Denying the obvious

The remarks by a Foreign Office spokesman on Jan 1 that Pakistan has no terrorist infrastructure on its soil is going to be taken with a very big pinch of salt – by even many Pakistanis. But before more from us, let's summarise what the FO spokesman said. He said that the Pakistan government was committed to the war against terror and to fighting terrorism, which is good for the simple reason that Pakistan has been one of the countries hit hardest by this scourge. He also said that talk that 'rogue elements' of the ISI were involved in such acts was incorrect and baseless. While this may be true, the fact remains that it was none other than General Pervez Musharraf who as president and army chief had publicly said that the possibility that some former members of the intelligence services were sympathetic to the extremists and the Taliban and were helping them in material and moral terms could not be ruled out.

However, the main bone of contention should be the FO's remarks on the existence of terrorist infrastructure since its spokesman seems to believe that there is none on Pakistani soil. To that one would question whether FATA, specifically the two Waziristan agencies and whether the Northern Areas are part of Pakistan or not. The reason for asking this is that in the case of Waziristan various high officials of the government and state, including General Musharraf, at some point in time since Sept 2001, have publicly said that there exist facilities where those fighting the state of Pakistan and committing terrorist acts receive training and other assistance. Members of the government have in fact also said on record -- and this has been proudly proclaimed by the extremists themselves -- that there exist even some places where suicide bombers are 'produced', through a regimen of indoctrination and training in the use of weapons, suicide vests and so on. In addition to this, several independent media reports have strongly suggested that such camps exist not only in FATA but also in parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir where proxies sent to India to fight the 'jihad' were trained. Perhaps, these camps may have closed down or more likely assumed a lower profile. However, following the Mumbai attacks and India's accusation against the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-Daawa a facility outside Muzaffarabad was closed down.

And if this is not enough to convince the FO, and the establishment since policy statements on such issues do not come without the approval and/or guidance of the establishment, it could be asked where the suicide bombings and other instances of terrorism that have hit Pakistan with a vengeance in the past two years or so originated from. And what about the existence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and the stranglehold it enjoys over large swathes of FATA, what about the Swat Taliban and their grip over the once peaceful valley – indeed what about the reach of the extremists even in settled NWFP districts like Bannu, Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan? Are the extremists, who seem to be clearly in control in such areas and to whom most if not all acts of terrorism inside Pakistan are traced to, foreign aliens who train in other countries and are teleported to Pakistani soil to carry out their nefarious activities? Such claims do nothing but undermine the already low credibility that the government (or at least sections of it) has on such matters. The Foreign Office statement may have been made for domestic consumption but it should remember that most Pakistanis -- and certainly the rest of the world looking and scrutinizing our every move -- are not fools.


First it was sugar, then atta, then water and electricity, and now even basic necessities which are either produced or imported in abundant quantity seem to have run out. This is what has been happening for the past few days in Lahore and prior to that had also taken place in Quetta and Peshawar. It is extremely hard for motorists and motorcyclists to find petrol or CNG in these cities of late and there seems to be no explanation for the shortage. While, reportedly, the president has finally taken notice of this situation, the petroleum minister should have promptly come to the rescue of consumers and clarified the situation. Is the supply of these essential items indeed short or are the petrol and CNG station owners deliberately selling less of their products, in protest against the recent reduction in petrol prices? One shouldn't forget the recent act by CNG stations all over the country to sell CNG at a far higher price than that set by the government, simply because of a faux pas of the then petroleum minister.

One wouldn't be at all surprised if the latter were indeed the case because in Pakistan it is usually not all that difficult for segments or sectors of the economy to come together and form a cartel to pressure the government for their own vested interest and exploit their customers for greater profit. However, if indeed there are problems related to supply the government should take immediate measures to make both products available to end users. And if the retailers are doing this deliberately, then they should be penalized and made to offer their stipulated services.


The month of Muharram has brought with it a visible increase in security in all large cities and many towns. As indeed happens each year, the authorities have promised 'fool proof' measures to prevent sectarian tensions bubbling over into violence during the month of mourning. This is, frankly speaking, a promise that simply cannot be kept. No matter how many policemen or paramilitary troops are deployed, it is impossible to watch every street corner, every mosque across the country, hour after hour and day after day. The terrible repercussions of sectarian violence have been seen this year in the Kurram Agency where hundreds were killed in intense fighting, in Dera Ismail Khan and in other places. The fear of terrorist violence too, seen during Muharram in past years, is high given the fact that suicide bombers seem able to strike at will.

There can be no doubt there is a need to bring the situation under control. Over the past two decades, thousands have died senselessly in attacks motivated by sectarian hatred. Professionals have been gunned down in targeted killings in major cities. Clerical leaders have been murdered, places of worship targeted. This situation must change. Muharram after all is a month that has great sanctity to all Muslims. This sense of unity must be restored. Mere security measures cannot achieve this. We need also to make a wider bid to turn back the tide of hatred that we have allowed to grow and sweep over us, by enacting relevant laws, clamping down on inflammatory material freely available in the market and ensuring that school curriculums aim to create a national whole rather than promoting fissures along the lines of ethnicity, religion or sect.

Loadshedding ‘solutions’

Statement by the president and then by the minister for water and power over the very pressing issues of gas and electricity loadshedding may augur some hope for the millions affected. However, they also raise the question that if the loadshedding, which must have been caused by a significant gap between demand and supply, can be ended (in the case of gas) or halved (in the case of electricity) simply by a directive from a top government functionary, then was it - the loadshedding, that is - partially engineered or caused by inefficiency and mismanagement. Since the last option is perhaps the likeliest, that brings the other question that why should the government have waited this long, and for the general public - Faisalabad and Lahore - to literally riot before taking substantive measures.

Given that this government has been office for almost nine months now, it will be difficult and disingenuous for it to keep on blaming the Musharraf regime for the energy problems of today. The measures announced on Jan 1 and 3 with regard to both gas and electricity loadshedding may be more short-term in nature and what is needed drastically is a strategy or some kind of plan that quickly addresses the issue of power generation capacity. While Pakistan may not be an economy on the scale of China, readers will be astonished to note that last year alone, China is estimated to have increased its power generating capacity by almost 100,000 MW. India lagged far behind but even it increased its power generation capacity last year by 6,000-7,000 MW. Compare this to Pakistan which in the last nine years has seen a negligible rise in its power generation capacity - which almost borders on the criminal given that policymakers must have known that the energy demands of a growing economy such as Pakistan’s would need a substantial increase in its power generating capacity.

