets once more, along with other equally distressed people in Lahore, Gujranwala, Bhakkar, Sheikhupura and other towns.

But will the tyres the people burn, the stones they pelt or the slogans they raise lead to any solution to the crisis? The people who have taken to the streets have also threatened to stop paying the bills that turn up far more regularly than the supply of electricity itself. While there was some brief improvement in supply last time round after people took to the streets, the progress could not be sustained for long. We also know now that the problem is essentially one that is concerned with the lack of resources and the crippling pattern of circular debt, rather than with an actual shortage of power. Had money been available, solutions too could have come our way. Around the world, solar power, wind energy and other means to generate power are being used. But generating money is in many ways harder than producing power.

The protests of the people cannot be ignored indefinitely. So far, those who have been out on the streets have been relatively small in number. But these numbers are certain to grow if there is no end to the power crisis. The government needs to prevent the situation from turning into an even uglier one. Political dimensions are involved too, with the PML-Q threatening to pull out of its alliance with the government as the power crisis grows bigger and adds to the general angst running through the veins of our country.


Welcome home, Dr Chishty
May 12th, 2012


All too often, we end up judging the state of Pakistan-India relations through metrics like economics and politics, forgetting that the enmity between the two countries has consequences that have destroyed the lives of thousands of people. Dr Syed Mohammed Khalil Chishty, until very recently, was one of those who had slipped through the cracks — a victim of the double standards that Pakistan and India hold for the citizens of the other country. A virologist in his 80s who hails from Karachi, Chishty was sentenced to life imprisonment in India for allegedly murdering a family member with his trial lasting 18 years. In a sign of improving relations between India and Pakistan, Chishty was released by the Indian Supreme Court on humanitarian grounds some time back and has now been allowed to visit Pakistan on the condition that he return to India by November 1 for the appeal hearing of his case. This will, hopefully, signal a new era in the way the two countries treat prisoners from the other side.

Dr Chishty’s case was a relatively straightforward one because of his age and health but there are hundreds of other similar cases on both sides of the border. Both countries have fishermen languishing in jails for years for the simple crime of crossing an unmarked border. Often, these fishermen are not allowed consular access and are not even charged with any crime. Now that the two countries are slowly inching towards peace, there is no greater step they can take to demonstrate this new era of relations than releasing all those people who are being held for simple border violations.

Neither country is more culpable than the other in this regard; both have treated prisoners from the other country in an uncaring manner. Releasing each others’ prisoners will engender massive amounts of goodwill. Above all, it will demonstrate that peace talks have a human dimension that transcends matters of trade and economics.


Killing humanity

May 12th, 2012


In a highly unusual move for an organisation that rarely ever suspends work even in war zones, is widely respected for its neutrality and the giant ‘red cross/red crescent’ symbol it uses, which signifies that those falling under its wide umbrella are not to be harmed, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has decided to suspend its activities in Pakistan while it reviews the situation in the country and weighs humanitarian needs against concerns for staff safety. The ICRC’s national staff have been placed on paid leave for an indefinite period and its international staff has been recalled to Islamabad. The move follows the discovery of the beheaded body of an ICRC health worker, Dr Khalil Rasjed Dale, 60, just outside Quetta on April 29. Dale, a Yemen-born British national, had been abducted some four months ago. A note found with his body stated that the ICRC had failed to meet the ‘conditions’ set for his release. There have been reports that the ICRC had been engaged in talks with the kidnappers, but the Geneva-based organisation has declined to comment on this.

Dale became the third foreigner to be killed in the country by abductors following the murders of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 and a Polish geologist who was kidnapped in Attock in 2009. Others, like former UNHCR official John Solecki, have been more fortunate and were released safely. At least one American national, Warren Weinstein, kidnapped last year in Lahore, remains in militant hands.

According to spokespersons for the organisation, the ICRC’s decision affects tens of thousands of people. In recent years, other international humanitarian groups and NGOs have also cut back or stopped their activities in the country. It is, of course, the people — usually the most vulnerable and deprived ones — who suffer when this happens. Pakistan is effectively being turned into a no-go area by militants, whose victims are not only the persons that they abduct and kill, but also thousands of ordinary citizens across the country.
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Call for Change (Sunday, May 13, 2012)
  #512  
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Pakistan and the Chicago Summit
May 13th, 2012


Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, in London on an official visit, has denied that there was a threat that Nato might not invite Pakistan to its summit in Chicago. This unfolded amid news that the US might impose unilateral trade-related restrictions on Pakistan as a lever to get it to agree to the resumption of the Nato supply routes to Afghanistan. He said that the invitation would come in good time as the supply route negotiations moved ahead. A senior Pakistani official actually stated that “an agreement on the resumption of vital land routes for the Nato forces was expected to be concluded before the Chicago summit; but the final decision is likely to be taken by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC), which is scheduled to meet on May 15”.

The Chicago Summit on Afghanistan is scheduled for May 21-22, and Pakistan’s DCC is going to meet on May 15 after which the cabinet will meet on May 16 and announce what Pakistan has decided to do. That is cutting it very close. This kind of brinkmanship has allowed all kinds of speculations to spread, influencing official postures in the region and among the Nato states keen to make their exit from Afghanistan not look like defeat. In Pakistan, regretfully it is emotion that is directing the state, in addition to fear provoked by the aggressive stance adopted by Pakistan’s nonstate actors that it is now notorious for not controlling the conduct of its foreign policy.

Pakistan has delayed its concurrence to the opening of the Nato supply route, perhaps, with the intent of not appearing to give in too soon. Its expression of outrage over what happened at Salala in November 2011 has to be demonstrated as a genuine “national sentiment”, which must be respected. It is moot whether this strategy of expression of outrage was advisable in the first place. Our expressions of anger over the way the endgame in Afghanistan is unfolding have kept us out of summits where Pakistan’s presence was required even if this presence was used merely to state its negative position. Not going to the Bonn Summit deprived Pakistan of an opportunity to enlist support for its strategy, however, isolationist it may have been in the first place. In the final analysis, some observers inside Pakistan think of it as useless brinkmanship which has allowed the states concerned to adopt hostile postures.

