Dregs of hope

October 27, 2012

Last year, the final dregs of our collective hope for Karachi had turned to the Supreme Court’s hearings on the law and order situation in the mega city of 18 million people. Spelling out the problem in all its harrowing details, the October 6, 2011 SC judgment had bemoaned the “passivity” of the government in being unable and unwilling to find a sustainable solution to the myriad crises facing Karachi. The court had attributed the city’s “unimaginable brutalities” to the turf war between political parties and told them to protect the city from future bloodshed and politically-sponsored crimes. A five-member SC bench has now rejected the Sindh government’s progress report on the implementation of the apex court’s October 6 verdict, and issued show-cause notices for contempt of court to government officials including the Sindh chief secretary, the director master plan of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and a senior member of the Board of Revenue for not conducting a survey of Sindh government land despite court orders. The SC has observed that “land grabbing, encroachment of government land and the presence of illegal immigrants” have remained unchecked and police and government functionaries have not taken measures to remove no-go areas and encroachments or stamp out land grabbing and the illegal arms trade.

Last year, we had questioned what we were to expect from a government that comprised political parties that had, by the court’s own admission, played their respective dark roles in murder, torture, extortion, and other grave crimes in Karachi. However, the fact was that by ordering the government to get its act together and come to Karachi’s rescue, the court upheld the doctrine of separation of powers. It helped understand and identify the problem, pounded through the wall of willful silence that had formerly stood in the way of debating Karachi’s troubles, and ruled that only the government and political players, and not the army or the court, could solve the Karachi puzzle. But has the government risen to the challenge? Has the timely appointment of anti-terrorism officials, depoliticisation of the police bureaucracy and deweaponisation of the city taken place? Is the city’s economy secure in the face of flare-ups and been made more participatory? Have the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and police located all foreigners illegally ensconced in the city, as ordered on October 6? Last year’s court judgment had given political parties a chance to disassociate their politics from criminality and come together to save Karachi. That has clearly not happened. All we are left with now is the hope that even if the powers that be don’t heed the Supreme Court’s words, they will at least listen to the voice of their conscience and work to bring Jinnah’s city to order.

Spirit of sacrifice

October 27, 2012

Eidul Azha is all about sacrifice and remembering the message of our religion. As is the norm each year, the sale of animals continues across the country ahead of the ritual sacrifice, which will take place in most parts of the country today. As can also be expected, the prices of these animals are steeper than last year making it possible only for a few to purchase them, and many will not be able to afford to make the sacrifice this year. There will also be many who receive sacrificial meat – some enjoying the treat for the only time during the year that they are able to do so. But perhaps we should look at the sacrifice in a broader sense. Millions in our country go hungry almost every day; the National Nutritional Survey of 2011 showed 58 percent of households were food deprived. We need to think about them – not just once a year but every day. More sacrifice is needed from the wealthy in the country, and this need not come in the form of slaughtering animals.

Paying taxes, giving charity and helping those unable to manage through other means help in creating a better, happier nation. This, after all, is the true message behind Eidul Azha. It is not only about buying, feeding and then carrying out a ritual sacrifice, even if the meat is distributed to the needy. Islam lays out as a principle a just society within which everyone has enough to eat and sustain themselves. This is certainly not true of the society we live in today and mostly the state and its various organs are responsible for this situation. This Eidul Azha we need to reconsider our priorities and think about making sacrifices that can benefit others. We need to see how we can come together to help our country and the millions of impoverished people who live on the brink of survival so that we can create a more equitable order and bring just a little sunshine into the lives of everyone all through the year.

Haj funds

October 27, 2012

Murky details have emerged about the use of Haj funds in Pakistan. This time round, the Public Accounts Committee has been informed that funds of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), exclusively meant for non-Muslims, are being utilised by Muslims for Haj and Umra expenses. ETPB is a federal government institution meant to look after the properties and places of worship of non-Muslims. But according to Minister of State for National Harmony Akram Masih Gill, he had been constantly receiving complaints from Sikhs, Hindus and other minorities about mismanagement of their places of worships. What’s worse, ETPB’s 2008 savings of Rs8 billion have dropped to Rs4 billion in 2012 despite the fact that the organisation has not undertaken any major development project. Where has the money gone? By Gill’s account, it is being used to bear Haj and Umra expenses. He has accused the ETPB chairman of abusing his powers and leasing out much more land that he was authorised to, in particular prime land worth Rs9 million to the Defence Housing Authority in return for land that was yet to be developed.

Gill has suggested that a special committee should be formed to look into the financial affairs of the powerful ETPB and advice should be sought from the Council of Islamic Ideology whether it is permissible to use funds meant for the welfare of minorities for Haj and Umra expenses. This may also be a good time to highlight that, out of 12 members, the ETPB board only has one Christian member. This is despite recommendations made many times that a minority representative should head it. Haj, the most sanctified and sacred journey for Muslims, cannot be carried out at the expense of depriving minorities of their due rights. Gill’s accusations must be thoroughly investigated.

Rohingya plight

October 30, 2012

Satellite images of released by Human Rights Watch leave no doubt as to the appalling ferocity of the violence done to Rohingya Muslims by their Buddhist Rakhine neighbours. A Rohingya suburb, and the boats and pontoons moored offshore that were once their homes, have been completely destroyed. This particular incident on the coast of western Myanmar is just the latest in a string of attacks on the Rohingya minority, a people that are welcome neither in Myanmar nor in neighbouring Bangladesh from where many originate. At least 88 have died in Rakhine State and, according to the United Nations (UN), some 22,587 people have now been displaced after months of ethnic unrest. The Rohingyas fled on October 24 as they were attacked not only by their hitherto peaceful neighbours but also by the police who are plausibly said to have joined in the firing. In all 811 buildings and houseboats were destroyed in this single incident. By the admission of the Myanmar government over 3,000 homes have been destroyed in Rakhine State since October 21, and human rights groups are of one opinion – the death toll is severely undercounted.

