Dinner, tea and sanity

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The prime minister gate-crashed the dinner party of the chief justice on Tuesday evening and the rest, as they say, is history that we all saw unfolding on our TV screens by the minute. Ultimately, it took just a three-hour huddle between the prime minister and the chief justice of Pakistan to do away with the stupid obstinacy hitherto displayed by the government. It must be said though that the views of those who have seen something amiss in the chief justice meeting the prime minister in the way that he did are not entirely without weight and reason. They think all this could have been done in a manner that did not depart so radically form the norms that, in this case, should have been kept. The government reeling from the lack of popular legitimacy for its illegitimate stance had obviously realised that, if it did not swallow its own pride and eschew clinging to pathetically poor legal advice then the snowballing crisis might well end up consuming it. Fortunately for itself and the democratic dispensation, the government stepped back from the disastrous precipice just in time by agreeing to all judicial appointments to the superior judiciary as recommended by the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of the Lahore High Court. The government has shown willingness to go the same way along the Sindh judicial horizon.

Certainly, this particular crisis, or rather this particular manifestation of The Crisis, seems to stand resolved. But how long will it stand so and how meaningful will be the difference made by the government's U-turn from its illegitimate and obstinate stand? For true justice to prevail in the country there must be a long-term approach based on sincerity of purpose. Today we saw the aversion of an institutional clash on a particular issue of judicial appointments, but there will be other issues in the days to come. What is required here is not cunning creation and then 'prudent' handling of matters on a case-to-case basis, but a paradigm shift in the individual and institutional approaches towards the ideal of the independence of judiciary. And this ideal should not be compromised to benefit individuals who may have 'something to hide'. The coming days will not be easy in any manner. Corruption cases are now open against sitting ministers who refuse to act honourably and resign till the clearing of their names. The issue of the corruption cases against the president is also bound to make more headlines. The Supreme Court may keep on taking suo moto action in cases involving government corruption and other excesses. It is, therefore, critical for the prime minister to ensure that his government commits itself to the ideal of facilitating an independent judiciary, no matter how inconvenient. Otherwise, we may expect all kinds of crises to surface and resurface with much greater ferocity.


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In the bag

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Rumours began to circulate at the end of last week that a significant figure in the Afghan Taliban had been arrested in Karachi on or about February 11. There was nothing confirmed and then the New York Times named him as Mullah Baradar, his nom de guerre, as his real name is Abdul Ghani. They further alleged that the arrest was made as a joint operation between one of our own intelligence agencies and the CIA and that the CIA was participating in the interrogation of the detainee. Denials swiftly followed. The Taliban, as is their wont when one of their leaders is either claimed as dead or captured, said that Mullah Baradar was in Afghanistan. Our own interior minister weighed in saying that there was no, repeat no, joint operation with the CIA. During Wednesday afternoon there was finally definitive word from our own military – yes, Mullah Baradar is in our custody but for (understandable) security reasons precise details of his capture, and the operation that led to it, are being withheld. The implications and inferences which may be drawn from this event are large and far-reaching.

Removing him from the field of play may be an intelligence bonus, but the Taliban have demonstrated a consistent ability to replace senior figures from within the ranks and although he will be a short-term loss his capture is unlikely to significantly weaken the long-term movement. However, there is real significance in the fact that he was caught by a Pakistan agency (perhaps working with the CIA) – and in Karachi. It establishes unequivocally that members of the 'Quetta Shura', whose existence has long been denied by our government, have decamped to Karachi. More significant is the shift in the way in which the Afghan Taliban are dealt with by our security agencies. Hitherto, there has been a hands-off policy, a blind eye to their presence and activities in Quetta or elsewhere. Today, they have moved on and given the Taliban a clear signal. If you continue to fight it will no longer be with our tacit support and you have to make a choice between fighting and talking. There is an obvious linkage between this arrest and the talks-about-talks that have been in the air since the recent London Conference on Afghanistan, as well as an adjustment in our own position to one more consonant with developing realities. If this really was a joint operation between ourselves and the US we wonder at how long this spirit of cooperation will last.

Mob 'justice'

Friday, February 19, 2010

Mob 'justice' is never pretty, and the killing of two alleged robbers in Lyari is as ugly as it gets. Two men tried to steal either a motorcycle or a mobile phone – there are confused and conflicting reports of just what was the object of the robbery – and they were chased by local people, caught, beaten and then set on fire after being doused with petrol. The mob held back the police who made a half-hearted attempt at rescuing the alleged robbers, and watched as they died in the fire. Later it emerged that two people may have cases lodged against them – one for alleged involvement in the robbery, the other for allegedly being involved in the murder of the robbers.

It is over a year since the last incident in which alleged robbers were burned to death by an angry mob, and the circumstances seem very similar. In both incidents the mob decided to kill the alleged suspects rather than handing them over to the police. That they did so demonstrates an ingrained disbelief in the justice system to deliver a timely and appropriate verdict, and an across-the-board loss of community trust in the law enforcement agencies that are supposed to protect them from criminals. The apathy of the police towards both their duties and the communities they are supposed to serve does much to fuel local anger. Our cities are full of flashpoints such as this, and the incident could have happened in any large city of the country. As the cities expand so does criminal activity, with an accompanying drop in the ability of the police to successfully intervene and a vicious circle is thus created – giving rise to the murderous vigilantism that sent the alleged robbers to their death. Ugly as vigilantism is, it is symptomatic of the breakdown of the social contract between the state and the citizenry, and a populace that gets a taste for extra-judicial killing is going to be difficult to contain.


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Stabler times?