If the intent is to express “national sentiment” it must be seen together with other factors relating to Pakistan’s capacity to withstand pressure in foreign policy and its leverage to put pressure on other states to compel them to accept its line of thinking. Pakistan has never belonged to the category of states that can withstand external pressures — mainly because of its economy. It adopts a defiant posture to allay public passions at home for a brief moment and then gives in — only to reap a blowback of popular condemnation, as happened in the case of the standoff over the CIA contractor Raymond Davis. The delay over the implementation of the parliamentary guidelines on the issue of Nato routes has been ill-advised and the position taken on the matter of official apology by the Obama Administration on the Salala incident, too, has been unrealistic, given the well-known fact that President Barack Obama is into a tough campaign for the next US presidential election and cannot be seen by his voters as being humiliated by Pakistan.

The US-Nato strategy is to persuade Pakistan to come on board. There is the stick of trade sanctions that the US can apply together with ‘very willing’ Nato states who want their troops out of Afghanistan in short order. British premier David Cameron is offering the carrot so far, but if the EU and the US get together on sanctions, Pakistan’s exports will be hit hard, which will ultimately be more hurtful to national pride with the economy winding down more rapidly than ever before. Pakistan must attend the Chicago Summit and be persuasive with its position, which is still unclear to Pakistanis and the world alike.


Civil liberties

May 13th, 2012


After the 9/11 attacks, it was inevitable that the US would respond with a host of security measures that would make air travel far more burdensome. Even allowing for that, however, it is clear that the Americans went too far. From strip searches to a ban on carrying liquids and a host of other measures, it is not clear if these invasive measures have made flying any safer or if all this security is mere theatre meant to make travellers feel safer rather than actually preventing possible terrorist acts. One of the more odious security features has been the no-fly list, which allows any person to be denied entry on an airplane but with no means of challenging that designation. Now a group of 15 American Muslims are fighting back by taking to the courts their demand that their names be removed from the list.

Their chances of success are slim. The judiciary has been entirely subservient to the executive when it comes to war-on-terror policies. A case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union — which is also handling this no-fly case — challenging the legality of drone attacks was dismissed because the government claimed that it could not even confirm the existence of drone attacks because of national security. Even though the government frequently leaks information to the media about these security measures when it wants to paint them in a positive light, it has adopted a stance of complete secrecy whenever challenged in the courts. The plaintiffs in this case deserve their day in court and deserve to enjoy the right to fly if proven innocent.

It has now become increasingly clear that the security measures instituted at airports need to be reformed. People as prominent as Cat Stevens and Shahrukh Khan have had to endure the indignity of deportation and security delays, to say nothing of the countless of innocent Muslims. Civil rights activists in the US have claimed that the excessive security searches violate the constitutional rights of American citizens. We do not even know how effective these measures are. Terrorists are more likely to innovate and find new ways of carrying out their attacks rather than repeating the tactics they employed on 9/11.
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  #513  
Old Monday, May 14, 2012
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Still searching

May 14th, 2012


As the Supreme Court continues its effort to recover persons who have gone missing in Balochistan, it has noted that the province had turned into a kind of war zone —— a situation that adds to the chaos prevailing there and consequently makes it difficult to recover those who have disappeared. Clearly frustrated, the three-member bench of the Court, headed by the Chief Justice, has shown its displeasure at the Frontier Constabulary (FC) in its last hearing and asked who had given it the right to pick up persons at their homes.

The Chief Justice was also displeased with the IGFC’s non-appearance in Court despite having been summoned. At a previous hearing, the Court had shown similar displeasure at the failure of the heads of the ISI and the MI to appear in it, and noted that had police officials possessed the courage to speak the truth, the task of recovering missing persons would have been easier.

We all know why the police are reluctant to speak out. The distortions of power that exist in our country mean there are few who would be willing to speak out against those responsible for these disappearances. To do so would be to invite trouble. This issue of secrecy has emerged as a key factor in our failure to recover missing persons. While human rights monitors have repeatedly pointed to their involvement, there are few who dare question them. People, too, are apparently being kept in the dark, with the advocate-general Balochistan seeking an in-camera discussion for a briefing on some cases. The Court has agreed to the suggestion, expressing the hope that this will help recover missing persons.

What is most frightening of all is that even as the hearings continue, the pattern of disappearances has also continued. This is evident by the fact that in a previous hearing the Supreme Court was told that seven people who were picked up in Quetta had reappeared at their homes a few days ago. No doubt they, like others before them, will have been asked to maintain silence about their disappearance. Meanwhile, other people continue to be picked up; the basic problem remains unchanged and this is not a comforting thought at all.


Who will protect the weak?
May 14th, 2012


It seems that in our land, where the military has held power for so many years, even the dead are not spared that dreaded sound of marching boots. Christians buried at a graveyard at Narang Mandi, located between Lahore and Sheikhupura, have been the latest to encounter it, with the burial place, used by the Christian community since before Partition, recently taken over by a retired military officer who says he has ‘recently discovered’ that the 10-kanal piece of land, in fact, belongs to him. The retired military officer, who is also the uncle of a sitting PML-N MPA has already built a boundary wall, reducing the graveyard to less than a third of its original size, and planted crops on the seized land. His nephew has said he does not back his uncle — but then military men rarely need civilian support. Others have taken similar actions in the past.

The pleas of the Christian community have gone unheeded, though they are fortunate in the fact that an assistant secretary has shown sympathy and urged the police to address the concerns of the ‘marginalised’ minority community. The local SHO of Narang Mandi says that he will look into the matter, but the picture seems a little grim. Since the local Christians spoke to this publication, they say they have received more threats. To add an even uglier twist, the retired military officer says that the Christians are being incited by a person belonging to the Ahmadiya community, who is opposed to him as he “does not treat him like a Muslim”. This seems to be a rather cowardly attempt to involve religious extremists in the matter. The retired officer does not so far appears to have produced proof that the land belongs to him, or even that it was taken away from the Christians in 1983, as he claims. All these issues require investigation.