The plight of the Rohingya people has been ‘under the radar’ of the outside world for decades. There are about 800,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar, which regards them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Bangladesh – a Muslim-majority country – has refused to give them refugee status since 1992, despite all Rohingyas being Muslims. Myanmar is a Buddhist-majority state that is working hard to rehabilitate itself after years as a pariah in the eyes of most western nations. It was, until recently, a repressive military dictatorship that crushed dissent and denied democratic rights to its people for decades. Human rights legislation is woefully lacking in Myanmar and, although the charismatic Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest and international sanctions against Myanmar have been lifted, it remains ‘on probation’ in the eyes of the world at large. This latest incident is going to severely test the ability of the quasi-civilian government to respond appropriately to what is an atrocity and an abuse of human rights on a large and apparently unchecked and increasing scale. The UN has called the Rohingyas ‘virtually friendless’ – suffering because of a misfortune of geographic location, prejudice, intolerance and a climate of international apathy. Now is not the time for the rest of the world – including the Muslim world – to be sitting on its collective hands.

No alarm

October 30, 2012

The fire alarms just never seem to go off in Pakistan. The inferno at a factory in Karachi last month engulfed almost 300 people and was called the country’s worst industrial disaster. A similar fire at a show factory in Lahore the same day had also consumed at least 25 lives. And yet, one month later, another massive fire broke out at a private chemical factory in Karachi and raged on for over 30 hours, causing the factory to cave in and consuming two adjacent buildings. Thankfully, workers were off for Eid holidays and so there were no causalities – otherwise, this had all the makings of another major industrial disaster. Fire department officials say it took nearly two days to bring the fire ‘under control’ because of chemicals and plastic materials present inside the factory. The fire department also came unstuck due to the unavailability of water and lack of fire hydrants at the factory. As for the fire-fighting systems installed in the factory, even the Karachi administrator admitted that even when such mechanisms are installed, scant attention to maintaining them makes the system fail, as happened in this case.As things stand now, there is no confirmed answer to the question of how the fire started and we have been told, yet again, to wait for an inquiry report.

There is no gainsaying that our industries suffer from weak regulation, characterised by lax oversight and corruption and run by business owners who often put profits over safety. Workplace safety is guaranteed under the Constitution, but government oversight has disintegrated rapidly in recent years. Anything less than all factories in the country undergoing regular inspections and a thorough revamp of safety systems will no longer be sufficient. Preventable accidents cannot be allowed to become tragedies on a recurring basis and all promises of good intentions to fix the system, forgotten days after innocent lives are lost and precious properties destroyed, must be honoured.

Drug deals

October 30, 2012

Just by way of a change there are plaudits to be awarded, first to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the FIA, then to two of our own scientists who apparently did good for Pakistan only to find themselves penalised for having done so. Pakistan has a chronic problem with hepatitis, and the preferred treatment is a drug called Interferon. The two scientists were punished for developing a locally-made generic strain of the Interferon drug with a unit cost of Rs70. The drug is marketed by multinational companies for Rs900, and it is not difficult to follow the chain of guilt when it comes to discovering why we imported the injections, costing the national exchequer Rs70 billion, despite the locally manufactured version being easily and cheaply available. Apparently, in an effort to discredit the two scientists, the ministry of science and technology started an enquiry via the FIA alleging embezzlement of funds, at the same time denying the other scientist his salary for two years. One-hundred thousand units of the locally made Interferon were forced to sit on the shelf and become date-expired. It should be noted that these units were manufactured without a national drug regulatory authority – most likely at the behest of the ministry of science as the scientists themselves did not manufacture them as a private venture.

The Interferon made by the multinationals was purchased – presumably with a kickback here and there – and two men found themselves pilloried. The FIA found no substance in the allegations against the men and the PAC has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to conduct an enquiry into who it was within the ministry that did the dirty deed. The PAC has decided to approach the Supreme Court in this matter, and has also written to the wronged scientists appreciating their work, and to the FIA for the honesty of their investigation. As if this were not enough, the PAC revealed that as many as 28,000 locally manufactured drugs were being denied registration as a result of pressure from multinational pharmaceutical companies. We lose out once again to corruption at the top, and our own scientists are unwilling to work for the ministry of science and technology. We appear unable either because of weakness or incompetence, or unwilling because of a criminally corrupt civil service, to free ourselves from foreign shackles.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

New Indian FM

October 31, 2012

Salman Khurshid has replaced SM Krishna as Indian foreign minister amidst a major cabinet re-shuffle aimed at bolstering the ruling Congress Party ahead of the 2014 polls. The Congress has not fared well in recent by-polls and Khurshid, who is from Uttar Pradesh and has previously held several ministerial positions, most recently as law minister, is seen by some as proactive and dynamic, playing an active and sometimes controversial role in the affairs of his party. So despite the recent controversy regarding accusations that he and his wife had siphoned off funds for a charity for the disabled, the important office of foreign minister is now his, where he will have to handle the most delicate diplomatic dossier of India’s relations with Pakistan.

Krishna had overseen the revival of the tentative peace process, which had collapsed after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and administered genuine movement on issues such as trade and visa liberalisation. Khurshid now has before him the gargantuan task of carrying forward the process Krishna started – of putting all issues on the table and not letting singular issues and events hijack the tenuous peace process. Some analysts suggest Khurshid has a firmer grip on diplomacy and is likely to demonstrate a surer footing than his predecessor. However, there are also those who point to his recent mishandling of the corruption scandal, and there is serious concern whether Khurshid possesses the necessary patience and maturity to dance the delicate dance that the Indian foreign minister always has to, especially in their dealings with Pakistan. A lot of progress has been made in the last few years, especially in terms of giving a boost to trade and cultural ties between Pakistan and India, and it is important that the momentum is kept up. Khurshid has already said in a statement that he will get right to work to reinforce the improvement of ties with Pakistan. We can only hope that in the days to come, the two countries will, in the new FM’s own words, “look at possible roots towards being able to work more closely together, be able to understand each other’s problems and solve each other’s problems mutually and by convergence of opinion.” More specifically, Khurshid must also strive to reverse the Indian establishment’s recently hardened position on low-hanging fruit such as Siachen and Sir Creek. If there is one goal he must set for himself as foreign minister, it is this.

