Saturday, December 21, 2013

Drones and the law

There is a danger that Pakistan will overreact to the United Nations General Assembly resolution that called for the use of drone strikes to comply with international law. The resolution, titled ‘Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism’, devoted only one out of its 28 paragraphs to drone attacks and even then didn’t explicitly rule them in violation of international law. Also — given our past experiences with India’s refusal to accept resolutions on Kashmir and Israel’s disdain for resolutions on the Palestine issue — we know exactly how much binding value UN resolutions have. Still, even while acknowledging that this resolution on its own will not lead to any change in the conduct of the US drone campaign in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries, we should look at it as an important first step in setting boundaries for how these new weapons can be used. The problem with drones is that they allow the US to fight undeclared wars without having to put any boots on the ground and without the need to seek UN approval. Drones themselves would be no different to other advances in weapons technology were the US inclined to follow international law in the way it wages war around the world.

As the chief victim of the US drone war, Pakistan can claim some credit for its constant lobbying to bring the issue to the world’s attention. That the resolution passed unanimously also shows just how fearful the international community is of the way the US and its allies have abused the ‘war on terror’ to wage wars of choice, indulge in torture and kidnappings and generally have scant regard for human rights. The US is also encouraging a new arms race. In its short-sightedness, the US assumes that it will be the only country to possess armed drones but soon countries hostile to the Americans will catch up and misuse drones in the same way. As soon as that happens we can expect the US to hypocritically denounce such countries and demand international regulation of drones. The UN’s duty is to develop these rules even when the US is the only country to possess and use armed drones. Just as the US condemns countries that pursue nuclear weapons and refuse to ratify international treaties like the CTBT even while it remains the only country to have ever used a nuclear weapon, we can expect an about face as soon as Russia, China or a Muslim country starts using armed drones against its enemies. Far better to bring armed drones under the rubric of international law now rather than wait for this eventuality.

Leading from the front

By deciding to himself lead the polio campaign due to get underway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — targeting 2.3 million children in nine districts — Imran Khan has shown the qualities that make him a leader who has drawn the attention of so many not only in the country but also around the world. He has always been known as a man who leads from the front and his demonstration of these qualities in the case of the anti-polio campaign is especially important given that the drive against the disease is badly in need of a boost with regular attacks on health workers, a ban on vaccinations and flaws in administration resulting in a situation where 62 cases have already been reported in the country this year.

Imran’s personal standing and charisma may help hold back attacks — although early signs are not especially encouraging given the threat made to him for backing polio vaccination by the Ansarul Mujahideen militant force, which has said it will continue to oppose the delivery of drops. We hope other groups will show better sense. Imran paved the way towards this by launching the campaign himself at Akora Khattak where he administered the drops personally at a hospital. The pictures flashed out across the country. Imran, who has also made an effort to draw Maulana Samiul Haq into the campaign, has said that the opposition to the polio drive put millions of children at risk and could also result in a ban on travel from KP. In this he has acted as a politician of standing should. Such gestures and open support for the right thing are crucial in our country today and are especially required to put the polio drive back on track with all that it has suffered over the last few years. Indeed, we need more politicians and public figures to come forward and emulate Imran in this respect. If they do so, perhaps it will have some impact on the thinking of ordinary people who have been brainwashed into opposing polio drops, forcing or convincing them to refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated. This has added to this problem, which has endangered people not only in our country but also in others to which the virus has travelled. Pakistan cannot afford to become an outlaw just because we cannot administer polio drops.

Monday, December 23, 2013

The brave

The front lines of the war against militancy are not to be found on a battlefield. The TTP is willing and able to strike anywhere and at any time so very often the first and last line of defence are police check posts. These brave officers know that in trying to protect us they could lose their lives at any time. They carry out these duties for salaries that do not justify the risks and, on top of that, have to face criticism any time an attack is not thwarted. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, more than 700 police officers have been killed in the last six years, a level of sacrifice no other police force in the world has had to endure. The PTI government in KP has made a start in rewarding these sacrifices, announcing that the pay of the police would be increased to match that given to police officers in Punjab. Personnel of the Bomb Disposal Unit, undertaking one of the riskiest jobs around, also had their risk allowance increased by Rs5,000. Party chief Imran Khan praised the heroism of the KP police, although words alone can never be sufficient for the heroes who put their lives on the line every single day.

The families of police officers in KP who lose their lives in carrying out their duties receive Rs3 million in compensation and often jobs are offered to them to make up for the loss of income. This same policy should be offered to other law-enforcement personnel who operate outside the settled areas. The Levies, for example, fall under the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron), which is not as well-funded as the KP government, and so they receive less compensation even though they carry out the same type of duties as the KP police. The very least we owe everyone fighting on our behalf is the assurance and comfort of knowing that their families will be taken care of in the event of their death. Most of these officers have found themselves doing a job very different to what they would have envisaged when they joined the police force. They were initially trained in regular police work and did not expect to find themselves in the middle of one of the biggest counterterrorist operations in the world. Even though training has now been introduced in counterterrorism, the federal and provincial government must ensure that they have all the tools at their disposal to fight a determined and ruthless foe.