But it is also necessary to look at the broader dimensions of the affair. Minority communities across the country have been mistreated for too long; their vulnerability has been taken advantage of by people with power. This issue needs to be tackled head on and stopped before further damage is done.


Wildlife wisdom

May 14th, 2012


It is clear that we need to develop some sense of wisdom about the wildlife in our country to prevent it from disappearing altogether from our lives. The fact that so many animals are hunted or poached means that there is a real threat that they will become extinct, robbing us off a form of life which can never be replaced.

According to a report from Quetta, the footprints of two leopards were recently spotted by local villagers in the Takato range towards the north of Quetta during the recent snowfall in the area. The leopards are believed to have migrated from the border of Afghanistan and local people say that they also attacked a goat in a village. A few years ago, a black leopard was reportedly spotted in the Chilton range. Wildlife experts working in the area for the conservation of the animals fear that the leopard may be hunted down and killed. They point out that poaching and hunting — sometimes abetted by the local Wildlife Department officials — is common. Many kinds of animals have suffered as a result. In 2000, only eight to 10 markhors remained in the region. By 2012 their number had risen to 300 thanks to efforts by NGOs.

But the risk to animals of all kinds still remains. It is reported that influential persons are allowed to hunt endangered species in return no doubt for money, and at times certificates are issued to them stating that the markhor they killed had been found dead in the mountains. Leopards would of course be a ‘valued’ trophy for some. There is, therefore, a need to ensure that that those who have ventured into the Takato range, presumably in search of food, are protected. Similar problems of course exist across the country. The press recently reported the killings of Himalayan Black Bears by army helicopters firing on them presumably for ‘fun’. The notion that the hunting of endangered species is acceptable must be eradicated. Unless this happens the threat to animal life everywhere in the country will continue to grow. We have already lost too many species with numbers falling rapidly. We must do more to save those that still remain.
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  #514  
Old Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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Bangladesh and its religious parties
May 15th, 2012


The former leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Ghulam Azam has been indicted by a special court — International War Crimes Tribunal — set up by the Awami League government in Bangladesh for the crimes committed during the war in then-East Pakistan in 1971. He has been charged with complicity in the “killing of three million citizens”. Mr Azam is the head of the party that adhered to its loyalty to Pakistan and allegedly took part in what is often called ‘genocide’. More precisely, his party is accused of “creating and leading militias that carried out many killings and rapes during the nine-month war”. He is the third accused put through the tribunal since 2010 after the Supreme Court of Bangladesh reverted the Constitution of Bangladesh to its original secular character. Both the Jamaat-e-Islami and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have dismissed the court as a “show trial”, while Human Rights Watch has said procedures used by the tribunal “fall short of international standards”. The 2010 verdict by the ‘activist’ Supreme Court of Bangladesh has become politicised because the BNP refused to accept it, somewhat similar to what the PPP has done in the contempt court verdict by Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

In 2010, the Court in Dhaka revived the constitution of 38 years ago, getting rid of the bulk of the document’s Fifth Constitutional Amendment, 1979, which had included provisions that were seen by the Court, and by others in Bangladesh as facilitating the rise and spread of religious political parties and legitimising military dictatorship. This was followed by a ban on political parties that propagated Islamic ideology. It called these parties “extra-constitutional adventurers” and suggested “suitable punishment” for them. Few will doubt that if this train of thought is followed, then the BNP too, will have to be indicted as it supports the religious parties and leans on the country’s right-wing religious vote. However, a major blow has been delivered to those religious outfits which advocate imposition of Sharia and scare the non-Muslims (a tenth of the population) of Bangladesh with discriminatory laws. Nearly 11 Islamic parties are likely to fall under the axe of the independent Bangladesh election commission which will decide who participates in the next election. Bangladesh is divided down the middle over what kind of state it wants to be. One half is reacting against the way the army took over after assassinating the founder of the state, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975, and inserted verses from the Holy Quran into the Constitution’s guiding principle, in 1979. This step legalised the religious parties under the Fifth Amendment. Unfortunately, Bangladesh’s right-wing elements became involved in the Afghan war that brought the Taliban into power. Linkages in Pakistan facilitated the training of many more in the madrassahs of Karachi.

The Awami League came back to power in 2008 — the same year the PPP won in Pakistan. It has survived a coup within the Bangladesh Army, which kind of mirrors the fact that army officers alleged to be linked to the Hizbut Tahrir are on trial in Pakistan. The Awami League government has moved to normalise its relationship with India just like the PPP, expecting nine billion dollars in direct investments from New Delhi. But another parallel with Pakistan may not be very positive: the activism of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. There is nothing wrong, per se, in the courts being ‘activist in nature’; it is only after the polity politicises their verdicts that justice becomes impossible to enforce. Already, the BNP has prepared its agitational agenda for the next election.

It is remarkable how Pakistan and Bangladesh have trodden the same kind of path. Pakistan was taken over by its army after its establishment; so was Bangladesh. The military in Pakistan changed the constitution to legitimise itself through Islam; so did the army in Bangladesh. And after 2008, both armies have no stomach to interrupt civilian rule and impose their own junta.


Yearning for water

May 15th, 2012


The issue of growing water shortage in our country is unfortunately discussed far too rarely and is hardly given the coverage — on, say, the electronic media — that it deserves, compared to some other issues. Yet, we should be giving far more serious thought to the water crisis we face, given that it could have serious ramifications for us some years into the future, and most certainly for our future generations. Already, the dwindling flow of water in the Indus has led to a crisis in the south of the country, as farmers in Sindh complain of insufficient water to sustain crops and the encroaching sea (the sea takes giant bites out of coastal areas as the size of the Indus Delta shrinks).