The situation is presently so acute - apparently due to a mixture of reasons that beyond the control of the power utilities and some that are very much of their own making — that one could be forgiven for thinking that people resident in this country in this day and age are perhaps reliving the Dark Ages. Most major cities are experiencing loadshedding of as much as 12 hours a day and the rural areas have no power for around 18 hours a day. Other than the stop-gap measures and the very important matter of increasing power generation capacity, the government also needs to sort out the issue of circular debt which has been hampering the financial performance of most power distribution companies. KESC for instance claims that the debt owed to it by various government departments and organizations runs into the billions and effectively hampers its from purchasing gas in the amount that it would require to make full use of the capacity of its power generating stations. This has been an issue unresolved for almost a decade and should be addressed on an urgent basis by the ministry of water and power and finance.


The incident in which nine Muslims were removed from a flight at Washington airport, while on their way to a spiritual meeting, belies the deep prejudice based on religion that still persists in most western countries even seven years after the events of 9/11 changed the world forever. The passengers, whose appearance gave them away as Muslims, were pulled off the flight after other passengers reported hearing ‘suspicious’ remarks. Even though the victims, including women and children, were found completely innocent they were not compensated by the airline or placed on another flight.

Other Muslims, living in countries around the world, of course face similar, if often more subtle discrimination. It takes place at schools, at workplaces and elsewhere. Many living in the west have experienced the biased remark, the suspicious look or the other signals of racism at some point or the other. Others face it from one day to the next. Families living in the west have in some cases chosen to move back to spare their children life in such an environment. The problem needs greater attention. In many ways it is just as damaging as the underlying European bias against Jews that culminated in the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Today, laws in a number of countries protect Jews against discrimination or hatred. No such protection exists for those who adhere to other faiths. The damage this is doing is perhaps most visible in the UK, where young Muslims in many communities seem to have become totally isolated from mainstream society, have expressed a hatred against it and allied themselves with extremist forces. Similar trends have been seen in France and Germany. It will not be long before they are seen more openly in the US as well. While internal developments within communities may be partly responsible, there can be no doubt the main factor is the feeling of rejection from the wider population amongst which they live that has led to such a situation arising.

It is obviously an unacceptable one. The discrimination against Muslims depicts racism in its worst form. In the US it sometimes parallels the attitude black people faced through past decades, with Muslims today presumed guilty unless they can prove their innocence. This attitude must be changed. A more conscious effort to do so must be made. Otherwise the hatred and suspicion it breeds will, in time, destroy us all.


The death of a two-and-a-half-year old child in a fire in a quarter in a shanty town in Karachi tragically illustrates the dangers that a significant proportion of the city’s residents face in the course of their daily lives. The fire which seems to have been caused by leaking gas or a defective stove didn’t leave much chance to the family of four living inside the 40 square yards quarter and caused severe burns to the three that did not perish. Life for those who live in Karachi’s shanty towns is an unending uphill struggle in terms of receiving even the most basic of amenities. Some katchi abadis have been regularized in the past and have benefited as a result in terms of being included in the amenities net, but most remain outside and hence their residents are prone to the vagaries of an irregular undocumented habitat. Can we see the government making an effort to regularize the city’s sprawling katchi abadis?

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

Storing anger

More than half of the 1.5 million population of Gaza are children, and those that grow up in years to come are going to carry with them the memory of their experiences of the latest of many attacks by Israel on their homeland. The death toll has now passed 500 with over 2,300 injured, and both numbers are going to rise. Amid the sound and the fury of the fighting there are some notable silences, and two of them stand out. On the 20th of this month Barack Obama is going to be sworn in as the new American president; a man of whom there are great expectations. Thus far he has made no comment on the carnage in Gaza, nor has any of his aides – and perhaps most significantly nothing has been heard from Hilary Clinton who as the new foreign policy supremo may have been expected to offer at least an even-handed condemnation of the violence. But nothing but silence. It may be that as one observer has put it 'America can only have one President at a time' and that Obama would be jumping the gun were he to pronounce on such an important issue before taking office. Yet surely a form of words could have been found to at a minimum express concern at the burgeoning humanitarian crisis? Apparently not.

The other area in which silence, or at least some muted muttering is heard - is the Muslim world. Beyond some anxious hand-wringing there has been little by way of forthright and powerful condemnation of Israeli aggressions and the killing of innocent women and children. Muslims worldwide are appalled at what they are seeing. But where are the organizations like the OIC which may be assumed to speak for most of the Muslim world? The answer is, apparently, sitting in the background and trying not to upset anybody - least of all the Americans. The twin silences of Obama and the collective Muslim world speak to us. On the one hand we may be seeing the first indications of which way the Obama presidency is going to swing regarding an issue crucial to the Muslim world generally; and on the other we see the weakness of the institutions which may be said to represent the Muslim world. Between the two silences sit the children of Gaza, storing both anger and energy against the day when they are old enough to discharge both destructively. The vast human battery that is Gaza is unlikely to be drained by Israeli action, rather the reverse is true – a fact which seems to have escaped the Israeli planners of foreign and military policy.


The arrest of Mumtaz Bhutto, the chief of the Sindh National Front and a cousin of the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, has immediately created waves across Sindh. Protests have been staged and a partial strike observed in Larkana and some other towns, where shops were closed. The PPP says SNF workers forced traders to down shutters. Bhutto, a fiery critic both of the late Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari, has been accused of threatening journalists at a Karachi-based newspaper. His party dismisses these accusations as ludicrous and says a delegation had simply visited the offices of the publication to seek better coverage. This, as everyone in the media industry knows, is a routine matter. Mumtaz Bhutto's son has made an open charge of blatant victimization by the PPP as revenge for his father's harsh criticism of the president. Certainly the arrest, with Bhutto first placed under house arrest at his home village near Larkana and then taken to Karachi, seems rather unusual. The explanation by the Sindh information minister regarding the action and her insistence that it was a purely legal and administrative measure will convince only a few. This is especially true as during her press conference, Shazia Marri lashed out against Mumtaz Bhutto accusing him of working against Sindh and as such, of not being a Sindhi nationalist, as he claims to be.