Friday, February 19, 2010

We have a fresh dispensation following the new spirit of cooperation reached between the government and the judiciary. What will this mean for all of us? We have seen weeks of crisis, speculation and a constant sense of uncertainty. Will things improve? We must all hope so. What Pakistan definitely needs is a period of stability. Only when there is political equilibrium and harmony among the institutions can there be any real hope of progress and the momentum Pakistan needs to move forward. This is especially crucial in the sphere of economics. At the moment the indicators are not good. The rupee continues to sink. Investment is slow. There is no surprise in this. For obvious reasons this cannot change until there is sense of confidence in the political system. There is also a great deal else that needs to become a priority.

At present we have a dismal law and order situation. There is a feeling that the government is not working. Sugar is again vanishing from markets.. We have news of a possible 15 per cent increase of power tariff in the coming days. Despondency and desperation grow as a result. These are all factors the government needs to tackle urgently. There is no time to lose as the chief justice has commented that the task of delivering justice to people cannot be left to the courts alone. We must hope that the cooperation and willingness to work together that is so urgently needed will now increase. This is essential also to keep impatience level low. The rising tide of public disenchantment with all that has been going on over the past month has caused immense damage to democracy and faith in the leadership. Healing is now required. The process has been delayed far too long. This means it will take long to patch over the damage and move on. But a strategy for this purpose needs to be devised immediately. If this does not happen there can be no guarantee that we will be able to move back on track and solve the multidimensional problems that are presently being faced on all fronts. The cabinet must take matters in hand and work towards building a brighter future for Pakistan and its citizens.

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The bitter bit

Friday, February 19, 2010

Some men just never learn, one such being Jam Tamachi Unnar, a PPP lawmaker and chairman of the Sindh Public Accounts Committee. He was on the wrong end of a verbal trouncing by women members of the assembly by virtue of being a Very Silly Boy, which eventually proved all too much for him and he staged a token walkout. The reason for the women setting about this unreconstructed example of modern manhood was that he was trying to ask a supplementary question of Tauqir Fatima Bhutto, who is minister for women development. His question was clearly scurrilous and mischief-laden. What, he asked, was being done to protect those men who were being tortured and abused by their wives, daughters and sisters in urban areas? He was attempting to make light of the serious issues of the abuse of women in rural parts of Sindh by turning it around and presenting a largely fictional scenario. There are occasional instances of females harassing and abusing males, but they are vanishingly small by comparison with the numbers of women who are abused, and barely statistically significant.

The women members of the assembly were quickly on their feet and protesting, as well they might. The Speaker of the House attempted to restore order, the women were having none of it, and Jam Tamachi Unnar stalked off in high dudgeon, only to return after the question hour was over. Whilst there are almost farcical elements to the scenario played out in the Sindh Assembly, it is also illustrative of just how far we have to go in terms of institutionalising the protection of the rights of women. That a male legislator considered it appropriate to ask a question that was clearly scornful is a textbook example of the misogynist mindset that sits within the heads and hearts of many men in our society. No amount of legislation or debate is going to shift attitudes unless they are backed up by education at the most basic level and within our schools and colleges. The good news is that female legislators have found their teeth as well as their tongues.

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No mercy

Monday, February 22, 2010

The kidnapping of four officials of the international humanitarian NGO, Mercy Corps, on their way from Quetta to Zhob is another reminder of how unsafe Pakistan is becoming for international groups carrying out work for impoverished people in remote areas. The kidnapping comes soon after several other similar incidents in Balochistan. Already a number of international groups, including the UN agencies, have pulled out or reduced work in the country’s least developed province. This of course works against the interests of people who urgently need all the assistance they can receive.

It is unfortunate that so far authorities have failed to make Balochistan a safer place for those still willing to work there. All those who were kidnapped were Pakistani nationals. Foreigners have of course already been pulled out from projects in the area. The administration of Balochistan has issued assurances that the abducted officials will quickly be recovered but there is of course no guarantees of this whatsoever. Others who have faced similar violence at the hands of nationalist groups in Balochistan have remained missing for months. We can only hope that this time things will be different. Otherwise the limited humanitarian work currently being carried out in Balochistan and other parts of the country will cease, adding to the hardships of people who benefit from the intervention international experts are able to offer.


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Endangered

Monday, February 22, 2010

The attacks on journalists in various parts of the country continue unabated. Most recently one has been shot dead in Quetta, another in Khairpur. The motives are mysterious. In Quetta a sectarian dimension is possible. In Khairpur we can assume enmity of some kind. Such incidents have taken place before. The life of professional media persons is becoming increasingly unsafe. Professional bodies of journalists have recently suggested insurance policies for journalists as a bid to ensure some security. This is a good move, but insufficient. Authorities as well as the publishers need to do more to ensure safety and to react with greater alacrity to assaults on those performing professional duties. The perpetrators must be punished under the relevant laws. According to international reports Pakistan is becoming one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the field. We have had cases of cameramen and reporters injured in blasts or killed while covering conflict in the northern parts of the country. Others have been targeted because their reports have displeased powerful individuals.

The question is precisely what measures can be taken. The situation is relatively new one for Pakistan. Dangers of the kind we see now have not existed before. It is also a fact that working media people have faced harassment and intimidation from persons in official places. This sets an alarming precedent and encourages others to resort to similar audacious acts of violence. Journalists have a special role in society. Indeed they have revolutionised the lives of people everywhere by bringing news to the doorstep and to the living room on a daily, indeed, on an hourly basis. Today, people are far better informed than has ever been the case before. This has been even more true since the advent of the TV channels. The government needs to take a lead in the matter and ensure that all possible is done to make sure that media professionals are able to perform their vital social duties freely and safely. This task cannot be delayed any longer.


