14.01.2014

The violence of reality

We have all the usual sights, as the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is observed in our country and across the Muslim world. Lights go up on buildings, sweets are distributed and processions organised to celebrate a joyous day. But we also have more ominous sights. We see policemen and other personnel deployed on streets, around mosques and along planned routes for processions. Thousands of policemen have been assigned to offer security cover for the day – 6,000 in the federal capital alone. Other security arrangements have been put in place too, with authorities in all cities stating that everything possible is being done to avoid any ‘incident’. Eid Milad-un-Nabi should also be a time for quiet reflection on the message of peace brought forth by the Prophet (pbuh) and for a renewal of our commitment to that message. Instead, in Pakistan, it has become an occasion for fear. The militants, who have so badly warped the teachings of tolerance in Islam and those who see such days as an opportunity to sow division, now cause us to confront the possibility of violence. As hard as law-enforcement officials may try to provide foolproof security, it is an all but impossible task to ensure that each and every procession is protected. The best they can do is to try and sweep areas for bombs and other explosive material before processions pass through them and try and ban the use of loudspeakers and painting of graffiti.

The one measure we can now always expect the government to take is the ritual blocking of cell phones. This has become its rote response on any day when there is a heightened terror threat. It should realise that whatever marginal effectiveness this tactic may once have had, even that has now been eliminated. The cell-phone blockage on the chelum of Imam Hussein did not prevent violence from occurring in Karachi. The militants, like the rest of us, now expect cell phones to be shut on significant days and so they will have made alternative arrangements. Whereas before they may have used cell phones as triggers for bombs, now they can use clocks or other electronic devices. Bans, we should have realised by now, inconvenience the hapless public but do not thwart determined militants. All of us fervently hope that Eid Milad-un-Nabi passes without incident but whether it does or not will have more to do with intelligence and police work rather than pointless bans.

TTP’s murder spree

The TTP’s vengeful campaign of targeted assassinations, already boosted by the murder of Chaudhry Aslam in Karachi, continued on Sunday as PML-N senior vice president Amir Muqam narrowly escaped an IED attack in Martung which killed six people. This is the sixth time the TTP has gone after Muqam, an outspoken critic of the militant group. On the same day, yet another ANP leader, Mian Mushtaq, was assassinated on the outskirts of Peshawar. Although no one has claimed responsibility for that attack yet, the TTP has previously killed countless other members of the party. After this spate of attacks it is important to recognise once again just how deadly and ruthless an enemy the TTP really is. Anyone who dares to point this out is immediately targeted for extermination, and as both the Aslam and Muqam attacks show, the militant group is relentless in going after those it sees as a threat. The inhumanity of the TTP can be seen in the fact that Muqam backed the government’s desire to hold peace talks with the group and continues to do so, even after he nearly lost his life once again. No matter what policy the government tries to adopt, it should always keep in mind just how untrustworthy the TTP really is.

As for the peace talks, which the government has been touting ever since it came into power, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has now had to admit that they seem to be a distant prospect. While continuing to support the idea in principle, since it has universal political support as decided at the All-Parties Conference, Nisar said that the TTP was not quite as forthcoming. The drone attack which killed Hakeemullah Mehsud was a severe setback to negotiations, both because it destroyed the climate in which talks could have been held and since Hakeemullah’s successor Mullah Fazlullah is even more extreme in his outlook and tactics. Another problem, as pointed out by Nisar, is that the TTP isn’t a single unified entity. It comprises many diverse groups that have a common ideology but often differ on tactics. This makes dealing with the TTP, whether through talks or military action, a difficult prospect. Even if some components of the TTP are amenable to talks, those that oppose it can always blow them up with continued violence. At the same time, trying to militarily defeat an enemy that is so diffused and has extended its tentacles throughout the country is an uphill task. Any policy the government pursues will be fraught with danger and uncertainty. For the sake of everyone who has been targeted by the TTP, however, the government should not allow the status quo to continue any longer.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Delayed polls

The likelihood of local government elections being held anytime soon – or even this year – were considerably reduced by the Supreme Court after it allowed Punjab, Sindh, the Islamabad Capital Territory and the cantonments to indefinitely delay polls till local bodies legislation is amended and delimitation completed. The Supreme Court, which has been the prime agent of quick polls, essentially found its hands tied by the Sindh and Punjab high courts. Both had halted the process of delimitation after complaints by opposition parties that it was being motivated by base political motivations. Now the National Assembly is proposing delaying the elections until a fresh census can be completed. There are some merits to an argument in favour of a delay. The last census was held in 1998 and the demographic changes in the country since then would significantly change the electoral map. We should be holding a census every 10 years but political parties with a primarily rural base or a small presence in Karachi would be hurt by a census and so there has been no effort directed towards fulfilling this duty. It is also true that the Election Commission of Pakistan needs time to prepare nomination papers and ballots, work that has been delayed by the different judgments handed down by various courts.