There is a sinister undertone to the whole affair. The perception is that the criticism by SNF leaders and workers in Larkana of Asif Zardari had ruffled feathers. There have also, in recent weeks, been whispers about threats made to others, including newspaper columnists, who have been critical of the president. It is impossible to determine how much of all this is true. Misinformation campaigns directed against democratic governments are after all not unusual in our part of the world. But then, on the other hand, neither are attempts to stamp out dissent. Certainly, the arrest of a senior politician, respected in many circles, even if his views were often controversial, has raised many suspicions and doubts. The incident has also added to perceptions that the government is, in many ways, simply continuing the policies seen in the past. We must hope that the elected government has not chosen to resort to high-handed tactics. In the past such measures have eventually weakened rather than strengthened the leaders who employ them.


The tragedy at a coalmine in Mach that killed eight people is a reflection on the precarious conditions under which thousands in the country labour. Miners who tried desperately to save their colleagues after a gas explosion ignited a fire in the mine over 1000 feet below the surface, have said there was no safety equipment or warning systems at the mine. A similar incident had taken place at the same mine two years ago but the owners did not install mechanisms that could more effectively protect lives. The fact that the mine is reportedly owned by a federal minister is also saddening. Our public representatives should be leading the way in setting examples for people and ensuring that rules are followed. The fact is that they, too often, do just the opposite, using power and privilege to cover their tracks.

The mine explosion is a reminder too of the disregard for safety of workers at most places where hazardous work takes place. The lives of poverty-stricken labourers and miners are, after all, dispensable in a society such as ours where money and power count for everything. Dozens of cases are reported each year of workers being maimed, wounded, or killed in accidents at workplaces. Some tumble into furnaces, others die while attempting to repair faulty equipment. Only a tiny handful receives compensation of any kind. Families who lose wage-earners must, one way or the other, struggle to survive. Laws that exist to protect welfare are extremely poorly enforced. Inspections rarely take place, and when they do bribery is a common way to prevent complaints being registered. There is a desperate need to ensure this situation changes. The mining sector, where child labour remains rampant, is one of those in need of most urgent attention. Too many lives have been lost over the years due to accidents such as the one at Mach. More such deaths must be prevented by putting in place adequate precautions and ensuring rules are adhered to.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

Cracks at the top?

It is not often that real life reflects a Tom Clancy thriller, but the events of Wednesday seemed to unfold like some racy potboiler. The chronology of events goes something like this: National Security Adviser Maj-General (retd.) Mahmud Ali Durrani told CNN-IBN, an Indian based subsidiary of CNN, that Ajmal Amir Kasab was a Pakistani national. The channel also quoted ‘sources’ to say that a report claiming this had been sent to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and that Kasab had no links whatsoever with any state institution. Simultaneously, a private Pakistani TV channel also quoted a ‘senior government official’ as confirming Kasab’s Pakistani nationality. After some time, a foreign news agency carried a report which said that information minister Sherry Rehman in a text message also confirmed this fact, but said that no further details were given. Later, a spokesman of the Foreign Office also told the India Abroad News Service (IANS) that Kasab was a Pakistani national but that he would not be given any consular help because of the serious nature of his act. And after what appeared to be a major breakthrough in the Mumbai attacks affair, the senior government official who had first told the media that Ajmal was indeed a Pakistani was sacked by the prime minister. Some very serious differences at the highest level in Islamabad had been spectacularly laid bare within the space of a few hours.

The revelation about Kasab’s nationality should never have been allowed to become such a contentious issue. Even if it is proved beyond doubt that he is indeed a Pakistani, there is no evidence to suggest that Pakistan had any control over his actions. It should be noted here that a section of the Pakistani media had visited Faridkot in southern Punjab, the purported place of origin of Ajmal Kasab, soon after the Mumbai attacks and found that a person by the name of Ajmal Amir had indeed been a resident of the village and that his parents still lived there. The presence of men appearing to be intelligence sleuths was also reported, after which Geo TV particularly came in for some heavy criticism for ‘acting against the national interest.’ by investigating this affair. In fact, a case was even filed against it on this account. The role of a responsible media, and in fact of responsible civil society, should be to act in a manner that furthers the interests of the people and the country, ‘the national interest’ being an amorphous and vague term often used by governments and vested interests to consolidate their own hold on power. In any case, the national interest in the current climate would not be to mirror the knee-jerk antics of the Indian media, but to be introspective and seek out the truth. As the Pakistan government has repeatedly stressed, terrorism has afflicted this country more than any other and that a joint investigation with India on Mumbai is the best way ahead.

As for the national security adviser’s sudden dismissal, it obviously raises a host of questions. It would be fair to assume that someone of his rank would have access to sensitive information and would be in a position to confirm or deny precisely the kind of information that he did confirm on the evening of Jan 7. But did he or did he not clear the release of such clearly important information without consulting the chief executive? What does one make of the confirmation by the information minister or indeed by the Foreign Office? Is there a gulf between the two top offices in the country, as some analysts have said? Or does that gulf stretch even beyond the two? Whatever the truth, even if it is simply a matter of protocol and coordination, the unfortunate fact is that the affair gives ammunition to those who say that the government is not speaking with one voice on an issue of utmost national and international importance.


The no-confidence move in the AJK assembly, which removed Sardar Attique Muhammad Khan as prime minister and elected Sardar Yaqub in his place, marks another break with the past. Sardar Attique, who had in recent weeks become an increasingly controversial figure, was known as a supporter of former president Pervez Musharraf. He had also been accused of corruption. His ouster came about as a forward bloc within his own Muslim Conference joined hands with opposition parties to deliver an overwhelming vote of no confidence. In the 49-member house, 31 backed the vote and only 15 opposed it. The incoming prime minister has been warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Gilani and indeed other figures in the federal government. The buzz in Muzaffarabad is that the entire move was orchestrated by Islamabad. Sardar Atique has made similar accusations himself and warned of instability in the affairs of AJK as a result of all that has happened. Events similar to the ones we see now have taken place in the past too. Politics in AJK are frequently dominated by accusations of corruption or mismanagement. The theme of manipulation from Islamabad and accusations of horse-trading have also been heard before. The happenings are significant too in the context of Pakistan’s wider political scenario. The PML-N, despite its undisguised dislike for Musharraf and his men, has indicated it disapproves of intervention in AJK and believes this will complicate matters regarding the future of Kashmir.