A report released by the UN last year described Pakistan as one of the world’s “hotspots” as far as water shortages were concerned and warned of a rapidly worsening situation, exacerbated by global warming and climate change. The rapid melting rate of Himalayan glaciers is also giving rise to global concerns. We simply cannot afford to sit back on our heels and watch in silence any longer. Within some 50 years Pakistan has turned into a country where water is vanishing fast as compared with one where it was once plentiful. The existing sources are badly contaminated and water-borne diseases kill more and more people each year.

The problem can be addressed only if we make it a priority as far as relations with India are concerned. In many ways, the water crisis has far more significance for the lives of ordinary people than the question of Kashmir or terrorism. As experts say, the 1960 Indus Water Basin Treaty, signed at a time when India and Pakistan both had abundant water, is now outdated. A new agreement is required. Tensions such as those that exist over dam construction on the Indus River by India need to be eradicated by creating an environment within which an amicable formula can be devised. This is the only way forward. The alternative is disastrous. We also need to build greater inter-provincial trust, create cooperation based on justice and promote the notion that water is a precious resource which must not be wasted or contaminated in any way.
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Reopening the supply routes
May 16th, 2012


For nearly six months, Pakistan has been holding out on reopening Nato’s supply route into Afghanistan until an unconditional apology was given for the Salala attack. Who knew that being refused an invitation to a Nato summit in Chicago was all it would take for us to change our minds? While the decision to allow Nato the use of the supply route is a wise one, it does raise a lot of questions, especially the way in which it was handled. For one, we have to ask ourselves if the incalculable damage done to ties with the US was worth it, especially since our demand for an apology was ultimately dropped. By allowing this issue to fester for so long, the government has also ensured that the right wing parties will now make political hay by taking out large street protests against the opening of the supply route. Nato trucks had always been targeted for attack by militants; by imbuing them with such symbolic significance the government has only made them even bigger targets of attack.

The sudden reversal also reflects poorly on the government’s position with regard to the military; this is clearly a military-approved decision. The men in khaki were seen coming and going from the presidency on May 14, suggesting that the resumption of supplies to Afghanistan could only be permitted with army approval. The US and its Nato allies, meanwhile, in a sign of where the true centre of power resides, conducted most of its meetings on the issue with the military. We have now also seen what the government thinks of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS). Among the many recommendations made by the PCNS, it suggested that supply routes only be reopened after negotiating a cessation of drone attacks with the US. That has clearly not happened, showing that the rest of parliament’s suggestions are also unlikely to be followed.

No matter how convoluted or unnecessary the process, at least in the end the right decision was made. If Pakistan wants to have any stake in post-war Afghanistan it will have to play ball with the US for now. It’s far better that we participate in the Chicago Summit than be cut out of the process altogether.


Suffering in silence

May 16th, 2012


The troubles and travails of the people of North Waziristan seem unending. Residing in a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban and frequented by drones, clashes, curfews and tensions are nothing new for residents. However, to add to their torment, the region has just been hit by a measles epidemic, which has already claimed the lives of 12 children and a man in the last three weeks.

According to local doctors, 70 more cases have been confirmed in hospitals. Though the disease can be potentially fatal, it can be prevented through proper vaccinations. Local medical staff at the hospital in Miramshah, the agency headquarters, has said that each year they face merely one or two deaths from measles. This too is considered a high number, given that timely inoculation can prevent unnecessary deaths from measles. The problem in North Waziristan arises from the fact that the highly militarised situation prevents the movement of vaccination teams. In addition, prolonged power outages contribute to difficulties in storing the vaccine, while blockades along roads make it hard to get required medicines into the area. It is of course a terrible tragedy that ordinary people, most of them children, should suffer due to no fault of their own.

The prevalent situation in North Waziristan is an indication of the impact the ongoing conflict is having on the lives of ordinary people. The situation is unacceptable and urgent measures are required to remedy it. In today’s world, no child should die of measles simply because they are unable to obtain the necessary vaccination. The tragedy that is taking place in the north of our country needs to be prevented. The people in the conflict zone need to be treated as ordinary citizens and given the rights which others in the country enjoy. The fact that this is not happening is a direct result of the fighting. They have lived with the consequences of such violence for too long. It is time to bring their suffering to an end.


‘Grooming’ verdict

May 16th, 2012


The conviction of nine men for committing sex crimes in Britain has once again thrown the Muslim community abroad into the spotlight. Though the British press has been doing a commendable job of covering the conviction objectively and trying to delink this heinous crime from any particular religion or nationality, we cannot totally buy the argument that race, culture or belief had no role to play in this disturbing incident.

Eight of the nine men found guilty of being members of a child sexual exploitation gang are of Pakistani origin. One of the men is of Afghan origin. The men acted together for years to sexually exploit girls as young as 13 years, using alcohol, food and drugs to ensure their continued compliance. The ‘grooming gang’ was able to abuse girls without detection owing to the fact that the girls targeted often came from troubled backgrounds, thus could not turn to trusted elders for guidance or support. Furthermore, the British police failed to act on a tip-off a few years ago fearing that they would be accused of discrimination.

All that aside, one must investigate whether the regressive attitude towards women that is so common in Pakistan and Afghanistan pushed these men into believing they could use young girls as pawns in their pursuit for pleasure. It cannot be denied that in some settings, men from this part of the world look down on those women who they believe don’t abide by strict interpretations of women’s religiously sanctioned roles. In fact, men raised with these beliefs about women tend to justify such perverse action through abuse. Following this incident, the Pakistani community in Britain should reassess how well it spreads the message of tolerance, justice and respect for the law among its members. Rather than feeling victimised or maligned by media attention surrounding the issue, the community must use this opportunity to create awareness in an effort to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
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Going to Chicago

May 17th, 2012


Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has invited President Asif Ali Zardari to the historic gathering of over 60 world leaders in Chicago on May 20 and 21 to resolve the Afghan issue before the Nato forces start leaving Afghanistan. President Zardari is said to have accepted the invitation as per earlier negotiations to finally resolve the deadlock which developed at the end of 2011 between the US and Pakistan and which had led to Pakistan boycotting the 2011 Bonn Summit.

