Editorials From August To December 2012

Editorials from DAWN Newspaper
[August to December 2012]
Note:
The CSS Point is not responsible of any fact/information mentioned in this booklet. This Booklet is compilation of Editorials from DAWN Newspapers. Main source: http://www.dawn.com All Rights are reserved to DAWN.COM Copyright 2012-13 DAWN.COM
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Copyright 2012-13 DAWN.COM
Table of Contents Name of Month

1. Editorials from the month of August 2. Editorials from the month of September 3. Editorials from the month of October 4. Editorials from the month of November 5. Editorials from the month of December
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03 46 90 134 177
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EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF AUGUST
Power politics
August 1st, 2012 This time it wasnt just the opposition and its protesters in the streets. The governments allies spoke out in a chorus against power cuts on Monday, with PML-Q law makers handing in resignations, the ANP encouraging protesters, threatening to join them and walking out of the Senate, and the MQM speaking out against the government in the upper house. The power problem has c ome down to its simplest political realities: politicians have to respond w hen their constituencies suffer loadshedding for up to 18 hours a day, especially in Ramazan. And they have to respond particularly loudly just months before a general election. At that point, when a governance problem threatens to become a serious political liability, coalition politics, mutual understandings and deals fall by the wayside. This weeks reactions to electricity shortages showed how, despite its savvy politicking, the ruling partys neglect of the power problem ha s become a real vulnerability. And the storm that damaged plants in Muzaffargarh and worsened power shortages showed how vulnerable Pakistans power system remains to shocks. Occasional blackouts driven by unf oreseen circumstances are possible anywhere in the world; the one in India this week has affected 600 million people. But here unexpected events become tipping points that dramatically worsen an ongoing problem stemming from f undamental weaknesses in the power generation and distribution systems. Nor does the governments response match the scale and urgency of the crisis. Apparently the ministries of water and power, petroleum, and finance cannot agree on the causes and solutions of the problem. The president and prime minister continue to hold meetings on the issue that at least so far appear to be little more than exercises designed to create the impression that the problem is being taken seriously. Meanwhile, the presidents public remarks on Sunday down played the problem and his suggestion that the government is satisfied with its performance appeared either obstinate or stunningly out of touch. Overall, the most the government has done is address to a limited extent power shortages when they spiral out of control. There appears to be no long-term planning or struc tural improvement to speak of. The other increasingly obvious aspect of the problem is its province -versus-centre dynamic. Punjab has long claimed it is being discriminated against in power distribution, but now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where an ally is in power, is claiming the same. Somehow a distribution that is more acceptable to these provinces will have to be worked out. Without that, if this weeks protests are anything to go by, the power problem threatens to become an increasingly serious liability for the PPP as it heads into the polls.
Road to success?
August 1st, 2012 For all that criticising the system seems to be Pakistanis favourite hobby, matters have not reached such a pass that people have entirely lost hope at least so it would appear f rom a poll conducted recently by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre. Paradoxical as it sounds, the poll found that 81 per cent of over a thousand adult respondents in this country be lieve that hard work receives its due reward and leads to material success. Curiously, of the 21 countries in which the poll was conducted, it was Pakistan where the majority had not become disillusioned about the value of working hard. Less than half of t hose polled in Japan, for example, recognised a close link between hard work and success. One of the ways in which the finding about Pakistan can be interpreted, then, is that the outlook may look bleak but the citizenry still has hope. It could be argued, though, that when all else is lost, people have nothing left to cling to but hope. The same poll found, for instance, that 76 per cent of respondents believe that the economy will either stay in its dismal state or worsen during the next 12 months. Indee d, many of the indicators on the ground regarding peoples welfare and their chances of success are deeply worrying. Take food and nutrition statistics. For years now concerns have been being raised about the very high levels of child malnutrition prevalent in the country. Most recently, at a workshop
organised this week in Karachi by the international NGO Save the Children in conjunction with the Sindh Planning and Development Depart ment, participants learned that 44 per cent of children under five in the country are stunted and 32 per cent are underweight. The problem lies not just in food insecurity but also the quality of nutrition: 39 per cent of children in food-secure households in Sindh were found to be stunted. Quite apart fro m the implication this has for the overall loss to the countrys economy, it paints a distressing picture of the next generations chances of success. Hard work is all very well, but its benefits are offset by a hostile environment.
Studio blaze
August 1st, 2012 The early morning f ire in the studio of a private TV channel in Lahore on Monday is another painful reminder of the lack of concern for safety standards in Pakistan. At least five people were reported killed while over a dozen were injured when the blaze erupted during a live sehri transmission. The fire was apparently caused by a short circuit but ended up consuming the w hole studio. A stampede ensued after the fire broke out, yet there was no clearly marked exit door, while police say there was also a lack of fire -extinguishing equipment in the studio. To save a few rupees building owners cut corners; structures are often not equipped w ith fire extinguishers while it is common for many buildings in Pakistan to lack clearly marked f ire exits and signage. There is also a lack of trained individuals who can guide people in case of an emergency. While such tragedies point to neglect, they also ref lect a lack of concern for human life both at the state and societal levels. Just in the past few months there have been simila r incidents involving buildings, houses and vehicles. Yet apart from initial expressions of shock and remorse, nothing is done by the state or individuals to ensure that follow ing safety codes becomes standard practice. Soon after the tragedy the incident is forgotten, along with all promises of setting things right. With particular reference to structures that hold large numbers of people such as theatres, schools, banquet halls, apart ment blocks, etc, the authorities must ensure there are well marked fire exits and fire extinguishers capable of putting out different types of blazes in place. The same is true for recording and television studios, which require additional adherence to safety codes considering the extensive flammable equipment that is found in these facilities.
Missing millions?
August 2nd, 2012 The updated electoral rolls are out, and several months before elections are due. With that effort, and by linking voter registration to the CNIC, the Election Commission and Nadra have contribute d to more transparent and fairer elections. But the headline number of 84.4 million voters, and its provincial breakdow n, needs to be explained. Most strikingly, the numbers of registered voters have actually dropped in Sindh and Balochistan compared to th e 2007 rolls. One explanation might be that bogus voters on the 2007 lists have now been removed through verif ication against Nadra data. But that still leaves the problem of under-representation. Various estimates of Pakistans population, including the 1 998 census and the 2011 house count, indicate that millions of citizens of voting age remain missing from the new electoral rolls. That, in turn, is probably a product of the marginalisation of communities, especially those located in remote areas, who sim ply dont have CNICs. But all this will remain conjecture until the ECP explains what is causing the fall in registered voters in Sindh and Balochistan in particular, and why the number of voters registered nationally is significantly below the countrys likely population, by up to 20 million people according to one independent estimate. Without some clarification the new list could easily become controversial and be used to question election results when those eventually come through. Next, Nadra and the ECP need to figure out how to register many more Pakistanis before the elections, which will require quickly reaching out into under-registered, rural and remote communities. The ECP plan to display the rolls so that citizens can correct them is just a first step. Given how expensive and inconvenient it can be for many to travel to district-level offices, the lists need to be available far more widely, perhaps at the union council level, ideally accompanied by Nadra representatives who can at least begin th e registration process for those who still dont have CNICs.
The concept of linking voter registration to a computerised and unique identity is an important one, and a clear step forward for election reform in Pakistan. Voter fraud should now be significa ntly more difficult to pull off. And there is still time for citizens to make sure they are registered, and at the right address. But given the current system, those will be citizens with access. As a first step, the ECP needs to explain the new numbers. A nd then it needs to make sure communities that have been left out are able to get themselves on the list.
Land for sale

August 2nd, 2012 The great land robbery and Land becomes a scam are headlines which harbour within them accounts of practices ranging from the merely clever and opportunistic to outright criminal. Part of a special report in this newspaper on the great Islamabad rush for land, these speak of slumbering, conniving officials, overactive real estate dealers and their needy-greedy clients, and of violence that is a sad hallmark of the business. No matter where you travel f ro m here, the same politics-land nexus will haunt you in Pakistan. The land-grabbers claim, as of right, the votes of the people inhabiting their territory, or since they happen to have the votes, they believe they must next occupy the land also. Such is the relationship of this business that while previously the people were condemned to choose between one landow ner and another, come election time today they are free to opt for this land-grabber or the other. It is impossible for an influential to not be connected by business bond or by blood w ith the so -called real estate developer. The Islamabad example tells us that of the 30,000 cases pending w ith the courts at the district level, some 40 per cent pertain to land disputes. A real estate don known for bringing under development the unlikeliest of territory openly says these court cases move only on the wheels of money. In areas w here the land for urban development has been of good value for longer than in the rather young capital, these disputes and the scars they create run much deeper. Everyone understands that these housing schemes cannot quite come about without a few palms having been greased, a few bullets fire d and a few obstinate occupiers of a piece of Mother Earth brusquely pushed out to clear way for modern life. Yet it is land everyone is keen to invest in. As urban dreams go, no other invest ment promises returns as does having a plot of land. This may be a global trend but the question is whether Pakistan has the desire to regulate and ensure that practices are as fair as possible? So far, that desire is missing from our development.
See-saw oil prices

August 2nd, 2012 If youre feeling a little seasick these days, its alright. So is the rest of Pakistan. The constant up and down in oil prices over the past couple of months has everyone feeling a little queasy. Its true that global oil prices have risen in the month of July, although the last week has seen them turn downwards slightly. When prices at the pump are linked to global prices there will understandably be some amount of up and down movement as a routine matter. But lately the adjust ments have been substantial, with the latest one seeing large rises in all categories of fuels. The change would be easier to digest if the oil pricing mechanism were a little more transparent. Unhappily, that comfort isnt available. Oil prices at the pump have a number of different components, including items such as the margin allowed to the dealer, sales tax and a special levy charged only on petroleum products. Each one of these components sees furious lobbying around it by specialised interests. The finance ministry is reluctant to adjust the levy or grant any sales tax exemptions in an effort to keep prices stable. Its difficult to blame them entirely: in the present climate, where tax reforms are stalled, oil prices are important revenue lines for the government. The oil marketing companies lobby hard around the inland freight equalisation margin and the dealer margins, since this is where they earn their profits. What consumers would like to be reassured on is this: is the recent volatility in oil prices really the result of global price hikes or is it being driven by the give and take between the various stakeholders in the price, such as the ministries of petroleum and finance and the oil companies? Lack of transparency on this important point will have consumers here feeling a little queasy in the meantime.
Muckraking
August 3rd, 2012
With both vying for the same space and the same slice of the electorate, the PML-N and the PTI were always going to find ways to attack each other. On Wednesday, it was Khwaja Asifs turn to fire the latest PML -N salvo against the PTI chief, Imran Khan. Armed with a sheaf of documents and a series of seemingly hard -hitting accusations against the fund managers of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Mr Asif tried to poke a hole in Imran Khans self -styled reputation as a clean politician w ith no financial skeletons in his closet. PTI supporters reacted with outrage to Khwaja Asifs allegations and dismissed them as an ugly attempt to drag a charitable institution into disrepute. There is an inconvenient truth, however, for the PTI: the Shaukat Khanum hospital is a central plank of Imran Khans political platform. With a non-existent record of public service in government, Mr Khan has long held the hospital he set up as an example of why he is qualified to run Pakista n. In Mr Khans telling, Shaukat Khanum hospital is a symbol of his commit ment to the peoples welfare and his resolve to handle large finances transparently and professionally. So if his political opponents probe into the affairs of Shaukat Khanum and find something amiss, it is unrealistic to expect them to keep their suspicions or allegations out of the public arena. How are funds for the hospital raised, does the fund-raising comply with Pakistani and the relevant foreign laws, and are the funds investe d in a way that is both legal and ethical given their purpose are all questions that Shaukat Khanums administrators ought to answer in full. Particularly since the PTI routinely accuses every other party of financial malfeasance and corruption, the party should set the bar higher for transparency and openness. It is worth noting that to date the PTI has provided no meaningful information about who has sponsored and paid for the massive rallies the party has held in all four provinces of the country. Nevert heless, Khwaja Asifs fulminations against the PTI should also be treated with caution not because the allegations are necessarily false but because there is a risk that as the elections draw nearer, political opponents will descend into an ugly free-for-all that could damage the democratic project itself. The PPP has long been a victim of dirty tricks, as has Imran Khan himself owing to his colourful past. The PML-N no shrinking violets there, clearly can also suffer similar attacks. Perhaps party leaders need to informally declare certain areas off limits for criticism; or else, perhaps the ECP could have a role to play?
Investing in India
August 3rd, 2012 Depending on ones point of view, Indias move to open up invest ment from Pakistan can be w elcomed or become cause for cynicism. Arguments against it stem from anxiety about Pakistans ow n weak economy and a desire to protect it: domestic problems mean invest ment here, both domestic and foreign, is falling. Pakistani investors are already sending their own money out to other countries, and this will give them one more destination. India recognises this, and wants to use the opportunity to attract more foreign invest ment for itself. But there is more at stake here than these near-term concerns. Mo re trade between India and Pakistan is a good thing, and the reasoning for this beyond the well-established economic benefits of trade is simple. It is likely to increase stakes in each others stability over time, and any ties are better than no ties if the two are ever to move towards a closer relationship. Indias move is particularly important because other initiatives on the commerce front that seemed to be w ithin reach appear to have been stalled, such as granting MFN status to India and liberalising visa regimes. There are indications that Pakistan is delaying these out of fear that political and territorial disputes will get left by the wayside. But that defeats the purpose of the new diplomatic approach the countries are supposedly trying to pursue, in which closer trade links become the basis for building confidence and eventually addressing the tougher problems. Indias announcement is simply a starting point, and a lot more would have to be done to really open up trade and invest ment. Pakistan would have to make it easier for Indians to invest here, for example, and consulates would have to be opened in Mumbai, Karachi and perhaps even smaller business hubs such as Hyderabad in India and Lahore. And it isnt clear yet to what extent Wednesday s announcement will benefit
Pakistan. Much will depend on the specific rules India frames on such things as invest ment levels allowed in different sectors and repatriating prof its. But allowing Pakistani investors in was an important signal, and Pakistan should respond by speeding up trade liberalisation measures on which it is dragging its feet.
VIP police
August 3rd, 2012 The level of violent crime that stalks Karachi makes it amongst the worlds most dangerous cities. One of the factors feeding into t his is that far too many policemen in the city are busy performing guard duty for important persons, leaving common citizens to fend for themselves. The number of policemen dedicated to VIP duty in Karachi has gone up from 4,500 in 2010 to over 6,500 t oday. This leaves only 11,000 or so cops are left to police a city of millions. This excessive focus on protecting officials, law makers, politicians and others is also an additional drain on the police depart ments budget as police guards use official vehi cles and fuel while guarding individuals. In this backdrop, the fact the police hierarchy is considering reducing the number of personnel on guard duty is welcome, though we have heard such well-intentioned plans before. Perhaps what is needed is a dedicated police unit for the protection of public figures, separate from the regular force. It should be ensured that personnel from the regular force are unable to get themselves transferred to such a unit, while its affairs should be steered by a committee consisting of police, administration and intelligence officials. This committee can decide who genuinely needs security and how much. Political interference in the affairs of such a unit must be disallowed. And since many VIPs can afford it, perhaps they sho uld pay for the additional security. If this were done, the bulk of the police force could be deployed in the f ield. The number of personnel in the regular force should also be boosted. With the creation of such a system, those who actually need extra security cover will get it, while those who travel w ith small armies of police guards as a show of strength will have to make other arrangements.
Rumbling on
August 4th, 2012 The Contempt of Court Act, 2012 is no more. Always likely to have only the brief est of existences, the law was gutted and then struck dow n in its entirety by the Supreme Court yesterday. While the latest round of the SC -PPP tussle will inevitably be located in the long-running saga of friction, reaction and worse, this time the matter was more clear cut. In a bid to save Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from parliamentary disqualification were he to also face contempt charges for not writing the so-called Sw iss letter, the government concocted a poor piece of legislation that was always going to face intense judicial scrutiny for its purposeful elevation of certain individuals above the reach of the law. Even reasonable voices within the PPP who know a thing or two about the law had expressed their reservations about the new contempt law. But the government was on a mission and it wasnt to be deterred until, that is, the inevitable judicial review took place and the law was consigned to the waste bin of history, as happened yesterday. With the contempt law out of the way, the larger question is what will happen w hen the hearings on the implementation of the NRO now really just about the Swiss letter resume on Aug 8. At the last hearing, the five-member bench had appeared to hold out an olive branch to the government and seemed genuinely interested in finding some kind of compromise solution. But thus far, the government has not indicated that it is willing to find a way to reach an acceptable compromise w ith the court. While rumour and speculation suggest that neither the court nor the government is interested in dragging out this matter much longer, the fact is that one or the other will have to make a meaningf ul gesture at this stage and no one is clear how and when that will happen. So on and on w ill continue the legal clouds over the political landscape, it seems. For a matter that began in 2009, there is a tiresome repetitiveness to the NRO issue and President Zardaris alleged ill -gotten wealth from the 1990s that was once stashed away in Swiss accounts. Every time the path t o an on-schedule election is seemingly cleared, a fresh hurdle appears on the scene. Undesirable as the situation is, there is perhaps a silver lining: at least the hurdles in the way of an on-schedule election have not been truly insurmountable so far. The democratic
project could do w ithout the headache of electing yet another short -term PM, but if it does come to that, the system itself doesnt seem in imminent trouble.
Soldier of fortune
August 4th, 2012 Another reminder that for local residents, the Pak-Afghan border may as well not exist: young men from Chitral are crossing over to join the Afghan National Army, according to the provincial Home Depart ment. The local administration has been asked to confirm this, but two pieces of context are import ant. First, that this is not a new or isolated phenomenon. Similar reports about Pakistanis joining Afghan forces have appeared over the years, including from the relatively peaceful Kalash areas of Chitral, but especially from Fata. They are reminders tha t this border is more real on a map than it is in the lives of people who live along it. But while in the settled area of Chitral it is relatively easy to determine who has joined security forces on the other side, in less accessible Fata it is harder to figure out who is going over, whether they are being recruited and by whom, and what they are doing in Afghanistan. This also makes it harder to determine if they are providing sensitive intelligence or in some other way compromising Pakistani security. Second, the people of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who are joining forces on the other side are not necessarily doing so for sinister reasons. At the root of this is the same simple problem that many Pakistanis face across the country the lack of employment opportunities. Along the border crossing over is a means of seeking out jobs in the same way that people in other parts of Pakistan might cross provincial boundaries, perhaps even more so given ethnic and linguistic ties. One suggestion that has been float ed is to offer jobs to locals in border policing on this side. Whatever the specific solution, the marginalisation of these communities from development and jobs means they will seek out work w herever they can find it, even if that means becoming mercenaries in w hat the rest of the country considers a foreign army. If the state is concerned about the security fallout, it will need to provide alternative livelihoods that are as easy to come by as crossing the Durand Line.
Uptight in the 60s

August 4th, 2012
They were know n as the Teddy Boys (and girls) adherents of a youth subculture that started in the UK in the 1950s and soon became strongly associated with youth, rock n roll and teenage assertiveness. In London, the Teddys favoured high- waist drainpipe trousers, crepe -soled shoes and greased-up hair with a quiff at the front. In Karachi, the teddys turned that into a look that swept across urban campuses. Along w ith making their ow n clothing choices, the teddys of urban Pakistan took upon the mselves to stand fast against the oppression of the generations. Thus it is that a news report from Aug 3, 1962, published yesterday on these pages, tells us that Karachis director of education expressed grave concern about grow ing teddyism and banned teddy dress understood as tight-fitting clothes worn mainly by students. Levity aside, though, the circular he sent out is illuminating in terms of what Pakistan has become in the ensuing half a century. Dress shows culture and traditions. Pakistan was founded w ith the express purpose of enabling Muslims to lead [an] Islamic way of life. [I]t is desired that our students, both boys and girls, should follow the ideology for which Pakistan was created and reflect it in dress also. As such, no tight -fitting dress should be allowed to be worn by students. In apportioning the blame for setting Pakistan on a course at the end of which lie the more conservative trends that are the hallmark of campuses today, the Zia administration is the most obvious contender. But the seeds that Ziaul Haq nurtured into full-grown monsters were always there, even in the 1960s that are today considered a remarkable period for liberalism in Pakistan. The journey that led Pakistan to where it is now has been a long one. Could it be as long as the country itself?
Infiltrating the ranks

August 5th, 2012
Five army officers, including a brigadier, have been court -martialled and handed dow n prison sentences for their links to an extremist organisation, Hizbut Tahrir. Whene ver the subject of religious extremism within the armys officer corps and its rank and file comes up, opinion tends to break down into two extremes. One side argues that it points to some sort of creeping coup, a pernicious radicalisation of the armed forces that threatens Pakistani state and society given the armys influence over national security and foreign policy. The other side argues that whatever instances of radicalised officers have come to the fore, they are isolated incidents and dealt with professionally and quickly and as such pose no threat to discipline and unity of command in the armed forces. Arguably, neither side is right. Policy choices aside, the armed forces are relatively well-disciplined and internal checks and controls are fairly strong. While it is an insular institution, there is reason to believe that neither is a serious rebellion inspired by Islamist causes likely, nor would it succeed were a small group of officers to attempt one. Hysterical opinion and analysis in the international media that appear occasionally and decry the imminent takeover of Pakistan by radical Islamists directly or by proxy via its armed forces is just that: hysterical and far removed f rom reality. But that does not mean the armed forces do not have a very real problem within their ranks. While information is tightly controlled, there are enough dots to connect that paint a picture that is reasonably worrying: be it numerous refusals by soldiers to fight militants and terrorists in Fata and Khyber Pakhtu nkhwa, or regular investigations and arrests of officers suspected of extremist affiliations or intermittent plots to launch attacks against the army leadership that were foiled before or during execution, the Pakistan armed forces do have an extremism problem. Unpalatable as the suggestion may be for its leadership, it is more than likely that the armys security paradigm has helped create a problem within its own ranks. When patronage of or sympathy towards militant Islamist groups is part of the army hig h commands strategy for protecting this country from perceived external threats, it is almost inevitable that what is embraced as a hard-nosed policy by some w ill be embraced by others for the ideology that keeps the fires of hate burning. And then there are the effects on wider society from where the next generations of army officers have been recruited which is increasingly susceptible to right -wing and extremist rhetoric and propaganda. Acknow ledging the problem is the first step towards addressing it. Denial could sink the armed forces, and the country too.
Rethinking honour
August 5th, 2012 It is a tragedy reported with more distressing regularity in this country than in the UK: the murder of a young girl at the hands of her family for having brought dishonour to them. But the euphemistically named honour killings seem to be becoming an issue in the West too. The crucial difference is that unlike here, in those countries every effort is made to prosecute perpetrators and hand down severe sent ences. In the most recent such trial, on F riday a London jury sentenced a Pakistani couple to a minimum of 25 years in prison for having suffocated their daughter to death in 2003. Reportedly, the 17-year-old Shaf ilea did not want to live her life by her p arents strict and conservative rules. Earlier this year, three members of an Afghan family were sentenced by a Canadian court for the drow ning of three sisters and another woman because they defied the familys strict customs. Just weeks earlier, in December 2011, a Brussels court sentenced four members of a Pakistani family for the honour killin g of a family member in 2007. It would appear, then, that the argument often heard in Pakistan that such crimes, when committed here, are the result of ignorance, lack of education or the sheer law lessness of society is far from the truth. Going by the examples mentioned above, such murders are not restricted to people who are out of touch with modernity or unaware of the law and the onsequences of transgressing it. A more plausible answer may be found in the words of the Canadian judge, Robert Maranger, who sentenced the Afghan family: he described the crimes as cold -blooded, shameful murders resulting from a twisted concept of honour. Reflect on the term honour killing and it appears that popular discourse has adopted the language of the criminals. This provides a measure of defence, though not in legal terms, to the act. Were such crimes to be referred to as what they are murder some of the cultural barriers behind which the perpetrators try to hide may begin to crumble.
Magic water
August 5th, 2012
Talk-Show hosts feted it. Politicians rode in it. Cabinet ministers discussed it. Well-known scientists backed it. Those of a particularly conspiratorial bent called for him to be provided security against a threatened oil industry. While a lone voice calling foul was barely given a chance to be heard, Agha Waqar Ahmad and his water car were being hailed as the invention that would free the world fro m the tyranny of fossil-fuel dependence and transfor m Pakistans image around the globe. As was bound to happen eventually, his scientifically impossible claim, w hich defies the basic laws of physics, is now being exposed as gobsmacked scientists begin to write and speak about it. A technical examination of the water kit, planned at the highest levels of government, has been delayed indef initely. Perhaps the best proof has come f rom the mans own bumbling attempts to defend his device. What wont change as quickly are the unfortunate truths this episode has exposed about Pakistani society. For one, it highlighted again how easily the media here buys into seemingly exciting, but always improbable, news stories without any background research or inquiries. Also left looking more ridiculous than Mr Ahmad are the politicians, ministers and especially scientists who jumped on the bandwagon and hailed the car as a giant leap for Pakistan, showcasing in the process the national love of shortcuts and easy glory and the lack of quality education that makes even our leading public figures susceptible to such bogus claims. Meanwhile, no real work, scientific, managerial, technical or otherwise, is being done to actually address the energy crisis. And the fact that at th e same time the breakthrough science of an actual national hero the Nobel-prize-winning Dr Abdus Salam is being erased from our official history is a telling comment on Pakistans commit ment to knowledge.
DC talks
August 6th, 2012 ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam is back from talks in the US and so far little concrete is known about what transpired in the series of closed-door meetings with White House, military, intelligence and congressional officials. The early leaks f rom the Pakistani side suggest t hat Gen Islam pressed for an end to the unilateral American drone strikes inside Pakistans tribal areas and also for action inside Afghanistan against Pakistani Taliban launching cross -border attacks from Kunar and Nuristan. From the American side, the early leaks as highlighted by a Wall Street Journal report on Saturday suggest that US officials pressed hard on the issue of Haqqani network sanctuaries in North Waziristan and have won a reciprocal commit ment from Pakistan: the Haqqani network is set t o be squeezed on the Pakistani side of the border, while American and Afghan forces will push against the Pakistani Taliban hiding out in Kunar and Nuristan, according to the Journal. The days ahead will undoubtedly bring more details on what transpired in DC last week, though there w ill almost inevitably be some contradictions if the past is anything to go by. For Pakistan people and state drones have taken on a level of fearful importance that has eclipsed the possibility of any meaningful debate on the issue at this stage. Unilateral drone strikes by the US inside Pakistan are unwelcome, undesirable and counterproductive. Drone strikes per se are none of those things. In fact, as a report over the weekend once again underlined, they help take out dangerous militants in remote areas where there are few good options: the confirmation by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan that their former leader, Uthman Adil, was killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan in April is a nod to their efficacy. Of course, because the US appears overly enamoured of its high-tech weapon of war, the surge in strikes between 2008-2011 has almost certainly killed non- militants and also rubbed the Pakistani security establishment the wrong way rendering deeply controversial an otherwise promising development in the f ight against militancy. To get the programme back on track in the sense of taking out the most dangerous of militants it has become inevitable that the US and Pakistan work out some kind of intelligence sharin g or joint operational mechanism for the drone programme. The days to come will reveal whether any understanding was reached in DC. Perhaps if Pakistan took on the militants in North Waziristan itself, a great deal of the rationale for drone strikes unilaterial or not would go dow n?
A young electorate
August 6th, 2012
Data available on the Election Commissions website seems to confirm that in the upcoming elections, the votes of the young will matter and will have the potential to change the count rys political landscape. That is, of course, if the youth go out and vote. As per the age-wise breakdow n of the recently released electoral rolls, 40 million out of 84.3 million voters are aged between 18 and 35. The 18-25 age bracket consists of 16.2m voters while the 26-35 group, which contains 23.8m voters, constitutes the biggest chunk out of six age groupings. Yet despite the numbers, there is little to show that political parties, at least the older, more established ones, have done much to attract young voters. Comparatively, the PTI has made greater attempts to reach out to younger Pakistanis, taking advantage of the fact that the voting age was lowered f rom 21 to 18 in 2002. When more established parties have targeted the youth, it has been through laptop schemes and other such gimmic ks. They have forwarded hardly any solid policy prescriptions concerning the issues the youth face. If these parties want to stay relevant and include this huge bloc of voters in the democratic project, they will have to come to terms with this demographic reality. This must especially be reflected in party manifesto. The main problems that confront young people equitable access to education, health and job opportunities need to be addressed. The young voter of today is quite well-informed and somew hat sceptical, and parties w ill need to court young Pakistanis through substantive solutions and not through the charisma of leaders or glittering promises. Another question mark is w hether the majority of this youth bloc w ill be motivated to make it to polling stations come election day. After all, persuading young people to attend rallies or offer support in cyberspace is one thing; translating this support into success at the ballot box is another. Convincing young voters that their voices matter and mobilising them is something the parties will have to work harder at.
A post-Hiroshima world
August 6th, 2012
Sixty-seven years ago today, the terrifying power of nuclear weapons was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Historians may argue about the motives behind dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1946 and on Nagasaki three days later, but there was no doubt that the world had entered a new age. Fast forward 67 tumultuous years and today Pakistan has found itself in the nuclear crucible, with neighbouring Iran draw ing international condemnation for its nuclear ambitions, Pakistans own nuclear deterrent eyed with worry and suspicion by much of the outside world and Indias easing into the official circle of nucle ar states heightening the possibility of a destabilising response by Pakistan. Undesirable as the status of being a nuclear-weapons state with abysmal social and economic indicators is, the reality is that for the foreseeable future and perhaps well beyond Pakistan will continue to have a nuclear deterrent. With a nuclear-armed neighbour on its eastern border w ith whom four wars have been fought and whose conventional military and economic might is many times larger than Pakistans, the deterrent will never realistically be wrested away from the Pakistani security establishment. Perhaps, then, a more realistic aim is to push for a w ider debate: how many fuel-producing factories, warheads and delivery systems are enough to maintain credible minimum dete rrence, the established nuclear policy of this country? Also, the vital question of how safe and secure this countrys nuclear programme is needs to be asked. Historically, the security establishment here has made disastrous policy decisions in part becaus e of the secretive manner in which such policies are debated and understood. With a nuclear-weapons programme, the room for error is less than zero. And maybe once that debate is started, the ultimate dream of a nuclear-weapons-free region and world may be a step closer.
The three Es
August 7th, 2012
Call it a roadmap or a partial manifesto, but on Sunday PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif laid out at least a preliminary version of the partys campaign platform for the next election. And little in it is surpr ising. Most party manifestos in Pakistan have a few features in common. They refer to Jinnahs abandoned vision for Pakistan or the unfulfilled promise the country had at its creation. They over-promise, setting their creators up for failure. They offer incremental and trite ideas when many of Pakistans problems need bold, game -changing policies. And they are usually too broad, promising to solve a slew of problems that the incumbent government hasnt been able to address. The PML- Ns new plan suffers from many of these problems, though Mr Sharif did attempt some prioritisation: his three Es education, energy and the economy are important sectors and help narrow focus. But for one, they were strikingly similar to the PPPs five Es in 2008 employment, education, energy, environment, equality highlighting the lack of originality that afflicts party manifestos. And such rhetorical devices, including the current governments dialogue -development-deterrence policy to tackle militancy, inevitably turn out to be catchy and easily marketable slogans w ith no follow -through. Mr Sharif also fell into the overpromising trap, claiming he could push Pakistan into the worlds top 10 economies, leading in everything from IT to tourism, and contain circular debt in six months. Another aspect the PML- N and others need to be careful about is how theyll craft manifestos that keep in mind the enlarged domains of the provinces post the 18th Amendment. What does it mean for a party to promise progress in education, environment or health when these are now provincial subjects? Education in particular is a sector that every party leader will want to claim he will transform, when the centres authority is now effectively limited to higher education and research. And in the specific case of the PML-N, what has its government in Punjab done to meaningfully improve education in the province? Such lapses indicate a plan that is not well thought out, one that is devised w ith an immediate and political goal in mind. And w hatever the plan issued by any party, its proof will lie in implementation, which is where successive Pakistani governments have fallen short. Devised by subject-area specialists and sold by politicians, what these manifestos lack when the time comes to implement them is an effective combination of expert know ledge, realism, political will and sheer hard work. No wonder neither voters nor candidates take them seriously, especially after some of those candidates make it into office.
South Waziristan festers

August 7th, 2012 Like Africa is a country to many people in other parts of the world, the seven federally administered tribal agencies suffer a somew hat similar fate when they come up for discussion in Pakistan: there is just the tribal areas; all details, distinctions and differences between the constituent units of Fata being subsumed in most debates on the area. But, as a report on South Waziristan in this newspaper yesterday indicated, the experience of each agency has been different and there are crucial dist inctions. Back in 2009, w hen the militants seemed to be in the ascendant, Pakistanis were told that South Waziristan was the root of most militancy problems and drastic action had to be taken. Public opinion was courted to support another major military op eration in South Waziristan follow ing the failure of the last one in 2008. Now, nearly three years on from Operation Rah-i-Nijat, only one of the six subdivisions in South Waziristan Sararogha has been denotified as a conflict area and there too, the return of IDPs has been painfully slow. What went wrong in South Waziristan? After clearing the Mehsud areas of their human population, the security forces did manage to dominate the physical space for a while. In fact, even today the security forces would argue that they do dominate the physical landscape, given that they control the major roads and the strategic hilltops. But there is also the reality that the newly constructed roads have virtually no traffic, that the security forces are frequently targeted by IEDs and hit-and-run tactics and that even the hardened population of South Waziristan is reluctant to return home for fear of reprisals from the militants. Essentially, the military learned how to clear and hold an area under militant control but has little understanding about how to permanently keep militants out and restore an area to a civil administration-led state of relative normality. Perhaps what is most worrying is that these
problems have slipped off the national radar, like when the tribal areas did after the Soviets were defeated and few were concerned about the new, more lethal problems that were brewing there.
Facing the flood

August 7th, 2012 Even though relatively moderate, the rain has already caused a flood-like situation in some parts of Punjab. At least two of the major rivers are in medium to high flood, and 13 villages in the Sialkot area have been inundated, with crops over hundreds of acres damaged. We could expect the situation to worsen, because the met office has forecast more rain and thunderstorms for Punjab, KP, Gilgit -Baltistan and northern Sindh. Are we, then, going to see a repeat of the devastating flood of 2010 and, for Sindh, a third visitation? While this economic and humanitarian catastrophe had a national dimens ion in 2010, Sindh suffered twice when floods revisited it last year, causing misery that in some respects exceeded what was seen the preceding year. Yet regrettably, there is no evidence that the authorities have learnt their lessons. On paper, federal and provincial officialdom is on its toes, flood relief centres have been set up, and the Sindh government has started registering volunteers. But Pakistans institutional ability to respond to disasters has come under severe international criticism. A rese arch report by British NGOs says Pakistan isnt ready even for much smaller disasters for a country prone to natural calamities on a big scale. The shortcomings the report listed included lack of coordination among government agencies, a below -standard flood warning and forecasting system, extensive deforestation, and failure to mobilise local communities. The pity is that a large number of those rendered homeless by the 2011 deluge have still not been rehabilitated, and in some cases damaged embankments beg for repairs: this much for the post -disaster effort. The ability of the National Disaster Management Authority will now be tested when rivers overf low and canals breach embankments. Clearly we will have to blame ourselves and not the elements if a new flood inf licts a fresh set of miseries on the nation.
Moral policing
August 8th, 2012 Now it is the realm of television programming and advertising that has attracted the Supreme Courts attention. Summoning the chief of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority in response to petitions moved by two conservative figures, the former amir of the Jamaat -i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed and a retired Supreme Court justice, Wajihuddin Ahmed, the court on Monday demanded action within a week against obs cene and vulgar programming and advertisements on private TV channels aired in Pakistan. Pause for a moment and consider the various problems that afflict this country and that the court is embroiled in. That obscenity and vulgarity on television and this before the debate about whether the impugned content is at all obscene or vulgar figures in the scheme of things to fix at the highest levels at the moment is somew hat worrying. Two points need to be made here. First, the excesses that do frequently occur on television from content that foments religious intolerance to coverage of terrorist attacks that are insensitive to victims families and badly handled, and f rom opinion-laden shows that are divorced from fact to invasion of privacy and worse in intrusive programming do need serious redressal. However, government regulation is not the way to go. The Musharraf era epitomised the problem: even the most ardent supporters of a free and independent media in power cannot be trusted to not use government regulation to stifle media freedom. Where self-regulation thus far has failed, perhaps what the government can do is act as a facilitator for the creation of a regulatory body that is truly independent, professionally run along non-ideological lines a nd responsive to both the medias and consumers concerns. But to trust the government with a direct and hands-on role in regulating media content is an unwelcome idea: today it is obscenity and vulgarity, tomorrow it will be the national interest and national security that will demand certain lines be draw n. Second, the outmoded idea of what content is vulgar or obscene needs to be discarded. Strangely, violence on television domestic, criminal, extrajudicial rarely attracts the same kind of censure as does content in which women are attired in a certain way or f ilmed interacting with men in a certain way. The same goes for intolerance, xenophobia, bigotry and hate spewed on TV: it doesnt attract the same kind of censure as does a woman dancing or singing lustily. The collective ownership that society wants to impose on its women is a problem itself. In the
name of moral policing, Pakistan has ended up with deeply skewed priorities: keep the women covered up; let the monsters run loose.
NATO convoys
August 8th, 2012
While the overland route for Nato convoys transporting supplies to Afghanistan through this country may have reopened last month after a seven- month closure, security of the convoys clearly remains an issue. On Monday an Afghan drive r part of such a convoy was shot dead by suspected militants in Khyber Agencys Jamrud Tehsil on the Peshawar-Torkham highway. This is reportedly the second attack in the area since the route reopened; the first occurred on July 24 in w hich a similar modus operandi was used by the attackers. Assailants on motorbikes ambushed the convoy, killing a driver. The shadowy Abdullah Azzam Brigade has claimed responsibility for Mondays attack. Before the closure of the route convoys had also come under attack. But while previously vehicles were targeted by, for example, rockets fired at the containers, the past couple of incidents suggest a conscious effort is being made to kill or intimidate the drivers. The main issue appears to be a lack of coordination between the different law-enforcement agencies active in the area. While police are responsible for law enforcement in the settled areas, khasadars and the Frontier Corps handle security in the tribal regions. It has been noted by some that the FC does not appe ar to be cooperating with the khasadars, while it is also true that the khasadars, made up of tribal recruits, dont have the intelligence capabilities or resources to thwart militant attacks. Khasadars reportedly tried, and failed, to pursue the attackers in the latest ambush. Another view is that since the khasadars are local tribesmen, they may be reluctant about taking on the Taliban. In such a scenario, the FC should take the lead in providing security to the convoys in their journeys to and f rom Afghanistan. While the goods may be insured, the drivers have to pay with their lives. An effective, well-thought-out security plan is essential for the protection of the convoys and their drivers transiting through Torkham and Chaman, especially w hen the local Taliban have made it clear they will not spare them.
New notes
August 8th, 2012 Eid and Eidi go together, for children especially. For that reason demand for new, unsoiled currency notes, especially of smaller denominations, goes up as Ramazan w inds down. Yet brand new currency notes are not to be found precisely where they should be. As reported in this newspaper yesterday, Karachi banks were not delivering the promised notes from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) till Monday afternoon. When a reporter asked for the reason, the response of tellers at various banks ranged from sorry we dont have them to the snappy come next week retort. Yet there is plenty of fresh currency to be had at the Bolton Market currency bazaar, available at a premium. The SBP had announced on July 30 that it had made elaborate arrangements for supplying new bills to commercial banks by Aug 1. The banks were also told they would be penalised if they didnt conform to the SBPs rules, which included a ceiling for each cust omer and the presentation of a CNIC if an account holder wanted new notes. While these rules made sense, the SBP should also have ensured the timely availability of the new currency at the banks. As usual, it appears the f irst recipient of the fresh currency was the thriving black market, where notes are available in bulk. How the currency operators were able to beat the banks in the race for the new stocks should not be difficult for SBP authorities to discover. The story in Karachi is undoubtedly being re plicated in other parts of the country. There is, however, still time for the central bank to fix the problem and ensure that people across the country can receive their Eidi as it should be: fresh, clean and crisp.
Dj vu
August 9th, 2012
Another prime minister, another walk of shame. On Aug 27, Raja Pervez Ashraf will have to make the short walk from the gates of the Supreme Court to inside a courtroom w here he w ill likely be charged w ith contempt of court unless his government writes the so-called Swiss letter. And therein lies the rub: what the court would regard as a walk of shame a second prime minister hauled before it for explicitly rejecting an explicit court order the PPP will regard as a walk of defiance: another jiyala ready to sac rifice all for his leader, Asif Ali Zardari. When the Justice Asif Khosa-led bench held out an olive branch to the government at the last hearing, anyone desperate to see an end to the mindless saga of the Sw iss letter would have hoped that the government would reciprocate somehow. But even in that moment of desperate hope, there would have been an insistent doubt: had the PPP ever been inclined to allow the letter to be w ritten, it would not have waited for one prime minister to be knocked out. In fact, with the president himself still not directly in danger of being dislodged from office, it seemed more than likely the government would accept whatever fate the SC has in store for its latest prime minister. And so it appears to have almost come to pass. Th e PPP yesterday threw yet more diversions in the SCs path, filing review petitions against the striking dow n of the Contempt of Court Act, 2012 and against the order requiring Prime Minister Ashraf to explain what his government is going to do about the letter. None of these will likely keep the court at bay for long. But then perhaps all the PPP is trying to do is buy time so that the fast -winding-down election clock comes into play and the party can pull the trigger on an on-schedule election while still hanging on to its second prime minister from the same parliament. Failing that, it will just as likely have a third prime minister elected and limp on to its ultimate goal of an election after parliament completes its five -year term. Curiously, perhaps the PPP w ill be helped in achieving its goal by the court itself. The wheels of justice do take some time to move, even when they are moving quickly the months-long disqualification process of Yousuf Raza Gilani being a very relevant example. If the same schedule is adhered to this time, Prime Minister Ashraf may have just received an early Eid present: many more weeks, and perhaps months, in office.
Constituency funds
August 9th, 2012 Given our patronage-driven political system, it is far from likely that the release of constituency funds for PPP and PML-Q legislators in Punjab will serve the actual purpose of development. The legislators, angered by the provincial governments refusal to release the funds, had approached the prime minister for an amou nt of at least Rs100 m each, but were offered only Rs20m. True, their anger is justified to the extent that the PML-N government has not been even-handed in the disbursal of funds, and has preferred to hand out more money to its own legislators and allies rather than to its opponents in the assembly. But in a national milieu where development priorities are skewed and where political compulsions rather than goaloriented efforts dominate, the practice of constituency development funding itself has been calle d into question. The general perception is that the politicians are up to no good and undertake only those projects that are likely to boost their electoral chances, and that the funds given to them are meant to ensure their loyalty. Moreover, there are regular allegations of corruption and nepotism in the implementation of projects, and a transparent system of accountability and of checks and balances essential to public -sector development is conspicuous by its absence. These and other factors make for a convincing argument against the present system of fund allocation among politicians and for one that would involve some form of local government to identify local needs and implement well-thought-out development projects. Doubtless, it is difficult to uproot a system that has been entrenched in corruption and murkiness since it was conceived in the 1980s under Gen Zia, but a start has to be made in that direction. And this can only be done by keeping greater checks on the use of funds, probing dubious opera tions and investigating allegations of corruption and nepotism. What is equally important is a planning process that is cohesive and not haphazard as now. Schemes left incomplete because of political or monetary compulsions, the absence of connectivity in the development of adjoining constituencies or duplication of projects only cause further hardship to the people and waste precious taxpayer money.
Hockey defeat
August 9th, 2012
Pakistanis hoped against hope for a hockey medal at the London Olympics until their team was ferociously throw n out of the competition by Australia. If there was no harm in attaching expectations to the national side, the change in the public mood following Tuesdays 7-0 drubbing is also not difficult to understand. Sport is a befitting forum for the expression of the see-saw sentiment that characterises life in Pakistan today. The lament will continue for some time to come, interspersed as it surely will be with the constant quipping of the I -told-you- so types. Evaluation of the factors leading to the fall of Pakistan hockey is already under way. Indeed, in the first game that the team played in the London Olympics, they were shown by Pakistani experts to be battling the new blue Astroturf as much as they were trying to outdo their opponents. This had resonance with the old Pakistani explanation in w hich the changing face of the game has often been blamed for the death of the Asian style we excelled in. It would have been alright had it just been an explanation, a first ste p towards correcting the approach and bringing it in sync with international standards. The problem is in the classical escape that finds the country and its people seeing a conspiracy against them in everything around. Hockey rules are not simply responsible for taking the beauty out of the game and turning it into a virtual wrestling bout; they are a plot against us. The Astroturf is also a conspiracy, and the refereeing is often biased, we believe. In the hockey field and in general, this victim syndrome w ill have to be overcome and replaced with confidence. The game is how it is. Play it or leave it. There is no other way.
Khan and the Taliban

August 10th, 2012 Imran Khan wants to lead a peace caravan to South Waziristan to protest drone strikes, but the TTP is having none of it. Speaking to the Associated Press, a TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan has condemned Khan and his liberal politics and declared that if the PTI does try to hold his political rally in South Waziristan, the TTP shura will convene to decide how to respond. While the spokesperson did yesterday reject that he had threatened to kill Imran Khan, the crux of his accusation against the latter and the democratic system stand: the PTI chief is a liberal infidel and the democratic system is un- Islamic. To some, the TTPs outrageous claims will be a definitive rebuttal of the oft-repeated allegation that Mr Khan is soft on terrorism and that he misrepresents the real reasons for the existence of Islamist violence in Pakistan and the regio n. After all, how can Taliban Khan be a friend of the Taliban if they denounce him in emphatic terms? But that would be to miss the point. The TTPs loathing for the way Pakistani state and society is organised is so extreme that even flawed political narratives that are part of mainstream Pakistan are viewed as repugnant and worthy of elimination by the TTP and likeminded militants. The denunciation of the PTIs political platform by the TTP is first and foremost about the danger that violent radicalism continues to pose in Pakistan nobody is safe, not even those who take up causes, such as opposingdrone strikes, that would seemingly work to the benefit of militants themselves. There is, however, another, perhaps more subtle, point at work here: the politics of Imran Khan, the religious right and even other mainstream centre-right parties in Pakistan help perpetuate the confusion and uncertainty that prevents the public from truly understanding the threat militancy poses to the state of Pakistan and the fabric of society. When Mr Khan argues that if it werent for the foreign occupation of Afghanistan, militancy in Pakistan would be a virtually non-existent phenomenon a historically and factually incorrect theory it only serves to deepen the societal confusion about Islamist militancy that has been nurtured by the security establishment since the days of the Afghan jihad against the Soviets. The Taliban want to remake Pakistan in their own f rightening and grotesque image, as TTP spokesperson Ihsan p roudly stated. Until they are defeated and the mindset they represent decisively rolled back in society, Pakistan will be in danger. That, more than anything else, is the message the political class should be sending Pakistanis.
IDPs in Jalozai
August 10th, 2012
Having hosted millions of refugees over the years, especially after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan should have been quite capable of looking after displaced persons by now. But the latest news fro m Jalozai camp, the countrys largest shelter for internally displaced persons, has once again underlined that competent and humane dealing with IDPs is far f rom the norm. On Wednesday, the camp located near Peshawar was the scene of mayhem as desperate IDPs dashed towards the distribution point for food and hygiene kits. The resultant firing by camp security led to the death of one person. Condemnable as the incident is, the bro -ader problem w ill remain unaddressed: some 16,000 families, mostly from Khyber Agency, are registered at t he camp, living lives of complete uncertainty as they await news of when they can return home while their present inhabitation continues to deteriorate. With the World Food Programme reducing rations, the threat of a food crisis looms at the camp and, judging by their record so far, Pakistani authorities are unlikely to swing into action until the crisis explodes with predictable, and tragic, consequences. But it is not just the people in Jalozai, or even those from South Waziristan taking refuge with relatives in settled areas since 2009, whose return to their homes has been delayed. There are other casualties of conflict, such as the Baloch of Dera Bugti, w ho have been denied IDP status by the government, and w ho are far less visible on the international radar. What needs to be done to help better protect IDPs is well know n: a clear national policy on displaced people, whether they have been rendered homeless by natural disaster or forced to flee conflict zones, and follow-through on that policy. Will it happen, however? The IDPs at Jalozai and elsew here may be forgiven for not being very hopeful. And therein lies a further problem for us: uproot tens of thousands of families in a bid to fight militancy but then leave those families at the mercy of officialdom could these camps of misery become breeding grounds for the next generation of radicals?
Far from well-read

August 10th, 2012
Reading for pleasure as opposed to finding out about the latest crisis of governance or administration is far from t he average Pakistanis priority. That in the average marketplace a bookstore if it is there at all will be thronged with the most customers is highly unlikely. Yet people who read for pleasure and the pursuit of know ledge do exist, and a sample section of this segment has voted veteran playw right Amjad Islam Amjad as their favourite author. A poll undertaken by a local organisation among 2,670 men and women in urban and rural areas gave respondents the names of five well-know n writers of Urdu literature to pick as their favourite. Amjad Islam Amjad was voted favourite by 26 per cent of the respondents, followed by Ashfaq Ahmed and Nadeem Qasmi in a tie at 13 per cent and then Haseena Moin. Heartening news, and an honour for the authors but there is another side to the coin. While 12 per cent out of the respondents answered dont know, 18 out of every 100 were definite in their answer of no one. A mere one per cent had literary know ledge w ide enough to name an author not on the list. The unhappy fac t is that not enough people consider it important to inculcate in children and young adults a love of literature and also to help create access to literature. Television, movies, the Internet and electronics are now the currency of childhood among those that can afford them. For many others, the increasingly pinched purse -strings of their parents and the absence of well-stocked public libraries mean that the realm of the imagination must lie unexplored. Left unaddressed, this unhappy situation will inevitably mean another generation of children who, even if educated, have little know ledge of the great world of literature.
Syrian vortex
August 11th, 2012
The foreign ministers statement at the Tehran meeting on Syria symbolises Pakistans dilemma the tightrope walking Islamabad has to do on an issue in which it finds its friends and allies divided. Foreign Minister Khar said Islamabad was opposed to foreign intervention in Syria because that would complicate a situation already very complex. She was also disturbed over reports that Al Qaeda was infiltrating Syria. Open to various interpretations, her speech could be construed as supportive of an authoritarian regime whose crackdown on democracy protesters has so far led to over 20,000 fatalities in a 17- month-old conflict. But more likely, the foreign ministers stand was rooted in Pakistans traditional opposition to foreign intervention in a countrys internal affairs. To that extent, Ms Khars speech was a reiteration of this countrys long -standing approach to foreign interventions: discourage them as much as possible and wherever possible, w ith the unspoken fear in the background being that perhaps too much international adventurism could one day lead to Pakistan itself being caught in the international cross-hairs. Beyond that, Ms Khars statement was a disappoint ment. The savage crackdown by the Assad regime against the Syrian rebels ought to have drawn greater censure. Instead, all Foreign Minister Khar offered was this: We would urge both the Syrian government and the opposition groups to exercise restraint for the safety and security of the civilian population. Perhaps in deciding to stick to its long -standing policy of non-intervention and noninterference, the foreign ministry calculate d that condemnation of the Assad regime would undercut Pakistans other, more central message. The problem is that a Syrian policy has to be located in Pakistans other interests. To stand in Tehran and tacitly express support for a Syrian regime whose str uggle against its people has also taken a sectarian Shia vs Sunni hue is to be tone-deaf to the dangerous faultlines that exist in the region. Since petrodollars and the Iranian revolution turbo-charged the Shia-Sunni rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan has played a delicate game: stay on the right side of the powerf ul and rich Saudi monarchy, while also acknowledging the reality of a shared border w ith Iran. In the Syrian case, the lines have been firmly draw n in the Persian-Arab rivalry: Iran supporting the Assad regime; Saudi Arabia backing the rebels. So w hile trying to show some leadership in the Muslim world or just trying to reiterate Pakistans traditional foreign -policy stance, the foreign ministry must be careful to not get sucked into the Syrian vortex. President Assad may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history; Pakistan will still have to deal with both Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Unprotected community
August 11th, 2012 Interior Minister Rehman Maliks predilection for terming all negative developments in Pakistan as a conspiracy against the state was in full play on Thursday. In answer to a question on the reported migration of several Hindu families from Jacobabad to India, he said that approximately 250 visas were issued, by the Indian High Commission, under a conspiracy, a statement that led to several families with valid documents being stopped from crossing the Wagah border on Friday though they were later allowed to proceed. Reports of the intended migration have yet to be substantiated as a number of travellers are said to be pilgrims, and perhaps the media has sounded the alarm bells too soon. However, for all Mr Maliks moralistic talk of the Pakistani citizens loyalty to the green passport, there is an escalatin g sense of insecurity within the countrys Hindu community. This has resulted in an increasing number of Hindus, mostly businessmen and professionals, leaving Pakistan in recent years, although the mass exodus depicted by the media is yet to take shape. Their persecution may not be as blatant as, say, that of the Ahmadis, who are routinely gunned dow n or lynched, or even of their poorer brethren in lower Sindh trapped in a class-based system. But increasingly, the kidnappings of Hindu businessmen, the looting of their shops, occupation of their prop-erty and the general environment of religiosity have isolated the minority community from the mainstream. Besides, they see no forum for justice and no openings to advance in national life. Unfortunately, for all its so-called secular and democratic credentials, this government has responded to the challenge of insecurity and the culture of radicalism and fear like its predecessors. It has made no attempt to give back minorities their space or even to provide hope for a better future. Where are the mainstream parties and their
declared commit ment to looking after the interest of marginalised groups? As Pakistans minorities find themselves increasingly cornered not only by extremist groups and an uncaring govern ment but also by a society that shuns the other the hands of those who reject a pluralistic culture will be strengthened.
A dubious project
August 11th, 2012 Thar coal is back in the news, thanks to a visit by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to Th arparkar and a demonstration by Dr Samar Mubarakmand of his miracle coal gasification technology. Dr Mubarakmand claims he can produce two billion barrels of diesel from Thar coal, that he can build a 100MW power plant that will run on gas produced from Thar coal and that 50,000MW of electricity is being generated around the world from technology of the sort he is busy installing. Many of these claims strain credibility. Coal gasif ication is still an experimental technology around the world and is only being used in small pilot projects in a few places. The amount of gas it yields is small, the heating value of the gas is low and the pressures are inadequate for purposes of power generation. Its troubling to hear Dr Mubarakmands assertions regarding the u se of the technology elsewhere, and his inflated claims of w hat it can achieve in Pakistan. Follow ing the water car f iasco, its clear Pakistans political leaders have a limited capacity to understand even simple technical matters and how easy it is for snake-oil salesmen to find gullible policymakers with taxpayer money to spend on cure-alls and fix- alls. Dr Mubarakmand has briefed a Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and hosted the prime minister on the site of his pro -ject and secured commit ments for continued government funding of his dubious venture. A comprehensive audit should be performed to account for the Rs900m consumed thus far, and the technical evaluation performed by the Planning Commission should be made public. After all, there are other, private-sector investors with deep pockets trying to turn Thar coal into commercially viable fuel but have stayed away from Dr Mubarakmands project.
Sunshine policy
August 12th, 2012 What is it about the month of August that it brings such sunshine to the State Bank? It was in August last year that the State Bank threw caution to the winds and slashed the policy discount rate by 150 basis points in an effort, as they put it, to revive invest ment. And once again this year they have follo wed suit, with yet another 150 basis point reduction, also with the express purpose of reviving invest ment. But did invest ment grow in the wake of last years cut? No it didnt. In fact this years statement even acknow ledges that fact, and offers an expla nation, saying energy shortages are behind falling invest ment, with the role of monetary policy becoming marginal. Throughout the announcement, caveats are sprinkled liberally saying that the slow ing growth rates and falling invest ments are due to struc-tural weaknesses in the economy and the stalled reforms, and that monetary policy is largely powerless to compensate for these crucial deficiencies. The statement which announced the decision is more remarkable for the careful hedging of every statement of optimism than for anything else. It notes the continued reliance of the government on bank borrowings, and direct borrowings f rom the State Bank, an act that is tantamount to printing money, saying that [t]hese borrow ings are despite the commit ments anno unced in the FY12 budget, reassurances made during the year, and more importantly, explicit requirements of the SBP Act. It also notes the steep fall in private sector credit offtake, a meagre Rs18.3bn in FY12 a drastic decline compared to a net flow of Rs173.2bn in FY11. Drastic indeed! Also the fiscal deficit may have reached 6.4 per cent of GDP This excludes the debt consolidation of power and food sector arrears of 1.9 per cent of GDP which would take us up to 8.3 per cent of GDP. So how do the framers of our monetary policy justify making last years mistake all over again? In the wake of that rate cut, investment and private sector credit offtake plummeted drastically, in their ow n words, and the rupee slid by about Rs5 to the dollar. What did that rate cut accomplish, other than a small reduction in the governments debt service bill, a reduction that appears to have encouraged even more reckless recourse to banking -sector
resources? It appears that the State Bank has lost the plot, that it is saying one thing and doing another, that the hand on the tiller is not firm enough to withstand the pressures which are being brought to bear upon it, that policy drift has now taken root in the countrys central bank as well.
Mudslinging matches
August 12th, 2012 Mothers, children, ex-wives, marriages of convenience all have been paraded before a bemused public as the war of words between the PTI and the PML-N heats up. Earlier, Khwaja Asif had show n his disapproval of Imran Khans family affairs. On F riday, it was Javed Hashmis turn to come out with dirt on his exes, the PML -N. Mr Hashmi chiefly targeted Chaudhry Nisar Ali, the man the Sharifs had chosen as the leader of the opposition in parliament after the 2008 election, ignoring Mr Hashmi. Now t he PTI vice president, Mr Hashmi disclosed to reporters in Lahore that Chaudhry Nisars mother had obtained a pardon for his son f rom Gen Musharraf after the coup in 1999 and the consequent departure of the Sharifs from the country. He was also critical of other PML-N leaders who he said had chosen the easy path of follow ing the Sharifs out when the party needed them here. The latest burst of allegations was quickly responded to by Rana Sanaullah, one PML-N politician who stayed put in Pakistan during the Musharraf regime and managed to secure a visible enough role in the PML-N government in Punjab. But Mr Hashmi chose the example of Zulfikar Khosa to elaborate the hurt and pain he himself had suffered at having been sidelined by the PML-N. Sardar Khosa, the currently estranged N-League leader, had stood by both country and party during the Sharifs days in exile. His rebellion now has been overshadowed by the ongoing slinging match between the PML-N and PTI, the origins and the timing of which are subject t o conjecture. Why did Khwaja Asif come up with the Imran Khan diatribe when he did? Was it simply Mr Khans visit to Khwaja Sahibs hometown of Sialkot? Was it because of a, as yet, hard-to-believe rumour about a caretaker set-up in Islamabad under Mr Khan? Or could the PTI chiefs flirtation with the Taliban have worried the PML -N? Whatever the immediate reason, the over-the-top slandering starring such veterans as Mr Hashmi and Khwaja Asif betrays a bitter conflict between two parties striving to capture the same territory and the same moral high-ground.
Cellphone data
August 12th, 2012 Kidnappings for ransom and extortion in which cellphone communications play a major role are especially widespread in Karachi. With this in mind, the Sindh High Cou rt ordered the provincial police chief to appoint focal persons to obtain data from cellular service providers to help crack down on kidnapping and extortion rings. Currently the police do not have direct access to data and has to route requests through the ISI. Efforts to grant police greater access to cellphone data have been ongoing for the past few years. It is true that granting the police access to cellphone information is extremely important as lack of access can hamper the investigation process, especially when criminals seem to be going increasingly high-tech. Yet it is also true that the police here have an image problem; there are legitimate concerns that citizens data will be misused. These fears are suppor -ted by the fact that the police are highly politicised and criminal elements within the force are known to exist. While the police should be granted access to cellphone data, this power must be coupled with a fair bit of responsibility so that citizens personal information is not misused. In this respect the SHC has ordered the police chief to notify the list of authorised officers to cellular service providers to avoid unauthorised access to information. However, it must also be said that while such a step is important, police reform must be a much broader exercise and it would be nave to assume that granting the force access to cellular data will radically bring down the crime graph. Giving police access to technology w ill no doubt help the force stay ahead of criminals. But the police must also be reformed to restore the publics trust.
North Waziristan issue

August 13th, 2012
The rumour mill has been in overdrive since ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islams recent visit to the US: will there or wont there be some kind of military action taken in North Waziristan by the Pakistan Army? Predictably, the Pakistani side first outright denied the leaks in the American media f rom US officials presumably in the know, and then introduced shades of grey. Some kind of coordination across the Pak-Afghan border against militant sanctuaries in North Waziristan is not the same as joint operations, army officials f irst insisted. Now, as reported yesterday, the script has moved forward some more: if any action is to be taken in North Waziristan, Pakistan w ill expect US and Afghan forces on the other side of the border to prevent targets in North Waziristan from f leeing into Afghanistan. The unnamed official spoke of sealing the border, though more likely it would be a variant of the hammer -andanvil strategy that has over the years been touted as the only credible model for ensuring that militants squeezed on this side of the border dont flee into Afghanistan and vice versa. Is the drip-drip of leaks meant to prepare the country for a U-turn in policy on North Waziristan or is this just another game of cat and mouse with the US? On the ground, in North Waziristan itself, there is no sign of an imminent military operation. While the security forces in the agency number over 40,000 two army divisions, a Frontier Corps force and sundry local security personnel and the national and Fata disaster management agencies have long been told to prepare contingency plans for an outflow of IDPs, at the moment the reports from the area do not indicate any signs of a military operation about to be launched. Similarly, on the Afghan side, where Khost, Paktia and Paktika are the obvious destinations for militants fleeing from North Waziristan, there is no sign yet that American or Afghan forces are gearing up for a battle with militants who may soon arrive. In trying to determine the likelihood of a military operation in North Waziristan at the moment, it may help to recall what the Americans have pushed Pakistan to do: one, squeeze the f low of money to the Haqqanis; two, se ver the information links that keep the Haqqanis one step ahead of the Americans; and three, dismantle the Miranshah hub that the Americans are convinced exists. So perhaps if not a major military operation, some other measures are being contemplated on the Pakistani side. But then, are half- measures in North Waziristan really in the interest of Pakistan?
Dam funding
August 13th, 2012 The countrys perennial water shortages notwithstanding, there is little evidence of a concerted push by the state towards speeding up projects that could contain the crisis. On F riday, a Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power said that the World Bank would rather fund the Dasu power project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan on account of Indias objections rooted in Gilgit - Baltistans territorial status. This reported preference appeared acceptable to the presiding senator but not to the Wapda chairman who emphasised that the Bhasha dam would remain a priority. Both stances have merit alternative projects should not be rejected if there are difficulties in undertaking others, while Bhasha, which would be the first mega da m after Tarbela was completed in 1976 and would generate 4,500MW of electricity, is of primary importance. However, the core problem, that of debilitating water scarcity, is glossed over in such a debate. India has not made its objections formal, and in any case its concerns are hardly tenable w hen its own water security is not threatened by the Bhasha project. It is important, then, to look at other factors which may be causing potential donors to blink, and hampering the governments plans. The apparent absence of a comprehensive business plan, with the names of all donors and lenders, comes immediately to mind. How does Pakistan propose to fund the huge venture of at least $12bn? The government is still looking around to complete a consortium of committed financiers, while interested parties w illing to invest in the costly project are concerned that a partnership o f public and private entities including governments, banks, investors, lending agencies, etc. has yet to take shape. It is only the active pursuance of such a plan that will send out the right signals so that even dithering financiers can shake off third party objections and place confidence in the governments intentions. Doubts have been cast on the capacity of the authorities, right from the Planning Commission to the Ministry of Finance, to see the project through. But the cost of not doing so can prove heavy for the country in the long run.
London Olympics
August 13th, 2012
The curtain came down on the magnif icent London Olympics on Sunday with the United States of America and China dominating the show, rather emphatically, followed by hosts Gre at Britain that finished third on the medals table. Over 10,000 athletes from 204 countries participated in the extravaganza w hich was the third hosted by London after the 1908 and 1948 editions. To the credit of the organisers, the Games were kept inciden t-free and, for once, politics and terrorism took a backseat as the world focused on the triumphs and tears of sport. Michael Phelps, arguably the greatest swimmer in history, soaked up the limelight as he ended his Olympic career w ith 22 medals, 18 of the m gold. Usain Bolt of Jamaica was the other star: his unprecedented defence of his 100m and 200m sprint gold medals capped off with trademark exuberance and style. There were many others who did their respective countries proud by reaching the podium and by entering the record books as the outstandin g sportspersons of their time. The Games, however, were a sad reflection on the state of affairs in Pakistani sport. For a country of over 180 million people to not be able to fetch a single medal in the Olympic Games is shambolic. Even worse perhaps, it was expected. The complete Pakistan contingent comprised just 20 athletes, 16 of which were hockey players, and none could make the finals of their events. Follow ing the dismal faring of the national contingent, there have been calls for replacing people at the helm of sports federations, for better planning and incentives for athletes and uplift of infrastructure. But so long as the w ill to excel and the determination to achieve something is lacking among the athletes and officials, nothing will really alter the dismal status quo.
Makli degradation
August 14th, 2012 Owing in large part to the states apathy, Pakistans historical treasures are slow ly crumbling. And if a change in attitude does not come about immediately, we may soon be globally recognised as a country that neglects its heritage. A report in this paper on Monday says the Sindh government may get some respite before the World Heritage Committee adds the Makli necropolis in Thatta to the list o f world heritage sites in danger. The authorities optimism is based on recommendations made in a report based on the findings of a Unesco team that visited Makli in May. Among the reports recommendations, it has been suggested that the necropoliss bound aries as well as a buffer zone be identified, w hile the experts have also called for a conservation and management plan to save Makli not only from the vagaries of nature, but also neglect by man. Meanwhile, according to earlier reports, a recently deceased Sindhi poet was buried in the Chaw kandi graveyard, despite there being a ban on f resh burials on the site. It has been noticed that ever since devolution, Sindhs heritage sites have fared worse than when they were under the centres watch. The Unesco report appears to reinforce this view. While it says that follow ing devolution the provincial governments administrative and technical capacity needs to be enhanced, it also adds that hardly anything has been done to address the degradation of Makli. What should serve as a wake-up call is the observation that damage and loss at the vast necropolis due to pilferage has reached colossal proportions. While many may rightly ask if we deserve more time before Makli is listed as endangered thanks to our own negligence the state should take this as a f inal warning. The recommendations of foreign experts are there; its just a matter of following procedure and more importantly, having the will and common sense to preserve heritage.
Enabling talks
August 14th, 2012
Captured in Karachi in 2010 and kept in Pakistan despite requests from the Afghan government to hand him over, Mullah Baradar has often been brought up as an example of Pakistans real or perceived reluctance to cooperate with Afghanistan and the US in facilitating talks w ith the Afghan Taliban. Reports appearing yesterday that Afghan government representatives may have met the jailed Taliban commander in Pakistan add a new twist to this narrative. It is always hard to determine exactly what is going on behind the scenes when it comes to Pakistans relations w ith Afghanistan and the US, particularly in the realm of counterterrorism and Taliban reconciliation, and this report too has been met with denials f rom Kabul. And Mullah Baradar still rema ins in Pakistani custody. But if true, these latest reports, along with the travel of Taliban leaders from Pakistan to Qatar earlier this year for talks with the Americans, suggest that Pakistan is perhaps more w illing to cooperate than is normally publicly acknowledged by either Afghanistan or the US. But the news about Baradar also raises some of the same questions that previous instances of contact with the Taliban have: who speaks for the Taliban, and who will the Taliban talk to? For one, the level of Mullah Baradars influence over the Taliban at this point is an open question. Ultimately, it is Mullah Omar who calls the shots, and his former deputy has been out of the game for two years now. Second, additional reports indicate that Mullah Baradar did not seem particularly keen to talk to the Afghan government representatives. This is not new; Taliban leaders have said they will not negotiate with the Karzai administration, which they consider a puppet regime controlled by the US. Mullah Baradars reported dismissal of his interlocutors would only confirm this. It is unclear, then, how fruitful this contact was. But this is in line with previous reports about talks w ith the Taliban, about which little seems clear or encouraging. The Qatar round of talks aimed at building confidence still appears to be stalled. There is noise about a potential Pakistani operation in North Waziristan in response to American pressure, and if that takes place it will likely have its own impact on the Talibans willingness to cooperate. And there are real limits to Pakistans ability to bring truly inf luential Taliban leaders to the table. But it is also important for Pakistan to do what it can and send the right signals to the world about its commit ment to stabilising the region. If it did arrange talks with Baradar, it moved in the right direction.
Egyptian transition
August 14th, 2012 Unless there is an unexpected backlash from generals addicted to power, Egypts President Mohammad Morsi seems to have succeeded in making his electoral power felt when he sacked the three services chiefs and retired the all-powerful Field Marshal Mohammad Hussain Tantawi. Even though the latter and chief of staff of the armed forces, Sami Anan, have been retained in the cabinet as advisers, Mr Morsis decision constitutes a blow to the militarys power and an end to Mubarak remnants. Mr Morsi combined this move w ith the annulment of the perverse decree which the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces issued on the eve of the presidential election. The decree had limited the presidents power barring him f rom controlling military affairs, and reserved budget making for Scaf which arrogated to itself the right to legislate. This reduced Mr Morsi to the position of a ceremonial head of state. Sunda ys decision w ill hopefully reverse the balance of state power and reduce the military to its professional role. While civilian ascension to supremacy was in the fitness of things, it was the situation in the Sinai that precipitated the matter and seemed to have goaded Mr Morsi into action. The military felt humi-liated for the way the militants attacked the Egyptian patrol guards, killing 16 soldiers and then attempting to cross into Israel. This focused world attention on the civilian- military equation i n Egypt and highlighted the generals preoccupation with politics instead of their profession. Field Marshal Tantawi and Gen Anan had both appeared invincible and managed to rule for a year after Hosni Mubaraks overthrow. The Aug 5 incident in the Sinai u ndermined their position, and Mr Morsi didnt hesitate to make use of it. In explaining his action to his people, Mr Morsi went out of his way to reassure the army that he was not taking action against any institution, nor targeting any individual. Unless there is an unexpected power struggle and the generals try to sneak back to power through unconstitutional means, Mr Morsis action could turn out to be seminal, for it is a logical consequence of the Arab Spring and heralds the establishment of civilian s upremacy deriving power from the peoples mandate.
Kayanis remarks
August 15th, 2012
There was much that should be acknowledged, and much that was left unexplained, in Gen Kayanis Independence Day speech at Kakul on Monday. The army chief made it clear that the fight against militancy and terrorism is Pakistans war and recognised that it involved fighting ones own people. These are important messages; there are still many in Pakistan who think the country is only fighting other peoples battles or that foreign hands are responsible for violence in the country. By accepting that this is a Pakistani problem w ith a Pakistani solution, Gen Kayanis speech marked a welcome change from the persecution complex and denial of responsibility that so often c olours both the states and cit izens discourse on militancy. What the security establishment has yet to explain, though, is who the enemy is. And that has been unclear since 2001 and the ostensible reversal in Pakistans security policy, when it appeared to join the global alliance in what was then known as the war on terror. Is there a reason Hafiz Saeed is able to hold public rallies while Baitullah Mehsud was considered an enemy, as is his successor, Hakeemullah Mehsud? Why are Baloch separatists picked up while the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi is able to get away with trying to eliminate the Shia Hazara community there? What makes Mangal Bagh a target for the Pakistan military w hile members of the Haqqani network seek shelter this side of the border? If t he different approaches to these groups break down along the lines of militants who act inside Pakistan versus those who could be useful for protecting Pakistani interests in the region or whose targets lie outside the country, the security establishment should by now know better. For one, the activities of potentially useful groups have created a host of foreign -policy issues for the country and provided a reason for many outside the counry to turn us into an international pariah. But elements in some of these groups have also turned inward. It remains true, as Gen Kayani said, that law-enforcement is made more difficult by the weakness of the civilian administration in parts of the country and by the lack of legislation designed to address a new age of militancy. Without modifying the laws that govern admissible evidence and defining clearer rules of trial and detention, it will continue to be difficult to put militants behind bars. But that is only part of the story. The other part is the continuing lack of a clear position against armed militancy in all its forms, and of an outright rejection of the notion of good or useful militants.
The impasse continues

August 15th, 2012
President Zardari used his Aug 14 speech to take a swipe at the judiciary, lamenting new forms of assault on the constitution and parliament though stopping short of directly mentioning the Supreme Court. Given that the dogged pursuit by the court of the so-called Swiss letter directly only implicates the president himself, Mr Zardaris comments could be seen as self-serving and partisan in the extreme. But that is a view likely to only be shared by the staunchest supporters of the Supreme Courts incredible judicial activism. Set aside the debate on who is to be blamed for the impasse between the judiciary and the PPP for a minute and examine the knock-on effect of politics in a state of suspended animation as the country waits for the wheels of justice to trample another prime minister. A government that at the best of times has been clumsy and indifferent to governance has since January when the NRO implementation case once again cast its shadow over politics essentially operated with the head of government having an uncertain lease of political life. Since neither Yousuf Raza Gilani nor Raja Pervez Ashraf will be remembered by history as great administrators or policymakers, its not hard to imagine the impact of leaving them under the political guillotine for months on end. The argument can and has been made that were it not for the governments stubbornness, the matter of the Swiss letter would have been settled a long time ago and the government could have turned its attention to strengthening institutions and serving the public which is what the democratic project is supposed to deliver here in Pakistan. The sins of commission and omission of the present government are well know n. They definitely do bear repeating but within a political framework and at the time of an election. Quite simply, the continuity and strengthening of the democratic project in Pakistan ought to be the lens through which the actions of all institutions should be judged. Have the Supreme Courts actions strengthened the principle and practice of democracy? Unhappily, the jury may not have to deliberate that question very long today.
Local government
August 15th, 2012
The presidents announcement that the local bodies system will be introduced in Fata next year is welcome and should take the tribal areas one step closer to joining mainstream Pakistan. Yet it is fair to ask w hat the central and provincial governments are doing to revive elected local bodies in the rest of the country. Pakistan has been without representative local governments for about three years, and as things stand it is unl ikely that LG polls will be held before next years general election. The Sindh government has pleaded before the provincial high court that it cannot hold polls for a number of reasons, while indications from Punjab are that the provincial government wants to hold LG polls after the general election. Balochistan has also yet to set a date. In fact, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only province which has given a tentative time frame October or November for holding polls. In Fata it will take time to evolve a system. Though LG polls there would be a positive step, local councils will initially only be introduced in major population centres. But in the rest of Pakistan the basic infrastructure of local governance exists. It may be imperfect and in need of improvement, but it is there and if the political stakeholders wish to make positive changes to it, they should do so through legislation instead of perpetually suspending the system. The main issue, it seems, is that of having the political will to finalise le gislation and announce a schedule for local polls. Any petty considerations political parties may have such as controlling local governments to influence polling in general elections should be dismissed so that people can have a representative set-up at the local level. Laying the groundwork for a new system is commendable, but suspending an already working system makes no sense.
Interim set-up
August 16th, 2012 Including the non-parliamentary opposition in the consultative process on the establish ment of a caretaker set-up to oversee general elections is a positive idea and should broaden the dialogue space. Speaking to Dawn on Tuesday, Yousuf Raza Gilani said the ruling party had decided in principle to involve the Jamaat -i-Islami and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf in talks to decide on the establishment of a pre-election interim cabinet, and that consultations would begin soon. Coming from a former prime minister, who is also the PPPs senior vice chairman, the initiative deserves to be welcomed in a c risis-prone country that lacks strong constitutional institutions and democratic traditions. The JI and the PTI should welcome the offer, because both of them have a stake in the coming election and in the kind of set-up that will organise it. Even though these two parties boycotted the 2008 election and they may well be ruing their decision both of late have been reaching out to the people in a way that appears to give the impression of an election campaign. Their ideas and suggestions, therefore, deserve to be heard and made part of the consensus on a truly neutral prime minister tasked with organising an election whose transparency would not be questioned. Against this background, opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan dwelt more on technicalities when he said there was no need at this point for talks with the government because the 20th Amendment had clearly laid dow n the procedure for choosing a caretaker set -up. Yet he said his party would hold consultations after Eid on the same issue with opposition parties, including those outside parliament. If the 20th Amendment does not stand in the way of the PML- Ns talks with the PTI despite the bitterness he spoke of there is no reason why it should stop his party from talking to the government in an amicable manner to sort out an issue in w hich all parties have stakes. What matters here is not so much the technicality of the constitutional procedure as the overriding need for creating a tension-free at mosphere that would be conducive to the holding of a fair vote. The ease with w hich the two leading parties agreed on a chief election commissioner should serve as a model in other matters, including the choice of caretaker prime minister. For that reason, the opposition should respond positively to P rime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf s offer of dialogue. Mr Ashraf said the aim behind his offer was to ensure an orderly transfer of power and the supremacy of democracy.
Telecom saga
August 16th, 2012
It's always easy to presume guilt, to shoot first and ask questions later. The National Accountability Bureau has taken this easiest of all roads in its dealings with the Federal Board of Revenue and the telecoms on the question of the alleged tax liability of Rs47bn that the FBR raised recently. Against a relatively routine application of executive power contained in Section 65 of the Sales Tax Act of 1990, NAB took startling suo moto action in July, and placed the names of three FBR officers on the Exit Control List. Then it summoned the telecom companies to ask why they should not be liable for the relevant taxes, and tacitly accused both the telecom companies and certain FBR officials of corrupt practices in trying to implement Section 65. The said section allows an F BR chairman to waive arrears and pe nal charges on a tax liability that can be shown to be revenue neutral. This means that no additional tax would accrue to the government were the liability to be implemented since it would be eligible for refund in any case. NAB claims that the powers of Section 65 cannot be wielded by the FBR chairman alone and that the notification requires vetting by the law ministry first, which was not done in this case. Telecom representatives say they are not a party to this dispute, which strictly speaking is between NAB and the FBR. They are offended at being summoned to testify and to furnish explanations regarding the liability calculated by the FBR. Its puzzling to see how NAB has allowed its intervention in the affair to grow, f rom originally taking notice of the failure of the FBR chairman to get the law ministry to vet a routine notification, to asking the telecoms to provide explanations on allegations of tax evasion. The mission of NAB itself raises questions. The public is entitled to ask what is really going on. We believe that instead of getting so deeply involved in the matter, NAB should step aside and allow the FBR or finance ministry to deal with it.
The award list

August 16th, 2012 In a list of 192 the number of honours conferred by the Pakistani state on its landmark 65th birth anniversary there are names which appear worthy of celebration. Saadat Hasan Manto is one. He is a happy -sad reminder of the progress Pakistan has made in over six decades of suppressed existence. He is a rebel who has not ceased to bring out irony long after his departure, and justifies the clich about a person bringing honour to an award. And then Manto has not quite gotten over his habit of creating a little controversy. If he is the standard, other choices may suffer in comparison and a long argument on merit may ensue who else should get the award and w ho should be made to wait a little longer to help the roll of honour retain or regain its brevity and prestige? Medal choices, subjective as they are, are easier to defend in fields as open to interpretation as literature. Gallantry, often proven at the cost of life or grievous hurt to a person, is another area where the choice is easier to accept, sentiment being a vital ingredient that goes into the making of a medal. But there are still other selections from other areas which must walk to the hall of fame w ith their stature over-politicised. The present government loves to give out awards and has received its share of criticism for drawing heavily on the boxful o f decorations reserved for its own people and allies. The presidents Aug 14 list again includes some well -known government functionaries among allies who could have perhaps been permitted a bit of modesty in office. As members of the award-giving authority, they are liable to appear to be blowing their own trumpet. Their biggest award must come not from the rulers but from the people.
Airbase attack
August 17th, 2012
The attack on the air force base in Kamra has raised disturbing and disturbingly familiar questions. That only one security personnel was killed as opposed to nine dead militants is only a small consolation: the first and foremost question is, how were militants able to yet again inf iltrate a high- security armed services base and engage security forces inside for many hours? Given that some kind of military operation in North Waziristan against at least the Pakistan-centric militants is in the offing, the possibility of pre-emptive strikes by the militants is high. Had the warning of a blowback only been made at the policy level w ithout it filtering dow n to the security forces likely to be in the cross-hairs of the militants? Already, the very specific threat against PAF bases in Punjab by the TTP in revenge for the killing of a militant leader earlier this month had been picked up by the intelligence apparatus. Surely, then, at this stage of the fight against militancy, the security apparatus should be able to repulse attacks on at least critical sites with more efficiency, particularly with both the circumstantial and direct forewarning appearing to have been available. As with previous attacks, the possibility of insider help to the militants in the assault on Kamra is also very high. From sympathisers of radical Islamist thought t o direct supporters of militant groups, the army appears to have a militancy problem, the severity of w hich is hidden from the public because investigations and court martials are often carried out in secret. The wider concern going forward ought to have t he armys screening procedures: how robust and effective is the surveillance and vetting of the armed forces personnel to prevent an incident before it happens? Clearly, as recent history suggests, not robust or effective enough but what will it take for a more serious and sustained effort? Finally, the question that has bedevilled the fight against militancy: when will the state, both the army and the political government, drive home the message to the Pakistani public that the war is real, it is against a radicalised f ringe of Pakistan and that unless the war is fought with total commit ment and purpose, the state and society itself will spiral towards irreversible disaster? Gen Kayanis Independence Day message contained the first strands of that message but it has to be sustained and spread to the farthest corners of the country. The ones shouting this isnt our war many on the political right need to be countered, firmly and unequivocally. Delay that battle any longer and the already manifold complications will grow yet more complicated.
OICs Syria decision

August 17th, 2012 Besides adding to the Baathist regimes regional and international isolation, the suspension of Syrias membership by the Organisation of Islamic Conference on Wednesday is unlikely to have much effect on the situation in the Levant if the aim is peace. The 57- member bloc coupled the suspension w ith a call for the development of a peaceful mechanism that would build a new Syrian state based on pluralism and a democratic and civilian system ideals that are in keeping with the spirit of the Arab Spring. However, ignoring the plea by Pakistan, Algeria and Kazakhstan that the insurgents be also blamed for the bloodshed, the 57- member bodys f inal statement said the princ ipal responsibility for the f ighting lay with the government of President Bashar Al -Assad. The statement coincided with a UN report which said there were reasonable grounds to believe that both government forces and the rebels had committed war crimes a nd gross violations of human rights, including unlawful killing, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual violence, pillaging and destruction of property. Unless there is an agreement on a ceasefire, the Syrian conflict, which has led to 20,00 0 dead, could expand. Lebanon is already in a state of tension and fear, with reports that four Arab countries have asked their nationals to leave the country follow ing a string of abductions of some Sunnis by a Shia group. The OIC and the Arab League, which suspended Syrias membership last year, ought to have a uniform policy on dissent in Musli m countries. Their attitudes towards Bahrain, for instance, are in sharp contrast with their Syria policies. While in the former case the Gulf Cooperation Council sent troops to crush the uprising and save the monarchy, in the case of Libya and Syria they have pursued an active regime-change strategy. What happens if tomorrow there is a democratic stir in Arab monarchies, some of w hich have not given their people ev en a semblance of constitutional rule? The Syrian situation deserves to be addressed with all sincerity, but as Pakistans foreign minister said at the recent Tehran moot, moves that could lead to foreign intervention need to be avoided.
Less aggressive now?

August 17th, 2012
Droplets of light rising f rom candles are gradually taking effect at Wagah. They are a metaphor for a future that must be explored and discovered, a vindication for the activists who are so often blamed for taking Pak-India peace as little more than a holiday trip. The light as a peoples collective offers a mild, soothing contrast to the thunderous war theatrics the border between Pakistan and India is famous for. The two have learnt to coexist. In fact, the battle routine the soldiers so proudly display each evening at the lowering of the Pakistani and Indian flags amid nationalist chants by the crowd gathered there is undergoing modifications. A dialogue has been opened to rid the drill of some of its more offensive gestures. Sold iers are talking, enabled by the new mood the peac e activists have helped shape. Gathering on either side of Wagah each year for a joint celebration of the Independence Day, peace activists have themselves come some distance. They were berated and threate ned with isolation when they first decided to hold the border candle vigil some years ago. Today, the trends have changed sufficiently enough for the media to give a positive spin to the talks that have in recent past been held to make the border drill les s aggressive, and to not miss the ceremonial exchange of sweets between the soldiers of the two countries. It appears, and appears so vividly on the television screen, that the old prediction about peace having a market in the subcontinent has also been vindicated. Tensions sell, too, and it is not that the issues have been resolved and a friendship bond established forever. There will always be some matters pending even if the alternative route to resolution is lit up for more and more people to see and traverse.
Shia killings on the rise

August 18th, 2012 Thursdays execution-style killing of Shia citizens in Mansehra district and the killing of Hazaras in Quetta were only the latest incidents in what is now a clear trend: targeting innocent members of the sect not necessarily members of any political or religious organisation and killing them for no reason other than their religious affiliation. The Mansehra attack had a particularly disturbing aspect to it, with passengers made to show their identity papers and those suspected of being Shia, on the basis of their names or tribal affiliations, being picked out and killed. Like other recent sectarian killings in Balochistan, Kohistan and Orakzai, the approach used resembled ethnic cleansing in its chilling focus on identifying and killing innocent citizens simply because of their membership to a particular community. And while the Hazara community under attack in Balochistan is relatively small and powerless, the same is not true of Shia communities elsewhere in the country. If not arrested, this trend could well spiral out of control, turning the issue into a much larger conflict. Meanwhile, where is the outrage from the security forces and politicians? We know these groups are w illing to launch aggressive messaging campaigns w hen they w ish to. Take, for example, the armys response to Salala, the PML- Ns reaction to the governments refusal to write the Swiss letter, the ruling partys defensive posture on threats to democracy or the PTIs campai gn against drone strikes. And while it is unclear w hat judicial activism can achieve in such cases beyond raising their prof ile, w here is the judiciary that otherwise takes suo moto notice of everything from t he price of sugar to violence in Karachi? As each of these groups tries to focus on topics they think w ill boost their populist or nationalist credentials, the campaign to eradicate a minority community continues to receive less official attention than it should. Beyond the messaging failure, little appears to have been done to confront the physical danger. Providing security escorts to pilgrims buses and changing the routes Shia travellers take has not been enough. Whether combating the problem is a matter of improving intelligence-gathering to prevent attacks, pre-emptively going after the groups that are carrying them out, improving policing in vulnerable areas or other intelligence or security measures, further delays are inexcusable. The state needs to demonstrate what it is doing to combat this th reat. If not, Pakistan may as well give up any pretence of being a state for anyone other than its majority religious community.
Zias legacy
August 18th, 2012
Precious little happens in Pakistan that cannot be traced to the man who ruled over this co untry for 11 dark years of its existence. On the morning of Aug 17, exactly 24 years after his death, Gen Ziaul Haqs presence was felt all the more poignantly. Terrorists attack Kamra airbase, 19 pulled out of buses, shot dead in sectarian attack at Babusar Top, Zardari seeks Muslim countries assistance on Afghanistan. Rulers either side of Zia have contributed to this mad, unending dance of death that Pakistanis have been subjected to. But while the dictator may have found the soil fertile for cultivating his brand of hatred, he was so thorough in his execution of the self-assigned job and so heartlessly committed to his creed that he ensured that generations after him w ill find it impos sible to escape his influence. Zias figure looms large over a Pakistan where, ostensibly, no popular political party stands by his ideals just as none has dared to declare a war against his legacy. The parties which he fathered, and the ones which were born of circumstances of his making, have all turned their back on their mentor. Yet, the ghosts of intolerance the general let loose on society with a ferocity previously unseen are not only very much around and kicking, they have spread far and w ide and today use various disguises. Zia used Islam, originally, as a t ool to secure the moral high ground against the politicians he had thrown out and that tool later became his convenient ideology, a justification for his rule. Most dangerously in the present context, he played an able facilitator to a process which was de stined to superimpose the interests of the people of the country with the perceived interests of the Islamic millat. Inevitably, this was a prelude to a long, violent campaign for the hegemony of an interpretation, a sect over others. This cannot be effectively countered unless those who now disown Zia and this includes almost all political parties here gather the courage to actively fight his legacy. The standard catharsis through Zia -bashing will not be enough.
Stock market rally

August 18th, 2012
The Karachi stock markets recent spectacular gains have left some feeling giddy. The sharp increases amid economic and political gloom are bringing back memories of 2008, when the market shot through the roof in a similar situation. Brokers are quick to remind us that this time things are different. Some point to healthy profits being made, and the expectation of equally healthy dividend payouts. Others say that in 2008 leverage was strong, much of the investment in stocks was through borrowed money, a nd this time that favoured instrument of borrowing, badla in brokers lingo, is outlawed. Others point to the higher -than-expected interest rate cut by the State Bank, saying that the money saved f rom debt -servicing cost will be available for shareholders instead. Yet there is good reason to be cautious. It is worth recalling that the same brokers hyping up the present rally were also hyping up the 2008 rally till the very end. Indeed, it is a rarity to meet a stockbroker sceptical of these rallies, a fact that inspires scepticism itself. Pakistans stock markets are famous for the suckers rallies and in every case, it is the small investor who loses at the end. Some of the claims made by the brokers do indeed ring true. Its particularly important to note that this time round there are no specialised business TV channels cheerleading the rally, and announcing dubious news with an eye to inf luencing investor behaviour on the trade floor. Most of the rally thus far has been centred on w hat they call penny stocks, small outfits that nobody had heard of until recently. It is hard to see how fundamentals are driving this surge, and small investors would be well advised to exercise caution. This could easily be another bull run that leads straight to the abattoir.
Pakistans own war

August 19th, 2012
Will we or wont we? Or is it a question of not if, but when? The mixed messages that have been emerging f ro m the Pakistani and American security and foreign policy establishments about an operation in North Waziristan leave these questions unanswered. But the ISPR statement on the recent visit of the American militarys regional chief makes one thing clear: at the moment, at least, the Pakistani security establishment is more concerned about declaring its independence in the face of American pressure and denying the possibility of American boots on the ground than it is about building its own case for going into North Waziristan. But that tribal agency is now a bigger problem for Pakistan than it is f or the Americans. Not just a possible launching pad for Haqqani network attacks in Afghanistan, it is a refuge and training and planning ground for a number of groups w hose attacks and criminal activities are carried out on Pakistani territory. The militar y leadership has been pointing out in recent days that any operation there w ill require political backing, which is another way of saying that public sentiment in favour of it would have to be drummed up. Such support has been created before, most notably for the Swat operation in 2009. And for North Waziristan, the case could not be easier to make. Reports are emerging that those who attacked the airbase in Kamra may have been trained in North Waziristan. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has banned polio vaccinations the re. The Bannu jailbreak has been linked to the agency. Security forces posted there continue to be targeted. And these are just a handful of examples; as home to militant groups squeezed out of other tribal agencies, the agency has become a major source of instability at home. Why, then, the focus on America instead? Maybe establishing that the operation w ill not be dictated by the US was a strategic move, an initial, and perhaps required, public - relations step before laying out Pakistans own reasons. And Gen Kayani took an important step on Aug 14 w hen he declared in general terms that the war is Pakistans own, and that it has to be fought. But if the decision to go into North Waziristan has essentially been made, it is time to start focusing publicly on our ow n reasons for doing so. The agency has been left to its own devices for far too long, and there is no shortage of arguments on the basis of which Pakistanis can be convinced that the area poses a security threat to their own country that should no longer be ignored.
For improved security

August 19th, 2012 Over the years, militant groups in the country have diversified their modus operandi. The countrys law enforcement machinery, however, has not kept pace and has been unable to adequately contain the myriad threats from various quarters. It has not been able to come up with innovations in security procedures despite clear evidence that they are urgently needed. Consider, for example, the grow ing number of incidents in w hich militants have dressed in uniforms used by security personnel to either ease their way to the outer cordons of secure installations or to wield an air of authority that initially masks their intent. Just a few days ago, Shia passengers in four buses were shot dead in Mansehra by terrorists in commando uniforms. In Kohistan in February, on a similar attack on Shia bus passengers, the gunmen were also in military uniform, as were the militants who in October 2009 attacked GHQ in Rawalpindi. Pakistan has laws regarding the impersonation of police- and servicemen, but more active measures need to be put in place. At the moment, a police or army uniform can be obtained from the market with relative ease. This access can be denied by ensuring that the material used for the uniforms is not easily available. True, there has been some effort by the state to ensure that its security personnel are not confused with others, and it has directed private security firms to use noticeably different uniforms. Even that requirement, however, is violated but the state takes no action. Another easily addressed deficiency in routine security, for example, is the absence in many places of checking entry passes and credentials against a computerised or other database so that forged documents can be detect ed. This would be especially useful in outer cordons of security, which is what terrorists try to penetrate and where low-ranking servicemen are an easy target. Changing times require changing methods, and the efficacy of relatively simple methods should not be underestimated. Restricting the space in which terrorists and militants currently operate with impunity is key to the endeavour of regaining control of the countrys
security.
Moon-gazers
August 19th, 2012
Come the eve of Eid and the conversations focus, as always, around the ability of religious scholars to somehow sight the moon even w hen the possibility of doing so is dim. The explanations for wanting Eid on a particular day may vary, but the most common of these pertain to a desire to see the entire Pakistani nation celebrate the festival together. One country-many Eids feeds not just jokes but also a never-ending lament which casts Pakistan as an irreconcilable land of cynics, sects and hastier-than-thou types. Yet, amid all these currents, a much simpler, purer, reason remains: the old, child-like excitement at finding something suddenly, which has people urging on the celebrated maulana in his suspense-filled discovery mission. More exciting are those Eids that beckon suddenly and the best are those that bring the child to the fore. The problem is, it is the respected elders who are forever holding the reins. We have often been told about the political side of the Ruet -i-Hilal Committee, just as we know the scholars collected at various rooftops for the moon-sighting ceremony are fulfilling a religious requirement when they ask for trustworthy witnesses to decide the issue. The question quite often is who is trustworthy and who is not and the debate that stems from this can be unsavoury. Even Saudi Arabia, which uses science to facilitate a loose prefixing of the Islamic calendar mainly for official purposes, is ultimately beholden to the shahadat or the evidence of a few individuals for the f inal decision. The difference is that elsewhere the effort to evolve a more dependable, less confusing system is much more pronounced than it is in Pakistan. Once the focus is right and a way out is earnestly sought, the vision clears. The sky is the limit.
Electoral rolls
August 20th, 2012 The Election Commission of Pakistan has issued ads in the print media urging people to check if their names are on the 2012 final electoral rolls and to make corrections if there are errors in the data. The rolls have been placed in the offices of the district election commissioners for verif ication. Essentially, the responsibility of verification has been placed on the citizen. This is w here political parties need to step in and mobilise voters to register and verify. In a related development, Nadra says 96 per c ent of adults in Pakistan 92 million people have been issued CNICs. This figure is significant considering voter registration is linked to possessing an identity card. As per the ECPs figures there are just over 84 million registered voters in the cou ntry. Hence both the ECP and Nadra must clarify the difference between the number of registered voters and the official figures for those possessing CNICs. The numbers game has created a controversy, with independent claims that up to 20 million voters ha ve not been registered. What lies at the root of this problem is the absence of up-to-date population data in the country. Giving population projections is not Nadra or the Election Commissions job. Hence the confusion over the number of voters is a reminder of why a credible, controversy-free census is important. It is essential that a reliable data pool and not mere estimates is available so that national exercises, such as finalisation of the voters list, are carried out in a non-controversial fashion. But perhaps the key points that need to be addressed are the registration of citizens and their access in order to facilitate registration and verif ication. If these two areas are worked on the gap between the official number of voters and the millions who have reportedly been left out could be narrowed. But at the same time, it should be remembered that a large number of CNICs are issued every month, and the ECP must keep pace with the increasing number of new ly enf ranchised citizens until the announc ement of the election schedule. The suggestion that verification take place at the local level should be considered as it is difficult and expensive for people to travel to district headquarters, especially for those living in remote areas. Along w ith the print campaign, public awareness messages regarding the voters list need to be broadcast in the electronic media in Urdu and regional languages. A sustained effort is required by all stakeholders to make the voters list as error -free as possible to pave the way for free and fair polls.
A blighted generation
August 20th, 2012
The children of Pakistan face many odds. From malnutrition to exposure to various forms of violence to diseases as debilitating as polio, the younger generation has to contend wit h a host of extraordinary challenges. For children living on the streets the risks are even greater, and including substance abuse and routine sexual violence. And as a recent report in this paper indicated, the threat of an HIV epidemic amongst street children is an emerging concern. According to health officials in Sindh, six out of 10 drug-using street children registered w ith a Karachibased NGO were found to be HIV-positive. This may ref lect a bigger trend. The children had been using contaminated needles or were sexually abused. HIV is prevalent amongst injecting drug users and sex workers in the country. Because street children are exposed to drugs and sexual predators, this creates an extremely vulnerable sub-group likely to be infected with HIV. Mea nwhile, according to recent figures released by the NGO Madadgaar Helpline, over 2,300 children across Pakistan were subjected to different types of violence in the first half of this year. These included cases only those reported of rape, torture and murder. As in other areas, after devolution it is the provinces duty to pass laws concerning childrens welfare. But barring a few exceptions, there has been a lack of intent and capacity at the provincial level to pass and implement laws to protect children. For example, Karachi, w hich observers estimate has a population of thousands of street children, does not have even a single state-operated rehabilitation home for the young ones. Only a few private concerns are making efforts in this regard. The fac t is legislation is only a first step. What is needed most is compassion at the societal level for vulnerable children and the realisation that children have inviolable rights; rights that society denies them in a brutal fashion. Even the best laws are use less if not implemented. Until society reforms itself and the state moves beyond rhetoric and takes practical steps for the rehabilitation and welfare of children, we will only be bequeathing misery to the next generation.
Railway projects
August 20th, 2012 The government, it seems, is slow ly realising the importance of reviving the collapsing Pakistan Railways to provide better, decent travel facilities. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has approved different railway projects costing Rs287bn. A major chunk of the funds Rs246bn will be spent on reviving the Karachi Circular Railway. KCRs revival was actually planned in 2006, but the lack of funds delayed its implementation. Now that Japan has agreed to lend money, its complet ion will help unclog the citys roads. The remaining funds will be used for procuring locomotives, high-capacity bogies and high-speed power vans as well as for repairing the existing 150 diesel engines and the mechanisation of the track maintenance pilot project. All these projects are being executed after a lag of four years, not least because of f inancial constraints. The railway has been in dire straits for several years now. Only 76 locomotives out of 520 are in operational condition for want of repair and maintenance. The number of passenger trains being run today has been cut to just 65-70 from 204. Freight services have virtually been shut down. Several factors ranging from corruption to overstaffing to inefficient management are to blame for the collapse of the service. However, the lack of funds in recent years is mainly responsible for the decrease in PR operations. It was after much delay that the government arranged a loan of Rs6bn a few months back for the depart ment to purchase new coaches, ma ke a few locomotives operational and pay off part of the departments overdraft of Rs42bn to prevent a complete shutdown. While the provision of the new funds should help the railways pull back from the brink, the government needs to implement a long -term strategy for its revival by involving private investors capable of running it on modern business lines.
Immobile communication
August 23rd, 2012
This years chaand raat will be remembered not for record sales or carefree crowds. Instead, it will b e looked upon as a social experiment in a country that is both more technological and less secure than it used to be. What happens when a public dependent on mobile communication is confronted with a mobile network shutdown in the countrys biggest cities on one of the busiest and most festive nights of the year? On the upside, smart -phone addicts looked up from their devices and were forced into human interaction and Pakistanis avoided having to deal with mass Eid Mubarak text messages clogging their cellp hones. But they probably couldnt greet their relatives abroad, coordinate with family members in crowded shopping centres or make plans for Eid day. It was a traditional festival upended instead of enhanced by our dependence on technology. On a graver note, a cellphone shutdown today cannot be taken lightly. It may well have been a necessary step to take in the face of terrorist threats that rely on these phones for coordination and as bomb triggers. But a move like this on such a busy night needs to come w ith effective public messa-ging. With little forewar-ning, imperfect communication about the shutdown once it had begun and the publics inability to use phones to confirm w hat was happening, panic was the immediate result. Even after television offered some information, the vague indication of security threats created rather than eased concern. And there was no public awareness about how to get help in case of a medical or other emergency. This may not be the last time Pakistani authorities need to take such an extreme step for security reasons (though that shouldnt become an excuse for misusing this preventive measure, by jamming mobile communication during public protests, for example). And there is only so much information about threats and steps take n that can be released w ithout defeating the purpose. But the public also needs to be informed, in advance, about how to communicate with the authorities during a shutdown in case of emergencies and about the importance of maintaining landlines. There also needs to be as much forewarning and explanation as possible w ithout giving away too much. There are now few occasions of such public celebration in Pakistan, and even fewer that unite the whole country. Even as we struggle w ith terrorism and militancy, somehow we have to find a way to preserve the moments of celebration we have left.
Blasphemy law
August 23rd, 2012 Once again Pakistan finds itself highlighted in the international press for the most unsavoury of reasons. The issue, the infamous blasphe my law or Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, and the misuse to which it lends itself quite regularly now, is far f rom new. Public discourse was stirred even before the case of Aasia Bibi who was convicted of blasphemy in 2010, and there was some ho pe that a reconsideration of the law would become possible. Unfortunately, the matter has been allowed to die down, not least because of the fear of a hostile reaction from extremists and other quarters, and especially after the killing of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011. Now, yet another person has been accused of committing blasphemy. The 11 -year-old girl, a member of the impoverished Christian community that lives in the rural areas around Islamabad, is said to be mentally challenged. Following allegations that the child desecrated religious texts, human rights activists have said that a number of Christian families f rom her area have fled, no doubt in fear of bloody reprisals. Section 295-C in its current form can mistakenly or wilfully be used to do serious harm. The PPP government, which has been virtually silent on the issue since Mr Taseers assassination last year, has been unable to deal w ith the issue forcefully. True, President Asif Ali Zardari has taken serious note of the incident an d has sought a report from the interior ministry but this is hardly enough. Far more effort is needed to overcome the resistance to a review of this law. It is unfortunate that much of this resistance comes from ordinary Pakistanis whose emotions are easily stirred to the point of boiling rage at the mere suspicion of blasphemy. The existence of this law only implies tacit support for the actions of enraged rabbles. In the case of the 11-year-old, the police station where she was kept after being taken into custody was surrounded by a mob comprising hundreds of angry men demanding she be tried for blasphemy. Such hurdles must be overcome. The call for a review of Section 295 -C needs to be
renewed and the right-wing lobby which has in the past threatened or resorted to violence in this regard needs reminding that the law is man- made.
Yet more drone strikes

August 23rd, 2012
Coinciding w ith the visit of US Centcom chief Gen James Mattis to Pakistan last week, there has been a marked increase in drone strikes in North Waziristan Agency. A strike was conducted on Tuesday while two drone attacks were reported on Sunday. Saturday the day Eid was celebrated in the agency also saw a drone strike. There are indications that in one of the strikes missiles were fired at the same compound twice, as people undertook rescue work after an earlier attack. According to reports, such double - tap attacks, in which those arriving at the scene of a drone strike are also targeted, seem to be becoming a routine part of Americas drone policy. Unfortunately, targeting gatherings in tribal areas under the assumption that all present are militants or their sympathisers is problematic, especially if there is no clear evidence to prove their identity. In the aftermath of the recent barrage of drone strikes, such evidence has yet to be produced. This, and the sheer insensitivity of timing the attacks to coincide with the Eid season w ill only alienate an anti-American public further. What also fuels anger is that such unilateral strikes by the US violate the principles of sovereignty. Even if the US can come up with irrefutable evidence that the strikes have taken out dangerous militants, drone operations must involve Pakistani coordination and consensus. Trigger-happy strikes will do no more than aggravate the crisis and sour an already un-easy relationship. Without doubt, North Waziristan is a hub of militants and terrorists of every stripe who threaten the security of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a crackdown in the area by P akistani forces is imperative. But no military operation w ill be helped by the US blindly and unilaterally raining dow n drones on the agency.
Banning prepaid service

August 24th, 2012 Blocking cellphone service on chaand raat was a temporary and h opefully rare step. And making greater efforts to ensure that fake identities are not used to obtain SIMs is important. But the interior ministers suggestion that it might make sense to shut down prepaid subscriptions altogether for security reasons a plan he said is under review is both carelessly communicated and fundamentally flawed. Of the countrys roughly 120 million subscribers, the vast majority over 95 per cent use prepaid SIMs. Aside f rom the convenience of obtaining them, these are more affordable for those who cant afford the fees and deposits of postpaid plans. The lack of credit histories in Pakistan also means that moving to a largely postpaid set -up is still a distant prospect and that such plans will only include higher-income consumers for the foreseeable future. Any move to shut down prepaid service, then, would have serious consequences not just for the telecom industry but also for the ability of Pakistanis to communicate, which would impact both their personal lives and the nat ional economy. Some useful steps have already been taken and can be improved instead of taking extreme measures. PTA and telecom companies have run a campaign to encourage users to determine if their CNIC numbers have been used to issue multiple SIMs. But the current process for getting those SIMs deactivated is an onerous one for consumers, and the campaign should not have been set aside after one round of publicity. Shopkeepers issuing SIMs are now meant to register customers CNICs w ith the phone numb ers issued, following which customers call their operators and confirm their CNIC numbers to activate their connections. But to what extent shopkeepers undertake this exercise honestly is an open question, and perhaps SIM sales need to be limited to teleco m company outlets. Whatever the case, any steps should be constructive rather than damaging and need to be considered carefully. Already Pakistanis in many parts of the country live with check points, traffic diversions, the proliferation of guns and the c urtailment of public entertainment. Mobile communication has been one of the few developments that have increased freedom of movement and stimulated the economy, and the authorities need to find creative ways to prevent it from being
hijacked for criminal activities rather than shutting it down entirely. The w rong approach to security concerns is to constrain everyday lives to the point where fear overrides basic freedoms.
Before disaster strikes

August 24th, 2012
It is customary in Pakistan to wait for disaster to strike and then look at ways to manage the situation. That is what we seem to be gearing up for in terms of this years monsoon too. After rapidly changing weather patterns led to forecasts that varied all the way from warnings of disastrous f loods to those of drought, a clearer picture has now started emerging: if the current weather conditions prevail, there is a risk of moderate floods, especially in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Rain-related tragedies have already occurred, with flash floods claiming several lives in Nowshera, Mansehra and Bajaur Agency, and hundreds of acres of agricultural land have been submerged in the Sialkot region. In Azad Kashmir, meanwhile, relentless rain over the week has displaced thousands of people. With memories of the catastrophic floods of 2010 and 2011 still fresh in our memory and many of those affected still not fully rehabilitated we can be forgiven for regarding this years monsoon w ith foreboding. What, then, is officialdom doing to mitigate disast er should it strike? The National Disaster Management Authority has said that district management authorities have been placed on alert and are working round -the-clock. Such vague assurances, however, will not go very far in terms of easing peoples worry and bolstering their faith in the states ability to protect them should the need arise. It would be useful if information could be released about which water courses have been cleared to carry extra load, for example, or whether those living along river a nd canal banks have been warned or plans made for their evacuation. Has the administration formulated a plan as to where, should the worst occur, displaced people will be accommodated? Too many fear that as in years past, they might be left to fend for the mselves as the state machinery struggles to cope. Interventions are needed not just in the northern parts of the country, which are likely to see heavier rain, but also in the south through which the waters would pass. The government still has time to make adequate preparations for a calamity that cannot be ruled out.
Lahore-Paris-Lahore
August 24th, 2012 Around the world in 80 days? That is old stuff. How about Lahore-Paris-Lahore in the blink of an eye or even less? Doing the first sector alone would be a dream flight for some. Doze off during take-off, sleep through the flight, wake up after landing. In the case of a certain traveller on a PIA plane to Paris, the dream turned out to be twice as good. She failed to disembark at the destination, apparently sleeping through the two-hour stay at Charles de Gaulle, and returned to Lahore as the plane completed its round trip. PIA is not averse to offering those who fly it similar round-trip services without them having to get off, even if mostly on domestic routes. But this journey was long, and involved something as tedious and inescapable as immigration. Given the distance and the undeniable charm of a Parisian reception, this could well serve as yet the strongest vindication of the Lahoris claim about t he magnetic powers of their city: once you are here, there is no running away from Lahore. The only matter this leaves us to deal with includes the mundane details about an instance that the clich -happy must describe as a wake - up call of some sort. PIA has been prompt in announcing that, apart from voluntary alighting whenever possible, a subcontractor is responsible for disembarkation at Paris. It managed to resend the returned passenger by another airline and says those found guilty of the oversight w ill have to foot the bill for the extra Paris- Lahore leg. Thats all okay but with a bit of imagination, the national carrier could use the incident as an advertisement for greater business. Which airline in this highly competitive and often bumpy world is so caring and comfortable that it makes the travellers go into a deep slumber that they dont want to come out of too soon? No prizes for guessing.
Intertwined paths
August 25th, 2012
Every trite analogy has been attempted. Pakistan and the US are a couple trapped in a bad marriage. Pakistan and the US are emotional friends who cannot quite believe the other has let them down over and over again. Pakistan and the US are f rustrated and sullen partners who blame each other for the major failings in t heir own lives. But perhaps the explanation closest to reality comes from w ithin the world of international relations: Pakistan and the US have diverging interests as defined by their respective national-security establishments, but circumstances dictate that the two countries cannot go their separate ways. Which is why they clash so frequently another dmarche against drone strikes was handed over by the foreign ministry to the US embassy in Islamabad on Thursday, for example but never quite manage to break off all ties the Glocs-cum-apology deal took many months to resolve but few ever doubted that a deal would eventually be reached. For the US, Pakistan, in the ultimate analysis, matters for four reasons: the war in Afghanistan has to be wound down and a modicum of post-war stability established, in which Pakistan will have a major role to play either as facilitator or spoiler; Pakistan has a large Muslim population that is important to Americas relations w ith the Muslim world; Pakistan has nuclear weapons; and Pakistan has groups of terrorists and militants with anti-West agendas. None of those reasons are positive. There is no promising trade or common security opportunity that the US is hoping to take advantage of through better relations w ith Pa kistan. It is a fear-based relationship if not handled properly, to what extent can Pakistan undermine US national interests? and that fear has only grown in recent years. The pragmatism that underpins the approach, however (engagement may not have wor ked terribly well but isolation of Pakistan will provide no answers either, according to inf luential policy circles in the US), ensures that fear has not spilled over into irrational behaviour. But as the need for an orderly exit from Afghanistan becomes more pressing, theres every possibility that fresh tensions between Pakistan and the US w ill erupt and may not be managed well in the compressed exit timeline. On the Pakistani side, there is an unspoken consensus across the military and civilian divide that when push comes to shove, Pakistan cannot afford, economically or diplomatically, to cut off ties with the US and by extension with the outside world. While that ought to be the starting point, it is rarely carried through to its logical conclusion: do what is right and necessary to keep Pakistan stable and secure.
Tax evaders
August 25th, 2012 For all the fuss they are capable of making, our business elite can turn stingy with their words when it comes to the question of taxes. As an example consider a report in this paper that although 493,000 electricity connections were granted to industrial establishments in Karachi, only 115,000 commercial, business and industrial taxpayers were registered w ith the tax authorities. Unfortunately, that is not all. Out of these 115,000 only 80,000 were active cases, meaning those who actually contributed to tax revenue. Of course if similar data were to be retrieved f ro m power companies up-country, they would show similar trends, perhaps even more pronounced. Consider, for instance, what happened w hen a World Bank report plotted tax-to-GDP ratios for 24 different sectors across the economy. They found oil and gas sitting at the top and textiles at the bottom. In fact, for textiles the ratio was below the sectors s hare in total GDP and below even those of retail and w holesale trade, agriculture, public administration, and defence. All of these are notorious for their evasion of taxes, and below them all merrily sits the largest manufacturing sector of our economy. T erms like fat cat readily come to mind as we look at these numbers. In the fiscal year ended June 2011, the spinning sector raked in record prof its on the back of high cotton prices, but none of the money showed up in corporate income taxes from the sect or. Examples are too numerous to cite, but our business elite need to show some remorse, if only for the fact that they drive imported luxury cars to the very events where they loudly bemoan the difficulties of doing business in Pakistan and demand more support from the government. It would do them good to notice the ordinary masses riding in rickety vehicles and to tell themselves that it is revenue collected from these people that pays for the benefits and protections they seek. For all the feasts theyve enjoyed at public expense, can we at least ask for a little shame in return?
Crying wolf
August 25th, 2012
It is a sad reflection on society when people make a habit of abusing emergency response services. According to a recent report in this paper, around 90 per cent of calls made to the polices 15 helpline in Karachi in 2011 were bogus. However, the problem of prank calls is not exclusive to Karachi, as there have been reports in the past citing abuse by pranksters of the 1122 rescue services numbe r in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar. In fact even developed nations are plagued with this problem; callers to the 911 service in the US, for example, often lodg e trivial, bizarre complaints. Considering the sheer volume of prank calls received hundreds of thousands yearly in Karachis case alone it is practically impossible for the police to track down every prankster. Instead, the state should focus on launching nationw ide public -awareness campaigns to make people aware of the utility of emergency response numbers and to warn them that calling these numbers unnecessarily or for entertainment can endanger the lives of those who need immediate help. While there have been some legitimate complaints of lethargic responses by police, when pranksters clog up the lines and engage emergency responders, genuine callers may be unable to get through or receive a delayed response. Meanw hile, the staff shortage at 15 centres needs to be addressed and the number of response centres and vehicles increased, especially in Karachi, so that emergencies can be effectively handled. While the state needs to stay alert and respond to crime and emergency situations in a timely and effective manner, the public must also realise that emergency services are for the common good a nd that peoples lives should not be jeopardised by treating emergency helplines as a joke.
Commission snags
August 26th, 2012 The parliamentary commission for the creation of new provinces in Punjab has run into hurdles that were not entirely unexpec ted. The PML-N has reservations, which the government must address urgently to avoid further complications. The PML-N wants the strength of the commission to be increased and members of its choice included. Before and above that, it speaks of discriminatio n. On Friday, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif reiterated the exercise should not be limited to Punjab. He demanded that a Punjab Assembly resolution, presented by his party some time ago, should be the basis of all steps taken towards the Seraiki and Bahawalpur provinces. The demand for a Seraiki province will have far-reaching effects all over Pakistan. Mr Sharif understands this all too well. The principle having been set, the problem here is he does not have the presence in other provinces to justify any desire to act as their spokesman. It is for the people and their elected representatives in an area to voice their aspirations and they are aware enough not to be dependent on distant urges for charting their future. The people in the southern parts of Pun jab spoke through their representatives and Chief Minister Sharif s mention of the provincial assembly resolution is proof enough that his party had committed itself to the creation of new province s. This is not discrimination. Just as the PPP sees merit a nd mileage in intensifying the campaign for a new province at this moment, Mr Sharif s current emphasis on the theme of Punjab as a victim stems from his political needs. His party may have in the past agreed to the idea of new provinces in Punjab, but wit h everyone anticipating a general election it would appear to be unbecoming of a leader of Mr Sharif s stature to be talking about a division of territory officially under his command. That could dent the PML-N vote bank everywhere. The N- Leagues tagging of itself with the judiciary on virtually every issue is another habit that has become a plank in the partys pre -poll strategy. The latest in this series is the Punjab Assembly speakers announcement that he would move court against the formation of the parliamentary commission on new provinces. Under-taken to pressurise and embarrass those sitting in government, the dangerous course where judicial intervention is sought to decide political issues ends up painting politicians on the whole as hapless souls incapable of solving their problems by themselves. The approach justified past outside interventions in the political affairs of Pakistan. It creates precedents for inviting similar interventions in future. It must be avoided through political dialogue.
At a snails pace
August 26th, 2012
Laudable though the recommendations by Pakistani and Indian parliamentarians are, translating them into state policies is governmental responsibility. Going by their track record, however, neither Islamabad nor New Delhi would inspire confidence in their ability to act decisively and quicken the normalisation process. The suggestions made by the two countries legislators after their two-day meeting in the Indian capital are hardly new. They demanded what the governme nts have themselves hinted at from time to time, including new confidence -building measures and a liberal visa regime. The delegates this time added two more demands that should be considered seriously visa-free visits by educationists and senior citizen s and the choice of using ones own vehicle to cross the border. The outcome of the law makers conference coincided with New Delhis decision to allow Pakistani businessmen to invest in shares and convertible debentures of Indian companies. Earlier this mo nth, India had also allowed direct foreign invest ment from Pakistan. While these measures deserve to be welcomed, the overall picture that emerges is one of niggardly progress towards the dtente to which the two prime ministers pledged themselves at Thimphu in 2010. The high-level contact didnt end there, for the two cabinet heads, their foreign ministers and the foreign and home secretaries have met several times, but without pushing the peace process forward significantly. The New Delhi lunch in Apri l aroused great hope, but a visit, even an unofficial one, by Manmohan Singh remains uncertain. Also on the list of proposals not yet approved officially is the Pakistani cricket teams visit to India this November. This being the attitude towards sport, c an we expect them to tackle relatively less contentious issues, leave alone Kashmir and Siachen where the Indian army has hardened its stance? Meanwhile, the Indian home minister didnt advance the cause of peace when it dragged Pakistan into text-messaging on the Assam violence, while his Pakistani counterpart made alarmist claims about Hindu immigration to India, blaming the Indian high commission in Islamabad. The least the two sides can do is not vitiate the atmosphere by irresponsible utterances. They should pursue serious diplomacy instead.
Kalash under threat

August 26th, 2012
The Kalash community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwas Chitral district is something of an anthropological enigma. For centuries, the Kalash have held on to their ancient religion and customs and are a tiny reminder of the regions pre-Islamic past. Yet this may change if the community has to abandon its traditions under the threat of militant violence. As reported in this paper, the Kalash have stopped placing their dead in the open a nd have started burying their corpses for fear of militant attacks. The decision was taken after a Kalash shepherd was reportedly kidnapped and killed by marauders coming from the neighbouring Afghan province of Nuristan, who also made off with hundreds of sheep. In the past there were reports of forced conversions, yet this seems to have stopped. However, with militants raiding their areas, a new threat to Kalash culture is emerging. The Kalash are few in numbers reportedly a few thousand people and c onsidering the rough deal the minorities of Pakistan have received, it is a miracle they have survived and managed to preserve their culture. Yet while minorities and all those Pakistanis who disagree with the militants warped worldview are under threat, the Kalash may be wiped out if not given protection, simply because they are so isolated and so few in number. Providing adequate security in the border areas w ith Afghanistan is an obvious first step. The problem is that security forces are concentrated in the valley, whereas they need to be posted at the border areas to stop the intruders. It has been witnessed that whenever the state wants to showcase Pakistans diversity to the world Kalash cultural troupes are presented at various events. Yet when it comes to protecting the Kalash and their culture, the state has yet to make a more visible effort.
Signs of a deal
August 27th, 2012
As events in and around Fata continue to play out, there are tantalising hints that some kind of US -Pakistan understanding denied by security officials here has been reached on squeezing militants troubling both countries on either side of the Pak-Afghan border. So on Friday, the commander of the TTP in Bajaur Agency was killed by a Nato airstrike in Kunar province in Afghanistan removing one of the irritants for the Pakistani side trying to deal w ith a spate of cross-border raids into Pakistan. Meanwhile, US drones have again rained dow n missiles on North Waziristan and, according to some security sources (though contradicted by the Afghan Taliban), may have killed Badruddin Haqqani, believed to be the operational commander of the Haqqani network. The relatively muted response of the security establishment here to the recent spate of drone strikes suggests there may be some kind of understanding in place. Secret deals and covert understandings aside, the threat on either side of the Pak-Afghan border is all too real. The decision announced Saturday by the Taliban shura in North Waziristan that the local population w ould shift to Afghanistan in the event of a military operation in the Agency appears to be a new blackmail tactic: threaten to embarrass the Pakistan state by turning potential IDPs into international refugees in the hope that authorities will further delay military action against the militant strongholds in North Waziristan. Transparent as the threat may be, it was likely made precisely because there is still an unacceptable ambivalence within the Pakistani security establishment about when and to what ext ent militancy needs to be fought. Be it fear or desperate miscalculation that allows some forms of militancy to survive and thrive inside Pakistan, the plain truth is that there is no such thing as good Taliban/bad Taliban. In fact, North Waziristan is a sobering example of the extent to which militants have cross- pollinated and drunk from each others ideology and hate. Al Qaeda, the TTP, the Haqqani network, the Punjabi Taliban, foreign militants all have found common cause at some point or the other, t actical survival and strategic cooperation melding into one another until it becomes near impossible to take on one while leaving the other unscathed. Almost as perplexing, if not self- defeating, as the security establishments national-security paradigm is the armys approach to building a political and societal consensus on the need for a military operation. Recent events on both sides of the Fata-Afghanistan border appear to have hewed more to a US-Pakistan timeline negotiated in secret than a Pakistan-centric timeline. How, then, will an already sceptical public here be convinced that a North Waziristan operation is necessary?
How realistic is it?

August 27th, 2012
The economic plan unveiled by the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf touches on the right issues, but carries the same weaknesses that the manifestoes of its rival political parties do: it is rich in sentiment but poor in substance, tall on promises but short on credibility. The framers of the vision are quite right to say that business as usual is not sustainable. They are right to point out that the governance failures of the present government have resulted in a doubling of per capita public debt, record high fiscal deficits, persistent double -digit inf lation, sharply grow ing power shortfalls, a nd depleting foreign exchange reserves (although its hard to see how much of this depletion could have been avoided given persistently high oil prices). The programme is strong on the reform of public -sector enterprises. All this is fine and testament to the first-rate talent that has helped the PTI draw up its programme. But what exactly does the party intend to do about the dismal state of affairs that it describes so well? That is where the problems begin. For starters, consider this. They claim they w ill raise welfare spending to Rs4.6tr, compared to present -day disbursements of Rs0.9tr. They claim they will cut the deficit and free up bank resources for investment by industry. They claim they will resolve the power crisis by diverting fuel to power generation. They claim they will bring down inflation to seven per cent. Yet they have opposed tax reforms in the past, vilifying the RGST, or reformed general sales tax, as evil. Where w ill the money come f rom to pay for the expenditure hikes and deficit cutting? Will industry grow if it is deprived of gas? They promise a muscular effort to recover looted wealth. Remember when the Musharraf government went on a rampage to recover loans and looted
wealth in their early years, causing business confidence to plummet? What lessons have been learned from that experience? At the end of the day, the economic plan almost reads like a w ish list draw n up by somebody w ho thinks complex problems have simple solutions.
No implementation
August 27th, 2012 When Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, the teacher, allowed Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the student, to smoke in his class, it may have been viewed as a progressive gesture aimed at breaking the hold of oppressive etiquette. The fashionable images have changed over time, and they have changed far more quickly than ever in recent decades. People do smoke by choice, but behind their now dismissive, now defensive exteriors, they try to hide the guilt that must today accompany the act. A student may still smoke in college, but far from a taboo-breaker he is a health hazard. Quitting smoking is a stern test that distinguishes an individual, and passive smoking leaves the sensitive and the aware unable to breathe and demanding stricter adherence to common sense if not the law. A Karachi-based study has reconfirmed how anti-smoking laws are flouted here w ith absolute impunity. The survey done by a group of doctors from Aga Khan University and Dow University lists violations of the laws at campuses, restaurants, banks etc, and notes that in comparison to the old government offices, modern private-sector institutions are more likely to follow the law. Even in privately run places such as restaurants, smokers freely spread toxic clouds. Cigarettes are freely sold to minors and sold routinely w ithout the packs bearing the mandatory warning. Fines as high as Rs100,000 are there on the books but unheard of in real life. A Daw n report cites the survey supervisor as saying that though a Supreme Court order for implementation does exist, little official inclination to curb violations is in evidence. Actually, inaction in the wake of the 18th Amendment is pointed to. The amendment made the federal anti-tobacco cell redundant without shaking the provinces out of their passive state, leaving the smokescreen of ever-billowing rhetoric intact.
No new twist
August 28th, 2012 From high drama to low farce, on and on rumbles the saga of the Swiss letter. Sept 18 is the new deadline, a day that will mark the fifth time a prime minister will appear before the Supreme Court this year. And yet, there is no sign of the letter being written, nor of the court surrendering to the logic of elections and the democratic project. The extraordinary has become the new normal and it has reached the point where even the media and the public cannot really muster much interest. For what is left to be said at this stage? Rewind to former prime minister Gilanis first appearance before the Supreme Court earlier this year and contrast it with the reaction to Prime Minister Ashraf s date with the court yesterday the three-ring circus of spectacular proportions has degenerated into an almost pitif ul sideshow. Perhaps in this clash of institutions and rhetoric, the present impasse is the least bad of outcomes: the two sides have not budged f rom their original positions but then neither side has launched a truly destabilising attack on the other. As luck would have it, another fundamental part of the equation has moved, however: as days and weeks and months have been slow ly swallowed up by the cut and thrust between the court and the PPP, the deadline for a general election has come closer and closer. Whereas in January, when the court took up the issue of the NRO with gusto again, it was a question of how the government could survive 15 months of this tussle, now it is down to a question of a few short months. If, as rumour has it, the government is contemplating a spring election, the country is on the cusp of a pre-election interim set-up. In that may lie the way out for everyone. Prime Minister Ashraf will almost certainly have to go now that the court has set in motion a repeat of the Gilani affair. But Sept 18 is now the earliest date at which the prime minister can be charged for contempt and, if the courts recent mood is anything to go by, he will have at least several more weeks before a final order for his disqualification is signed. That would take the country into an interim set -up timeline, so if the court were to oust Mr Ashraf at that point, the government could call an election and be done with this numbing ebb and flow of its
tussle with the court. However, already the next question looms: what will the interim prime minister do about the small matter of a letter to Switzerland?
Urban jungle
August 28th, 2012 The chaotic urban spraw l that is Karachi, which population-wise counts as amongst the largest cities in the world, is well-known. Ensuring proper development of a metropolis of such size and density is no mean challenge, and successive Pakistani administrat ions have unexpectedly faced an uphill battle. Yet cities are shaped as much by socio-political circumstances as by geography; over time, the factors that impede good city planning become systemic. Such underlying confusions must be addressed if there is t o be a better, sustainable future. This is the lesson driven home by the study Karachi: the Land Issue, a comprehensive report co-authored by a number of experts, including architect Arif Hasan and NED Universitys Dr Noman Ahmed. With a broad scope and me ticulous methodology, the document seeks to place the development of Karachi in a historical perspective and identify the factors that have hindered the city not being able to achieve the potential implicit in its status as the countrys financial backbone. Some of the problems, according to the study, are unique and hark back to Karachis past, such as the British occupation of it and the manner in which land was parcelled out, and the fact that immigrants to the city outnumbered its native population. But the main impediments now w hich are nevertheless related to the past are a multiplicity of land-owning agencies with confused allocation of spheres of inf luence, weak governance and land-grabbing connected with political clout. The problem, it would appear, is not the lack of laws and regulations that codify city development, but of effective implementation and managerial coherence. This deduction is evident everywhere in the city, with pockets operating as self -contained fiefdoms with little central c ommand. While such an in-depth study has not been conducted in other urban areas in Pakistan, anecdotal evidence suggests that the situation would not be too different elsewhere, with Islamabad as the possible exception. The fact is that citymanagement de part ments need to complement each others work, w hereas in reality they often work at cross purposes. Working together is key to effective land development along w ith the removal of political influence.
Cricket expectations
August 28th, 2012 Going by his statement just before the Pakistan-Australia series that gets under way in the Emirates today, coach Dav What more would appear to be a more honest and methodical practitioner of the psychological war. He said his Pakistan side that has not won a series against Australia in some seven years has an edge over the Aussie squad for this limited-over series. He qualified his remarks primarily by playing on the weaknesses of the opponents more than show ing off Pakistans strengths. He spoke of the home adva ntage, which would take into account pitch conditions, the crowds, and of course the heat in the UAE. Finally, the coach threw in for good measure the old bit that never ceases to please the audience here: the bit about the abundant Pakistani talent and Pakistan being just one victory away from realising their potential. Hopes were being raised in the approach to a major event the T-20 world cup. Coach Whatmore is no independent commentator, and thus is not expected to be too elaborate about what is caus e for concern to Pakistani fans. Misbah ul Haqs one -day team w ill be without Umar Gul and Younis Khan, two exceptional and dependable performers over the years. As Pakistan flaunt their spinners, the risk here is of the bowling attack being one-dimensiona l. The Australians have underperformed in recent times and they are in the middle of a rebuilding process. But theirs is still a team of skilful cricketers known for their intensity. Pakistan has also been known for the latter trait, but, of late, it appea rs to have been replaced with a kind of placidity in the name of disciplined show ing, personified by skipper Misbah ul Haqs workmanlike method. Coach What mores men will perhaps be better served by a rekindling of the old passions.
A fresh mandate
August 29th, 2012
With a series of hints issued by a number of PPP leaders, talk of early elections has been bubbling up again. The PML- Ns announcement on Tuesday that it has developed its own shortlist of caretaker prime ministers only added to the sense that there is movement on the issue behind the scenes. None of which is necessarily a problem, if the government and opposition parties can bring themselves to handle the transition process with some maturity and avoid taking an approach that focuses purely on the immediate politics of the moment. The government does have the right to complete a full term, which would also be a milestone for Pakistani democracy. But there is merit to calls for early elections. The ruling coalition might be sitting pretty in strictly constitutional terms w ith its parliamentary majority, but governance failures, corruption accusations and a general dissatisfaction with the countrys trajectory mean a legitimate case can be made for seeking a f resh mandate. With the change of chief executive there was some hope that the administration would use the time until polls to improve its governance record, but so far there are no indications that that will take place. And with the Swiss letter and presidents dual office cases pending in the Supreme Court, early polls could become a way out for the PPP of some of the legal and political controversies that are dogging it in its last months in office. But a smooth path to early elections will require the ruling coalition and the opposit ion to reach agreement on the interim set-up without descending into unnecessary obstinacy. The matter of the chief election commissioner was eventually resolved with the selection of a candidate who enjoys broad acceptance, but it only followed plenty of resistance to each others suggestions, accompanied by the seemingly requisite political rhetoric and allegations of bias. A similar debate around the appoint ment of a caretaker prime minister, no matter how tempting for both sides given the upcoming elect ions, will achieve nothing beyond unnecessary delays. Equally important is for the Election Commission to be ready for polls. The electoral rolls published early this month still leave out up to 20 million Pakistanis. These lists will be frozen the day ele ctions are announced, and it is unclear what Nadra, the ECP or political parties are doing to make sure more Pakistanis, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan, are acquiring CNICs and getting themselves registered to vote. There is a case for early elections, but the more people they disenf ranchise, the less credible they w ill be.
Schools of thought
August 29th, 2012 The schools we send our children to not only manifest the various desires for reform at the grass roots, they also bring to the fore divisions in society. Class divides are gaining prominence with time as schools in the private sector, which link quality with price, continue to thrive. But an ideological factor is also making its way from madressahs into ordinary schools which are either co mbining religious and modern education or are imparting the worldly brand w ith their ow n ideological emphases and according to their ow n interpretations. Individuals cast in this mould can hardly be expected to widen their exposure they can only do so at the risk of being branded bad students. This kind of rigidity in the learning process defies a basic principle of education: to develop critical thinking skills. This is why experts quoted in a news story in Dawn about the presence of religious grou ps in the education sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata sound concerned. The story reports a rapid increase in the number of not only madressahs in these areas, but also schools run by religious parties or groups s eeking to capture young minds. The acting vice chancellor of Peshawar University reiterates how important it is for the state to monitor education. His strongest words are reserved for the intervention in the sector by religious groups, some of which can be considered extremist. The cohesion in society he longs for appears to be a distant dream as the state fails to play the role of an effective regulator in crucial areas and even a ruling political party with secular credentials finds solace in creating model private-sector institutions named after its founder. There is no bar on the ANP setting up a few schools dedicated to Bacha Khan in the province, but the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and those elsewhere in Pakistan must also earnestly recognise the importance of regulating education. This shying away fro m basic responsibility entails huge costs and painful lessons. The reform exercise must begin now and it must begin with some kind of standardisation of the syllabus.
Dengue season
August 29th, 2012
The onset of monsoon rains in many pa rts of the country has brought back memories of the havoc wreaked last year by the dengue mosquito. While the potentially deadly dengue virus infected a number of people across Pakistan, Lahore was affected particularly badly. In preparation for w hat this year may bring, federal government organisations, including cantonment boards and Pakistan Railways, were asked on Monday to launch anti-dengue campaigns in their jurisdictions across Rawalpindi Division, buttressing the efforts of the Punjab government in this regard. At a meeting attended by health officials as well as the district coordination officers of the four districts of Rawalpindi Division, it was announced that Sept 2 would be observed as anti-dengue day in the province and that seminars and walks would be held to create awareness. Meanwhile, the Community Safety, Information and Training Wing of Rescue 1122, Rawalpindi, has also started similar awareness raising seminars. These are laudable steps that need to be replicated in other parts of the country. Efforts in different cities and areas are currently more piecemeal than coordinated, with the odd seminar or fumigation drive being carried out. A concerted push to minimise the risk of another dengue outbreak would involve close collaboration on the provincial and district levels, as well as w ith city administrations and municipal depart ments. This must be done if we are to prevent hospitals from being flooded, as they have been in earlier seasons, with dengue patients. A mass awareness raising campaign through radio and television would be invaluable, putting out information such as that the dengue mosquito breeds in fresh, not stagnant, water. Clean-up of cities and towns should be undertaken in any case, but people also need hard information t hat could help them avoid providing the diseasecarrying mosquito breeding space in their homes, such as in uncovered pails of water.
A welcome step
August 30th, 2012 The new petroleum policy announced by the government is a bold step and long overdue . It ought to be clear enough to all by now that new supplies of vital fuels like petroleum and gas cannot be arranged without substantial reform in pricing. So petroleum adviser Asim Hussains announcement of the governments second Petroleu m Exploration and Production Policy is a welcome and unexpected step. It is particularly good to see a detailed pricing policy for offshore exploration and incentives for the first offshore discoveries as well as provision for a production sharing agreement. The advis er took the opportunity afforded by the press conference to also talk about his efforts to advance the TAPI pipeline project for which a road show is being prepared, and about the prospects of importing liquefied natural gas from India via the Wagah border. Even though he didnt specifically mention it, the Iran Pakistan pipeline also deserves its place at the table. It is unfortunate that this project has been sucked into extreme geopolitical tensions that have nothing to do w ith Pakistans interests, a re minder to us all of the costs of delay. Pakistan needs to knock on every door there is to arrange future supplies of gas. Some calculations performed by industry experts have forecasted Pakistans oil import bill rising beyond $100bn by 2025 if oil prices remain around $100 and no new supplies are arranged as production from existing gas fields declines. This could be a catastrophic situation and it is worth noting that the year 2025 is not very far away. The countrys possible plunge into a hydrocarbon fa mine of sorts is one of the biggest challenges facing us all and the urgency of arranging new supplies cannot be overstated. Everybody should understand very clearly that arranging new supplies without substantial price reforms is not possible. Pakistans era of cheap gas is fast drawing to a close and the governments steps to provide incentives to private exploration and production companies, as well as to arrange imports, deserve the full support of all political players. Oil and gas companies have a very high tolerance level for political uncertainty and law and order problems. They operate in far more dangerous countries than Pakistan. Following the announcement of the
incentives, the only thing they will look for will be political ownership across the spectrum, and judicial noninterference. It is vital that they see a reassuring picture on both fronts.
Blasphemy case
August 30th, 2012 It is a measure of the sensitivity of the matter that the voice of a lone Islamic cleric on the latest in the series of blasphemy cases is considered to be a big step forward. The case of a Christian girl accused of blasphemy has received wide publicity and the matter is before court. A hearing is fixed for today and the first points for the court to arbitrate on are: whether she can be allowed bail and whether the girl is a minor and entitled to trial under the law for juveniles. Around the legal proceedings, a much bigger argument continues to be carefully presented. This view is informed by the principles of tolerance and fairness and to a great extent defined by the fear that is today associated with discussions involving religion. Rights activists have called for the girls protection and newspapers have w ritten on it. Most have qualified their take before they pre ss for something as basic as a fair probe, and before expressing their concern over the frequency of blasphemy cases. Her young age has been mentioned and a common reaction is based on reports that the girl may be suffering from Dow ns Syndrome. Still others are asking if the girl accused of desecrating religious texts can actually read. The voice of the chairman, All Pakistan Ulema Council, is different from others since clerics and religious scholars here have seldom demanded fairness in matters involvi ng blasphemy charges. Religious parties are cautious not to move beyond routine statements issued on special days when it comes to the minoritys complaints against the majority in Pakistan. By choosing to air his views on the current case, the APUC chairman appears to be trying to lift the debate to a level where it needs to be conducted. He seems to be trying to initiate a discussion among the know ledgeable, in the interest of fairness that is so central to religion and in the interest of law and legal interpretation that leaves little room for misuse and error. The APUC chief said that with some rational, unbiased handling, the case could well turn out to be a watershed in Pakistans history, and that accusers in such cases must also be open to accountability. These are valid points that need to be followed up on.
Tutus boycott
August 30th, 2012 Archbishop Desmond Tutu has not only snubbed Tony Blair, he has revived and ref reshed sordid memories in danger of being erased from the world conscience. On T uesday, the Nobel Prize-winning South African priest decided to abstain from attending a leadership summit, being held today in Johannesburg, because the former British prime minister was one of the speakers. As a spokesman for the peace icon said, Archbis hop Tutu, after wrestling w ith his conscience, came to the conclusion that Mr Blairs decision to support the US -led invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the basis of unproven allegations was indefensible. Mr Blair more than supported the Bush administrations invasion decision; he sent troops to Iraq to overthrow a regime which didnt possesses weapons of mass destruction, as confirmed by Hans Blix, the man w ho headed the UNs inspection team. As Mr Blix told the Security Council, he had found no smoking gun in Iraq after Saddam Hussein allowed the commission ful l freedom to undertake its job. The unproven allegations the archbishop spoke of do not fully reflect the full spectrum of the conspiracies and lies that went into the case that was made for attac king oil-rich Iraq, and no one protested against this hoax more than the British people. Some of the frauds were absurd, including the doctored intelligence dossier which said that Iraqi missiles could be made operational within 45 minutes. Militarily Iraq had been defanged after the Kuwait war, and the UN sanctions had impoverished the country. But, as revealed later, the neocons in the Bush administration had made up their minds to fix Iraq because Israel considered the Saddam regime the greatest threat t o its security. The invasion, no doubt, ended Saddams tyranny but resistance to occupation, terrorism and the sectarian strife led to a minimum of 200,000 civilians dead.
Tension over provinces

August 31st, 2012
It is a vicious exercise that may be the start of a circle. Courtesy a new resolution in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday, the PML-N expressed its intentions of taking on the PPP regarding the creation of new provinces in Punjab. There was trouble when the PML-N presented the resolution as king for the replacement of a parliamentary commission on new provinces with one that fulfilled constitutional requirements. This led to some of the ugliest scenes in the history of a provincial assembly whose members are not averse to occasional scuffle s amongst themselves. There is sufficient numerical strength on either side for the MPAs to carry on w ith their invective -filled battles. Ruckus may be a word newspaper readers have grow n tired of spotting in assembly reports but it applies to both the PML-N and PPP at the moment. The PPP is obsessed with a Seraiki province, even though the provincial assembly had some time ago passed two resolutions, one asking for a Seraiki province, and the other for the creation of Bahawalpur province. It built up pressure w ith the help of its 100 members in the Punjab Assembly, a large number of them belonging to southern parts, including Bahawalpur. The federal government formed a parliamentary commission including law makers from Punjab and non- Punjab parties such as the ANP and MQM. Thus, at one level President Asif Ali Zardaris new suba politics is based on regional factors, while on another the exercise appears to be using the umbrella of the federal coalition to forward this drive. The PPPs current approach be trays its own assessment about its electoral chances in areas away from southern Punjab districts. The more passionate it is about a new province, the grimmer are its prospects in central and upper Punjab. Mr Zardari does not appear to care. He has done no thing to indicate he is bothered about this impression, let alone make an effort to correct it. More seriously, the precedent of a federal government wanting to superimpose a new province against the wishes of the majority party in Punjab could be used by others in future to explore new provinces elsewhere in the country. But the leadership of the PPP has ignored this aspect and has so far refused to commit itself to finding a fair formula regarding the creation of new provinces. A referendum in a particular area to gauge popular desire may be an idea worth discussing. While one formula for all is w hat the PML N is demanding, the course the PPP is currently on doesnt quite appear to be the right or safe route to a new province.
Gwadar port uncertainty

August 31st, 2012 A series of snags have kept Gwadar from becoming the centre of thriving trade and prosperity it was meant to be. With the pullout by Port Singapore Authority from port operations uncertainty regarding its future has deepened. PSA had entered a 40-year development and management contract. It decided to leave after just five years because of the governments failure to transfer the allocated land currently in the possession of the navy required to make the countrys only deep -sea port fully operational. The navy has been delaying the transfer of the land located on the mouth of the port, citing one reason or another. At one point it said the specific piece of land was needed for strategic and defence purposes and at others it has show n a w illingness to sell it to the Balochistan government at its own price or in exchange for another, larger piece of land. Now the Senates Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping has asked the navy to resolve the issue with the province and transfer the land within three weeks because no new investor would be willing to put money in the project unless the said piece of land is handed over for the purposes of the project. The odds of this happening are not very promising, given the complications. The government says a Chinese company w ill take the project over from PSA, but it will take some doing on the part of everyone involved to ensure that Gwadar comes out of its long and economically expensive limbo. A vital link in the new silk route, Pakistans only deep-sea port is expected to encourage industrialisation in Balochistan and create hundreds of thousands of jobs by linking China and Central Asia to the Middle East and Indian Ocean economies. Many observers argue that the project will continue to hang in the balance due to increasing lawlessness and the ongoing insurgency in the province even if the navy agrees to hand over the land in
its possession. That is a matter for the future. The early resolution of the land issue at this stage will be one less mountain to climb.
Stranger than fiction

August 31st, 2012
It was only a matter of time before the Osama bin Laden raid, the stuff of spy thrillers itself, became a hot topic for ambitious journalists, publishers and f ilmmakers out to embellish their c areers and capitalise on public interest in one of the most important events of the decade. A series of representations of the event are already completed or in the works from a New Yorker article to books by security analysts and a Navy SEAL involved in the raid to a film that is soon to be released. The creators of these projects havent wasted a moment in exploring what happened, how and w hen, and yet, well over a year after it was formed, the so -called Abbottabad commission has yet to reveal the fruits of its extended investigation. The commission has interviewed hundreds of people, visited key sites several times and spent months presumably mulling over the various sensitivities and egos it will have to protect and the political balancing act it will have to strike in any report. The bungalow has been razed and even US-Pakistan relations are making their way back to a functional place. In December last year the commission had said it would reveal all that month. And still no report, and for no clear reason. The delay is long and unexplained, w hich perhaps should come as no surprise given Pakistans history of investigations into sensitive events. And now, if one source is to be believed, the commission feels it needs to go through the books recently re leased on the subject. Given the pace at which it is moving, that should add at least another few months to the delay. Perhaps the commission can just use the books for a copy paste job, and finally get it over with.
EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
State of breakdown
September 1st, 2012 Dumped bodies, missing people, sectarian killings: most headlines about the law and order situation in Balochistan focus on these events. But what is perhaps just as disruptive to the fabric of life in that pro vince, and gets far less attention, is how the machinery that runs Balochistan is under attack. The assassination of a district and sessions judge in Quetta on Thursday may have been carried out for any of a number of reasons: because he was a settler, for sectarian reasons, or simply to undermine the state. Whatever the motives, it highlighted how lack of security in Balochistan is making it near-impossible in certain areas to carry out the daily work of administration that keeps a society going. Reports are emerging from Dera Bugti, for example, that many if not most government officials posted there, including doctors, teachers, engineers and other civil servants, stay away from the area; the deputy commissioner and district police chief live in Sui, not in the district headquarters. Some of this might be driven by dishonesty within the system, especially at the lower levels, because institutions lack even the will or capacity to enforce rules. But sections of Dera Bugti also remain no-go areas, despite denials by Balochistan government officials. In parts of the province, civil servants are making the choice between doing their jobs and saving their lives. A report by the HRCP indicates what a complex nexus of disruptive actors is holding life in the prov ince at a standstill: f rom our own security establishment and a government lacking political will to militant groups of various stripes and foreign hands exploiting the grievances Pakistans own policies have fostered. The result is a province in which the state has, in parts, effectively ceased to function. But it is also a place where NGOs fear to tread, driven away by threats, kidnappings and killings. Without a functioning state to provide basic services, private organisations to fill the gap or law make rs committed to development, the people of Balochistan are effectively on their own.
Meanwhile, the disappearances and killings continue. On Thursday, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the HRCP announced that 450 dead bodies have been discovered and over 1,300 people have gone missing in the province during the current governments tenure. These figures may be lower according to some estimates, but the scale of this problem is only one aspect of it. Through a combination of i ndifference, wrongheaded policies and sheer fear, the state continues to create a mess in Balochistan while leaving its people to suffer the consequences on their own.
Mere ritual
September 1st, 2012
Had there been no meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the NAM summit, it would have been the news of the day. Which is why there have been nearly half -a-dozen ritualistic and informal meetings between the Indian prime minister and Pakistans top leaders at one or the other summit. After their meeting at the 2010 Saarc summit in Thimphu, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the Indian prime minister met three times at Mohali last year during the cricket World Cup semif inal, at Addu, Maldives in Novembe r 2011 and in Seoul in March 2012. In addition, there was the much-hyped lunch at New Delhi for President Zardari by Dr Singh in April. The latter two met again on Thursday again on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Tehran without conceding any ground. The only meeting the South Asian neighbours didnt owe to an international extravaganza was over lunch, but this, too, was a spin- off from President Zardaris Ajmer pilgrimage. Moral of the story: neither side has cared to arrange a bilateral meeting f or its own sake to break the ice. The Tehran meeting showed the Indian leadership is still stuck at Mumbai, with Dr Singh emphasising the need for the expeditious conclusion of the trial of the Mumbai terror suspects. All that the Indian leader could offe r as sop was that he would visit Pakistan at an appropriate date. Mr Zardari still spoke of Dr Singhs vision but hit the nail on the head when he called upon the two parties to move beyond reiterating their known positions to try and achieve more substantive results. As the stronger of the two sides, will it be too much to expect New Delhi to show flexibility and desist from the temptation to apply pressure on Pakistan at a time when it finds itself in a nutcracker situation? On its part, Islamabad has to dispel the impression that the procrastination of the Mumbai suspects trial is on purpose, and, instead, by expediting the process, show that Islamabad is as keen as New Delhi to bring the terrorists to justice.
Route to understanding
September 1st, 2012 With Pakistan more often than not being covered by the Western press for less than laudatory reasons, it is heartening that this time its because Hollywood took note of local talent. Writer Mohsin Hamid has been in the news because The Reluctant F undamentalist, Mira Nairs big-screen adaptation of his acclaimed 2007 book by the same title, opened the 69th Venice Film Festival on Aug 30. We wish the film, which follows the New York-based protagonists journey from being a Wall Street high -flyer to a radical in Lahore after 9/11, every success. Mohsin Hamids achievement follows that of Karachi-based Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in February when her documentary Saving Face, co-directed with Daniel Junge, won in the category of best documentary short in the Oscars. Days before the premiere of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Pakistani filmmaking was also in the international news when the film Lamha premiered at the New York City International Film Festival and won two awards. The theme of The Reluctant Fundamen talist is relevant to todays Pakistan while Saving Face addresses another pertinent issue. It can be argued that these represent Pakistanis efforts to understand and distil their experiences through creative outlets, presenting to Western audiences a route to understanding. For this reason, they are worth appreciating, and need to be taken further by making similar efforts in local languages, for Pakistani audiences. A key function of the creative arts is to help a society understand its situation, how it arrived there, and what the way forward might be. This is desperately needed here in Pakistan, where people are caught in a neverending now and the lack of context is increasingly leading to a lack of introspection. The state and society in Pakistan must support our authors, filmmakers, theatre-persons, artists etc to build bridges in a deeply divided polity.
Secret funds
September 2nd, 2012 PML-N Stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has accused the federal government of using secret funds to buy th e loyalty of journalists but has stopped short of naming the benef iciaries of this benevolent scheme or spelling out how an aspirant could enrol for the dole-out. Others before him have called for the outright abolishing of the fund this, in fact, is superseded by the logical question: who needs an information ministry and w hy? The politicians who have criticised the funds that are audited by the prime minister have always alleged misuse of such money when out of power, while when they have held the reins of government, they have themselves been accused of generously spending the same on meeting their political needs. This has been true of all dispensations, whether led by the PPP, the PML-N or Gen Musharraf. Indeed, the intelligence agencies have themselves not been averse to spending liberally out of secret funds meant for their use abroad, often spending huge amounts on politicking inside the country and destabilising the democratic process. But in this case, the delay in questioning a huge amount of money has been particularly telling. Until not too long ago, Chaudhry Nisar was heading the National Assemblys Public Accounts Committee. He and others before him have allowed the old government habit of winning over journalists with money to go virtual ly unchallenged. Where journalists are concerned it is true that there are some black sheep among them. Nevertheless, over the past two decades, there have been calls by journalists associations to have the secret fund, initially meant for focusing on the media highlighting Pakistans foreign policy issues, abolished. The fund, which appears to have increased phenomenally over time, needs to be done away with for the sake of greater transparency and ethical journalism. Moreover, with the proliferation of channels, social media and easy access to other avenues of news, there really cannot be any place for what is effectively official propaganda that too propped up by taxpayers money. So the next step must be to end the suspense by raising the curtain on the culprits. Forthrightness is crucial as the entire media cannot be discredited with one generalised statement, otherwise we might be in for another unsubstantiated list doing the rounds on social media, like an earlier one linking journalists to real es tate don Malik Riaz.
Fighting back
September 2nd, 2012 The outcome of the non-aligned summit on Friday marked a diplomatic triumph for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he managed to secure the support of 120 nations on his nuclear policy. Called the Tehran Declaration, the final statement backed Irans position on what to Israel and the West is anathema and said not only that the country had every right to pursue its peaceful nuclear programme but that it was entitled to the full ownership of the fuel cycle to uranium enrichment, in other words. The summit highlights his governments success in dispelling the impression that Iran suffered from international isolation and that its nuclear policy had few takers. The UN secretary general criticised Iran s nuclear policy, but the fact that Ban Ki- moon attended the summit gives the declaration the stamp of UN approval and constitutes a snub for Israel, which had asked him not to visit Tehran. There were some uncomfortable moments for the host, especially w hen Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi indirectly criticised Tehrans Syria policy by denouncing the Baathist regimes crackdow n on the protesters, while Mr Ban pleaded with Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and fully comply w ith various UN resolutions. The Iranian media blacked out Mr Morsis speech, and privately Iranian officials f layed the Egyptian leader for show ing immaturity and departing from the non - aligned movements objectives. But the Egyptian presidents speech broadly ref lected the Arab worlds Syria policy that runs counter to Irans support for the Baathist regime. As a compromise, Syria found no mention in the f inal declaration adopted unanimously. While his astute diplomatic manoeuvring at the summit paid div idends, Mr Ahmadinejad should now sober up. The combination of powers against Iran is overwhelming, and he would do well to take this into consideration. While the US- led sanctions and Americas anti-Iran rhetoric during the election year have failed to deter Iran, it is in
Tehrans interest to be realistic and address the IAEAs reservations. Tehran, of course, has every right to the peaceful use of the atom, but a high- profile foreign policy and confrontation with the West are not in Irans interest.
Misplaced punishment
September 2nd, 2012 Having pledged to halve net migration to the UK by 2015, the government there is already turning towards heavy handed action. Recently, the UK Border Agency revoked London Metropolitan Universitys licence to teach foreign students from outside the EU, jeopardising the fate of some 2,700 students, an unspecified number of whom are from Pakistan. The students will be given up to 60 days to either enrol in another university or face deport ment. The decision has been criticised as disproportionate and unfair the Guardian dubbed it an idiotic decision and from afar that does appear to be the case. The UKBA found that in a sample of 101 foreign, non -EU students at London Met, 26 had no valid visas for remaining in the UK, many did not have the requisite standard of English the medium of instruction and more than half did not attend any lectures. The unspoken presumption: London Met was being used illegally by some foreigne rs to live and work in the UK. While that may certainly be the case for some of the foreign students enrolled at the university, to punish foreigners across the board when they will have paid dearly to live and study in the UK and have had a legitimate expectation to gain a world-class education, is wrong. Other options were available to the UK authorities: launch a wide-ranging investigation to determine the facts at London Met and other universities more fully or suspend the licence of London Met, as happened earlier in the case of other institutions, pending the problems being sorted out. Here in Pakistan, the UKBAs move should be heeded as a warning signal. Private companies facilitating study abroad need to be better regulated to prevent genuine future students from meeting the same fate as t heir counterparts at London Metropolitan University.
Blasphemy case
September 3rd, 2012
To anyone familiar w ith the fabrications that often surround allegations of blasphemy, the revelation that the ima m of a local mosque involved in producing the evidence of a young Christian girls alleged blasphemous act blatantly tampered with the religious paraphernalia will have come as no surprise. What has come as a welcome surprise is that a witness came forward and that the state took action. Khalid Jadoon, the local imam, has been taken in judicial custody, accused of inserting pages of the Quran into the bag containing other religious material that the girl is alleged to have burned. The muezzin of the same mosque w ho gave his testimony in an Islamabad co urt on Saturday claims that the imam wanted to beef up the evidence to ensure that the girls family would have to leave the neighbourhood for good. Awful as Khalid Jadoons alleged act is, the argument that he himself should now be tried under the blas phemy laws is misplaced. The misuse of religious laws cannot be rectified by turning those flawed laws against those who try to misuse them. Instead, what is needed is a national debate and wide -ranging overhaul of laws that are clearly prone to abuse at the hands of those with personal vendettas and of bigoted thought. If guilty, Khalid Jadoon can and must be punished under a host of laws that criminalise fabricating evidence, giving false testimony and fomenting public disorder. The imam can and should become a very public example so that at least some will be deterred f rom going down the same shamef ul path. Additionally, it may give courage to more people like the muezzin, Hafiz Mohammad Zubair, who came forward to give testimony in an environment where keeping quiet out of fear is an all too tempting path for bystanders. Of course, the immediate concern is the fate of the girl herself and the safety of her family and the other Christian families in the neighbourhood. There is much to be grateful for in t he fact that the wheels of justice are for once turning in the right direction but the ongoing damage to the girl, her family and other Christians in their neighbourhood must end quickly. For that to happen, the state must play the role it is required to under the law, on principle and in moral terms. The climate of fear surrounding such matters is deep rooted and will take a long
time to overcome. But it cannot be overcome at an individual level. Because the state has shirked many, if not most, of its responsibilities, to its citizens for so long, the problem has grow n. And it will keep grow ing unless forceful action is taken.
Still at war
September 3rd, 2012 On most days, this doesnt feel like a country at war. And yet that is precisely what it is . Consider just some of the violent incidents of the last few days: a bomb in a marketplace in Peshawar kills innocent civilians. In Bajaur Agency security forces and citizens battle militants who are fighting their way back into Pakistan from Afghanistan; on Friday they revealed the severed heads of a dozen soldiers. A judge is shot dead in Quetta in what appears to be a sectarian attack. Zoom out a few more days, and you have Minhas airbase being brazenly attacked, Shias being killed execution-style in Naran and Quetta, and ongoing clashes in Khyber Agency where even cellphone shops are being shut down for being un- Islamic. What seems to be forgotten amidst all the talk of US -Pakistan relations, judiciary-executive tussles and the state of the economy is the fact that we are still confronted with militancy and terrorism that, in some parts, is gaining ground again. Its almost as if Pakistanis have been lulled into a false sense of complacency after the operations in Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan in 2009 and a decline in the frequency of terrorist incidents after the bloody days of that year. The concerted campaign to build public and political consensus that enabled the relative though still tenuous success of the operation in Swat hasnt been se en since. America is increasingly the focus of public resent ment, especially given the increase in drone attacks, and not much has been done to get the nation to collectively confront the reality that something is rotten in the state of Pakistan itself. No r do the military and administration seem to have the will to launch military efforts with the same determination and focus they did three years ago. Operations and security measures seem piecemeal, hesitant or reactive, lacking the conviction and all-out effort that are still clearly needed. We are far from being out of the woods, but there is no discernible plan to get us through them.
The forgotten ones

September 3rd, 2012 Accommodated on sufferance here and little to return to there that, in essence, is the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees w ho were forced by war to start fleeing their country over three decades ago. The face of the aggressor may have changed but Afghanistan is still a country w ith a far from certain f uture; when the guns fall silent, it will have to rebuild itself from the bottom up. Refugees the third generation of whom are now grow ing up in Pakistan recognise this. For humanitarian reasons alone, it would be more problematic for Pakistan to try and force refugees to return, rather than carve out avenues, in partnership with other stakeholders such as the Afghan government and UNHCR, to create incentives for voluntary repatriation as has been the case in the past. Yet the influx of such a massive number of people has not been easy for Pakistan to deal with either, particularly the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Its frustration is evident in the statement, issued on Thursday by the provincial home and tribal affairs depart ment, that Afghan nationals holding Proof of Registration cards must wind up their activities by the end of the year, after which they will be required to leave the country. The provincial government has already asked undocumented Afghans to leave, and empowered the police to arrest illegal Af ghans under the Foreigners Act, 1946, for deportation. While this is a seemingly extreme step, the fact is that the issue of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is of such long standing that it seems to have slipped off the worlds radar. But the world cannot be absolved of its responsibility, and has an ethical responsibility to play its part in resolving this protracted crisis. Where Pakistan has been doing what it can, surely the international community can play a greater role.
LG polls
September 4th, 2012
Sidelined and ignored for reasons of political expediency, local government elections are suddenly being discussed. Coalition partners PPP and MQM failing to agree on the structure of the civic government is merely one aspect of it; the larger and more baffling issue is the sudden interest of the PPP-led government at the centre and in Sindh in what obviously would be snap elections. Elected on the basis of the structure crafted and legalised by the Musharraf government, local governments in the country completed their term on Dec 31, 2009. Since then, despite the Supreme Courts directive last April, no provincial government has shown an interest in local government elections for reasons that vary. Apprehensions that a given party could make a bad showi ng, and that this in turn could affect the outcome of the general election, discouraged some provincial governments from going for polls. Now things seem to be changing for motives that are again not very clear. There have been contradictory signals f rom the presidential camp. In his meetings in Karachi with PPP parliamentarians, President Asif Ali Zardari, according to some wire agencies, announced on Sunday that elections to the local bodies in Sindh would be held before the country went to the polls. The same day, the presidential spokesman in Islamabad denied that the president had asked the Sindh administration to prepare for such elections immediately. An LG election is not possible, because the new legal framework in which such polls would be held is not ready. As Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told the president, the bipartisan core committee tasked to draft the bill has not completed its task because of differences between the two coalition partners. In fact, according to party sources, the MQM has decided to discontinue talks on the structure of local government. Would common sense suggest an LG election at this stage? For nearly three years, the federal and provincial governments have not bothered to pay attention to what throughout the world is considered a pillar of democracy. Now, with a general election just months away, talk about holding LG polls would only serve to sow chaos and perhaps make the Election Commissions job difficult by diversifying its attention and work. More import antly, a national consensus has developed on the general election, and most political parties have already begun to campaign. An LG election announcement would be a bolt from the blue and cause misgivings about the PPP leaderships motive. The best course would be to hold civic, municipal and district polls immediately after the general election. The LG election has already been delayed; let us not rush into it for reasons that make no political sense.
Hate-filled textbooks
September 4th, 2012
In todays Pakistan, plagued as it is by extremism and inter-religious, ethnic - and sectarian-based tension, there are plenty of occasions to justifiably accuse the state of doing little to stem the black tide threatening to engulf the country. On the one hand, instances are readily available w here elements from w ithin the state and its machinery have actively or through shameful passivity supported those that seek to turn Pakistan into a society of narrow minded ideologues. On the other, examples abound of the state not having the will even to make improvements in sectors under its control. Nowhere is this more visible than in the textbooks being used in large parts of the country. From the findings of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, which undertoo k a content analysis of the books for primary and secondary schools published by the Punjab and Sindh textbook boards, it would see m that referring to the curricula as hate - filled is no overstatement. The report Education or Fanning Hate finds that these books contain material that would create and entrench in students minds prejudice against religious minorities, both within Pakistans borders and elsew here, distort history and foment the conspiratorial mindset that is at least part of the reason why this country has come to the current pass. Whats worse, while textbooks have been revised over the past three decades, it seems that hate content has increased manifold over time. In other words, w hatever efforts Pakistan may make to curb extremism in society in general, they are destined to be eroded by school curricula that send poisoned minds out into the world. Must it remain this way, given that
review ing and cleaning up textbooks is technically amongst the easiest of changes to achieve? There is no sh ortage of experts who can provide sound advice in this regard, and plenty of examples that can be followed. Purging school curricula of hate material would not be a politically divisive matter. All that is required is a state with the will to do what needs to be done. And yet, such a place is Pakistan that it remains a moot point whether that will can ever be mustered up.
Climate of fear
September 4th, 2012 Not that it has been addressed in the way it needs to be, but at least politically motivated and high-level organised crime in Karachi is reported. What go unmentioned are the day-to-day muggings that have now claimed so many victims among us. Most Karachi residents are able to name several friends and relatives who have had their belongings stolen at gunpoint, so they consider it only a matter of time before they too are targeted. And they know they wont be able to resist in the face of armed robbers, especially while stopping at traffic lights or getting stuck in traffic jams. They are sitting duc ks when thieves tap on their windows with their guns, even in broad daylight. Nor is there justice to be had after the event; police are either unable to track down perpetrators or are reluctant to record the crimes for fear of worsening the criminal record in their jurisdictions. And citizens are more than happy not to register complaints, not wanting to get involved in investigations that they do not believe will deliver justice. Together these factors have created a climate of fear that haunts all residents of Karachi, who have had to adapt to this fact of life in any number of ways. From carrying decoy cellphones and avoiding carrying cash to thinking twice about venturing out after dark and having to avoid certain roads and areas, they have developed n ew, more constrained lives in response to a threat that seems inescapable. Most frustrating is the know ledge that nothing much w ill change until there is a transformation in larger social realities, such as the availability of weapons in the city or unemployment. And that is nowhere on the horizon.
Finding common ground

September 5th, 2012 Perhaps its in the nature of talks between the PPP and PML -N that the day news of a third round of talks is made public, they are hurriedly postponed and then hours later rescheduled for the next day. So now, today, senior PPP and PML-N leaders are to meet to try and find an agreement on three points: the caretaker government; re -jigging the commission on new provinces to accommodate some of the PML- Ns demands; and a draft accountability law that has languished in parliamentary limbo for years now. That leaders from the two sides are meeting to try and narrow the differences between them on serious national issues rather than slamming each other in parliament or before the media is a welcome development. But it is too early to say whether the two sides will be able to reach any kind of agreement. Already, PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar appears to be playing the role of spoiler w ith his hard-hitting statements but it could also be a case of the leader of the opposition working to put pressure on the PPP to make the talks with his PML-N counterparts succeed. This much is clear: in the run-up to an election in which the democratic stakes are exceptionally high, the PPP and PML-N have it w ithin their power to either smooth the electoral road ahead or create serious difficulties for themselves and everyone else by returning to the bad old ways of partisan squabbling. The two parties are not natural allies and even political expediency makes it difficult for them to coexist. But, as the experience of the past four years has shown, when both sides are w illing to accept the mandate of the other the PPP at the centre, the PML-N in Punjab according to the results of the 2008 elect ions the democratic project is stronger for it. Conversely, were the squabbling between the two sides to intensify not on issues of policy or politics but on how the system is run and to what extent there is a level playing field for everyone there is every possibility that the extra-constitutional forces could get what they want: an extended, unelected set-up that yet again tries to cleanse Pakistan a mission destined for failure even before it begins. Also clear is that much depends on the experience and political skill of the two leaders who ultimately matter in this delicate dance: both have for the most part evinced an understanding that whatever else happens, the country
must be led by civilians. Now is the time to help ensure that that is the case for the next five years too.
Media curbs
September 5th, 2012 The extent to which extremist groups have managed to proliferate in Pakistan and the impunity with which they operate pose challenges on many fronts. Consider the bind in w hich Pakistani journalists, especially those working in the conflict-hit areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, find themselves. They must do their duty by those who seek information and, being mindful of journalistic ethics, report objectively on instances of violence and extremism. At the same time they must take care to not become mouthpieces for extremist or banned organisations or spread divisive points of view, even if that means earning the ire of dangerous militants. In the interest of ethical journalism t hen, any attempt by any party the militants or the government to make media persons toe a certain line must be strongly censured as a move against press freedom itself. In view of this, the All-Pakistan Newspapers Society has done the right thing by criticising the Balochistan government for registering cases against publications perceived to have violated the provincial high courts instructions not to publish or telecast any report on banned groups. Major news networks the world over do not subscribe to the hate-filled ideology propagated by extremist groups but they do still telecast statements of militant leaders. As such the court too must revise its opinion that giving coverage to banned organisations violates the Anti-Terrorism Act. It is unfortunate that the state has not been able to create a definite narrative vis --vis militancy. The heroes of yesterday are the terrorists of today; bad Taliban can be converted into good Taliban after a few deals are struck until the next time they try to thw art the states writ. With no clear state policy in sight and no definition of the enemy, it is all the more incumbent on the media to form a narrative that is independent of the states and is based on factual reporting and the opinions of all sides. That much is owed to the public and its right to know. Which is why to accuse the media of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act is to hinder independent reporting.
Undervalued heritage
September 5th, 2012
If theres one thing our provinces know how to do, its how to squabble w ith one another over the ow nership of everything from water to taxes. Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are arguing over the Gandhara artefacts some real but, according to the Sindh governments archaeological depart ment, more than half fake that were recovered from smugglers in Karachi in July. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa points out that the items were likely dug up within its borders; Sindh makes the less convincing argument that its museums should house them because they were recovered in the port city. But while the two provinces duke it out over ownership, what, if anything, is being done about the real issues? More relevant than inter-provincial rivalries are the real problems the story reveals: the lucrative trade in real and fake Gandhara art efacts in which Pakistanis are major players; the fact that little official effort is made to unearth these treasures, leaving them vulnerable to poaching; and the lack of provincial capacity to preserve or effectively showcase them. Even if one or the other province were to get their hands on them, how well would the ite ms be protected and preserved? In fact, the whole saga of the smuggled artefacts has been illustrative of the lack of official capacity to properly value these treasures, from the smugglin g itself to the way in w hich police mishandled and neglected the items after they were recovered to the fact that more than half of them turned out to be fake, proving that an effective counterfeiting industry exists. Given the treasure trove it is sitting on, Pakistan could become world famous for exhibiting rather than smuggling this ancient art. Instead, as in many other matters, the authorities are more concerned with petty rivalries than with the national interest.
Anti-terrorism laws
September 6th, 2012
There is considerable evidence that a rethink vis-- vis Pakistans security strategy is required on an urgent basis. In the militancy-hit north-western parts of the country where army operations have been conducted or are being contemplated, prosecuting suspected militants has proved so problematic that human rights groups accuse law enforcement authorities of resorting to extrajudicial killings. The situation in the northwest is similar to that in the rest of the country where suspected crimina ls and terrorists walk free because of poor investigation and insufficient evidence to prove the prosecutions case. Over the years, different pieces of legislation, such as the Anti -Terroris m Act, 1997, under which anti-terrorism courts were established, have been formulated to cover dangerous new realities. A couple of years ago, the government introduced a bill to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act, though the effort came to nothing. Yesterday, the federal cabinet approved more amendments to anti-terrorism laws, while a Fair Trial bill has also been introduced to allow electronic evidence to be admitted in court. On the surface, the intention is to arm security and intelligence agencies with modern techniques of surveillance and evidence collection to ensure that nobody, especially those suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism, escapes punishment for want of proof. But piecemeal legislation can, in the end, prove to be unwieldy and create complications for a trial based on due process. In fact, the prob lem is not so much the absence of laws under which militants or terrorists can be charged, but of gathering enough evidence to successfully prosecute them. In the cases of those picked up in conflict zones, for example, there are few w itnesses other than s oldiers and there is little evidence that can be used to strengthen the prosecutions case. In urban areas, the intimidatory tactics that terrorist networks employ against judges, prosecutors and w itnesses, and the lack of witness -protection programmes, allow too many to remain at large. Both in anti-terrorism courts and the regular court system, poor investigation causes t he prosecutions case to fail. The issue can be resolved only by beefing up investigation and evidence -gathering techniques. There could be some instances where a special situation requires special legislation. In such cases, the legislation should be specific and time-bound. Areas of law and policy that can be questioned by human rights groups should be referred to the human rights ministry. But most importantly, prosecution success rates must go up. While the country faces a difficult situation in terms of trying militants and terrorists, the answer does not lie in compromising on the principles and requirements of due process.
Innocence lost
September 6th, 2012 The photograph of him that appeared in the media yesterday spoke volumes: a boy bound in chains at Karachis City Courts, seated on the floor with his head down, presumably out of fatigue, humiliation or at the way he is being treated. But the image of this prisoner was simply one disturbing representation of what is reportedly routine in the juvenile justice system: young people chained when brought to court, kept in custody with adult offenders and made to suffer their childhoods or adolescence in captivity while their cases are held up by various delays all practices that go against the globally accepted principles of humane treat ment of young prisoners and are outlawed by the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000. Twenty-two years after Pakistan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to which every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect, these principles remain unimplemented. In particular, the convention states that incarcerated children shall be separated from adults, a practice that is not always followed in Pakistan despite the existence of facilities for young people, rendering them vulnerable to abuse and criminalisation.

It is doubly ironic that t he photograph was taken in Karachi; Sindh has the countrys most progressive laws when it comes to child rights and young prisoners. The provinces child protection laws are based on a philosophy of refor m of juvenile prisoners rather than punishment or retribution, and, among other provisions, prescribe separate facilities for both children under the age of 16 and youthful offenders aged 17 to 25. Punjab too has a borstal law but only a handful of borstals for juvenile offenders, like the other provinces , except Balochistan w hich has none. Both international and domestic laws prescribing how young prisoners are to be treated exist, and yet for years governments have failed to get their bureaucracies to implement them. Even the long -awaited National Commission on the Rights of Children, once formed, will not be able to do much as long as the provinces themselves fail to take action.
Polio and politicians

September 6th, 2012
There is good news from Tirah: children in the area have been vaccinated against polio and other preventable diseases for the first time in several years due to the cooperation of Ansarul Islam, a militant group active in Khyber Agency. The vaccinations had been suspended since 2009 because of hostilities between the militants and the army. The militants apparently played a key role in convincing community members to get their children vaccinated. But while there has been a breakthrough in Khyber Agency, the situation in North Waziristan is grim as vaccinators still dont have access to children there. A ban was imposed by a jirga in the region earlier this year in protest against US drone strikes. Some estimates suggest over 100,000 children may have been missed out in the current anti-polio drive in the Agency because of the ban. Unpleasant as it may be for the state to deal with militants, where the protection of children against polio is concerned even this bitter pill may have to be swallowed. More so, those politicians who have sympathies or ideological affiliation with tribal people need to convince locals tribesmen as well as militants to have their children immunised. For example Imran Khan is headed to South Waziristan to lead a peace march in October in protest against US drones. Mr Khan and other leaders of religious and political parties with influence in Fata need to highlight the importance of the anti-polio campaign with as much zeal as they condemn drones. Fata is particularly important for along with parts of Karachi and some districts of Balochistan, the tribal b elt is a major area of concern regarding polio transmission. Drones and polio are separate issues. Children must not be made victims of the crippling disease for the sake of politics, and efforts to convince the tribal people must continue. Sustained efforts, as the Tirah example shows, can produce results.
Listening in
September 7th, 2012 Formulating laws can be a tricky exercise; what was formerly illegal can, with the stroke of a pen, be turned legal. Last June, for example, after the outcry over alleged extrajudicial detentions in the northwest, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulations, 2011, pertaining to Fata and Pata that gave a retrospective legal f ramework to the operations. We seem to be at a similar juncture again. It is no secret that the countrys security and intelligence apparatus have the ability to monitor cellular communications, Internet traffic, and so on. So far, such surveillance has not had legal sanction and information thus gathered is not admissible as evidence. This, security officials argue, leads to the failure to successfully prosecute a large number of suspected terrorists and militants. But the Investigation for Fair Trial Bill, 2012, due to be debated in parliament, authorises the government to tap into peoples phone calls, emails and text messages, etc, and makes such material admissible in court. The government argues that such powers have been given to law -enforcement agencies in other countries as well. And there is no getting away from the fact that the horror of 9/11 left in its wake a changed world, particularly in terms of counterterrorism legislation and the detention of terror suspects. In Pakistan too, where communications technology has become a key weapon in the arsenal of militants and terrorists, there has existed a need to update
the laws to improve the states capacity to prosecute suspects. Nevertheless, it must not be forgotten that for the population at large, such intrusions count as a serious loss of civil libert ies and have been w idely criticised in the developed world too. In giving state agencies wide- ranging powers to monitor citizens private lives and conversations, the possibilities of misuse and abuse are immense. Further, Pakistan must be delineated fro m countries such as the US or UK because of its history of intelligence agencies involvement in manipulating political outcomes. To what extent should monitoring powers mentioned in the proposed bill be granted, and to which agencies, should be worth pondering. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yet while invading privacy is a grave issue, so is terrorism. The bill needs, then, to be scrutinised very carefully with an eye on both civil liberties and the possibility of abuse. There need to be specific accountabil ity and oversight mechanisms, as well as set conditions under which listening in on citizens can be justif ied. Without such elaborations, there is danger of the proposed laws ending up as tools of harassment and intimidation.
Twists and turns

September 7th, 2012 It's about time more light was shed on the critical Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz scandal, and there is some hope that Shoaib Suddles investigation into it might do so. The federal tax ombudsman is a man known for his competence and integrity, and from that point of view the Supreme Courts choice of him to pick up the investigation is a smart one. But his appoint ment, and the developments that led to it, also highlight the potential conflicts of interest involved in this case, one that pits one o f the countrys most inf luential businessmen against the son of the countrys most influential judge. From the very beginning it was clear that the case would be a test of the judiciarys impartiality. But the complete dissolution of a joint investigation team that was looking into the matter, and the appoint ment of a one-man commission instead, are both unusual developments. They also set a dangerous precedent. The JIT consisted of officials from NAB, the FIA and Islamabad police, and while there is some c ircumstantial evidence that some of the officials involved in it may have been close to Malik Riaz, its disbanding opens the door for others under investigation in the future to refuse to comply by claiming that state agencies carrying out probes are biase d. As an alternative, some officials on the team could have been replaced rather than dissolving it altogether. Also, Mr Suddle will need the assistance of the agencies that were represented on the JIT, and perhaps some of the individuals themselves, and t he SC has ordered that the evidence collected by the JIT be handed over to him. So if this is a cosmetic change to some degree, that too raises the question of why the court would go to such lengths to respond to Arsalan Iftikhars objections. Ultimately, the crux of the matter is that this is no ordinary case. More than in other instances, the SC needs to demonstrate that justice has been done. What this saga now needs is a speedy, impartial conclusion, so that any lingering questions about corruption tainting the superior judiciary can be put to rest.
Wildlife in danger
September 7th, 2012 In a country where human life is worth little, few are concerned about the welfare of animals. Yet biodiversity is not something that should be brushed aside. Report s have emerged that the koonj, or demoiselle crane, is being cruelly hunted dow n in southern Punjab despite the fact that the bird is protected under the provinces wildlife laws. A report in this paper says parties f rom Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, apparently patronised by the Punjab w ildlife depart ment, are leading the hunt for the bird. The elegant koonj w inters in the southern areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a related story several birds were confiscated from Karachis Empress Market the other day, among them peacocks protected under Sindh law. These recent incidents confirm the widely held belief that hunting, trapping and smuggling of w ildlife in Pakistan continues unchecked. Apart from these examples the houbara bustard is hunted down annually by royalty from t he Gulf, w hile attempts have been made to smugg le falcons out of the country. Conservationists say the problem is that provincial w ildlife depart ments have limited resources and a huge area to cover. For example, it is very difficult to patrol the entire Sindh-Balochistan coastline or the vast expanses of the
Thar desert to keep a check on hunters and poachers. The obvious remedy would be to empower w ildlife depart ments with increased resources, especially more staffers with better training. Also, community involvement is essential to countering hunting and poaching. Residents of areas where protected or endangered species are hunted need to be informed that instead of killing or trapping the animals, there is incentive in letting them live and roam freely. For example, income can be generated through the promotion of responsible eco -tourism such as safaris and bird-watching. Lastly, the state needs to take action against those who break w ildlife protection laws as well as the officials who enable them to do so.
Beyond the law

September 8th, 2012 The move is so brazen that it would be amusing if it wasnt deeply worrying: three retired generals inducted back into the military simply to prevent the civilian anti-corruption set-up from trying the m for mismanagement of public funds. The three former army men accused of violating rules to invest National Logistics Cell funds, including large bank loans, in the stock market and providing kickbacks and losing nearly Rs2bn in the process, including pensioners money will now be court-martialled instead of being investigated by NAB. The two civilian NLC managers also accused of wrongdoing will, meanwhile, continue to be subject to the NAB probe. The decision follows three years of delays in the inves tigation caused mainly by the armys refusal to share records and cooperate with the probe. And after all that foot-dragging, the military has f inally found a way out. The inquiry and trial of its own men will be kept behind closed doors, despite the fact that they have squandered public money. The message is clear: the military expects to be able to operate as a state within a state, an organisation exempt fro m the rules and responsibilities under which the rest of the population operates. The move also ra ises questions, once again, about the appropriateness of the armys involvement in commercial ventures. Even those that administratively report to civilian organisations, such as the NLC, which technically sits under the Planning Commission, are effectively controlled by the army through managers w ho are retired and serving officers. The multiple reporting lines, limited civilian auditing and military influence that result make it all the more difficult to scrutinise their operations and their use of public funds. When they provide goods and services entirely unrelated to defence, they raise questions about whether running them is the best use of the armys time and resources. In some sectors, their military connections turn them into market players that enjoy unfair advantages compared to private companies. And now this privileged position has allowed one such entity to avoid a civilian investigation and trial to which, as retired officers, its former managers should be liable. Corruption w ithin the Pakista ni state is not limited to the army; from the countrys top politicians to its lower -level bureaucrats, government officials entertain and horrify us w ith a steady stream of scams. With the Malik Riaz scandal, even the superior judiciarys honour has been called into question. But at least these entities are subject to public investigations and trials, no matter how tainted or delayed. When the army takes a case into a military court, it turns a flawed investigation into an unseen one.
An ill-considered move
September 8th, 2012
The manner in which events tend to play out in Pakistan leaves us wondering whether those in charge spend any time at all pondering over the consequences of their actions. On Thursday, the interior ministry refused to extend the visas of several foreign representatives of the international NGO Save the Children. While no reason has officially been given, it is believed to be a late-stage consequence of the Osama bin Laden affair. We are still smarting over Dr Shakeel Afridis fake hepatitis vaccination campaign as well as our failure to detect the presence in Abbottabad of the worlds most wanted man. On Wednesday, allegations were made on a private television channel that Save the Children was in some way linked to Dr Afridis campa ign. And while the NGO was in fact amongst those that expressed outrage over the CIAs alleged use of a vaccination campaign in its manhunt, its employees have been given four weeks to leave the country. This move has come on the heels of several incidents that demonstrate the rapidly shrinking space within which aid organisations and charities must operate in Pakistan. Threats and attacks from militant and extremist quarters
have already meant that a number of such organisations, including most recently the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been forced to reduce their scale of operations. With the move against Save the Children, the government is sending out a strong signal that it, too, is unwilling to provide support to foreigners, even those involved in exemplary and necessary humanitarian work. The line that is strengthened is the one touted by the extremists. The fallout, meanwhile, will be borne once again by ordinary men, women and children that the state itself has no capacity or will to support. Time after time, whether the cause is helping people displaced by floods or providing medical aid or catering to childrens nutritional needs, international funding and the work done by charities and aid organisations have meant that the lives of hapless Pakistanis are a little less miserable than would otherwise have been the case. Does this stark reality allow the administration the luxury of knee-jerk reactions?
My Lord in danger
September 8th, 2012 Appreciation is due to Janab A.K. Dogar. Where he immediately can, the lawyer is striving to free us from British enslavement. He has been seeking banishment, from the higher courts, of titles as alien to us as My Lord and Your Lordship, and pressing for the execution of an idea that wa s approved three decades ago.The decision to do away with My Lord was taken in 1981 under Gen Zia.On Thursday, the Lahore High Court reserved the verdict on Mr Dogars petition in w hich he had also objected to bowing before the judges. A person of Mr Do gars reputation inspires trust that no cut -down-to-size conspiracy is afoot. He has been very careful in presenting his argument and his points are not purely cultural. This should avoid a return to the pre British Mughal durbar where the complainants and their counsels would exhibit greater flexibility than what goes into a simple bow as a sign of submission to authority. He did go off track somewhat when he suggested sir as an alternative. Sir, to begin with, is a title considered more befitting a ma gistrate than a superior court justice. And sir as a lesser British affliction would still be somewhat ref lective of our captive mentality, unless we choose to follow it up with our own affectionate jee, in which case we would not really know whether w e were showing sir jee the reverence owed to him. Janab -i- aali and janab-i- waala are more home -grown and show respect without signifying total submission. These are two honorif ics lawyers routinely use to address the bench. My Lord is a more dramatic choice, a habit rather than a compulsion, which brings us to the same old assertion that not all debates require arbitration from busy judges. An awareness campaign in the bar would have sufficed.
More to be done
September 9th, 2012 Expectations we re low ahead of Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishnas visit to Islamabad this week and, after two days of meetings culminating in a joint press conference yesterday, the predictions appear to have been largely correct. The big news is the inking of a libe ralised visa regime between the two countries, a deal that was ready to be signed several months ago when the Indian commerce secretary visited but was delayed on the Pakistani side for as yet unspecified reasons. While welcome news, much will depend on the vigour and sincerity with which the new visa arrangements are implemented: even the most high- minded of ideas have often failed the implementation test when it comes to these two countries. Beyond that, however, there is not much good news to report from the meetings that capped off a year of dialogue between Pakistan and India. What seems to be clear is that the two countries have yet to recover the ground lost to the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. A little nudge here, a little push forward there, the dramatic steps have been eschewed in favour of small, uncontroversial measures. Leave aside Siachen or Sir Creek, even on the necessary move to allow Pakistani television channels access to the Indian market, there has been no movement. In the Pakistani a nd Indian context, the core issues and other problems are so well known and defined that if allowed to, diplomats, politicians and security establishments can dance around them forever unless someone grabs the issues by the scruff of the neck and forces so me forward movement. Thus far, there is no one on either side w ho has been able to do that, even as many suspect that at least at the very top of the political leadership in both countries, the desire for normalising ties is deep and potentially meaningful.
Perhaps the big gesture that could force a more rapid pace of normalisation is the much promised but long -awaited trip of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan. Mr Krishna once again baulked at giving a positive answer to Pakistans invitatio n to Mr Singh to visit in November around the time of an important date in the calendar of the Sikh religion. All that Mr Krishna would say is that he would go back to India and brief his prime minister on the weekend talks and apprise him whether the situation was conducive to a visit by the Indian prime minister. The caution on the Indian side is standard play but neither will it help achieve what Prime Minister Singh and the Pakistani political leadership desire: movement towards a durable peace.
Too little, too late

September 9th, 2012 The inner workings of President Zardaris poliical mind are enigmatic at the best of times, but where he is going with the new local government system for Sindh is truly a mystery. Perhaps he is thinking several step s beyond the rest of us, but to the outside observer the way in which the legislation has been handled only raises questions. Why the speed with which it is suddenly being pushed through after being delayed for nearly three years? Why the failure to bring along all allies in a notoriously fraught provincial coalition? And why rock the boat with a hurriedly implemented local bodies system so soon before a general election? Sindh politics is far from simple; with the widely divergent views of the MQM, the ANP, Sindhi nationalists and other assorted parties, it requires a challenging balancing act, not a bulldozed piece of legislation on a touchy topic, to keep all players cooperative at the same time. And a controversial local election held right before a gene ral election could bring up all sorts of issues that could taint the main polls: hurriedly finalised electoral rolls, increased potential for violence in tinderbox towns such as Karachi and Hyderabad, space for accusations of unfair advantages enjoyed during polling by those in power locally. The president will likely find a way to piece at least parts of his Sindh coalition back together, but at the moment the move appears to be a significant political misstep. What it also confirms is that the cultivation of grass-roots democracy in Pakistan has yet again fallen prey to political calculations. And that is not just true in Sindh. In every province its introduction remains stalled or fought over, with each political party calculating what system, if any at all, would be to its greatest advantage. Military dictators have strengthened local government to weaken political players at the provincial and national levels; civilian set-ups have done the reverse. The back-and-forth over the issue in Sindh today is simply the continuation of a longstanding Pakistani tradition of treating local government as a political tool rather than the building block of democracy it should be.
Getting ahead
September 9th, 2012 Pakistan's emphatic win in the Twenty20 series against the Aussies on Friday has strengthened their chances of reaching the top in the ICC World T20 scheduled to be staged in Sri Lanka later this month. While the venue in Dubai has proved to be a happy hunting ground for Pakistan due to their close proximity to conditions at home, it is the manner of the teams victory against the Australians that has been satisfying. It is apparent that the teams strengths have begun to gel under skipper Mohammad Hafeez, but more important, the victory is proof that the players are gaining in mental tenacity which is a key factor in the now ruthlessly competitive game of cricket. It is this very trait that has been for long the hallmark of Australian cricket and beating the Aussies at their own game is a good omen for Pakistan. The second match in Dubai that went down to the wire and had to be decided through the Super Over was a nerve fraying contest but the winners proved themselves equal to the task. The marked improvement in Pakistani fielding, which has long been the sides Achilles heel, was a pleasant sight as well. The extra effort put in by the Pakistanis in the field, the direct hits and numerous diving saves were a treat to watch and the credit must go to the teams Australian coach Dav What more. Credit here mu st also be given to players such as Kamran Akmal, opener Nasir Jamshed and Umar Gul whose return to the ranks have significantly lifted the performance of the team. That said, the ICC World Twenty20 could still be a different ball game for the team under M ohammad Hafeez but, hopefully, the recent win over the Australians in the UAE will hold them in good stead.
Fiscal uncertainty
September 10th, 2012 It's an important question, and admittedly a delicate one. Can Pakistans foreign exchange reserves hol d up through the election cycle? In an interview to Dawn, the finance minister says yes, but leaves the door open to any exigency that might arise given the uncertainties that are about to be unleashed with the election cycle. He says if the situation war rants, one can consider a new arrangement with the [International Monetary] Fund but sees it fit to expand no further. Its an entirely appropriate response, given the enormity of the implications. Nobody should want to stir sentiment in the money markets by speculating or sensationalising news and views regarding the reserves. But likewise, nobody should seek to create a false sense of security either, because its precisely when there is a perceived disconnect between the mood being conveyed by the go vernment and reality as seen by the stakeholders that uncontrollable events tend to break out. A false sense of security is exactly how we created the stock market crisis in 2008, which nearly became a systemic financial crisis. We dont want a repeat of t hat episode again, and its worth our w hile to remember that the election cycle of 2007 and 2008 began w ith record high reserves and ended with Pakistan rushing to the IMF for rapid emergency assistance. The timeline for the election cycle begins w ith t he announcement of the election schedule, and continues to the announcement and arrival of a caretaker set -up, to the conduct of polls, and then the tallying up of the new parliamentary arithmetic and parleys to form a ruling coalition, and then the summoning of the next assemblies and election of the new prime minister and appoint ment of the full cabinet. By the time this cycle ends, and we have a new cabinet in place, we will be close to or past the end of this fiscal year. The finance minister can reassure us that the economy will be looked after while he occupies the office, but what happens between the arrival of the caretaker and formation of the next cabinet is the real question at hand. That time period is when our reserves situation w ill be at its most delicate, and the fiscal facts of life will be mute and helpless. Its worth a thought to consider how things could play out in that intervening period.
Coin flip race

September 10th, 2012 With the Democratic Party formally nominating President Barack Obama as its candidate on Thursday, the election has become what the media is calling a coin flip race. Even though the president still enjoys a slight edge over Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee is making rapid gains and hitting President Obama hard where he is vulnerable the economy: 8.2 per cent unemployment, three million jobless; and unsatisfactory healthcare. Mr Romney with a personal fortune of $250m claims he can fix the economy, though the Obama camp derides him because of his corpo rate background, saying it is big business that would gain at the expense of the American people. They have a point, for Mr Romneys election pledge includes a brazen tilt in favour of the profit -maximising industrial conglomerates tax relief for the ric h and cuts in government spending. President Obama inherited his predecessors mess, w ith a $3tr deficit. The economy was in recession because of the bank crash, and it goes to President Obamas credit that he avoided a second recession by reviving the au to industry. The issue today is the American middle class, which feels squeezed and finds it difficult to maintain its lifestyle. Mr Romneys cuts, the Democrats allege, could affect even education and research, thus further hitting the middle class. Very embarrassing for Mr Romney, his ow n policies on healthcare, gun control and abortion as Massachusetts governor bear a striking resemblance to the Obama policies he is criticising. In foreign affairs President Obama claims successes: he has ended the Iraq w ar, the Afghan pullout is set for 2014, Al Qaeda has been crippled and Osama bin Laden taken care of. Mr Romney, he says, is new to foreign policy, though the Republicans claim that Americas image in the Muslim world is worse than what it was under the Bush administration. Basically it is domestic issues rather than foreign policy that would determine the out come of the presidential race. The Muslim world will judge the man in the White House by his policies towards the Palestinian issue and watch whether his anti-terror policies acquire an anti-Islamist hue.
Clogged drains
September 10th, 2012
Come the monsoons and many city dwellers start dreading the prospects of urban flooding. And as a picture published in this newspaper recently of a storm-drain in Karachi oozing with mounds of garbage showed, these fears are not unfounded. The picture belies the civic agencies claims of being prepared for the rains. During the recent spell of wet weather Peshawar and Karachi seem to have borne the brun t of rain-related havoc. Thankfully, the damage was limited, but that was more due to the fact that less rain was received, at least in Karachi. Still, problems were caused which could have been avoided with proper urban planning. Low -lying areas in both c ities were f looded, while prolonged power outages due to creaky infrastructure were also reported. Traffic jams were also a major problem, especially in Karachi, mostly caused by panicky motorists in a rush to get home to avoid getting caught in a flood of water. However, traffic officials in the metropolis also attributed the gridlock to drainage issues, as stagnant water caused bottlenecks. Clearing clogged drains to allow for the proper drainage of rainwater is the best solution to minimise the effects of urban flooding. Yet civic agencies across the country fail to realise this year after year. In Karachi there are spots that are notorious for drainage problems, while Peshawars sewerage system is also in bad shape. These deficiencies need to be addressed to prevent perennial flooding and the ensuing havoc. The need to clear clogged drains was highlighted several times before the arrival of the monsoons, but these warnings were not taken seriously. And it is not as if the rains came suddenly the authorities had plenty of time to prepare as this years monsoons came quite late in the season. If rainwater drainage issues continue to be ignored by the civic bodies, it will only add to citizens woes.
Pricing mechanism
September 11th, 2012 Pricing reform in the oil and gas sector has received a boost lately. The days since the end of Ramazan have seen two important initiatives which were long overdue. One is the new petroleum policy, which provides incentives to the private sector to enhance output of gas from existing fields and to expand the search for new gas f inds. The second is the reform of petroleum pricing, a measure that was passed in the days just prior to Eid, and has been implemented subsequently. As a result of the latter reform, prices of f uels like petrol and diesel are no longer set by the government as they used to be. Rather, the oil marketing companies set the price and announce it to the government and consumers. Moreover, where the government used to set the price every two weeks, now the OMCs will announce a new price every week, depending on the direction in which oil prices have move d in the international market. Two things need to be said about this reform of petroleum pricing. First are the contradictory statements given by the petroleum minister when the reform measure was still under consideration. It was disappointing to see the minister sit before the relevant standing committees in the legislature and oppose the reform. All three standing committees that held hearings on the reform measure opposed it and instead argued for capping oil prices at levels obtaining on July 21. It was puzzling to see the minister add his voice to this populist consensus, and agree to carry this recommendation to the prime minister with his support. It was equally perplexing to see him go public with the bizarre proposal to cap oil prices for Eid, as a gift to the people. This step cost the government more than Rs1bn in subsidy payments until it was rescinded days after Eid, at the insistence of the finance minister. It is to the prime ministers credit that he ignored the populist advice that was proffered with the support of the petroleum minister, and that he opted for the saner advice of the finance ministry instead. Equally mystifying was the ministers presence at the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee where this measure was agreed upon, with the proposal for deregulating prices in his hands. How can one support deregulation at one forum, and back price caps at another? Secondly, there is also an important need to stabilise prices at the pump by absorbing the adjust ment in prices in the petroleum development levy instead of passing fluctuations through to the pumps.
No lessons learnt
If the picture hadnt appeared on our pages with a caption delineating its archaeological status, the reader could be forgiven for thinking of the ruins of Mohenjodaro as a low -income settlement in a poor country where people, lacking technology and awareness, still went about their work in a rudimentary way. The picture shows a ragged labourer attempting to clear an area of rainwater w ith a bucket, protecting one structure even as he endangers another. Given the sites archaeological significance, we would have thought that the go vernment would have prioritised putting in place a more effective system to protect the ruins from degradation. In fact, the actual work accomplished is a case of too little, too late. The Sindh culture depart ment had allocated Rs3m for pre - monsoon preparations, but the rains which came late this year started while work was still under way. Whether anything was actually completed can be gauged by the drainage methods being used after the deluge. This lack of administrative preparedness is not confined to historical sites; the picture is no different in the rest of the country. Just prior to the start of the monsoons there was agreement in meteorological quarters that the rains were likely to be heavy. The need for provincial and district-level administrations to take pre-emptive measures such as shoring up embankments, de-silting canals and evacuating populations along embankments was underscored. From the state, there were assurances that such work was already under way, with that favourite catchphrase of the administration on red alert being bandied about by all and sundry. And yet, here we are again: many people dead, vast tracts of agricultural land inundated and embankments washed away with the corresponding toll on the economy. During the most recent spell of rain, people have been swept away by flash floods or died as roofs and buildings collapsed. While some of the onus lies with the citizenry every year there are cases of people refusing to evacuate a threatened area even w hen directed there is too much evidence that the state machinery creaks into action only after the event. Can the Pakistani administrative edifice not learn?
Buddhist sites
September 11th, 2012 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has more than natural beauty. For Buddhists worldwide it has Takht Bahi, near Mardan, which Unesco rates as Pakistans most complete Buddhist monastery. Organised on modern lines, even this small segment of Pakistans vast tourism potential can prove to be lucrative. However, no Buddhist faithful, no matter how keen on pilgrimage, would come to Pakistan if he does not feel safe. Providing security for him is thus the first task the authorities should think of as they strive to organise Pakistans tourism industry according to international standards. Swats v irtual occupation by the Taliban had dealt a blow to Khyber Pakhtunkhwas tourism industry; the terrorists expulsion from t hat tourist paradise, however, had only a marginal impact on tourist traffic because of the larger national image in which Pakistan has come to be associated with violence directed against minorities in the country and non-Muslim visitors. The provincial governments eagerness to revive tourism and make use of an opportunity to do so must be welcomed. Under the 18th Amendment Islamabad has handed over nearly 100 archaeological sites to the provincial government. The latter also wants the Starving Buddha, a Gandhara masterpiece in the Lahore museum, back in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are nearly 4,000 Buddhist relics in museums all over P akistan, and Peshawar quite legitimately lays claim to them. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Corporation is also expanding and reconstructing the Swat museum w ith Italian help. However, tourism cannot click w ithout a f lourishing domestic industry, and more effort is needed to boost this. Terrorism has driven away foreign visitors, investors, artists and scholars and discouraged Pakistanis themselves from exploring their own country. Buddhists from Japan, South Korea and other Far Eastern and Southeast Asian countries would flock to Pakistan in droves if they could be sure of the safety of life and limb.
Sectarian attack
A powerful car bomb on Monday shattered the relative calm that had prevailed in Parachinar over the last few months. The bomb exploded in a market, killing and injuring a number of people. A similar blast had struck a bazaar in the Kurram Agency capital in February. The TTPs Ghazi group a hitherto unknown outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was targeted at Shias. However, too much effort should not be spent on scrutinising the names of groups, as militants have a habit of regularly splintering into factions and re -branding themselves such is the amorphous nature of militancy in Pakistan. In this case, there are suggestions that the attack could have been the handiwork of some elements from the TTP chapter in Darra Adamkhel. While many parts of the country are currently being affected by sectarian terrorism and Parachinar cannot be detached from this w ider narrative the region also has its own particular dynamics, as tribal vendettas get intertwined with sectarian politics. Yet while some degree of tension has existed between Kurrams Shia and Sunni tribes in the strategically important area for the past few decades, in the current situation it has been w itnessed that elements from outside the Agency are working to sabotage peace efforts. Such attacks often occur whenever normality is beginning to take root in Kurram. Hence, the security forces need to concentrate their efforts on ensuring that militants from outside Kurram are unable to sneak in to carry out acts of terrorism. It has been noted that the opening of the Thall- Parachinar road last October has made militants access to Ku rra m easier. When the arterial road was closed for several years, it presented a different set of difficulties for Kurra m residents, severing communication links with the region and the rest of Pakistan. Now that the route is open, blocking the militants access must be ensured. Thankfully, there has been no communal violence after Mondays bombing. But if the situation is not contained, tensions can easily escalate. The area has witnessed horrific violence in the past. The security establishment must increase troop deployment in all troubled areas to reassure residents while the state should take tribal representatives and elders into confidence in an effort to maintain communal harmony. The tribes in the past have pledged to work towards peace, hence all e xternal irritants attempting to harm the peace process must be neutralised. The intelligence apparatus must also work towards thwarting further attacks while most importantly, theres a need for security forces to remain vigilant regarding elements fro m outside Kurram trying to get in and disturb the peace.
Mystery deepens
September 12th, 2012 In an already enigmatic case, a mysterious piece of reporting has appeared that carries potentially disruptive implications for Pakistans most tortuous bilateral relationship. The interview of the jailed Dr Shakil Af ridi that has been published on the Fox News website and is highly critical of the ISI prompts many questions: where and how was it carried out? How did the reporter gain access to the doctor? When Dr Afridi spoke to the reporter, was he aware that he would be quoted in a widely available interview, and did he do so willingly despite know ing he would still be at the mercy of Pakistani police and intelligence the next day? Know ing the answers to these is important because, for one, the fate of Dr Afridi has become a point of disagreement between Pakistan and the US, and the authenticity and reliability of such sensitive reporting on the issue needs to be established. Second, Dr Afridi appears to make bro ad claims about the ISIs strategies, tactics and militant links, and it is unclear what qualifies him to do so. A domestic audience may be able to determine how much is speculation and how much fact, but internationally, his words w ill be taken s further evidence of Pakistani duplicity whether or not they are rooted in actual know ledge of the ISIs links and actions. Much of this could have been avoided if Dr Af ridi had had access to a fair and transparent judicial process. Instead, carried out under the Frontier Crimes Regulation and charging him w ith crimes that had nothing to do with the Abbottabad raid, his trial has only given rise to suspicions at home and abroad that the goal of the Pakistani authorities is to detain him one way or another. It has also raised legitimate questions about why they want to do so despite Dr Afridi being either unaware of his role in the plot or, even if he was aware, helping to capture an enemy of both Pakistan and the US. Sadly, it is Pakistans own dubious treat ment of Dr Afridi that has left it
vulnerable
to
the
further
accusations
that
this
interview

will lead to.
Loose words
September 12th, 2012 Is [Pakistan] a banana republic? So went the angry rhetoric to which a PML -Q senator resorted in the National Assembly while criticising the recent arrival of a delegation of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. By his own account, Mohammed Raza Hayat Hiraj fears that the teams report might be used to highlight the views of the one per cent separatists of Balochistan. However, he needs reminding that the euphemistically named but very serious issue of forced disappearances has been w ith us for several years now. Repeated efforts and appeals from human rights organisations, the families of the disappeared and even organs of the state have failed to produce any meaningful answers as to who, within w hat agency, is indulging in unlawful detentions and how those thought to be in illegal custody can be recovered. The unhappy fact is that too ofte n, suspected kill-and- dump victims turn out to be those thought to have been made to forcibly disappear. While Balochistan appears to be the main theatre of operations of such transgressions, there are indications that similar tactics are being employed elsewhere too. The missing persons issue is already being investigated by the Supreme Court and a parliamentary committee on national security. If the countrys security forces are not involved, as they have repeatedly affirmed, then theres nothing to hide. The UN committee ought to be given full access and support at every level of the administration. This murky issue needs to be cleared up. At the international level, it casts an ugly shadow over Pakistan, which already has a poor human rights record, while at the national level it erodes public faith in a security apparatus that is stretched to the limit trying to contain threats from myriad quarters, and which needs every drop of support it can muster.
Karachis inferno
September 13th, 2012 Clea rly the countrys worst industrial disaster, the factory blaze in Karachi w ill be seared in memory as the Pakistani workers 9/11. Like the factory fire that struck Lahore on the same day killing over 20 people, it had long been building up in the casinos of government officials who make their fortune gambling on the lives of the hapless millions. The tragedy that began to unfold on Tuesday has taken the entire country in an asphyxiating grip of grief mixed with rage. Questions, though belated, are being as ked about the non-implementation of safety standards and the massive corruption in government ranks which led to such flagrant violations of the law. These questions must also be put to all depart ments concerned w hether labour, industries or local and provincial administrations and responsibility affixed for the catastrophe. Compensation too must be given to the families of the dead or injured, many of them the sole breadw inners for old parents and children in a society where poverty has struck deep roots. With this tragedy, it has become imperative for all factories in the country to undergo regular inspections and a thorough cleanup. Anything short of that will be an insult to the hundreds who over the years have paid w ith their lives for a system that is rotten to the core. Changing the system will be a challenge to stranded workers looking for an exit from the virtual hell that still must erupt into an inferno to get noticed a challenge which others in civil society must help the workers take on. Factories in Pakistan are kingdoms unto themselves. They are concentration camps where workers are denied their basic rights enshrined in the constitution, in the countrys labour laws and in international conventions. Even a proper appoint ment letter is more often than not a favour, and not a rule, and those who are not employed as per the regulations have no claim to privileges, not even compensation in accident cases. Trade unions are a luxury which can hurt the owners interests. The government promises to reinvigorate them but is either too meek or too overwhelmed by petty profits to even try and implement the existing law. The presence of unions could have ensured better working conditions more f ire exits at least for those lost forever in the industrial holes in Karachi and Lahore. But then recent anti-terrorism cases against workers in Faisalabad and Karachi spell out just how diff icult it is to even demand something as basic as a union. This betrays a flawed policy and must change.
Organised, active unions are the first and vital defence against greedy employers and their equally selfish partners in government. Allowed enabling space, these organised workers could ultimately provide the country with the forward-looking front so desperately needed.
Numbers yet again

September 13th, 2012 Once again the power bureaucracy has been asked to provide a list of defaulters, and once more they have produced their favourite list which gives names of government depart ments and inf luential individuals w ho a re not paying their electricity bills and whose connections cannot be disconnected due to political inf luence. The list has been provided by the Water and Power Minister to the National Assembly in response to a question fielded by an opposition MNA. The total outstanding receivables that the power distribution companies are claiming stand at Rs232bn, according to the ministers response which gives a slightly more detailed breakdown of which distribution companies are owed how much by what category of consumer. But here ends the whole affair. Except for those with a fondness for lists and figures nothing good ever comes of these exercises. Similar lists and figures of power-sector losses have been produced on many occasions in the past, only to be remarked upon and then buried. The last such figure made the news only a few weeks ago, when finance ministry sources leaked that power-sector receivables had crossed Rs472bn, and were accumulating at the rate of Rs1bn per day. Note these figures dont tally with t he figure provided by the minister to the National Assembly, unless a payment of around Rs240bn has been made in the past fortnight, something that has not been reported. Its not unusual for power-sector numbers provided by the government to not tally. Very little effort is made by the ministry to conscientiously vet the numbers. Instead of these episodic and ad hoc disclosures of unverified numbers, what the power sector needs is a disclosure regime mandated by law which sets a template for all the data that needs to be released on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Only then w ill we be able to get a proper picture of what is going w rong where in the power sectors finances.
Safety of routes
September 13th, 2012 On Tuesday, the Khyber Pakht unkhwa information minister announced that a special security force for the protection of passengers using the Karakoram Highway was being raised. This announcement, coming in the wake of several deadly ambushes on the highway and on the route connecting Q uetta to Iran, should be welcomed. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the exercise in planning protection for these vulnerable routes is undertaken keeping the states capacity in mind. Most of those pulled out of buses and killed both on the Karakoram Highway and Balochistan belonged to the Shia community. Ambushes have taken place in Kohistan, Mansehra and Quetta this year while pilgrims bound for Iran were massacred in Mastung last year. Concerned officials have met at the interior ministry in Islamabad, but so far little has been done to visibly increase the security of those us ing these two volatile routes. Some solutions towards securing both routes are common, while others require action particular to the situation. For instance, buses should be grouped in convoys and travel with security escorts on both routes. However, locals in Gilgit- Baltistan point out that it is beyond the authorities capacity to realistically patrol the entire Karakora m Highway because of its length and treacherous terrain. Instead, they want the administration to address the root of the problem by prosecuting and punishing hate-mongers active in Gilgit town. Underpinning such measures would be a stronger effort by the intelligence apparatus to identify militants and alert security officials to impending attacks. Allegations that elements within the security apparatus are either colluding with or looking the other way while militants carry out their butchery also need to be investigated. Unless such definitive measures are planned and implemented, the assertion that the state has no concern for vulnerable travellers targeted by terrorist groups would stand justified.
Time to act
September 14th, 2012 Several inquiry teams have been set up, suo motu notice has been taken and glib promises made about the payment of compensation. At the provincial and federal levels, officialdom has loudly reiterated that those found responsible w ill face that favourite of governmental red herrings, stern action. More than 250 people died when a garment manufacturing unit in Karachis SITE area turned into a raging inferno; the horror faced by most of the workers in their last moments does not bear thinking of. Can we nurse hopes that their lives were not lost entirely in vain? Could future researc hers on labour reform in Pakistan look back at this tragedy as the turning point that caused the sluggish administration to wake up to its responsibilities towards enforcing labour and safety standard laws? Sadly, if the past is taken as an indicator, the chances are slim. It is in the manner of things in Pakistan that each new tragedy, each preventable accident even those as heartbreaking as this one is met with promises of good intentions to fix the system, only to be forgotten within days and weeks as the lethargy returns. Whether it is a road accident that could have been prevented by more stringent tests for road-worthiness, a CNG cylinder explosion that could have been averted had installation and manufacturing taken place under honest governmenta l oversight, or a building that collapsed because the construction codes were not enforced, the administrations response is to wait it out until some new outrage forces it to the back of societys memory. In cases involving the industrial lobby, groups t hat have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and these are comprised of individuals for whom such tragedies have a monetary, not human, dimension find the state to be quite compliant and unw illing to improve working conditions for the voice less labour force. The states predilection towards capitulating is quite clear: since the late 1990s, different administrations in Punjab and Sindh bowed before the industrialist lobby and barred inspectors from entering the factory premises to check if s afety and other standards mandated by the law were being met. And w hile Punjab overturned the ban early this year, the dysfunction of the labour inspection system is evident from the similar tragedy that befell workers of a Lahore unit on the same day. The labour inspection system is an essential first step from where workers rights issues can be addressed. Will the government ever find the will to stand up in support of the rights and safety of the millions that are its raison dtre?
Fixing accountability
September 14th, 2012 NABs appoint ment of a new adviser to the chairman is a reminder that the agency is often in the news for developments that have little to do with its mandate. Viewed as a body on its way out pending the creation of a new watchdog under a new accountability law, and at the same time considered vulnerable to government influence, the so-called National Accountability Bureau appears to have become largely toothless. Its now overturned appoint ment by the attorney general to take the lead in the Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz case, for example a matter arguably beyond its jurisdiction has reinforced the impression that the administration views it as a tool to be used strategically. Restrained from pursuing high-profile cases against those close to the ruling party or against important opposition figures witness the obstacles it has faced in pur-suing corruption cases against the Sharifs it has only been able to tackle smaller cases even after the long-awaited appoint ment of the current chief in October, when the body had been w ithout a chairman for several months. NAB is also dogged by rumours of nepotism, w ith the chairman having been charged by the bodys own officers although the petition was later withdrawn of appointing his favourites in key positions in violation of procedure. F rom frequent personnel changes to allegations of bias and questions about its relevance, NAB needs an overhaul if it is to be taken seriously as an anti-corruption organisation. But will the new accountability law being circulated between the ruling party and the opposition do much to change this? Leaks to the media suggest the draft bill goes some way towards creating a more autonomous body; its head would be appointed by a parliamentary commission c onsisting of both treasury and opposition members. But apparently there are still loopholes such as a bar on investigating foreign assets, a time limit on pursuing cases, no jurisdiction over cases already in process when the law is enacted and protection for acts committed in good
faith. NAB has already gone from a body seen as aggressively pursuing politically motivated cases to one that isnt doing much about high-level corruption. Will its replacement be even more ineffectual?
A common platform
September 14th, 2012 A few months after it was reactivated at the national level, the Milli Yakjehti Council held the first major meeting of its Sindh chapter in Karachi on Wednesday. With Qazi Hussain Ahmed heading the grouping of religious parties, participants of the meeting made all the right noises, pledging to combat communal divisions and sectarian terrorism in Pakistan. It is a positive move by religious leaders, especially considering the current noxious atmosphere in the country. Qazi Sahib also clarif ied that the MYC is not an election alliance. The former Jamaat -iIslami chief has long been trying to bring together different Muslim factions; the MYC is an interesting mix of Shia and Sunni parties, including representatives of various sub-groups. It was symbolic to hold the moot in Karachi, bearing in mind the citys recent history of sectarian strife. Perhaps the council should also meet in other hot spots across Pakistan where communal violence is threatening the social fabric. The MYC also passed a resolution condemning sectarian killings in Karachi, Quetta and Gilgit-Baltistan. But beyond condemnations, the men of the cloth need to take practical steps to help stem the seemingly unstoppable tide of hatred and bigotry that is sweeping this country. The council must address the root causes of sectarian violence: the spread of hate material and the existence of sectarian militias. The ulema must devise a code of conduct that comes down hard on preachers who use the pulpit or the media to fan the flame s of hatred, especially when it comes to declaring others kafirs or non-believers. Also, the mainstream clergy needs to rein in sectarian militants; while some ulema indeed have no control over these elements, there are certain figures w ithin the MYC whom the militants look up to. The MYCs efficacy will only be proved if it can make progress on these two critical fronts.
A delicate moment
September 15th, 2012 A dubious character of unclear nationality makes a highly offensive film about Islam and Prop het Muhammad (PBUH) in the US. With the help of others who, based on the available footage, had little purpose beyond tastelessly mocking the religion, a portion of it reaches the Arab world on the Internet. Understandably, in a part of the world where many are protective of their faith above all else, these clips spark deep offence. And the protests that follow once again feed into the false and destabilising impression that there is a war between civilisations, raising questions about whether Muslim count ries and the West can survive peacefully alongside each other in an increasingly globalised world. The reality is, though, that controversies such as the one over this film or the Danish cartoons or the Quran-burning in Texas are not in fact conflicts betw een monolithic concepts of Islam and the West. Nor are they attempts by certain countries or governments to destablise others. They are storms brewed by small numbers of incendiary, irresponsible people with little regard for global sensitivities or the consequences their actions can have. The best way to respond to such actions is to ignore them or to protest peacefully, and that is w here the reaction to the film clips in some Muslim countries could have been different. Attacking American missions and their innocent employees holds a government responsible for the actions of independent actors. It chooses violence over the rule of law. And it works against Muslims themselves, strengthening the paranoid impression that has developed around the world that they harbour a deep and dangerous hatred of all things non-Muslim. Responding violently to the creations of fringe elements simply feeds into the false impressions of Islam these elements believe in and are trying to perpetuate. But in the days to come it is not just violence, but politics and diplomacy that will also be at stake. How this plays out will in part depend on how the issue is handled by America and Egypt, where the president is trying to balance the countrys newly won democracy with his obligations to the outside world. The US-backed Arab Spring has, as a natural consequence of increased freedom, given more space to religious conservatives. The way to tackle this increased complexity is for America to honour sensitivities in the Muslim world and for Muslim countries to keep violence in check. Neither can afford to let democracy in the region, or relations between America and Musli m
countries,
be
held
hostage
to
the
actions
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of
reckless

and insensitive f ilmmakers.
Unclear changes
September 15th, 2012 The revisions to the Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Regulations may be a positive move but hardly go far enough. For instance, under the new regulations banks/DFIs shall not open or maintain anonymous accounts or accounts in the name of fictitious persons or numbered accounts and shall not provide any banking services to proscribed entities and persons or to those who are associated with such entities and persons, whether under the proscribed name or with a different name. The layperson can be forgiven for being puzzled. Does this mean that before the new regulations, banks were able to open anonymous accounts, numbered accounts, accounts in the name of proscribed entities and persons connected with the latter? If so, how was this possible after years of fighting a war against internal insurgent groups widely reported to be using funds earned from illegal activities to finance their operations? If not, why were these regulations issued in the first place? There is much in the new regulations that makes one wonder if we have been serious in our campaign against militancy all along. For example, we know that money is moving through the clearing houses of Quetta and Peshawar in quantities so large that o ne cannot even guess what kind of economic activity is driving these. If its true that banks have not been maintaining enough data about the intercity movement of funds, especially data that would help identify the beneficiary, then that is an oversight t hat must be explained. Will banks now maintain a list of proscribed groups and individuals associated with them so as to be able to deny them account- opening privileges? Much of what needs to be done to ensure the financial system has no entry points for illicit money for money belonging to proscribed groups and for tax-evaded wealth requires greater cooperation between the financial system and authorities such as the Federal Board of Revenue and interior ministry. Lets hope this first step towards cleaning up our financial system is followed up by other measures required to make anti money-laundering and terror-financing efforts more effective.
An impatient ANF
The Anti Narcotics Force could have avoided the unsavoury episode outside the Supreme Court on Friday. It is true that the force was tasked to arrest MNA Ali Musa Gilani and there were also reports the accused had gone into hiding. Yet the visibly forceful interception when a court hearing was just a few yards away made little sense. With live cameras at hand, the ANF roughed up the young MNA before arresting him as he arrived to appear before the SC. In something of an anticlimax, Mr Gilani was free after barely an hour in custody and he was f ree to contribute to his partys case against the selective persecution of its members. Speaking outside the court following the acceptance of his bail plea in the ephedrine quota investigation, he found the moment opportune for a comparison between those who abided by the law and those who didnt. His emphasis was on his status as an elected representative and he was soon joined by party colleagues protesting, one, the humiliation of parliamentarians and two, singling out PPP for this treatment. By the looks of it an incident that could have been averted is going to spur another charged round in the ongoing debate. The PPP will come up w ith more evidence to prove its allegations and its political opponents will try to paint the PPP government as corrupt beyond redemption. Along w ith its more obvious fallouts, its political gains and losses, this politicisation of the affair could stall the start of a wider, more thorough probe into the pharmaceutical industry that the emergence of this case had promised. Few have been able to venture into this territory even w hen it is a constant source of rumour and suspicion and is so worthy of some intervention by an authoritative force.
Unnecessary words
September 16th, 2012 When Abdul Qadeer Khan speaks, theres always a sense that perhaps it were best if he hadnt. In a fawning interview given to a section of the local media, the controversial key f igure in Pakistans acquisition of the nuclear deterrent has claimed that he was ordered by then prime minister Benazir Bhutto to transf er nuclear technology to two countries essentially, giving Mr Khans activities an official imprimatur. Prima facie, as with much else that the erratic Mr Khan has claimed in public since his spectacular fall nearly a decade ago, the latest allegations are fairly implausible. In both her terms as prime minister, Ms Bhutto was known to have been kept far away from decisions on the nuclear programme by the self-appinted nuclear guardians, i.e. the army high command. Indeed, this was true for civilians generally, w ith Nawaz Sharif, the other leader of a civilian dispensation between generals Zia and Musharraf, having no input in the safety and security of the nuclear programme. The more riveting truth that the interview glossed over was that this is the first time Mr Khan has of his ow n volition admitted to being involved in proliferation. When he appeared on TV during the Musharraf years to take responsibility for the nuclear proliferation f rom Pakistan he later claimed it was done under duress. Now that he has finally owned up to his role, he has seen fit to transfer blame to the civilian leadership of the time and just cast himself as someone following orders. That is a narrative that even the most credulous of observers would f ind hard to take at face value; the powers-that-be in Pakistan are well known to all. There is a broader problem w ith Mr Khans public pronouncements, however. The Pakistani security establishment has worked hard to formalise and strengthen control over the countrys nuclear programme and w hile much of the work has taken place away from the public eye, there is a grow ing consensus among experts, national and international, that both the safety and security of the Pakistani nuclear programme have been vastly improved. Of course, in nuclear matters, particularly with the very serious internal security threats Pakistan faces, there is no room for complacency. In that environment, A.Q. Khans assertions are an unnecessary and unwelcome distraction from present-day concerns. And, as he embarks on a fledgling political career, if Mr Khan continues to hold forth on his controversial past, it will only give more ammunition to hardliners in the international community who want Pakistan to be treated as a nuclear rogue state with a terrorism proble m. A.Q. Khan should weigh his words more carefully.
Times of fear
September 16th, 2012 As two recent incidents indicate, everyday life in many parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas is on the verge of paralysis due to fear of the Taliban. The extremist militants have put up threatening posters in Matani Bazaar in the outskirts of Peshawar. Such is the dread of the Taliban that locals prefer not to discuss the posters amongst themselves for fear of being reported to the militants. While advis ing traders to focus on their business, the message conveyed by the posters is that the Taliban have eyes and ears in the area. In a related development, motorbikes have been banned in the Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency for security reasons, as the a uthorities fear militants could use motorbikes for anti- social activities. The logic of this decision is difficult to comprehend and we can safely assume the ban w ill hit the common people a lot harder than it will the Taliban. In the past barbers have been threatened for shaving beards while cellphone shop owners have been warned against uploading songs or movies on the phones. The current situation bears comparison to what was going on in Swat before security forces evicted militants from the region in 2009. If the state cannot pull dow n threatening posters from the outskirts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital, how can it be expected to protect people from militant attacks? Locals have been quite critical of what they say is the polices inaction over the posters. The Taliban cannot be allowed to dictate peoples lives. Instead of being silent spectators, the authorities need to actively prevent the creeping growth of Talibanisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. If the Taliban can have informers w ithin t he civilian population, the intelligence apparatus needs to stay one step ahead and keep better tabs on the militants. One major problem that has been pointed out is that the tribal lashkars the state has supported to counter the Taliban are being neglecte d. It is essential the authorities
take locals into confidence so that effective counter-intelligence and counterterrorism moves can be taken against the militants to check the growth of extremism.
A symbolic gesture
September 16th, 2012 Resignations in protest have been w itnessed occasionally but Fridays resignation by Abdul Rauf Siddiqi from his post as Sindhs industries minister is different. This occasion stands delineated from others because it appears to be about a senior government functionarys frustration at his inability to plug the administrative holes that allowed Karachis fire tragedy to occur. Mr Siddiqi says that he found himself helpless and w ith no authority to move against the people responsible for the blaze that killed over 250 p eople. The tragedy is on a scale where heads would have rolled in countries in which politicians have more of a conscience than what is usually displayed by their counterparts in Pakistan. Yet while the country is no stranger to disasters that could either have been averted by proper administrative oversight or w hose effects could have been mitigated by efficient administrative reaction, more often than not politicians are content to ride out the storm rather than shoulder any responsibility. Mr Siddiqis resignation is a gesture that betrays more symbolism than culpability, for the key institutions responsible for safety measures and labour rights are the civil defence depart ment and the labour ministry, neither of which fell under his purview as minister. Nevertheless, his move sends out a strong signal that may lend some small measure of strength to the bereaved. More importantly, though, the creaking edifice of administration and governmental oversight is in desperate need of a thorough overhaul. The labour inspection system needs to be revitalised in the case of Sindh the bar on inspectors entering workplaces must be lifted. The most important thing officialdom can do in the memory of the victims of the countrys biggest industrial calamity is to make sure that such a tragedy does not happen again.
A delicate dance
September 17th, 2012 The first step in a carefully choreographed two-step has been pulled off with diplomatic dexterity: US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, and his team have completed a two-day visit to Islamabad w ithout any f ireworks. The next step is Foreign Minister Hina Khars visit to Washington later this week where it is hoped that a whittled-down and more focused framework for ties between the t wo countries will be formalised. If that sounds relatively straightforward, recent history suggests it will be anything but that. A low -key operator who eschews public drama, Mr Grossmans visit nonetheless pulled the curtain back ever so slightly on the deep differences that separate the two sides. President Zardari was quoted as demanding an end to drone strikes, while the US side made sure that its demand for the release of Shakil Af ridi, the imprisoned Pakistani doctor who aided the Americans in their attempt to hunt down Osama bin Laden, was given a public airing. Clearly, then, much bad blood and mistrust characterise a relationship that neither side really wants to be in but cannot afford to break off entirely either. Confused and confusing to the outsider as the official Pakistani approach may be to its relationship w ith the US, there is also an unmistakable sense that the Americans themselves are unsure about how to proceed with Pakistan. The White House is focused on a re-election campaign in which foreign policy, particularly Pakistan, barely figures. The special representative position held by Mr Grossman may not exist come the next presidency, Republican or Democrat. The US military, which pushed hard for the designation of the Haqqanis as a f oreign terrorist organisation, is thought to be looking at Pakistan as a plausible scapegoat when the inevitable military failure in Afghanistan is accepted in the US. The CIA, having dealt directly the most with its intelligence counterparts in Pakistan, has seen too much double-dealing over the last decade to be won over by any assurances at this stage. The counterterrorism and national security agencies are rabid about international jihadis and want to squeeze Pakistan further. And the US Congress has many hostile elements and no real f riends of Pakistan. All those disparate elements have yet to be brought together in terms of a coherent and focused approach on Pakistan; in the near term, it seems virtually impossible that it will happen.
Here in Pakistan, at least one good option is still available: put our own house in order for Pakistans sake. For regardless of whether ties w ith the US improve or deteriorate, regardless of w hether Afghanistan emerges fairly stable or slips back into chaos, Pakistans p rimary interest ought to be to ensure domestic stability security-wise, economically and politically. A zero- tolerance approach to militancy is the starting point for an internally secure Pakistan that would ensure that regional and international relationships are engaged in from a position of strength.
Pre-poll Punjab
September 17th, 2012 A former MNAs short trip to the PML -N last week is representative of the games going on at the moment in Punjab. Ahmed Raza Maneka, an ex-MNA from Pakpattan, had joined the party on Thursday. The news was duly flashed in the media and the magnetic powers of the Sharifs, close to a general election, were celebrated. But lo and behold! It took Mr Maneka only a day to emerge from the Sharif cocoon and return to the te rrain of harsh political realities. On F riday he reposed his confidence in his old party, the PML-Q, leaving the N-League red-faced. PML- Ns Senator Pervaiz Rasheed took the safest option the situation allowed him: he disowned the party statement which had announced the Maneka catch only a day earlier. At stake is the party nomination for the general election and this is what seems to have determined Mr Manekas Q-uick retreat. The rush for the ticket has led to much traffic on inter-party routes in the country and he is only one of a large number of passengers. The crossovers are more pronounced in Punjab where many parties have done well in the last few polls, throw ing up in their trail candidates who are f resh enough in public memory to want to retry t heir luck with the voters. The PTIs entry as a serious contender makes the scenario even more difficult to predict. PTI is the X factor whereas PML -Q continues to surprise by drawing election aspirants who cannot be simply written off. In certain parts of the province, the Q-League is more active, or more attractive, to candidates than its bigger ally, the PPP. PML-N w ith the biggest share of elected representatives in the province right now has been able to woo a large number on its own. The all-too-familiar PML-N slogan that the anti-PPP vote must be consolidated is getting louder and louder. The Maneka volte face is a bump. It is proof that this time round the Sharifs will have to do much more than simply raise the PPP bogey to w in an election.
A loss for literature

September 17th, 2012 Literature in Pakistan is a lot poorer after the death of Hajra Masroor. However, the veteran short -story writer has left an impressive body of work that will continue to influence future generations of Urdu writers. Born into a Lucknow family with literary tastes, Hajra Masroor was a versatile w riter who worked in various media. She began publishing her short stories before Partition, with her first story published when she was only 16. Together with her equally gifted sister, writer Khadija Mastoor, she also recorded stories for All India Radio before Partition. To their credit, both sisters rose quite quickly on the subcontinents literary horizon, which at the time also featured major women writers such as Qurratulain Hyder and Ismat Chughtai. Hajra Masroor also worked for a time with the womens wing of the Muslim League. After migrating to Pakistan, Hajra Masroor co -edited the literary journal Nuqoosh w ith Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi. However, the publication would court trouble from the authorities of the time due to its progressive leanings. Demonstrating her versatility, the writer also w rote the story and dialogue of a film Aakhri Station, which was shot in East Pakistan. Critics described Hajra Masroors w riting style as simple yet effective, while her use of symbols in her stories was also appreciated. Acquaintances recall she had a rational line of thought and was concerned about how society could be improved. Keeping with her progressive ethos, the writer also highlighted the oppression of women especially in the rural areas in her work. There was also an element of subtle satire in her writings. She won a number of awards, including recognition f rom the Majlis Taraqqi-i-Adab as well as from the Anjuman Farogh-i-Urdu Adab. Sadly, the writer was not able to pen her memoirs despite expressing a wish to do so.
Far from the circus

The contortions of leaders as the deadly cut and thrust of politics plays out in Pakistan could easily lea d an observer to believe that, as in some Machiavellian court, the be all and end all is power. But as the circus of politics goes from one impossible feat to the next, from time to time stories usually tragedies make their way through the headlines about ousted prime ministers and clashing institutions to raise the issue of silent sufferers whose welfare is almost an afterthought for the state. Last week, Pakistanis learnt to their horror that an ineffective labour-inspection system corroded by powerfu l groups w ith vested interests had caused over 250 people to perish in circumstances that defy the imagination. Meanw hile, the rains have destroyed the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in Baloch-istan, southern Punjab and Sindh. In just two districts of Balochistan Naseerabad and Jaffarabad an estimated 600,000 people have been marooned. Predictably, the states response has been to creakily roll out rescue efforts after the damage has already been done. Can the state administration say with honesty that everything possible was done pre -emptively to mitigate rain-related havoc? Given the experience of the past two years, the state ought to have been more prepared, particularly with regard to planned evacuations, camps for displaced people, rations stored against future needs and a coordinated rescue strategy. Instead, what we are witnessing, as usual, is different agencies including the army, national and provincial-level disaster management cells, etc doing w hat they can but generally appearing as though theyve been caught napping. For years, there have been warnings about the effects of climate change; Pakistan w ill undoubtedly be affected. This is the third consecutive year that the country has been hit by a destructive monsoon. The Met office is forecasting heavy rain over the week in the northern parts of the country, water that will make its way south. There is still time to plan for the coming deluge over the next weeks and months. Better mechanisms and sy stems need to be put in place urgently. Demonstrably, it is not enough to establish emergency response agencies unless these are equipped, trained and interested in fulfilling their mandate. In many countries, what has proved most effective is the involvement of local leadership and administrative mechanisms, w ith their on-the-ground know ledge and stakes in the welfare of an area. Is it too much to ask for politics to be put on hold and for political elites to come together to plan for the welfare of this c ountrys hapless millions?
Rising tensions
September 18th, 2012 It remains to be seen whether the Obama administration wavers on its Iran policy as the presidential vote nears. Two developments are cause for concern. Israel has upped the ante, and in tw o TV interviews coming in rapid succession Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked America to draw a red line, claiming Iran has done 90 per cent of work on weapons - grade uranium. The greater cause of worry is Mitt Romneys categorical support for the Likud government. In Israel in July, the US Republican presidential candidate said he would not stand in the way of a unilateral Israeli strike on Irans nuclear facilities. He also said Jerusalem, now under occupation, was Israels capital and that any US criticism of the Likud governments policy on settlements helped Israels enemies provoking immediate denunciation from the Palestinian Authority. Over the weekend, US officials didnt agree w ith Mr Netanyahu on the red line and said the Ob ama administration also believed Iran shouldnt be allowed to manufacture nuclear weapons. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said governments the world over didnt operate with a bunch of red lines, and American ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said the existing diplomatic and economic pressures on Iran were working. She claimed that the Iranian economy was in a mess and that oil production and currency had gone down by 40 per cent. The truth, however, is that there is a tacit, bipartisan agreement on America s Middle East policy. There may be differences in shades, but with Congress firmly in the hands of the Israel lobby there is little possibility that any US administration would adopt a policy other than one of unabashed kowtowing to Israel. Mr Netanya hu, of course, knows this is the best possible time to extract maximum concessions from the two presidential candidates on its trigger-happy policy. It would be myopic for the two candidates to surrender to the pro-Israel lobby for electoral gains and igno re the longterm effects of such a policy. At the same time, it is just as important that Iran be more transparent about its nuclear plans and lower its confrontational rhetoric.
Diseased livestock
It is indeed a relief that the Sindh government has begun to cull thousands of infected sheep that were brought into the country from Australia. However, it is safe to assume that if it were not for the hue and cry raised by the media, the meat from these sheep may easily have ended up on our dinner plates. Health officials said the culling was necessary as the infections the animals were infected with foot-and-mouth disease, among other ailments could have spread to local livestock. The episode raises questions primarily regarding gov ernment oversight, or lack thereof, when it comes to the import and export of livestock. For instance, why were the sheep, imported by a private concern, allowed into the country when they had already been rejected by Bahrain? Also, the authorities must explain why the animals were released before being properly examined in quarantine and why they were kept with healthy animals. The stakeholders urge to cut corners and the governments w illingness to look the other way has cost Pakistans livestock, fishe ries and agriculture sectors dearly. For example, the European Union has banned the import of Pakistani seafood since 2007 due to concerns about the lack of hygienic handling of the catch in local harbours. Fruit export has also suffered due to local exporters failure to meet international standards. All this amounts to shooting ourselves in the foot. While importing diseased animals, presumably for local consumption, is tantamount to playing w ith peoples lives, ignoring safety and hygiene standards for e xport products translates to shutting ourselves out of foreign markets. The government needs to ensure livestock raised in the country for export or animals brought in for local consumption are healthy not only in the interest of public health, but also to prevent Pakistani exports from being labelled as unf it for consumption.
A new target
September 20th, 2012 Karachi was already on edge before Tuesdays twin bombings struck a predominantly Dawoodi Bohra neighbourhood in the North Nazimabad area. The c ity was in the grip of protests against an anti-Islam f ilm and targeted killings continued unabated. Elsew here, in Balochistans Mastung district the same area w here pilgrims were pulled out of a bus and killed last year a car bomb targeted a bus carry ing Shia pilgrims returning f ro m Iran. However, in the Karachi killing, the perpetrators targeted, perhaps for the first time, the Bohras, a peaceful, industrious, mercantile community. The perpetrators knew what they were doing: the site of the blasts is close to the citys main Bohra mosque, while community members usually gather in the bustling commercial -cumresidential area after evening prayers, which is when the bombings occurred. The blasts came only a day after Mufaddal Bhaisaheb, son and designated successor of the current Bohra leader, was in the metropolis. Last month, a bomb had been discovered and defused in the same spot. The bombings add a new dimension to the bloodshed, pulling the apolitical Bohra community into the vortex of violence. The authorities still need to confirm whether the attack was purely sectarian in nature, or if it was motivated by the desire to extract protection money from the community. All angles need to be examined. Nevertheless, what the blasts prove beyond any doubt is that nobody is safe in Karachi: if a peaceful community such as the Bohras can be targeted, anyone is vulnerable. Aside from spreading fear, such attacks also undermine the citys economy. The Bohras constitute one of the citys oldest and more financia lly stable business communities. But if peoples lives, properties and businesses are not safe from terrorist violence, who w ill want to invest in Karachi? Even as other motivations for the killing are investigated, police have pointed to the possible inv olvement of a faction of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi believed to be one of the most active militant groups in Karachi, w hile its acts of terror in Balochistan are already established. Hence, instead of making half -hearted claims about investigating the attacks, the state needs to crush Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, as the outfit is fast becoming the primary source of terroris m in this country. Such action is needed against all terrorist groups as there are reports that members of smaller sects within Islam in Karachi are also being threatened. By not taking decisive steps to curb militancy so far, the
security establishment has only facilitated the killers. Until the extremists inf rastructure is dismantled and their operatives and planners tried and punished, there is little chance of the bloodshed abating.
Overhaul required
September 20th, 2012 The establishment of the National Database and Registration Authority and the computerisation of identity cards rationalised and codified the system. Applicants now found that there was no need to pay the touts that loitered outside government offices issuing documents to help out. That success, unfortunately, has not been replicated where obtaining a passport is concerned. Even as machine-readable passports become indispensable bec ause they are required for most visas and at a grow ing number of airports, delays in the system are routine. As reported by Daw n yesterday, some 5,000 passports are issued each day against a daily application rate of 15,000 to 20,000. The backlog has reached a peak of 250,000; applicants are waiting up to two months for a document issued through the ordinary process, and for two weeks or more for passports processed on an urgent basis. The touts are back, and people who do not have the luxury of waiting for the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (which functions under the Ministry of Interior) find themselves having to resort to the services of an organised network that is in collusion w ith parts of officialdom. The current delays are being caused primarily by the non-payment of over Rs640m to the Printing Corporation of Pakistan, which issues the lamination paper used in the document. Other contributing causes include inadequate staff at passport offices and an overloaded online system through which the applicants data is verif ied against the Nadra database. Regardless of the hurdles, the issue must urgently be resolved. A passport is too important a document for people to be kept waiting especially considering that for a large number of applicants urgent travel is necessitated by medical treat ment abroad, employment or immigration. In any case, every citizen has the right to a passport. Whether what is needed is more staff, paper or proper presses to print machine -readable passports, includi ng at Pakistans large foreign missions abroad, the state must get on with it. It pulled a rabbit out of the hat with Nadra. It should be able to do the same for travel documents.
Political or spiritual?
September 20th, 2012 A report in our paper on spiritual advice sought by our prime minister on matters presumably political should come as no surprise. Not only is Raja Pervez Ashraf follow ing in the footsteps of his predecessors and political contemporaries, the example of world leaders like Ronald Rea gan, whose w ife is known to have regularly consulted an astrologer on her husbands public activities, is also before him. Indian politicians too are deeply influenced by the pronouncements of these gurus, and come election time, the whole country evolves into one huge crystal ball. In Pakistan, leaders f rom Benazir Bhutto to lesser political mortals like Imran Khan are reported to have consulted pirs and spiritual gurus on their life choices and strategies, the PTI chief talking of it at great length in his most recent book. Black goats, astrologers, numerologists, holy men have all figured in the lives of our leaders. But at the end, we are left with that niggling thought: how would Pakistan have fared without the occult intervening every now and then in our national life? True, the realities of politics are harsh in Pakistan; the Machiavellian games of rivals, the ever-hovering shadow of an external player, etc dont make matters easy for the wavering politicians. However, that uncertainty might be quelled if political leaders were to place their faith in the institutions of democracy as firmly as they do in their spiritual gurus. After all, over the years, it is institutions such as parliament and judiciary all over the world that have weathered the storm of wars, rivalries, dissent and external threats to emerge more powerful than any soothsayer. In Pakistan, these institutions are still at a nascent stage, but believing in them would not only strengthen the pillars of state, they would also impart some measure of confidence to an insecure public.
A controversial order
September 21st, 2012
Gone are 11 members of the assemblies, national and provincial, disqualified yesterday by the Supreme Court for holding dual nationalities. In disqualifying the MNAs and MPAs, the court has done the right thing. In the face of a clear-cut constitutional provision barring members of parliament or the provincial assemblies from holding the nationality of another country, there is little argument for such citizens t o be representatives of the people. Perhaps when the democratic process is more stable, well regarded and mature, the question of whether parliamentarians can hold the citizenship of another country can be revisited. But in the Pakistan of today, the honour, privilege and responsibility of representing the people ought to fall only to those who do not have conflicting citizenship demands. That it has taken until the very end of the terms of the present assemblies for the law to be enforced is perhaps unfort unate, but that does not detract from the reality that the decision is correct. Having said that, there are two troubling aspects to yesterdays short order. First, the court has once again circumvented the process of disqualification: under Article 63(2) of the constitution, the speakers of the relevant House or the Chairman of the Senate must determine whether a question of disqualif ication has arisen. If the answer is in the affirmative, the matter has to be referred to the Election Commission of Pakist an for a decision. To be sure, the question of disqualification has clearly arisen here and the ECP would have no real option but to disqualify the senator, MNAs and MPAs. But in constitutional matters, form and procedure can be just as important as substance. Already, in the case of the Speaker of the National Assembly ruling in favour of then-prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, it has been seen that the court can step in when other constitutional office holders deviate fro m the law. So in bypassing Article 63(2) in yesterdays order, the court has pushed the boundaries of the consti tution in an unwelcome manner. Second, in directing the ECP to institute legal proceedings against former senator Rehman Malik because he lied to the court and so cannot be cons idered sagacious, righteous, honest and ameen within the contemplation of Section 99(1)(f) of the [Representation of the Peoples] Act of 1976 is an unwelcome invocation of a controversial law. Few may lament the political demise of Mr Malik but the chosen route to punish him can prove to be the thin edge of the wedge in a country where religious invocations and the enforcement of amorphous moral standards are already crowding out the space for rational and reasonable discourse.
Extremists within
September 21st, 2012 With the rise of militancy in the country over the last decade, no branch of the armed forces has been spared f ro m militant attacks. The navys Mehran base in Karachi was stormed last year, w hile militants attacked GHQ in Rawalpindi in 2009. Most recently, Pakistan Air Forces complex at Kamra was targeted last month. In the latest incident on Wednesday, at least 10 people were killed when a car bomb went off on Peshawars Kohat Road; police believe the target was a PAF vehicle en route to a nearby base. According to some reports, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan have claimed responsibility. Apart from Kamra, which has come under attack four times since 2007, the PAF has also been targeted on other occasions. Some of the more prominent incidents include a suicide attack on an air force bus in Sargodha in 2007 while another attack was on a bus in Peshawar in 2008. Many of these attacks were claimed by militant groups, and in several cases ex-servicemen were implicated. These repeated incidents point to the apparent vulnerability of the forces, particularly the air force. They indicate that inside information is being passed on to militants, especially regarding the movement of personnel and base security details. The assertion that the forces in general and PAF specifically have extremists within the ranks must not be disregarded. Several PAF personnel were involved in an assassination attempt on former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2003. A number of these individuals were dismissed or arrest ed due to links w ith militant groups. It is also true that in several incidents the assailants have been dressed in military uniforms. Thus in the wake of the Kamra affair a thorough internal investigation is in order. Meanwhile, the PAF must ascertain how much influence militants wield w ithin the ranks. Clearly, preventive security in its current form has not deterred the militants. What is needed in all the armed services is not only greater scrutiny but a purge of all those
sympathising w ith the militants and who are likely to pass on inside information to militants. Otherw ise, such attacks will continue.
Fighting back
September 21st, 2012
The cost being borne by Pakistan and its citizens as a result of the countrys involvement in the war on terror is fairly well-documented. Amongst the less visible victims, though, is cultural activity. Given the opposition to the arts by rightwing elements who have, at times, even resorted to attacking venues showcasing cultural activities, the latter are becoming increasingly rare. It is not just the extremists threats that have extracted a toll. The challenges that those who work in the field of culture must contend with include a hostile economic environment in which few sponsors have the desire to lend their name to an activity that could invite the attention of an unruly mob, even if not an outright attack. And in several instances, city authorities have discouraged if not altogether forbidden cultural events on the grounds that ensuring security is far too difficult a task. Nowhere is this most evident than in Lahore, once the hub of cultural activity and host of the countrys largest international performing arts festival. While those who work in this area are doing their best, the terrain they negotiate is increasingly hostile. That the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop has organised a four-day international fil m festival, then, is welcome news. The group has been the subject of a raging controversy in recent months because of its role in a USAID-funded project Sim Sim Hamara. While that is yet to be cleared up and RPTW should do whatever it can to bring out the facts it should be acknow ledged that the group has played an important part in keeping cultural activities alive in Lahore. Such efforts need to be replicated in other parts of the country. Part of fighting back against the extremists is to carry on doing business as usual.
Fridays violence
September 22nd, 2012 Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashrafs speech at the Ishq -i-Rasool conference in Islamabad on Friday combined denunciation of the anti-Islam movie with an appeal to the people to be peaceful, an appeal also made by all major political parties the PPP, PML-N, ANP, MQM and PTI. Yet even before the prime minister had finished, the strike had turned violent. By the time the faithful headed towards mosques for the Friday prayer, violence had spiralled out of control in several cities. The intensity of the violence was shocking. Reason fell victim to emotions, even though the hate-filled film, made by a man w ho can only be described as a bigot, was condemned by American leaders, including President Obama. In principle theres nothing w rong w ith a strike which is a democratic way of expressing protest and resorted to only when all other options have been exhausted. In Pakistan, unfortunately, political parties and even professional bodies like those of lawyers and doctors have abused this principle irrespective of its consequences for citizens, and often for themselves. Horrifying as it is, every Pakistani crowd is now violence-prone: whether it is a justifiable protest against power outages or an Eid rush for railway tickets, people attack unrelated targets. Political rhetoric has much to do with it, for we have developed a popular culture in which c itizens have come to believe that violence pays. Those who call for strikes cannot escape their responsibility by blaming violence on outsiders, for it is their duty to control their acolytes. The violence the day saw in no way advanced the cause of the wo rlds Muslims. Instead, it painted Pakistan as a country where bloodthirsty mobs roamed. Friday is a day that is meant for congregational prayers and piety. But for some strange reason, our religious parties invariably choose this day for tormenting the Pakistani people. The governments eagerness to share the peoples sentiments and not let the opposition make political capital out of it can be understood. But the way it chose to express its solidarity with the people was astonishing by declaring a holiday. The result was a total shutdown, with banks and business transactions frozen for three days. We have seen protests in many Muslim countries, but nowhere did political parties call for a nationwide strike and find the government cooperative. A governments job is to keep the state going and not to help strikers. Yesterdays violence should goad our politicians and leaders of civil society into realising the damage the wheel
jam strikes and the accompanying violence are doing not only to the economy b ut to the nations moral fibre.
Dangerous direction
September 22nd, 2012 Already nervous about what the day would bring, citizens found yesterday that the state, too, had done its bit to disrupt life as far as possible. Cellular networks were suspended; those who do not have access to landlines and there are many such people found that they were cut off from family, friends and colleagues. This on a day when the streets in many areas were filled w ith smoke and television screens with frightening images of enraged mobs attacking indiscriminate targets. Many would have been concerned for the safety of loved ones but they had been rendered incommunicado. This is not the first time the government has resorted to taking such an enormously disruptive step . On the eve of Eid, cellphone users found services inexplicably suspended. The government had cited a potential terrorist threat as the reason militants too use the technology to their own advantage. Nevertheless, that does not mean that the rulers can arrogate to themselves the right to arbitrarily and without warning cut off access to indispensable devices. Given the sort of violence that occurred in Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi and elsewhere yesterday, it seems that the move proved futile as it failed to prevent protesters from communicating. And it would be useful for the government to remember that in earlier decades, when there was no cellular technology, the country had seen much larger and more violent demonstrations. The good such a step may achieve is eclipsed by the very serious inconvenience it causes several million people. Beyond inconvenience, there is the aspect of the huge monetary losses that were incurred by various businesses, not the least of which are cellphone companies themselves. S uch a decision should be a last resort, or else it will set a dangerous precedent. Will citizens start losing cellular services whenever a large protest is in the offing? If it goes down this road again, the government will find itself treading an increasingly fraught path; the line between when it is and is not reasonable to take such a stringent step will be blurred to the point of being erased.
Sheep mystery
September 22nd, 2012
The mystery of over 20,000 reportedly diseased sheep f rom Australia continues to deepen. There are claims and counter-claims from various parties regarding the health of the animals, which were imported by a Karachi-based firm. Citing government veterinarians, media reports say that some of the sheep f rom the suspected flock ma y be infected with anthrax. Around 7,000 of the sheep had been culled by Thursday after alarm was raised about their health status a few days ago. The importer has demanded a stay order against the culling till the findings of a veterinary board constituted by the Sindh High Court are in. The Australian firm which exported the animals and which insists the sheep are healthy also wants a halt to the culling. What adds to the murkiness surrounding the matter is that Oman and Qatar had accepted sheep from the same consignment, while Bahrain did not import the animals. Also, after their arrival in Pakistan tests from two labs in Sindh found the sheep to be sick, while results from an Islamabad lab showed otherw ise. Considering the prevailing confusion, there is a need for all stakeholders to handle the issue dispassionately. Firstly, if there is so much controversy and if the veterinary boards findings are still not in, perhaps there should not be such a rush to cull the animals. At this point, the best possible course of action may be to keep the sheep in quarantine, away from healthy animals, till investigations conducted by a recognised institution acceptable to all are completed. In the long run, the incident should prompt a thorough review of the of ficial process through which livestock is imported and exported. To prevent future mishaps, local authorities need to ensure animals are free from disease before they are allowed into the country and released into the market.
Day of anarchy
september 23rd, 2012
AS the nation limped back to work on Saturday, newspaper headlines graphically encapsulated the street horror which television had kept beaming to the world the day before: Pakistan burns and bleeds; On a day of love, riots rule; etc. A greater catalogue of villainy is not needed to put to shame the entire Pakistani leadership, in government or out of it. The administration comes out discredited, its law -enforcement machinery having proved itself totally inept, while the political parties failed to keep the strike peaceful, and most leaders otherw ise ubiquitous had all but vanished. Minor rallies here and there were led by local leaders, but not one political bigw ig was seen where the action was where people fell to the ground, where fires flared, where banks and public and private property were looted, where armed hoodlums stormed w hat were supposed to be impregnable fortresses. The much-maligned police were left to fight alone what from the word go was a one -way battle and with suc h training and equipment as they have. But they failed and some were killed. The world over there are riot police, well-armed and well- trained. Pakistan has no such force. The result was Fridays unqualif ied victory for the determined mobs. What was astonishing, however, was the absence of the paramilitary forces precisely w hen they were needed in the hours when furious and highly instigated, if not inspired, but leaderless crowds went on the rampage from Karachi to Lahore to Islamabad to Peshawar. Not ta king their cue from the intensity of the mob attack in Peshawar, the law-enforcement set-up completely collapsed in Karachi, which saw some of the most grotesque scenes. Within a stones throw from the Rangers headquarters itself well-defended with several layers of barricades and bollards rioters torched banks and restaurants in the red zone that has the official residences of Sindhs governor and chief minister. The Rangers didnt stir. Firing could be heard all over the place, but the Rangers leade rship had made up its mind to remain w ithin the well-protected confines of their headquarters while the countrys largest city was at the mercy of sadistic bands feasting their eyes on burning buildings and smouldering hulks. Calling for peaceful rallies in the country had been a mere formality, because both the opposition parties and the government knew full well that violence was bound to occur, given the history of previous such peaceful protests. More such anarchic fits are likely to engulf the natio n unless all hues of leadership rise above partisan considerations to tackle the crisis that is corroding Pakistan.
Afghan handover in peril

september 23rd, 2012 THE scaling back of joint operations between foreign forces and the Afghan army and police has , despite claims to the contrary, thrown the plan for a handover of Afghan security to Afghan forces by 2014 into disarray. In reaction to escalating green-on- blue attacks disaffected members of the green-clad Afghan forces have attacked and killed 51 blue-clad Nato/ Isaf personnel this year foreign forces operating in Afghanistan will now require prior approval for joint operations below the battalion level. Given the nature of the Taliban threat, focused as it is on IEDs, snipers and small-scale attacks, that effectively means that the enemy will be confronted separately by the foreign and Afghan forces while the ban is in force. More importantly, the central pillar of the US strategy in Afghanistan, endorsed by Nato and Isaf, is security assistance training and equipping the Afghan forces to take responsibility for the security of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. It is difficult to imagine how erecting a wall between foreign and Afghan forces will help achieve that goal. From the point of view of st ability in Afghanistan, it is also worrying to see the US military increasingly in denial. Senior officials have tried to downplay the suspension of joint operations, suggesting that it will not substantially hurt the mission in Afghanistan. Some have even argued that the move will put pressure on the Afghan forces to step up and clean up their own house, a suggestion that is akin to proposing that a non-swimmer be thrown in the deep end of a pool to learn how to swim. What is telling is that the surge troo ps the 30,000 extra troops that President Obama dispatched to Afghanistan in 2010 will leave Afghanistan by the end of September w ith no meaningful or durable gains made in the last couple of years. Even if some areas have been pacified by the troops, the war of perceptions has been all but been lost: no one can really argue that the Taliban are a diminishing threat in Afghanistan. A strategy rethink is needed but it wont happen until the US presidential election is concluded.
Every bit counts

september 23rd, 2012
THE Italian oil major Eni SpA has announced a significant gas discovery in Sindh. The size of the find is estimated to be 300- 400 billion cubic feet of gas. The company is in discussions with the countrys oil and gas regulator to speed up production from the discovery. Given Pakistans existing reserves of 27.5 trillion cubic feet, the daily production of 20mmcfd from the new discovery will represent less than 0.5 per cent of the total national output of over 4,000mmcfd. Little wonder then that the petroleum secretary has dismissed the companys claim about the significance of the find as exaggerated. Exaggerated it may be, but insignificant it isnt in view of the countrys fast -depleting gas reserves. Total reserves had depleted by 5.5 per cent at the end of 2011 from a year earlier since no new discoveries had been made since 2005 because investors were reluctant to put their money in exploration due to gas -pricing issues and security concerns in areas with potential gas finds. The demand, on the other hand, by domestic, transport, power-sector and industrial consumers has risen heftily. The supply gap has already w idened to over 500mmcfd in summer and is projected to expand to 1,500-1,800mmcfd during the fast -approaching w inter. This means industry will not have enough gas to operate its plants, and domestic users will be coping w ith low pressure as temperatures fall in the months to come. Power producers will be dependent on imported oil for generation and we w ill still be facing lon g blackouts. The solution to the endemic energy crisis crippling our economy lies in encouraging new explorations, no matter how small these may be. The government in the meanwhile should speed up work on LNG import as a short-term measure to reduce the gas deficit in the winter and to keep the wheels of the economy rolling.
Condemnable remarks
September 24th, 2012 In a more stable and mature polity, the explicit incitement to murder by the ANP Minister for Railways Ghula m Ahmad Bilour would have been met with his immediate suspension f rom politics and the opening of a police investigation to determine what crime he should be charged w ith. But in the warped and fearful Pakistan of today, the official reaction was characteristically and depressingly spineless. The prime minister has only distanced himself from his ministers remarks and offered to discuss it with the ANP boss, Asfandyar Wali while leaving Mr Bilour in his job. And the ANP has only said that Mr Bilour was speaking in his personal capacit y and the party does not endorse his demand. Gone is the idea of collective responsibility, of the cabinet and of a political party. Strip away the theatrics, and the reality is even more frightening. Mr Bilour said w hat he did precisely because he knew he could get away with it. No one will dare prosecute a man calling for the murder of an individual who has committed blasphemy against Islam though it is unlikely that the railways minister even really knows whose murder he has specifically called for. And Mr Bilour said w hat he did because he understands better than most that the ANP is headed into an election campaign after a disastrous term in charge of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and with fierce competition expected from the political right in t he province in the shape of the religious parties and PTI. So what better way to establish the ANPs religious credentials in an unfavourable electoral climate? Therein lies the great tragedy of Pakistan. Moderate politicians have long argued that they are helpless in the face of a rising tide of conservatism and extremism in society at large. But the ugly truth is that all politicians even the so-called moderates are more than willing to pander to extremism if it means a few extra votes or political survival. To refer to the Taliban and Al Qaeda as brothers, as Mr Bilour did in calling on anyone to kill the producer of the hate film, Innocence of Muslims, is to desecrate the memory of the thousands who have died, many of them belonging to Mr Bilours ANP, at the hands of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. If there is speech that should be criminalised in Pakistan, it is speech enabling and strengthening the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Of course, it wont happen because political survival is more important to a polit ician than national survival.
Economic fallout
Though it may be too early to get solid figures for the losses accrued nationally due to Fridays mob violence in the country, the ballpark estimates are cause for concern. In Karach i alone, according to the president of the citys chamber of commerce, trade and production losses hovered around the Rs14bn mark for the day. Losses due to widespread arson and looting are separate from this f igure. The countrys commercial capital had al ready endured a rough week, as the city was shut down on Wednesday due to the killing of a political activist. If this is the estimate for Karachi, the cumulative nationw ide losses due to the violence can only be imagined. Apart from the business shutdown, banks, cinemas and fast-food outlets were all ransacked as mobs rampaged across many of Pakistans cities unhindered. A more clear picture of the cost of the damage w ill emerge today as comme rcial activities fully resume. It is obvious that such violent b reakdowns of law and order do not project a very positive image of Pakistan to the foreign investor, w hile the recent scenes witnessed also shake the confidence of local businessmen. In the current global economic climate, the country cannot afford such negative publicity. As it is there is an international liquidity crunch as national economies deal with recession. Data from the current financial year shows that foreign direct invest ment is down in Pakistan, while FDI also fell considerably last year. With the global economy so volatile, violence and insecurity here will only scare away those who may want to invest in Pakistan foreign investors move in after seeing domestic investors put money in the market. Ultimately, there is a strong link between the maintenance of law and order and economic stability. If the authorities do not focus on keeping the peace in times of unrest and otherw ise, investors both domestic and local w ill take their money elsewhere, to countries where the safety of workers and assets can be reliably guaranteed. Considering the slow economic growth and high unemployment rate in Pakistan, this is something the country can ill afford. Hence the need for the state to act.
Mountain or a molehill?
September 24th, 2012 Writing in t he New York Times in August 2010, journalist Selig Harrison had said Pakistan was handing over Gilgit-Baltistan where he discovered an influx of Chinese soldiers to China. In the story headlined Chinas discreet hold on Pakistans northern borderlands, Mr Harrison had reported a quiet geopolitical crisis in Gilgit Baltistan where Islamabad is handing over de facto control of the strategic territory to Beijing. Harrison also discovered 22 tunnels w hich were barred to Pakistanis and which coul d be used for storing missiles. Two years on, the Indian army chief has show n such revelations to be unverif ied and has supported earlier denials by both China and Pakistan. The latter two countries have long collaborated on infrastructure projects in the border areas, including the feat of engineering that is the Karakoram Highway. It is known that Chinese experts are involved in several rail, road and power projects. For that reason, the presence of Chinese nationals is not something that should cause night mares for anyone and be referred to as an inf lux. As Gen Bikram Singh said on Wednesday, the Chinese soldiers were there to provide protection to railway, road and hydroelectric projects. Beijing, however, insists there are no soldiers in the border area. In an interview on Sept 3 with The Hindu, Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie clarified once again that the Peoples Liberation Army had never deployed a single soldier there. Mr Harrison had said that China wanted unfettered access to the Gulf, but was alarmed over Chinas grip over Gilgit - Baltistan. Gen Singhs words, then, should serve to allay any fears in India of militaristic designs on the part of China. In fact, there is also a lesson for India and Pakistan: suspicions need not arise over every activity that takes place on the others soil near the border areas.
A stitch in time
Politicians have a penchant for large-scale projects as they associate these with an impressiveness they believe will earn them political capital. But very often, what voters actually need are smaller, more humdrum interventions that are, in fact, of crucial importance. Nowhere is this more visible these days than in the plight of those affected by the floods in parts of Balochistan and Sindh. For the third year in a row, the state waited until the floods were in full swing before taking action. Each time, the rains are preceded by reminders that canals need to be de -silted, natural storm-water channels cleared, embankments shored up and vulnerable populations prepared in case evacuations are needed. And each time, the administration refuses to recognise the danger. It is only when newspaper headlines start raising concerns about the millions of people affected and televisio n screens show shots of forlorn rooftops in a sea of f loodwater that the state lumbers to its feet and starts casting about for avenues of relief and rehabilitation. After the deluge, national leaders give statements about their concern for those whose homes and livelihoods have been lost as though it were never up to them to ensure that pre-emptive damage-control measures are in place. In the current floods, Balochistans Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts have been the worst -affected; on a visit to survey the damage, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Sunday that orders had been issued to release funds to complete all development projects in the province. He also announced that Rs2.6bn had been earmarked for the rehabilitation of people and repai r of inf rastructure. Given the prime ministers instructions, we can presume that the funds must be available w ith the government. In that case, could at least part of the money not have been spent earlier on work aimed at reducing the scale of flooding? Could projects meant to mitigate rain-related havoc not have been completed on a war-footing? The measures that need to be taken to save this area, which has for three years running been the worst -affected by the floods, are well-know n. The Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts are particularly at risk. They suffer equally as a result of flash floods in Balochistan and when canals are accidentally or by intention breached in Sindh. The measures elaborated here, as well as the creation of small reservoirs to ac commodate excess water, could go a long way in making a difference. The question is, will such necessary though not headline -grabbing measures ever make their way to the list of the governments priorities?
Poor lab facilities

September 25th, 2012 The ongoing controversy over the import of supposedly infected Australian sheep by Pakistan highlights the need for proper research and testing facilities in this country. The sheep were found to be infected with foot -and-mouth disease by two labs in Sindh. However, tests from a lab in Islamabad indicated the animals were fine. This dichotomy in the labs f indings is one of the major factors fuelling the controversy. In the past, there have also been reports of infected wheat being brought into the country. I n another incident, over 100 people died in Lahore earlier this year apparently because they had consumed substandard medicine. What all these incidents underscore is that the lack of proper research and testing facilities, both at the centre and in the provinces, have often resulted in confusion or delay in diagnosis. While lack of resources is often cited as a stumbling block in the way of essential projects, this explanation hardly justifies the current situation. After all, drug- manufacturing companies pay one per cent of their profits to the state as research tax yet there are hardly any drug-testing facilities meeting international standards in the country. Considering that drug manufacturers have been paying this tax since the mid-1970s, the amount collected should have been substantial. It is the publics right to know how much money has been collected and, more importantly, where and how it has been spent. The pharmaceutical industry that pays this tax should itself be asking the government for an explanation. Since the money was collected in the name of research, it would be best put to use by establishing labs at the federal and provincial levels where research and testing of drugs can be carried out, and where livestock and agricultural product s can also be examined as a matter of routine. Such internationally
accredited labs can be of use in times of public health scares as well, such as during the dengue season. Not only will the creation of such facilities be of great service where public hea lth is concerned, they w ill also help certify that products meant for export are safe and conform to global standards.
Picking up the pieces

September 25th, 2012 It was a political statement of much-needed strength and symbolism. Where there are those bent upon destruction, there are also others willing to do what they can to save the targets. Most Pakistanis were still recovering from the shock of the fury displayed on Friday by rioters, but some steadfast souls pulled themselves out of despair and decided to do something proactive. On Sunday, in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad a number of young men and women went to the spots that had seen the worst of the violence, and cleaned up. Armed w ith brooms and dustpans, paint and brushes, they did w hat they could to return their city to normalcy: sweep away the glass, repaint pickets, pick up spent tear-gas shells and collect the stones that had been hurled. In doing so, they sent out a strong message: not only were they not on the side of those who resort to vio lence, they were active supporters of the rule of law. Few in numbers though they were, they demonstrated to all who saw them including the demoralised police personnel w ho had faced the wrath of the mobs that even in this pall of night, there is light. Pakistan desperately needs more such pro-activeness if it is to find a way to stand fast and resist the rising tide of obscurantism and extremism. These peoples act should shame the nations leaders, otherwise so adept at manipulating large bands of their supporters; the call to clean up localities laid to waste by the mobs could equally have come from them, and been led by them and their workers. It would have been a powerful method of silent rebuke, and of interest in Pakistans welfare. Instead, what we have witnessed on the political front is barely audible censure of even the violence itself, let alone anything constructive.
Poverty in Pakistan
September 26th, 2012 A study on poverty has brought Pakistan face to face with a reality that it will find hard to accept: every third Pakistani is caught in the poor bracket i.e. some 58.7 million out of a total population of 180 million subsist below the poverty line. This includes more than half the population in the forever remote Balochistan, 33 pe r cent in Sindh, 32 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 19 per cent in Punjab. These are daunting figures. But they are much needed for planning, especially when the government appears too embarrassed to release statistics related to poverty. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute, which has carried out this economic -mapping exercise, is justified in calling for the release of government figures and for a policy to combat acute poverty. These are facts which are being kept under wraps at great peril to the country. Quite clearly, the dilemma as we know is yet to be overcome. Areas such as defence get the better of development; the more affluent are able to deny the less affluent in the name of sustaining themselves; and the small change that reaches the marginalised segments is never enough to pull them into the promised mainstream. The formula that channels resources and attaches due importance to the underdeveloped is yet to be found. Worse, an earnest search for such a formula is yet to begin. Consequently, development has proceeded in the only manner it could: the gap between the more privileged and the more backward has increased w ith time, even as successive governments have dangled special packages in front of those with the greatest need. This r ef lects in social, political and, quite often, ethnic tensions, in revolts and in militancy. The SDPI study identifies the 20 poorest districts, 16 of which exist in Balochistan that has been long agitating for attention. There are no marks for guessing that the other four poorest districts are also located away from the train of progress, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The exercise doesnt identify the causes behind this continued and unfortunate disparity, but the basic factor responsible for the situation is not very difficult to list. The primary reason is the lack of proper, meaningf ul and non-discriminatory representation for all regions in decisionmaking. Those who are able to some extent participate in the running of affairs do manage to secure a better dea l. Others are denied participation, and democracy for them remains an illusion. The first resource they are looking for is the
space from where they can speak and be heard. This is the most essential prerequisite to progress.
Ephedrine smuggling
September 26th, 2012 While legal proceedings in the ephedrine quota case continue, the possible smuggling of the controlled chemical from Pakistan has begun to attract the attention of the international community. The head of the Anti-Narcotics Force told the media on Monday that the probe into the ephedrine scandal was being expanded to ascertain whether the substance was smuggled to Iran. ANF officials may proceed to the neighbouring country to investigate further. This development follows the recent visit to Pakistan of representatives of the International Narcotics Control Board. As per reports, INCB officials discussed with local authorities the likelihood that ephedrine was smuggled out, along w ith the possible complicity of government officials in the ille gal act. The INCB team emphasised the need to stem the leakage of the controlled substance and also called for improvements in the system to prevent future abuse. The controversy emerged when the health ministry raised the allocation for Pakistans annua l ephedrine requirement, with at least some of the excess finding its way into the local market. The substance can either be used to manufacture cough syrup or medicines for respiratory ailments, or it can be used as a base for illicit drugs. Up till now, politicians, business f igures and government officials have all been embroiled in the unfolding scandal. A thorough investigation free from political influence is required to determine who was res-ponsible for raising the quota beyond the coun-trys requirement and also to determine who may have benefited from the possible smuggling of ephedrine. The politics of the matter cannot be allowed to overshadow the law -enforcement aspect. As things stand Pakistan is considered a major transit point in the global drug trade. Abuse and illicit trade in controlled chemicals should not be added to the list of the coun-trys achievements. Hence the need to bring those involved in smuggling to justice. The authorities also need to consider releasing ephedrine quota s to pharmaceutical companies with the required safeguards through an empowered, effective Drug Regulatory Agency. There is a shortage of various medicines in the market linked to ephedrine; the public should not be made to suffer due to the misdeeds of the high and mighty.
Poor regulatory mechanism

September 26th, 2012 An amateurish video is produced by a mischief-maker with the aim of giving offence. Countries that have learned the lessons dictated by the realities of the World Wide Web and want the ma terial rendered inaccessible to their populations set in motion regulatory mechanisms. They dont put a blanket ban on YouTube, they pull out agreements with YouTube owner Google and effectively compel it to abide by their laws. Google has blocked the trailer in countries such as India and Indonesia; it cant be accessed in five countries whose citizens can still access other videos on YouTube. In Pakistan, by contrast, the government orders that all links to the offending material be blocked. Outraged appeals are made to Google, but it stands unmoved. The result? The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority blocks the entire YouTube site, removing access to not just the trailer but also taking down thousands of other sources of information that Pakistanis are accustomed to accessing. Why are the citizens being made to suffer when the body at fault is the regulatory authority? Had it put in place mechanisms and agreements that would compel compliance with domestic laws, the matter would have been easily resolved. In fact, the state and PTA are out of touch with new realities: although the age of the new media is over a decade old, they have not yet developed anything close to a policy on the Internet or the social media. The government needs to put its own house in order. It cant curtail citizens rights to cover up its own inadequacies. The new media w ill continue to be used for an expanding set of purposes, good or bad. Given its inability to sway giants such as Google which have their ow n set of rules, Pakist an needs to develop better regulatory mechanisms.
The growing divide

September 27, 2012
Perhaps the most important theme of the speeches delivered at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday was the grow ing divisions between the West and the Muslim world. Whatever their national perspective, Presidents Ahmadinejad, Zardari and Obama all focused on the increasingly complicated relations between the two sides. The trouble stirred up in Muslim countries by a profane video on the Internet has highlighted the sensitive nature of these ties. The Pakistani president, as expected, raised the issue at the UN forum, calling for criminalising such provocative acts by mischievous individuals. The proof that the outrage of the Muslims had been registered by the US, whe re the anti-Islam video originated, was provided in a statement by President Barack Obama a few hours before Mr Zardaris UN address. Mr Obama urged the people to reject hate material, but quite rightly added that the death and destruction that such reject ion led to could not be justified. The gap has widened over time when it comes to Americas love -hate affair with a number of Muslim countries. The Muslim worlds connection with the West is jeopardised by a host of serious problems, including doubts roo ted in a past that has spawned suspicions about American motives now. The countries in question have failed to evolve the necessary common language, based on the cultural and religious sensitivities of people on both sides, to address each other. Ever sinc e 9/11 and more particularly the invasion of Iraq in 2003, these sensitivities have become more acute and have reached a point where the night mare of a clash of civilisations may well turn out to be true if restraint and understanding are not shown at this stage. In looking after its own interests, the US has often adopted an actively aggressive path, with no consideration for the sentiments of the larger public in countries where it has either intervened militarily or interfered in domestic politics. At the same time, the leadership in many of the Muslim countries, has failed to educate the population about the dangers of accepting the extremist narrative. In the current crisis they have been unable to convince their people that by reacting to provocative acts of individuals they are only deepening the divide. Though perceived as a powerless body, the United Nations still remains the right forum for raising issues of cultural and religious differences and for giving room to voices from all over. Without suc h a debate and interaction between countries, the chasm between the West and the Muslim world will only grow.
A familiar strain
September 27, 2012 Please, stop this ref rain to do more, President Asif Ali Zardari said in his speech to the UN General A ssembly in a thinly veiled reference to the US and the pressure it has put on Pakistan to squeeze the sanctuaries that the Afghan Taliban, particularly the Haqqani network, have on Pakistani soil. Whether the call to end the do more mantra w ill fall on deaf ears w ill have much to do with the extent to which the US and Pakistan can narrow their mutual trust deficit that is very real and very acute. To be sure, Pakistan has some very legitimate complaints when it comes to US demands concerning Afghanistan. The US military in particular has been very stubborn and quick to blame Pakistan for its failures or lack of success in Afghanistan. To clamp down on the Haqqanis to satisfy the American timeline of 2014 w ithout regard to the existing conditions or the potential for an unmanageable blowback in Pakistan is to pit a political imperative a dignif ied exit from Afghanistan against what should be a crucial strategic objective helping Pakistan remain stable and the containment of militancy. There is, though, an unfortunate consequence of the push and push-back vis-- vis the do more platitude: the debate over what should be done against militancy in Pakistan and when it should be done has in part become linked to the Pakistan-US relationship and the post-war future of Afghanistan. As opposed to focusing on whether or not what Pakistan has done to fight militancy is acceptable and a winning strategy, whether the country is less or more secure as a result of the states security policy, the question of our very real and critical fight against extremism has been entangled in the messy relationship with the US. So ordinary Pakistanis are still confused about whether the fight against militancy is for Pakistans own survival or for the protection of ties with an unpopular US. The unhappy truth is, Pakistan is not winning the fight against militancy. And the state needs to do more, much, much more. But for Pakistans sake, not anybody elses.
Equality for all

September 27, 2012
Women and minority groups here often suffer seeing their rights being trampled upon, but there has been little question, theoretically at least, about whether or not they are entitled to equal rights and status. The only group that until now appeared to have been left out of the net of legal and constitutional protection was the transgender community. Relatively small in number, poor and generally uneducated, members of this grouping have historically lingered on societys fringes. They have been discriminated against in terms of educa tion, employment, inheritance and so on. It is encouraging, then, that on Tuesday the Supreme Court ruled that transgender people were entitled to all the rights guaranteed under the constitution. The petition had been f iled by a private citizen who had conducted research on the lives of members of this community and found much pain: hermaphrodite children are usually given away by their parents and, because of discrimination on the part of educationists and employers, as adults are forced to earn through dancing, begging and prostitution. They are often not even allowed to use public transport. The court has directed the police and provincial governments to ensure that transgender people have nothing to complain about in terms of rights. However, the state must go further. Ensuring that this community is respected and considered equal w ill require a change in the societal mindset and who is better placed to lead the way than the federal and provincial administrations? Along with awareness-raising efforts, the government should consider a positive-discrimination employment policy for transgender people. This would not just send out a strong message about equality to the public at large, it would also have a great and relatively immediate impact on individua ls w ho are given jobs. This has been tried before, notably by the tax services; it should be expanded to other depart ments.
Tax amnesty
September 28th, 2012 The Federal Board of Revenues proposed tax amnesty scheme to lure 3.8 million tax thieves int o declaring their hidden wealth at home and abroad is unlikely to produce the intended results. Slated to be launched next month, it doesnt appear to be the right route to increasing revenues and expanding the tax base. If the past is anything to go by, the scheme can at best allow tax dodgers to launder their ill-gotten assets by paying a nominal tax on their value at an official gain of a few million rupees. The government is living off heavy bank loans and foreign dole, but the cost that will go into raising such a meagre amount for the economy will be formidable. As is usual, the opportunity will tempt more people, including many honest taxpayers, to cheat the government in the hope of availing another amnesty a few years down the road. This is not how governments can or should increase their revenues. The proposal only indicates a lack of political will to take tough decisions. A government that dithered on its commit ment to implement value added tax for fear of a political backlash hardly inspires co nfidence about its ability to document the economy to boost the tax-to-GDP ratio of less than 10 per cent, the lowest in the region. The FBR proposal is reflective of the unwillingness of the tax collectors to bring to justice those who avoid paying taxes. Against tall claims by successive heads of the board, the number of people filing tax returns has dropped sharply and more than two-thirds of the government revenue is generated from inf lationary, indirect taxes. In the budget for the last fiscal, the government had promised to bring 700,000 wealthy people into the net. More than a year later, the scheme has fizzled out. To improve its revenue collection, the government will have to tax all incomes irres-pective of source and revamp tax administration. Amnesty and whitening schemes will only further entrench the culture of tax evasion in the country.
A ludicrous suggestion
With the Organisation of the Islamic Conference already there, the call for a Muslim United Nations make s no sense. On Wednesday, a resolution passed by a gathering of religious parties in Islamabad asked the rulers of the Islamic world to set up a Muslim UN and establish a unified economic and defence system. The meeting was called by Jamaatud Dawa chief Ha fiz Saeed, whose activities remain on the governments watch list. Invitations were extended to virtually all political parties, most of which apparently thought it better to distance themselves f ro m the controversial outfit and thus did not participate. On the other hand, the meeting brought together some of the countrys leading religious figures including those who, unlike the JuD leader, do believe in electoral politics to draw up a strategy for a unified Muslim response to an anti-Islam film that has caused fury in many Musli m countries. Given the objectionable contents of the film, few would dispute the aim of the meeting. Yet, a unified Musli m response demands more than emotion-charged public rallies that degenerate into violence. It requires rea lism, wisdom and a strategy that does not turn out to be counterproductive. We know, for instance, that the OIC is a lame-duck organisation and little better than a debating forum. Its record even in economic and cultural cooperation among member states is disappointing. To speak of a unified defence and economic command is, thus, to invite ridicule. If the Islamic world is to meet the challenges it faces, Muslim leaders must f irst think of organising their societies on democratic and scientific lines. Empt y rhetoric and emotionalism have done more harm than good to causes espoused by Muslims. Meanw hile, it is a matter of regret that Wednesdays meeting failed to condemn last Fridays hooliganism on what was meant to be a solemn day.
A major step forward

September 28th, 2012 Ensuring that women are not restrained from casting their ballot and giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote are both crucial matters. But while the Election Commission of Pakistan has approved a draft law meant to counter womens disenfranchisement in the name of tradition, coming up with a workable system that would enable Pakistanis abroad to vote may take some time. The draft bill calls for a re -poll in areas w here less than 10 per cent of registered womens votes have been polled. Women have been denied their constitutional right to vote in many areas across Pakistan. And this regressive practice has been endorsed by both religious and mainstream liberal parties jointly in some cases. In fact, the ECPs decision has alread y attracted criticism f rom some political quarters. Hence while even the 10 per cent threshold is low, it would be a major achievement for progressive forces in parliament to get the bill passed and, more importantly, to have the law enforced to dilute the influence of obscurant forces over Pakistans political system. Besides, the ECPs step would also put pressure on all political parties to attract the womens vote, changing the dynamics in many constituencies. While enacting the womens enf ranchisement law is something that can be done relatively quickly, the question of how to enable Pakistani expatriates to vote is a trickier one, as has been reflected by the ECPs own indecisiveness. The two options on the table are either setting up polling stations in Pakistani missions abroad or allow ing postal ballots. There are issues with both methods, as in the Gulf states, where millions of Pakistanis work, political activities are frowned upon. The main issue with postal ballots is that after the publication of the final list of candidates there will not be enough time to cast the vote. However, a postal ballot system does exist for government officials and armed forces personnel. It is important to bring overseas Pakistanis, who contribute signif icantly to t he economy through remittances, into the voting process. The major issue is how the mechanics of the exercise can be managed, and at this stage, it is unlikely that expatriates would be able to vote in the next election. This has been indicated by politica l parties meeting w ith the chief election commissioner yesterday. While that would be disappointing, practicalities must be kept in mind to avoid problems. In the meantime, the matter should be debated by political parties, civil society and representatives of overseas Pakistanis so that a solution can be found. The process of how developed democracies allow their citizens living abroad to vote should also be studied.
The Putin snub

The cancellation of what was expected to be the Russian presidents landmark visit must come as a shock to Pakistan and raise a question or two about an issue whose impact transcends Islamabads bilateral relations with Moscow. To add to Pakistans distress, President Vladimir Putin cancelled his visit without giving any indication when, if at all, he would visit Pakistan. Instead, the Russian president invited his Pakistani counterpart to be his guest. That President Putins decision also cancels the quadrilateral summit involving Afghanistan and Tajiki stan is perhaps less of a worry; the greater cause for concern is the direction Pakistans relations with Russia w ill take. On the back burner for a long time, the relationship with Russia seemed to break new ground when President Asif Ali Zardari visited Moscow last year. The visit made geopolitical sense for a country keen to broaden its economic and security ties at a time w hen it was under pressure f rom the superpower. Rescheduling the Putin visit is now Islamabads only option. While the Foreign Office should determine precisely why the Russian president chose not to come to Pakistan, the reasons for Russias unhappiness are not too difficult to discern. Moscow feels disappointed over Islamabads tardy response to many vital works, especially energy projects, in which Russia is interested. These include the plan to transmit electricity from Tajikistan to Pakistan, and a motorway and rail links through the mountains f rom the former Soviet republic to this country. Also cause for annoyance is Pakistans dw indling interest in the Iran gas pipeline, on which Tehran has completed construction inside its territory with Russian help. While Islamabad officially remains committed to it, Moscow has not failed to note Islamabads dwindling interest in the project under American pressure. There are other projects for which Pakistan itself has shown an interest in Russian help the expansion of Pakistan Steel and several other infrastructure projects. But, while the Putin government is willing to help, it feels Pakistan has not done the spadework necessary to get the projects going. The Soviet Unions breakup should not cause anyone to underestimate Russias economic power and geopolitical clout. Its resource-rich landmass and high scientific and technological assets remain intact. As the focus of global economic power gradually shifts to the East, Russia as a Eurasian power is bound to play a major role. Pakistan would be making a grave mistake if it omits Russia from its calculations. In his letter, President Put in still held out hopes for a closer relationship with Pakistan. Let Islamabad find out what went wrong and try to mend things.
Positive signals
September 29th, 2012 Akhtar Mengals appearance before the Supreme Court on Thursday to plead for a change in state policy towards Balochistan was a much-needed move. At the very least it has sent a positive signal that mainstream Balochistan has still not given up on the state of Pakistan or at least parts of it to come to the rescue of the violence-hit province. The SCs efforts to rein in the unaccountable security establishment in Balochistan have not had much success to date but in the run-up to a general election, it is significant that the leader of a pro -Pakistan and moderate Baloch party, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal, has taken the opportunity to present his case on the national stage. Whether Mr Mengals prescribed solution the six points he mooted before the court will be implemented, or even listened to, in the quarters that matter when it comes to Balochistan is an open question. So far, the security establishment has not given any indication of its willingness to listen to voices of reason. Equally, the moderate voices from Balochistan and outside have largely not been heard in recent times. And perhaps the first step towards stabilising the province is having moderates speak up and put pressure in a concerted manner on the state security apparatus. Mr Mengals return to Pakistan from self -exile is also signif icant in the context of t he upcoming elections. The best case scenario for Balochistan would be for the moderate Baloch and Pakhtun parties the BNP-M, the National Party and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party to contest the upcoming general election and win enough seats to form a provincial government. That would reverse the disastrous decision of boycotting elections in 2008 that opened the door to self-serving interests in the province to grab power and to do virtually nothing to try and bring the warring sides in the province closer together over the past four and a half years as has happened under the government of Chief Minister Aslam Raisani. The moderates need to put their best foot forward now, for enough time has already been lost in Balochistan.
Winning the lottery

It must feel like w inning the lottery. A politician is elected to parliament and, suddenly, he has the means to please the people in his constituency by pressing forward with development projects. This seems to be particularly true for NA-51 (Rawalpindi), the constituency of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The impact was felt almost immediately after the PPP politician took oath as prime minister. A special Central Development Working Party meeting called by the Planning Commission on t he directives of the Prime Ministers Secretariat took practically no time to clear three development projects worth several billion rupees between them. Work star-ted even before the approval process was completed. But why should NA-51 not enjoy a day in the sun when others have had their turn before? By all accounts the constituency of Yousuf Raza Gilani was similarly treated during his tenure. This is a pattern we have witnessed regardless of which party has been in power. Of course, the welfare of voters in their constituencies is important to politicians, and that is how it should be. Happy voters mean better chances of electoral success. But also discernible in this pattern, where the constituencies of those in power are treated better often at the cost of others, is the reason why development work remains so patchy. Politicians should in fact be focused on improvements for the country as a whole. Their thinking is easy to understand: secure voter goodw ill and gain an edge over the competition. But it achieves little for the country as a whole and creates resentment at the fact that funds are not spent in an even-handed manner. Until this mindset on the part of the politicians changes, governance will continue to resemble a court where favours are handed dow n on royal whim.
A laudable step
September 30th, 2012 On the rare occasion, parliament can produce a pleasant surprise by taking on issues of genuine national importance. So it was on Friday that the Senate defence committee held parliaments fir st-ever public hearing in which experts from outside the official state apparatus were invited to address three critical areas of national defence and security: the countrys nuclear doctrine, the strategy to counter extremism and the states policy on Afghanistan. Fridays hearing was part of an exercise that will culminate in December or January with the Senate defence committee publishing a report containing recommendations for a new defence and national security strategy. In a country where civil- milit ary imbalance is a euphemism for the utter dominance of the army -led security establishment over the civilian political class, the committees actions must be lauded for making a genuine attempt to recover the ground the civilians have over the decades surrendered to the army on nationa l security and defence policy. The basic problem of Pakistans national security policies is their over - militarisation, an inevitable outcome when the army decides what the national security priorities are and how to advance those interests and defend against threats. But a viable national security strategy also has economic, social, political and diplomatic planks that have for the most part been ignored by the security establishment. To correct that historical imbalance an imbalance with deeply damaging consequences for Pakistans overall security the civilians w ill need to assert themselves and force other aspects of national security to be considered alongside the military aspects. And for that to happen, the first step must be a more open and frank debate about matters that hitherto have remained strictly in the military purview. So in inviting speakers to address issues concerning Pakistans nuclear doctrine, its counter extremism strategy and the policy on Afghanistan, the Senate committee has initiated a historic change that other elements of parliame nt must reinforce and support. Equally important is that the Senate defence committee does not limit its scope to policy scrutiny alone. Advancing civilian control over national security and defence policies also entails exercising greater oversight over how the armed forces are run and operated. What is an adequate budget for the armed forces, where the balance should be struck between addressing internal security threat s from militancy and external threats from states, how are toplevel appoint ments decided, what equipment needs to be acquired and in what priority these and many more questions are matters in which civilian input, and eventual control, is necessary. The Senate defence committee has taken the first step; are other civilian agencies ready to do their bit?
A new wave
Sectarian killings are becoming common in different parts of Pakistan, especially Quetta, Gilgit -Baltistan and Karachi. Yet a particularly chilling aspect of such killings is emerging in Karachi: families Shia and Sunni are being targeted on the basis of their beliefs. So grim is the situation that on Friday, the countrys chief justice termed Karachi the hub of terrorist activities, blaming intolerance for the violence. Earlier this month, the chairman of a Shia trust and senior advertiser was attacked along with his son and grandson. Only the grandson survived. In the past week, there were a number of similarly gruesome incidents: three brothers were attacked last Monday in the Jaffar-i-Tayyar neighbourhood, one of whom died. Later that day, four brothers belonging to the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat were gunned dow n in North Karachi. A day later, a Shia trader was shot d ead along w ith his two sons. While a few incidents of this nature occurred during the sectarian bloodletting of the 1990s, currently there seems to be no check on this horrific trend. It indicates that militants belonging to their respective sects are engaged in tit-for-tat killings, intent on killing several generations of a family. The police, administration and religious leaders are mostly silent, and there is only muted concern coming from political quarters. Such a response to the steady stream of killings has been highly disappointing. The police are hardly bothered; no unit has been assigned the task of investigating the rash of killings of family members and bringing the killers to justice. The police need to actively investigate these cases, which are part of a pattern, and not treat the killings as business as usual. The silence of the religious establishment is also disturbing. Religious leaders agitate over a variety of issues; so why has there been no outrage over these brutal killings? The re cently reactivated Milli Yakjehti Council, which features representatives from all the major Islamic factions in Pakistan, has said it wants to counter sectarianism. If that is the case, it should organise a meeting w here the religious establishment clearly and unequivocally condemns such sectarian murders as a first step.
Bomb disposal hero

September 30th, 2012 Habib Jalib once composed a limerick that mocked the tendency in Pakistan to add the honorific shaheed (martyr) to anyone killed in polit ical violence. However, if there are those w ho truly deserve the title, they include the unsung heroes of Pakistans bomb disposal squads. On Friday, Inspector Hukam Khan entered the ranks of such heroes when he was killed as he attempted to defuse a bomb. The bomb was one of the two killing and maiming devices that had been planted on a roadside near Khyber Agency. Hukam Khan had already disabled one bomb and was in the process of dismantling the other when the terrorists who had planted the devices detonated it by remote control. Hukam Khan, who had joined the squad as a low -paid constable in 1978, had defused countless such devices. Despite its risky nature, he was committed to his job and had risen to his rank as bomb disposal squad inspector. The psychological pressure on the men of the disposal squad is immense as they begin to defuse a bomb to save others from death and injury. Given the fact that such killing tools planted by terrorists are discovered every day, the disposal squad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa w hich has been the worst-hit province in the war against militancy has managed to deactivate them with remarkable professionalism. However, its task is getting deadlier by the day eight of the men have died while defusing lethal devices. Under-resourced and understaffed, the squad in the province has approximately 40 members. They are not in possession of jammers to disrupt signals, protective suits or other necessary gear. They do not even have sufficient fuel for vehicles. Meanwhile, the insurgen ts are improving their skills and assembling more sophisticated devices. It will be a losing battle unless the squads training and resources keep pace with the terrorists technology.
EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
A handy excuse
October 1st, 2012 I don't know why foreign hands are visible only to Rehman Malik and the agencies, asked Akhtar Mengal, the head of the BNP- M, during comments to the media on Saturday. Indeed. Its the most reliable tool in the oldest playbook here: every time t he state struggles to impose control over an area and the local population is alienated, anonymous officials in the orbit of the army-led security establishment start hinting darkly about outside powers stirring up trouble in Pakistan to destabilise the country and/or perhaps dismember it. The first and most direct benefit of this cynical theory is that it takes attention away from t he actual problem: in Balochistan, the states policy over the decades that has resulted in swathes of the Baloch population never really believing they are wanted inside Pakistan on equal terms with other populations; in Fata, state policy over the last three decades that created an infrastructure for jihad which led to the creation of a fearsome opponent with its guns trained o n Pakistan proper; in Gilgit-Baltistan, exploiting sectarian tensions for national goals since the 1980s in a previously largely peaceful area. The list goes on and on. The legend of the foreign hand is greatest when it comes to Balochistan. From Brahmda gh Bugtis Indian passport to detonators and explosives used by Baloch separatists being sourced from Indian or Afghan enemies of Pakistan, the claims have been persistent and extraordinary and they have never once been officially and publicly proved. The unwillingness to go public with the proof of the allegations is attributed variously to not wanting to endanger intelligence assets or to darker theories about how states play games at unseen levels and exposing them publicly would be counterproductive. Of course, all the while, the actual problem keeps festering. Whether Dr Allah Nazar is an agent of India or Afghanistan is almost beside the point; he was radicalised by what he witnessed happening to his province and what was done to him while under de tention by the security apparatus. And the youth of Balochistan who fear and loathe the Pakistani state do so not because of some great love for or support from outside powers but because they have seen the iron fist of the security apparatus brought down on their peers, friends and families. Throughout history, states have surely tried to take advantage of their opponents weaknesses. But the foreign hand isnt the problem in Pakistan; the states misguided policies are. Until those policies change, prob lems will fester and Pakistans internal security will remain tenuous.
The fishermens tale

October 1st, 2012 The plight of Pakistani and Indian fishermen who stray into each others waters is usually as predictable as the ocean currents that buoy up t heir boats. They are arrested by maritime security agencies and thrown into prison from where, often after several years, groups of them are released f rom time to time in goodw ill gestures. The story of Nawaz Ali, the fisherman who died recently in an Indian hospital, was different for a number of reasons, and not only because he never saw the light of freedom after his arrest. For one, Nawaz Ali and three of his relatives had been missing since 1999 after their boat was caught in a cyclone while they were out fishing. But it was more than a decade later that his family learnt they were alive and incarcerated in India. Secondly, news of Nawaz Alis death on Sept 8 was conveyed to the Pakistan High Commission by the Indian authorities well over two weeks later, after which his family was informed. According to an agreement signed by the two countries a few years ago and pertaining to cross -border prisoners, news of the death of a foreign prisoner must be conveyed immediately to the relevant high commission a nd his
body sent to his home country w ithin one month. It must be asked not only why immediate notification was not made in this instance, but also why Nawaz Alis family was kept in the dark about their relatives imprisonment for so long. Consular access for prisoners needs to be ensured so that none can slip through the cracks and languish behind bars, unseen and undocumented. While the release on F riday of 46 Pakistani fishermen by India is welcome, they do not include members of Nawaz Alis family. It is also high time that India and Pakistan tackled the issue of maritime boundary demarcation, the lack of which plays a big part in inadvertent trespass by fishermen on both sides. While relaxed visa regimes for businessmen and tourists are all very well, the plight of some of the most impoverished members of society must not be given short shrift.
Undocumented Afghans
October 1st, 2012 The displacement of Afghans from their homeland has been described as the worlds longest -running refugee crisis, now entering its fourth decade. And due to a variety of reasons, Pakistan has borne the brunt of the crisis. Last week, the National Assemblys Public Accounts Committee was told that there are around one million Afghans living in Pakistan illegally. This is in addition to 1.7 million registered refugees. The PAC was informed that the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) which deals w ith refugees was facing a paucity of funds, as millions of dollars promised by international donors had been held back. Yet there was also stinging criticism that funds meant for refugees were spent on officials junkets and air conditioners. Some parliamentarians were quite critical of the refugees, describing them as a burden. Considering the pressure put on the system by such a large number of people, the Afghans are an easy target for criticism. While the situation in Afghanistan may not be conducive for the refugees return due to militant violence and a weak economy, Pakistans problems, including a creaking infrastructure unable to cater to a large population, are also considerable. Some officials have voiced support for evicting the Afghan refugees. However, we feel repatriation should be voluntary. The state needs to focus on registering all undocumented Af ghans so that the refugee issue can be properly managed, as well as for security reasons. As for the shortage of funds, while the international community needs to deliver on its promises as the problem is not Pakistans alone, Safron must also plug the l eaks. The ultimate solution to the Afghan refugee question is a peaceful, prosperous Afghanistan. Until that seemingly distant goal is realised, the international community needs to continue to help Pakistan repatriate Afghan refugees wanting to go back and care for the ones still residing in this country.
No transparency
October 2nd, 2012 The Sindh local government law that was virtually bulldozed through the provincial assembly on Monday has attracted controversy ever since it first appeared as the S indh Peoples Local Government Ordinance 2012. The PPP and MQM had the numbers and saw the law through the legislature without debate even as other parties in the Sindh Assembly protested. The new law has attracted the criticism of Sindhi nationalists, some government allies and opposition figures. While it may be difficult to question the merit of a local government system that encourages grass-roots democracy, what cannot be condoned is the mishandling of an issue which has the potential to create deep divisions in society. The SPLGO 2012 was promulgated in early September and the notification to implement it was issued on Friday. Why such haste? It would have been more sensible to have called an assembly session and put the draft before Sindhs electe d representatives. That this procedure was not followed has raised suspicions about the political motives behind the move. The law calls for f ive metropolitan corporations in Sindh, with the provinces remaining 18 districts to be governed by councils. It also restores the Police Order of 2002 but only in Karachi. The rationale behind leaving other areas out of the purview of the police order is unclear: did the MQM want the system only for the Sindh capital, or did the PPP not want to implement it in the districts where it wields power? What is clear is that there should be one system police, administrative and other of governance in Sindh. Having two separate systems will be controversial and impractical. True, cities and rural areas have different needs. Nevertheless, a uniform system is needed to address development issues in an even-handed manner.
Considering that there is a need for public representatives at the grass -roots level, nationalists and others who are opposed to the law itself should be asked to clearly enunciate their views on the LG system and describe its flaws. Voicing their opinion is their right, but by not participating in the debate in a coherent manner, and not giving alternative suggestions, they only come across as trying to gain political mileage. Meanwhile, the PPP-led government has done itself no favours by turning an idea w ith merit into a highly controversial law. It must now dispel the impression that a separate system for Karachi has been proposed as a favour to the M QM. There is still a chance to salvage the situation if the government reaches out to disgruntled parties inside and outside parliament and consi-ders amending legitimate weaknesses in the law.
For fair polls

October 2nd, 2012 Election rhetoric apart, M ian Nawaz Sharifs apprehensions about electoral malpractices deserve to be taken seriously in a country where polling and vote count are far from transparent. Talking to journalists in Sukkur on Sunday, the PML-N chief said there would be a strong reaction if the general election was rigged and asked the PPP to help form a truly impartial caretaker set -up for the purpose. The sources of electoral malpractices are varied and stem from the kind of feudal- and militant-dominated society we live in. The administrative machinery is often open to pressure, and violence or threats of violence militate against fair voting. This is in addition to what Mehrangate revealed the ISI funding parties of its choice. Mercifully, we can see that all parties have agreed on the two major deterrents against electoral malpractices an impartial caretaker regime and a truly independent election commission. The PPP -led government and the opposition have chosen the right man in Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim as chief election commissioner, and the 20th constitutional amendment laying dow n the mechanism for choosing a caretaker prime minister has parliamentary consensus. The acting prime minister has not yet been chosen, but the opposition has come out with several names to which the govern ment side has not reacted negatively. Let us hope that the spirit shown in the CECs appoint ment will also be there in the choice of the interim prime minister. However, when the interim set -up is in place, the political parties and media, amongst others, must show a sense of responsibility, behave with restraint and lend full support to the caretaker regime and the CEC. This means a pledge to adopt a less emotional approach towards the issues of the day and to work collectively for fair polls. Placing the administrative machinery under the CEC, as has been demanded by some opposition leaders, is perhaps not immediately possible, but it can be considered later. However, transparency and smooth voting can be ensured if the caretaker government lends its full support to the CEC. This is a crucial step towards stabilising the democratic process.
The Afghan advance

October 2nd, 2012 The Asian Cricket Councils recent decision to back Afghanistan for associate membership of the International Cricket Council is recognition of the fast-improving Afghan team and makes plenty of sense. The would-be associate members have shown glimpses of their talent and the combative qualities the Afghans are famous for have won their side admirers. The Afghan cricketers are looked upon with a certain amount of pride in Pakistan not just because they are currently considered the most likely underdogs to upset the giants; Pakistanis look at these Afghan f ighters as their protgs. This country is happy to have played a big part in nurturing the cricketing talent among Afghan refugees over many decades. Many of the cricketers who first brandished their skills in the streets of Karachi and Peshawar are now distinguished members of the Afghan national side. They are coached by an exPakistan player and have taken part in domestic competitions here. So huge is Pakistanis support for this Afghan conquest that the happenings in a match of the ongoing T -20 world championship sort of revived the old strategic -depth theory here. Afghanistan were playing India and playing the m well and at one time genuinely threatened M.S. Dhonis team softening them up before Pakistan were scheduled to play India in the next round. But just as the best of coaching may have its faults, there is one area whe re the Afghans need to de -learn their Pakistani experience.
The Afghans do not have to drop all these balls to prove their affinity with their neighbours. They are as notorious as their teachers when it comes to catching the ball. As a team worthy of the associate stature they must improve their fielding, and maybe they can inspire their teachers to catch a few, amid these chants of do more and What more.
Tax amnesty
October 3rd, 2012 The confusion of those absorbing Finance Minister Hafeez Shei khs comments on the planned tax amnesty for the 3.8 million potential tax dodgers w ith undeclared assets here and abroad is perfectly understandable. He is being ambiguous, perhaps intentionally. He says such proposals are meant for netting those w ith large amounts of black money to hide. But he reminds everyone that it is not yet government policy (because it requires presidential approval). He doesnt say that it will not become government policy and so it may be safe to assume that the proposal remains on the table. Apparently, the minister favours the amnesty and wants the Federal Board of Revenue to shift its focus to those with large amounts of black money. He has chosen to be ambiguous in his comments possibly because of objections raised by visiting IMF officials. When the PPP government came up w ith its first tax amnesty scheme in 2008, it promised not to reward dodgers. It has failed to keep its word. Only a few months ago, it announced a reprieve for stock investors to provide a fresh trigger to invest ment in shares for boosting capital markets. The amnesty is being touted by the FBR as the last opportunity for tax dodgers to come clean. Still, chances of tax evaders availing of the scheme are as slim as that of government action against them. After all, they already have legislation in place guaranteeing tax exemption for money brought into Pakistan through normal banking channels as remittances. This legislation gives tax evaders enough space to whiten their untaxed money. They pay a small commission to a money-exchange dealer and get remittances in their names. It is hugely frustrating to see the state rewarding those who cheat the government with the help of a corrupt tax machinery. Media reports suggest the FBR is pushing the proposal as a one-time effort to generate additional revenues to meet the tax target for the current fiscal. However, the scheme is unlikely to help the F BR rake in significant amounts of tax. The 2008 amnesty had yielded just about Rs2.5bn. India has had more than 14 disc losure schemes but the response has been far from encouraging and the parallel economy continues to thrive there. Shouldnt we learn from the Indian experience if not from our own? A better way would be to deal sternly with tax dodgers w hom the government intends to help in laundering their illegal wealth. The FBR claims to have all the required information about them. If it must reward someone, it should reward honest taxpayers and not tax evaders.
Not a good idea

October 3rd, 2012 The PTI is set to go ahead with its rally to South Waziristan despite reservations from official quarters about safety and security, but the question must still be asked: is the PTIs rally a good idea? To the extent that political parties have an undeniable right to campaign in various parts of Pakistan and to energise the base ahead of an election, the PTIs rally is well within its democratic rights. Particularly in an area which has long remained on the margins of Pakistani society and virtually cut off from mainstream po litics, the attempt by a political party to fortify its support can seem like a good idea. But the PTIs goals must also be set against other national imperatives and seen fro m the perspective of the fight against militancy, Imran Khans high -on-drama, low-on-results pilgrimage to Fata is unadvisable. To the extent that the PTI leadership is calculating that a very public denunciation of drone strikes and military operations from an area gripped by violence for the better part of a decade will yield elect oral dividends in Pakistan proper, perhaps even in the tribal areas, the party may well pick up a few votes here and there. But the PTIs policy on drone strikes and military operations is so well known indeed, is a fundamental part of its campaign platform as to render a made-for-TV opportunity at best peripheral to its electoral success. The downsides, however, are very real and potentially serious, for the country, if not for the PTI. South Waziristan is an area no one, not even the most optimistic military official, would claim is anyw here near an acceptable
normal. Militants are still active and the security forces face a battle that has morphed from frontal confrontation to fighting a shadowy but dangerous enemy. In that environment, a political rally that will echo inside Pakistan and internationally and seek to undermine the tenuous state narrative that the fight against militancy is Pakistans ow n will only bolster the enemys morale, and even endanger lives. The PTI wont listen to good sense b ut its planned action is certainly deserving of criticism.
Children of a lesser god

October 3rd, 2012
Even in a country as inured to deprivation and tragedy as ours, the recently confirmed news of the death of nine newborns within a space of 12 hours at Larkanas Chandka Medical College Hospital was shocking. The details, as they emerged, painted a picture of a hospital with far too few resources for the number of patients in its care and no neo-natal ICU w ith functional incubators; instead, a paediatr ic emergency ward w here babies, including preemies, are accommodated together several to a bed, increasing the risk of cross -infection. These are among the factors that seem to have been large ly responsible for the deaths. Last June, a fire at the Services Hospital in Lahore entirely preventable had timely action been taken killed 10 babies. Despite the conclusion drawn by several investigations that the hospitals nursery section be moved elsewhere as it had no f ire escape, this has not been done. At the Chandka Hospital, many infants are underweight because they are born to anaemic, malnourished women who make the journey from far-flung communities where there is little or no medical care, let alone hospital facilities, available. The distance also pu ts at risk the lives of both mother and child in case of complications in home deliveries. While on the surface, the incidents appear very different, they are both evidence of the official apathy and institutional disregard for human life especially that which commands the least political clout in this part of the world. Also, given the ruling PPPs symbiotic relationship with Larkana, the fact that a leading government hospital in this city has such a paucity of resources for the ghareeb awam that the party claims as its constituency is particularly shamef ul. When will our political elite treat health as a fundamental human right rather than a privilege to be enjoyed by the select few?
A positive move
October 4th, 2012 Reversing the damaging decision to boycott the 2008 general elections, the National Party has thrown its hat into the electoral ring this time round, a w idely expected decision that should bode well for the moderates in strife -torn Balochistan. The BNP-M leader, Akhtar Mengal, did not announce his partys participation in the upcoming elections during his brief visit to Pakistan last week but the BNP-M is also expected to contest the elections. Similarly, the mainstream Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party is expected to try and recover the space it ceded to rivals after the disastrous decision to boycott the 2008 polls. All told, this is good news for the province. While the army -led security establishment has rightly been blamed for much of the mess in the province, the present provincial government and assembly has been a disaster at every level imaginable. In fact, so cynical has opinion in Balochistan become that many suspect the present civilian leadership of Balochistan is content to let the security forces and militant separatists fig ht it out because that ensures the flow of unprecedented funds to the province that can be easily skimmed off. A change, then, in the political stewardship of Balochistan is desperately needed. Nevertheless, these are early days. The fate of the elections in Balochistan will depend on delicate negotiations conducted behind the scenes between the various players, none of whom trust each other. As of now, the armys position on the elections is not known: will they let the electoral chips fall where they may or will they try and manipulate results in favour of allies? Gen Kayanis statement yesterday pledging the armys support for constitutional solutions in Balochistan was a welcome note but promises have been made before and not implemented. Moreover, the moderates will have to walk the narrowest of tightropes. Without convincing the militant separatists that relatively free and fair elections are in Balochistans interest, the moderates could easily find themselves in the crosshairs of the separatists duri ng the campaign. There is yet another unknown. Will the army and the separatists halt the violence ahead of the elections to ensure a period of calm in the province? If neither side backs dow n, the elections could become a bloodbath and Balochistan could s piral further out of control.

Perhaps the greatest unknown, on which much of Balochistans future could rest, is w hich way the province will vote if moderates do participate and if the elections are relatively f ree and fair. The moderate parties believe t hey still command substantial support. But if Balochistans population spurns the moderates at the election, who will rescue that unfortunate province and how?
Averting a clash
October 4th, 2012
Adding a new twist to the dual nationality debate, the National Assembly Secretariat has apparently refused to comply with the Election Commission of Pakistans order to obtain declarations from legislators confirming that they do not possess citizenship of a foreign country. The ECPs move was the result of las t months Supreme Court order requiring parliamentarians to submit affidavits clarifying their nationality status. It appears that the NA Secretariat is going by the book; the ECP was told that the rules of business do not allow the obtaining of such dec larations, meaning that the commission should obtain the declarations f rom the law makers itself. Since the court has passed the order and since holding dual nationality for law makers is forbidden under Article 63 (1c) of the constitution, it is obvious that our legislators should abide by the SCs directives and cooperate with the ECP by either filing their affidavits directly or through the NA Secretariat. There is little room for debate on this point. But, having said that, the situation must also be seen from a broader perspective. The life of the current national and provincial assemblies is limited, w ith probably three or four months remaining before the legislatures complete their tenure. So, to avert an institutional clash over the matter it is advis able for the ECP to put greater focus on ensuring that candidates for the upcoming polls do not have dual nationality. Such verification has been carried out before recent by-elections and must be repeated as part of a regular process in the run-up to gene ral elections. The Senate, however, is a different case as it will remain after the current assemblies complete their term. Hence the senators should file their aff idavits without delay. Whether it is filing wealth statements or details of their nationalit y, the publics representatives are accountable to the courts as well as to the people, who have a right to information about their financial status and other details. If the law makers have nothing to hide, there should be no delay in filing the statements required by the ECP.
A new benchmark
October 4th, 2012 Pure in name and known for its abstinence, Pakistan must nevertheless attract attention for the variety of cocktails it offers. But this one has the potency to send the whole bar into a spin. The instance where an honourable judge seeks to spike the legal with the moral makes for a mixture too heady even for these times of most ingenious experiments. The honourable chief justice of the Peshawar High Court on Monday granted bail to a woman accused of running a brothel. A new benchmark in the treat ment of the accused was set when the respected judge referred her to a certain imam sahib of a certain mosque in Hayatabad in recognition of the respected clerics ability to correct the wayward. The accused was asked to attend daily reformative classes at the mosque for a month, and no less a moral keeper than the local SHO was directed to make sure the accused successfully completed the course. This is reformative justice and this is progress true Pakistan style, may we add. An example has been set against the old retributive model and for using the clerics effectively beyond their traditional role. But, leave alone what sentence a judge can pronounce, is this woman a convict already? The news reports sa y it was a bail plea the honourable judge was hearing. The prosecution was yet to begin. The accused did get bail but the accompanying order that put her in the care of a cleric could lead to the impression of her being guilty before the trial itself was held. Only if she had been found guilty could she have been asked to go through a reformative process. It would
appear that amid so many whats and w hys surrounding the case the imam sahibs entry was a tad premature if not simply unwarranted.
Tax evasion
October 5th, 2012 There are times w hen the audacity and mismatch between what is being said and w hat is being done leaves us all dumbfounded. Recently, the National Database and Registration Authority completed an exercise aimed at identifying those individuals who have lifestyles of opulence and luxury yet pay no taxes. The results strain credulity, in a country where credulity is already in short supply. Tens of thousands of people live in posh areas of big cities, own luxury cars, engage in luc rative professions such as medicine and law and possess licenses for weapons yet they pay no taxes. Over a million and a half people travel abroad multiple times in a year, and more than half a million people ow n multiple bank accounts without being registered as tax payers. The numbers may not be very large in proportion to the overall population, but the audacity of living in this manner w ithout paying taxes, and in many cases without even being registered with the tax authorities, is confounding even for Pakistan. We all knew these numbers would be large when they came in, but we werent prepared for how large and how audacious the picture of tax evasion in Pakistan really turned out to be. This would be just another data release were it not for the timing. Nadras disclosures come only days after the announcement of another tax amnesty scheme, the purported intent of which is to bring evaded wealth into the tax net. Past schemes of this sort have had as much success as de-weaponisation drives in conflict areas. Pakistan has one of the highest cash-to-bank deposit ratios in the world, which basically means that Pakistanis prefer holding their wealth in cash, and prefer to execute their transactions in cash rather than use banking channels. The reason is obvious: cash transactions are difficult to trace. The volume of money that circulates in the cash economy in Pakistan is larger than it is in most other countries of the world. Bringing this money into the tax net, a fact whose importance and urgency has been highlighted by the numbers compiled by Nadra, will not happen w ith more amnesty schemes. It will happen when there is a will to connect the dots and identify the evaders on the part of the Federal Board of Revenue, when there is a w ill to document commercial transactions through a value-added tax, and above all, when there is a w ill on the part of citizens to change their mindset and carry their part of the burden to pay for their states expenses.
A rock and a hard place

October 5th, 2012 The killing of Abdul Haq Baloch, who reported for a private television network, in Khuzdar on Saturday has highlighted yet again the increasingly dangerous terrain that the countrys journalists must negotiate in the line of duty, particularly in conflict-hit areas such as Balochistan and the north-western parts of the country. Mr Baloch was only about 100 yards from the local press club when he was gunned dow n by masked men. As in so many similar cases, the killers fled and the police case has been registered against unidentified gunmen. The list of those who could be behind the attack can potentially include elements ranging from militants or separatists to sections of the law- enforcement apparatus, for journalists who report from the countrys trouble spot s complain of facing pressure f rom both sides in relation to their work. Over the years, a mounting body of information suggests that amongst the persecutors of reporters could be elements within state-sponsored agencies that seek to suppress the flow of information and place impediments in the path of citizens right to information the death of Saleem Shahzad being a case in point. In such a situation, where the state makes little effort to even signal its support for journalists, honest reportage can be considered under threat. Will Mr Balochs killers ever be brought to book? Given the states history in this regard, this would appear unlikely. Earlier during the year, the New York- based Committee to Protect Journalists warned that deadly, unpunished violence against the press rose sharply in Pakistan, and the countrys rating on the CPJ Impunity Index worsened for the fourth year in a row. In this bald statement can be found the truth of the matter. The index rates countries where journalists are killed regularly but the government usually fails to solve the crime. In other words, Pakistan is a deadly country for journalists not just because they are threatened, but also because the state consistently
refuses to pursue the persecutors in any meaningful fashion. Unless this pattern changes, there is danger that those in the media, particularly in conflict-hit areas, will have to work w ith so much circumspection as to render themselves impotent.
Aviation safety
October 5th, 2012 The states machinery is not exactly known for its clockwork efficiency. But when it comes to investigating Pakistans worst air disasters, the government needs to show some urgency. As reported in this paper the Safety Investigation Board, which works under the Ministry of De fence and is investigating Aprils Bhoja Air crash on the outskirts of Islamabad, has not met for two months. The reason for this is that the investigation chief is on sick leave while another investigator has retired. The SIB is also waiting for the Inter national Civil Aviation Organisations feedback, as the global agency is looking into the crash as well. Meanw hile, the probe into July 2010s Airblue crash, in Islamabads Margalla hills, is also proceeding at a snails pace. Earlier this year the Peshawar High Court ordered a re-investigation into the tragedy as it was dissatisfied with the official probe. Reportedly, in the Airblue investigation as well a response from the ICAO is awaited. If it is indeed a lack of feedback from foreign experts that is holding up both investigations, perhaps the local authorities need to approach the ICAO and request it to update them on the findings thus far. However, delaying a probe because an investigator is indisposed or has retired is simply unacceptable. Surely th e state can appoint competent experts in their place. The government needs to show urgency and interest in both probes for two key reasons: first, there is a need to ascertain what exactly brought down the two airliners so that rectifications can be made where safety protocols are concerned in order to prevent future accidents. Second, the investigations need to progress at a satisfactory pace so that the heirs of the victims can be duly compensated. Overall, the state needs to urgently review its lethargic attitude towards aviation safety standards in Pakistan.
Military mindset
October 6th, 2012 Laconic it may have been, but the army chiefs recent statement on Balochistan came across as full of meaning and revealed a disturbing mindset. Before flying off to Moscow, Gen Pervez Kayani said the army would support any solution to the Balochistan crisis provided it was within the constitution. His statement was elaborated upon by an army official when he denied that the army was blocking any political ini tiative on Balochistan. The army chiefs remark came in the wake of Baloch nationalist Akhtar Mengals appearance in the Supreme Court and the talks he had in Islamabad with some leading politicians culminating in his six points. Whether or not Mr Mengal s nostru m for solving Balochistans problems is in the interest of the province or the country is for the representatives of the people to decide; unelected institutions need not be officious. On the other hand, Gen Kayanis could have been an off-the-cuff remark. But given the number of times the military has suspended or tampered with the constitution in the past, it is not surprising that not everyone took his words at face value. We hope that the generals have learnt their lesson and stay well within t he limits of the constitution. While space doesnt permit a fuller review of the armys forays into politics and how it made and unmade constitutions, an example or two can be noted. Ziaul Haq at least was not being a hypocrite when he proclaimed that the constitution was nothing but a piece of paper he could tear up. What he considered to be his right as a general had already been demonstrated by two army chiefs. A fourth was to follow in 1999. Coinciding with Gen Kayanis remark, a defence ministry offic ial denied before the SC the existence of a political cell in the ISI, a denial that flies in the face of Pakistans history. As irony would have it, the refutation came during the hearing of the Asghar Khan case in which a former ISI chief has himself placed before the court documents corroborating his assertion that the intelligence agency distributed money among its favourite politicians to create a multiparty alliance and manipulate the 1990 elections. Way back, another ex-ISI chief had also admitted to such tactics. Army interventions have done enormous harm to Pakistan, militated against the evolution of democratic institutions, eroded the concept of civilian supremacy and corrupted the judiciary. Each time the army quit, the
country was left in a greater mess and twice without a constitution (1969 and 1971). Today, the task before all Pakistanis is to consolidate the democratic process.
Syria-Turkey tensions
October 6th, 2012 The Syrian conflict has always had the potential to escalate into a regional conflagration, and recent events have taken a worrying turn in that direction. The Turkish parliament on Thursday authorised military action against Syria for upto a year after five Turks were killed, reportedly by cross-border Syrian shelling. Ankara has responded w ith shelling of its own. Relations between the neighbours have been frosty ever since the Syrian uprising began last year; in June the Syrians shot down a Turkish surveillance aircraft over the Mediterranean while Syria blames the Turks for hosting rebels. Analysts nevertheless take comfort from the fact that neither Ankara nor Damascus has gone beyond what was expected; the Syrians struck a conciliatory tone while Turkey has said the parliaments move is not a declaration of war. There have also been anti-war demonstrations in Turkey. Meanwhile, the UN and international players have urged restraint; showing rare unanimity over Syria, the Security Council condemned the Syrian shel ling in the strongest terms. Syria is in a state of civil war, w ith around 30,000 casualties reported to date. Rebels control considerable swathes of land along the Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders. Opposition f ighters took control of a border town near Turkey a few weeks ago, which may explain Syrian shelli ng of the region. While Damascus has crushed the revolt with great brutality, the armed opposition is also quite unpredictable, rife as it is with internal divisions and infiltrated by religious extremists. Already a proxy war is being fought within Syria, with the rebels receiving support from Gulf Arabs, among others, while Bashar al- Assads regime has Iranian backing. In such a scenario if Turkey were to formally enter the fray, the results would be disastrous. Turkey is part of Nato and other members of the pact can be drawn into a conflict if the territory of a member state is attacked. Fortunately, at this point such a development seems unlikely. The ideal yet unlikely solution would be a ceasefire by all belligerents to pave the way for a democratic transition. Meanwhile, regional states must exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from spilling over into other countries.
Out of the finals

October 6th, 2012 The Pakistan cricket teams roller-coaster campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 f inally came to an end in Colombo on Thursday w ith their semi-final defeat against hosts Sri Lanka. Living up to their reputation of being the most unpredictable outfit in the game, the Pakistanis made heavy weather of a rather small target of 140 to lose the contest by 16 runs on a track that held no perils for the batsmen. Sri Lanka, despite being a competitive side and enjoying home advantage, were by no means better equipped than Mohammad Hafeez and his charges for the T20 format. However, credit must be given to them for keeping their cool in the end and outplaying the opposition for a spot in the final. Although the Pakistanis delighted fans by taming the formidable Australians and South Africans in the thrilling event, their inexplicable loss in the semifinal as well as in the crucial game against arch-rivals India in the Super Eight stage raises some serious questions about their ability to sustain their act on the cricket field, especially when playing under pressure. It also put a question mark on the future of some of its most experienced players including Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq. The three veterans of Pakistan cricket are clearly a shadow of what they were during their heyday and would be well-advised to hang up their boots. The overa ll leadership of skipper Hafeez is also bound to be put under the microscope. On more than one occasion he failed to read the pitch correctly and his persistence with opener Imran Nazir and all-rounder Yasir Arafat and the constant omission of talented Asad Shafiq has put off cricket enthusiasts. The way forward would involve inducting new blood into the team and more purposeful input from coach Dav Whatmore.
Electoral rolls
October 7th, 2012
Much has been said about all the names that are missing f rom the electoral rolls. This is about missing political parties parties that are absent when it comes to doing their duty to have enrolled as many people as voters as possible. In Lahore on Friday, Chief Election Commissioner Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrah im (retd) said not a single political party had so far obtained a copy of the revised electoral rolls. This comes as a shock amid all the criticis m of the Election Commission of Pakistans voters list. The CECs remarks indicate that objections on the lis t have been raised without anyone bothering to first go through the evidence. The aim should be to add to the list of eligible voters, which has swelled over time but which is still far from complete. It is a process that requires the political parties to be constructive. The big political parties have cells to look after various areas of interest. There is no reason w hy they should not have in-house groups solely attending to this matter of paramount importance which Mr Ebrahim has pointed out. An efficient commission is dependent on greater participation by all stakeholders political parties, media and other civil society organisations and, not least, on the individual w ho must press for rights guaranteed under a democratic order. It is not too difficult to understand the unease with which the ECP is viewed here. It has had a negative image, built up over the years, which will take time to fade away. It is only in recent times that an earnest attempt has been made to ensure a fair and free commission. Mr Ebrahim was hailed as the man w ho could initiate the process of turning the ECP into an independent institution. He was expected to be active and at the same time extra cautious in his assignment so that there is no confusing an election commissioner w it h a political leader who has his own agenda of reforms. He has been busy and high hopes are attached to him, but his first few months as CEC are illustrative of the enormity and sensitivity of the task before him. There is the issue relating to dual nationality of lawmakers, while the problem of electoral rolls lingers on not just in the discourse of politicians but also in the accounts of individuals who are yet to make it to the voters list. It appears the CEC w ill have to call the politicians over for w ork that benefits the political parties and the people they are answerable to. It should not expect them to turn up on their own.
A conservative stance
October 7th, 2012 The State Bank of Pakistan is in a tight corner. It is also confused as it tries t o adjust its monetary policy stance to strike a balance between growth and inflation. The textbook view of monetary policy preached by the IMF requires the SBP to maintain high interest rates to control prices and inflation expectations. The bank has relig iously followed this policy since 2007. The need to revive invest ment and growth, on the other hand, demand substantial rate cuts. It is a fine balancing act as both contractionary and loose monetary stances have benef its and drawbacks. The tight monetary stance pursued for f ive years failed to tame prices and restrain government fro m bank borrowings to finance its budget. Rather, it threw the private sector out of the banking sector, dried up fresh invest ment and stalled economic growth. In view of this marginalisation of its tight policy stance the SBP decided to cut interest rates by 200bps 50bps in August and 150bps in October last year. But it soon developed cold feet and changed course in the face of escalating prices on the back of inflationary government borrowing and a deteriorating balance-of-payment situation. In August this year, the bank again saw an opportunity in slowing inf lation to reduce its policy rate by 150bps to revive private invest ment for pushing growth. The latest policy review o n Friday, however, indicates the bank has again lost its momentum as it decided to adopt a more conservative stance by slow ing the pace of monetary easing. The rate cut of 50bps to 10 per cent was far below the market expectation of 100 -150bps. Indeed, availability of cheaper credit may motivate government borrow ing and push prices up. Still, the lowering of rates will revive private credit that shrunk to just below Rs18bn last year and allow businessmen to replace their ageing technology, expand their capacity, invest in coal-fired generation, create jobs and increase exports. Also, the government may get fiscal space in its substantially reduced debt -servicing to spend more on development. Unusual times require unusual solutions. The SBP could either go by the textbook or attempt bold steps.
March to Kotkai
October 7th, 2012 As these words are being w ritten, Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf supporters are en route to the tribal areas as part of a peace march to protest American drone strike s in the Waziristan agencies. Earlier, there was some ambiguity about the states willingness to provide security to the marchers. The South Waziristan Agency administration had denied permission for the march, citing its inability to provide security to p articipants. Yet Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday reportedly stated that no impediments were being created for the PTI rally, while the Dera Ismail Khan authorities said they would make fool - proof security arrangements. These are welcome develo pments indicating that better sense has prevailed in government circles. Now, the state should not create panic by issuing warnings, and work on ensuring maximu m possible security for the participants. While the wisdom of the march itself is debatable, the fact remains that it is the democratic right of every political party to hold rallies and public meetings. Having said that, the PTI needs to cooperate with the authorities as safety of the marchers is of paramount importance. Looking beyond the PTI marc h, the state cannot make the excuse that rallies or meetings should be cancelled because of militant threats. Issuing advance threat warnings and later saying we told you so is the easy way out for the government in order to shirk its responsibilities. T he authorities can also use the existence of threats to disallow religious processions in Muharram and Rabiul Awwal. Yet the militants cannot be allowed to set the agenda. People have the right to peacefully assemble for political, religious or other purpo ses and the state must guarantee their safety. Providing security to the PTI march was the right move; hopefully the state will not be reluctant to provide protection to its citizens in similar cases.
Parliaments challenge
October 8th, 2012 Two bills are set to be tabled in parliament this week by the government according to a report in this newspaper yesterday and both will have far-reaching consequences if not vetted and passed in a responsible and effective manner. At the moment, the governments intentions in that regard are anything but clear. Both the much-delayed accountability bill and the fair trial bill have language that can be used to thwart their ostensible aims and end up either toothless, in the accountability bills case, or infringing on the peoples rights, in the fair trial bills case. Start with the language in the accountability bill. The impasse over whether the proposed national accountability commission should be headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or by a retired one is not really where the main difficulty lies, though the PPP and PML- N have used the disagreement to conveniently delay the bills passage for a couple of years now. More worrying is the good faith exemption to holders of public office if they are found guilty of wrongdoing the slippery slope of exemptions could end up gutting the entire bill and rendering it a meaningless piece of legislation. Also important, and unknown, is the implementation mechanism. After all, even the best legislation in the world can be meaningless w ithout a robust implementation mechanism. Of more direct worry to the public is the fair trial bill. The use of advanced communications technology by militants and terrorists is well know n and the states ability to intercept these communications and then use the evidence so gathered in a court of law is woefully inadequate, at least when it comes to admissibility of evidence. But in trying to solve a problem, the states idea of a solution can often involve gross overreach. Take the example of the Actions (In Aid of Civil Power) Regulations, 2011 for Fata and Pata (the Malakand area) which were promulgated by the president in an attempt to ease the problem of illegal detentions of militants and suspects captured during the various military operations. But then the regulations were used to re-incarcerate the Adiala 11 after they had been set free by the courts. So unless there is a robust system of checks and balances and unless citizens have solid guarantees that their privacy will not be wantonly breached, the fair trial bill may create more problems than it attempts to solve. The test, then, for parliament is a stern one. But it should be welcomed by parliament for w ithout learning to grapple with such complex matters, the democratic project will never truly take root.
Bank robbers week