We must acknowledge that the claim Pakistan makes of AJK being an independent territory is largely a piece of fiction. Even if the statement by the Muslim Conference forward bloc leaders, that the federal government in Pakistan played no part in recent events there, is accepted as true, the fact is that many of the affairs of the troubled territory are controlled by persons and groups based in Pakistan. The no-confidence move against a prime minister has for this reason sparked controversy in AJK. The role of Pakistan in the management of the territory is opposed by many Kashmiris who most of all yearn to determine their own destiny. Indeed, even outside Kashmir, there has been concern over the alleged intervention of the federal government in provincial matters. The Punjab government remains suspicious of a conspiracy against it. The prime minister of Pakistan and his team must keep as a priority on their list the need to set good, democratic precedents in all areas. The developments in Azad Kashmir are a reminder of this. Pakistan has long lacked such traditions. It badly needs them if it is to make a clean break with a past where democratic rule has frequently been disturbed by uncalled for attempts to subvert parliamentary supremacy.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

Tragedy in Karachi

The death of at least 40 people, including 20 children, in the fire that swept through a shanty settlement in Karachi is not just an accident of fate or an act of God. The havoc created by the fire that broke out Thursday night exposes the vulnerability of life for the poorest people in our society. It seems obvious that the poor quality of housing was a factor that contributed to the devastating loss of life, as the tiny huts, most of them made of loose timber and sticks, burnt to the ground within hours. Accounts from devastated people, many of whom lost children or other family members in the blaze that added to the misery of lives for people who already face multiple hardships, say the flames engulfed entire homes within minutes, making it impossible to rescue those caught inside. At least 14 shelters were completely destroyed. Some parents were killed or badly injured in desperate, sometimes heroic, attempts to save offspring. Fire-fighting teams who reached the spot were able to do little to control the flames. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The funerals of those who died in the tragedy are now taking place. One by one those killed in the awful disaster will be consigned to the ground. Nothing, of course, can ever bring back the dead and only time will somewhat ease the sorrow of those who have been burying family members. But somewhere in what happened are important lessons to be learned by the state and indeed, by all of us who speak up too rarely for the rights of those made virtually voiceless because of the disempowerment they have suffered. It is a matter of shame that even six decades after the creation of our country, so many of its citizens should live in such abject misery. According to official data, there is a desperate shortage of housing units – particularly in larger urban centres. A backlog of 6.19 million units exists at the present time and continues to grow each year. Most people live in sub-standard housing, made of unbaked brick, mud or timber and straw. Most houses are badly over-crowded. Successive reports state a failure to direct priority in terms of official policy to housing needs over the past many decades is a factor in this situation. As a consequence, the situation has continued to worsen from year to year. The dramatic rise in homelessness we see in all our cities is a reflection of this.

There are also other lessons. As in previous incidents, the response from the fire brigade and other services seems to have been inadequate, even though the speed at which the blaze took grip made their task difficult. It is also a political party, rather than the government, that has moved to offer affected people alternative shelter. There has been conjecture that a candle or lantern lit to combat the darkness cast by a lack of power may have triggered the fire. Also the possibility of a deliberate attempt to set the settlement on fire cannot be ruled out as one senior Edhi official said on Friday that perhaps the land on which the squatters lived was valuable and might have been under the eyes of the city's powerful mafia. All these point to flaws within the system that add to the sufferings of tens of thousands of people and, from time to time, result in terrible tragedies such as the one seen in Karachi.


There is, quite evidently, a sense of gloating in India after the fiasco that led to the dismissal of the prime minister's national security adviser. The Indian media has been pointing out that Pakistan, initially, attempted to hide the truth. It has been insinuated that Mr Gilani's angry response to Maj-Gen (r) Mehmud Durrani's admission of Ajmal Kasab's nationality belies a desire to cover up the truth. All this does little good to Pakistan. Its credibility, which is already not high, has been damaged further. In the days ahead, New Delhi can be expected to try and capitalise on this as far as possible. Its tactics of keeping up the pressure will no doubt continue. Pakistan has, through a lack of communication or mismanagement or possibly both, managed to work itself into an even tighter spot than before. Perhaps, from all that has happened, it will realise that the truth is often a wiser strategy than lies. This is particularly true when Ajmal Kasab's links to Pakistan had already been exposed in a series of media revelations. Islamabad needs to work out how best to compensate for the damage that has already been done. Its relations with India now become a little more complicated.

It will be easier than before for Indian officials to claim Islamabad's assertions are not necessarily accurate or that it is not willing to come clean regarding involvement in Mumbai. So far there has been a lack of any great display of acumen by the Islamabad leadership. Kasab's identification as a Pakistani national makes it all the more imperative that it proceed with good sense, make no attempt to hide facts that are bound to surface anyway and do what is possible to restore its standing as a responsible nation ready and willing to fight the scourge of terrorism.


In terms of its efforts to eradicate polio and clamber off the list of the four countries in the world where polio remains endemic, the year 2009 has begun badly for Pakistan. The first case of the year has been confirmed in Punjab's Sahiwal district, which had been declared 'polio-free'. This discovery, with a five-year-old girl found infected, comes after the reporting of 118 cases of polio across the country in 2008. The figure is startling when compared with rates for previous years. In 2007, 32 cases were confirmed. For 2006 this number stood at 39 and for the year before that 28.