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The tax maze

Monday, February 22, 2010

Recent times have seen efforts to improve the efficiency of tax-collection systems and the government has proposed the creation of an Inland Revenue Service (IRS) in Pakistan via the World Bank-funded $83 million tax-administration reforms project. This would administer domestic taxes such as personal income tax, sales tax and federal excises, but it has run afoul of the World Bank that is saying that the proposal was not a part of the original programme of reforms it had agreed with the government. The WB has now distanced itself from the planned IRS project in order to avoid any possible penalties that might be imposed by an inspection panel due to visit at the end of the month. A confusing situation got no clearer as the WB has asked the government to withdraw its request for an extension of the programme until December 2011 (it should have closed in December 2009) and has suspended disbursement of any further monies attached to the project. The Federal Board of Revenue chairman tells us that the project is fraught with problems of disbursements which is hampering its implementation, and the government has had the rug pulled from under it by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) which has declined to acknowledge the (yet to be formally instituted) IRS as a legitimate service group of federal government employees.

According to the FPSC chairman Justice (r) Rana Bhagwandas there is no such animal as the Inland Revenue Service and he could not comment on whether the FPSC had been consulted on the matter before its proposed formation because the matter was sub-judice. Section 7 of the FPSC Ordinance holds the key as it says in essence that the creation of any service group should be made only on the advice of the FPSC; and FPSC officials are on record as saying that they have not yet been consulted about the conversion of the customs and excise group and income tax into the IRS and no consultation means no IRS. This time it seems that the mess is not entirely of our making and the Federal Board of Revenue and GoP say that they have kept the WB fully informed and it was at the WB’s insistence that the IRS proposal was created in the first place. The integration of tax administration and the creation of a new occupational group was one of the structural benchmarks adopted in the $11.3 billion standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. Consequently, the establishment division on the approval of the prime minister ordered the creation of the IRS in September 2009 – and things have gone downhill ever since. Whether this expensive set of confusions could have been avoided we may never know – but we may be certain that the holes in the tax net have got no smaller as a result.

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No more schools

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

There is now no remaining high school in the Safi subdivision of Mohmand Agency. On February 21, the militants blew up the last two that remained intact. As a result, some 20,000 pupils now have no means to learn. It means that they have less opportunity to better their prospects in life or escape the hold of militants. Reports from various parts of the tribal areas tell us how young men with no way to occupy their time are recruited by the Taliban. It is not entirely far-fetched to believe that this could be one purpose behind their onslaught on schools.

So far, according to media reports, some 30 schools have been destroyed in Mohmand Agency. These include 12 schools for girls. Primary, secondary and institutions of higher learning have all been targeted. The pattern of attack suggests a uniform strategy and a single line of action. Indeed, despite the fierce operation against militants we hear regularly of continuing bombardment aimed at destroying schools. The Taliban thus continue their bid to push us all back into the age of darkness and deprive the people even of what limited access they have to basic amenities. We have seen this process continue for too long. The burnt, blackened ruins of schools stand in many places across the tribal areas. The time has come to ask how this destruction can be stopped. Perhaps communities, who seek education for their children, can be involved in the effort. But what is essential is that schools be protected so that even the limited chance to learn available to the children of these areas is not snatched away from them


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Poverty for all

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Pity the poor MNAs. This impoverished group of underpaid and overworked public servants has revealed the depth of their penury for all to see. Not only do they not have cars (and there is no record of any of them declaring a bicycle in their assets so presumably they walk to work), they don’t have much by way of immovable property either, nor much in the bank. All of this tragic and heart-rending detail is revealed in the annual statements of assets and liabilities filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). One poor man, Jamshed Ahmed Dasti, is apparently truly pauperised as he has no car, no house, no cash at hand and no bank balance. You don’t get much poorer than that. His single bank account is at the parliament building for his salary that he gets as MNA – which we hope is paid in a timely manner because otherwise he will be reduced to begging along Constitution Avenue. Maulana Attaur Rehman has a one-fifth portion in D I Khan and no bank account at all – which presumably means he is unable to draw his salary as a parliamentarian unless it is passed to him through the back door by a peon every month.

Most MNAs are not as strapped for cash as Messrs Dasti and Rehman, though there does seem to be an under-reporting of assets in general with one or two glaring anomalies. One such concerns the wife of Prime Minister Gilani – who at last has a house of his own but still lacks a vehicle. Whilst there is nothing particularly startling about the relative wealth of the prime minister, there is something distinctly odd in that his spouse was able to lay her hands on Rs45.521 million to clear a decade-old debt to the Zarai Taraqaiti Bank and thus avert a poke in the eye with a sharp stick by NAB. Presumably this was spare cash that just happened to be lying forgotten under a sofa. This annual declaration of assets, whilst clearly risible in some submissions, is nonetheless a step in the right direction of transparency and accountability. Not all MNAs have creative accountants, and some seem to have made an honest declaration – and in doing so exposed those who clearly have not. If nothing else the MNAs have for once given us something to laugh about, for which we should be duly grateful.


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Business breakfast

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The prime minister’s breakfast meeting with the Sharif brothers and their key aides at Raiwind is yet further indication that the PML-N regards Mr Gilani as a man they can do business with. Lately, Mian Nawaz Sharif has made it a point to distance himself from the president. The old days of camaraderie, when the two men not infrequently exchanged handshakes, smiles and warm embraces seem to have faded into the past. It is the prime minister then who now stands at the centre of the relationships with the opposition. Quite evidently, the tone of the discussions in Lahore was warm. How much can actually be achieved is a matter of conjecture. The prime minister has once more promised that the 17th Amendment will be done away with soon. He has also spoken of the Charter of Democracy.

The question, however, is if these pledges hold any real meaning. They have not done so in the past. For all the pledges, and the wiles, the government seems to have had no compunction about simply ignoring them. Certainly, it is astounding that the 17th Amendment remains intact, even though we have heard so much about the sovereignty of parliament and the president’s willingness to curtail his own powers. It seems obvious now that he is not really ready to do so. Already, the reluctance to do so has resulted in what is a devastating breakdown in trust and goodwill. The atmosphere of heightened political tensions that now exists in many ways hampers effective work. This has been most obvious in Punjab, where the governor and the government have consistently clashed. The federal government has repeatedly refused to intervene. The time has come for the prime minister to demonstrate that he is indeed a man of substance. Now that the matter of breakfast hospitality is over, he needs to show he is capable of translating promises into actions. After all, the patience of the PML-N cannot last indefinitely. The party has a right to expect that it will not repeatedly be deceived or offered false reassurances. At present it is quite apparent that the prime minister holds great responsibility. He must then show that he is capable of acting independently and honourably. If this does not happen we will face only further political turmoil as the sense of goodwill between parties essential for the effective working of any democracy begins to crumble.