Hurricane Sandy

October 31, 2012

Freak weather events are occurring with increasing frequency as global warming becomes a grave reality. Many do not make headline news anymore, but the storm, officially known as ‘Sandy’, that hit the eastern seaboard of the US is truly exceptional. The dire predictions of politicians, meteorologists, and emergency and rescue services were all met and mostly exceeded. As the worst of the storm passed, at least 1.5 million New York homes and businesses were left without power, the mass transit and subway systems flooded and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed for a second day for the first time since 1888. What the destruction is going to cost is anybody’s guess but it is likely to be the most expensive natural event in American history, and may also have an impact on the outcome of the finely balanced presidential election due in the US on November 6. President Obama has suspended his campaign and is leading from the front; Romney has also suspended his campaign but as he currently leads nothing of note it is possibly the president who may get a late ‘bounce’ from this disaster.

‘Sandy’ demonstrates once again the vulnerability of modern societies and systems to extreme weather or other natural events. The tsunami that wrought havoc in Japan and crippled the national nuclear power generating capacity is a case in point. For months afterwards international trade was affected, and it is possible that this storm will also affect international trade since New York is a global hub for stock trading. It could be weeks before mass-transit systems are running again and the storm is not yet fully spent, with further damage inevitable as it moves inland. Health-care systems are going to be overloaded, and communications badly hit – imagine almost a fifth of Americans unable to charge their mobile phones; 6.5 million households are without power across 13 states, including DC. The storm will eventually pass and Americans will recover – the election will go ahead as planned, dykes and levees will be rebuilt, tunnels drained and uprooted trees cleared from roads. Thankfully, the death toll in America itself has been low, reportedly 13 but this could rise, though ‘Sandy’ killed another 68 on its way to the US. Humans may inflict appalling damage upon each other, but what they can do to one another may be at times be eclipsed by what Mother Nature can do to them.

SIMs and security

October 31, 2012

A blast near Nowshera, where a remote control device was used to bomb the shrine of Sufi saint Kaka Sahib, brought violence to an otherwise relatively peaceful Eidul Azha this year. Four persons were killed with 34 others injured. The explosion took place despite security deployed around the area to check the devotees and their belongings. This incident only goes to show just how hard it is to prevent such attacks from taking place. Sufi shrines have, in recent years, been a favourite target of militants, who are opposed to the kind of Islam preached and practiced by these shrines and their followers.

What we need to focus on are security measures that can be put in place to safeguard people against such attacks. It appears that the perpetrators of terrorism are becoming more sophisticated; Interior Minister Rehman Malik has hinted that an illegally obtained SIM card may have been used to detonate the device at the shrine. Despite the sometimes drastic measures taken by authorities, with mobile phone services again shut down briefly on Eid day, the struggle to clamp down on illegal SIM cards has met with only limited success. Security parameters need to be reviewed at all levels – from the actual means the terrorists use to carry out their work to the core of the militancy itself. This issue has lingered on for far too long, with every holiday and religious occasion in the country haunted by fear of such attacks and people unwilling to venture into public places or visit religious sites. Apart from the obvious threat to life, this is also eroding our centuries-old cultural identity – something we must not let go of.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Expats’ votes

November 01, 2012

A high-level meeting of members of the Election Commission of Pakistan had decided this February to grant voting rights to overseas Pakistanis in the upcoming general elections. And yet, almost eight months later, the commission remains in a fix over the modalities for implementing its own decision. This Tuesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry also suggested that Pakistanis living abroad – 8 million by the EC’s estimates – needed to be given their right to vote. Meanwhile, Nadra has confirmed issuing 4.4 million national identity cards to overseas Pakistanis living in 20 countries: over 1.5 million people in Saudi Arabia, 1.3 million in UAE, 829,080 in the UK, 197,540 in US, 19,465 in Germany and 150,020 in Canada. This is a huge number of people to deprive of their fundamental right to vote. As the chief justice also noted, expats are every bit as patriotic as their compatriots in Pakistan, contributing to keep Pakistan’s economy buoyant via millions of dollars in remittances.

However, there is no gainsaying the practical difficulties involved in providing voting facilities to overseas Pakistanis, especially since the numbers are so vast. For instance, there are no mechanisms as yet available for overseas voting. The options discussed by the commission include setting up polling stations in embassies and consulates in over a dozen countries and allowing expatriates in other countries to cast their votes through the postal ballot. Another proposal is to allocate some seats in national and provincial assemblies, with overseas Pakistanis as the electoral college. However, the commission has admitted before the court that none of the proposed modes is particularly practicable. For instance, there is a ban on political activity in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, where most of the eligible overseas Pakistani voters reside. Another problem is the deployment of staff in the Pakistani missions abroad. Also, the electoral process takes around 45 days to complete and only 15-20 days would remain after the publication of the final list of candidates – too short a time period for the process of postal ballots. Additionally, the exercise of expat voting will cost the commission $200 for a single overseas voter as compared to Rs10 for a resident in Pakistan. The problems are myriad and complex. At a meeting of a broad spectrum of political parties with the Election Commission, a majority of political parties had opposed the plan to grant the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis in the absence of a feasible mechanism to ensure bogus votes would not be polled through postal ballots. This sort of defeatism just won’t do. The EC and political parties need to point to ways forward on the development of voting mechanisms as well as modalities to ward off the possibility of malpractices involved in the exercise of making it possible for Pakistanis abroad to vote. Denying expats this fundamental right is no longer an option.