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet has given the go ahead to lift the almost six-month-long blockade on Nato supplies passing through the country, an issue that had brought US-Nato relations with Pakistan to their lowest. A consensual but abnormally slow-grinding process, producing a set of recommendations took the country’s foreign policy out of the ambit of normal diplomacy. After realising — despite a lot of ‘patriotic’ commentary by angry analysts — that letting parliament in on foreign policy was an excessive step, the establishment finally decided to go back to tried-and-tested diplomacy.

Parliament had front-loaded two issues that were pre-eminently suited for diplomatic negotiation and likely to give Pakistan an upper hand, had diplomacy not been undercut by emotional representatives of the people equally driven by an emotional establishment: drone attacks and an apology by the US on the Salala incident. Thus, Pakistan needlessly tested the limits of its power and influence as a frontline state only to find that relying on emotion and notions of honour, instead of reason and logic, to determine such an important policy matter was a route that it should never have adopted.

The Bonn conference on Afghanistan in December last year bore no significant results, which was no surprise. Pakistan had stayed away, the Iranians attended but were rather tentative in their commitment, aid donors had held back to see what other aid donors would do, and Afghan president Hamid Karzai had painted a discouraging picture of what looked like indefinite dependence of his country on international largesse. The timing of the Bonn summit was bad. Pakistan-US relations had hit rock bottom, though everybody still recognised that Pakistan remained the most important of the regional players. America’s relations with Iran were bad then and remain bad this time too, unless Teheran reformulates its stance. Is there a window of opportunity for Pakistan to do some give-and-take on Afghanistan to get the US-Nato approval on the Iranian gas pipeline? Another topic on which the popular feeling in Pakistan is quite intense. First China and then Russia — both sanctions-busters vis-à-vis Iran — have backed out of constructing the pipeline on the Pakistani side.

It is time we became realistic about the conduct of Pakistan’s foreign policy and realised that Afghanistan is a nettlesome issue on which we don’t have a coherent policy except for that embarrassing and only half-heartedly claimed doctrine of “strategic depth”. High-ranking officers of the army serving in the field against Taliban terrorists have said that Pakistan would be in trouble if the Taliban took over again in Kabul. Equally, past decisions have put Pakistan at cross-purposes with the anti-Taliban elements in Afghanistan called the Northern Alliance.

Both the drone and “apology” issues have to be recalibrated away from the high passion of the various state and non-state actors in Pakistan. Regaining mutual confidence — which should be properly anointed by suitable assistance to Pakistan to save its economy from going belly-up — is the goal in the achievement of which the Bonn summit should have been a useful locus for Pakistan. Pakistan has broken out of suicidal isolation by a last-minute bout of sanity. Both parliament and the military should step back and see what they did and how they could have done things differently, especially given that in the end Pakistan got neither an apology from the Americans, nor a halt to the drone attacks.


Long road home

May 17th, 2012


After 20 years, eminent virologist Dr Khalil Chishty has finally returned to Pakistan. Dr Chishty’s family was settled in India at the time of Partition but he had decided to stay on in Karachi where he was a student. In 1992, he undertook a trip to Jaipur to meet his ailing mother. Soon after his arrival in India, Dr Chishty got embroiled in a family feud which resulted in the death of a family member. He ended up behind bars and remained there for a fearfully long time before being convicted of murder charges awarded to him in January last year.

Fortunately, human rights groups in India petitioned for his release, on the grounds of both his health and age, being 82 years old. The Indian Supreme Court granted bail in April this year. His case was also pleaded by President Asif Ali Zardari during his recent visit to Ajmer Sharif, followed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking due notice. Even though it took two decades, humanity eventually prevailed, with Dr Chishty being granted permission by the Indian Supreme Court to return home till the date of his next hearing in November this year.

Dr Chishty was received with official protocol in Islamabad, where the president’s plane was used to fly him across the border. While delight reigns in the Chishty household, other unfortunate Indians and Pakistanis held in jails of either country continue to suffer. Dr Chishty has said he will be visiting one such Indian national, Sarabjit Singh, who has served 22 years in a Pakistani jail. Diplomatic efforts are going on for his sentence to be reduced to life imprisonment. Such proactive measures by the governments of both India and Pakistan indicate that we may be witness to more cordial and healthy relations between the two neighbours in the future and this comes as a pleasant change to the otherwise hostile ties that have been adopted in the past. The move is also a symbol of hope for those prisoners who await trial in either country.
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Emotion and logic

May 18th, 2012


Now that the six-month standoff with the US over Nato supply routes finally seems to be over, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that in the future the government will not make decisions which are “emotional”. This was a tacit admission that Pakistan may indeed have taken steps that could be justified only as a matter of honour and not as policy decisions. By some estimates, Pakistan will earn up to one million dollars a day from the 600 or so Nato trucks that will ply our roads daily and also have over a billion dollars released from the coalition support fund that were due to us. Discarding emotions, it seems, has immediate financial effects.

In this case, taking a calm decision over the future of our relations with the US was certainly the right thing to do. But more than the civilian government, it is the establishment which needs to learn this lesson. For too long now, it has been guided by pure emotion rather than strategic concerns. From the occupation of Siachen to the insistence on asking the US for an apology for the Salala killings, it seems as if the whole issue of honour was being managed (to use a euphemism) by the military establishment. That has meant a lot of emotional chest-thumping and rhetoric when what was really needed was realism and pragmatism. The military, too, would do well to heed the prime minister’s sensible words in the future.

The country as a whole, in fact, could do with a lot less emotion. Phenomena like honour killings stem from emotion, not rationality. The anti-Americanism that permeates our body politic is again spurred by an emotional sense that the US is our enemy. We come to that conclusion without rationally considering the political and financial benefits of an alliance with the US or ever look at the damage our country would suffer should we completely break off ties with the Americans. These are decisions that need to be carefully considered because their effects will be felt for a number of years. One slight to our honour should not be enough for us to take emotional decisions that we will eventually come to regret.