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Dragging feet

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The rather unpleasant sound of feet being scuffled along the corridors of power seems to be audible all around us once again. Despite its recent overtures to the courts and the repeated reassurances that it wishes at all costs to avoid a clash of institutions, the government has made no effort to implement the Supreme Court's verdict on the NRO. In particular, there seems to be no attempt whatsoever to re-open cases in the Swiss courts pending against President Asif Ali Zardari, despite direct orders from the apex court to NAB to do this by writing to the relevant authorities in Geneva. It is quite conceivable, then, that the final showdown between the executive and the judiciary, that has been feared for so long, may still lies round the corner. What we have seen over the past few weeks could just be the lull before a more dramatic event. The president and the henchmen who surround him seem determined to shelter behind the shade of immunity for the man at the top. But consensus is building that this, in the final analysis, may not prove to be very solid cover after all. There are many legal experts who are convinced that the president is indeed answerable for misdeeds in financial matters. Certainly, as far as public opinion goes, most people believe that justice can be served only when the same rules apply to all and there is some measure of accountability regardless of office.

There is another angle to all this. The emerging scenario shows that NAB is unable to act on its own. Nobody subservient to government can carry out a proper act of accountability. To approach the Swiss, NAB must go through the law ministry. For obvious reasons that ministry will hardly be eager to act. But in all this, the government, and especially the prime minister himself, who is constantly being quoted by presidential aides as emphasising that Mr Asif Ali Zardari has immunity, must consider what the refusal to comply with the court orders is doing for the image of the current setup. There is, after all, a limit to how much damage it can sustain before it suffers wounds that cannot be repaired. And, of course, it is also important to avoid inflicting injury on the relations that exist between our institutions, for any tussle between them would cause damage from which recovery could prove extremely difficult for our nation.


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Change at the helm

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Four major candidates are said to be in the running for the post of finance minister, which falls vacant when Mr Shaukat Tarin steps down at the end of the month. He has now confirmed rumours floating in Islamabad for some weeks that he has indeed written in his resignation. Officially we are told this is to allow the banker to focus on his own private bank and its affairs. Unofficially there are whispers that Mr Tarin had grown somewhat frustrated with matters of administration and the pressures he faced. As he goes out, Mr Tarin should take pride in the fact that he is stepping down at a time of his own choosing. Far too many others opt to hang on at all costs to power. We can of course think of many in the government who would have done well to move on, given their showing – or the lack of it. The outgoing finance minister also successfully negotiated the November 2008 loan with the IMF that warded off immediate crisis, even though its consequences will be long and difficult ones.

Whoever takes over the helm of affairs at the finance ministry faces many challenges. The economic issues we confront are not easy to resolve. In more ways than one they underpin all that is amiss and that needs to be urgently righted. The axis of issues such as militancy passes after all through the wheel of economic affairs. Setting that wheel on a smooth path can solve a great deal. We must therefore hope that the choice of a successor for Mr Tarin is made entirely on the basis of professional merit. Sadly, this has not always been the case. But it is essential that wisdom be shown so we can acquire a person capable of leading us towards safer ground as far as matters of finance go.


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Endless terror

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Monday it was Mingora, Tuesday it was the Peshawar suburb of Adezai and who knows where on Wednesday. Something approaching normalcy had returned to Mingora. There were a handful of foreign tourists in town, shops and bazaars were opening and some had spruced up their shopfront with a coat of paint. Business was not exactly booming but there were strong signs that the local economy was up and running again. But the terrorists turned the clock back by detonating a car bomb at Nishat Chowk in the city centre, killing 13 and injuring 41 others. A day later in Adezai it was the members of an anti-Taliban lashkar who were the target. Casualty figures are unclear at the time of writing. There will be finger-pointing and accusations that this or that agency 'failed' in its duty and calls for a 'beefing up' of security all around. None of which amounts to very much in the face of an enemy that has all the time in the world, sufficient resources (this is relatively cheap warfare from the terrorists' perspective) and values their own and the lives of others in paisas. The almost daily carnage appears without end. We do not know who to negotiate with to bring a halt, and when we do negotiate and think we have found an island of sanity that may grow into an archipelago of peace, it all sinks back into a sea of violence within days and weeks.

So would matters really improve if every foreigner left Afghanistan tomorrow? Or if America packed its bags and left Pakistan completely – taking its aid money and military support (and Blackwater) with it? Probably not in either case. The war we fight has its genesis in our classrooms, the grinding poverty and disillusion of millions, and the serial failure of government after government to break the mould of feudal dynastic politics and truly emancipate the people. The butchery is inexcusable, but against such a backdrop perhaps we might dimly discern the mindset that produces it. And even in the midst of this darkness, if we are to hold the ground we have so recently won back, we need to do more to consolidate the peace. Winning the battle is the easy part – winning the peace infinitely harder.

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Killing civilians

Thursday, February 25, 2010

In a tragic incident on February 21, 27 Afghan civilians, including four women and a child, perished in a NATO air strike. The victims had been travelling in minibuses when the air raid hit them in southern Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, to the north of Helmand province where the US-led coalition troops launched the largest offensive against the Taliban on February 13 since the war began over eight years ago. It was the third mistaken attack in a week. On February 18, an air strike missed its target and killed seven policemen in Kunduz province. Similarly, on the second day of the offensive named 'Operation Mushtarak', 12 civilians died when rockets hit a house in Helmand. Among the dead were six children. President Karzai brandished a photograph of an eight-year-old girl as he opened parliament on February 20, saying she was the only one left to recover the bodies of her 12 relatives. The cabinet condemned the attack as 'unjustifiable' and the top US and coalition commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, apologised hours after the deaths. But such condemnations and apologies have already begun to ring hollow, since they have been made so many times they seem tantamount to mocking the helplessness of the Afghan people.