Road safety

November 01, 2012

In a nation now accustomed to death, we do not pay much heed to road accidents. However, considering the statistics, we should probably be giving them far greater attention. Pakistan’s road-related death toll is very high – possibly among the highest in the world. This becomes even more of a tragedy since many of these deaths could have been easily avoided. The traffic accident on Tuesday near Bahawalpur is a reminder of just how dangerous our roads are, especially for those using our often chaotic public transport. In this recent incident, 26 persons, including women and children, died when a passenger van crashed into a truck. Both were reported to have been speeding towards each other from opposite directions. It is unclear how efficient rescue services were – good trauma care can save lives in the event of such road accidents.

Our main responsibility, however, must be to prevent such disasters. While there have been public awareness campaigns conducted by the police, advising drivers not to use mobile phones while driving and stressing the importance of using baby seats for small children riding in cars, these suggestions are usually ignored. Things are even worse for those taking our already-limited and mismanaged public transport; these commuters depend on drivers usually unfamiliar with basic safety rules, leading to terrible mishaps. We need to take measures to correct this situation. It will not be an easy task given the problems we face in maintaining any kind of law and order – on our roads and elsewhere. In the face of all this, though, there is also the Motorway Police, which patrols the highway from Lahore to Peshawar. They have, over the years, done an excellent job. Other traffic services in the country can learn from them to help prevent terrible disasters from taking place quite so often.

Cybercrime

November 01, 2012

The Internet has been in Pakistan since the early 1990s, and in 2000 there were 133,900 users, or 0.1 percent of the population. The latest figures, for 2011, indicate that there are 31 million users or 17.6 percent of the population – and rising fast. As of February 2012, there were 25 large registered Internet Service Providers, and national coverage of Internet connectivity is almost universal except for the most remote or thinly populated areas. The Internet is fuelling a retail boom in online shopping, distance learning is finally taking off and there is a more mature public perception of the Internet as an entity that is less about sleaze and more about learning, social access – and crime.

Pakistan runs the gamut of cybercrime, and the list is long and growing: credit card frauds and money laundering, the sale of fake and counterfeit goods, fiddling money out of banks, online gambling and a range of online intellectual property rights abuses and crimes. Legislation and our law enforcement agencies, having at first struggled to keep pace, are now gearing up for a fight against criminality that will be like no other ever waged here. Even the agencies set up to combat cybercrime are not immune from criminal acts themselves; the National Response Centre for Cybercrimes’ website was hacked and defaced in August 2010. Now we hear that the Islamabad police have constituted a cybercrime unit. This will deal with all cyber and electronic crimes within its purview and is symbolic of the awareness of cybercrime nationally; criminal internet activity is also on the rise globally. Connected we may be, but also criminally so no less than other states. Let the battle commence.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

City of violence

November 06, 2012

Can law and order be re-established in Karachi, where criminal gangs operate without check? As the Supreme Court bench hearing the case on law and order in the city observed on Saturday, the entry of armed groups such as the Taliban into the city had complicated matters. It directed that law-enforcement agencies should act against criminal elements in Karachi with greater vigour, and also took serious note of the 35 convicts released on parole in 2003 who are yet to be re-captured. The SC has made its disapproval clear and asked why the government had itself contributed to the problem by releasing dangerous criminals out into society.

How is the violence to be checked? Senior PPP member Nabeel Gabol has said that only an operation like that of 1992 can bring peace to the city. Memories of the 1992 operation still fill many with dread. Gabol said that, rather than conducted on a political basis, this recommended operation will need to be directed against criminal elements. He also said three major parties were running political wings – we can all guess which specific groups he is referring too. Among other things, Gabol also spoke of wrongdoings by the Peoples Amn Committee, stated that the police was helpless, and that an operation in Karachi was ‘imminent’ to avoid bloodshed ahead of the next elections. None of what we hear is very encouraging. But perhaps it is good that the murky affairs of Karachi are increasingly being laid out before us; the courts have certainly helped in this. Understanding the issues should make them easier to be tackled, but the real question is that of will. The degree of mistrust that exists in Karachi also makes it harder to launch a crackdown and ensure it is carried out impartially. Care has to be taken to prevent this situation from becoming even more difficult to unravel as the killings continue – each bullet spilling more hatred out onto the streets.

Gen Kayani’s statement

November 06, 2012

Ever since the Supreme Court held a former army chief and a former DG ISI responsible for adversely affecting the 1990 election by illegally distributing funds among anti-PPP politicians, we have all been waiting for the army’s response. But despite provocations from TV anchors and endless media chatter about the SC’s rare challenge, the army has maintained silence. Now, however, seemingly unhappy with the disparagement directed at the army in the aftermath of the SC verdict – and perhaps the subsequent summoning by NAB of three retired generals in the Royal Palm Golf Course case – Gen Kayani has finally broken his silence. Speaking to a group of officers at GHQ, the army chief has said that “any effort which wittingly or unwittingly draws a wedge between the people and the Armed Forces of Pakistan undermines the larger national interest. While constructive criticism is well understood, conspiracy theories based on rumours which create doubts about the very intent, are unacceptable.” In what is being called a clear reference to the Asghar Khan case and the two senior-most army officers who have been named and shamed in it, the chief says that “while individual mistakes might have been made by all of us … Let us not pre judge anyone, be it a civilian or a military person and not extend it, unnecessarily, to undermine respective institutions.”