Taming dengue

Dengue is an exploding disease and spreads like wild fire, a fact Pakistan should be alarmed of, having braved a series of outbreaks in the past. The disease remains a major threat to public health across the country which is why it is important that the relevant authorities should continue making efforts to find ways and means to tame it. The Sindh government’s recent announcement that it is taking legal measures to control the disease is a welcome step. The Sindh Prevention and Control of Dengue Regulation 2013 will be enforced soon, allowing health inspectors to recommend action against owners or occupants of premises where mosquito larvae are found because of their carelessness.

This is not the first time that steps are being planned to control dengue. But despite efforts by the authorities, especially in Punjab, dengue has clung on in urban areas. There have been over 4,000 reported cases of dengue patients in the country since September this year. The prime reason most government measures have failed to tackle dengue is that it is caused by a mosquito that is very well adjusted to the urban environment. It can breed even in tiny spaces provided by bottle caps, tin cans and even the supports used for hanging laundry. It is not that dengue is an enemy that cannot be conquered. Stringent regulations and tough enforcement can help prevail over it. Equipped with weapons like legislation and destruction of mosquito breeding sites with surgical precision, countries like Singapore have curbed dengue in the past. Pakistan can follow suit. The authorities will have to make sure that tough regulations are enforced. Citizens will also have to play their roles by taking steps to eradicate or at least minimise mosquito breeding grounds in their localities.

Higher learning

The state of higher learning in our country has been a cause of much dismay for a very long time and it appears that things are not on the road to getting much better. Even after orders issued by the Supreme Court, a permanent head of the Higher Education Commission has yet to be appointed. A deadline for early December had been set for this appointment to be made. Filling the slot is a crucial task given that the HEC manages the affairs of all the universities in the country and is responsible for their performance. Right now, it has also been pointed out that, quite in contrast to the usual practice in many neighbouring countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, a person holding a PhD degree has not been found to occupy the critical position in a higher education body; the current acting chairman of the HEC does not possess such a degree. According to a report in this newspaper, he has been vying for a letter giving him a permanent place on top of the HEC hierarchy. He would of course then be in charge of the universities headed by those who hold degrees superior to his own.

The main issue here is the priority we attach to education. There seems to be little concern about what is happening at the HEC. This is nothing short of a travesty. The negligence shown hinders us in many different ways and holds back the development of institutions that the HEC in previous years had helped come into place and function as universities should. A qualified individual should head this institution before things fall apart to an even greater extent. It is unclear why the federal government is dragging its feet on the issue, but clearly it should move swiftly to reach a sensible decision. Students at universities and academics who manage their affairs cannot afford to wait endlessly for a decision.

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

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Tax and lies

The stench of hypocrisy continues to stick to our elected lawmakers, who feel no shame in continuing to levy taxes on the middle and lower classes even as they dodge contributing their fair share for the public good. A joint study by a think tank and a tax watchdog organisation, found that nearly 50 percent of lawmakers in both the national and provincial assemblies did not pay any income tax. Out of those, 12 percent do not even possess National Tax Numbers (NTN). A large number of legislators, including such bigwigs as Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, did file taxes but even then their returns were significantly less than what they declared in their nomination forms. These facts should be remembered every time our representatives decide to reduce subsidies on electricity and other items necessary for the survival of the public and increase the regressive GST. The reason they have to keep punishing the common man further is because they and those like them do not see the need to follow the law and pay their taxes. Enforcement in the country is so lax that only the salaried class, whose taxes are deducted at the source, ends up paying income tax. Legislators, as we have always suspected and are now finding proof for, have no incentive to change this culture since they are the chief beneficiaries of the status quo.

Ideally, every legislator who has not filed income taxes or lied about the amount of taxes paid on his or her nomination form would be disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) or the courts, just as was done to those who lied about their educational qualifications. Such action cannot be taken, however, since tax returns are private and cannot be revealed to the public, even if lawmakers have lied about them. The time for taking action was when the nomination papers for prospective candidates were being scrutinised by the ECP. The tax and wealth information provided by the candidates was sent to the Federal Board of Revenue for verification. The FBR, however, could not share the tax information with the ECP and only verified the candidates’ NTNs, statements of assets and liabilities and income tax returns for the last three years. As we can now see, the FBR was deliberately negligent in its duty. Dodging taxes crosses party lines and since the FBR will end up serving whichever party forms the government it ended up verifying declarations that bore no relation to reality. With the FBR unwilling to carry out its duties, the organisation itself, along with all the delinquent legislators, should now have to face justice in the courts.

Security steps

We have thousands of policemen and other security personnel stationed in all major cities and many towns in the country. Diversion plans for traffic were announced days ago, in preparation for the chehlum of Imam Hussain today. Meetings to determine what measures were required to ensure peace have been concluded, with the Punjab government especially eager to ensure that peace can be maintained in Rawalpindi, the city that saw at least eight people die in a sectarian incident on the 10th of Muharram. The tension created by that unfortunate episode still persists. In such circumstances, security is an essential pre-requisite. The hope is that security personnel posted along all the major procession routes can ensure peace. It is assumed that intelligence agencies are also on the alert, ready to pick up any information that could help ward off an act of violence anywhere in the country.