Civilian deaths are all but a routine in the war-torn country. According to a UN report, a total of 2,412 Afghan civilians died in fighting last year alone. Thus, civilian casualties on such a large scale will not only undermine efforts to 'win hearts and minds' but also cause the so-called Taliban reintegration plan to fail. The war, which is unwinnable by many across the world, has turned life into a hell for the people, who are forced to stay put in their homes as troops engage Taliban fighters in battles or carry out house-to-house searches. General McChrystal says the troops are there 'to protect the Afghan people' but the US and NATO forces use air power excessively and end up killing innocent civilians. Is there a way out? It is unlikely that the foreign troops will leave Afghanistan anytime soon. Obama's troop pullout deadline of July 2011 appears unrealistic as key managers of the war have feared that the fighting is likely to continue for years. And as long as the war continues, so will death and destruction.


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The Punjab nexus

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Several MNAs, including former information minister Sherry Rehman, have raised in the National Assembly the issue of 'jihadi' groups operating in Punjab and the failure of the provincial government to act against them in any way. A point has been raised about the use of these groups for political advantage. The question regarding groups such as those based in southern Punjab has of course come up before. It is hard to say what the Punjab government's approach is or what policy is being pursued. But a few things are clear. We need to look at militancy as a whole, and not distinguish between the various strands that constitute it. That this has been done in the past is one reason why the problem is so acute today. The strategy needs to be changed.

It is vital, however, that this is not done as any kind of 'blame game'. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, all the parties and the governments must work together. Indeed the government in Islamabad must accept prime responsibility for coming up with a strategy and taking all the other players on board with it. The fact is that militancy will not disappear overnight. It is also true that the kind of 'policing' tactics suggested by legislators are not enough – though they clearly have their place. Banned outfits must not be allowed to function. But beyond this we need a wider vision that can help us see the multiple factors breeding militancy and come up with a plan of action to counter these over the coming years, so that in time we can have a country where peace can genuinely reign.


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Locked legalities

Thursday, February 25, 2010

When basic morality and broad principles of justice are abandoned, all that is left behind are legal inanities and lacunae. The refusal to implement the Supreme Court's orders to re-open the Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari has already caused a great deal of damage to the government's image. But the government now seems determined to maximise this injury by taking what can only be described as a remarkably foolish stand. While NAB is eager to enforce court orders, the law ministry has so far acted only to prevent them from being carried out in the matter of writing to Swiss authorities. There is argument over who is authorised to do so. The attorney general, under acute pressure from the government, is stated to be quite ready to resign rather than back the official stance. This is ironic, for he is the official who would, under normal circumstances, be entrusted with the task of penning the necessary missive asking the cases to be re-opened.

There is still more absurdity. In a plea to the court the government is reported to have argued that the cases are time-barred, and that it would somehow 'dishonour' the late Benazir Bhutto to revive them. This makes no sense at all. There is an air of growing desperation creeping in. The intense meetings with the attorney general – who is looking like an extremely harried man – are evidence of this. Quite obviously the government is seeking any means possible to escape the court verdict. The routes appear to be closing off rapidly. The government seems increasingly trapped while NAB maintains that it is indeed eager to follow through on what the court has said. Perhaps the leadership had imagined that the judiciary would slow down on its efforts against corruption following the accord reached with it. Principle, after all, is not a word we often hear in the circles of power. Lately it seems to have vanished altogether. Presiding over the entire mess is the man in the presidency. It seems he and his aides are willing to go to any lengths to defend acts of corruption. But there is also another fact. With each attempt to subvert court orders, the depth of the grave the government is digging for itself increases. People are already convinced that the accusations regarding corruption are true; doubts on this count have evaporated – for if the accusations had no weight there would be no reason to enact the rigmarole we have been seeing for long.

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Pressure points

Friday, February 26, 2010

The application of even gentle pressure to some parts of the body, especially the carotid artery, can swiftly produce unconsciousness. Application of pressure within the various organs of governance can have a similar effect and we have no better example than the very recent exit of the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, which these days does not seem to know whether it is coming or going. It was pressure that forced his resignation and now the body is essentially unconscious until a new head can be found by Prime Minister Gilani. He has asked the now-resigned Naveed Ahsan to stay in post until his replacement is found; so the poor man has to sleepwalk through the interregnum at a time when the air is thick with political grapeshot. As with seemingly everything that he does these days, the prime minister has said that he will do it 'by the book' and consult with the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition as required by law. With memories of other 'consultations' regarding the appointment of judges to the apex court fresh in our minds, we do wonder what form this consultation may take.

The NAB chairman had been under considerable pressure since the Supreme Court declared the NRO unconstitutional and directed NAB to reopen the Swiss cases against President Zardari. The government now has to find a replacement that satisfies the opposition and the judiciary. Neither is likely to give its blessing to any appointment that may act an enabler for the government if it tries to wriggle out of any attempts to hold it accountable. This in part precipitated the resignation of Mr Ahsan who removed the prosecutor and deputy prosecutor of NAB on the directives of the Supreme Court (they had been foot-dragging in implementation of the NRO judgment) only to find that the government tried to slide in 'loyalists' as replacements in order to protect its interests and those of the NRO beneficiaries. The draft of the new Accountability Ordinance, proposed replacement of the NAB Ordinance of 1999, suggests that a retired superior court judge can become NAB chairman – but not without the consent of the PML-N, which with a by-election win in the bag and a weakened presidency is probably surveying the wreckage of the government with a degree of equanimity.