This March 14, the same day that an SC bench headed by the chief justice suggested that intelligence agencies were transgressing their constitutional domain and the National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for new laws to control their functioning, Gen Kayani was quoted in a section of the press as saying that the morale of the troops was being affected by this undue criticism. This time, too, most analysts who appeared on news channels soon after the latest statement was released were in agreement that it was a veiled reference to criticism following the Asghar Khan verdict and a warning – some even called it a ‘threat’ – to the loud voices to restrain themselves. To the extent that Gen Kayani said Pakistanis have a right to express their opinions and conspiracy theorising based on rumours is detrimental to the national interest, he has a point and is right to call on detractors and pundits to exercise caution. It is a genuine demand that media trials should not be held. However, it is also clear that legitimate criticism of the army and its intelligence arm in recent days – on the issue of missing persons, the ISI’s illegal meddling in politics and the army’s highhandedness in Balochistan – have combined to upset the army high command. Indeed, since the Raymond Davis affair and the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the army’s operations have come under unusual scrutiny. While the general refrain of the statement is meant for all institutions, it is unfortunate that the army’s response is to spurn criticism. Gen Kayani has been commended many times over for being a pro-democracy general who has proactively withdrawn the army from a direct role in politics. Indeed, the media and the judiciary have been first in line in praising him for this. However, when the army leadership exceeds its limits and its members – serving or former – violate the law, it is right to hold them answerable. Indeed, such efforts at accountability should not be read as an attempt to undermine the army or the national interest but be seen as a defence of the democratic system and the constitution itself. The media, the public and the judiciary always have and always will salute the army when it does what it is constitutionally mandated to do. But when its officers step into domains constitutionally and legally outside their jurisdiction, they will rightly be questioned for redefining the national interest according to their own whims, as opposed to the law of the land. Still the collective response of the army sets a conciliatory tone, at least for the moment, and the stress that all institutions should stay within their domains is a welcome point to begin the process of building a national consensus.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

For unity among institutions

November 07, 2012

Parliament is still under threat from certain quarters, but these are the teething troubles of a genuine democratic transition and “the dying kicks of the old order” – thus spake President Zardari at the inaugural ceremony of a three-day conference of the Association of Saarc Speakers and Parliamentarians. The very next day, the army chief too spoke up in a rare statement, chiding rumour-mongers and warning them against undermining institutions and behaving as the sole arbiters of the national interest. The same day, the chief justice refocused attention on constitutionalism and its role in economic and social development. Drawing attention to the judiciary’s role in fulfilling the cherished dream of a welfare state, the CJ rejected only military power – the missiles and tanks at the state’s disposal – as a guarantor of stability and security and said that the Supreme Court was the ultimate guardian of the constitution. We cannot agree more and emphasise – as we have done in the past – once again that for a civilised and democratic polity to exist meaningfully, the decisions of the court must be accepted and abided by.

But what broader picture of reality are we to make of these statements? For one, it is clear that the parliament, judiciary and the army are articulating latent fears and threats to their respective institution’s integrity and continuity. The president may be speaking of behind-the-scenes pressures from the military, even though an independent judiciary, an active media, a politicised public, and a watchful international community have all combined to make overt military intervention a near impossibility in Pakistan. The president may also be feeling the heat of a successful line of SC judgments against his government, its ministers’ involvement in corruption cases and, more recently, his own dual role as president of the country as well as co-chairperson of the PPP. On his part, as many analysts have argued, the army chief’s statement seems to be a response to pressure from within the ranks that persistent bashing of generals may be harming the morale of troops and creating doubts in the minds of the general public about the army’s role and intentions. As for the chief justice, his statements are part of a larger transformative agenda of a court that wants to shut the door – once and for all – to both civilian and uniformed autocrats influencing judicial decision-making, and to rejuvenate what has for decades been an inefficient, vulnerable and partial judiciary. The apprehensions of all three quarters are legitimate but there is at least one discerning way to put them to rest: harmony among state institutions so that rule of law and the institutional capacity to deal with internal and external security threats can be enhanced. Separation of powers needs to be strengthened – at the same time forging stronger ties between various arms of the state, and institutions empowered so that they can mutually reinforce each other and devise a comprehensive national strategy to deal with terrorism, insurgency, criminality or economic collapse. The old order will only crumble if there is a new, unified one to replace it.

Rightly ruled

November 07, 2012

Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim has upheld the disqualification of the PPP’s Waheeda Shah from being a member of any elected assembly for two years. It will be recalled that Waheeda Shah was caught on camera in February this year abusing and slapping presiding officer Habiba Memon at a polling station where votes were being cast in a by-election. The Sindh High Court had, on appeal, retained her conviction but quashed her disqualification. In his reserved judgement, the CEC observed that Waheeda had undermined the election process and, thereby, the faith of ordinary people in democracy. While that may be stretching it somewhat, the CEC is making an important point. He has firmly upheld the rule of law, and sent a beacon-bright message to those who would abuse it.

Waheeda Shah had been found guilty of interfering in the polling process under Section 86 (3)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1976, which makes it illegal to threaten or coerce or otherwise abuse election officials doing their duty. She did all this to the hapless Habiba Memon, doubtless under the impression that as she – Waheeda Shah – came from a wealthy and privileged family she could do as she wished to those she saw as subordinate or inferior. Waheeda Shah is now paying the price for this assumption. Electoral fraud, vote-rigging, denial of voting rights to women, and a host of other irregularities often plague the democratic process. If the government plays by the book, there will be a general election by the middle of next year. The message from the CEC is that he will not tolerate intemperate behaviour by any candidate, no matter what their station in life – a message we entirely endorse.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

The Obama win

November 08, 2012

On Tuesday America re-elected Barack Obama to a second term of office, in a victory that was not as narrow as many had predicted. The result has been as keenly watched in Pakistan as elsewhere; a recent BBC poll had shown the majority of Pakistanis to favour a Romney win. President Obama has presided over the deepest trough in US-Pakistan relations in decades, and historically Pakistan has had better relations with the US under a Republican president. The US casts a sceptical eye over Pakistan’s alleged support for some militant groups. On our end, drone strikes – which increased under Obama – fuel a powerful anti-Americanism that reaches deep into the nation. However, the Afghan endgame is going to mean that our role in the peace, if there is any, in Afghanistan will come to the fore. The US and Pakistan will have to work closely – in an unhappy marriage of convenience – on conflict mitigation, and Pakistan’s role vis-à-vis brokerage with and between the various groups vying for power in Afghanistan, will be crucial.

