The Senate grows a spine, but…

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The proceedings of April 20 in the Senate, where the opposition along with some members of the treasury benches prevented the law and parliamentary affairs minister from tabling the Nizam-e-Adl resolution, may provide some partial relief to Pakistanis all over the country, worried at the prospect of a brutal Taliban government, much like the one that more or less destroyed Afghanistan during its rule their from 1996-2001. The senators – belonging to the MQM, JWP as well as the PML-Q -- were correct in opposing the regulation from being tabled in parliament because they felt that they did not want to lend their stamp of approval to something that was becoming increasingly reviled throughout the rest of the country. Also, it should be remembered that when the regulation was presented before the National Assembly last week, it was preceded by a naked warning from the Swat Taliban and the TNSM saying that any legislator who did not endorse it would be deemed a "non-Muslim" – and the implications of this should be as clear as daylight; that he or she would be considered an apostate and deemed worthy of being killed.

The attitude of the parliamentary affairs minister was irresponsible to say the least, especially his remark that there was no harm in tabling the regulation before the Senate since it had already been presented before the lower house. There is considerable harm in it, Mr Minister, because such a regulation is anathema to the Constitution and shouldn't have been acceded to and drawn up in the first place by the government. It puts the government in a very weak position and gives all the benefits to the Swat Taliban – which they have been using to their maximum advantage. They have not laid down their arms, they have continued their bombings of paramilitary, military and police personnel, they are continuing with their kidnappings of government officials and opponents in general, and they are forcing the population of Swat to adhere to their rigid interpretation of Islam.

On April 20 alone, several security personnel were kidnapped in Swat, including those who were taking a dead colleague's body in an ambulance to his native village (the man was one of the victims of the Hangu suicide bombing a few days ago). Another ambulance and its driver were kidnapped and several people were abducted from Khwazakhela including a local PML-Q leader. Reports were also coming in from various Swat villages and towns of the local Taliban forcing markets to close during the time of prayer. In addition to this, the Swat Taliban have crossed over into Buner and despite several warnings by the local population of that district to leave, have not left it. In a purely Machiavellian tactic, they have agreed to guard a well-known Sufi shrine of the district (clearly they have no love for Sufis but are doing this only to secure their presence in the area). They have also made inroads into Mardan and even Nowshera districts where one report indicates that most shopkeepers who used to sells CDs have switched to other trades and that barbers have stopped providing shaving services to their customers. In Mardan an NGO's office was bombed last week and a female staffer was killed and reports have come in from Mansehra as well of families with working mothers being harassed and warned to stop sending their women out of the house.

So, the Senate may have grown a spine and may have noticed that this is certainly not the kind of Sharia that the people of Pakistan would want to see imposed on them. After all, it isn't for nothing that the people of the country have never ever voted even in substantially significant numbers for religious parties. They have voted for the PPP, the PML-N, the ANP, the MQM and the PML-Q, and of course the BNP and the JWP and they are looking to the leadership of these parties to provide them with a coherent strategy to deal with this very clear and present danger to the country and its people. The response by the interior adviser that a report had been sought on what Sufi Mohammad had said in Mingora on April 19 is nothing but an eye-wash and a ploy used by Mr Malik to deflect the MQM's rightful anger and frustration.

For the prime minister to say that Richard Holbrooke should not be worried about what is happening in Pakistan or that he (the prime minister) does not consider the views of Sufi Mohammad on democracy and the judiciary worthy of comment is to miss the point entirely. Mr Gilani, it is not just Richard Holbrooke is who worried, most Pakistanis are greatly worried about this threat. You and your government had better do something to assure them that you and your government – and the military – are serious in combating it. Brushing the threat under the carpet and pretending that it doesn't exist, or that it exists in a magnitude which is far less than what public perception makes it out to be, will not help. Surely, it is better to be safe than sorry in such a situation – especially when the 'sorry' bit relates to a scenario where Pakistan as we know, with the 1973 Constitution as a guiding principle may have ceased to exist.

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Torture tactics

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The documents from the US Justice Department revealing the kind of tactics used by the CIA to interrogate "high value" suspects are enough to make anyone feel sick. The torture techniques, which had been approved by the Bush administration, have been ended by President Barack Obama. Instead the CIA must now follow army guidelines on interrogation – and will no longer be able to resort to practices such as 'water boarding'. Even though most of us are hardened to torture – a customary practice at police stations and jails – the fact that even a nation that holds itself up as a defender of human rights and takes the high moral ground on all kinds of issues should adapt such methods is shocking. Though accounts of grotesque abuse of prisoners held by the US had come earlier from Iraq and Guantanamo, the new memos and diagrams of the means used to humiliate prisoners and inflict physical pain illustrate more vividly the US attitude towards terror suspects. This approach is of course a factor in the creation of the hatred against the US that in turn spurs on militancy across the Muslim world.

The Obama administration has acted wisely; the real question though will be whether it can create the goodwill necessary to alter the kind of world we live in and build within it the mutual trust and respect that is so badly needed. The closure of the Guantanamo Bay Jail and the ban on torture techniques in use by the CIA marks a step in this direction. It is to be seen now if this foundation can be extended to create a genuinely better world by taking under policy measures which can help eradicate the injustice that is an underlying cause of the terrorism that has today created dangers that lurk in so many parts of the globe.

Interest rate cut

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The move by the State Bank of Pakistan to cut its policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 14 per cent is being seen in the market as a small but significant step towards economic revival in the country. There are hopes that the cut in interest rates will help jump start areas that were affected by the credit crunch. Announcing the monetary policy for the last (April-June) quarter of fiscal year 2008-09, SBP Governor Salim Raza said that the decision to reduce the key policy rate had been taken after determining that inflation would continue to decline. Monday's announcement is welcome news and will go a long way in restoring investor confidence in the capital markets as well. Many key traders have welcomed the decision. At the same time, the SBP decision is being viewed as a first step in a series of such measures that are needed to get the economy back on its feet. There is a genuine need to restart the credit process so that financing can help revive economic activity in different sectors. Some areas where there is a credit crunch include the power sector, the industrial sector and in the area of agri-business. In these areas, many key projects can be initiated given the right economic environment.