Given that it is simply not possible to watch every street, the provision of intelligence on plans made by extremist groups is essential. It is imperative that all forces in the country work closely together. Without such a unified effort there can be no hope of thwarting the sectarian outfits responsible for so many attacks and deaths. And in the final analysis, until these groups are eliminated there can be no real hope of peace - regardless of how meticulous the security plans may be. The actions of killers, quite often willing to give their own lives to claim those of others cannot, after all, always be predicted. We have seen this in the past - and we must hope we will not be seeing it again and that this day, marking the 40th day after the martyrdom of the grandson of the Holy Prophet, will pass with the devoutness and religious emotion that it deserves. Even as security measures at top levels go into place it is also time to think about what we can do to deal with the sectarian menace in our country. We need to think of longer term solutions, so that the anxiety and tension we see now is not repeated year after year. The ways to achieve this change in mindset and drive back hatred have been discussed many times before. This is the only real option open to us if we are to overcome sectarianism. Security on its own will never be enough.

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

25.12.2013[B][/B]
That Christmas falls just one day after the chehlum of Imam Hussain this year should be cause for reflection for all of us. We have increasingly become a country where both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities live in constant fear of being targeted – and this was a particularly bad year for them. Christians suffered a tremendous loss when a church was attacked in Peshawar, while the targeting of Shias was taken to a higher level with the Hazara community in Quetta being specifically marked for elimination. Amidst all this violence, the state stayed mostly silent apart from routine condemnations. So even though government officials will wish the Christians a merry Christmas and our high commission in London even held a Christmas reception, this is going to be a sombre occasion for the community. The spectre of the All Saints Church bombing in Peshawar – the worst attack ever on Christians in the country – will hang over any celebrations. The church still bears signs of the devastating attack and, despite the extra security at churches around the country, the fear of a repeat attack will never be far from the minds of the beleaguered community.

It is doubly ironic, then, that Christmas falls on the same day as the birth of our nation’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. His legacy, apart from the country he won us, should have been his determination that Pakistan be a country where a person’s religion should have no bearing on his or her rights as a citizen and where ‘religion has nothing to do with the business of the state’. It did not take long after Jinnah’s death for us to stray from his path. Now Pakistan is a place where only a Muslim can be the head of state, where the state decides who is or isn’t a Muslim and where minorities, both religious and sectarian, have to live in constant fear. The logical culmination of this state-infused religiosity is the war we are being forced to fight against the Taliban, who have simply taken our narrow-mindedness to its ultimate end. In these terms, this is not the Pakistan Jinnah envisaged and certainly not a Pakistan we should settle for.

Rallies, realities

A public rally that is meant to mobilise supporters should never be confused for a sober assessment of policy options. Those who criticise the PTI for not being specific enough in their protests, including during last Sunday’s event in Lahore against inflation, make the mistake of denouncing the stirring words and hyperbole that are part and parcel of such rallies even though all the other political parties indulge in the same. A more valid objection would be that the PTI seems to do nothing but hold rallies and has been unsuccessful so far in converting the energy and passion of its grassroots support into the good governance so sorely lacking in the country. It said all the right things in the rally, denouncing the government for regressive taxation and demanding a return to a lower GST. It called on the government to stop printing money as a way of punting its liquidity crisis to the future. It was right in calling for the wealthy to be brought into the tax net. But it simply compiled the greatest hits of reformists which will only have been a worthwhile exercise if followed up with a plan for how these ideas can be effectively implemented.

The PTI will say that the only way to tackle the inflation crisis is by voting it into power. The party will have to excuse the rest of us for being a little more sceptical. The PTI experience in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is that of a party which is unable to live up to its own inflated expectations. On security it has been as unsuccessful as its predecessors. It has also shown that it is no different to other political parties using accounting tricks to show a much larger allocation of resources for education than was actually the case. The KP Assembly was also the last to introduce a local government bill despite the constant exhortations of the Supreme Court. This is the reality of the influence of power and the challenges of governance. All political parties are an amalgamation of individuals who have their own patronage to earn and vested interests to satisfy. Until the PTI can show that it can rise above this, all the rallies in the world will not be sufficient.

Turkish handshake

Turkey has a stable economic base and has kept steadily along the path of growth. During his visit to Pakistan, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed confidence in the country as he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his team signed three Memorandums of Understanding in areas of trade and industry while agreeing to help Pakistan extend the Metro Bus Service introduced in Lahore to other cities. A range of other business proposals also came under discussion with PM Nawaz suggesting that there was plenty of scope for cooperation in various areas including small, medium and larger sized business ventures. The strong reaffirmation of this by the Turkish PM is important at a time when not many nations around the world seem to have much confidence in Pakistan. The PM will be pleased by Erdogan’s praise for his economic policies and his confidence that Pakistan will soon be on the road to rapid development.

The number of countries we can count upon has been dwindling in recent years. Evidence of this comes in Pakistan’s difficulty in obtaining financing at crucial times. Clearly, we need to find a way to sustain ourselves without seeking aid from others and expanded investment is the best means to move towards this. Pakistan’s desire for investment rather than assistance has indeed been stressed many times by the government. In this respect, the Turkish visit and its stress on business opportunities is something we must build on. The cooperation shown by Turkey is most welcome. The friendship must be taken still further with both countries in an excellent position and the will to work together. At a time when friendships are needed most, Erdogan’s handshake must be appreciated.

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

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Initial contact

The first meeting between the DGMOs of Pakistan and India in 14 years – the last time they met was right after the Kargil war in 1999 – was significant for its symbolic value. The DGMOs, Major General Aamer Riaz and Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia, are supposed to speak via telephone every Tuesday so any issue that arises along the LoC can be discussed then. The importance of the face-to-face meeting in Wagah lay in its being the first step in a gradual resumption of normalised ties between the two countries. Prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Manmohan Singh had agreed to arrange the meeting, and even though it took more than three months to do so, in the interim tensions have cooled somewhat and complaints about unauthorised incursions across the LoC have become infrequent. This allowed the meeting to bring up other matters of importance, such as the quick return of people who inadvertently cross the de-facto border and find themselves stuck in a legal nightmare. The two sides also agreed to make their weekly interactions more effective by concentrating on achieving results rather than treating it as a formality. The only way durable peace will be achieved between Pakistan and India is if such contact becomes routine and both sides know that they can talk to each other about problems rather than fight a nasty media war.

Whether the DGMOs meeting is ultimately seen as a false dawn or the start of a new era of peace will only be determined by what follows. The militaries have initiated contact; now it is up to the civilians to follow suit. The biggest impediment to such meetings, especially at the senior level, is the particularly bitter election campaign playing out in India. Congress is engaged in a nasty battle with the right-wing BJP, led by the extremely anti-Pakistan Narendra Modi, and so it too feels the need to up the rhetoric against us. That certainly rules out a bilateral meeting between the prime ministers, at least until the elections have been held. Any such meeting at this stage would in any case be of little value. We should instead seek smaller breakthroughs. A liberalisation of the visa regime or a few agreements on trade could ensure that the relative cooling down over the past couple of months continues while we await a larger breakthrough. Such incremental progress is vital since neither country is willing or able to discuss or compromise on the much thornier issues of Kashmir and terrorism. Right now both sides have to create a conducive climate so that such matters can later be broached. The DGMOs meeting made that eventuality slightly more likely.

Thailand protests

Thailand’s government is certainly not going through good days. The country’s prime minister, popular in the rural areas, is facing massive protests – largely confined to the cities – amid accusations of corruption. Meanwhile, the military lurks in the wings, with no one forgetting its long history of intervention. The current protests in Bangkok were spurred by an amnesty law – Thailand’s version of the National Reconciliation Ordinance. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had responded to the protests by calling for early elections on February 2 but the opposition Democrat Party is having none of it. They want either the military to take over or for a group of technocrats to be appointed and reform the system before elections can be held. Although the opposition is clamouring for democracy, their true aims seem to be more self-serving. The Democrat Party has little support outside of Bangkok and the business elite so it needs the military to get back into power for the first time since 1992. It is not democracy that the Democrat Party truly yearns for; the cries of freedom are simply an excuse to snatch power.

This is not to say that Yingluck Shinawatra’s government has been anywhere near perfect. Yingluck ascended to power in 2011 after her brother Thaksin Shinawatra was forced out of the country and into exile in Dubai. Yingluck has since been trying to pardon Thaksin and other politicians accused of corruption, making it clear that she sees herself merely as a stopgap leader till her brother can reclaim his position. The opposition wants her to step down and the entire family to be barred from politics, a position that seems to be spurred more by the Shinawatras’ popularity than their alleged corruption. Protests in Thailand have a history of turning violent so even though the current conflict has been largely peaceful there is a legitimate worry that it may soon spiral out of control and lead to the army taking back its promise to stay in the barracks. Yingluck, despite the accusations of poor governance and corruption, has won her support thanks to a host of populist measures like free healthcare and agricultural subsides. The Democrat Party, which has always been associated with the interests of the rich, simply cannot compete on an equal platform. This is why they have been trying to undermine democracy as a way of weaseling back into power.

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

27.12.2013

The river of our discontent

No matter how hard we try to spin it, the International Court of Arbitration verdict on the Kishanganga hydroelectric project is a massive blow to Pakistan. We had asked the court to ensure that India maintain a minimum of 100 cubic metres per second of water in the Kishanganga-Neelum River but India has been allowed to maintain only nine cubic metres per second of water. Just how devastating this verdict is can be seen in the judgement itself, which declared that the minimum flow would be “somewhat severe in environmental terms” for Pakistan. Still, the decision went India’s way because, in the opinion of the court, the Indus Water Treaty gives India the right to divert water for hydroelectric projects from rivers that are otherwise reserved for Pakistan’s use, so long as the diversion doesn’t deny us a fair share of the water. Pakistan’s fault lies in not being able to convince the International Court of Arbitration that the Kishanganga project will severely threaten its water needs. Just how badly we botched our case is referred to in the report itself, saying “Pakistan has submitted no data on current or anticipated agricultural uses of water from the Kishanganga/Neelum.” How can we blame the court or claim any kind of victory when we ourselves failed to explain how much water we will need from the Kishanganga-Neelum River?

That this entire controversy arose in the first place is a sign of our failure to secure our water rights. Pakistan had planned the Neelum project long before India ever conceived the Kishanganga hydroelectric project. It is only because of inefficiency, government lethargy and corruption that the project wasn’t completed years ago. Had the Neelum project been presented in the court as a fait accompli, India would have been forced into continuing to provide us with the water needed to maintain it. Instead, now the project may never be completed. On top of that, the court claimed in its judgement that we were not able to show that we were using the water from the river for agricultural purposes before India embarked on the Kishanganga project. Essentially, it accused Pakistan of only pretending to need the water once India decided it wanted to divert some of it for the project. In legalistic terms, the verdict seems a just one. The problem is that the Indus Water Treaty itself has become an anachronism in a world where the rivers’ flow has decreased and the water needs of Pakistan and India have multiplied. Only a new, more just treaty will solve this vexing issue.

To the rescue

The Sindh government has decided, according to its chief secretary, to introduce the 1122 Rescue Service, which currently operates in Punjab. This makes excellent sense, though a little late in coming. We need an improvement in ambulance and fire services across most parts of Pakistan, and the 1122 model, begun in Lahore in 2004 and then extended to other cities seems for now to be the best available in the country. Generally, the availability of its emergency vehicles has meant swifter relief to many people although of course problems exist in terms of the funds shortage the service is now said to be facing. The fire engines, in particular, are reported to be becoming increasingly run down and sustainability is a factor that needs to be looked at when putting a similar project in place. The service also has consistently complained that most of the calls made to it are prank calls, which end up costing it a huge amount of money. Public education obviously needs to go alongside the creation of mechanisms intended to aid people.

It is clear, however, that Karachi is badly in need of a viable rescue service. The Baldia fire of September 2012 in which at least 290 people were killed demonstrated just how urgent the need for better fire control is. This has been evident at other places of disaster too, with people complaining of long delays in vehicles reaching the spot and in a lack of equipment available to the teams operating them. The same holds true for ambulance services – especially critical in a city so vulnerable to terrorist attacks and other kinds of violence. A team from Sindh is currently stated to be visiting Punjab to assess 1122 operations and hopefully replicate them in Karachi and other cities. We must hope this effort moves ahead smoothly and with as little hassle as possible. Rescue work in most parts of our country lags behind that of other places and this undoubtedly costs a large number of lives each year. Our largest city, Karachi, and other urban centres in Sindh are badly in need of just such an improvement in the delivery of emergency aid. The plan then is one that needs to be applauded.

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

29.12.2013

Same old Bilawal

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the occasion of the sixth death anniversary of his mother Benazir was a reprise of the same themes he hit at an address in Karachi to mark the anniversary of the Karsaz bombings. Bilawal was yet again less interested in eulogy than political point-scoring. We had a reprise of the ‘Buzdil Khan’ attack on Imran Khan and the mocking of Nawaz Sharif’s lion symbol. Bilawal is falling into the classic politician’s trap of ascribing to political opponents the most base of motivations. He may disagree with the PTI on the wisdom of holding talks with the Taliban but a difference in opinion does not make Imran Khan a coward, a sell-out or a friend to terrorists. The young PPP leader should remember that his own party also agreed with the negotiations agenda at the APC and had been willing to consider talks during its own time in power. Does that mean they too are in league with terrorists? Bilawal, for no apparent reason than to take a dig at Nawaz Sharif, mentioned that the prime minister was a protégé of Ziaul Haq. That may be true but it ignores the context that the last time we had a military dictator it was Nawaz who bore the brunt of his anger and the PPP that cut a deal with him in the form of the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

Bilawal was similarly scathing about the judiciary, criticising it for the contempt verdict against Yousuf Raza Gilani and accusing it of hounding the PPP. The reality of an independent judiciary is new in Pakistan and perhaps Bilawal does not realise that the job of the Supreme Court is to hold the government accountable for its misdeeds and that this must continue even with a new setup in power. Personal attacks aside, Bilawal had very little that was new on offer. His speech encapsulates the current predicament of the PPP: it is an opposition party that has no agenda of its own. Bilawal hinted at the makings of a good idea when he railed against the proposed privatisation programme of the PML-N. This would apparently be a cause worthy of a party that started out as the only mainstream representative of the left. Those roots were quickly abandoned but a return to economic populism, when it is out of power and not burdened with the responsibility of sober assessment, could mark a ‘new’ direction for the party. If so, it will, of course, need a better spokesman than the callow Bilawal who was on display at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

Repression

The Egypt of today may be even more repressive and undemocratic than it was under the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. At least Mubarak tolerated the existence of the Muslim Brotherhood – the largest political party in the country – even if he was always suspicious of their intentions. The military-backed government, on the other hand, has now declared the Brotherhood to be a terrorist organisation, which inevitably led to clashes in the streets. The Brotherhood, it must be admitted, is not a flawless political party. It has always been a little too willing to indulge in violence and its agenda is often incompatible with that of a liberal democracy where freedom and human rights prevail. As we saw during the short rule of the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, the party tended to overstep its bounds and was the target of much legitimate criticism. That in itself, though, does not make the party a terrorist organisation. Politics in Egypt right now is necessarily being fought in the streets since the government has made any dissent punishable with imprisonment and other forms of repression. The Muslim Brotherhood also does not have a monopoly on violence. In fact, there is no force more violent in Egypt – both right now and during its recent history – than the military which is controlling the country from behind the scenes.

The aim of the military is clear: to eventually hold elections that exclude the Brotherhood. So desperate are they to hold on to power that they will be willing to risk polls that are conducted without the largest, and only organised, political party in the country. The results of such a farcical election will not be acceptable to the Egyptians and will lead to further protests and violence. Had the military in Egypt truly cared about the country more than its own hold over power, it would have worked with the Brotherhood and tried to be a moderating influence on its more radical tendencies. The same applies to the US, which has been its usual hypocritical self, and continues to fund and arm the military even though it belatedly ended up verbally supporting the revolution against its long-time ally Mubarak. The US has the power and influence over the military to convince it to take it easy on the Brotherhood. But its own fears about the spread of the ideas espoused by the Brotherhood will be enough for the Americans to turn their back on democracy in Egypt.

The year in cricket

Pakistan cricket team’s year ended on a high on Friday night in spite of a narrow defeat against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi as the national team won the five-match One-day International series 3-2. The victory capped a happening year for Pakistan in which it won a series of matches but flopped miserably in many others, including a Test and an ODI against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe. One of the high points for the Pakistanis was their away victory in South Africa where they became the first South Asian team to win a one-day series. Misbah-ul-Haq consolidated his position as Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain with the help of a prolific run with the bat. Mohammad Hafeez managed to save his Twenty20 captaincy with three tons in five matches in the ODI series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s biggest gains during the year came in the shape of several promising rookies including Sohaib Maqsood, Bilawal Bhatti and Shan Masood.

Among Pakistan’s low points was an embarrassing first-round exit from the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Pakistan lost all three matches in what was the biggest team event of the year in international cricket. In the board room, Pakistan cricket remained in the grips of turmoil as former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was shown the door by the courts following ‘dubious’ elections. Najam Sethi, who succeeded Ashraf as the interim chairman, had his wings clipped by the Islamabad High Court which kept pressing for transparent elections to the post of PCB chairman – but without much success. In these circumstances the PCB fell way short of achieving many of its major goals including making progress in its bid to bring international cricket back to Pakistan. The national cricketers played all their international games abroad and it is feared that they will continue to be the nomads of international cricket in the coming years.

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

Monday, December 30, 2013

No end to this crisis

Our gas crisis has now become so acute that even measures implemented by the government, including the closure of CNG stations in Punjab, have done little to alleviate the misery of the domestic user. Punjab is the worst hit but Karachi and Quetta haven’t been spared either, with lower-income areas being particularly affected. The roots of today’s crisis lie in the short-sighted rule of Pervez Musharraf, who promoted CNG to such an extent that we ended up with the most CNG-powered vehicles in the world. Musharraf was so concerned with immediate gains and popularity that he never seemed to care that our natural gas supplies would soon be depleted. The time of reckoning is now upon us and the government seems to have no idea how to bridge the gap between demand and supply. LPG could be used as a possible alternative but it is too expensive for most people. The IMF has recommended raising prices, and the government has tried to push through rate increases even though that ends up rationing the gas in favour of the wealthy. Strict action may need to be taken, possibly even including reconverting vehicles that run on CNG back to diesel or petrol if we are to allow homes to be heated, meals to be cooked and industry to continue running.

The one viable idea – importing gas from Iran through a pipeline – has been squandered by a combination of US pressure and Pakistani incompetence. Iran had completed its portion of the pipeline but we were hesitant to begin work on our side of the border out of fear that the US would impose sanctions on us. Instead we tried to get Iran to fund our side of the pipeline too, something the Iranian government has now dismissed out of hand. Even if we do rustle up the $2 billion needed to construct the pipeline, that will take approximately four years. We are contractually obliged, however, to have our side of the pipeline ready by the end of 2014 and pay compensation to Iran if we are unable to do so. The Tapi pipeline, which has been promoted by the US, is also not viable since it runs through parts of Afghanistan and Balochistan that are sure to be targeted by militants. With our supply of gas at home now depleted and no options seemingly available abroad, the gas crisis is going to continue for the indefinite future.

The wall

It may not have had the same resonance as Reagan’s exhortation to Gorbachev to “tear down that wall”, but the PTI’s protest against the wall that guards Bilawal House in Karachi has clearly struck a nerve. Scores of PTI protesters, led by Arif Alvi who is the MNA for the constituency in which Bilawal House lies, appeared outside the barriers demanding that they be taken down. The protest quickly turned violent, with both the PTI and the PPP accusing the other side of initiating the troubles, but the only arrests were of PTI activists. The situation threatened to spiral out of control, but one thing is clear: the wall in Bilawal House is not only illegal since it encroaches on public land, it is also a nuisance to everyone else in the area. Shopkeepers lost their livelihoods when their businesses happened to be too close to Bilawal House and residents found it near impossible to come in and out of their homes. There were also reports that many were browbeaten into selling their properties even if they were not inclined to do so. Yes, Asif Zardari and his family face a constant threat but that does not justify taking over the entire area and inconveniencing citizens who legally have as much right to use that land as the Zardari family.

The cause the PTI is embarking on is a righteous one but a few doubts linger. First, the timing of the protest was a bit suspect, announced as it was by Alvi on December 27, the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Then we have to wonder if the PTI is truly committed to the fight against encroachments and illegal building practices and has chosen Bilawal House as its first cause because of its symbolic value. All self-proclaimed dignitaries, from politicians to diplomats, encroach on land that does not belong to them and cite security as the justification. Since Alvi himself has been accused of using non-commercial land to build a dental clinic one doubts that the PTI’s intentions are altogether pure. Even if the party leading the crusade is doing so only for political reasons, that does not mean we should allow the wall at Bilawal House to stand. An ex-president’s house should be provided the security that houses of all ex-presidents get under the rules. Already under pressure from the PTI, the PPP has allowed one of the two cordoned-off roads to be opened to the public. Now, the other road needs to be opened, the wall torn down and this action be followed by a concerted effort to stop all illegal encroachments in the city.

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

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Claims, fears and hopes

Pervez Musharraf, perhaps realising that the law is against him in his upcoming trial for treason, has now played what may be his final, desperate card: the power and influence of the military. The former COAS and dictator has, since he was placed under arrest, been attempting to suck the army into the matter and has now claimed that the whole army is behind him and is disapproving of the charges filed against him. Whether his latest utterances are the last stand of a desperate man or actually have some weight remains to be seen. It is important to draw the line between individuals and institutions. It is true that the military has played a controversial role in the 66-year history of our country, holding power through more than half this period. But it now has an opportunity to at least partially redeem itself. So far it has been silent on Musharraf. Perhaps the military wishes the whole Musharraf problem would simply go away. The only reason to think that there may be any truth to Musharraf’s statement is that the army is a proud institution and may not like one of its own to face civilian justice. Since the ISPR has never been shy about immediately responding to any claim about the military, a statement clarifying its position towards Musharraf would be very welcome right now. Ideally, the military would announce its intentions to steer clear of the legal process and allow justice to run its course.

General Retired Musharraf cannot escape the consequences of the decisions he took as head of state by attempting to hide behind a pillar. The army would rise higher in the eyes of people by not preventing the course of justice, though indeed stability between institutions and fair play need to be considered. Previously, there were rumours that many of the charges against Musharraf – including in the Akbar Bugti and Benazir Bhutto cases – had been dropped and efforts were on to secure safe passage for Musharraf to Dubai. The filing of treason charges undermines that particular conspiracy theory. Musharraf himself, despite his claim that the army supports him, has publicly expressed regret that former army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani did not support him – as the then ISI chief – in the case against former chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry by submitting an affidavit to support his reference. Musharraf is due to appear in court on January 1, which means we may soon find out just how much backing he retains. The court proceedings had earlier been postponed after explosives were found on the route Musharraf was to take to the court and could be delayed yet again after more IEDs were found near his house. But justice should eventually prevail, with the men in robes, and not those in khaki, being the ultimate arbiters of Musharraf’s fate. During his rule, Musharraf showed scant regard for constitutional norms and took whatever actions he deemed necessary no matter how illegal they were. Now he must answer for those crimes in a court of law, without any interference from the army. Musharraf has in his interviews spoken of vendetta and malice. These must play no part in what happens next. The trial process must be completely transparent and fair. Some of the statements made by political leaders regarding Musharraf are unfortunate. We could do without such immaturity as we face an important moment in history. What happens now will determine much about our future and also decide precisely how the institutions of state sit and stay in the constitutional slots allotted to them. Their tendency in the past to slip out of these has been the source of repeated problems in the past. It is important to set the house in order, and ensure no interventions take place to disturb this effort. Crimes must be punished and prevented – and this should be the guiding principle for all involved.

KP and Pesco

When PTI chief Imran Khan demanded last week that control of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) be handed over by the centre to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government it seemed almost like a dare since the biggest criticism of the PTI has been its supposed inability to govern. If indeed Imran was bluffing, it has now been called by the PML-N and Pesco will be handed over to the KP government. But there is more to it than appears on the surface. It involves many complex issues but the wisdom of the move will best be judged in hindsight since there are both possible advantages and pitfalls. It is certainly the case that the provincial government should be better suited to collect bills since it knows the area and the people better – and bill collection is one of the most pressing needs of the perpetually under-funded Pesco – but there is also the danger that bigwigs and influential people will be let off the hook for their dues because the politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are dependent on their support in a way that those in the centre are not. With Pesco facing a massive shortfall in electricity and having to resort to loadshedding – like every other electricity distribution system in the country – the PTI government should also be in a better position to decide how much loadshedding each area should go through. Under the federal government, Pesco had been increasing loadshedding in areas where the rate of bill recovery was low but this meant that the low-income residents of the province were bearing the brunt of the loadshedding. The PTI government should ensure a more equitable distribution of suffering.

Now if the PTI is handed control of Pesco, and it agrees to take it, the move itself may be subject to a court review to see if it falls within the bounds of the 18th Amendment to the constitution. Even before that has been done, the chief minister Parvez Khattak is asking that the centre also hand over the powers for electricity generation, transmission and distribution to the province. Doing so would be difficult and probably a huge mistake. The country does not function on the principle that each province can use all the electricity it generates since that would lead to an unfair distribution of electricity. Allowing provinces to be in charge of generating their own electricity would inevitably lead to provinces keeping all that electricity for themselves. Sindh has already started making demands that like KP it also be handed over these power units. The PTI should elaborate how it will handle this complex issue as it has changed its position from taking over Pesco to running the entire power system which is a federal subject. It appears to be pure politics and in the end nothing may come out of it.

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

Thursday, January 02, 2014

The LB drag

The protracted local government elections saga took another left turn on Monday as the Sindh High Court struck down amendments to the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 as illegal. The most significant effect of this decision will be to render null and void the delimitation in both rural and urban Sindh. The Lahore High Court soon followed suit, similarly ruling against delimitation. The high courts’ verdict may mean yet another delay in the holding of the elections, scheduled as of now for January 18 in Sindh and January 30 in Punjab. The provincial governments can either hold elections on time but allocate seats on the formula that existed before delimitation started or file an appeal with the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court requesting a delay. The former option may not be tenable since the ECP has distributed nomination papers in accordance with delimitation and so will have to print fresh papers, a process that is unlikely to be completed in time to hold the elections. That the Supreme Court will allow the elections to be postponed again is also questionable since it has been trying to get the provinces to fulfil their constitutional duty and hold local bodies polls since May.

There are no good options available to the provincial governments, with the Punjab government already stating that it may need another five months to hold elections, so they now just have to make sure that they don’t take the worst possible route. That would be further dragging the process out and delaying the elections by months as they try to tinker with the legislation in a way that meets the approval of the judiciary. We have waited too long – more than a decade in fact – for the right to elect local representatives to have to endure any more delays. The ECP needs to publicly state how long it will take to print new nomination papers and then the Supreme Court should set a new date for as soon as is feasible. Delimitation was always going to be controversial and never satisfy everyone, especially since we haven’t had a census since 1998 and the make-up of the provinces has changed immeasurably since then. We will now have to accept that the constituencies drawn up will be flawed to some extent. Since that in itself is not a good enough reason to scrap the elections altogether, the decisions of district commissioners on delimitation should be abided by even if they do not satisfy everyone. Holding local government elections as soon as possible is too important for us to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

Suffering in celebration

New Year’s Eve took a strange twist for many residents of Karachi. Celebration turned to suffering as thousands of people remained stranded on roads, stuck in logjams of traffic created because authorities had rather bizarrely placed shipping containers on roads leading to the Seaview and Clifton beaches, blocking off access to them. Restaurants and cinemas in these areas were also closed down. The ‘security’ measure resulted in snarls of traffic which began to form by early evening and in some cases prevented people from reaching their own homes after work. While the world marked the turn of the year, the unfortunate people of Karachi remained caught in a terrifying nightmare which extended late into the night.

Such steps are not unusual in Karachi. They have been implemented for years and are apparently intended to prevent illegal activity. Whereas the security measures included a ban on the carrying of weapons, this was clearly not abided to as aerial firing was heard at many places as 2014 approached. All that the blockade of roads appeared to have done was hugely inconvenience people. The question is: why are the people of our country not allowed to celebrate as the rest of the world does? Why are harmless pursuits denied in the hope of preventing the few who may engage in undesirable acts? The echo of gunfire suggested these elements had not been stopped anyway. What our people need is more opportunities for entertainment and joy. There is too little of it in our lives. The concept touted by the religious right that New Year’s is somehow an ‘immoral’ occasion is obviously deeply flawed. This year too, celebrations took place in Peshawar as well as other cities with cakes, cards, flowers and gifts being exchanged. It is unclear why the same right was not given to the people of a city that lives in constant fear as it is. The traffic situation created on December 31 as a direct result of decisions taken by those in power only added to their agony. There can be no excuse for inflicting so much pain on so many. We need an answer from the authorities and a guarantee that it will not be repeated in the future.

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