Our declining sense of humour
May 18th, 2012


It has long been said that people are able to survive in the face of depression or morbidity by employing humour. The same is true for those who live in Pakistan and its ever-present problems. We crack jokes at our own plight and this process somewhat eases the angst we face. But it seems that we might be losing this trait as well. Have we become so intolerant and dour that we are no longer able to laugh at ourselves, or accept a joke? Certainly, there is evidence that this is indeed the case.

A caricature of JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, drawn by fine arts students in an exhibition at the Nishtar Hall in Peshawar, was pulled off the wall and removed from display. It showed the leader stepping out from a lamp and this was apparently offensive to some political leaders. At least, one other caricature was removed for similar reasons. The young artists involved, including the girls, who projected the Maulana the way they saw him have expressed disappointment and said they are upset by the removal of their canvases. The action taken hardly goes to encourage artistic expression. Indeed, curbing expression amounts to a form of unacceptable censorship of opinion and goes against the basic grain of human rights as protected in our land.

More seriously, it exhibits a diminishing sense of tolerance. A nation that is not able to laugh at its flaws cannot be expected to progress. Satirical shows which have depicted figures ranging from the Queen of England to prime ministers have been popular television hits in many nations. The fact that we cannot accept a drawing of a political figure shows the kind of intolerance that is breeding in our country. Somehow, we need to rediscover this lost sense of humour and use it to our advantage in these difficult times. Caricatures, cartoons and drawings can often say more than words. They create awareness of the realities and highlight the perception of the people. Those concerned should draw on the positives instead of curbing the right to expression.


Rabid dogs

May 18th, 2012


We are told that in Karachi, around 40 people suffering dog bites visit the rabies centre set up at the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) daily. Others report to the hospital upon being bitten or extensively scratched by stray animals. The JPMC is one of the few locations in the country which has the required vaccines to prevent victims from developing rabies and is able to offer them the immediate treatment they need. Of course, the problem of dog biting exists in many cities all over the country. Yet the shortage of rabies vaccine is reported regularly and is most often not available at all in rural areas.

The issue, however, is not to do with the unavailability of the vaccine alone, but of the number of stray animals roaming our streets. Apart from occasional drives to kill them, nothing substantial is done to reduce their population. Even the means used to inflict death are extremely cruel. The poison used — strychnine — causes the animal extreme suffering once consumed. It is fed to them wrapped in meat or gulab jamuns. Instead of trying to hunt down and kill dogs, the authorities concerned need to find means to lower dog populations.

There are charities ready to set up animal shelters in the country where stray dogs and cats can be nurtured, spayed and possibly rehoused in some cases. Of course, a number of sick animals will need to be put down. But if we are to stop the spread of rabies, it is also vital that measures be taken to try and wipe out the disease by vaccinating animals and making our country rabies free. This is no easy task but it needs to be undertaken. Likewise, people need to be made aware of how to prevent animal bites. Approaching or teasing stray dogs is obviously asking for trouble. Only a unified strategy can eliminate rabies and, indeed, stop the spread of other infections caused by bites.
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Leaping forward

May 19th, 2012


After a period of what seemed like absolute dormancy, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has suddenly sprung into action initiating an inquiry against the Sharif brothers in a money laundering case, worth $32 million, dating back to the 1990s. The brothers will also be investigated for a case in which they allegedly took bank loans worth some Rs4.9 billion for the same period. This is not the only spurt of hyperactivity from the Bureau. After a meeting with General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NAB Chief Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari has ordered a probe into the National Logistic Cell (NLC) scandal, while simultaneously setting up investigation charges against two sitting federal ministers from Balochistan.

No doubt, it is good news that corruption, which has plagued deep into the system, is finally being investigated. However, one wonders why these cases were not taken up earlier, especially since the Bureau was aware of their existence. Given the present strained relations between the PPP and the PML-N, the latter will certainly sound out the familiar cry of victimisation, which has been heard multiple times before; both in the context of NAB and other accountability bodies, such as the Ehtehsab Bureau which ran under the Sharif brothers. In fact, this has been an important reason why previous attempts to investigate corruption cases have failed repeatedly and as a result, accountability bodies have earned little or no credibility.

Comments made by President Asif Ali Zardari to practise total impartiality in the NLC scandal, further strengthens belief that this will most likely not be the case this time around. This is rather unfortunate since there is no denying that we need accountability. Corruption and money laundering by officials has corroded the system and brought our nation on the brink of collapse. We also need able bodies that can stand above politics and victimisation. This is where we have failed repeatedly on previous occasions. The sudden spurt of activity by NAB is already under scrutiny. For this reason it is vital that it be carried out in a manner which is transparent and impartial so there is no finger-pointing.


Rupert Murdoch’s fate

May 19th, 2012


In a cautionary tale for media barons around the world, the continued crumbling of Rupert Murdoch’s empire only gathered pace with his trusted lieutenant Rebekah Brooks facing criminal charges over the phone-hacking scandal. Despite all his wealth and power, Murdoch has not been able to get away with the rampant lawbreaking that seemed to be an inherent part of the culture at News Corp and a parliamentary committee has even declared him unfit to head the company. At the centre of the investigations into the phone-hacking scandal has been the Leveson Inquiry, which has questioned Murdoch and other executives in a public inquiry that has been televised.

For years, Murdoch was able to keep the bloodhounds at bay, thanks to the influence he had over the political elite. Now, however, politicians are turning against Murdoch in droves. This is partly due to the public nature of the Leveson Inquiry. Seeing the evasiveness of Murdoch on live television surely turned public opinion against him as did revelations of just how close he was to politicians of every stripe and ideology. Particularly damning was the testimony of Sir Harold Evans, who served as editor under Murdoch for a year after he took over The Times of London. Evans painted the portrait of a controlling, conniving liar who could not possibly have been unaware of the shenanigans taking place under his watch.