It may be recalled that the private sector had been calling for a cut in interest rates because of falling industrial output on the back of power breakdowns as well as a deteriorating law and order situation. Pakistan's business and industrial environment has suffered more from internal factors which have pulled down the country's otherwise bright economic prospects. While the country has managed to do well in comparison to other countries in terms of the global economic depression, the rise in terrorism as well as poor infrastructure has taken its toll on businessmen. The government needs to do more to focus on economic revival. More investment is needed in key areas and at the same time there has to be some sense of direction in terms of goals and targets in different areas. A larger economic road map needs to be shared with the private sector. We must focus on labour intensive industries so that there can be employment generation. We should also work on addressing our basic problem of power generation, which will give our exporters the ability to push more of their products internationally. In many ways, all these things are interlinked and the government has to address these issues both at a macro and a micro level.

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Nawaz comes out of the closet

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The disquiet expressed by Nawaz Sharif over aspects of the Swat peace deal marks a significant break with his past public posture on the Taliban and offers a glimmer of hope for those seeking a united front to tackle the growing threat of militancy. In an interview to USA Today, the former prime minister was more critical than normal of the Taliban and their threat to export their harsh version of Sharia and capture power in other parts of the country. He stated unequivocally that any deal with the militants must not allow democracy to be derailed or the writ of the government to be challenged. This marks an important shift for a leader who has long been accused of being soft on the Taliban and displaying an unacceptable degree of ambivalence in his public stance on the threat the militants pose.

Two factors seem to have pushed Nawaz Sharif towards finally drawing this red line. First, the initial public euphoria over the Swat peace deal, which was seen as offering a glimmer of hope in ending the bloodshed in the area, seems to be diminishing. The inflammatory statements by Sufi Mohammad against parliament and the judiciary, the expansionist forays of the Taliban into districts neighbouring Swat and the continuing spate of suicide attacks have caused alarm bells to rings even among those initially willing to give the peace deal the benefit of the doubt. There has been a distinct shift in public opinion, not least in Punjab, Nawaz Sharif's power base. Ever the populist, Sharif seems to have sensed the changing public mood.

Second, and perhaps more significantly, the world is beginning to pay attention to Nawaz Sharif, particularly after his role in the lawyers' long march hit the headlines worldwide. For too long, the west had written off Nawaz Sharif as someone too close to the religious right in his approach towards the war on terror and the threat of extremism. In recent weeks, the former prime minister has seen a steady trickle of western notables knocking at his door, eager to rebuild links with a person they see as a potential future prime minister. Having disastrously put all their eggs in the Musharraf basket in the past, the west has clearly decided to hedge its bets this time round. Sharif's change of tune over the Taliban is clearly an attempt to dispel the western suspicion that he is a closet extremist at heart.

The break with the ambivalence of the past will strengthen the hands of those who have called for a broad national consensus to face the extremist threat. After all, the PML-N is the second largest party in the country and has a massive support base in Punjab. Nawaz Sharif's belated decision to come off the fence could be a sign that important sections of the population have finally decided to come out of denial mode and accept that the extremists are indeed knocking at the door.

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Fountain follies

Thursday, April 23, 2009

There is more bad news for Karachiites. The controversial Rs220 million fountain stolen from Oyster Rocks in October last year has re-appeared at the site, just as mysteriously as it had been whisked away. Reports say a truck returned the costly structure soon after the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly raised the issue of the audacious theft of what is said to be the second highest fountain in Asia. The Senate had also taken up the matter. There are insinuations that a 'powerful' institution was involved in taking away the fountain, installed on the orders of former president Pervez Musharraf – although it is unclear what use they intended to put it too.

Now that the fountain is back, the good people of Karachi can, one assumes, soon anticipate seeing it spew its jet of water into the air. As they do so, they can once again ponder upon the wisdom of investing so enormous a sum of money in a fountain which serves no practical purpose whatsoever. Many have questioned too its aesthetic purpose, arguing it adds nothing to the country's largest city. The saga of its theft simply adds another item to the list of bizarre events that take place from time to time in our country. We are unlikely to ever learn the full truth behind the manner in which it was dismantled and removed; far more important mysteries in our history have after all never been solved. Instead we must live with the structure that takes up a huge sum of money to run – and wonder at the wisdom of decision-makers in our country.

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The final fall?

Friday, April 24, 2009

Courts in the Buner and Shangla districts of the Malakand Division have stopped functioning, following Peshawar High Court orders. The PHC has stated it needs to ensure judges and lawyers are safe in the wake of the threat posed to them by the Taliban, who have said Qazi courts should replace regular ones in these areas. The Taliban have meanwhile taken over regions in both districts and according to some reports seem now to be threatening to move towards Swabi and Mansehra. It is no wonder then that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that Pakistan is abdicating to the terrorists and emerging as a nation that poses a 'mortal threat' to the world.

So, what are our answers? Do we have any? Can we deny that Pakistan may be becoming a nation within which more and more territory is controlled by militants? Can we explain why we have permitted this to happen – and why we have indeed aided them in their effort by signing peace deals in Swat, and in the past elsewhere as well?

We live today with the consequences of these acts. The agreement and the extent to which it has emboldened the militants have now begun to get people wondering how the army looks at the whole situation and the scenario that might develop out of it. The rage and pain of Swat's people can be sensed through the letters from the Valley that pour in to the press. The blatant lie told by the ANP, that people support the deal with the Taliban, has been exposed. To a far greater extent than the rest of the world, the accord puts all of us at risk. The wrath of the militants has already been felt in parts of Buner. The people who tried to rise up to keep out the hordes of Maulana Fazlullah received no backing, no support, indeed not even a word of encouragement from authorities. Now here, as in Swat, the law of the land is being threatened, the judicial system replaced by an archaic order made up of the mumbo jumbo passed off as religion by the Swat Taliban. We suffer daily diatribes from Sufi Muhammad Khan warning us that the whole of Pakistan must be made subject to 'Sharia' regulations.

Even as the threat grows, by the day, by the hour, even by the minute, our government fails to say how it plans to hold back the menace. Does it indeed intend to do so at all? Or has it fallen in with that flawed line of thinking about the Taliban being friends and the Indians foes that has contributed so immensely to the problems Pakistan faces today. The ANP, apparently unashamed by what is happening, continues its increasingly absurd attempts to defend the deal. With each statement its' leaders make, another nail is driven into the coffin of the proud party founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan that stood for peace, and tolerance and the values of liberal thought.

Will we find the moral courage, the will, the strength to stand together and fight off the Taliban? Can we wrest back from them the territory they hold, inch by inch, foot by foot and acre by acre – or is the battle already lost? We wait for our leaders to offer up an answer.

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Baloch backlash

Friday, April 24, 2009

In a shockingly insensitive and senseless speech to the Senate, the adviser on interior has said India, Afghanistan and – oddly enough – the Russians were engaged in unrest in Balochistan and that the Baloch Liberation Army and the Baloch National Army had links with them. He has also attacked their leaders as traitors, declared the recent kidnapping of UNHCR chief John Solecki to have been a conspiracy hatched in Kabul, said one of the nationalist leaders killed recently in a grotesque murder was a terrorist and insisted that Baloch complaints of thousands of people being missing or women being tortured in lockups were lies.

Let us not even pause to discuss the veracity or otherwise of Mr Malik's remarks. There are other facts that are far more important than the insults he hurled towards Baloch nationalists, in a move that seems geared to sabotage the reconciliation process initiated in the province by President Zardari. The reality is that feelings of deprivation and anger exist everywhere in Balochistan. It is these that have led to the emergence of nationalist outfits in the province over a period of decades. It is quite possible other countries have used the resentment that exists for their own purposes; this after all is a tactic we are familiar with – but they could not have done so had Balochistan been a more content federating unit within the state of Pakistan.

Mr Malik's ill-advised diatribe, which was met by a predictably furious reaction from Baloch senators, makes it even less likely the people of the province will be persuaded to change their mind about the state of Pakistan. Rather than pulling them back into its embrace, Mr Malik has succeeded in pushing them away – and by doing so has put at further risk the welfare of a country so badly in need of greater harmony.

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Death for blasphemy

Friday, April 24, 2009

The death penalty is now mandatory for blasphemy, under Article 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The option of a life term for a person convicted on the charge has been taken away. This has come about purely on the basis of a technicality. The Supreme Court's Shariat Appellate Bench dismissed an appeal against a 1990 Federal Shariat Court ruling making death compulsory – because there was no prosecution by the appellant. But the results of this verdict are potentially dire. The fact is that for any person accused of blasphemy, the possibility of obtaining a fair hearing have over the past decade or so become slimmer and slimmer with each passing year. Each time an accusation is made, an environment of hostility is quickly whipped up – often by extremist forces – creating a highly charged atmosphere. Neither the police nor the lower judiciary is able to function independently or without bias, and courts at the district and sessions level repeatedly pass the maximum sentence – if only because judges fear for their lives.

To make the situation still worse is the fact that the blasphemy law has been abused more and more often. It is ironic that during the past five years, Muslims have emerged as its main victims – even though it is inconceivable that any Muslim would deliberately insult the Holy Quran or the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). All too often they have been accused on the basis of petty disputes – a bid to settle a business dispute; a plot to grab property or simply to seek revenge for some trivial act. The insane have too been victims. In this situation the change in the provisions of Article 295-C are alarming and should serve as another reminder of the need to amend this flawed piece of legislation.

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PIA soars again

Monday, April 27, 2009

The week-long strike by PIA pilots, which had disrupted dozens of flights, was finally called off on Thursday. The pilots had been ‘going by the book’ to press for demands centring around an improvement in packages. It obviously came as a relief for passengers – some of whom had been stranded outside the country – that things have been worked out following a round of talks at the Defence Ministry.

Now that this latest wrinkle in the smooth working of PIA has been sorted out, it is time to pay closer attention to the many issues facing the airline. Reports continue to come in of appointments based on nepotism; of planes flown by pilots who had previously been disqualified on health grounds. Due to similar factors there is concern too over the standards of safety as far as aircraft maintenance goes.

The government, the Defence Ministry bosses and the management of PIA need to keep several things in mind: PIA should be a symbol of national pride as it was through the earlier decades of its existence. More important still is the fact that the lives of hundreds of people are in the hands of the national carrier each time its flights take off and land. It is imperative every possible effort be made to keep them safe by ensuring the airline is run on a professional footing where merit always holds weight over political affiliation or favouritism.

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Plastic poison

Monday, April 27, 2009

Pakistan is not the only country in the world to suffer from the curse of the plastic bag. Just about everywhere that goods or food are sold we may be sure that there will be a shop-assistant reaching for a plastic bag to place our purchases in before we leave the shop. Plastic bags replaced the infinitely preferable paper bag in the 1950’s and quickly became ubiquitous – as did the problem of what to do with them once they had carried goods from market to home. Our rudimentary waste collection and disposal systems and only a very hazy grasp of the benefits of recycling mean that our love affair with the plastic bag was always doomed to have an unhappy ending. The third and developing-world countries seem particularly prone to the miseries inflicted by waste plastic – animals choke on it, sewers and storm drains get blocked by it – and even a casual observer would have to admit that we have a large and unpleasant problem on our hands – as well as under our feet and at the roadsides. Attempts over the years by both provincial and federal governments to persuade us to dispose of our waste more wisely have mostly fallen on our collective deaf ear. We are a nation of litter-ers, happily tossing our rubbish to one side as we travel along, blithely uncaring for the fact that it might take fifty or a hundred years for the bag that we ate our jalebi from to biodegrade.

All of our urban areas see the litter-bug at work, and Karachi is particularly badly affected. The widespread use of plastic bags, the absence of suitable ‘green’ alternatives and the lack of uniformity (and conformity) regarding current legislation are some of the reasons behind the failure of campaigns jointly launched by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to cope with the plastic problem. The Sindh Assembly has recently taken up the cudgels again and the Minister for Environment and Alternative Energy Askari Taqvi has said that the ministry of environment is drafting a law which will allow the production of plastic bags made of “bio-degradable material only”. It is hoped that this draft will then be shared with the other provinces and a nationally uniform law subsequently adopted. Fine aspirations and we wish the minister well. Unfortunately you cannot legislate a national ‘change of mind’ into existence. Unless and until we decide individually and collectively that we really do not want to live on a rubbish heap of our own careless making, then all the well-intentioned legislation in the world is not going to make a scrap of difference. By all means get the necessary laws on the statute books – but at the same time draft and then implement a twenty-five year programme to educate the children of this polluted nation as to the perils of plastic and the consequences of wilful littering.

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Perkier police

Monday, April 27, 2009

The recent announcement by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif of a rise in pay and perks for the Punjab Police, bringing the package offered to them at par with that for the elite Motorway Police set up during the PML-N government in its last tenure, was met by spontaneous eruptions of dance by exuberant cops. Their display, like the raised fists of their female counterparts, demonstrated just how much the decision meant to them. The police, especially the ordinary constables who guard check posts and gates, have been for many months now on the frontline of terrorist assaults. There have also been on the frontline of criticism whenever there is a ‘security failure’ – perceived or real. But these men – and women – who are expected to guard us against attack are also among the lowest paid of government officials. Some studies suggest this is one, though not of course the only, factor in the high levels of corruption within the force. It is certainly a reason for low morale and a lack of motivation, which can sometimes contribute to huge lapses in professionalism.

The grant of better wages, allowances and risk pay-outs will help address some problems within the force. Resentment over the better pay of the Motorway Police and new traffic wardens in Lahore has been high. The fact that the Sindh Police also benefitted recently from an increase in salary indicates new thinking on the role of the police and the problems they face. This seems sensible. In the situation we face today, we need every available person to help combat militancy; the cops who patrol roads and keep watch over ‘mohallas’ are indispensible in the battle now being waged. While the force has so often been ridiculed and attacked for its incompetence, the fact also is that over the past year cops across the country have been slain by bombs; some have died while trying to protect other citizens. Heroic behaviour such as that of the young policeman in Islamabad who gave up his own life to prevent a bomber entering a police station and killing many of his colleagues must also be recognized. The pay and perks increase is a step towards acknowledging that the police force is central to national security. But there is a need to do more. In order to succeed against highly motivated and well-prepared killers, the police need better training and equipment. There is also an urgent need to improve professionalism within the force, by ending the present culture of nepotism and political postings, so that the police can be turned into an outfit truly capable of combating both rising crime and growing militancy.

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Taliban terror

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

In our cities, where there is more and more trepidation over the rapid Talibanization of the country, some comfort is still sought in the fact that the larger urban centres may well be able to ward off a similar threat. But can they? We have evidence in many places of the growing Taliban influence. In the Manga Mandi area of Lahore, local police thrashed in public three couples who they stated had been engaged in 'objectionable' behaviour. Rather than rejoice over this attempt to save them from immorality, local people expressed anger over the beating of women in the streets.

There are other incidents too. From Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad accounts come in of women being stopped in the streets and asked to cover their heads or 'dress decently'. The most dire accounts speak of threats to hurl acid. Co-educational schools, ironically enough even those imparting a religious education whose tiny pupils arrive in veils and caps, have been threatened. Some women drivers have reported harassment from youths on motorcycles. It is quite possible, indeed probable, that not all these incidents are true. But what such rumours do is create an environment of fear. This after all is what the terrorists want above all else. It is time that, as citizens, we fought back for our rights; for our space and for our right to live without constant fear. So far this struggle has not been taken up in earnest. It is time to push back the tide and rescue our nation from a fate that will jeopardize the future of all its citizens.

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End of the short 'peace'?

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The chief of the TNSM has said that following the start of a big military operation in Dir, talks with the government are being suspended. The end of the 'reconciliation' attempt seems closer than ever. Perhaps this will be for the good. So far the militants have continued to steadily march on. There is an urgent need to stop them. Though a big military offensive has been launched against them in Lower Dir, the militants have yet to fully vacate Buner. The Taliban who poured in to that district from neighbouring Swat have returned – but they have left behind the 'local' Taliban who continue to harass and torment, springing on people who dare listen to music or on women stepping out of homes. Also, their edicts and their dismantling of Buner's civilian infrastructure have not been reversed by even the slightest bit.

In this context the comment by the DG ISPR that there are only about 50 Taliban left in Buner means little. No matter how small their number these forces seem to be quite capable of creating havoc by hampering people from pursuing routine activity. The more local groups, including religious parties and the ANP who seem to have formed an odd alliance, have urged the government not to deploy troops in Buner. This means that they in fact wish the ground to be left open to the Taliban, enabling them to return as and when they please. We can only hope the government chooses not to follow what is a recipe for disaster. To make matters worse, the Taliban have also stopped troops moving into Mingora, intercepting a convoy as it attempted to reach the principal city of Swat. And they have occupied the house of a PML-N leader in Bahrain, making it quite clear they have no intention at all of abiding by the rule of law. Militants are reported also to be taking up positions in Kalam, indicating their intent to take control of the entire Swat area. In this situation, we must ask quite what the authorities plan. There have been claims that 26 militants, alongside two security men, have been killed in Lower Dir. But at the same time the interior secretary has insisted there is no link between the military actions in Dir and the peace deal in Swat, and that the government will abide by its terms. Such a 'piece meal' approach to the problem seems unsustainable. We cannot hope to get away by killing militants in one place and striking accords with them in another. There needs to be a more holistic plan in place to combat the militant threat. A failure to do so will be disastrous, with the US already issuing warnings that it will step in if Pakistan fails. Also, as far as tactics are concerned the practice of sending in paramilitary units to fight the Taliban is being questioned by some experts, on the grounds that in many cases the Taliban have been able to easily defeat the paramilitary troops simply because the troops are outgunned and not as well-trained or backed with armour and airpower as the regular infantry.

Such an eventuality is one we must at all costs guard against. The COAS has sworn Pakistan will be protected. Now is the time to set up a strategy to do so, before things simmer further out of control. The statement from the Taliban that they have no plans to lay down arms till all Americans leave Pakistan is just one indication of the growing tensions between the government and the TNSM. It is also becoming clear that the aged Sufi Muhammad Khan cannot deliver much, if anything at all, of what he has promised. There are in fact no options. An all-out operation against the militants must begin immediately – otherwise the perils faced by Pakistan will only continue to grow ever-more threatening by the day.

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Change in Punjab?

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

There are growing indications that Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer may have reached the end of his run at the Governor's House. His exit, at one point or another, had seemed inevitable since the success of the lawyers' long march – despite all attempts to thwart it. Many had thought at the time that Taseer would do the honourable thing and quit. He has chosen not to do so, keeping up the tradition of clinging to power at all costs. It is, however, obvious that Taseer remains unacceptable as far as the Punjab chief minister is concerned. All those familiar with the administration style of Shahbaz Sharif can be in no doubt that he will want an unhindered run as provincial chief executive. Taseer has sensibly adopted a slightly lower profile since the restoration of Shahbaz, but beneath a calm surface the old hostilities persist. They are bound to surface again in one way or the other.

For these reasons the change in the Governor's House, if it comes about, could prove to be good news for the province. It is crucial at this point that it's administration function as smoothly and as cohesively as possible. The security situation is just one reason for this. Changes in the administrative mechanisms provided the backdrop for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and the audacious siege a few weeks later of the police academy at Manawan. More such incidents must be avoided. The government must be able to function unimpeded and an end must be put to the ugly friction that has so far had a negative impact on the running of Punjab.

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Swine flu alert

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

For once, Pakistan seems to have acted to prevent a potential health crisis before it can strike, rather than struggling later to pick up the pieces. According to the National Institute of Health, all airports in the country have been put on alert to guard against the possible entry of swine 'flu into the country. Passengers arriving from 'suspect' regions will be checked on arrival and airport staff has been briefed on this. So far, there has been no evidence of swine 'flu presence in the South Asian region. But the WHO has warned that the sickness, a blend of human, avian and swine 'flu, can quickly spread across borders and continental boundaries. It has asked all nations to maintain a state of high alert.

For these reasons, Pakistan's timely actions are wise. They also mark a distinct break from the past. Diseases like dengue fever and bird 'flu has gained their foothold in the country because we have too often been tardy in our responses to the threat. To make matters worse, attempts to cover up the real facts rather than battle the sickness, have also been a feature of past strategy. The number of dengue deaths have been downplayed; outbreaks of 'flu at poultry farms denied. The more enlightened response we have seen this time round could be key to keeping Pakistan safe from a health hazard that experts fear could become a pandemic. The DG health and his team must be congratulated in this regard for taking the lead and making a true effort to protect people from a potentially fatal illness.

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Summer snow

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The rising summer temperatures in Islamabad could not melt the icy chill that swirled everywhere during the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visit to the country. While Mr Brown was obviously eager to warm up relations with Pakistan, which had cooled following the arrest of ten Pakistani students and the subsequent release of nine. London has so far refused to express remorse over the arrest of young men who seem to have in fact been innocent, and this has quite naturally angered Pakistan. But there is more to the hostility between Islamabad and London. The Pakistani side is said to have been offended by Brown's comments about future anti-terror policy focusing on the Pak-Afghan border. This of course is an echo of the line being taken by the US, which has emphasized the same strategy. The fact that the west is apparently failing, in Islamabad's eyes at least, to see its point of view and to offer help in battling terror rather than adding to the pressures and criticism Pakistan faces in this respect, has already led to an angry comment or two from President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Pakistani president also reportedly pulled out at the last minute from a press conference with the UK prime minister, which was addressed by the Pakistan prime minister instead. Though all the right noises were made, with the UK pledging to step up aid to help Pakistan fight terror, the frost did not quite dissolve. Somewhere in all this there is an element of the stubbornly childish. London has reason to make at least some kind of expression of regret over the maligning of Pakistan that followed the arrest of the students. It is after al actions of this nature that contribute to growing resentment within the British Muslim community based in the UK. As such, for the sake of its own interests as much as those of Pakistan, Britain needs to adopt a more mature line and confess to making embarrassing errors when these take place.

Islamabad too must learn to face facts rather than sulk over the world's reaction to the onward march of militants across its territory. The fact that the Taliban now control growing stretches of territory is an obvious reason for concern. Similar fears indeed exist within Pakistan itself and among Pakistanis based overseas. Islamabad can best serve its own ends by adding, to its demands that the US and the UK not make attempts to dictate terms, a clear-cut response as to how it attempts to tackle terror. It is true the situation we face today is not an enviable one. Pakistan is looked at today as a nation that has failed. But we can turn a difficult reality around by using it in our favour--and establishing ourselves as the world's leaders in the struggle against terror. By doing so we would do more than anything else to expose the frequent follies of the west and prove that Pakistan has something to offer the world as a country that can pioneer a strategy aimed at rooting out militancy and thus making the world a safer place for everyone who lives in it.

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State and citizen

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The relationship between a state and its citizens is an intricate one. Philosophers have, for centuries, expounded on it and what it means. But while the debate rages on, the one thing we can say for certain in that this relationship will change profoundly should the Taliban ever seize power in Pakistan. How will it change? In more ways than we can possibly imagine. The vision of the Taliban is a totalitarian one, encompassing every facet of public and private life. It would, for instance, decide how we dress, whom we meet, how we conduct ourselves in public and at least attempt even to decide how we think. This in effect means personal liberties we take for granted – like choosing what music we hear and when, or stepping out to buy a CD or a DVD, could vanish overnight. With them would go the right to privacy or a life lived outside the eye of those who rule. The freedom of speech, of artistic expression, of association and of belief would too be snatched away.

The Taliban have shown they have no regard for such fundamentals of civilized life. Girls would vanish from schools and sports fields, women from the public sphere. Against all this, can we even argue that a trade off under which the Taliban would possibly offer better justice and greater social equality is acceptable? The answer of course is 'no'. But it is astonishing how many people continue to delude themselves, insisting the Taliban could offer a better, more equitable society. The fact is that without a respect for the individual, his or her right to choose how to live, what line of thought to follow, a better society is impossible. This is a fact that needs to be emphasized as emphatically as possible. The media, our political leaders and others in positions of influence all need to play a part in this so we can cast away the confusion that is adding to the unrest running through our society.

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A brave decision

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The announcement that an annual Sufi music festival is to go ahead as usual in Lahore is rather significant. The time that we live in has led to the cancellation of all kinds of cultural events for fear of bombs or grenades. In this context any event that can offer mentally exhausted people a sense of normalcy must be welcomed with open arms. The holding of an event celebrating the spirit of the sufis, the mystical preachers who spread Islam in our part of the world, is also especially important. The sufis preached tolerance, acceptance and brotherhood that were not held back by differences in religion or race. These are all qualities that we desperately need today. The passage of several centuries has not made them any less relevant. The sufi poets and philosophers, whose works live on through folk song across the country, recognized that attempting to impose by force or create uniformity within the diversity of the sub-continent was unwise. This basic wisdom has today slipped away from our grasp. The music festival being bravely staged in Lahore marks one step in this direction. But we need many more to walk away from the dangers of our time and into a new, more harmonious future.

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Back to arms

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Finally, after a lull that has simply allowed militants to re-group, re-arm and re-plan, a military operation has resumed. In Dir and in Buner, the armed forces seem to have gone after the Taliban militants with full force. President Zardari and General Kayani have met, with the COAS giving an assurance that they can tackle the militants. Once more we see people fleeing homes and villages. Perhaps things could be made easier for them by dealing with the militants once and for all, rather than prolonging the process so that it expands across weeks and months and years. As gun-ship helicopters pound the rugged countryside of Buner and troops regain control of some key areas from the militants, we must ask why decision makers continue to play foolish games. The 'stop and start' tactics serve no purpose at all; this time round they have simply allowed the Swat Taliban to make even louder threats and to strut before TV cameras as 'victors'. Even now, our leaders continue to pretend the 'accord' in Swat is still viable. We have as yet to hear it being criticized for the farce that it is by any major party. The attitude adopted, during TV interviews and elsewhere, is apologetic. It took civil society, whose members turned out in large numbers at the General Post Office in Lahore, to dispatch angry letters to the president questioning the Nizam-e-Adl to forcefully bring out this point of view and end a situation where we spoke of it only in whispers.

It is time we stopped shuffling our feet like hesitant schoolboys. It has become necessary to go after the Taliban with all the force we can muster. This is a fact that must be faced, no matter how difficult it may be to wage war within our own county. The militants have already created havoc through a campaign aimed at creating fear. This time round we must not succumb to the tactics of blackmail. The Swat Taliban has now openly threatened to attack targets across the country if the 'deal' struck with them breaks down. This may, admittedly, not be entirely a bluff – but the fact is that what we know now is no peace either. There is an element of a nightmare in all that is happening. We need to shake it off so that a more pleasant vision for the future can replace it.

To achieve this, the lessons of the past must be learnt. In Dir and in Buner, troops have demonstrated they are quite capable of dealing with the irregular fighters they face. The politicians and the military leadership must now demonstrate they are capable of putting on a true show of team spirit. There must not be any doubt as to who the enemy is or the kind of threat these forces pose. We have heard far too many words – in the form of promises and assurances – over the past few weeks. What we need now is to see action and a demonstration that there is a true willingness to take on the thugs who have been responsible for a wave of crime which they, as yet, have not in any way been penalized for.

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Media in the middle

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The media seems to have got caught up in a rather dangerous place in its effort to bring the facts of the battle between militants, the state and the people before the public. It appears it has become a target for both sides. In Peshawar, a reporter who has written for this newspaper for many years was mysteriously whisked away by intelligence agency personnel who wanted him to disclose his source for a story. His refusal to do so, on grounds of professional ethics, has led to a prolonged detention. Crudely worded missives threatening a cartoonist of this newspaper and several columnists (including one writing for this newspaper) have landed up in their email boxes. The mails demand a changed attitude, or warn the Taliban will act in ways they know best – by killing, by chopping off hands or resorting to other means of barbarity. The purpose quite obviously is to silence those who still dare to criticize, who through their words or their sketches attempt to expose the absurdities of the Taliban and to question their claims to speak in the name of religion. By caving in without a word to the Taliban, our politicians have aided in paving the way for this. The Taliban are clearly eager to control all thought and stifle all dissent. Unable to resort to reasoned debate, they use threat as the means to achieve this.

It must be made clear to them that they cannot hope to succeed. Our media is a courageous and vibrant one. It has stood up before for its right to freely voice its opinion and it will do so again. What is to be seen is how far our leaders act to defend those who are being subjected to such attacks. The source of the threats must be tracked down. In some cases at least this should not prove especially arduous as cell numbers have conveniently been provided within threatening emails. This fact alone demonstrates the gall and audacity of the militants. They must not be allowed to get away by breaking the law and attacking those guilty of no wrong – for if they do more such incidents will take place and members of the media exposed to still greater danger than what they face now.

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Ban on fishing

Monday, May 04, 2009

The government in Islamabad has formed a committee comprising of officials from Sindh and Balochistan to propose legislation to ban fishing with small nets. The new law, once brought into force, would allow authorities to confiscate boats and impose fines on those found using small nets to catch fish or shrimp. The purpose is to encourage foreign investment in deep-sea fishing, using trawlers and larger nets. The meeting, chaired by the minister for livestock was told depleted stocks of sea life were dissuading investment in fishing in Pakistan, and that activity by small fishing boats was robbing the sea of fish.

This proposed policy must be reviewed. The fact is that in both Sindh and Balochistan, there are communities of impoverished people who survive by fishing the coastal waters of their provinces. To enforce a law that could rob them of the one means of livelihood they have known for generations seems like an immense injustice. The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), representing fishing communities, must be brought in to any talks on any new law so that a people who are already marginalized do not suffer further. It is also questionable if depletion of fish is genuinely caused by small-net fishing. The environmental studies conducted suggest polluted waters, particularly off the Karachi coast, is a key factor in this. Millions of gallons of waste water and effluents are pumped into the sea regularly. Measures to tackle this poisoning of our waters may prove to be a better way to increase stocks of fish rather than implementing a law that could bring with it a great deal of human misery. Past legislation on fishing rights and the grant of permits has already affected smaller fishermen. Their situation must not be made worse by new, poorly thought-out measures.

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Permanent peace

Monday, May 04, 2009

The high level meeting held in Karachi to discuss the latest outbreak of violence there raised some highly relevant points. As the prime minister noted while presiding over the meeting, a key priority must be to call a tripartite meeting of the PPP, the MQM and the ANP to discuss the measures that need to be taken. But perhaps the key point to emerge from the meeting was the call to remove all illegal arms from Karachi. This is indeed a vital need. The enormous number of weapons adds to the sense of threat that lurks almost constantly within the city. But this is an issue that in fact goes beyond Karachi. According to some reports, Pakistan as a country has among the highest number of small arms anywhere in the world. The influx of arms that began during the 1980s, as a direct consequence of the war in Afghanistan, has continued unchecked since then. Pakistan also has a huge indigenous arms-manufacturing industry, based in Darra Adam Khel in NWFP. In the bazaar of that small, dusty town it is possible to buy almost any weapon known to man.

There is no doubt that the presence of these weapons adds to the violence we constantly live with: whether in the form of crime, or riots or targeted killings or militancy. This is a situation that needs to be addressed on a wider level. We need a mass campaign for de-weaponisation in order to create a more peaceful society. There had been a half-hearted attempt to initiate such a drive under the regime of President Pervez Musharraf, but it quickly fizzled out. There must be a new programme aimed towards this end. If it is to succeed, it will naturally need the cooperation of ordinary people. At present many people believe they require small arms to defend themselves. This perception will change only if the state is able to persuade citizens of its ability to protect them.

There are of course many complexities linked to such a task. But the fact is that it has become an essential one. Unless we reduce the number of arms, we will only see more incidents such as that which plunged Karachi into turmoil and left 33 people dead in two days of violence. The issue needs therefore to be taken up as a priority, some scheme of incentives should be planned to encourage people to turn in illegal arms and by doing so make our society a safer one for everyone who lives in it.

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Full marks

Monday, May 04, 2009

In a country where the default position is more often ‘cheat’ than it is ‘play fair’ it is refreshing to see at least one institution bucking the trend. Further, this sudden outbreak of probity has occurred within the most unexpected of quarters – a political party. The political life of the nation is by now so corrupt and riddled with every kind of chicanery that it is rare that anything good can be said about any of the practitioners of politics; yet we have an example emerging of what we fervently hope is the shape of things to come. It is alleged that an MNA has been caught trying to cheat. Haji Parvaiz Khan of the PML-N is said to have sent his nephew Bilal Javed to personate him in an FA examination. Parvaiz Khan had previously failed the examination twice and had perhaps decided that he needed a little insurance to pre-empt further failure. The ringer was spotted and exposed by Dr Naeem Bajwa, a member of the Special Inspection Committee, who has subsequently received threats to the life of himself and his family members and is currently under police protection. The price of honesty can be dangerously high.

The matter is currently under investigation by an internal PML-N inquiry committee and there are indications that it will be recommending disciplinary action in the event of a finding of guilt. Parvaiz Khan may well forfeit his parliamentary seat and all the perks and privileges that go with it. There will be those who say of the alleged cheater… ‘Oh…this is Pakistan’ as if it was a matter of little or no consequence. It may be a commonplace, it may happen all over the country in every walk of life, but that does not make it in any sense ‘right’. Even less is it right to fail to challenge those who cheat and defraud, no matter they be high or low. It is only by challenging and exposing corruption and fraud that it can be effectively fought and a change brought to the culture of this cheating land. The cynics will say ‘What is the point?’ Well the point is that several people have had to stand up and be counted in the course of this enquiry.

They have stood up for truth and principle, in at least one case placing themselves at risk by so doing. Full marks then to the PML-N for standing up and at least in part allowing the public sight and sound of disciplinary procedure. The outcome is yet unknown but the facts do seem to be clear and unequivocal, and the MNA under investigation has said he will stand down if found guilty. So he should.

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All-out war

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

It is now quite obvious that we are at war. The pretence of peace in Swat seems finally to be over. Mingora has once more been taken over by the militants and the Taliban have sworn they will march on from here. In Buner the ISPR has said that the Taliban are in fact using some 2,000 citizens as human shields in a bid to ward off a full military offensive. This of course shows how little they care for the people they claim they are 'defending'. A school has been attacked, suicide bombers hunt out targets again. All this comes of course in response to the swift success of the military. The past few days have demonstrated that the Taliban can indeed be overcome -- and with relative ease. The emphatic successes in Dir and Buner and now in other parts of Malakand are evidence of this. But one must hope that this time no halt is put to the offensive. The military can wrest back final control of areas currently under the Taliban only if it is not impeded and held back as has happened in the past. People are desperate to be rescued from the militants. The military must live up to their expectations.

But as it does so, it must also remain conscious of another duty. Indeed it is also the task of the government to give its orders in this regard. The lives and welfare of civilian non-combatants must be protected and casualties minimized. We are already seeing huge displacements from areas in Dir and Buner. These people too need help. The state and the armed forces of Pakistan must then work together, and accept that they have a dual duty. They must fight off the Taliban and demonstrate that Pakistan is a strong, viable state. But at the same time they must also protect people and, by doing so, build a bigger coalition that can shake off the evil hold of the Taliban.

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Tough code

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

The Supreme Judicial Council has moved to clean up the judicial act. Policy decisions reached last month, which state that no judge will accept a political posting as acting governor or to any other similar position, have been officially announced. But there is far more to the actions taken. A deadline has been put in place to dispose of cases and a special cell set up to tackle judicial corruption. Checks are to be carried out to monitor the working of the sub-ordinate judiciary. Judges found living beyond their means will be investigated. The timing of these developments is of course immensely significant. Like everyone else in the country, the chief justice of Pakistan is aware of the Taliban threat. He is conscious too that it has assumed such menacing proportions due to weaknesses within the system – including the judiciary. Because of the judiciary's inefficiency, its failure to deliver to people the justice they seek and the long list of pending cases, the Taliban's pledge to swiftly deal with criminal elements and to offer people instant access to justice has struck a chord in hearts and minds. This is true in Swat and far beyond, where even people who have few sympathies with the Taliban school of thought are swayed by the offer of meeting at least one basic need. Indeed it is the failure of our leaders to meet this need that has contributed to the rise of the Taliban and their rampage across the country.

The decision in this context to place a timeframe of six months on cases pending in superior courts is as such welcome. A huge volume of cases wait to reach conclusion. As many as1.5 million are currently pending before the subordinate judiciary. Since it is the working of these courts that most affects the largest number of citizens, there is a need too to find the means to speed up the process here. The three-month deadline placed on cases in family courts is especially encouraging in this respect. The system of inspections being put in place and the new emphasis on clearing the backlog may help in ensuring that the new rules are adhered to. What is being done now is of course long overdue. The fact that the image of the judiciary has crumbled in the eyes of the people and that various cases involving corruption and wrongdoing of other kinds have periodically come to light over the last decade or so is one factor in the sense of drift many citizens feel. There is no sense of anchor, no confidence in the institutions of state. Among these institutions, the judiciary of course plays a key role in the lives of people. The effort to lift it out of the low to which it has slumped may then be a critical factor in saving a state that for the moment remains under threat and must do all it can to save itself from being over-run by hordes that have expertly exploited its weaknesses and used them to build their own flawed philosophy of instant justice.

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Tripled expectations

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

The Kerry-Lugar bill, under which US military and non-military aid to Pakistan would triple to $1.5 billion a year, has been tabled in the US Senate. Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar have also called for it to be processed quickly given the situation in Pakistan. The bill and its contents will naturally remain at the centre of attention as President Asif Ali Zardari begins his visit to Washington where he is to meet with President Obama. Islamabad will of course be hoping the bill meets with Senate approval. The assistance it offers would of course be eagerly received. But there must also be recognition that the proposed legislation ups the expectations – stressing that Pakistan must tackle militancy and ensure no help is offered to terrorist groups from its soil. Its failure to persuade the world of its ability to guarantee this has, so far, cost Pakistan rather heavily. It is today in danger of becoming a true outcast among nations and a focal point for the spread of global terrorism.

We must hope then that the Pakistan team currently ion Washington has worked out a strategy to counter this impression. Being able to put forward the outlines for such a plan in response to the questions that will invariably be asked may help to redeem us as far as international opinion goes. Pakistan has in recent months received some very negative media coverage. This too needs to change. The fact is that we can gain access to more assistance from the world only if we can persuade it of our will to go after terrorists. In turn we can battle militants successfully only if we have the necessary resources, not just in terms of military means but also to address people's needs. We are thus, in some ways at least, caught in something of a vicious cycle. Assistance is not offered because there is a lack of confidence in capability and commitment. This impression must then be changed so that Pakistan can benefit from the new legislation and other bills like it – now and also in the future.

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Style police

Thursday, May 07, 2009

If ever we needed clear evidence that the extremist political groups in NWFP were determined to regulate our lives in every respect; the delivery of a letter allegedly from the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has warned doctors in the public sector hospitals of Peshawar to stop wearing shirts and trousers or face suicide bombing - provides it. The letter was delivered on April 28 and sources confirm that it has been followed up by another letter saying that this was a 'last warning' and failure to comply by doctors, health staff and representatives of drug companies visiting hospitals would result in hospitals being bombed. Neither letter was on headed paper and their precise origins are unknown. Understandably, fear has gripped the large medical community, who have no choice but to take the warning seriously. However, according to a reliable source that has to remain nameless for their own protection; the waters are clouded by the possibility that the letter may have originated from a disgruntled security firm angry that its lucrative contract had been terminated.

Whatever the real source of the letter the motivation behind it is clear. It aims to terrorise innocent people going about their lawful and very necessary business. If the letter does come from the TTP then it is an indication of the extent to which they and their ilk seek to control every aspect of our daily lives, reaching into our wardrobes and selecting what it will be that we wear to work. These people will control not just our attire, but our whole way of life and thought in a way that makes the worst excesses of fascist dictatorship pale by comparison. If the letter originates from another source then it is capitalizing on the fear that the invocation of the name and reputation of the Taliban causes; riding on the back of the tide of terror that now swirls at the ankles of all of us. Either option is repugnant to the average decent person; the more repugnant for targeting the health-providers who labour in conditions that few of us could stand and who daily pick up the pieces – literally – of the conflict that rages across NWFP. The letter – whoever wrote it - carries the stink of barbarism; and we can but hope that it is the repugnance of the majority that in the end defeats the tyranny of the minority.

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Swat's story

Thursday, May 07, 2009

As we had predicted, the peace accord in Swat is over. The Taliban's claims that the government had violated the peace deal and Sufi Muhammad Khan's meaningless comments about not having being consulted over the setting up of the Darul Qaza are obviously nothing more than gibberish. The truth is the Taliban had never laid down their arms, had made sure they never relinquished control of Mingora and, as some intelligence reports suggest, may never have intended to accept the 'accord' brokered by Sufi anyway. It is obvious the militants do not fall under the aging TNSM leader's control any longer. And even if we assume his intentions were good, those of the fighters crazed by power and a lust for blood were not. So, Swat's sad story continues. Once more we have mass displacement as desperate people flee homes. In Mingora the fight is already on, with militants attempting to take over key government offices and clashing with security personnel. There have also been reports of similar fighting elsewhere, and its ferocity will now almost certainly increase.

Last time round, before the ill-fate peace agreement was reached in February this year, we saw security forces suffer successive defeats across the Valley. Many asked how it was possible for a few hundred militants to triumph over an army that rivals that of the US in terms of size. Some stated it was this factor that had forced a panic-stricken ANP government to open talks with Sufi Muhammad Khan. There are indications now that the situation has changed. The realities are no longer the same. The mysterious forces that control events from behind the scenes in Pakistan seem to have been in motion once more. Therefore we can expect, this time round, a more decisive outcome to the battle in Swat. There is no doubt the militants there have to be overcome and eradicated. They have demonstrated their deceit and their lack of trustworthiness. Any doubts that may have existed as to this have now been dispelled. Perhaps then the last few weeks did achieve something after all – unveiling the real face of the Taliban. Their threats to journalists, to politicians, to others who dare defy them, prove they aim only to rule by force, to silence dissent and to establish the barbaric rule of the sword.

The government and the military must now work together to re-gain control over these areas and to ensure that those guilty of crime are not allowed to go scot free. The weeks given to the militants have allowed them time to regroup and re-assemble their forces. They can then be expected to put up a tough battle – but this time it must be one fought to the bitter end, so the militants can be defeated and the people of Swat allowed to return to homes and villages with the confidence that they will not again be forced to flee.

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Hot and cold

Thursday, May 07, 2009

The US has put on a kinder face, insisting that it supports President Asif Ali Zardari and has no desire to see a military coup in Pakistan. But despite Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke's reassurances, the US media continues to report a flurry of activity behind the scenes. This includes Washington's approaches to Nawaz Sharif – a man they had previously dismissed as being too 'pro-Taliban' -- and also direct contact with the Pakistan Army. President Barack Obama's praise for the military last week must after all be rooted somewhere; it couldn't have come entirely out of the blue, especially as Obama has a reputation as a man who thinks out every move well in advance. The developments in Washington are then somewhat disquieting. What Pakistan does not need at this point is greater instability. This of course would only benefit the militants who in the past too have taken advantage of the weaknesses of government. But it may be that the purpose of all that is happening is chiefly to place pressure on Pakistan to deal with the militants. Many in the know indeed speak of wheels within wheels, with Pakistan too using the militant menace as a means to extract aid from the US.

We are of course familiar with such games. They have been played out in the past too. But we must hope that the charade ends well, and that our home-based players at least realize it is the welfare of the state of Pakistan and its people that must be the priority. There is a danger that somewhere along the line this may be lost sight of, adding to the complications we already face and which are reflected in the new, wary relationship unfolding with the US.

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