And what of the US? It is said that this election cost every man, woman and child in the country $20, and even the most libertarian of commentators view this with unease. America is a deeply divided nation and, politically, remains virtually unchanged to what it was before the election. The popular vote, which has no constitutional significance, was almost equally split between the two candidates. Unemployment remains high at 7.9 percent and the economic recovery that began to emerge in the last six months is still fragile. Politics is gridlocked, making the passing of legislation a tortuous and sometimes impossible process. The American people have de facto voted for the status quo, albeit by a narrow margin in the popular vote. This in itself goes counter to the historical tide; no incumbent since Roosevelt has held on to the top job with the economy in the kind of shape it is in today. The Republicans may view Obama as weakened by the ‘narrowness’ of his victory, but they will have to look at their own internal divisions and heal them if they are to win in 2016. There will be epic battles over the fiscal deficit in the coming months, and the second Obama presidency is going to start with lowered expectations and a better grasp of political reality than did the first. The 2012 US presidential election will have cost the American people over $6 billion. Whether they got value for money remains an open question.

Destined to die

November 08, 2012

We witness yet another act of ‘honour’ killing. Fifteen-year-old Anusha, had acid poured over her by her own parents as she slept at her home in the village of Khoi Ratta near Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir. She died in agony two days later. Anusha’s brutal murder was ‘punishment’ for ‘looking at boys’. Her mother, Zaheen Bibi had originally claimed that Anusha was ‘destined to die’. Since then Zaheen has expressed remorse over the act, wondering who will care for her six remaining children, all under the age of ten. But expressions of regret do nothing to reduce the hideous nature of this crime committed by parents against their own child.

Unfortunately, Anusha is not alone in her tragedy. Of the 943 cases of ‘honour’ killings reported last year, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says some 600 were killed – usually by their own family members – on grounds of ‘illicit relations’. Other similar deaths in the country either go unreported or passed off by families as suicides. While there has been an increase in awareness about violence against women, the number of ‘honour’ killings has continued to rise. Laws against such murders have had little impact and it is obvious that, as in the case of Anusha, they are linked to prevailing mindsets regarding women. The fact that so many murderers get away with ‘honour’ crimes only adds to the problem. The way we treat women in our society needs to be challenged, with wider reforms introduced to elevate the status of women in the country. We can start by ensuring women’s right to education, and the right to be treated as equal citizens under law. Somehow we need to pull ourselves out of this age of ignorance, particularly when it comes to women’s rights, that we have remained trapped in too long. Anusha’s murder should act as a reminder of all that we need to do to make this a country where women are not dispensed with as barbarically as we saw in this case. There must be no more victims of crimes as horrific as the one that ended Anusha’s brief life.

Inclement weather

November 08, 2012

Whether one believes that the changes in global weather systems is caused by us humans or part of a natural cycle, the undeniable reality is that the climate is changing. The storm dubbed ‘Sandy’ is probably the largest weather event ever to hit modern America. It has cost untold billions of dollars and will damage the American economy, which was already in a stuttering recovery. Pakistan has suffered catastrophic floods for two successive years and the predictions are that further extreme weather is expected in the subcontinent. Our own troubles are driven by the rapid changes taking place in the mountain ranges to the north – the Hindu Kush, the Karakorams and the Himalayas.

A recent report titled ‘Vulnerability to climate change threats’ lays out in detail the vulnerabilities we face as a result of climate change. Glacier melt is beginning to deposit carbon-soot pollution in the Indus river system; there are threats to water resources generally as well as to food production, and depletion in an already depleted and poorly-functioning energy sector. The report says that it is essential for existing and successive governments to take proactive steps immediately to mitigate some of the worst effects of climate change. This is not a problem that is going to go away – ever. Political procrastination won’t do, and urgent practical measures need to be taken in the here and now. Although unstoppable, the effects of climate change can be controlled to a degree, but only if there is a sustained political will to do so. It is neither exaggeration nor hyperbole to say that climate change presents a true existential threat to the state. Pakistan, Bangladesh and, to a lesser extent, India face changes in climate that are not just catastrophic but actually threaten the viability of the nation as a whole. The next 30-50 years are going to see galloping desertification, increasing salinity, a decrease in forest cover that will increase topsoil erosion, rising sea levels and warmer seas leading to increased cyclonic activity and conflict over diminishing water resources. This is not an ‘if’ or ‘but’ or ‘maybe’ – this is happening and it is happening now. Nobody can claim later that we were not warned.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Letter saga ends?

November 09, 2012

At long last, the “Swiss letter” has finally been dispatched. The 2008 letter sent by the Musharraf-era attorney general Malik Qayyum, for closure of graft cases against President Zardari, now stands withdrawn. According to the text of the new letter, the old letter “may be treated as never written.” Corollary: “revival of requests, status and claims is sought.” In essence the prime minister has finally asked the Swiss authorities to reopen, if they so decide, all corruption investigations against the president. However, in the same stride, the letter also makes clear that the revival of the cases is “without prejudice to the legal rights and defences of the Presidents/Heads of State which may be available under law, constitution and international law.” This is a clear reference not just to presidential immunity from prosecution under Article 248 of the Constitution of Pakistan but also to the protection enjoyed by the president from criminal litigation internationally under the Vienna Convention.

For years, the Swiss letter has fuelled tensions in a long-running standoff between the government and the judiciary, and in fact, PM Ashraf’s predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was declared in contempt of court in June over the same issue and disqualified from the office of prime minister. Thus, even though the government’s eventual decision to write the letter begs the question of why it didn’t do so earlier and let a prime minister go home over the issue, the end of the Swiss letter saga is decisively a welcome one. Because of one letter, endless court time has been wasted, a chief executive has been sacked and attention has been diverted from pressing matters of governance. The tussle over the letter has paralysed the functioning of this government, muddied the image of the state, brought parliament and the judiciary on the brink of an outright confrontation and left the public in a confused daze about why the government just wouldn’t do the right thing. Not least, for the PPP itself, the letter conundrum created endless uncertainty about an already unpopular government that has failed to tackle a wide range of issues, from terrorism to crippling power cuts. Now, finally, with general elections around the corner and a genuine transfer of power within reach, we can only hope that the government will engage itself with the issues that matter and give up power struggles that have little impact on the forgotten goal of public well-being. The PPP’s style of politics – marked by a singular instinct for self-preservation and predatory tactics – needs a rethink. And while there is a slim chance that this will happen, for now, we can just be thankful that the stubbornness of the government may have given way to rationality and prudence and we can all breathe a long overdue sigh of relief.