There are lessons to be learned here for Pakistan, too. We are currently in the midst of two vital inquiries: the ones looking into the Abbottabad raid and the memogate commission. Both these commissions are dealing with matters of national interest but, likely through lethargy, they seem to have made very little progress. Bringing them under the glare of television spotlights — as has been the case with the Leveson Inquiry — may speed up the process. It would also ensure that witnesses have even greater incentive to tell the truth, knowing that the public is watching. Even Murdoch’s influence has not been enough to save him; now we should give our own sacred cows the same treatment.


Accidents in the air

May 19th, 2012


The collision of two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft in Nowshera that killed all four pilots on board raises serious questions about the safety of the PAF’s fleet. Not only was this the second incident in a week, it was also the sixth in the last seven months where PAF aircraft have suffered serious accidents. After all this unnecessary loss of life, now may be the time to seriously address safety concerns about our ageing fleet. Due to sanctions placed by the US for much of the 1990s, the PAF fleet is mostly made up of local and Chinese aircraft. Some of the aircraft that precede the 1990s, such as the Mirage, are more than 30 years old. In the case of the Mirage, the PAF has to keep the aircraft operational even though production of some components ceased many years ago because it is now part of our nuclear deterrent. And indeed, it was a Mirage that crashed near Karachi earlier this week while on a routine mission.

In 2004, Pakistan bought 50 Mirage planes and a huge quantity of spare parts from the Libyan government, making it the world’s largest operator of Mirage aircraft. However, the Libyan military had been in considerable disarray when sanctions were imposed after the Lockerbie bombing and so it is unclear just how well-maintained and safe these aircraft are. In recent years, thanks to the resumption of sales from the US, the PAF has been able to update its fleet with the C-130E Hercules and F-16 fighter jets but many of the older aircraft are still in use and safety will continue to be a major issue.

It is not enough that the PAF be operationally-ready; it owes it to its pilots and other servicemen that the aircraft be as safe as possible. This means regular checks and an assurance that no shortcuts will be taken in maintaining the aircraft. With such a patchy safety record at present, servicemen will be filled with doubts when they use aircraft in PAF’s fleet. This fear and doubt is likely to impact their performance in the skies. Therefore, for purely tactical reasons, ensuring safety should become the number one priority for the PAF.
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Battling the monster of sectarianism
May 20th, 2012


The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), the constitutional body on the Islamic status of the country’s laws, seeks to organise a movement against the sweeping threat of sectarian violence in the country. This follows the blowback to the killings of Shias in Karachi and elsewhere which have of late been followed by targeted killings of prominent Deobandi clerics. Since the CII is being chaired by a well-known Deobandi leader of the JUI-F, a wide spectrum of religio-political parties have agreed to attend the meeting devoted to roll back sectarianism and, in particular, the tit-for-tat killings that one has seen in recent years.

According to Qazi Hussain Ahmed, former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami, nearly 40 religious leaders will attend the conference. He has made it clear that there is no target entity in front of the session: it will not be opposed to the Defence of Pakistan Council headed by the Jamaatud Dawa and the foremost self-declared sectarian “tanzeem”, Sipah-e-Sahaba with a merely changed name, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat. It will be titled ‘Ummah Unity and Islamic Solidarity’ and it will address concerns arising out of the incidence of sectarian killings in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Karachi and some tribal agencies. According to the former JI chief, “religious scholars will try to extinguish the fire of sectarianism and save innocent lives”.

Welcome as the conference is in this environment of helplessness, the dice are loaded against it if you look at the record of past such efforts. Every year, clerics of all denominations get together before the onset of Muharram to vow peace within Pakistan, but usually to little avail. In fact, the last time such a meeting was held in Lahore it ended with more conflict; and the convening authority, the well-meaning PML-N government, became the target of vituperative attacks from both the brawling sides. Will the clerics succeed this time? When the CII was headed by a non-clerical scholar, it made no headway. Perhaps, this time the more powerful elements from the JUI-F and the grand Deobandi consensus will achieve something.

A fact recognised by all in Pakistan is that the people of the country are not sectarian-minded. Before jihad took hold of Pakistan and extremist clerics became threatening, there was considerable harmony between the sects. Muharram was not the season of sectarian violence and mayhem. Today, the world understands that the intensification of the sectarian feeling among the clerics is actually a result of a war relocated from Pakistan’s neighbourhood in the Gulf. And the wheels of this evil war are anointed with generous funding which goes into seminaries that teach hatred rather than peace. Will the Ummah conference succeed in persuading the various clerical formations to give up violence against one another? We hope that it will not end routinely by calling on the government to take steps that we all know it has lost the capacity to take.

Terrorist organisations, like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, will take a lot of persuasion by the elders who will gather in Islamabad under the aegis of the CII. The killers have been at it for the past several decades; and Qazi Hussain Ahmad knows it better than anyone else. His efforts to prevent violence against the diplomats of Iran in the 1990s had borne no fruit. His successor, Dr Munawar Hasan, is also wedded to the anti-sectarian creed of the founder of the Jamaat and should be seen, in this context, as a positive force for the achievement of the group’s objective. We know that the JUI chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, too, holds moderate views and has not paid heed to the viciously sectarian groups that arose in Jhang and nearby districts of Punjab in the mid-1980s, not a little encouraged by then military ruler General Ziaul Haq.

The truth is that the genie of sectarianism got out of its bottle in the Middle East and hopefully will be bottled there in some future time and at the risk of some states disappearing from the scene. But in Pakistan, the genie is out and wreaking havoc because of the declining writ of the state which started declining over a quarter century ago when Pakistan embraced proxy jihad and used religious fanatics as cannon fodder.


Children in extreme distress
May 20th, 2012


It is hard to even being to imagine what thoughts were running through the mind of an 11-year-old child, who obtained petrol, poured it over himself and set himself alight in front of his school to put a tragic end to his life. We are increasingly hearing of cases where teenagers, or those even younger, are committing suicide. Though the reasons may be numerous, there is clear evidence of the anxieties that these children undergo. As a nation, we appear to be raising a generation of depressed children who are turning to drastic measures in order to find respite.

Muhammad Umar, a student of class six at a government school in Faisalabad, died at a local hospital because he had suffered 90 per cent burns. It is unfortunate that his young life ended in great pain and at his own hands. He missed school for two days, following which he was reprimanded and physically abused by a teacher at the school. Umar had been asked by the teacher to bring his father along, but he declined to go. Perhaps, despondent, the child committed self-immolation. Local education officials say that Umar played truant often. Following the incident, the teacher concerned has been suspended and an inquiry into the death has been ordered by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. We suspect that this is about as far as any progress will be made in this quest to seek justice. Similar inquiries have been ordered before and they have not led to any definite conclusions.

The questions that need to be answered go far beyond the immediate incident. The conditions prevailing in government schools need to be improved so that children like Umar are not reluctant to attend them. Corporal punishment along with worse kinds of abuse continue at schools, despite a ban — this practice ought to be stopped immediately. Other youngsters before Umar have killed themselves by hanging, poisoning or other means children ought not to even be familiar with. This death and the situation in general is reflective of our overall social condition. Unless this is altered, we will continue to see more death and tragedies similar to the one we have just witnessed in Faisalabad.
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Unrest in Karachi

May 21st, 2012


For the various incidents of target killing in Karachi over the last week or so that have resulted in the loss of over two dozen lives, a resumption of violence would be a misnomer. In Karachi, it seems violence never goes away entirely, it just ebbs and flows with no discernible pattern. What makes all this bloodletting so frustrating is that everyone knows that both the fault and the solution lies with the city’s warring political parties and the criminal gangs they control and patronise. For the last few months, a new wrinkle has been added to this political fighting as the PPP, which has always enjoyed support in Lyari, has been locked in an internecine battle. The People’s Amn Committee, founded with the support of the PPP, has now turned away from the party and, as is always the case in Karachi, is voicing its disagreements with guns.

Meanwhile, activists of the MQM have been among the worst hit in the latest bout of violence. And if we know anything about the MQM, it is that they will hit back with even greater force. This means that the city should brace for further, even bloodier, violence in the days ahead. Apart from the devastating loss of life, the country’s economic hub will continue to suffer unsustainable financial losses. Soon, if there isn’t a significant stop in bloodletting, people will begin clamouring for the paramilitary Rangers to take matters into their own hands. What we all know is that shoot-to-kill orders and military involvement only compounds the problems in the city.

The obvious solution would be for the city’s political parties to abandon the battlefield and take to the negotiating table. This is unlikely to happen as all the various political actors find it easier to maintain control of their areas at the barrel of a gun. Cooler heads need to prevail at the centre, with the leaders of the PPP, the MQM and the ANP calling on their Karachi lieutenants to cease and desist. Karachi is too important to the rest of the country for this to be a purely local issue.


Facebook’s public listing

May 21st, 2012


That the stock market moves in mysterious ways was shown again on May 18 as the initial public offering (IPO) by Facebook was nowhere near as successful as most people had expected. The share price for the social networking behemoth barely budged from its opening price of $38, ending up just a few pennies above that price. This could partly be explained by hubris. The IPO may have overestimated just how much people were willing to pay for Facebook shares, especially since the initial price was wildly out of sync with the profitability of the company. And while Facebook relies predominantly on advertising for its revenues, it has not been anywhere as successful as its competitor Google in convincing users to click on those ads.

None of this is to say that Facebook is not a successful company on a strong footing. Its profits in 2011 exceeded one billion dollars and there is no reason to think those numbers cannot be maintained. But the IPO should lead to some humility in the company, which has come to see itself not just as the future of the internet but the future of the world too. Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg has continually innovated with new ideas and he will have to be on his best game for the company to continue its upward trajectory after going public.

Now might also be a good time for Zuckerberg — whose net worth has jumped to $20 billion after the IPO — and his company to take more seriously the many privacy concerns that have been raised by users and watchdog groups. Facebook has been exceptionally poor in that regard as it has often decided to use content posted by users for its own purposes and has always been lethargic in responding to complaints. In an age of over-sharing where we all have digital lives, privacy should not go out the window. Facebook’s profits are dependent on its user’s date but its morality will only remain intact if it does not take undue advantage of that.


A pointless ban

May 21st, 2012


Like Lazarus, the Pakistan government’s internet censorship efforts keep rising from the dead. In the name of protecting its citizens from blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Ministry of Information Technology decided to ban for around a day social media website Twitter, which has hundreds of thousands of users in Pakistan. Clearly, the ministry needs to change its name since it has no clue how the internet works and its action seems to betray a totalitarian streak. Tens of millions of people use Twitter to share links and photos and post updates. Given the freewheeling nature of Web 2.0, a tiny minority of these users will invariably end up posting items that will not be to the liking of Pakistanis – but does that mean the whole website be banned? Going by the same logic, why not just go ahead and ban the whole internet? (Of course, some bright minds in the IT ministry will think that this can be done!)

As we don’t have much of the world already laughing at us or looking at us in disapproval, we now saw this overreaction of monumental proportions from the government. While the site was eventually unblocked, on orders of the prime minister no less, by Sunday night, the fact remains that the restriction shouldn’t have been imposed to begin with. A plan to build a giant all-encompassing firewall along the lines of the one in China was shelved after a public outcry. For some reason, the website of US-based pop-culture magazine Rolling Stone is still banned.

These bans all reveal that the government is fundamentally insecure and unable to trust its citizens to use the internet. Censorship is a tool of the weak, used to deprive people of information because the government is worried what might be done with that information. Blocking access to information used to be easier in the pre-internet days; now it is doomed to failure. All the government can achieve is making itself look ridiculous by censoring the internet. The fact of the matter is that the government has no right to indulge in such censorship in this day and age, lest it wants to appear as a fool in the eyes of not only the outside world but its own citizens as well.
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