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Votes and victory

Friday, February 26, 2010

The resounding defeat of the Awami Muslim League chief, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, in NA-55, the Rawalpindi constituency he once considered his own, delivers several key messages. The people have demonstrated that they have acquired the political maturity to think beyond individuals and along the line of parties. The vote for the PML-N man, Shakil Awan, was of course also one for his party and its policies. The margin of over 21,000 votes by which he won leaves open no room for vague allegations of unfair play and use of the government machinery by the Punjab setup. The verdict delivered is clearly a decisive one. Sheikh Rashid may also have paid the price for being backed by the ruling PPP. The growing public disenchantment with the party and its government was quite obvious at the ballot. Problems like continuous price hike, sense of anarchy and rampant corruption everywhere have never been a greater source of grievance than now. The lack of support for the government is something the political leadership would do well not to ignore. But then, as we all know, wisdom is hardly a hallmark of those at the helm of affairs.

The PML-N's triumph proves, too, that it is the party on the up. People see in it some hope. It is worth noting that through the campaign, its candidate and other leaders had spoken consistently of issues that affect people and their lives, and voters then clearly understood that it takes a party and not just one man alone to sort these out in any way. Sheikh Rashid, who has chosen to strike out on his own with his AML, must now be considering his options and his future tactics as a politician. There are other questions as well raised by the by-poll results. Both the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf could collect only a few thousand votes. This is a familiar pattern. Again and again people have demonstrated that they have no faith in the ability of religious parties or semi-religious entities like the PTI to lead them. People have appeared clear in their thinking and seem convinced that the PML-N may be their best option for now. This is something that may prove to be very important as time goes on and we reach the moment when a new general election is scheduled.


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Red-handed

Friday, February 26, 2010

The Dubai police have now identified 26 suspects in the murder of the senior Hamas official, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. It is widely and credibly assumed that the assassination was carried out by Mossad and would have probably disappeared as a news item were it not for the extensive use of false identities by those who carried out the hit. A total of 12 British passport holders have now been named as having their identities stolen, along with six Irish, three French, three Australian and one German. The Australian government was sufficiently incensed to call in the Israeli ambassador for the diplomatic equivalent of a smack in the mouth, the British have expressed 'outrage' via their foreign secretary and just about everybody else with anything to say on the matter has condemned the use of the identities of innocent people in a political murder. The ordinary men and women who now find themselves caught up in an international intrigue are likely to find themselves added to assorted 'watchlists' in the future and their lives potentially blighted for years to come.

This is, from the Israeli perspective, a success, from the Hamas a temporary setback and for the rest of the world a wake-up call as to the vulnerability of any document of identity carried by virtually anybody anywhere. Covert warfare has always employed operatives who assume multiple identities and in the context of today's wars, which may be conducted in cyberspace as well as on the battlefield, vast amounts of personal data are held online in circumstances that are perhaps not as secure as may be wished – as a recent hacking of Google China email service exemplifies. We may assume that Israel, and any other states engaged in the spider's web of interlocking conflicts that now span the world, will fight by whatever means they can and strike wherever they choose. This time it was Dubai. It could have been Copenhagen or Caracas or Dahomey or Paris. We should not be surprised that it happened – but perhaps might wonder at the clumsiness of an operation that was so quickly exposed.

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Wounds

Monday, March 01, 2010

To our utter shame, Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the most auspicious of days on the Muslim calendar, saw the start of violence, death and destruction that wracked Faisalabad and DI Khan. Apart from the question of terrorism that thrives on the ability of man to inflict pain on man, sectarian differences and tensions have many a time shattered our dream of unity in diversity. These ancient wounds have never completely healed and politicians, both religious and otherwise, have a lot to answer for on this count. We note and regard as significant that the Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah, and the Punjab home secretary, Nadeem Hassan Asif, were present in Faisalabad during the worst of the violence — and that neither of them attended the meeting convened by the agencies of law and order to discuss how best to deal with it. What are a law minister and a home secretary supposed to do if they are not to support the civil power at times of greatest need? And does this add to the list of questions that need to be answered about the alleged affiliation of some of our politicians to banned or terrorist outfits? With our politicians behaving in this manner, what hope can we have of healing not just historical rifts but the recent wounds that we have suffered at the hands of terrorists?

Terrorists and those inspired by their twisted logic have drunk deep at the fountain of sectarian divide in our country and they are hell-bent on killing any semblance of normalcy that we may be able to sprinkle our lives with. As if we were not horrified and aggrieved enough at what was happening in DI Khan and Faisalabad, in Karak a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a police station, killing five. Elsewhere there are continued attacks on schools. People are desperately attempting to resume normal life in Swat, Dir and other conflict-hit zones. Hotel owners make efforts to persuade tourists to return and music shop owners tentatively restock stores. The aftermath of violence though swirls all around, with the relatives of militants targeted for revenge according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and with the Taliban acting to punish those they accuse of theft or other crime. How is this Hydra-headed monster of violence to be killed? Challenging the hold of obscurantism, tackling development issues and granting people access to opportunity are measures that must be taken. People, on their own, are attempting to find the calm rhythm needed in life and the militants are keeping up their efforts to prevent them from succeeding. The state can play a part in determining the outcome. It must not look on as a spectator. Unity must be promoted at all levels and solutions sought to the troubles that afflict us rather than rubbing salt into wounds old and new. We expect our lawmakers to be unifiers; this is an expectation that Messrs Sanaullah and Asif should pay heed to.

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Cruel protocols

Monday, March 01, 2010

IIt is difficult to imagine anything more embarrassing for a woman in our conservative culture than having to give birth in a rickshaw in the middle of a traffic jam because the police had blocked the roads to allow the passage of a VVIP – the president. The incident happened in Quetta during the presidential visit when roads were blocked ‘for protocol reasons’ for three hours. Our president was ‘upset’ and ordered (and here we pause to yawn with collective boredom) an inquiry. Our prime minister made light of the incident saying that ‘a birth happens when it has to happen’ and that the intervention of ‘protocol’ was immaterial. Reports say that mother and child are both doing well, and that the mother has been awarded Rs500, 000 for her inconvenience, but that is not the point. She was being transported to hospital in the rickshaw because having a baby in a maternity unit is infinitely preferable to having one in the back of a rickshaw – which also has no room for the midwife or doctor to work.

The delivery of a child in this manner may be exceptional, but the circumstances that surround it are not. Roads are blocked across the country every day as anybody imagining themselves to be sufficiently important from the president down demand that they be shown ‘protocol’ and the way cleared before them. Ordinary people are inconvenienced and delayed, and business suffers. Emergency services such as the fire brigade or ambulances are regularly impeded in their progress, with loss of life and property inevitable. Traffic jams caused by ‘protocol’ may take an hour or more to unstick themselves and the so-called VIPs or VVIPs care little for the chaos they leave in their wake. Perhaps the enquiry that the president has ordered may consider a root-and-branch revision of the whole issue of who is accorded ‘protocol’ and at what level, as well as doing something practical in terms of managing traffic flows when VVIPs move around.

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Lucky escape

Monday, March 01, 2010

The three boys were in deadly danger. They had got themselves stuck in the quicksand of one of the many treacherous lagoons there are in Karachi, were sinking and the end seemed in sight. Their cries for help were heard and the local community and the emergency services were quickly on the scene. They improvised a causeway made of branches and leaves laid across the treacherous surface, the boys were rescued unharmed apart from a nasty fright and all was well that ended well. For many children who play in dangerous places across the country the outcome is not so lucky. Many die each year, swallowed up or drowned and there are neither rescuers nor emergency services to save them. Across the country our rescue services are good in parts, patchy at best elsewhere and virtually non-existent in much of the country.

Water rescue is an area where we are particularly deficient, and apart from Punjab there does not seem to be any trained and properly equipped rescue service anywhere. Even the lifeguards on the beaches of Karachi have little by way of equipment to back up their dedication. Our education curriculum has nothing to say about safety when out and about, artificial respiration/resuscitation is not taught to our children and precious few adults have any knowledge of it either. This needs to change. Such teaching encourages a sense of social responsibility in the young. Its importance in these irresponsible times is immense.

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Flying into trouble

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

A 13-year-old Pakistani boy, who got himself into trouble, has been freed by an Amritsar Court after he landed up in jail across the border. The child had accidentally boarded the Samjhota Express while running away from his father, who had rebuked him for flying kites, and found himself facing a potentially far more serious punishment. The judge who ordered the boy's release noted that he could have been sentenced to a five-year term. The human rights activists who fought his case are now attempting to ensure that the boy returns home as soon as possible.

Atiq Ahmed's rather scary adventure thus seems set to end well. But others are far less fortunate. Every year, there are reports of people straying accidentally across a poorly marked border. Some of them are children grazing cattle in Cholistan where the sands stretch out endlessly making it impossible to identify where the territory of one country gives way to the other. And there are those who walk across unknowingly and land up in the hands of border authorities. There have been cases where their whereabouts were not known for months or even years to anxious family members. Attempts have been made in the past to improve the system of notifying the opposite side and handing back those who are guilty only of wandering across the line by mistake. But more needs to be done. There must be a mechanism to deal with such cases and ensure that children in particular are able to return home as soon as possible.


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Miles to go

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has gone all the way to Saudi Arabia (the first time an Indian PM has visited Saudi Arabia for 28 years) to tell us what he could have just as easily told us if he had stayed at home. "If Pakistan cooperates with India, there is no problem that we cannot solve and we can walk the extra mile to open a new chapter in relations between our two countries", he said in Riyadh. He called on Saudi Arabia to use its good relationship with us to persuade us that harbouring terrorists and sending them across the border to commit all manner of skullduggery was no way to foster good international relations. Quite so, Mr Singh, but then neither is bolstering the corrupt and tottering Karzai regime in Afghanistan, is it? No matter – the Indian visit to Saudi Arabia is another marker along the road of an emerging regional superpower which needs to get the best from its relationships with other states in the region. The Saudis for their part see a harmonious relationship with India as both desirable and profitable, and for the time being are willing to live with the paradox of India restocking its arsenals by buying Israeli weaponry.

Saudi Arabia is already established as the key broker with a range of Muslim states; but the Indians were keen to play down the idea that Saudi Arabia would be acting as a mediator in the various areas of conflict that lie between us. However it is nuanced or phrased, a different path is now being trod. The ripples of the Mumbai attack are beginning to die away and there are the first moves towards restarting the Composite Dialogue. Nobody is expecting miracles, but there is a whiff of positivism in the air that might just fan into a spark of meaningful dialogue. That process would be greatly assisted if the Indians would refrain from opening every single exchange with ourselves with the diplomatic equivalent of a smack on the hand. We never seem to be able to do enough to satisfy the Indians (or the Americans for that matter) and both regularly remind us of this. So India wants to go the 'extra mile', does it? We are pleased to hear that and will go the extra mile as well, but let's lighten the load for both of us and leave unnecessary luggage at the roadside, in particular the unhelpful rhetoric that forms the overture whenever India makes diplomatic moves in our direction.


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Money matters

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

The government is expected, within days, to appoint a replacement to Mr Shaukat Tarin, who has departed from government office. There is hot speculation over the status about the four or five persons being named widely in the media as the most likely successors. There are several key factors at play. The president and the prime minister both seem to be vying to get in their respective men; the IMF will be closely watching the situation and it is reported that at least some on the list of nominees are simply not interested in taking on a job which could involve much pressure and possible demands from key figures. Loud whispers hold that Mr Tarin's displeasure over Rental Power Projects and other acts of the government was a key reason in his decision to quit. This is not comforting. What Pakistan urgently needs at the moment is good governance and some signs that the wheels of state are rolling. The running of the finance ministry is critical at a time when Pakistan is expecting large sums of money to come in from the US as aid. It will need to be in a position to account for the use of this money and set up a transparent mechanism to do so. Otherwise, the much-needed flow of dollars could simply dry up. So could the input of assistance from other quarters.

There is evidence that the presidency is pushing for a particular candidate. The basis seems to be purely nepotistic in nature. Merit or the ability to handle finance is not even remotely involved. The 'crony club' that surrounds the president has a hand in this choice. It would appear that even now the president fears nothing for his reputation and wishes to see at the Finance Ministry a person who is completely pliant and quite ready to follow orders. We can quite imagine what kind of orders these will be or whose pockets they will help line. The prime minister too seems to have put personal relations ahead of far more important factors in his backing for a party member whose background in finance can be described only as 'limited'. Is it too much to ask our leaders to put the interests of their country and its people first? The situation we face today is a desperate one. Only professionalism and commitment can help us escape it. We must hope that good sense will prevail and ability will determine who moves into one of the most important of ministries.

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Downhill, uphill

Thursday, March 04, 2010

The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games closed on February 28 with the host nation, Canada, topping the gold medal table. Apart from the tragedy of the luger who died in an accident the day before the games opened, they have gone well – and for the first time a Pakistani participated in the winter disciplines. Mohammad Abbas was our one-man team in the downhill slalom – he finished 42 seconds behind the eventual winner but he was not downhearted and got a warm reception from the Canadian-Pakistani community. Even more upbeat of late has been Naseem Hameed who is currently the fastest woman runner in South Asia having won the 100-metre sprint gold medal at the South Asian Games. Neither downhill skiing nor women's athletics are sports that feature large in the national consciousness, for that you have to look to hockey and cricket, or squash if you have a very long memory.

Hockey and cricket – our cricketers have performed appallingly against what the pundits rate as the weakest Australian side for a decade, and our hockey players have just been beaten 4-1 by India. Hockey and cricket have considerable investment at government and provincial level to support them, whilst downhill skiers and fast-on-their-feet women have to scratch and scrape and rely on the kindness and generosity of friends and well-wishers to fund their sporting equipment and travel. In the topsy-turvy world of sport in Pakistan we spend millions funding our losers and then berate them when they return empty-handed; and next to nothing on the tiny minority of sportspersons whose individual efforts really do bring us credit. We have a budding woman squash player currently rising through the rankings and with a little more encouragement our women swimmers might get themselves to a competitive standard regionally. There is more to sport than cricket and hockey – and time we woke up to our potential in non-traditional disciplines.


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Victory in Bajaur

Thursday, March 04, 2010

The security forces say that final victory has been attained in Bajaur. Many of the Taliban have fled. A search is on for them and for those– including a former MNA affiliated to the Jamaat-e-Islami – who supported them. Afghanistan, it appears, is once more a favourite destination for militants on the run. More than ever, it is vital to work in close coordination with the Afghans to try and capture key Taliban figures. The news from Bajaur is of course good. It demonstrates the continued success of committed military strategy in a territory where the militants had been well-entrenched for years. The intense fighting we have seen has brought for the military high command greater knowledge of the militants and their methods, and important experience in combating them. This is important given that, like any conventional force, the Pakistan Army is not trained to wage a guerrilla-type struggle. It has done well to continue its efforts for so long against an outfit highly skilled in using the rugged terrain of the north to its advantage. We need to applaud our soldiers, the officers who planned the campaign and the COAS for showing the willingness to stage a long, hard and often thankless effort to vanquish the Taliban.

In Bajaur – and other places – the baton now passes to the civilian authorities. They must do all that is possible to rehabilitate the population of the agency. Thousands from Bajaur have been displaced, in some cases for a period approaching two years. Many are based at the Jalozai Camp in Nowshera, others live with host families. The plight of these people is pitiful, the facilities at the camp are inadequate, schooling has not been consistently available and the agony of being away from home for so long is obviously acute. But apart from those displaced, a thought must also be spared for the people who have stayed behind. They have, in most cases, received no help at all; Bajaur has been out of bounds to the humanitarian community for a very long time. The people of Bajaur have faced bombing raids and fierce fighting, some have died, others may even now be injured. On an urgent basis help must be offered to them. This is of course the basic duty of the government. People who have suffered due to a conflict not of their own making must be assisted. But beyond this there is also the fact that we must do all that we possibly can to avert a return to conflict. The militants who have been driven out must never return. This will be possible only if development and change are introduced to Bajaur and people given some sense that they indeed live in a state that cares about them and their future.


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Still missing

Thursday, March 04, 2010

The Supreme Court has issued a final notice to the government, ordering that details of persons still missing be submitted within two weeks. Previous orders seeking that the whereabouts of these people be revealed have been ignored. The bench hearing petitions from several persons and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has indicated that it is now running out of patience. The lack of government action is rather bizarre, given that the prime minister himself, on the floor of the National Assembly, had said that all those who had gone missing would be freed. Like many other promises, this one too has not been lived up to.

It would appear that the government has difficulty in retrieving these persons. The limited evidence that exists suggests that they were 'picked up' by agencies at various points in time after 2001 and put in illegal detention centres. The agencies, it seems, are still unwilling to divulge what became of them. The government, however, cannot continue to sit back and twiddle its thumbs. It must either inform the court that it is unable to extract the requisite information, or else assert its authority and find a means to locate the scores who have 'disappeared.' The matter has lingered on far too long. It is time to resolve it. The government must make a more earnest effort in this regard and work with the courts to ensure that the missing return home or that, at the very least, it becomes possible to tell their families whether they are still alive.

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