US after the polls

November 09, 2012

After Obama’s victory in the US presidential elections, the euphoria subsides for half the population and depression deepens for the other half. In his victory speech, a model of inclusivity, Obama spoke to all Americans and not just those who voted for him. He was speaking to a country where the young and the people of colour voted for him in their millions. He spoke with the knowledge that a shifting demographic – aging, predominantly white and driven to the right by the rhetoric of the Tea Party – is going to leave the Republicans. America will now see the introduction of universal health care, and in doing so catch up with some developing nations. The country does not have to fall off the ‘fiscal cliff’ on which it currently teeters, and the bi-partisan Simpson-Bowles plan that was unwisely ignored by Obama in his first term could yet save the day.

America is often described as a melting pot of cultures, people and faiths, and it was an understanding of how that melting pot might act – as in vote – that gave the Obama campaign an edge in the end. Non-partisan statisticians were unequivocal in their prediction of an Obama victory, and got the margins right when the votes came to be counted. The pundits of the right (with zero interest in hardcore statistical analysis) were confounded – their dream shattered. America has moved perceptibly to the left of centre in terms of raw liberalism, but remains centrist in terms of policy, particularly fiscal. There will be continuity of foreign policy, although Hillary Clinton will no longer be on point. There is much wishful thinking (allegedly) among our own diplomats that John Kerry, a popular man hereabouts, will replace her. It was not ‘Sandy’ that won it for Obama; it was having an electoral machine on the ground that was able to preserve his vote bank and, more importantly, the fact that he was the more credible candidate. Common sense rarely wins anything but this time it did.

Karachi attack

November 09, 2012

Just days after the Supreme Court bench hearing the case on law and order in Karachi sought details on reports that stated a large number of Taliban militants had entered the city, an attack that bears the hallmarks of that outfit has taken place. On Thursday morning, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into a gate of the Sachal Rangers Headquarters in North Nazimabad. Three Rangers personnel are reported to have died and some 21 other people, including nine Rangers men, injured. According to the police, the Shehzore truck used in the attack also had fake number plates – highlighting another issue raised by the SC about the presence of unregistered vehicles in Karachi.

It is unfortunate that such matters are so terribly neglected. It is not the duty of the courts to point out how the government and law-enforcement authorities need to perform their most basic duties. According to reports, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have claimed responsibility, and two arrests have already been made. We have seen many similar scenes in past years, with CCTV cameras capturing footage of trucks almost identical to the one in this attack being used to create carnage at the offices of law-enforcement authorities in Lahore and other cities. All attacks of this nature in the past were carried out by extremist forces, in most cases linked to the Taliban – who specialise in suicide missions. The style of these attacks is distinct, and if Taliban militants are indeed now present in our largest city to the extent that it is now said they are, this is an ominous development. It augurs ill for a city already troubled in so many ways. We must hope that law-enforcement agencies, and the government, make a determined effort to ensure the city remains safe from violence of this kind.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Long order

November 10, 2012

Sixteen years after a retired air marshal filed a petition against army officers for sponsoring a political alliance to defeat the Pakistan People’s Party in the 1990 elections, we finally have some answers: an army chief and DG ISI doled out money to rig the polls and a special ‘election cell’ was established by the president to manipulate them. These findings are now codified in a detailed judgement of the Supreme Court and the government has been instructed to initiate unprecedented legal proceedings against former army chief Gen Aslam Beg, former DG ISI Gen Asad Durrani, and assorted politicians implicated in the historic case. Indeed, if the Asghar Khan case was a litmus test of the Supreme Court’s resolve to extend accountability, this test the court has passed. But several challenges lie ahead. For starters, will punitive action be taken against those the SC has identified as having committed crimes? Will there be jail sentences for those named in the case and investigations into allegations against sundry politicians? The law has always been clear that the constitution cannot be subverted, mutilated or abrogated in the so-called discharge of duty. Thus, when the judgement says that all superior officers who give unlawful commands or fail to prevent unlawful action on the part of their subordinates are liable and culpable, it is merely reiterating what is already codified in the constitution. Yet it may be, and has been, argued by some that the Asghar Khan judgement is enough in itself and symbolically constitutes a transformative moment for rule of law and civil-military relations in Pakistan, while others have thought that it is also important that those who have defied the law, and done so by twisting and bending the law to meet their parochial interests, be punished.

The other challenge relates to the office of the president. The judgement is clear that the president has no authority to create an election cell or manipulate politics by using the armed forces or civilians. While this injunction relates specifically to the rigging of the 1990 elections on the behest of the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, it also has serious implications for Pakistan’s current political landscape. We have a Lahore High Court judgement asking President Zardari to shun political activities in the presidency and do justice to the idea of the apolitical office of president but, as things stand, the president is known to hold meetings about party affairs in the presidency and has even launched venomous public attacks against the opposition, in particular the Sharif brothers. As the head of the state, and the symbol of the federation, such actions are simply unacceptable. The president had also recently announced that he now plans to spend more time in Lahore and other key cities to direct affairs in Punjab as elections roll in. Certainly, democracy is about popular politics, and the president is co-chairperson of a political party. But more importantly, he is president of the country and has to thus not only set certain benchmarks of ethical and responsible behaviour but also abide by them. Let the Asghar Khan judgement be a call to the president to do the right thing. After ceding his powers to the parliament and the prime minister, at least in theory, perhaps the time has come for the president to also give up his parallel role as co-chairperson of the PPP. The sooner this is done, the better it will be for the political system and democracy.