Clearly, something is not right. It is pointless to blame the resurgence of the sickness only on refusals by parents to have their children vaccinated. While this has been an issue in parts of NWFP, with some 30 cases uncovered in the province through 2008, it cannot explain the presence of cases in other provinces. Refusal is not, after all, an issue in Punjab or Sindh. It is important that problems pointed to over the past year be properly investigated. Apart from many loopholes in the coverage of children and administrative flaws in the anti-polio campaign, there have been more serious allegations. These include charges of corruption, embezzlement of funds intended for the drive against the disease and failure to maintain the cold chain necessary to keep the oral vaccine effective. There have also been stories about the use of substandard vaccinations. While officials have fervently denied this, and have blamed the number of cases on persons who bring in the virus from neighbouring Afghanistan or on its administration to children suffering diarrhoea, this explanation on its own is inadequate. Pakistan had hoped to be declared a polio-free nation by 2010. This goal now seems unlikely to be met. The challenge for Pakistan's health officials and for the new federal health minister is to uncover what is going wrong, so that we can move closer to a situation where no child is afflicted by a disease that has over the last decades left hundreds disabled.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

First words with Biden

The visit by Joe Biden, the US vice president-elect, has been watched closely by many in the country and also others from the outside. The question of how the Barack Obama administration, due now to take over within days, will handle the issue of Pakistan is uppermost in minds. Biden, as an experienced politician with a special interest in Pakistan, is naturally expected to be a pivotal player in policy making – particularly in the early days as Obama gets to grip with the range of issues on both the domestic and foreign front that await his attention. The signals vis-à-vis Pakistan from the Obama camp have so far been mixed. In his electoral campaign, the president-elect took a tough line and, even today, the possibility of US attacks on targets in Afghanistan lurks. Indeed, this matter was taken up for discussion in Islamabad Friday between Biden and the ISI chief. It is not clear what answers, if any, were given to queries raised by the Pakistani official. On the other hand, Senator Biden has played a key role in pushing the Biden-Kerry-Lugar legislation under which Pakistan will receive US $1.5 billion socio-economic assistance over the next five years and possibly an additional $7.5 billion over the next half decade. The bill falls in line with the argument by Biden and key allies that one weapon to be used against terrorists is development and that there can be little hope of scoring a victory against militancy unless the welfare of people is also promoted.

The hope of Pakistani leaders that this prong of proposed US strategy works out was reflected in the award of the Hilal-e-Pakistan to Biden. He becomes the second US official within the last few weeks to be meted out a top civil honour. But the fact is that placing shiny medals around the necks of US officials will, on its own, do little to win their trust and confidence. One must hope that those holding key positions in Islamabad realize this. Eventually, Pakistan will need to show that, it is serious in its intentions as far as the war on terror goes, it has a definite plan of action in mind to achieve victory, it is aware that this is in its own interest and does not need to be constantly prodded by Washington to be reminded of its commitments. Only when this happens will it become possible for Islamabad to insist that the US not intervene in its internal affairs. The extent of its readiness to intervene has, most lately, been indicated by the demand expressed by the US ambassador to the country, that the sacked adviser to the prime minister on national security be reinstated.

Biden’s one-day visit, which he described as an attempt to ‘get some sort of baseline’ has gone well. The former senator has a good understanding of Pakistan, and this, no doubt would have come in handy during his detailed talks with the president, the prime minister, the COAS and the ISI chief. These men then are the figures that the US sees as key to its future relations with Pakistan. Biden has also promised continuing US commitment to the country. But beyond the comforting words, it is clear that tough times lie ahead. The task for Pakistan’s top leadership will be to establish a good rapport with the new White House team and ensure that they are able to work with it to extract maximum benefit for Pakistan and its people.


The bomb blasts at two theatres in Lahore fit in with the pattern seen previously in the city. The low-intensity explosions, that took place at a time when the theatres were closed, created mass panic as the noise rang out in two of the city’s most congested areas, but caused no casualties. Logically enough, the police have linked them to previous incidents in the city – including explosions at juice shops frequented by young couples out on dates and at the Punjabi Complex close to the site where the World Performing Arts Festival was being held in November last year. It does not need the skills of Sherlock Holmes to deduce this. Threats have also been made to shops selling pornography, triggering a mass destruction of video material by Hall Road traders a few months ago. The purpose appears to be to deliver a ‘moral’ message and impose a particular code on the city.

The similarities between all the various incidents, which have taken place over a period of six months, make it obvious that the same group of extremists is involved. It is unfortunate that while law enforcing agencies say they had ‘prior’ information and had warned cinema and theatre-owners to take precautions, they are apparently no closer than before to identifying the groups involved and arresting those planting bombs. It appears intelligence reports are present. Surely the focus should be on using this information to reach those responsible for creating harassment and terror. Simply delivering messages to shop-owners or those running entertainment businesses to protect their establishments is senseless. There is, after all, a limit to what these people can do anyway. The terror unleashed in Lahore must stop. It is obviously intended to challenge our way of life. The effort to arrest those behind it must be stepped up.


The statement by the senior minister in Punjab, Raja Riaz, that the government is planning to develop additional energy resource by using solar power and solid waste, is a reminder of what we have left undone over the years. The crippling energy crisis we now face may have been averted had the immense potential of the sun been utilized to run homes, factories and other concerns. This indeed has been done in countries such as Turkey where solar panels installed on roofs provide heat and light.

It is unlikely the crunch we face now will be overcome any time soon. Building new dams or setting up alterative means to generate energy on a large scale will, inevitably, take time. The suggestion by the Punjab minister, while talking to a delegation from the business community, needs to be taken up seriously. If indeed, our mountains of waste can be turned into energy, this is not something we should miss out on. It is also true that the potential for generating wind energy exists along coastal areas. This too needs to be explored. Such alternative energy sources would also prevent greater environmental damage in a situation where air quality is low in all our major cities and thick smog, triggered by high pollution levels, blankets Punjab each winter.

In this situation, we need to think innovatively. It is time to move beyond words and take action. Entrepreneurs, scientists, businessmen and policy-makers need to come together to decide how best we can use non-conventional means to create the energy we so urgently need. Sunlight is one resource we have in abundance. We must find a way to tap its potential, both for the industrial and domestic sectors.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

The hinge

Once again eyes turn towards Balochistan – the largest, least populated, poorest and, by a terrible irony, most resource-rich province of the federation. Concerns are growing that the process of Talibanisation which has created a splinter-state in NWFP are now well advanced there. Balochistan has never ‘settled’ into the corporate identity of Pakistan and the blood of Baloch nationalism runs strong in the provincial veins; and a good deal of it has run on the ground as well over the decades. We now hear from Sanaullah Baloch of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) that supporters (an interesting word to use in this context) of the Taliban had gained control of lands worth two billion rupees to the east and west of Quetta, and that the Taliban are consolidating their grip. A glance at the map tells us that the long border with Afghanistan and the proximity to the unsettled areas of NWFP makes this something that may be accomplished with relative ease – especially if you have a helping hand from the top. It is claimed that Taliban supporters enjoy the support of the government and the sensitive agencies as they see the Taliban as a potent counterweight to the Baloch nationalists.

Doubtless Sanaullah Baloch is referring to the JUI-F when he speaks of Taliban supporters. The JUI-F has poached the Pashtun vote from the secular Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party just as it did when it pushed aside the secular ANP in NWFP. We note how difficult it is for the ANP – now in power in NWFP – to get support from the centre in the battle to contain and control extremism. In Balochistan Taliban supporters, both covertly and overtly, help extremism against the secular parties which are, inconveniently, nationalist as well as secular. The rolling tide of Talibanisation in Balochistan, of which the JUIF are the storm-troopers, will have no truck with the desire for insurgency and separation so beloved of the Baloch nationalists. The JUIF agenda is broader and deeper than even that, and their party machine has deftly manoeuvred it into the federal coalition alongside the PPP, whilst at the same time giving support to the Taliban and stoutly resisting all calls for military action against extremism in Balochistan. If nothing else this displays a sophisticated and multi-faceted thinking by the Taliban groups (there are many, and they do not all hold hands – yet) who are now advancing in a disciplined and coordinated manner down our western flanks. South Punjab is currently undergoing a process of radicalization as well and it is not difficult to trace the thread through the labyrinth back to the tribal agencies.

Balochistan has become a part of the hinge on which the history of Pakistan now turns. Challenging the writ of the Taliban is tricky as it is both difficult and dangerous to confront a grouping that says it is working within the religious constitution of the state – the constitution which has the Sharia at its very heart. Few of us would wish to risk the wrath of the extremists by challenging them as they will always counter with the cry of ‘Are you not a Muslim?’ The components of the hinge are now almost all in place – but which way will it turn and who is doing the pushing?

Breeding fear

With Pakistan increasingly seen by the rest of the world as a hotbed of extremism and terrorism, the fast-track to all that is unpleasant, it should come as little surprise to us that the Mumbai attack has sparked yet another spiral of paranoia in the US. The attacks that took place on 9/11 have forever altered America’s perception of itself as inviolate to all but attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. It is now a country where fear and threat are in the minds of all, fears and threats stoked by assorted politicians, warmongers and crazies who crowd the airwaves with their views and perceptions in the same way as some of our own politicians, warmongers and crazies do here. The Mumbai attack has brought forth yet another round of finger-pointing in our direction. Newspapers and other media have all carried the transcripts of tapes made by the Indians that purport to be of calls between the gunmen and their Pakistani handlers. CCTV footage is widely available on sites like YouTube with comments that are unprintable as to what should be done to/with those who carried out the attack – who are invariably identified as being Pakistani. The revelation that the surviving gunman is indeed Pakistani has done nothing to damp the paranoia, and America is mentally gearing itself up for a Mumbai-style attack on its own soil.

Reports are emerging that a recent meeting of senior US government officials, lawmakers and anti-terrorism experts consider such an attack as more, rather than less, likely, and that if such an attack were to happen its likely origins would be Pakistan. Whilst we are in the realms of speculation here, it is not inconceivable that an attack – not just by Islamists but by any group – could be mounted. America is a heavily weaponised society where guns are freely available and their use is poorly regulated or controlled. Other materiel is also available either over-the-counter or via the internet. Assembling the means to carry out an attack in America is never going to be a problem. Muslims generally and Muslims of a radical persuasion are ever more closely scrutinized in the US, and complaints of harassment of innocents are on the rise across the country. The sense of fear and paranoia within the American Muslim world is no less than it is in the American non-Muslim world. We hope and pray that there is no attack in America of a similar type to that in Mumbai, but have to count it as a possibility. There is no shortage of disaffected and outraged Muslims who are currently watching Gaza get flattened once again – and some of them live in America. Were the finger to be credibly pointed at us in the event of any such attack – and we may be very sure that the Americans are going to be a lot more upfront about naming names than India or indeed ourselves – then the consequences are almost beyond imagination. We must hope that cool heads prevail; feeding the beast that is paranoia serves nobody well in these dangerous days.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

Militants in Mohmand

The fierce clash between militants and security forces in the Mohmand Agency, in which 40 militants and at least six troops were killed, offers evidence that the Taliban and other elements continue to pose an immense threat to the nation and the writ of state. The exchange took place after several hundred militants, including foreign nationals, reportedly attempted to storm a fort occupied by the Frontier Corps. An exchange of fire lasting hours then ensued and militant positions were subsequently bombed. This ranks as the fiercest offensive by militants in the area since an operation began there several months ago. Fighters from Waziristan are said to have taken part in the effort, which had obviously been well-planned and meticulously executed. Other operations, similar to this one, have been seen in the past.

There is a question that arises: why have the armed forces of Pakistan been unable to overcome a relatively small band of fighters even after months of heavy fighting? Why have the top leaders of these outfits not been arrested? Is it really possible that intelligence agencies have no idea as to their location or their movements? If the Taliban have truly gained such strength as a guerrilla fighting force that it is impossible to knock them out despite the use of all our military might, the state of affairs now prevailing is truly frightening. But then just as grim is the other possibility: that there is still no real will to defeat them despite all that has happened in recent years in terms of bombings, suicide attacks and assassinations.

A full assessment of the situation needs to be urgently made. Our leaders, military and civilian, need to sit down together and contemplate the true position. There have lately been a number of insinuations emanating from regions of fighting that allege an all-out effort is still not being made. These may be nothing more than fiction, but there should be a review of what is happening, how the operation is going and how far it is succeeding in defeating militants. Quite evidently, the militant elements that remain entrenched in the tribal areas are still able to organize themselves into large bands and take on security forces at fortified positions. It is also clear that a large number of non-Pakistani nationals remain a part of the Taliban armies. It is quite obvious that for the sake of the security of our country, the militants need to be vanquished. What needs to be determined is how best this can be achieved.


The renewed clashes in the Hangu district of NWFP, where 40 people have been killed within three days, brings back memories of the terrible fighting in the area, along sectarian lines, that has already claimed hundreds of lives in recent months. Tribes, broken up into Sunnis and Shias, have once more been battling each other. Tensions seem to have risen with the advent of the Muslim month of mourning – Muharrum – an occasion that has repeatedly triggered violence over the past decade. This is of course immensely sad, given the sanctity of the month for Muslims of all sects.

So far, tribal elders attempting to mediate between the fighting tribes have failed to restore peace in Hangu. Even if they do achieve a breakthrough, one fears that it will be short-lived. This, after all, is what has happened each time in the past. Periods of peace have been followed by resumed phases of intense fighting. The sectarian violence in areas such as Parachinar in the Kurram Agency has resulted in what amounts to a brutal ethnic cleansing. It is said large pockets of Shias have been entirely wiped out or else have fled, fearful of death. It is unfortunate that this should still happen in a day and age that is described as 'civilised'.

We have seen too many episodes of repeated sectarian violence. The government needs to step in and act. It is senseless to simply ignore what is happening or hope that it will just go away. Even if another period of peace is enforced, the risk is that at some point in the future the underlying tensions will erupt once more. What we need is a policy to address the root causes of sectarian hatred. Through curriculums, through the immensely powerful media and by enforcing the laws that exist to safeguard against the dissemination of hate, a concerted effort to turn back the clock must be initiated. It is true that sectarian strife was a reality in Hangu even decades ago, but the degree of violence has increased markedly since then. It must be stopped before it tears apart the fabric of a society that has forgotten the need to tolerate each other and to live together in peace, regardless of belief, race or other similar factors.


The news that after a presentation by the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) to a parliamentary committee, representatives who had proposed amendments in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance of 2007 have withdrawn the suggestions they had made for change, is immensely welcome. It also shows how much can be achieved through dedicated effort. SIUT had campaigned tirelessly for the law to be introduced. It has over the past few months struggled just as hard to prevent amendments in it that would open up the way for those not related by blood to donate kidneys and other organs.

The law is intended to guard against the exploitation of poor people by those able to purchase kidneys from them. The stories heard, of these hapless 'donors' being ripped off by middle men, of the situations that forced them to part with a kidney and of the situation of their lives after the surgeries inflicted on them, are truly tragic. In some villages in Punjab, more that half the adult population is said to have given away a kidney for amounts that vary from about Rs150,000 to 400,000. Indeed, in recent years, Pakistan had become known as a sales point for kidneys internationally, with those seeking the organ flying in from the Gulf and elsewhere to purchase them. Mafias, who include doctors, in all large cities profited from the unethical trade. The pioneering 2007 law placed conditionalities on organ donations, laying down rules intended to ensure they were offered voluntarily, and only by blood relatives. It made it possible to act against those engaged in purchasing organs, and placed tough ethical requirements for surgeries. It is sad that members of parliament, knowingly or unknowingly, apparently attempted to undo this. The suspicion always is that there are vested interests at work behind such moves. But the outcome has, in the final run, been positive. The awareness effort launched by SIUT immediately after the proposed amendments become known has worked, and a change that would have undone much of the good of the 2007 law has been averted.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

The last hurrah

There was almost a sense of anticlimax as President George W Bush, a man whose personal approval ratings at below thirty per cent are lower than just about any president ever achieved, faced the press for the last time. He defended his record vigorously at times and owned a few of the more obvious mistakes – 'Mission accomplished' being one of them and the curious case of the vanishing Weapons of Mass Destruction being another – but it was a sense of 'disappointment' that hung heaviest over the event. How history will judge the man and his eight years of office remains to be seen, but if his approval rating is poor at home, it is little short of abysmal in much of the rest of the world – and not only at a personal level. G W Bush has created a bedrock of unpopularity for America and its foreign policies as they played out globally that is going to take a long time to erode.

'Disappointment' is something of an understatement. He was 'disappointed' at the maltreatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and the inept way the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was handled and he was disappointed with "the tone in Washington, D C". He even found some disappointment-in-advance to bestow on his successor Barack Obama who will find that "…sometimes your biggest disappointments will come from your so-called friends." Disappointments aside there was a sense that he was somehow struggling to come to grips with where it all went wrong for him. He relied heavily throughout his tenure on a kitchen-cabinet of advisers whose own ideological imperatives translated into wrong turns for him. He never acquired the competencies of an international statesman. In his later years he saw the world through a filter of dogmatism whilst carrying a banner for 'freedom' which was emblazoned with bombs. His attempts to export the American dream became a nightmare for others; and there can be little doubt that his own leanings in the direction of de-regulation contributed to the financial crisis that continues to grip America – and by extension much of the rest of the world.

The last time Bush had faced the press was on Dec 14 in Baghdad and he demonstrated that he still had speedy reactions and good peripheral vision when he got 'showed shoes' by one of the reporters in attendance. The shoes missed, the reporter was arrested, and now we are days from The Last Hurrah and the handing on of the baton. Few in this part of the world are going to mourn his passing and George Bush may well have done more to proliferate global terrorism that any of his predecessors. Enjoy your retirement, Mr President…and don't call us, we'll call you. Maybe.


The statement by the US State Department that it has imposed sanctions against 13 individuals and three firms linked to the A Q Khan network has refocused attention on the issue of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Even though, in response to the statement, the Pakistani prime minister has asserted that the A Q Khan chapter is a 'closed one', and that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state, the fact is that in Washington there remains a great deal of unease over the security of Islamabad's nuclear arsenal. A recent report in the 'New York Times' said the US had secretly helped Pakistan put in place steps to safeguard them. But despite the adoption of these measures, concerns remain high with the matter brought up at several recent meetings.

As such, the issue is one that will figure on the list of issues to be dealt with by the incoming US president, Barack Obama. The US media says he has already received a detailed briefing on Pakistan and the degree of alarm over the possibility that its nuclear arms could find their way into the hands of terrorists. Officials have called on him to act swiftly. Suspicions of links between the Pakistan establishment and the Taliban have fuelled this concern. Accounts also suggest the Obama administration will wish to deal decisively with Pakistan and that during internal discussions between those who will lead the new administrative setup, Pakistan remains a hot topic. According to media scenarios, a prime fear is that terrorist strategy may pivot around having Pakistan move its nuclear weapons to frontline positions, where they would be more vulnerable to capture. There is even conjecture that the entire Mumbai action was based on the hope of triggering a Pak-India confrontation. Some, perhaps even all, of this may be rather far-fetched. But there can be no doubt about a nexus between intelligence agencies and extremists. Hard proof of this link is said to have been laid out at meetings in Washington in the form of taped conversations.

What Islamabad needs to do is demonstrate foresight. As a prelude to beginning a new relationship with Obama and his men, it would do well to engage in a spot of spring cleaning. Around the state of Pakistan, many messy corners can be found. Within the country many in the know comment openly about the fact that elements in powerful positions still believe support for the Taliban is central to self-interest. At the same time we insist that eradicating extremism is a prime aim. Reports of raids on key centres of extremism go out to Washington at key moments. Islamabad needs to clear its own mind, dust away the cobwebs that still lurk and keep in view the need to re-build trust and faith.


In remarks that are harsher than any heard in recent days from New Delhi, the Indian home minister has warned his government would adopt a policy of 'isolating' Pakistan, unless it takes action against those who New Delhi says staged recent attacks in Mumbai. The home minister has said there had been no response so far to the dossier of evidence handed over to Pakistan. He warned a continued failure to 'cooperate' could bring a suspension in trade, business and tourist links with Pakistan. The Indian minister's words come just as the British foreign secretary arrives in India on a short visit. Quite evidently, they are aimed at building international opinion against Pakistan. Indeed, according to anecdotal evidence, India has already toughened its stance on issuing visas to Pakistanis while tourists who have dared to venture across the border report stepped up harassment.

The current tensions and the diplomatic deadlock they have brought about have gone on far too long. Islamabad and New Delhi, possibly with a little help from friends such as China and the UK, need to find a way to break free. India must accept the possibility of a role in the Mumbai attacks by groups based on its own soil. Pakistan must look into the possibility of links to forces based within its borders. The situation has not been handled with any great skill in either capital. A way needs to be found to move on.

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Regards,
P.R.

Horror amid the hills

Vaguely, all of us know of the conflict raging in Swat. It is uncertain if the true extent of the horror that reigns there has dawned on us. The situation appears to resemble Afghanistan during its worst days under the Taliban. An ultimatum has been issued by the local extremists imposing a ban on education for girls. They have threatened force to impose it. Dozens of schools have closed doors. Pupils who had studied for years for their matriculation exams sit at home, in despair. There are reports that, much like what happened in Afghanistan, some daring local women have set up 'secret' schools within homes to educate girls, who drift in, in twos and threes, to avoid attracting attention. Only some stories are emerging of the terrors unfolding in the area. One tells the tale of a woman, condemned by militants and then killed as a prostitute only because she insisted on continuing work at a local school in Mingora. The woman, a mother of three, had little option than to do so anywhere given that her husband had died some years ago. A local cleric who tried to help her was punished himself, and ordered by militants to leave Swat. The fate of the children who their mother was supporting is unknown.

In the area, people talk of a daily litany of atrocities. People who dare speak out against the militants have been accused of being spies for the US and the government. This accusation can bring with it death or severe beatings. People also face oppression at the hands of security forces, which have, in some cases, been known to harass residents of villages. Those who can do so have fled. Many who remain either have nowhere else to go, or, like a few brave political leaders who oppose militancy, have chosen to stay on because of their commitment to a cause they believe in and their refusal to abandon their homes.

The situation in Swat is grotesque. It is shameful that we have allowed this to happen in our midst; that in Islamabad the government keeps up pretence of normalcy and claims it is succeeding against militancy. The situation in Swat receives sporadic media attention; occasionally human rights activists speak out against it. Far more urgent action is needed. There is not time any longer to watch and wait. The federal government needs to intervene to stop the atrocities in Swat. The abuse of rights must be ended. Girls and young women must be able to claim their place in society as equal citizens who enjoy constitutional protections. The killing of innocent people caught up in a conflict that has destroyed hundreds of homes and devastated a far greater number of lives must be ended. The ANP government has expressed displeasure over what is happening and questioned the central government policy. Clearly some at least in its ranks believe there is a lack of genuine effort directed against militants. All those in a position to make decisions or to influence policy must play a more active part in ending the Talibanisation of Swat and saving its people from a situation in which security and all sense of safety has been completely shattered.


Somewhere in the bloody rubble of Iraq and Gaza there is a tattered American flag that bears the legend: 'Well, we can't be right all the time.' America is neither infallible nor omnipotent. It can get things badly wrong; make mistakes and errors of judgment; and nowhere those errors are more obvious than in the wars and foreign policy decisions and strategies of the Bush presidency. With less than a week to go before a changing of the guard in the White House, the vaunted doctrine of neo-conservatism and its practitioners, the Neocons, are disappearing from the scene, their power and influence waning or dissipating. Beyond the American failure in Iraq (and we have yet to feel the full effect of that failure, its echoes will reverberate for generations) and something considerably less than success in Afghanistan, there lies a deeper and more fundamental failure. The Iraq project was intended to have wider consequence, to transform the entire Middle East and to act as a template for a new grand policy concept in the twenty-first century. The Bush doctrine, as it became known, had neo-conservatism at its heart. It held that America was truly all-powerful and could do 'anything' and that it was in possession of a universally desirable set of values and institutions which were universally applicable. In the post 9/11 world this paradigm of America Imperial was required to exercise its power – unilaterally if necessary – to reshape the world in its own image. The neocons had a name for their vision; they called it – perhaps somewhat prematurely – the new American century. We may now come to understand that the neocons belonged to the last century, and that the new American century is going to be shaped by Obama.

Neo-conservatism has had its obituary written before, at the end of the Reagan years, but it re-emerged in the mid-90s. America again began to see the world in terms of 'good' and 'evil', a view consolidated by 9/11. There was - is – a readiness to use unilateral force or blatant arm-twisting and contempt for multilateral institutions such as the UN which, for all its many faults, has its negatives outweighed by its positives. Neocon sacerdotes such as Richard Perle (not for nothing nicknamed 'The Prince of Darkness'), Paul Wolfowitz, Elliott Abrams and Douglas Feith and their close ally the vice president Dick Cheney drove the neocon agenda which in the post-9/11 world looked both do-able and attractive. Their Big Project, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was accomplished but their grand designs fell apart in the blood of the Iraqi insurgency, and America found itself a force of occupation rather than liberation. From a high point in 2003 the neocons influence has gradually waned, and now it may indeed be the time for the writing of their obituary. There is going to be a multilateralist in the White House, a man committed to diplomacy and seemingly willing to talk to those who have not been talked to in recent years, with Cuba and Iran on the 'to call' list. Obama looks like he might actually care about the Geneva Convention, and will give house-guest status to the Kyoto Protocols. We may in the next week see the beginnings of a new world order, and it is going to be very different to that of the old.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.