Still, we should recognise that the ruling political parties in Punjab and Sindh have made a concerted effort to delay the local bodies polls for as long as possible, if not avoiding holding them altogether. First, the PML-N proposed party-less polls in Punjab and then delayed passing legislation for as long as possible. In Sindh, the PPP has tried to carve out constituencies that would minimise winnable seats for the MQM. The PML-N would probably enjoy a victory similar to its sweep of Punjab in the general elections but its individual members in the provincial assembly probably want to avoid new figures with a local following from posing a threat to their influence. As for the census, while carrying out a new one would be ideal, the same principle also applied to the National Assembly. The allocation of seats would have been very different with an accurate reflection of the population. Yet it would have been unthinkable – not to mention unconstitutional – to delay those elections until a new census was conducted. That should be equally true for local elections, which are also mandated by the constitution. A further delay has now been permitted but the provincial governments and ECP should not use this as an excuse to run out the clock.

Road rules

The deaths of 21 people, including 18 children, in a road accident in Nawabshah will likely be mourned for a short period as an unavoidable tragedy before everyone moves on. We should try not to be so callous. The schoolchildren were travelling in a van that collided with a truck. This accident, and countless others like it, raise questions about how we manage traffic in the country. In recognition of the ever-present danger large trucks pose, many countries have laws that limit the times trucks can ply the roads, usually restricting them to nights. Trucks are often barred from certain roads where there is a greater probability of accidents. Pakistan has not enforced such laws but after this accident needs to do so immediately. There are also no effective laws governing the state trucks must be in if they are allowed on the roads. The Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965 does not lay out any regulations for testing vehicle fitness and so motor vehicle inspectors have a lot of leeway in passing vehicles as fit to be driven. This law should be amended and only those trucks permitted to be used which have certification based on international standards proving they are not a safety hazard.

More generally, the country is in dire need of better education for drivers. Traffic lights are treated as mere suggestions and speed limits may as well be advising drivers on the minimum speed they must maintain. Traffic cops seem more interested in collecting bribes than handing out tickets as a deterrent to dangerous drivers. Drivers’ licences can be obtained at a price but no qualifications are necessary, as our bus and truck drivers prove on a daily basis. The anarchy on our roads is reflective of a complete absence of a regulatory state. People do as they please because they know there are no consequences to pay for their recklessness. The 18 dead schoolchildren are only the tip of the iceberg. Thousands die on the roads every year because the state is not strong enough to enforce traffic laws. From factory safety to food inspections, we are being put at risk because no one has the incentive or fear to comply with regulations. How many children will have to die before we realise that our lawlessness has dire consequences?

__________________
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

Friday, January 17, 2014

Smokescreens?

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s assertion that people outside the federal government, like Imran Khan and Maulana Samiul Haq, have a role to play in possible negotiations with the TTP could be seen as a shirking of responsibility or an acknowledgment that talks are unlikely to begin anytime soon. After all, despite the show of unity at the APC, the government and others willing to do freelance negotiations are rarely on the same page. The JI’s Munawar Hasan, another person touted by Nawaz as a potential negotiator, had called former TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud a martyr because he was killed in a drone strike, a position that was starkly at odds with that of the government. For anyone to negotiate with the TTP on behalf of the government requires them to be extensively briefed on exactly what the hoped-for outcomes of these talks should be. That is something the government is yet to share with us either. Talks are being treated like an end in themselves, with the government glossing over crucial matters like whether the TTP will be expected to disarm or if a ceasefire will be called. Nawaz’s gambit seems more like a smokescreen to hide the reluctance of the TTP under Maulana Fazlullah’s leadership to talk to anyone, whether in or outside the government. Who is going to represent the government is a moot point when there is only one party at the negotiating table.

Just where talks with the TTP are at this juncture was underscored by Nawaz’s announcement that a permanent military cantonment would be set up in Swat, the former base of Fazlullah. Nearly five years after a military operation in Swat was declared a resounding success, the government now has to admit that perhaps the area isn’t actually cleared of militants. Nawaz tried to put the best spin possible by visiting a de-radicalisation centre in Mingora and praised the rehabilitation of 2,000 youth there. That number, though, is very small in comparison to the amount of people the TTP seems to be able to recruit to its cause. Nawaz also touted his Youth Business Loan Scheme in Mingora, although once again he ignored the impossibility of economic development in an area where fear still reigns. Such piecemeal measures are not going to solve the militancy problem in Swat or Fata. Neither is outsourcing the enormous talk of talking to the TTP until all actors come to a basic agreement on the framework of negotiations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has now been in power for more than seven months and he has made no discernible progress on the vexing Taliban issue.

KP complications

We knew even before the general elections last year that handling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was going to be a problem. But with the challenge handed over to Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, there had been optimism that things could be sorted out by a party that had pledged to build a ‘new’ country. This sense of hope has been fading, as violence continues to ravage a province that has seen blasts, targeted strikes against politicians, drone attacks, angry protests by doctors and rallies against inflation. Senators across the political divide have reacted by lashing out against Khan for calling the Taliban ‘our people’ and for accelerated violence in KP.

In response to Imran Khan’s angry attack against the government led by his own party and Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, for failing to speak out for teenager Aitizaz Hassan, the school has been named after the boy, compensation awarded to his family and multiple visits paid to his home. It is unclear if Imran’s outburst over the matter and the rush in KP to amend matters signifies deeper problems within the PTI, but there have for some time been rumours of unrest within the party and expressions of dissatisfaction from within it over the running of KP. The coalition formed in the province has also been shaken just a few months into government, with the Qaumi Watan Party quitting it after two of its ministers were fired for corruption. A turf war over the control of the education ministry with the Jamaat-e-Islami had also been seen.

This is unfortunate. KP needs a competent, committed government if it is to overcome its problems. Police complain the provincial government’s policies have demoralised it. Charges of supporting the Taliban continue to come in. We do not yet know how Imran Khan will react to the criticism he has come under. But we do know the PTI chief is a man who likes to notch up winning results. The people of KP seek them too, and Khan will be aware of this. He will no doubt be looking to put strategies in place to smooth out government affairs in the province. Certainly he has some able individuals in his party to discuss matters with and reach decisions on how best to manage affairs and create unity in a province that needs to overcome lawlessness and disorder.

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

Saturday, January 18, 2014

The state of the economy

The cautious optimism of the State Bank of Pakistan’s annual report on the economy will not be shared by many. It projected a growth rate of 3 to 4 percent for this fiscal year, which is a bit higher than the predictions of the IMF, which foresees growth of 2.5 to 3 percent, and the World Bank, whose projection stands at 3.4 percent. It is still a welcome dampener from overly-fanciful government estimates of economic growth of 4.4 percent. As it is, all such projections should be seen with some scepticism since they are usually revised – downward in Pakistan’s case – and bear only a passing resemblance to the actual figures. The details of the SBP report show why we should continue to worry about the state of our economy. It gave a breakdown of how much the war against militancy has cost us, not just in terms of the money spent but also the potential investment we have lost because of the law-and-order situation. The unsurprising conclusion is that the money we get from the Coalition Support Fund does not come anywhere close to ameliorating our losses. No matter how positive other economic indicators may look, as long as the militancy problem persists our economy is going to suffer.

The SBP report also presents a best-case scenario for our persistent fiscal deficit. It makes the questionable assumption that the government will take in Rs120 billion from the auction of 3G licences even though the proposal has been floated for years without the government undertaking it with any urgency. In another bout of wishful thinking, the report also projects an increase of nearly 30 percent in tax revenues collected by the FBR. This does not take into account the unfortunate political reality that tax collection is not a priority of this, or any other government, since they do not want to take on the wealthy and politically-connected tax dodgers. The SBP has also assumed that subsidies will continue to be removed, even though an activist Supreme Court may have something to say about that, particularly when it comes to electricity and gas. A one-time boost our treasury may get is from the privatisation of state-run enterprises, although the wisdom of such a move for the citizens of the country is far from conclusive. Like everyone else, the SBP recognises that the power crisis is a major impediment to growth but, like everyone else, it too seems to have no solution to the problem. This, in a nutshell, is the problem with our economy. Identifying the issues is easy; finding practical solutions seems beyond our capability.

RPP indictments

When Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was chosen to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani as prime minister many expressed surprise that a man who even then was expected to face trial for his role in the RPP scandal had been elevated to this position. Ashraf may have been able to last out his term but the inevitable has now come to pass and he has been indicted in the RPP case. Ashraf, who earned the unflattering Raja Rental moniker for allegedly accepting kickbacks while handing out contracts for rental power projects, will face trial in an accountability court for costing the exchequer Rs22 billion. He is accused of misleading the cabinet and the Economic Coordination Committee into increasing the down payment given to rental power companies from 7 percent to 14 percent and then skimming some of the money off the top for himself. The allegations are undoubtedly serious but one should not prejudge the guilt of the former prime minister. Better to wait for the case to play out in court and then see if the evidence matches up to the magnitude of crimes alleged. Ashraf, even if he isn’t guilty of corruption, undoubtedly displayed terrible economic decision-making, which in itself should be sufficient to end his political career.

Indeed, anyone involved with the RPP fiasco should have his or her judgement called into question, dating back to the Musharraf era when rental power projects were first touted as a solution to the country’s economic woes. The contracts signed with the IPPs seemed designed solely to cause losses to the treasury and enrich the politically-connected people behind them. When the Supreme Court cancelled all 27 RPP projects in 2012 it said that all the agreements were signed via corrupt practices and were unnecessarily forcing the government to buy electricity at high prices. Even before the Supreme Court decision the RPPs proved an abysmal failure. Only nine of the projects ever became functional and out of those six had to be discontinued for not being able to function properly or meet power generation targets. The taxes the RPPs had to pay were deferred and their customs duty for import of machinery waived. Even with all these incentives the RPPs just could not produce the electricity they were expected to, leading many to speculate that they were perhaps set up only for the immediate financial benefit for the owners of the projects and their government allies. We already know the policy was a total failure; now with Ashraf’s trial we will find out if the failure was deliberate.

__________________
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

20.01.2014

Polio perils

Soon all roads will lead away from Peshawar. The city has been implicated by the World Health Organisation as the ‘largest reservoir’ of endemic polio, with more than 90 percent of polio cases in the country traced back to strains of the virus found in the city. Since Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world – the others being Afghanistan and Nigeria – that face a polio endemic, that makes Peshawar one of the cities in the world in most urgent need of a public health intervention. The problem, as we are well aware of now, is that no vaccination campaign can be entirely successful when a powerful militant organisation is playing on our fears of western intentions to denounce polio vaccinations as a diabolical plot. That the TTP backs its rhetoric with murderous violence against those carrying out the vaccinations and those guarding them only makes the problem harder to solve. A full 10 percent of the children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are yet to be vaccinated while the number is much higher in the adjoining tribal areas where the TTP has even more control.

Should we continue down this losing path in the fight against polio we can expect wide-ranging repercussions. The disease travels fast, as we can already see with the migration of polio from Peshawar to other parts of the country. It has already gone as far as Syria. India, recently declared polio-free, will require travellers from Pakistan to show proof that they have been vaccinated in the last six months. That may be only the start of the likely travel bans we are to face. The world will be frustrated that a disease which can easily be eliminated through vaccinations may make a worldwide occurrence because of the propaganda and crimes of obscurants. Before they take the necessary step of preventing us from spreading the disease further, we will have to take action ourselves. Possible measures that could be taken is vaccinating children at schools, or making it a requirement for admission. Birth certificates and other forms of identification could only be issued if the child is vaccinated. Some out of the box thinking may also be needed like dropping by air polio vaccines in TTP-held areas so that they themselves can save their children. All these measures may sound coercive but eliminating polio is too urgent a need for niceties to come in the way.

Musical chairs

There is never a dearth of surprises when it comes to Pakistan cricket whether in the field or in the boardroom. But still the news of the return of Zaka Ashraf, who was removed from the post of Pakistan Cricket Board chairman by the Islamabad High Court last May, was initially met with disbelief. After all, when Ashraf was shown the door seven months ago by the IHC it seemed that his chapter in the PCB was dead and buried. At the time, the IHC had ruled that Ashraf got himself elected as PCB chairman for a four-year term with the help of a “dubious” and “polluted” election held on May 8 last year. But last Wednesday a two-member divisional bench of the same court accepted Ashraf’s intra-court appeal and restored him as PCB chief after concluding that his removal was a “violation of justice”. Ashraf, who was handpicked in 2011 by former president Asif Zardari to run the PCB, was quick to term his reinstatement as “historic” and has vowed to resume working for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.

However, Ashraf’s return is unlikely to prove as the final chapter in PCB’s legal saga. Media reports have suggested that the government will appeal against the IHC judgement in the Supreme Court. And with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is the board’s patron-in-chief, having the final say in PCB matters, it won’t be surprising if Ashraf’s second inning as chairman turns out to be a short one. Whether Ashraf will manage to complete his term or a new chairman will replace him, one thing is for sure: Pakistan cricket will remain in a state of turmoil. The uncertainty at the top is bound to affect Pakistan cricket in many ways at a time when it is fighting for something that already seems like a lost cause – the return of international action to this violence-torn country. Over the years, Pakistan has lost its status as a major player in the cricket world and it is feared that the current power struggle in the PCB will push it towards further isolation. It is bad timing, too, because currently cricket boards from India, England and Australia are openly pushing to gain absolute control of the International Cricket Council (ICC). If they succeed, cricket-playing nations like Pakistan will be relegated to the status of second-tier members. Back in the 1990s, Pakistan cricket chiefs thwarted similar moves but unfortunately they don’t seem to have the influence or calibre to do that again. At the moment, they are busy fighting for their own survival.

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

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Standing still

Amidst the heated debate over whether we should pursue negotiations or military action to tackle the TTP, the government has chosen a third, even worse, option: stasis. In the last couple of weeks alone there has been a suicide blast at a school in Hangu, two attacks each in Peshawar and Shangla, the assassination of Chaudhry Aslam and then the attack on security forces in Bannu that killed over 20 soldiers. Then, on Monday, a suicide attack at a check post near RA Bazaar in Rawalpindi killed 14 people, including six army personnel. This audacious attack, near the army headquarters, should be the last straw for a government that has shown no urgency even as the TTP has stepped up its campaign of terrorism under the leadership of Mullah Fazlullah. At least Nawaz Sharif cancelled his trip to Davos, something he did not do when he was in Sri Lanka as violence swept the country during Muharram. The prime minister has not taken any action yet but has started talking a lot about taking action. In a telephone conversation with COAS Raheel Sharif, Nawaz said that difficult decisions would have to be made although he did not explain what those difficult decisions would be. He also said at a federal cabinet meeting that out-of-the-box solutions are needed to tackle militancy, although once again there was no elaboration on what those solutions may be.

The cabinet meeting, which took on extra significance after the Rawalpindi blast, discussed the prospects of talks with the Taliban. That more than seven months after the government took power and held an APC to forge a consensus on the matter it is still pondering over it shows just how lethargic it has been. The appointment of Maulana Samiul Haq, and the prime minister’s offhand mention that people like Imran Khan and Fazlur Rehman could also talk to the TTP, now seems a mere smokescreen to buy time. Samiul Haq has welcomed a TTP offer for talks but neglected to mention that the militant group is only open to negotiations if the government shows ‘sincerity’. What the TTP means by that is unclear. If ‘sincerity’ requires the government to halt all military action in the tribal areas even as the TTP itself continues its campaign of violence then this is an untenable position. The TTP, as we are reminded anew after every murderous attack, is not to be trusted. The government should feel free to pursue negotiations but not if it requires defanging the military and ruling out future operations. Whatever it decides to do, though, the government has to take action of some kind immediately. We have had enough of the fiddling while the country is burned to the ground.

Extraordinary

So dire is the power crisis facing us that we have been forced to go to extraordinary lengths in an attempt to overcome it. There is a consensus that Pakistan needs investment in mega power projects – and fast – as the only sustainable solution to its woes. The obvious problem is that will cost a lot of money, money that we do not have and need to secure from our foreign allies. Sensing an opportunity, China has swooped in and said that it will only be willing to invest the $22 billion we need to complete work on the Bhasha Dam, Gaddani and Lakhra coal plants and upgrade transmission lines if it is given complete control of all these projects. The government has agreed to this proposal in principle, carving out a loophole to the standard requirement that contracts for all such projects be given only after an international bidding process. The downside to this is obvious: if we hand over all the projects in bulk to China we may end up paying a lot more money than we would if we had a bidding process and accepted the cheapest bid. Keep in mind that China is offering the investment in the form of soft loans, and so it will both expect to be paid back eventually and possibly profit from these projects.

China will be criticised for using the power of the purse to benefit itself at the cost of an old ally but we should be blaming ourselves for putting ourselves in a position where any foreign investor can take advantage of our predicament. We were unable to build our side of the Iranian gas pipeline and Iran refused to pay for construction we can’t afford. We may consider ourselves a great friend of the Chinese but international alliances are built on interests and need, not friendship. The real worry here is the willingness of the government to disregard the rules and regulations that govern the management of such projects. It may well be a fit case for the superior courts to take cognizance of. Such flexibility augurs ill for the mass privatisation the government has in store, where it can use the same excuse of urgency to get its hands on cash to hand over assets to friends and allies. Such exceptions should not be allowed now because they will soon become a habit. Far better to negotiate with the Chinese or seek other sources of funding than allow for the rules to be flouted.

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

24.01.2014

Lawlessness codified

Under pressure from the Supreme Court, the government has devised a novel solution to the problem of ‘missing’ persons by making a previously illegal action legal. The Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO), which has been sold to the public as a necessary counterterrorism measure, was amended on the orders of the Supreme Court to tackle the vexing issue of illegal detentions. Rather than deny law-enforcement agencies the right to pick up whoever they want for any reason they desire, the ordinance will now allow the government to hold suspects without charge for as long as they want and without having to inform anyone, including the courts, where they are being detained. Previously the ordinance had only given the government the power to keep suspects without charge for no more than 90 days. On top of that, the PPO also gives the government the extraordinary power to revoke the citizenship of anyone declared an enemy combatant. Since the government and military have already made clear that they consider Baloch separatists to be unpatriotic we can expect the PPO to be wielded as a weapon against them. This is an audacious move at a time when the Supreme Court has been trying to locate and free those held illegally. The court is yet to rule on the constitutionality of the PPO but the intention behind the ordinance is as clear as the sun.

With a single stroke of the pen, the issue of missing persons has been solved. Those for whom activists have agitated, relatives have marched miles and countless tears have been shed no longer count as having disappeared; they are merely detained. There is nothing to state that their guilt must be proven. Ideally the ordinance would be rejected by parliament. It was originally introduced as a presidential ordinance when the National Assembly was in recess and since then the opposition parties have pointed out that potential for abuse is rife in the PPO. Now that the National Assembly’s standing committee on interior and narcotics control has passed the bill, it is only a matter of time before it makes its way through the legislature. Only the Supreme Court stands in the way of an executive determined to disregard the rights of citizens in its pursuit of absolute power. No one would deny that terrorism and militancy need to be addressed by the government and that legislation is needed to address this unique threat. That still does not justify giving the power of indefinite detention to a state that has abused this power repeatedly in the past. Why can the PPO not be amended, for example, to give the courts the right to rule on preventive detention within 90 days? Three months is sufficient time for the government to gather enough evidence to prove that the detention is justified. The problem is that the state wants to keep its power to act as it pleases; to stave off any challenge to its authority from the courts it is simply codifying lawlessness.

Their last, best hope

Major General Ijaz Shahid, the IG of the Frontier Corps, gave a startling demonstration of just how much contempt he, and by extension others in uniform, have for the people of Balochistan. In testimony he gave to the Senate, Shahid claimed that Shahzain Bugti’s convoy is filled with terrorists, and indeed that all disgruntled Baloch can be classified as terrorists. He promised to use an iron fist against militants in the province, although the militants he had in mind were nationalist leaders and not those who have terrorised the Shia population. Shahid also claimed that schoolchildren in Balochistan do not sing the national anthem and that the only flags to be found in schools are those forcibly erected by the military. The IG is making the classic mistake of going after a symptom rather than trying to understand the cause. If Baloch children lack patriotism to Pakistan it is because the state has treated them in a way that has unsurprisingly led to alienation and disillusionment. This is the atmosphere where alleged conspiracies – both hatched by political and state elements within the country and by foreign elements – thrive. The solution is not brutal repression and extrajudicial and indiscriminate killings as that only helps the hand of conspiracy. Rather, the state should try to reduce the mistrust that the Baloch rightfully feel. A good start would be not condemning them all as terrorists in the Senate.

The FC had already shown just how little it cares for the rights of the Baloch when Shahid was handed a contempt of court notice by the Supreme Court for not bothering to show up at a hearing into the cases of missing people. Shahid later made an appearance so that the notice would be withdrawn but his brazen denial that the FC was not holding anyone illegally showed that the truth is not a priority for him. The Supreme Court is still struggling with the case simply because the military does not care that it is defying the judiciary’s orders. At a recent hearing the Supreme Court admitted that it was the military that was responsible for the abductions and the stonewalling about it but said that it would go after the civilian government because they were ultimately responsible for the actions of the military. That is true and our politicians should be ashamed of either being a part of repression or being no help to ending it. At the same time, power distribution in the country should not be ignored and, for the sake of the ‘missing’, FC and other security leadership should be called to account. The relatives of those who are illegally being held have been marching to Islamabad under the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons for more than 40 days. A proactive Supreme Court may be their last, best hope.

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

25.01.2014

After the funerals

As shameful as it is that it took the government so long, and so many needless deaths, before it accepted that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is on a quest to eliminate Shias from Balochistan, there is a glimmer of hope that it may finally have recognised reality. The brazen attack on a bus of Hazara Shias in Mastung and the peaceful, nationwide two-day protests that followed seemed to have woken the government up. Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, whose response to the militant wave of terror has been tepid at best thus far, promised a targeted operation against the LeJ. That was followed by the apprehension of three suspects linked to the Mastung bombing. Only time will tell if the operation is only a PR exercise meant to appease the understandably outraged Shia community or a sincere effort to no longer tolerate the existence of such a hateful terror group. Previous attacks on Shias, especially Hazaras, have been met with state indifference. The paramilitary troops in Balochistan have preferred to go after nationalists with legitimate grievances against the centre rather than hateful terror groups. Expecting that policy to be reversed may be too optimistic but to at least treat the LeJ as a genuine threat to peace is the least we can expect from the government.

Should there be a change in tack, credit for that exclusively belongs to the Shia community, with its show of peaceful restraint. The bodies of those killed in Mastung were finally buried on Friday, but for two days before that the 27 dead showed us the outcome of decades of official patronage of militant groups that tolerate no sect other than their own. Even now – as these lines are written -- in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and in other cities protests over the massacre of Shias are continuing. The joining in by some mainly Sunni groups is a good omen. Perhaps some sanity can prevail. But it would be difficult to make it seep through the thickly woven mesh of hatred that has been created. The issue is that of will and how committed the government is to tackling the problem of extremism and dealing with the huge toll it has already taken on our country. The state needs to acknowledge that it let down a community before and vow not to repeat that ever again. The rest of us should realise that the crusade against Shias is part of the same war that the entire country is enduring. The different militant outfits are ideological brothers who will not hesitate to join forces in a drive of hatred. Action against one is pointless if the others are left to thrive.

Unseen victims

The children we see sweeping driveways, minding children in parks or washing dishes at homes across the country flit across our lines of vision, barely noticed as they go about their labours. The stories of their lives often surface only when they have been subjected to abuse or put to death by employers who fail to hide the crime. There have been several such cases in recent times. The latest comes from Lahore, where a 15-year-old maid, Fizza, admitted to the Services Hospital in a critical condition died of her injuries. She had been subjected to severe torture. Her employer, a professor, has been arrested. Days before a boy aged around ten years, Haresh Kumar, had jumped from a sixth floor window allegedly after being tortured for hours. His employer has been taken into custody. The child, who belongs to interior Sindh, had been accused of stealing money. He was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

These cases are hardly isolated in a country where human rights and the value of life are easily ignored – especially if you belong to the under-privileged class. The same day as the incident in Karachi took place, a report surfaced from Multan of torture inflicted on another ten-year-old boy by a traffic warden and her son, who accused the victim of stealing an iPhone while working in their home. Earlier this month a pre-teen maid apparently died after being beaten up by the woman she worked for. In previous years too similar stories have emerged. According to the Islamabad-based Institute for Social Justice, there have been at least 41 cases involving the torture, death or trafficking of child domestic workers between January 2010 and June 2013. Others of course may never have come to light. The very nature of domestic work means it takes place away from the public eye. The unfortunate reality is that these cases are soon – in fact may already have been – forgotten. Such is the condition of domestic workers, in particular children, that stories such as these, highlighted by the media, seldom make for a national discourse on the rights of Pakistan’s labour force. These stories are not only about ten-or-fifteen-year-old domestic help; they are about the utter helplessness of the majority of the working class, the poor and the forgotten in the face of a people getting more used to having their violence brushed under the carpet.

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

26.01.2014

Follow my heart

The case of treason against General Retired Pervez Musharraf for contraventions of the constitution committed during his tenure has the potential to determine much about our country and accountability within it. Whereas the Musharraf trial has considerable potential to push things in the right direction, a matter of the heart may well determine what happens next and indeed what the final outcome is to be. The former dictator’s protracted legal saga took an entirely predictable turn when the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) said that the former dictator was seriously ill and in need of a coronary angiogram, but that he was not willing to undertake the procedure in Pakistan. To its credit, the AFIC report only lays out the facts about Musharraf’s health and does not endorse his desire to seek treatment abroad, leaving it to the courts to make the final decision. The chief prosecutor Akram Sheikh has challenged the report; and clearly the gravity of the ex-commando’s sudden and many ailments is not something that can be commented on without sufficient information and medical knowledge. Perhaps, then, we can expect to see the AFIC report accepted and independent medical professionals called in to decide if treatment abroad is necessary or if an angiogram can be conducted here without any risk to the patient. It is of course for the judiciary to decide what happens next.

But there are things that can be said, and indeed need to be said out loud and clear. Musharraf has asserted his right to seek treatment where he desires but no such right exists for a prisoner who is under trial, especially when the accused is a flight risk. Musharraf should not be able to assert his power to get his way. That can only set a bad precedent since it is inconceivable that any prisoner who is not an influential public figure would be given the same beneficial treatment the former dictator is asking for. We constitute a country in which the damaging game of Chinese whispers is played far too often. It is important to our future that in the eyes of the people Musharraf’s trial is seen as fairly conducted. The Orwellian notion that some people are more equal than others should apply a little less. Musharraf’s lawyers, though, seem to have decided that bullying is the best way to go. The prosecutor Akram Sheikh has alleged that two defence lawyers tried to attack him and said that his legs would be broken and his tongue pulled out should he continue to speak against the military and the judiciary. He was also denounced as an Indian agent by the lawyers. Such bullying tactics should serve only to undermine Musharraf’s case since it shows the high regard he and his team still have for themselves.

Being critical of Musharraf now and of his actions as a military dictator are in no way equivalent to maligning the army as an institution. And surely the representatives of the man who dismissed judges not subservient to him and suspended the constitution will recognise the irony in accusing others of being against the judiciary. The conduct of both Musharraf and his lawyers shows that they are not interested in a fair hearing of treason charges and are resorting to ad hominem attacks to obfuscate the issue. Right now, the slogan in that camp seems to be ‘Musharraf first’. Whatever the outcome of the case, history will record that in his hour of reckoning the dictator had no confidence in the institutions of the country he ruled with an iron fist. Akram Sheikh has also said that his life is in danger and that warnings have been issued to him. This is an unsavoury turn of events. The trial is of very great significance and attempting to alter how it unfolds amounts to an extraordinary crime. This is something all those watching the trial will no doubt take into account as we move ahead in the attempt to determine what the fate should be of a man who had no scruples about throwing his country into chaos and seems to believe he can still get away scot-free despite his deeds.

Sindh blasts

Sindh is getting no respite from the fear of violence that has enveloped the province. Right after Karachi had suffered through a resurgence of targeted attacks and strikes by various groups, there were nearly 50 simultaneous cracker attacks in both the urban and rural areas of the province. The coordinated nature of the attacks, which seem to be warning shots rather than direct attacks meant to inflict heavy civilian casualties, indicate the work of an organised and dedicated outfit. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the general consensus seems to be that the banned Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) is behind the blasts. The nationalist group had called for a province-wide strike on Saturday to protest against MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s remarks calling for Sindh to be divided and Karachi made a separate province. The police have arrested 100 people in response but have not confirmed if the suspects were linked to the JSMM.

Needless to say, Altaf Hussain’s comments were unnecessarily divisive and especially uncalled for in a province where the urban-rural divide is already very pronounced. That the urban areas of Sindh are also a cauldron of different ethnicities that are uncomfortably cohabitating makes the MQM chief’s statements even more unwise. That in itself, it should go without saying, does not justify violence and fear mongering as a response. The province is already on edge and any further provocation could lead to further violent repercussions. In seeking to assert themselves, nationalist groups, should they adopt violence, can only create further divisions between ethnic groups in the province. The local bodies issue, with the controversy over the urban-rural divide in delimitation, has also not helped in mending ties. The MQM has also kept up its long-standing objection to the quota system in civil servant jobs, which distinguishes between rural Sindh, where access to educational opportunities is scant, and the more educated and prosperous urban Sindh. Rather than seeking to narrow this gap, though, opportunist political parties are trying to exploit them for their own gain. By adding violence to the equation they have only made Sindh more divided.

Humanitarianism

‘Humanitarianism’ has taken on an odd meaning in our country. In a country ridden with poverty, almost all would agree that restoring people who obtained their jobs on the basis of false documentation cannot count as ‘humanitarian action’. But apparently in the eyes of governments it does. Thirty-seven employees in the Federal Directorate of Education, ranging in grade from BS-1 to BS-14, continue to hold government jobs despite having been found to have reached there on the basis of forged papers. These persons had been hired during the second Benazir Bhutto government but then dismissed after the PML-N government assumed power in 1997. After a 2009 scrutiny, it was decided they were not eligible for reinstatement, with the Islamabad High Court upholding this.

However, the illegitimate workers were able to eke their way back in under the previous PPP setup. The government in power now seems to have decided to simply turn a blind eye to the issue – and so these fraudulent employees hold on to their jobs, at the cost of others. This is the price we pay for misgovernance, and it appears nothing changes – except faces – when a new government comes into power. What is the value of our votes then? Policies such as these have already destroyed the very idea of merit. They have accelerated the professional decline we see in so many places, promoting a culture of nepotism and negligence which makes it hard to see from where change is to come. Governments it seems are simply not interested, and the ludicrous ‘humanitarian grounds’ argument put forward just shows how far we are willing to go to defend deceit. The promises of governments, it seems, have no basis and mean nothing at all when it comes to actually running the affairs of state.

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

27.01.2014

Power theft

Of all the different problems that are lumped together under the power crisis rubric, none is more eminently solvable than that of power theft. For as long as we are reliant on imported oil, the circular debt issue will persist while increasing power generation is difficult when there is no consensus among the provinces on building large dams. But making the effort to collect bills from those who use electricity requires only will and determination on the part of the government. An estimated seven billion loss is being incurred every day because electricity and gas are being stolen and the authorities have made no effort to collect the bills. This failure is due to corruption at every level. Meter readers are bribed and so underreport the amount of electricity and gas being used. Politically-connected industrialists are never taken on by governments that rely on them for financial support. The biggest evaders may be the government itself, as many state institutions see no need to pay their massive bills. A solution of sorts has been tried in Karachi where K-Electric (formerly KESC) only carries out loadshedding in areas that are suspected to be evading their electricity bills, the defaulters are named and shamed in the media and government agencies are taken to court. The problem lies in the fact that stolen electricity connections are more prevalent in low-income areas, and so the loadshedding predominantly affects those who need power most and can afford it least.

At least K-Electric is trying to devise novel approaches to this increasing problem, which is more than can be said for the government. Rather than tackling the issue of power theft, which in itself would ameliorate the power crisis to a large extent, the government is instead touting new projects. The Punjab chief minister has recently boasted of two new coal power projects in his province, which he claimed would add 6,000MW of electricity. What he neglected to mention, of course, is that a significant amount of this electricity will be stolen and that the project itself will take years to complete. As much as we need more sources of energy, immediate relief can only be provided if the government gets serious about bill collection and cracking down on illegal power connections. The same problem afflicts us in every facet of governance, from making sure people pay their taxes to holding government workers accountable for their corruption. The task is far from impossible but can only be accomplished if the will exists.

Dying arts

A private gallery in Lahore is holding an exhibition of indigenous crafts produced across the country.The items, hand-produced by those considered masters in their fields, include exquisite wood and copper carvings, pottery, rugs, lamps and a host of other items. The tragedy is that outside exhibition halls and galleries, the skills required to produce these items is dying. And with this has vanished a part of our culture – a tradition created over centuries. Unlike other nations, which include some in our immediate neighbourhood, we have failed to protect our arts or promote our artisans. Many of these masters today choose not to pass their skills onto the next generation, recognising there is no future in this. The markets for these items have not been exploited, even though there is very considerable export potential for the distinct embroidery, unique lacquer work and other arts produced in various parts of our country. As a direct result of this neglect entire villages where livelihoods were based on the production of clay items or woven textiles have fallen into decay, the inhabitants moving away or taking up other, far more mundane occupations.

This is a tragedy. A nation that fails to hold on to its heritage is in many ways doomed. When we lose touch with our past and fail to cherish what it can bring to our present, we lose a lot. The failure to inculcate an admiration for skills passed down from generation to generation weakens our own sense of identity. It also damages efforts to project our country in a more positive light. This is something we rather badly need given that today our country has become associated with so many negative images, wiping away from the view of the world the many positive features that lie within it, too often hidden away from public view.

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