Best of luck

November 10, 2012

Some jobs are more thankless than others – a fact Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh discovered recently when given a savaging by his cabinet colleagues. Whether the new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue is going to be able to do the same is anybody’s guess. Ali Arshad Hakeem is said to have ‘declared war’ on some of the biggest tax evaders in the country, and is determined to force them to pay their fair share of the national tax bill. His chances of success are vanishingly small. The people he seeks to tax are among the richest and most powerful in the country. They treat tax demands with much the same contempt they reserve for a dilatory servant. With less than 1 percent of over 180 million people paying taxes, Hakeem faces an uphill task; there has not been successful prosecution for tax evasion in over 25 years.

Hakeem has said he is going to ‘name and shame’, which is all very well in theory but, in all probability, unlikely to bring rupees tumbling into the coffers of the FBR. The sticks he has with which to herd this recalcitrant group are of varying weight. The FBR may be able to freeze the assets of tax-dodgers but it is far from clear that the threat to suspend their CNICs is on firm legal ground. He is, in any case, obliged to give the two million known offenders a period of amnesty in which they are expected to pay what in effect is a nominal sum by way of taxation – and then their past sins are quietly forgotten. There is little in Ali Arshad Hakeem’s bundle of sticks because the government has failed to muster the political will that would be necessary to underpin the fundamental paradigm shift that would turn Pakistan into a tax-law compliant country rather than the serial evader it currently is. We can only wish the new tax chief the very best of luck.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Mystery money

November 11, 2012

The mysteries in our country, affecting governance and damaging institutions, continue to confound us. Just as we finish absorbing the intricacies of one scandal, a new one pops up, occupying a greater percentage of media space and public attention. The latest mystery keeping us engaged involves the apparent disappearance of Rs500 million from the Intelligence Bureau. The Supreme Court had decided to explore this matter separately from the Asghar Khan case, during which it surfaced. The initial suspicion was that the sum was pulled out to try and topple the Punjab government in 2009. This, however, seems largely doubtful, given that some Rs270 million was apparently used for that purpose, while the Rs500 million was taken away in June 2008. According to a report in this newspaper, the then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had sanctioned the withdrawal in 2008. The money seems to have gone to a senior PPP cabinet minister. We are yet to discover why, for what reason and with what results. PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has also added his voice asking for the unravelling of this mystery.

The acting head of the IB at the time, Wing Commander (r) Tariq Lodhi, a PPP loyalist who aided the operation, seems to have been rewarded. He today serves as the European representative of Nadra in London, drawing a lucrative salary. His successor, Dr Shoaib Suddle had reportedly questioned the ‘vanished’ Rs500 million, and also attempted to have a law tabled regulating IB’s fund use. He failed and, to add to the mystery, the draft law has disappeared as well. The past weeks have shown us just how agencies act to influence political events in the country – confirming old suspicions of intervention. But even today, there are no procedures, or laws in place to determine how the IB, the MI or the ISI should be regulated. Indeed doubts even exist over precisely who controls the ISI. This is not a happy situation. We now know that, from time to time, funds have been massively misused. It is now imperative that we find a way to make these hidden funds transparent and reduce the levels of secrecy that enable murky deals of all kinds to take place in the shadows of the state. Younis Habib’s Rs70 million was used years ago but this scandal has happened right under our noses. It must be exposed here and now.

A day for Malala

November 11, 2012

The UN and other organisations around the world marked International Malala Day on November 10 – precisely a month after the teenager was shot and almost killed. A UN representative has also met President Zardari to seek more effort by Pakistan to ensure women’s right to education. We certainly need such efforts. The literacy rate for women in the country stands at barely 35 percent, and unofficial estimates say it is even considerably lower than this. In areas such as Fata it falls to around one percent or less; the same holds true for parts of Balochistan. This is not a happy situation to be in. This day set aside for Malala should remind us how much more needs to be done to promote learning for girls, which would offer them the empowerment they desperately need.

However, International Malala Day should also remind us about other glaring issues we need to tackle. While messages to the young girl recovering from her terrible ordeal have gone out to her not only from here but other countries as well, at home we have also heard all kinds of vicious conspiracy theories about how Malala helped serve American interests. It is astonishing how far we are willing to go to deny the truth and hide the brutality that lies within our country. True, candles have been lit, seminars organised and articles written to pay tribute to Malala. But is this enough? What we really need is to ensure that every girl in the country is allowed to go to school and is able to reach it without threat. This can only happen with an honest commitment to the cause, with the added support of funds for it. Taking these steps would also make sure Malala’s efforts at highlighting the girl-child’s right to education succeed. We owe it to her to make sure this happens in a country where women remain deprived of their basic rights for reasons rooted both in tradition and governmental neglect.

Petraeus goes

November 11, 2012

The resignation of the head of the CIA David Petraeus came out of the blue for those outside the Washington bubble. The FBI was investigating a possible security breach, in the course of which investigation an extramarital affair was revealed. The extreme sensitivity of Petraeus’ position meant his resignation was virtually inevitable as he would never escape the suspicion, even if never proven, that he had shared intelligence with a person he was not authorised to share it with. President Obama was reported as having mulled over Petraeus’ resignation letter for 24 hours before finally accepting it. Given the mountain of difficulties Obama faces in the weeks immediately following re-election, this was one he could have done without.

David Petraeus is one of the new generation of scholar-warriors who have changed the way the major powers fight wars in the 21st century. President Obama, who had appointed Petraeus only a year ago, will feel his loss keenly. This also adds yet another blow to the Republicans, since Petraeus was a potential Republican candidate for the presidency in the future. There is bipartisan agreement that he was an outstanding public servant. He was a man who listened to officers younger and more junior than himself but at the end found his career cut short for an unwise decision that, were he in almost any other position than director of the CIA, he could have weathered and moved on. He is succeeded by his deputy Michael Morell, an Asia specialist who is widely expected to be confirmed as the new CIA director. A whiff of scandal has ended the career of one of the most powerful men in the world. Sad as that may be, it provides us with an object lesson in public service and accountability.

__________________
Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga