(10th March 2013)

Abbas Town rehabilitation

President Asif Ali Zardari recently ordered Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to initiate plans to arrange apartments for the March 3 Abbas Town bombing victims. He prioritised families with deceased members over families who have injured members. In a country like Pakistan, which has seen hundreds of such events on minor and grand scales, our government should now have a large emergency rehabilitation reserve fund to potentially compensate all citizens because of its inability to protect them from bombings and targeted killings.

Whether the unfortunate victims of the Abbas Town bombings experienced death in the family or not, all residents belonging to the two buildings, as well as surrounding areas and shopkeepers, should receive compensation to, once again, jump-start their households and careers.

The NUST student whose laptop was stolen while the family was at the hospital receiving treatment for injuries should be compensated with a new laptop, as she had diligently saved up her money for a long time to buy one. And there are many other examples like this. Preference cannot merely be given to the deceased. Every resident needs shelter as everyone was affected.

The government failed to provide anyone with security before and after the blasts. Hours after the blasts, looters sought opportunity and left families with a further loss of valuables such as jewellery and cash that could have provided the families with some sense of minor security as they searched for new shelters upon return. What is needed is sustainable cash compensation, perhaps, in periodic instalments after an initial rehabilitation allotment, along with rehabilitation initiatives to establish work for those whose shops were destroyed.

Unfortunately, residents will be unable to return to the buildings at all as the buildings were already old and battered prior to the blasts. What the residents deserve is a modern building with stronger foundations, compliments of those who were unable to protect them from the incident in the first place. And before they return to the area, it must be cleansed of terrorist elements.

The fight against polio

It is tragic that polio, which is easily preventable by vaccination but can cause paralysis and even death if not immunised, has been eliminated around the world except in Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. It is doubly tragic that those valiantly fighting to eliminate it are targeted by militants, who believe killing polio workers somehow protects Islam.

Militants in Pakistan and Nigeria have killed 20 polio health workers in the past three months but it is the hapless people afflicted by polio who are the real victims of these senseless crimes.

According to data from the World Health Organisation, there were 223 cases of polio last year: 122 in Nigeria, 58 in Pakistan and 37 in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, early in 2012, according to a report, India declared itself polio free, proving that where there is a will, there is a way to eradicate this disease.

This will prove essential for WHO, which renewed its resolve on March 8 to press ahead, despite grave threats to health officials, to eradicate polio globally by 2018.

The head of WHO, Dr Bruce Aylward, said on March 8 that his organisation was looking for ways to reduce risk factors for those fighting polio — and this will be of immense import given that militants have upped the ante in their resolve to disallow polio workers from conducting their immunisation programmes.

The Taliban banned polio vaccinations last year, saying it was a ruse to spy on Muslims and suspicions were rife among the public after the publicization of the use of the polio campaign in the Osama bin Laden operation.
Conspiracy theories are also rife in Nigeria, as are violent reactions to polio eradication programmes with 10 people killed in two clinics where polio workers were present in February.

Aylward said the tragedy only strengthens the resolve not just of organisations like WHO but of governments, too, and there are international organisations like the Gates Foundation that are committed to eradicating this deadly disease. Pakistan, thus, has no excuse but to soldier on its fight against polio.

Reviving debate

The Pak Tea House, located in the heart of Lahore, has reopened after almost 13 years. The atmospheric café was for decades known as a place where writers, poets, thinkers and others gathered to discuss various issues — over steaming cups of tea. Students, and even the waiters, participated. Pak Tea House, established before Partition, reached its zenith in the 1960s, when the likes of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi and Munir Niazi gathered there regularly.

The historic café, opened before Partition on premises leased by Sirajuddin from the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), was closed nearly six decades later, in 2000, by his son Zahid Hussain, who converted it into a tyre shop. Now, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has assumed control of the premises, with Hussain losing a court case challenging this.

The YMCA also stated the lease was valid only to run the Pak Tea House. The restaurant was inaugurated on March 8 by Mian Nawaz Sharif. To what extent the revival will succeed is to be seen. Even before it was closed, intellectuals had to a considerable extent moved away; the old spirit had dissipated.

Debate has today, in Lahore, shifted partially to other venues, some set up to replicate Pak Tea House. It is then yet to be seen if the writers, thinkers and men of learning will return to the venue. Such matters are hard to predict, though the presence of men like Intezar Hussain at the opening is encouraging.

The fact that this old haunt stands again is a good omen in many ways — it brings back a part of Lahore that had been lost. In this respect, the initiative taken by the CDGL is also to be welcomed. The initial closure of the café in 2000 had brought protests.

But over time, the matter had been largely forgotten. We will now see how Pak Tea House shapes up in a new and different time and whether it can once more emerge as the centre of intellectual discussion in a city that has changed dramatically through the decades.

(11th March 2013)

Mob madness

Each time an incident of violence against a minority community takes place, we think things cannot get any worse. But they do; we see acts of still greater insanity, still greater brutality — leaving us only to wonder what will come next, who will be targeted and as the head of the New York-based Human Rights Watch has said, when the frenzied mobs will come for us. It is clear we are fast approaching the point where none of us are safe in a land where extremists rule and hatred has overtaken reason.

The happenings at Joseph Colony, at Badami Bagh in Lahore, are hard to even imagine as part of a horror film. Yet they took place in real life. On March 8, a Christian sanitation worker, Sawan, was arrested after being accused of blasphemy a day or so earlier by a Muslim ‘friend’. Many local people say the accusation was false. On March 9, a mob of some 3,000 descended on the colony and torched at least 100 homes. Terrified Christian families fled, some had left immediately after the blasphemy accusation, fearful of what lay ahead.

The expected condemnations have come in. The Punjab chief minister has ordered a judicial inquiry and the restoration of destroyed houses. Around a 100 suspects have been arrested. And the optimistic can hope that this time things will be different. But in actual fact we all know this means very little. We have seen such actions before, and we have watched silently, motionlessly as the blasphemy issue gets more and more out of hand.

One reason for this is the fact that no one has been punished for past offences. No one has been convicted for the 2009 burning of Christian homes in a Gojra Colony, in which eight Christians were burnt alive. Yes, last year Rimsha Masih, the teenage Christian girl with Down’s Syndrome falsely accused by a cleric was set free, but hundreds of Christians who fled their village on Islamabad’s outskirts as a result of the accusation remain in a miserable camp, unable to return. This is then what our nation has come to – and salvation seems nowhere in sight.

Treating HIV

A news that a baby in the US was cured of HIV has led to lots of speculation that the virus may become completely treatable. That seems like a bit of a stretch right now. The circumstances in this case were unique, with the virus detected early enough to aggressively treat it. Already, in most cases, doctors can prevent the transmission of the virus from mother to child through the use of drugs and by not allowing breastfeeding. As heartening as this case is, its application to other HIV patients will be minimal.

We should also keep in mind that AIDS should no longer be the killer that it once was in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, the emergence of antiretroviral therapies has ensured that those with HIV/AIDS do not have a significantly shorter lifespan than others. The problem, essentially, has been one of distribution. A significant majority of the world’s AIDS/HIV-afflicted population lives in sub-Saharan Africa, where antiretroviral drugs can be hard to come by because of the cost. It is the job of international health organisations and governments to ensure that every patient has access to the treatment he or she requires. Ameliorating the effects of AIDS just requires will and education.

Both these attributes are sadly missing in Pakistan. We do not even have any idea how many affected patients there are in the country, with estimates ranging from the ludicrously low figure of 14,000 to the more plausible 125,000 people. Out of this, only about 1,000 people are currently receiving free treatment. We, as a country, have ignored the AIDS epidemic. Not only have we refused to help those who are infected, the government has also done very little to educate the rest of the country on HIV/AIDS — how to take precautions against being infected and what to do once you have been infected. Religious and social taboos have made this task even harder. As Pakistanis, waiting for a miracle cure is the last thing we should be doing; education is far more important.

Safety for sports

Sri Lanka is the one country, above any other, which has the moral authority to refuse to send sports teams to Pakistan. It was only four years ago that its cricket team was attacked by militants as it made its way to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Since then, Pakistan has essentially become a sporting pariah, with very few countries willing to play here. A proposed cricket Twenty20 league was postponed and will likely end up being cancelled because there simply aren’t enough international cricketers willing to take the risk of playing in Pakistan. Now, the Sri Lankan throwball team has cancelled its visit to Pakistan due to the violence in Karachi, which is a combination of both militant violence as well as that between political parties.

Instead of bemoaning how international teams do not want to play in Pakistan, we should be trying to reform ourselves. Building hotels inside stadiums may get the occasional team to play here but it is no long-term solution. Ultimately, this will require making Pakistan a safe enough country to visit. This means defeating the militant menace. The one country that we can use as an example is, ironically, Sri Lanka itself. Tamil Tiger violence led many teams to cancel tours to the country and, on at least two occasions, an abrupt end to a cricket series after a bombing. Now, Sri Lanka, after a long and bloody military campaign, is no longer a centre of political violence. We cannot risk a foreign team visiting Pakistan to be targeted or caught up in a militant attack. Were that to happen again, international sports in the country may never recover. It is better for us to accept the unlikelihood of countries sending their sports persons here and understand that winning back the trust of the international community will require many years. Militants have repeatedly shown in their attacks on cricketers, the military and politicians that there is no such thing as foolproof security. We cannot, in good conscience, expect foreigners to feel safe here, especially when we live in such a permanent state of insecurity ourselves.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(12th March 2013)

Shock waves from insanity

Across Lahore, and indeed reverberating into many other cities, shock and rage continue over the arson attack committed at Joseph Colony on March 9, following an allegation of blasphemy against one of the residents of the Christian locality. Protests have been staged countrywide and a fund-raising drive began for the victims, who lost homes and all their possessions in the frenzied attack during which, at least, 100 homes were burnt. Tragic stories are emerging: a bride saw her dowry plundered and burnt on her wedding day; a schoolboy about to sit exams lost every book he possessed. The Rs500,000 announced as compensation for each family by the Punjab government will not heal all the scars.

In the city, enraged protesters clashed with the police at some points as the Metro Bus Service was attacked. Eye-witnesses also say that the police merely watched when the arson took place, doing nothing to stop the mob, which included many clerics. It must be pointed out that the Punjab government should have anticipated these protests and taken pre-emptive measures to control the violence. The police have now claimed to have arrested some of the protesters though it remains to be seen if they will be convicted.

Meanwhile, fingers are also being pointed at the Punjab government. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights has suggested its links with extremists were a factor in what transpired. The inspector general of Punjab Police has been summoned before the Committee. In Peshawar, PTI chief Imran Khan has also said that the attack could have been prevented by the provincial government. The police in the city had seen the frenzy build but failed to react. The suo-motu notice of the matter taken by the Supreme Court should also bring more facts to light. It is becoming clear that there are many things we need to tackle head on if other incidents of a similar nature are to be prevented in the future. Perhaps, the protests that are taking place can help bring this about. But to do so effectively, we also need to deal with extremism on a wider level, while investigating the land mafia involvement in Joseph Colony and the terrible acts that took place there, tearing communities apart with each such incident.

Missing Persons

The Balochistan conflict has caused too many casualties. The military, in its many operations against the separatists, has made a habit of killing and abducting anyone suspected of being a separatist. Where the dispute arises is over just how many people are “missing”, a euphemism for being held by the military. A judicial commission looking into the matter puts the number at 621, while Baloch nationalists claim that the figure is closer to 23,000.

We do not know which figure is accurate since we have no idea how many people have been picked up by the military. None of this, however, changes the fact that not a single person should be illegally detained by any government entity.

On top of that, the bodies of two men who have gone missing from Balochistan showed up in Karachi, an occurrence that has become all too frequent. The judicial commission on Balochistan has been a useful venue for airing out grievances and showing just how much the military is hated by nationalists for its suppression of the Baloch.

But on its own, it is unlikely to achieve much. The nationalists do not trust the judges, while the military has no interest in being submitted to justice. Ultimately, accountability for the actions of the military should go all the way to the top but in Pakistan today, there is simply no chance that the chief of army staff will defend his conduct in open court.

The military is not used to accountability and it isn’t about to start having its actions questioned now. Quite rightly, the Baloch are not about to come to the negotiating table as long as the military refuses to own up to past misdeeds and demonstrates a genuine commitment to peace in the province.

Separatist sentiment is continually on the rise in Balochistan and this, above all, can be attributed to the military and its draconian actions, including the abduction of anyone suspected of having nationalist tendencies. Forced disappearances and torture are not about to give the Baloch hope in the future of Pakistan.

Policing priorities

In the times we live in, law and order has obviously become a primary concern. But despite the schemes announced, the promises made, things seem to keep sliding from bad to worse. Policing is in disarray and there is a complete lack of public confidence in the abilities of the force. What are the reasons for this, and what has gone wrong?

The answer may be simpler than we had thought. It seems to lie, to a very considerable extent, in the inability and unwillingness to persist with policies and the desire of officials posted in top positions to pursue plans of their own, rather than consolidating and building on those begun by their predecessors. In this thinking, based it seems on ego and a desire to show they are “best”, these officials emulate our politicians, with new governments abandoning work begun by the former. Notably, through the 1990s we were, as a result, left with half-built roads, incomplete irrigation channels and other absurdities.

The IGs posted to head the police in Islamabad appear to have acted in a similar way, with only a few of the initiatives introduced since 2000 surviving. Those that have collapsed or been disbanded, either as a result of changed policies by a new IG or an end to funding, include gender crime units, women’s police stations and peace committees. Given this background, there can be no assurance that the modern reporting sections now being set up, with US help, at a cost of Rs2.2 million each, will survive a change in police leadership.

This lack of continuity is disturbing. It is a major factor in the poor governance we see, and explains why so little seems to work out well. It cannot do so, given the limited time factors involved. This approach needs to change if we are to see an improvement in police performance, and better service for the many people who require this force in one matter or the other, at some point in their lives.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(13th March 2013)

Pipeline priority

Despite vociferous objections raised by the US, Pakistan and Iran have boldly gone ahead and inaugurated the gas pipeline, which is to bring in much-needed gas from Iran to meet Pakistan’s pressing energy requirements. The pipeline was inaugurated by presidents Asif Ali Zardari and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Chabahar on the Pakistan-Iran border, from where the pipeline will cross over into Pakistan. It will then travel 781 kilometres across its territory, bringing in the energy Pakistan so desperately needs to get its factories working again to full capacity, containing the economic crisis that has arisen from the energy shortfall, meeting the needs of domestic users and generally, getting the wheels that run the state whirring once again.

The project, which will cost Pakistan $1.5 billion, must therefore be welcomed wholeheartedly. It could, and should, prove crucial for the future of our country. Indeed, perhaps it should have been put in place sooner given the losses we have suffered in so many forms as a result of the energy shortfall which has continued for years. But even beyond this, there are reasons to celebrate with the two presidents who jointly raised their hands at the inauguration ceremony. The pipeline helps re-establish Pakistan’s sovereignty at a time when it stands badly dented. It also shows that Pakistan is willing to put its own interests ahead of all others, as indeed it should, and stand tall despite the pressures exerted by Washington. For this, the president and the government deserve credit. They have demonstrated that we are capable of putting ourselves first when making decisions.

The signing of the pipeline deal is also important for reasons beyond this. For one, it binds the region closer together — and such regional cooperation is vital for development and for progress in several areas. Islamabad and Tehran have shown that they understand this and as such, the pipeline deal could usher in cooperation in other areas binding nations closer together, thereby making it more possible for them to put the needs of their people at the very top of the priority list.

Dilapidated schools

Recently, the Supreme Court ordered a survey of the conditions of government schools in Sindh. To no one’s surprise, the over 100 government schools included in the survey were found to be in dismal conditions. The schools had no water, no furniture and no bathrooms. In addition, many of the 106 government schools had no electricity, resulting in poor temperature control in the classrooms, which in itself can be disruptive to students’ learning.

Apart from poor physical conditions, administrators of the schools informed the sessions judges carrying out the survey that education department officials required them to regularly pay bribes. If those bribes went unpaid, the officials threatened to transfer teachers elsewhere or sabotage their annual reports. The world over, teachers and administrators commit to students’ learning and academic success as their major goals; that is their primary concern. However, in Pakistan, with its already weak state of education, the officials of our government schools are forced to worry about obtaining basic necessities such as electricity and water. In addition, they have to deal with paying bribes to education department officials. Consequently, students in government schools suffer, creating greater disparity between government and private schools in Pakistan. The worn condition of government schools is not only a phenomenon observable in Sindh; government schools in all other provinces of the country suffer similar conditions.

Clearly, the education department needs to do its job better. However, prior to this, honest officials need to be appointed who will take oaths to faithfully fulfill their roles, all in the interest of Pakistan’s youth and its future. In order to get the attention of officials, perhaps the parents of the youth need to protest and call on the government to fix the conditions of its schools. Once the schools are equipped with basic necessities and replete with better resources for students, we will see our bright youth shine.

Containing North Korea

Former basketball star Dennis Rodman’s recent foray into freelance international negotiation would have been amusing were it not undertaken in a country where the situation is so fraught with deadly possibility. The Chicago Bulls player met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and declared him a friend who is popular with his own people. Rodman was either too ignorant to know or simply did not care that the leader of this totalitarian state is one of the biggest threats to the world who has little concern for his impoverished people. And as bad as the situation has been ever since the Korean War of the 1950s, Kim Jong Un has taken the sabre-rattling to new extremes over the last year.

The North Korean leader’s latest provocation was to unilaterally scrap the armistice which had been in effect since the end of the Korean War. Last year, he had moved a long-range rocket to a launching pad to coincide with a nuclear security summit in South Korea, although the rocket tamely fell to pieces and landed in the sea when it was tested. He has also threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against South Korea, boasted that his country’s missiles can reach the US and also refused to answer South Korean calls on a hotline phone. North Korea is obviously an enormous headache for its neighbour and the US but its nuclear capability essentially shields it from military attack and so, sanctions are the only weapon that can be used against it.

The problem, as always, with sanctions is that they end up hurting the people while doing very little to dislodge the dictatorial government from power. Negotiations have been tried countless times and any agreement has always been short-lived. Kim Jong Un is even more bellicose than his father and has shown no interest in giving up his nuclear capability in return for better relations and the possibility of aid from the US. The only way a dictator can feel safe is if he has the nuclear capability to deter an attack. This is a lesson North Korea seems to have taken to heart.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(14th March 2013)

An independent ECP

As elections draw ever closer, the freedom with which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is able to operate becomes even more important. It will be besieged on all sides by the government, military and other political parties and needs to withstand this pressure. So far, with an assist from the Supreme Court, it has managed to do this relatively well. The Supreme Court has now agreed with the ECP that it has the power to amend nomination forms without the permission of the law ministry and the president. This makes both legal sense — since the ECP has the authority to conduct elections without government interference — as well as common sense, since the president and the law minister are both partisans of the PPP and there is the possibility that they would interfere in the running of the ECP to give their party an electoral advantage.

Allowing the ECP to operate independently becomes even more important once the assemblies are dissolved on March 16 and a caretaker government takes over. If, as some reports suggest, the caretaker set-up includes those who are suspected of fealty to the military, the ECP’s ability to hold free and fair elections will be under threat. It is important that the line in the sand is already drawn and that it is the Supreme Court which has done so, is a good omen for the elections. The apex court is more powerful now than it has ever been before so to have it throw its weight behind the ECP is reassuring.

Since the holding of elections after a democratic government completes its term is unprecedented in Pakistan’s history, there is a tendency to see bogeymen which may not even exist. However, given our past, it is far preferable to be pessimistic and give the ECP whatever power it needs to ensure elections are held on time and without outside interference. Already, the ECP has intervened when it thought the government was spending development funds inappropriately and tried to stop the transfer and hiring of government employees. It will have to become even more stringent once a caretaker set-up, which may have no commitment to democracy, assumes power. The last thing we need is a prolonged caretaker government and the ECP and Supreme Court combine will have to work against that.

Unfair Pay

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has noted that the salary structure of public servants in all categories has become badly distorted. The PAC Chairman, Nadeem Afzal Chan, described the existing situation as “illegal” and “discriminatory”. He also noted that it amounted to a violation of the Constitution and needed to be sorted out, given the discrepancies and injustices created. The PAC, during a hearing — at which officials from the finance ministry and other departments were also present — made special reference to the “take home” amounts awarded to army men and judges far in excess of the scales set out. While Chan commented that additional allowances were valid in the case of military personnel posted at Siachen, given the hardships they faced, such additional amounts should not have been drawn by others.

The findings that emerged during the hearing were interesting — especially so since we hear so little of what goes on in the guarded realm of the judiciary and the military. Army personnel are in some cases pocketing 180 per cent over and above their pay scale. The chief justice of Pakistan’s take-home salary stands at Rs773,328, in addition to all kinds of other perks. The employees of the Supreme Court and high courts also put far more into their bank accounts than a civil servant does, as do those working at the presidency and the prime ministerial secretariat. FBR employees also earn more.

As we learnt from the hearing, the time when the salaries of a judge, a grade 22 civil servant and a lieutenant general were about the same has now gone. Today, a judge is taking around Rs750,000, a lieutenant general Rs375,000, while a civil servant must be content with some Rs250,000. Finance ministry officials confirm the discrepancy. The Planning Commission suggests that it is the task of the establishment division and the human rights division to sort out the mess. It is obviously essential they do so, given the injustice that exists, creating a dangerous imbalance in the system.

Escaped

A recent incident at Civil Hospital Karachi, where two armed men helped a convicted murderer escape from police custody, highlights for the umpteenth time the incompetence of the police. According to news reports, the four policemen on the scene were caught off guard and could do nothing to prevent the escape. They apparently also took the convict outside the hospital and were virtual sitting ducks as the accomplices started firing on them. For allowing this to happen, the policemen should be suspended immediately and an investigation started to determine how the incident took place.

If this incident was an outlier which wasn’t indicative of the police’s general performance, it wouldn’t be quite so worrying. But it has simply become routine for murderers to escape police custody in suspicious circumstances. Gangster Rehman Dakait was able to do so multiple times before he was finally killed in a police shoot-out and it was obvious he used his power and connections to do so. In 2007, terrorist Rashid Rauf was able to escape from police custody in Islamabad despite the fact that his notoriety as a plotter to blow up transatlantic planes should have guaranteed that he be kept secure. More recently, we saw in Lahore how the police were unable to stop an enraged mob form burning down houses of Christians.

Many have noted that police personnel simply have no incentive to risk their lives, given how low their pay is. While it is true that we should be paying our policemen more, it is essential that all police personnel who are derelict in their duty be disciplined for their infractions. This needs to start all the way from the bottom, including cops who stop cars simply to earn bribes and move to the top, where police chiefs need to be held accountable for the performance of their departments. When the police cannot be trusted, people are reluctant to report crimes, leading to a vicious cycle where criminals and murderers can operate with impunity.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(15th March 2013)

Away with the cane

The well-entrenched practice of beating up schoolchildren is on its way to becoming illegal. The National Assembly (NA) on March 12 unanimously passed a bill making corporal punishment illegal at schools. The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2013, tabled by the PML-Q’s Atiya Inayatullah, lays down a prison sentence of one year, a fine of Rs50,000 or both, in case such an act is committed. In addition, the person responsible for the punishment can be charged under separate laws if physical injury occurs. This, of course, has happened in our schools, with children receiving horrendous injuries.

The Bill passed by the NA, which should, we hope, soon become law, is therefore welcome. It was badly needed and comes after similar action in Punjab as well as a resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly. Media programming campaigning against corporal punishment in schools played a part in the legislative action. Beatings at school — and indeed also outside it — are banned in many developed countries and seen as a form of child abuse. Thinking at home is, of course, very different; but it is time a change was brought in it. NGOs working for children’s rights have sought such a ban for a very long time, while parents have, in some cases, taken teachers to court for violently abusing their children. But, of course, most cases of corporal punishment go uncommented on and unnoticed. They occur every day in our schools, both public and private, in one form or the other.

There are specific facts to be looked at. Figures indicate that up to 30 per cent of children drop out of school by the fifth grade because of physical abuse. Child runaways, exposed to all kinds of dangers on the streets, cite physical ill-treatment as a reason for quitting school. The legislation we see is an extremely positive step. But in a society where physical abuse of children is widespread, we also need to build awareness about the damage it causes. The media has the potential to play an active role in this.

A true martyr

Parveen Rehman worked as director of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), serving one of the largest slum communities in the world, and for this work she was murdered in cold blood. Her crime, punishable by a drive-by shooting, was to fight on behalf of some of the poorest citizens in our country against those who would illegally grab their land. She built the essentials of urban living, like drainage, and sought to bring dignity to the lives of those who had been abandoned by the state. Her selfless, tireless work was rewarded not by government awards but by bullets. This is the ultimate fate awaiting those who dare take on the powerful.

It is not known yet who killed Ms Rehman but the nature of the shooting suggests that she was specifically targeted, most probably because of her work. One would like to suggest that the police and the government should immediately take action and find the murderers of one of Karachi’s, and indeed Pakistan’s, most valuable citizens but we have to be realistic here.

There are elements in just about every political party in the city which are involved in the land-grabbing business, either by directly seizing land or through a willingness to accept money and patronage from the land mafia. Expecting those responsible for creating the conditions in which Ms Rehman could be killed to solve her murder is unrealistic. Instead, we are likely to get a false show of anger and determination, followed by a few perfunctory arrests before the case is forgotten and mothballed.

Ms Rehman deserved better but it seems that in Karachi, no one gets what they deserve. Her killers — both those who pulled the trigger and those who ordered the hit — can rest easy knowing that they will be protected.

Meanwhile, there is no one around to guard those who dedicate their lives to public service — a career that is becoming immensely controversial and dangerous in the country. The work of the OPP should continue but now that everyone in the organisation will live in fear, its work may be affected. The reverberations of Parveen Rehman’s murder will continue to be felt for a long time.

Fate of Balochistan

The end of governor’s rule in Balochistan, two months after it was imposed by President Asif Ali Zardari, is unlikely to bring about any significant change in the province. The provincial government’s term is set to expire on April 5 and the assembly will likely be dissolved earlier so that federal and provincial elections are held on the same day. Rather than try to divine what may be ahead, now would be a good time to ask if the imposition of governor’s rule achieved anything tangible in Balochistan. The answer to that would be a resounding no. The action seemed to be taken not to devise a method of fighting sectarian violence in the province but as a PR exercise to show that the federal government was trying to do something about a situation that had spiraled out of control.

The first problem with imposing governor’s rule in Balochistan is that it glossed over the fact that it never even tried to get to the root of the problem. As abysmal as chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani’s tenure has been, it was hardly the primary problem in Balochistan. The chief minister was punished for his lack of action but he essentially ended up being a scapegoat while other actors, such as the intelligence agencies and the FC, got off scot-free.

The war being waged against Shias in Balochistan, and the rest of the country, will only come to an end when all parties concerned stop appeasing or supporting militant groups, directly or indirectly. These groups have been used to muster political support, fight in Kashmir and maintain a working relationship with the Taliban in case of their return to power in Afghanistan. Governor’s rule was never about protecting Shias in Balochistan; now that this charade is over it is time to get serious about this problem. One can only hope that the new provincial government that will be sworn in after the elections will be truly representative of the people of Balochistan, able to get to the root of the problem and able to rid it of the menace of sectarian and ethnic violence.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(16th March 2013)

Election shenanigans

When elections approach, we always see an upsurge in political party activity. It has come this time, too — with much of it rather obviously designed to achieve a boost at polls and draw in those votes which so suddenly achieve crucial significance at such times.

So, what have we been seeing? Let’s take the past few weeks alone. The prime minister, as he reaches the end of his current tenure in office, decided to ignore a ban on providing gas connections to captive power plants for the gas industry. The move is obviously one intended to gain electoral support. The petroleum ministry had allowed new connections for only the domestic and commercial sector, and there had been previous resignations over the issue. Captive power plants, installed within industries, have been deemed notoriously inefficient by experts. The prime ministerial decision, which has raised something of a storm, is clearly intended as a popularity-gaining measure.

There are other moves just like it. The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, which has made waves around the world, is one. Yes, the venture is a good one. It could meet the most vital needs of our country. But the fact that the inauguration took place days before assemblies are due to be dissolved raises the question of whether this is an electoral ploy. Most would say it is. And the same holds true for other pieces of legislation, such as the bill banning corporal punishment at school, pushed through during the very last days of government.

Similar, “pre-poll” activities have been seen elsewhere. In Punjab, a frenzied effort has continued over the last few weeks to complete development work, including the metro bus service in Lahore and a series of road-works initiated in the city. There was obvious concern that if these were left unfinished, it would cost the PML-N government votes as people struggled with dug-up roads, junctions and fly-overs, resulting in massive traffic logjams.

The completion of development initiatives, the pushing through of mega-projects like the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline are, of course, all good for the people. It is, therefore, good news they have been turned into reality. But it is unfortunate that political parties take them up only so late into the day, and in so obvious a fashion. After all, people are not stupid and can recognise “ruses” of this kind. Parties would do themselves much more good by working towards particular ends from the first — initiating moves in the form of legislation and other measures so that these can continue through their term. They must realise that, in the eyes of people, this would win them much more respect and also popularity, proving that they genuinely wish to better the lives of people and not just conduct measures which bring them votes. All parties, notably those who hold government in one place or the other, need to think about this and plan now for the future.

We have seen similar tactics enacted by them in every election. Today, we are told, funds are being doled out to put other steps in place to give parties an edge. This is not the right way to handle matters. Much of what we are seeing now could have come earlier, months earlier, years earlier. This would have given the parties far greater credit, and also demonstrated before people their genuine commitment to work for them. At present, this commitment appears largely to be lacking and this is, perhaps, the greatest flaw of our democracy. To make it stronger, to make it more durable and to build more faith in it, in the eyes of people this needs to be corrected. The political parties must take a leading role in this, and by doing so show that they are truly interested in the citizenry and not just in collecting slips of stamped paper dropped into steel ballot boxes.

Providing Justice

The Supreme Court has now become the first and last avenue of justice in Pakistan. After an enraged mob burned down houses of the Christian community in Joseph Colony in Lahore, it soon became obvious that the police were simply playing the role of an uninterested bystander during the riot and would be similarly lethargic in its aftermath. The provincial government did little beyond offering Rs200,000 per destroyed house, an amount that seemed middling, since it was unaccompanied by any sense of justice that those responsible would be punished for their crimes. Thus it fell to the Supreme Court to take suo-motu action on the matter. In its short order, it said that simply suspending the SHO and the DPO was not enough and wanted action to be taken against those higher up in the chain of command. Ultimately, the Supreme Court said, the IG and the CCPO should be held responsible for failing to take action.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is the only body left that is willing to take on the police. The police itself have never had any appetite for accountability, preferring to take superficial actions to appease the public rather than make a serious attempt at reform. The provincial government is no better since the police are stuffed with the PML-N’s own political appointments. Thus, while getting the Supreme Court involved in every matter of governance is far from ideal and holds dangers of its own, right now, it is the only avenue left for those seeking justice.

Now that the Supreme Court has taken up the case, it needs to go further and dismiss the original blasphemy case which led to the Joseph Colony riot. The case was registered after a drunken argument between two friends. The matter has now been blown out of all proportion with the entirety of the Christian community having to suffer for what is no more than a he-said-she-said case, with absolutely no proof that blasphemy was committed. This case is yet another example of how the blasphemy laws are misused to settle personal scores and harass the beleaguered minority communities in the country. Looking at the root causes of this discrimination rather than just taking action against a few police officials would be a far more fruitful endeavour for the Supreme Court.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(17th March 2013)

Parliament’s accomplishments

There are some who would think that expectations for the elected legislature have been set too low when simply completing a five-year term is considered a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, the history of democracy in the country is so fragmented and interrupted that this National Assembly is the first to finish its term under a democratically-elected set-up. The National Assembly may have served out its five years but this achievement will only end up mattering if it is followed by a smooth transition to a new legislature, marking another first in our history: a democratic handover to a new elected government. Scoffing at the National Assembly managing to stumble through the bare minimum would be unfair; there were many times when its existence seemed under threat from the military, the superior judiciary and even political parties, both inside and outside the National Assembly.

But it would be erroneous to say that the National Assembly only treaded water. It has many significant legislative accomplishments under its belt, none being more historic than the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. This was not only the first time that the president had voluntarily given up most of his powers, it was also notable for the National Assembly handing over many of its duties — too many some would say — to the provinces. The Eighteenth Amendment also highlighted the willingness of the ruling PPP to work with its opponents and give way when necessary so that a higher goal could be achieved. Since all the political parties gave their assent to the Eighteenth Amendment and the judiciary, after conducting prolonged hearings and demanding some changes, signed off on it too, this may end up being the longest-lasting legacy of the departing National Assembly.

We also got to see first hand just how vital the reserved seats for women have been in the functioning of the National Assembly. Women on reserved seats were among the most vocal members of parliament and proposed more private members bills than all the other MNAs. This led to some historic legislation on women’s rights issues like domestic violence. Other important bills passed included the setting up of a women’s commission and the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act. The passing and successful implementation of the Benazir Income Support Programme should also serve as a blueprint for future parliaments. By making payments to the women of the poorest families in the country, it served as a successful and innovative model for the direction welfare legislation should take.

As successful as this National Assembly has been, there were also many setbacks, mistakes and failures. Even after the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, few parliamentarians, with the notable exception of Sherry Rehman, had the courage to consider reforming the much-abused blasphemy laws. On the power crisis, the National Assembly fell prey to infighting, with the painful but necessary elimination of energy subsidies blocked by the MQM.
Somehow, the National Assembly was able to survive the memogate affair, the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the prime minister, the fake degrees scandal, the ever-present threat of military intervention, the emergence of Imran Khan and the PTI as a significant outside force that was always pressing for early elections and the Tahirul Qadri drama. The PPP was helped in this Herculean endeavour by the PML-N, which served the role of an antagonistic opposition party without ever wanting to derail the democratic project.

The next two to three months will be crucial to cementing the legacy of the National Assembly. All the good work it has done can still be outdone by a caretaker government that is not committed to holding elections or an election commission that ends up being compromised. That this is a remote possibility is to the credit of the current parliament for serving out its term with a sense of mission.

Six months and counting

What has Pakistan gained in the six months of the ongoing ban on YouTube? The ban dates back to September of last year, following the release on the website of a blasphemous video.

Since YouTube’s owners refused to take down the offensive video in Pakistan (but had done so in a few other countries such as Libya, Indonesia and India to name a few) and the government seems inept at placing “filtration mechanisms” to disallow the viewing of blasphemous material on the video-sharing website, Pakistanis have been deprived of an essentially useful resource like YouTube. Therein lies the problem: the government’s inability to recognise that it cannot police the internet and any plans to do so will just plunge the nation into a recess of the dark ages from where there is no way forward. Thankfully, an earlier plan to build a firewall was nixed in March last year but that was before the controversy erupted, and talks between the government and Google seem not to be making much headway either, so it would be foolish if authorities are to look for other nefarious ways to censor the internet.

Access to information is a right that cannot be denied and any attempt to thwart it must be seen as a threat to clamp down on civil liberties. Free expression is never easy in emerging democracies, especially in volatile societies, but it has to be negotiated and so far, the government has handled it in a manner that has made a mockery of Pakistan.

A removal of the ban on YouTube that lasted all of three minutes in December was shameful, as are the now-routine promises to unblock the ban “soon”. Clearly, the answer lies in engaging in meaningful talks with Google to find a mutually agreeable solution to this pitiful mess so that Pakistanis can access YouTube. An agreement with the internet giant needs to be reached as soon as possible. Perhaps, the authorities need to have a look at how some other countries have dealt with similar issues without resorting to such bans.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(18th March 2013)

High rewards

The government seems determined to leave office in as undignified a manner as possible. On the final day before the National Assembly was to be dissolved, the interior ministry gave Rehman Malik and all his predecessors who did not serve under a dictator with the Constitution in abeyance, perks for the rest of their lives. The benefits Mr Malik has awarded himself include protocol at airports to be provided to himself and his family by the Federal Investigation Agency and personal staff to be given by NADRA. The Sindh Assembly, in what is likely to be its last session, outdid even Mr Malik by voting itself an increase in salary of up to 60 per cent, backdated to 2011 and several existing perks for life after the assembly is dissolved. Both steps should be cancelled by the incoming government.

What makes these actions so distasteful is how they were carried out at the last possible minute, with absolutely no debate on the matter. For many, it will also confirm the belief that the government spent its last five hours gorging on the national exchequer while doing nothing to improve the lot of the country’s citizens. This also shows the dangers of allowing politicians to set their own salaries and perks, since there is a clear conflict of interest involved. Ultimately, this will come to be seen as a microcosm of the way in which our politicians have always put themselves first. No one denies that parliamentarians deserve a pension for their service but there needs to be a limit to just how much money is spent on those who are no longer the country’s representatives.

Even more aggravating is the fact that precious few of these politicians actually need the money. To get a ticket to stand for election, even at the provincial level, requires great personal wealth. While in office, MPAs have even more opportunity to enrich themselves through kickbacks and other forms of bribery, a benefit few lawmakers are able to restrain themselves from. Even the most honest and incorruptible MPA will have made enough connections during his or her term to make lots of money after leaving the assembly. This hike in salaries and benefits was completely unnecessary and serves only to show the rapaciousness of some of our elected representatives.

Promises and purposes

The Pakistan Peoples Party-Parliamentarians (PPP-P) manifesto, which was launched at a press conference in Islamabad, and read out by the PPP-P president, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, as expected, emphasises empowerment for the poor. And, in fact, goes back to the slogan which still brings the PPP-P many of its votes today: roti, kapra aur makaan. It also speaks of putting people with less wealth in parliament and in rather poetic language, talks of tackling militancy, the energy crisis and all kinds of other problems.

As would be predicted, the party, which has ruled since 2008, mentions in some detail its achievements over this period including various schemes intended for the poor and other projects which leaders of the party flanking Mr Faheem stated had achieved a great deal. This, of course, is the way party manifestos go. The PPP-P has also blamed provinces for failing to make use of the powers devolved to them and dealing with problems which include law and order and the power shortfall. This, of course, is partly true, but it is also a fact, as provinces have said repeatedly, that they lack both resources and experience to tackle such major problems.

The main issue though is that a list of promises does not really make up a manifesto. Most people in the country have come to realise that such slogans are virtually meaningless in themselves and that a great deal more is needed if their lives are ever going to change. It is also a fact that manifestos figure only at election time and are more or less cast aside after this. No one really refers back to them or to the pledges made in them. But manifestos mean more than this. Merely saying it intends to serve the poor and going back to nostalgic slogans which emphasise this, really achieves little purpose. Actual action is required and this is what people across the country yearn to see from the political leadership after they cast their ballots.

Derailed relations

In the latest step backwards in the peace process, India has decided to put on hold the issuance of group tourist visas to Pakistanis, a day before the measure was to be introduced. Additionally, the Indian hockey team has also pulled out of a proposed tour to Pakistan when, as expected, the team did not get permission from its government. This sudden hostility dates back to the twin incidents at the Line of Control (LoC), when soldiers from both countries were killed in separate incidents. It is India, however, that has since taken the lead in dismantling the gains of two years of peace talks. First, it suspended a proposed plan to allow elderly Pakistanis a visa on arrival. Soon after, protests in Mumbai forced our hockey players to return home and our women’s cricket team to play its matches in another city, where security concerns forced them to live in the stadium’s clubhouse. Pakistani diplomats were also barred from attending the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Some feel that these steps are election gimmicks and that the Indian government needs to please its voter base at this point in time. But surely, the tireless efforts of years on the foreign policy front of a country must not be disregarded on a whim. India needs to accept that both countries share equal responsibility for the LoC incidents, which remain shrouded in mystery.

India has also rejected our offer to have the UN investigate the LoC killings as it refuses to accept any involvement from an outside authority in Kashmir, knowing that it may lead to a demand that UN resolutions on the disputed territory be heeded. However, breaking off people-to-people contact is a surefire way to sow even further hatred and ignorance. There can only be normalisation of relations if there are greater cultural, sporting and literary ties between the two countries. Progress on political issues will then surely follow, as we have seen repeatedly before the LoC incidents derailed ties.

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Yes We Can Do It!

(19th March 2013)

Protesting drone attacks

Pakistan’s position on the use of drones on its territory varies based on who’s asking. In public, we denounce drone attacks as an unconscionable violation of our sovereignty but, as the WikiLeaks cables showed, we have not only privately agreed to their use but even provide the US with the intelligence for their attacks. It is this disconnect between the rhetoric we spout for domestic consumption and our acceptance of the reality of drone attacks, which makes our request at the United Nations (UN) for a ban on unilateral drone attacks little more than grandstanding. If what the WikiLeaks cables say is true then, even by our own definition of illegal drone attacks, the US is waging a war with our permission and so, it is perfectly legal.

Even if the UN were to accept our proposal and somehow agree that the government has not allowed the US to conduct drone attacks on our territory, the question of enforcement is sure to arise. Right now, the US is the only country in the world able to use mechanised drones in this manner. Any UN resolution against drones is sure to be vetoed by the US in the Security Council and no legal action can be taken since the US does not submit itself to the International Court of Justice. This is where questions of legality ram against the realities of a unipolar world, where the US can get away with whatever conduct it decides is lawful. A far more fruitful proposition would be to continually highlight the civilian casualties of drone attacks and hope to influence the debate that has been sparked recently by Republican Senator Rand Paul.

For our part, we need to be honest with ourselves about the doublespeak of our government and the effect this has had on the proliferation of drone attacks. Also, we need to realise that the only alternative to drones is military action by the Pakistan Army. This, too, would cause many civilian deaths, but the fact of the matter is, that given the thousands that have been slaughtered by the Taliban, we need to take on the militants in a decisive action, while at the same time, protecting our sovereignty. Protesting the use of drones in international forums is well within our rights but we should not use this as an excuse for our lack of action against the true enemy — the extremist militants who are a far greater threat.

Murdered for a song

For a few days last year, the media reported the story of five women from a remote village in Kohistan who had been sentenced to death by a jirga after a video clip of them clapping while men danced to music had leaked. The matter received sufficient attention for the Supreme Court to take suo-motu notice of it and send a team to the village to investigate the matter. The team reported back that the story was a hoax and that they had been assured the women were alive. There the story rested, with the matter supposedly settled. Now, Reuters has reinvestigated the matter and found evidence that the team may have been lied to and that the women, along with two men who were also in the video, had indeed been killed on the jirga’s orders.

The Supreme Court must take this new evidence into account and reopen the case. This time, simply sending a team to the village will not be sufficient unless there is photographic or video proof that the women are still alive. Talk of cultural sensitivity and how women in the area must be hidden from outsiders will no longer suffice. The jirga members and anyone else who was involved in the incident must be brought to Islamabad in handcuffs and forced to face murder charges. Such acts of gross and unprovoked violence have to be punished, no matter what is said about tribal custom. The law of the land holds no meaning when some are free to ignore it on the basis of tradition.

The Supreme Court should also take this opportunity to crack down on the jirga system, which exists above and beyond the law. The argument that jirgas provide speedy justice holds no sway when the kind of justice delivered is so barbaric. One of the reasons the justice system moves slowly is that defendants have the right to fight their case comprehensively and appeal verdicts to higher courts. These are the protections on which the foundations of justice rest and which jirgas ignore completely. It is high time the anachronistic jirgas were done away with.

Death of a war hero

Fewer and fewer people remember Air Commodore (retd) Muhammad Mahmood Alam. The road named after him in Lahore is best known for its eateries and plush shopping malls. But Mahmood Alam, a war hero in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, during which the air force played such a major role, needs to be remembered. His feats resemble those of a movie character — dashing, flamboyant and heroic to the extent that they may have changed the outcome of the war. Such men are, of course, rare.

Mr Alam was essentially a North American F-86 Sabre Flying ace and one-star general. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurrat for his actions, chiefly the 1965 downing of five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the first four within 30 seconds, establishing a world record. Mr Alam passed away in Karachi on March 18, after a long illness.

It is unfortunate that many among the younger generation do not know more about men like Mr Alam. It is true that we need peace and good ties with India in the world we live in today. But this does not mean we should forget the past, or the people who served their country when it needed them. In many countries, memorials of one kind or the other exist for these persons. They come, quite often, in the shape of simple plaques or notices put up along roadsides, in an effort to make people think about the contributions of these exceptional individuals. Nations which value their past also build better futures for themselves. This is something we need to think about. Especially in a time of so much despondency, we do indeed need to think about our future. Heroes like Mr MM Alam can help us do this and remember just how excellence can be achieved in so many different fields. It is important to remember history, to keep it alive as far as we can and to see what lessons it can teach us. A nation that forgets its heroes and forgets those who have served it, will always struggle to keep itself alive and vibrant. This is a message we should hang on to — for the sake of our present generation, and those still to come.

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Yes We Can Do It!