October 8th, 2012
Four bank robberies in one week serve to highlight the night marish crime picture in the nations biggest city. On Friday, armed men, w ho had obviously rehearsed their commando-style operations, got away with half a million rupees f rom a bank branch in the harbour area, raising to more than Rs6m the amount looted by outlaws in just a few days. That the robbery bid at a North Nazimabad bank failed gives no credit to the law -enforce ment agencies, for the bandits had mistimed their crime. But in both cases, the sophistication in their modus operandi was obvious. They were wearing the uniform of security guards, and that made their job easy, for no one challenged their entry into the banks. They had also done their intelligence homework, knew the police were not around, and the cellphone that cheap but valuable tool for the good and bad must have been in their possession. In contrast, the banks have no defence mechanism except security guards, who are sitting ducks. Fridays crimes raise to 18 the number of bank heists in Karachi this year, with the loot amounting to almost Rs70m. Are these ordinary criminals in action or militant groups gathering money for terrorist purposes? The security agencies have no clue. The banks had pleaded with the authorities for an effective mechanism for a coordinated plan of action against robberies, but there is no evidence that the law-enforcement set-up has accepted their pleas or come up with an effective scheme of its own. CCTV cameras are there in most bank branches, and in many cases criminals have been identified. But nothing has been done by way of unearthing the gangs and taking them to court which would have boosted the image of the police force in the eyes of the people of Karachi. Bank robberies are just one aspect of the harrowing law and order situation in a city that is Pakistans industrial and commercial hub. From street crimes, carjacking and extortion rackets to home burglaries and bank robberies, crime is thriving in Karachi and the administration seems helpless.
A happy lot?
October 8th, 2012 Post-colonial nation that we are, weve become used to receiving wisdom, often about our own society and situation, from the West. On numerous occasions, it has taken studies endorsed or carried out by Western agencies to convince us of the veracity of the picture staring us in the face, be it of child malnutrition in rural Sindh or the worsening economic crisis. Indeed, such is the reach and credibility of several well-funded First World organisations that in many cases, producing the same data through local channels would be quite a challenge. Nevertheless, there are occasions when the results produced by the mighty number-crushers on the other side of the planet seem literally that: from another planet altogether. That is the case with the Happy Planet Index 2012, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. Pakistan never appears anyw here near the top of a list gauging prosperity, but in the case of sustainable wellbeing, which the Index purportedly measures, it seems we occupy the 16th slot out of 151 countries, ahead of both India and America and one spot below Israel. Upon receipt of this news, the average Pakistani could be forgiven for looking around in disbelief. But as always, the devil lies in the detail. The HPI, which was introduced in 2006 by a British NGO that also has a branch in the US, is calculated using human life expectancy and wellbeing, and the ecological footpri nt, of countries through data collected by a range of sources such as the UNDP and Gallup. Pakistan rated mediocre on the first two counts but was saved by its ecological footprint or lack thereof. What that means is that the average Pakistanis percep tion that this is a tough country to negotiate is probably true, but fortunately we are not in the business of actively harming the planet which, we must suppose, is encouraging.
Shrouded in secrecy
October 9th, 2012
As a peaceful protest, the Pakistan Tehrik-i- Insafs anti-drone march fell well within democratic norms. What was also clear, though, is that its motive was election-era politics rather than confronting the roots of the proble m itself. While roundly criticising the Pakistani and US administrations, the party focused far less on the fact that Pakistans drone policy, whatever it may be, is being carried out with the approval of the Pakistani army and the cooperation of Pakistani intelligence. So while it may have been effective politic al propaganda, whether or not the protest will put pressure on those really responsible for the drones mess is questionable. The frustrating truth is that the real nature of America and Pakistans agreement, or lack thereof, on the drones programme is grow ing more, not less, murky. The conventional wisdom seemed to be that a programme that was once jointly conducted by the two countries, at least in terms of intelligence -sharing and Pakistan providing a physical base, had now become one conducted by the U S without Pakistans involvement. But a series of reports in Western media outlets are now claiming that Pakistan is still given some know ledge of upcoming drone strikes. Even then, there is no consensus on the extent of the information provided whether it is just an indication of the broad area w ithin which strikes will take place or an actual list of targets or on whether or not Pakistan acknowledges receiving the information. The bottom line is that the extent of collaboration remains behind a veil o f secrecy that neither the US nor Pakistan governments and intelligence agencies seem eager to lift. Nor is it clear whether or not the drones are legal partly because it is unclear how much consent Pakistan provides how targets are selected, or how militants are distinguished from civilians present in areas where militant activities are being plotted or carried out. All of which has turned drones into a genuine human -rights issue of great sensitivity for many Pakistanis. That in turn means the program me has become a lightning rod for anti-US sentiment and is also being used to support the argument that military action is not the solution in even Fatas most militant-infested parts. Until the Pakistani military makes a genuine effort to root out militants from the tribal areas, or the government develops a joint mechanism with the US for conducting the programme and shares it with the public, the controversy over drones could derail the objective of cleansing the tribal areas of militants who threaten not only other countries, but Pakistan itself.
Worrying portent
October 9th, 2012 Violence has become an unfortunate component of Pakistani politics. And when political meetings and rallies become easy targets for trigger-happy assailants, the need to re form the countrys political culture assumes even more importance. A number of people were killed as gunmen opened fire on a village public meeting on Sunday in Sindhs Khairpur district. The majority of victims were PPP supporters. There are mixed views a bout what prompted the attack with some officials citing the cause as enmity between two groups of the local Janwari community. However, PPP MNA Nafisa Shah, who was to speak at the meeting, indicated political motives. Given intra communal tensions and a charged political at mosphere, neither aspect can be ruled out. Political tensions have been prevailing since the passage of the Sindh Peoples Local Government Bill 2012 by the provincial assembly last week, with Sindhi nationalists and some erstwhile PPP allies in the assembly agitating against the new law. If the meeting was attacked due to political motives, it would set a dangerous precedent. One can only hope that the police are right when they say they know the perpetrators; in that case we expect t he assailants to be apprehended soon. To clear the air, all political forces in Sindh need to condemn the attack unequivocally, whatever their view of the government. Criticism of government policies must remain w ithin the bounds of democratic practice either in the assembly chamber or through peaceful protests. With general elections on the horizon electioneering activities will begin to gather steam in the days ahead. In this context it is not very reassuring that a meeting of the ruling party has been attacked in its home base. Considering the possibility of similar incidents, political parties need to sit down and discuss a code of conduct whereby it is agreed that electioneering will be a peaceful exercise. If the trend of attacking political rallies and meetings catches on, an excuse can be made to curtail political activities altogether. This would be unacceptable. Hence both political
parties and the state need to play their respective roles to ensure a peaceful run-up to the elections.
T-20 championship
October 9th, 2012 On Sunday, crickets unpredictability once again got the better of the many experts on the game. The West Indies victory against the much-fancied Sri Lanka gave the T -20 championship its fourth w inner. The Windies join past winners India, Pakistan and England to reconfirm the openness of this short version of cricket which offers all participants a good shot at the title, consequently adding to the appeal of an already popular format. The purists may be appalled by the damage the T- 20 bombardment is causing the gentlemans game. They better brace themselves for more of the same. The longer variety, not just the Tests but also the one-day internationals, is in danger of being stroked out of the stadium. In the Colombo final Sri Lanka badly erred by complicating the issue. They calculated too much and hit out at too few. They may have approached it in too defensive a frame of mind. As hosts, they were placed in the easier group and defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals. But in the biggest game of the championship, the Lankan intent seemed to be on getting one underneath the tall and merry West Indians rather than to surpass them. The pitch the game was played on cost Mahela Jayawardenes team dear. Tailor - made for slower, lower-trajectory bowlers, it led to the Lankan skippers downfall and that of ace batsman Kumar Sangakara. It neutralised the Lankan trump card, Lasith Malinga w ho bow led full as per his style and went for plenty at the hands of a very talented Marlon Samuels. Caribbean skipper Darren Sammy summed up the story of how a theory can go w rong out in the field rather well. Otherwise an innocuous, reluctant bowler, he cut down on pace to great effect and stole the cup the West Indies had long been waiting for. They were worthy winners in the end.
Accountability bill
October 10th, 2012 As planned, the government introduced a new accountability bill in parliament on Monday. And as expected, it is a flawed bill. The National Accountability Commission bill that has been sent to a standing committee for vetting and approval before being returned to the full house for a vote expected sooner than later will be examined and critiqued outside parliament in the days ahead as its language is digested and its implications unders tood. Already, however, two glaring issues have arisen: the good faith exemption in the previous bill, now withdrawn by the government, has been retained w hile the clock on accountability has been set back only as far as October 2002. Limit ing accountability to the last decade for public office holders is a particularly egregious flaw in the new bill. Previously, the government wanted to go as far back as 1985 while the PML-N had insisted on 1947 as the starting point from which accountability of public officials could be undertaken under the law that is to replace the Musharraf-era National Accountability Ordinance. Ten years is a particularly short period and one that conveniently excludes the so-called decade of democracy in the 1990s w hen the PPP and PML-N traded office every couple of years or so and claims of corruption and other w rongdoing were rife. As a signal that the government is serious about accountability the 10-year limit is a particularly poor idea: few will believe the government is intere sted in across-theboard accountability if its limited t o only a slice of our history. The retention of the good faith exemption to accountability is also problematic. If the language is drafted loosely and the use of the exemption not tightly patrolled and who can expect politicians to implement the language of legislation to their own disfavour? accountability could become a farce. For example, if a lucrative contract for an important public -works project is handed out without proper vetting and transparent bidding, could the public office holder later claim the projects importance justified cutting corners (and presumably lining the pockets of allies and family in the process)? To be sure, a draconian accountability law could in some circumstances have adverse effects if it makes public officials too skittish about performing their duties as they fear prosecution by an overzealous accountability machinery later. But as it stands, the good faith exemption appears too broad to be justified. Yet, w ill the bill receive the scrutiny it deserves inside parliament? From Mondays events, it appears that the PML -
Ns objections may be more for the cameras than substantive. Behind -the-scenes understandings could scuttle necessary scrutiny of an important law.
Women as chattel
October 10th, 2012 Last year, a bill was passed that outlaws, among other practices that exploit women, offering the latter in marriage to settle disputes. But the emergence of a new wani case in Balochistan proves that in Pakistan putting down laws on paper is only the starting point of a long, hard struggle for womens rights. Such a struggle w ill have to involve making the judicial system accessible to citizens across the country if entrenched customs of tribal justice are to be rooted out. As long as the official justice system remains slow, inconvenient and expensive, and as long as it is not woven into the fabric of Pakistani society, turning to councils of tribal elders will remain a tempting solution even if its results are inhumane and discriminatory by modern standards. The second piece of the problem is that mindsets remain regressive and misogynistic at the very top. The claim that a sitting member of the Balochistan Assembly may have been part of the jirga that allegedly advised that 13 girls of one tribe be offered to another tribe as compensation for a murder brings to mind another shocking instance of wrongly exercised influence, when in 2008 a senator from the province defended the alleged burying alive of five women fo r reasons of honour. As long as those in positions of power w ithin their tribes and constituencies continue to hold views like these, changing conditions for women will remain almost impossible. If there is anything positive about the news, it is that a story such as this one may have gone unnoticed just a few years ago. And many stories still do. But there is some hope that the media attention the incident has received and the suo moto notice taken by the Supreme Court if it leads to some accounta-bility could work as deterrents in the future, especially in preventing influential people in the public eye from supporting actions against women. Until the slow, hard work of providing modern justice and holding those in power to account is done, making a noise about such instances is the only real weapon there is.
Killer amoeba
October 10th, 2012
A rare, mysterious amoeba know n as Naegleria fow leri has been linked to at least 10 deaths in Karachi since May. It is a waterborne organism found in swimming pools and freshwater bodies and can infect the nervous system with deadly results. With often deceptive initial symptoms, such as headache and fever, a proper diagnosis is difficult to make. The concern generated by the lethal amoeba and presumably the fa ct that of the 10 victims only one had visited a sw imming pool, led to a meeting of health officials and other stakeholders on Monday. Here, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board was urged to increase the chlorine content of the citys water to neutralise t he deadly organism. At the meeting it was revealed that 22 per cent of water samples were found to be either non chlorinated or containing insufficient amounts of chlorine hence the need to closely monitor the quality of Karachis water and ensure ad equate levels of chlorination. Nevertheless, alarming as the situation is, it is important that there is no fear- mongering that could lead to unnecessary panic. What would be more helpful is public information regarding preventive measures such as the recommendation that people use purified water for ablution as the amoeba is at its deadliest when it enters the body through the nasal passages. Considering that the amoeba is rare, medical professionals should not be left out of the loop, and hospitals and clinics would do well to ensure that they are fully aware of the diagnostic procedures. Meanwhile, timely reporting to the health authorities of deaths or infections linked to the amoeba by public and private hospitals is essential for proper management. Nearly all the fatalities have been reported from private hospitals. This is a clear indication that public health facilities are underreporting the number of cases they handle.
Symbol of resistance
October 11th, 2012 The news of a gun attack on young Malala Yousufzai, who had become a symbol of resistance in Swat to the Talibans obscurant agenda, has been met with revulsion in Pakistan and abroad. The 14 -year-old, a crusader for girls education and an outspoken critic of the Taliban, had been receivi ng threats from the latter, and in that respect the attack, claimed by the Taliban, has come as no surprise even though Malalas family reportedly did not think that the Taliban would target her. However, it must be borne in mind that the militants targ ets have over the years become extremely blurred; and apart from state and military installations they have bombed hospitals, marketplaces, mosques and bazaars, killing or maiming thousands of civilians in the process. Besides they routinely issue warnings to people not to support groups working on community welfare projects. With such a regressive thought process, their violent rejection of anything that stands for democracy, secularism, in fact the basic freedoms themselves, is only to be expected. In keeping with their hidebound ideology, they have atomised 2,000 schools almost all of them catering to girls education, to which Malala, since the time the Taliban ordered the school her father ran to be closed down, is inextricably linked. The attack on Malala was the third such incident in Swat in recent months. In the earlier two crimes, the Taliban had targeted a hotel owner and the chief of the hotel owners association. Does the crime in Mingora on Tuesday forebode Swats return to tyranny in the name of religion? We hope not, for the tourist paradise has made a remarkable return to normality. The 2009 army operation against Mullah Fazlullah and his men by all accounts was a success story: the militants have been chased into nearby Afghan provinces fro m w here they carry out attacks inside Pakistan a reminder that their defeat has not been complete. Since their flight, though, Swat has been largely peaceful; domestic tourism has returned, while welfare works have picked up. This turnaround in the situation has been due mostly to the efforts of the people of Swat who suffered under the Taliban, seeing their livelihoods ruined and their traditional way of life disturbed, besides witnessing the groups barbarity on almost a daily basis. However, there is still no room for complacency, and even sporadic targeted attacks could indicate the presence of a support base for the Taliban in the area. Better intelligence -gathering then is needed to thwart the designs of those who are waiting to once more snuff out t he dreams of thousands like Malala.
End of saga?
October 11th, 2012 At long last, the saga of the so-called Sw iss letter appears to be coming to a close. Yesterday, Law Minister Farooq Naek and the five- member Supreme Court bench agreed on a draft lett er and the letter is to be made public presumably to prevent the government from backing out of its commit ment. Since December 2009, w hen the NRO judgment was handed down, the government has played politics with the letter while the court has appeared inordinately interested in a single letter. Befitting the murky ways of Pakistan, its not quite clear what caused the apparent change of heart on the governments side in deciding finally to write the letter and w hy the court was willing to give the law minister so much leeway while the government appeared to continue with its games. Indeed, even as late as Tuesday, the government appeared ready to challenge the court once again. Then, suddenly, on Wednesday a quick agreement was reached. Perhaps though, it is best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever the reasons, the end of the Sw iss letter saga is a welcome one. Countless hours of the court have been wasted, a prime minister has been dispensed with, the government has held innumerable meetings to discuss the minutiae of the letter, endless debates have been held at the very highest levels of the coalition on the merits of writing or not writing the letter it all became a little too much, even by the peculiar standards of Pakistani politics and t he law. Had the end come earlier, the government may but only may have given greater attention to more pressing matters of governance. In any case, with a general election on the horizon, the conclusion of the affair may steer the narrative away from t he tale of victimhood and allow voters to focus on genuine matters, i.e. the governments performance in office and whether it deserves to get another five years. As for the court, perhaps it can now broaden its focus to include matters of more importance than a mere letter that may or may not have any meaningf ul consequences for
anyone.
Blasts in Sindh
October 11th, 2012 While there has been criticism of the new Sindh Peoples Local Government law, matters took an ugly turn on Tuesday. The residences of six PPP leaders in different Sindh towns were attacked with low -intensity explosive devices. The attacks came days after a PPP public meeting in Khairpur was targeted by gunmen, killing a number of party workers. Pamphlets belonging to the Sindhudesh Liberation Army were recovered from several of the targeted locations in Tuesdays attacks. This is the same outfit that in the past has been held responsible for orchestrating small blasts targeting railway lines and bank branches in Sindh. There are indicat ions that militant elements sympathetic to the nationalist cause in Sindh may be using the SLA tag. The PPPs erstwhile allies in the Sindh Assembly have condemned the attacks, but this has been qualified w ith criticism of the new LG law. Condemnation from nationalist parties has been even more lukewarm, with some leaders supporting conspiracy theories that the government orchestrated the blasts itself.Denunciation of the violence must be unambiguous, as terrorism is not a legitimate method of protest. If all parties fail to condemn the attacks it will establish a dangerous precedent that it is okay to use violence if one disagrees w ith a law or government policy. Parliament is the best forum to raise objections to a law, while for those parties outside the legislature there exist peaceful, democratic methods of protest. The recent attacks need to be properly investigated to uncover the perpetrators. Also, the PPP needs to engage those parties that are peacefully opposing the new LG law and lend a sympathet ic ear to their concerns. While such dastardly attacks should not lead to compromises, the PPP can lower the temperature by consulting opponents of the law and making amendments where legitimate loopholes exist.
Moment of truth
October 12th, 2012 For once, and at long last, Pakistanis appear to have woken up to the consequences of the extremism that has been allowed to take root in our country. The reaction to the attack on Malala Yousufzai is significant not just because of its scale and outrage, but because it is marked by something that is depressingly rare across-theboard condemnation of the Taliban. A handful of voices, even in parliament, have tried to link the incident to Americas role in Pakistan or implied that it was Malalas own fault. Re freshingly, though, these have been drowned out by an outpouring of anger ref lected in the strongly worded condemnation of the attackers in the National Assembly and Senate, the army chiefs resolve against the twisted ideology of the perpetrators, exten sive media coverage, and civil society efforts from protest rallies to prayers for Malala in schools. For once, the focus is on the threat to Pakistan from the intolerance in its own society, not on devising conspiracy theories, blaming foreign powers or c oming up with justif ications for terrorist acts. But where is this near-universal outcry when Shias are killed in Quetta or Gilgit, when mentally challenged or juvenile targets of blasphemy accusations are burned alive or imprisoned, and passers -by die in attacks against security installations? The victims of those acts may not necessarily be children or rights activists, but they are every bit as innocent as Malala. And yet it took the particularly jarring targeting of a particularly brave child to jolt Pakistanis and their leaders out of their doubts about, and desensitisation to, the threat that violent extremis m poses to our security and way of life. Which makes it all the more important to make the most of this moment of national consensus. Parliament h as demanded accountability and the army has said it will fight, regardless of the cost. But what actions will these words lead to? When anger erupted in 2009 over the video of a girl being flogged in Swat, the next step was clear: a defined set of people had set up a state within a state in a specific area, and it had to be dismantled. This time the next steps are less clear- cut and the enemy harder to pin dow n, but that shouldnt become a reason not to take action. The military needs to analyse why its efforts against the Taliban have failed and what is needed next in terms of military action, and where. Politicians and civil society need to prop up the current national consensus against extremism so that it doesnt die down. This is not a moment Pakistan can afford to waste.
Slander or fair criticism?

October 12th, 2012
The debate has always been on and will continue. A restraining order by the Islamabad High Court to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has added greater urgency to the discussion about freedom of expression and law in the Pakistani context. The order asked Pemra to ensure that nothing defamatory of the superior judges is aired by the television channels. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC has called the Pemra cha irman and the federal secretary of information and broadcasting on Oct 16 to explain the code of conduct evolved to prevent the airing of scandalous material. The restraining order has drawn a strong response by some leading lawyers, one of whom compared it with martial law directives of the past, remarking: nobody should be afraid of the truth. This is an important point since it is the search for the truth which brings new laws in place of old debilitating ones and that also allows for a liberal interpretation of the text concerned. Strict adherence to the text could block fair criticism and consequently stall the process of constant reformation of society and the law. The counter argument in this case seeks to defend the honourable judges against scandalous statements on the basis of existing laws. Pemra does have a rule book on w hat can be allowed on the channels and it can be pressed into strictly implementing this code. It has also been said that no one can conduct a slanderous press conference against any of the judges of the superior courts, as under the constitution the relevant forum for their trial is the Supreme Judicial Council not television channels. Two points arise. One, if all are equal before the law, what protection does the latter offer to others, for example politicians and government functionaries, who are so routinely lambasted on television? Surely there are legal and political forums available where these routine victims of media trials can be held accountable. Two, while the t one in w hich a grievance is expressed can be upsetting, the grievance seeking the notice of a court needs to be addressed nonetheless in accordance with the magnanimity of the independent office.
Neglect of seniors
October 12th, 2012 Senior citizens are amongst the most vulnerable of Pakistans many disadvantaged groups. According to figures from the United Nations Population Fund, the number of people over 60 in this country is more than 10 million. The combination of an insensitive state and society means that many senior citizens here do not get the care and support they deserve in their old age. Rights activists point out that the elderly face a tougher situation in urban areas as more traditional family structures in rural areas serve as a safety net. There is some good news in this regard, as a seminar in Islamabad was told by an official of the capital administration and development ministry on Wednesday that a draft law to protect the rights of seniors would be presented in the National Assembly soon. However, it should be noted that the draft bill has been in existence since 2007; it has come close to being passed yet bureaucratic hurdles have prevented the bills ad option. The draft law covers several areas that would make the lives of the e lderly easier. It envisages the setting up of a senior citizens welfare council. It also calls for separate counters for seniors, discounts on medicines and medical tests, discounts on rail, road and air travel as well as tax relief measures. A Rs1bn endo w ment fund for seniors in need of financial assistance has also been proposed. Along w ith legal safeguards, society too needs to modify its attitude; it should stop treating elders like a burden and start thinking of them as assets. The government needs to expedite the passage of the bill and set up a seniors welfare council so that a framework can be put in place to enable the elderly in Pakistan to spend their golden years comfortably and with dignity.
Policy on militancy
October 13th, 2012 Strong words f rom the army at a time of intense emotions over the attack on 14-year-old Malala are an important addition to the national revulsion at the Taliban and the way of life they seek to impose on Pakistan. Important as it is to have clarity in the national discourse about the Taliban something the religious right even now is seeking to obfuscate by talking of conspiracies and bringing up red herrings what is equally, if not more, essential, is to have the determination to build and then implement a clear strategy against militancy. At a meeting of the seniormost officers of the armed forces convened by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Shameem Wyne on Thursday, the armed forces did try and lay down a marker against the Taliban. In tone and tenor, it was in keeping with the straight talk of Gen Kayani on Aug 14 and w ill help dispel some of the propaganda being spread by those sympathetic to the Taliban and their cause. But and this is a critical qualification the strongest of words will not substitute for meaningful policy. And policy will never be meaningful until a fundamental decision is taken: a zero -tolerance policy towards militancy. Only from that starting point will a clear and coherent strategy emerge and only f rom there can we have a chance of definitively rescuing Pakistan from t he grip of militancy and the non-violent extremism that creates an enabling environment for violent action. Too much attention is paid to the details sometimes which groups should be taken on first and where, what should be done about North Waziristan, how should Pakistan adjust its preference for a Pakhtun-dominated set-up in Afghanistan. All these are very important questions in their own right and intrinsic to solving the riddle of militancy but they do have the unfortunate effect of detracting from a core understanding: until Pakistan adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards violent militancy and its superf icially nonviolent extremist counterpart, the country will slip deeper and deeper into the vort ex of instability and insecurity. Given the unfortunate political history of Pakistan, the idea that a zero-tolerance policy towards militancy is state policy can only come if the military lays down that marker. Through its actions it must make it clear t o its civilian counterparts and the public that the stated policy is in fact the actual policy. Of course, when it comes to rolling back the infrastructure of jihad, the armed forces will need the civilian leadership to exhibit courage and leadership too. But the first step must be taken by the men in uniform.
Gas woes
October 13th, 2012
The country has been in the grip of a severe gas shortage for several years now. The demand and supply gap has been increasing by the day, not least because of the rapid growth in demand from domestic and transport consumers. But little has been done in the last four years to plug this gap either by increasing domestic production through new discoveries or importing gas through a pipeline from Iran or in the form of liquefied natural gas. A senior official of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd has informed a Senate committee that gas shortages will peak to 1bcfd in January from the existing 566mmcfd. Some estimates project that shortages will rise to 1.8bcfd. Punjab will again suffer the most because it will be sharing maximum shortages due to Article 158 of the constitution. This gives the first right to natural gas to the people of the province where the resource is located. Until recently, shortages were equally distributed among all the provinces. As the supply gap widened, many in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which like Balochistan have gas reserves of their own, went to the courts to invoke this constitutional provision. As a consequence, Punjabs economy has suffered massive economic losses due to industrial closures, production cuts and job and export losses, which have triggered violent riots across the province. The government has taken steps recently to bridge the gap. The new petroleum policy offers price incent ives to oil companies to make new invest ments in this area and also increase output from the existing fields. It has also decided to import 800mmcfd of LNG per day through two long-term projects in the private sector and 200mmcfd through a short-term SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) project in the public sector. While it will take a long while to
implement the private projects, the government can help the industry and protect jobs by escalating work on the SPV project and also accepting the Indian offer of 200 mmcfd LNG through a pipeline to be laid between Bathinda and Lahore. With an election anticipated, the government must act quickly to show it is capable of solving energy problems.
A welcome addition
October 13th, 2012 It is indeed laudable that Pakist an has become the first country in South Asia to introduce the pneumococcal vaccine as part of the states Expanded Programme on Immunisation. With the addition of the anti -pneumonia vaccine, the EPI will now cover nine vaccine-preventable diseases. As per estimates, over 350,000 children under five die in Pakistan every year; pneumonia is said to be responsible for nearly 20 per cent of these deaths. The vaccine campaign has been initiated in Punjab and the federal capital, w ith Sindh due to follow. It is an expensive vaccine, yet international agencies have managed to procure it for the state at reduced cost: most of the financing will be borne by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. While the addition of the vaccine should be welcomed, the re are indications that the state still accords low priority to public health issues. For example, the prime minister was supposed to launch the vaccine in Islamabad earlier in the week yet did not show up. Though his appearance would have been largely symbolic, it would have sent a positive message to citizens as well as the international community that Pakistan takes the health of its children seriously. Also, the government has mostly focused on polio eradication, perhaps because of international scrutin y of Pakistan for its inability to wipe out the disease. While the fight against polio is crucial, the health authorities must give equal attention to other diseases grouped under the EPI umbrella. Regular public awareness campaigns need to be undertaken informing parents and the medical community about the importance of the EPI. It must also be ensured that vaccines are available in remote and low-income areas; awareness campaigns in these two areas are particularly important. With strong commit ment and proper planning, it is possible to reduce child mortality in Pakistan.
Balochistan consensus
October 14th, 2012 All significant statements on the national level these days lead to Balochistan. Last month, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the self-exiled Baloch leader, came up with his six-point demands for the state to start the process towards normality in Balochistan. Then, some 10 days ago, Gen Ashfaq Kayani pledged the armys support for any political process within the constitution for an end to the province s woes also saying that the armed forces abided by the governments directives. The momentum picked up when, within the span of a few hours on Friday, both the National Assembly and the Supreme Court added their weight to the campaign for a solution t o Balochistan. In Quetta, the apex court strongly censured the provincial government and sternly asked the centre to look for remedies w ithin the constitution. The court said that while Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisanis administration had lost the authority to govern, all the federal government had done was to deploy the Frontier Corps in the province. Around the same time, in Islamabad, the National Assembly adopted a rare unanimous resolution seeking an all- parties commission to rectify past mista kes and ensure the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law and dispensation of justice in Balochistan. The House recognised that the urgently sought commission will also have to include parties outside the elected assembly to be effective. In theory, this appears to be a concerted push towards exit from a precarious situation. But Balochistan and its people have for far too long been victims of clashing interpretations and positions w hich are not always reflected in statements and vows for upholding the constitution. In fact, these grand pledges often thwart a realistic look at the issues. The problem in the province is taking ever newer dimensions and the bomb blasts at Sibi and Dera Bugti recently are brutal reminders of the intent on the other side. Against this threat, the allusion to the need of political process would mean reconfirmation of Balochistan not just as a law and order issue but as a political problem. An earnest follow-up would require more than a rhetorical recourse to the constitution. The politicians are supposedly in
charge of the effort, yet they happen to be the least trusted and the most easily blamed. They are also the ones who have set an example by owning up to past mistakes.
The Supreme Court order, the resolution by par liament, the soldiers oath w ill only live up to their theoretical promise if the academic exercise of swearing by the constitution yields to an honest and frank acceptance and assigning of responsibilities with regard to the parties involved.
Ticking bomb
October 14th, 2012
In an increasingly resource- scarce world, Pakistan is a particularly populous country. Youth bulge is the term used to describe a situation where the single largest section of society a hundred million, or 65 per cent of the overall population comprises people under the age of 25. The bland term masks a demographic disaster in the making, given that according to UN figures, 32 per cent of the people aged between 15 and 29 years are illiterate, less than six per cent have acquired technical skills and only 2.5 per cent have received on-the-job training. In a country where the state seems to have neither the w ill nor the capacity to invest in educational and other infrastructure, the workforce is increasing at the rate of three per cent annually w hich the UNDP refers to as alarming. What we desperately need, if there is to be any chance at all of a brighter f uture, is a sharp decline in the rate at which the population is grow ing. The problem is not a general lack of awareness about the importance of family planning. According to some estimates, some 25 per cent of married women in the country would opt for family planning but are unable to access relevant resources for one reason or another. In this situation, then, it is welco me news that the Aman Foundation, a local not -for-profit trust, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a five-year framework agreement under which $5m w ill be invested by each party in addressing the gaps in reproductive health and family planning services in the country. The reiteration of the importance of family planning has been at the top of the list of the countrys priorities for most of its existence, yet while the population growth rate has seen a slowdown, it is still at unsustainab ly high levels. The nongovernmental sector has played an important role in this regard, and the state needs to match its efforts. While partnerships such as that signed in Dubai between the Aman and Gates foundations can play a key role, the state must not be lulled into reneging on its own responsibilities.
Health threat
October 14th, 2012
As tap water in Pakistan is of poor quality, many citizens cutting across economic lines opt for bottled water. Some estimates suggest 50 per cent of Pakistanis dont have access to clean drinking water. Catering to this demand there has been considerable growth in the number of companies selling bottled water in the country. However, government regulation of the industry is, by all accounts, weak. As reported, h igh levels of arsenic have been found in samples of 10 brands of bottled water. According to the quarterly report of the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources, some of the samples contained levels of arsenic way over the allowable limit. Other samples were found to contain high levels of sodium and potassium. PCRWR officials say that after the errant brands are identified and their names made public, they shut down operations only to resurface after an interval with new names. Data collected by t he PCRWR shows that over the past decade, every year the number of water brands declared unsafe remains consistently high; the fact the number is not going dow n means that while the reporting authorities appear to be doing their job, the states surveillan ce and enforcement mechanism is failing. The number of brands declared unsafe may only be the tip of the iceberg, as in Karachi alone there are countless factories churning out substandard bottled water. Reports of corruption within the states quality -control mechanism persist, as it has been alleged that some brand ow ners pay off the inspection authorities. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority needs to improve its performance while those officials involved in fudging
reports or not taking action against unsafe water brands need to be removed. Considering the risk contaminated water brands pose to public health, the state cannot afford to be complacent in this regard.
Faceless and forgotten

October 15th, 2012 Such is the cycle of news in Pakistan that citizens have had to become inured to tragedy being elbowed out of the headlines by horror; one outrage follows another in the grim progression of this countrys tale. That this process has not quite left the citizenry entirely desensitised is evident in the storm of protest that has erupted after the murder attempt on Malala Yousufzai. But the flurry of rapidly changing headlines also means that the citizenry is caught in what is immediate issues or tragedies are rarely resolved or addressed, they merely drop out of the collective consciousness. Nowhere is this pattern more evident than in the situation faced by nearly five million people in parts of Sindh and Balochistan that were hit by devastating floods just weeks ago, some of them f or the third year in a row. While they remain in desperate need, as far as the citizenry as a w hole is concerned they have been rendered faceless and voiceless, and thus there is hardly any pressure on either state or society to inte rvene in a meaningful fashion. Their plight is desperate indeed. According to the World Food Programme, over a million people in the five worst affected districts are in need of food assistance, while hundreds of thousands of people are living either in temporary camps or simply under tarpaulins, waiting for the waters to subside. As the UN launched an appeal for donations over the weekend, its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that in some areas people are still being rescued by boat. And even after the waters recede, most of these people will need assistance to rebuild devastated lives and livelihoods, given that with some 3,800 square kilometres of land still flooded, the prospects for planting the Rabi crop (which is sown in w inter) look remote. The focus needs to return to these silent millions, and efforts stepped up to allay their misery. Reportedly, the main challenges to expanding the response are f unding gaps and access. While the average citizen can perhaps not do much about the latter, surely the former is within control.
Childhood denied
October 15th, 2012
A recently released United Nations report paints a disturbing picture of child marriages in the world. According to its findings, if current trends continue, within the next decade 142 millio n girls will be married by the time they are 18. This translates into 14.2 million each year, or 37,000 girls married each day. The highest proportion of such marriages 46 per cent occur in South Asia. Local studies suggest that around 30 per cent of marriages in Pakistan are those of girls below 18. More often than not, being born a girl in Pakistan carries with it inherent disadvantages less access to education, healthcare, legal rights etc. However, nothing quite so devastatingly compounds these as early marriage. Aside from the emotional trauma of being cast into a relationship w ith adult responsibilities that a child is ill-equipped to handle, the long-term physical repercussions can be debilitating or even fatal. The UN report states that approximately 5,000 cases of obstetric fistula occur every year in Pakistan, w ith young girls disproportionately affected. The condition, which is one of the risks associated with early childbirth, results in urinary or faecal incontinence to varying degrees. Alt hough in many instances it can be surgically treated, the dismal healthcare facilities in much of the country mean that most of these young sufferers bear their condition in silence and shame, and are often, in a twist of cruel irony, spurned by their husbands as well. Although the legal age for marriage in Pakistan is 16 years in most countries it is 18 evidence indicates that this law is repeatedly flouted especially where poverty and patriarchy conspire to deprive girls of their childhood. While it is heartening to note that a number of such marriages have been prevented by timely media reporting, a concerted awareness campaign in the media is needed to root out this despicable practice in its entirety.
Civilian culpability
October 15th, 2012
With more than a dozen killed and scores injured, the suicide attack in Darra Adamkhel that apparently was meant to target an anti-Taliban lashkar leadership but ended up killing and injuring ordinary civilians is yet another gri m reminder that all is far from well in the tribal areas and adjoining districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But gri m reminder after grim reminder has come and gone and still the state is struggling to contain, let alone eliminate, the threat from militancy. Few areas have truly been stabilised despite operations in six of the seven agencies of Fata and in Swat and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Today, the Tirah valley nestled between the Khyber and Kurram agencies and North Waziristan are the areas in which the state has virtually no control and yet this intolerable state of affairs is somehow tolerated on various grounds. While some concerns cannot be entirely dismissed, there is a sense in more independent quarters outside the army -led security establishment that the factors cited in delaying action are neither as serious nor as unresolvable as sometimes argued. Undoubtedly, given the peculiar political history of this country and the near-total control over security policy that the army-led establishment has, the resolve to stamp out militancy will have to come from the military. But that argument, while true, has had the unfortunate effect of deflecting attention from the civilian leaderships culpability in the present state of affairs. While a military strategy is the fundamental plank of recovering parts of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from t he grip of militancy, by itself it can never be an adequate strategy. Development, governance, education, jobs all of those are central elements of any winning long-term strategy against militancy. And none of those elements can be provided by the armed forces because that is simply not what they are meant for or capable of. So w ithout the civilians stepping up and doing w hat they are by definition expected to do to devise and implement policy in a range of areas the fiendishly complex riddle of militancy will never be solved. There is also another element that the civilians have fallen terribly short of: putting pressure on and working w ith the establishment to establish a zero-tolerance policy towards militancy. At the moment, it seems that the job of making the establishment recognise the folly of its ways has been left to the media, to civil society and to individual voices. The politicians can and must do better.
Skewed narrative
October 16th, 2012 Let's get one thing straight about the attack on Malala Yousufzai. It is not comparable to drone strikes. It is not comparable to the Lal Masjid operation. Nor is it likely to be comparable to other incidents the religious right might use to try to divert attention from the particular evil of this one. Because here is w hat this incident was: a deliberate attack on a specific teenage girl in retaliation for her activism for girls education and opposition to Islamist militancy, a harmless, non-violent cause the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan happen not to like. Drone strikes may be unacceptable in their current form and end up killing innocent children, but doing so is not their intent. The figure of 1,200 women killed in the Lal Masjid operation is highly dubious; this papers investigations had indicated that most women left the compound during the amnesty granted before the operation. And yet moves are afoot to position these events as comparisons in an attempt to dampen the widespread recognition of the Malala incident for what it was the targeting of an innocent girl by an outfit that does not believe in the most basic of human rights and is prepared to attack even children to promote its regressive ideas. These attempts to fudge the truth and make false comparisons indicate that the religious right feels threatened by the public outcry against Malalas attackers. But it is also a chilling reminder of the degree to which most right -wing groups harbour sympathies for violent extremism. The Difa-i-Pakistan Council is an obvious member of this club, but even leaders of the more mainstream JUI-F and JI have questioned the focus on Malala, compared the attack to other events or dismissed its real implications by declaring it a conspiracy to trigger an operation in North Waziristan. And while secular political parties have not been as quick to do so, most have shied away f rom naming the TTP and demonstrating the single- mindedness that is needed to dismantle that organisations ability to
terrorise

Pakistan.
Battle lines have been drawn across the political landscape, and few groups are taking as courageous and clear a stand as is needed. The reaction in the first couple of days after Malala was attacked had inspired hope that a political consensus against the TTP, not just violent extremism, might be formed. But that has not taken place, despite the publics demonstrated anger at the terrorist group. And as long as political forces hold back, the military w ill have a reason to hold back too. The moment Pakistan should not have wasted is being squandered before our very eyes.
Parties, partings, partners

October 16th, 2012 Pre- poll partnerships are difficult. One, they come about when they do, without the partners know ing each others actual vote value. Two, having to chisel pre-poll speeches to please allies can be inhibitive and counter-productive. Even when alliance talk is forging ahead in Pakistan in anticipation of a general election, most of these projected groupings will probably not materialise. The reason: in a country divided among so many claimants, results are more difficult to predict this time than ever before. Nonetheless, smaller players who must tag themselves to bigger challengers for power w ill continue to talk about the urgent need for joint fronts e.g. the Jamaat -i-Islami which has been courting Pakistan Tehrik-i- Insaf. The PTI was in all probability JIs second choice after JI was not entertained by PML-N. This was not surprising since as the long-accepted alternative to the PPP, the Sharifs are serious enough contenders to be risking embracing anyone who doesnt enjoy too clean a reputation internationally. On the other hand, Imran Khan has an additional factor to consider. He has worked hard on garnering anti-America, anti-Nato, pro-native sentiment. Should he now be prepared to share it with the JI or, for the latters sake, put at stake his appeal as the real alternative?
Some relatively smaller players want a grand alliance against the PPP - ANP-MQM-PMLQ combine even when there is no alliance between the PPP and MQM or PPP and ANP. Many of the presidents allies in power want to keep open their options for a possible coalition with other parties post -election. The PPP itself would have liked to ensure more options but for the rather difficult position it finds itself in over its ties with Punjab and the PML-Q, which has emerged as the most reliable of all of Mr Zardaris partners to help him stretch the present term. Thus the current PPP PML-Q hobnobbing is aimed more at preservation in the current situation. It is an untried fusion waiting for unknow n box office response. The by-elections next month, which the PPP and PML-Q will f ight jointly, will show the potential and viability of their alliance.
Why at this time?

October 16th, 2012 In a move that has left many people around the world, including in that region itself, shaking their heads in disbelief, this years Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the European Union. Why on earth at this time, people are asking, when the EU is in the grip of a severe debt crisis to which a solution is still being sought. Given that many EU members are facing grave economic difficulties and social unrest, with riots in Athens and Madrid, the decision is strangely evocative of the world inhabited by Alfred E. Neuman. The logic, as explained by the Nobel committees chairman Thorbjoern Jagland, does have some currency: the formation of the EU brought peace to a continent that rent itself apart with two world wars in which tens of millions of people died. While announcing the award in Oslo on Friday, Mr Jagland said the Nobel committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EUs most important result: the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for
democracy and human rights. Nevertheless, many citizens, in Greece in particular, w here the debt crisis is having a crippling effect, are viewing the award as an insult to and a mockery of their situation. Indeed, the fact of the matter is that while the EUs success in unit ing the region is significant, the dire straits the single-currency zone faces today has perhaps greater relevance for Europeans, given that they are feeling its effects at present. People may well ask why, f reed f rom the shackles of war, they are now being held hostage to poverty and reduced social benefits. Has the committee lost its grip on reality to the extent that it may one day award itself the prize for making the right choice in identifying groups of individuals that have contributed to peace?
In the balance
October 17th, 2012 The will- they, wont -they pendulum on North Waziristan seemed to momentarily slip towards the possibility of a military operation but it appears, in fact, to resolutely be stuck on, no, there will be no significant military operation in North Waziristan any time soon. The army claims the launching of an operation is a political decision thereby seemingly tossing the matter into the civilians lap, while the political leadership hems and haws and occasionally deploys Interior Minister Rehman Malik to add to the confusion. In theory, the decision to launch a full-scale military operation in North Waziristan ought to lie with the civilian leadership. In acceptable practice, the decision ought to be taken by the civilians in close consultation with the army. In reality, the decision will be taken by the army itself. That reality is very signif icant in the context of the national consensus that the army insists must be created before an operation in North Waziristan can be launched. But what has the army-led security establishment done to try and create the much-touted national consensus? Not very much unlike during the run-up to earlier military operations in other parts of the north-west. If North Waziristan has militants of every stripe projecting power from there into Pakistan proper, Afghanistan and beyond, it is also a black hole of information nothing really gets out. Privately, senior security officials admit that the panoply of militant groups must be taken on sooner rather than later if the security situation in the country is to slowly be pulled back towards normality. Privately, senior security officials admit that from Al Qaeda to the Haqqanis and from Punjabi Taliban to foreign militants from countries as diverse as the Maldives yes, the Maldives to Sudan and groups such as the Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs, North Waziristan has become a global hub of terrorism and militancy. But next to nothing has been done to educate the Pakistani public about the nature of the threat in North Waziristan and what the proper response to it is. How, then, will the national consensus for a military operation in North Waziristan be developed? And if the mapping out of the threat has been poor enough, even less is know n about t he armys strategy to eventually fight it. Are the Haqqanis eventually in line for some kind of financial and military squeeze? Is the policy really to slow ly win over some groups temporarily to clear the way for a fight with others? Is there a plan to prevent militant leaders from escaping the battle zone as they have in operations elsewhere? If Pakistanis are told nothing, not even the barest details, how can they form a consensus?
Need for oversight

October 17th, 2012 Security guards involvement in the looting on Monday of a van carrying cash is not the first case of its kind in Karachi or in other Pakistani cities. As in many such cases the crime was committed with commando -style precision: two motorcyclists trailed the van that belonged to a currency exchange company; the guards-turnedrobbers inside the vehicle had it stopped at a given point, held the manager inside the van hostage, transferred the loot, estimated at over Rs10m, to those on motorcycles and all four vanished. A few hours later, gun men robbed a bank at Gulistan-i-Jauhar, killed a security guard, injured another and decamped with Rs3.6 million. While in one case, the security guards turned criminals, in the other they were the victims. This highlights the dilemma the authorities face, because private guards generally now outnumber the police and are very much needed. A
wholesale denunciation of all security guards and their employers would be unfair, because quite often those on duty fight back and get killed, and their sacrifice needs recognition. The issue is how to eliminate the black sheep among the tens of thousands of uniformed security guards throughout the country and make security at banks and other enterprises foolproof. We also know that many security agencies are not very me ticulous in follow ing government regulations. Most security agencies stand registered with the government, but merely screening the employers is not enough; what is needed is the vetting of every single candidate through a system that is modern and compre hensive and not confined to routine police verif ication since that can be managed easily, especially in the rural areas. Nor should verification be a one-time affair. Given the extent of organised crime with suspected links to terrorism, all security guards need to be vetted yearly to guard against a possible change in outlook. Further, every person performing guard duties and carrying arms should be readily identif iable as such. Regrettably, instances are grow ing where gunmen in mufti accompany certain persons. This is an affront to citizens, to say nothing of being openly threatening. The government must ensure that all private guards don uniforms.
Spying janitors
October 17th, 2012 Now that weve established law makers should not be dual nationals, let s extend this principle to government employed janitors, gardeners and peons too. They might, after all, overhear details about the actual pace of development of our nuclear programme or what we really think about China while they are watering the plants or fetching tea. Who knows whom they might leak such sensitive state secrets to. Speaking of which, the bureaucrats they would be fetching the tea for should also obviously come clean about any other passports they might be concealing as a way to cover up their divided loyalties. As should the chairman of the proposed federal drug regulatory authority, so that he or she is in no danger of colluding with foreign pharmaceutical firms. The truly unfortunate part of all this is that none of it is made up. Punjab has asked all government employees, from top bureaucrats to support staff, to submit proof they are not dual nationals despite the fact that as Pakistani citizens they have the right to simultaneously maintain the passports of certain other countries. Meanwhile, the opposition has demanded in the National Assembly that the person in charge of the much -needed central drug regulatory authority not be a dual citizen. There, is, of course, a simple explanation for this extension of the principle to jobs fa r from the countrys top public offices (which it makes sense to limit to those who have no other passports): demonise dual nationality and earn populist credentials while positioning yourself in opposition to a ruling party that doesnt even want legislat ors to have to meet the constitutional, and far more justifiable, requirement that law makers not be dual citizens. So what if this strategy results in a witch-hunt of dual nationals who quite legally happen to work anywhere in government? If it serves a po litical purpose, no initiative is too absurd.
Welcome consensus
October 18th, 2012 The eventual, unanimous passage of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Bill, 2012 by the National Assembly on Tuesday is a step in the right direction. The consensus achieved underscores the ability of this set of lawmakers to come together for a common cause. It vindicates the feeling that, with a little more purpose, this House could have had an even more productive record than it has shown overall. On Tuesday, t he not so minor step of removing the single word only was agreed to by all parties. [No person shall be appointed as the CEO or director of the authority unless he is a citizen of Pakistan only, read the original draft. The MQM sought the deletion of only from the line, opening up the way for Pakistanis w ith dual nationality to hold the posts. This was in sync with the position of most parties in the National Assembly. The need for regulating this sphere has in recent times been highlighted by unfortunate deaths resulting from the consumption of spurious or low-quality drugs and by scandals surrounding the granting of quotas for substances used in the manufacture of medicines. Even w ithout these high-prof ile incidents, the greed of pharmaceutical companies is well known, as is the fact that other makers and suppliers of fake, substandard drugs have remained
a threat to public health. Governments have failed to take due action and, in return, have exposed themselves to allegations of not just apathy but collusion with such unscrupulous manufacturers and suppliers. Whatever mechanism the country had for controlling the sector was made largely ineffective by the transfer of the subject of health to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, and reminders were sent to the legislators that they needed to move fast and decisively on this. The bill, which now needs a nod f rom the Senate to become law, raises genuine hope about regulation of the drug sector. One of the drug authoritys vital tasks would be to stre amline the inter-provincial trade of drugs. The authority will also help define the federal governments response and role in relation to obligations and commit ments with international organisations. Not least, it will help develop ethical criteria on drug promotion, marketing and advertising, and on the rational use of drugs, on research and development. The authority shall undertake measures to ensure self- sufficiency to create a conducive environment for manufacture, import and promotion of export. T his is not an easy agenda but the Drug Regulatory Authority bill is an expression of intent to allow experts to oversee the sector. So long as the emphasis is on merit, so long as the authority is free of politics and is willing to improve its working while learning through experience, success can be achieved.
No money for dams

October 18th, 2012 The financial constraints facing Wapda are likely to hit another hydropower project Gomal Zam dam. The contractor, the Frontier Works Organisation, has put t he authority on notice for immediate clearance of its dues of Rs4bn. In case Wapda fails to do so, the work on the dam will be stopped. It means the commissioning of the project, which was scheduled to be completed five years ago, will be further delayed. The nearly completed da m will produce 17.5MW electricity and irrigate 191,000 acres of land in Tank and D.I. Khan. Gomal Zam is not the first hydropower project hit by the paucity of funds. There are many others, like Neelum-Jhelum, while the work on the 4,500MW Diamer-Bhasha dam is yet to start because of unavailability of financing. Several factors security conditions, fund shortage and no political consensus can be cited as responsible for the failure to develop Pakistans hydropower potential. Inde ed, the scarcity of funds for new projects remains on top of the list. Hydropower generation is crucial for Pakistan not only to ensure its energy and water security but also to change the existing generation mix for providing affordable electricity to consumers. Currently, we have an installed hydel generation capacity of just 6,500MW 13 per cent of the countrys estimated hydro -power potential of over 50,000MW. India too has developed just 15 per cent of its hydropower potential, but is making fast progress on several projects to change the hydel-thermal power mix to 40:60. We, on the other hand, are doing little to exploit this natural source of affordable power at the expense of economic development. No significant project has been undertaken since the completion of the Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project with a capacity of 1,400MW almost a decade ago. That project came decades after Tarbela. Wapda claims that it could add 6,000MW of hydel power to the system in five years and another 15,000 by 2020 provid ed it receives uninterrupted funding. It is time that the government spared some funds for hydel generation to prevent further damage to the economy due to power shortages and high energy prices.
Polio drive in Balochistan

October 18th, 2012 It is indeed ironic that on the day an advertisement was published in a number of papers proclaiming the achievements of the Balochistan government particularly the provinces chief minister two news reports were also printed highlighting the frequent acts of violence that occur in this troubled province. A vaccinator taking part in an anti-polio campaign was shot dead on the outskirts of Quetta, while four men belonging to the Shia Hazara community were also gunned down in the Balochistan capital on Tuesday. T he frequently targeted Hazara have become Balochistans most vulnerable community, while the targeting of the vaccinator is also cause for concern, especially considering that Balochistan is one of the key areas of polio transmission in Pakistan. In the fa ce of such rampant law lessness, the Balochistan government is hardly qualified to trumpet its achievements. At this point it is not clear if the vaccinator was shot because of his association with the anti-polio drive, or due to
some other motive. What is certain is that the attack affected the campaign, as vaccinations in several parts of Quetta were suspended following the murder. While no major incidents of intimidation of polio vaccination staff have previously been reported in Balochistan, the authorities need to keep their guard up, for elsewhere in the country opposition to the drive has manifested itself in unambiguously brutal ways. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has banned the campaign in parts of the tribal areas while in Karachi a local anti-polio campaigner was shot dead in July. The attack came just days after a foreign WHO consultant was targeted in the port city; the expert luckily survived. These incidents lend weight to calls that vaccination teams be provided security, especially in high -risk areas. The state cannot allow extremists to violently derail the anti-polio campaign and put the lives of countless children at risk.
A vicious circle
October 19th, 2012 When it comes to bringing suspected sectarian terrorists to justice in Pakis tan, we seem to be moving in circles. Militants are captured and paraded by the police with much fanfare, locked up then released due to lack of evidence. In the meantime, terrorist violence and targeted killings continue with f rightening regularity. H ence, the capture of Hafiz Qasim Rasheed, the Sindh chief of a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi faction, announced by the police in Karachi on Wednesday, should be met with some circumspection. The suspect, believed to be involved in over 100 sectarian killings, has been arrested twice before but released on both occasions due to once again lack of evidence. Malik Ishaq, one of the founders of LJ and linked to 43 cases involving 70 murders, has also been either acquitted or granted bail in most cases. The reason? Lack of evidence. A report on Thursday also claimed one of Malala Yousufzais attackers was captured by security forces in 2009 but released as no evidence was found against him. There are allegations that sympathisers within the police and other state organs either suppress evidence against the militants or dont w ork hard enough to collect it. Simply capturing suspected militants and presenting them in f ront of the media is not enough. For there to be any permanent disruption of terrorist activities the captured men must be tried and punished so that they are not back on the streets soon after their capture. The militant captured in Karachi very clearly told mediapersons he would kill more people if given the chance. While statements like these make headline s, they are not enough to lead to a conviction; as per the law, only a statement recorded in front of a judicial magistrate has legal value. Also, militants often deny earlier confessional statements in court. In many cases witnesses turn hostile for fear of their lives due to intimidation from militants. This can scuttle a strong case and is reflective of the states inability to make significant progress on an effective witness protection programme. For militancy to be countered the justice system needs to deliver. A number of complementary steps should be taken to ensure suspected terrorists are convicted. These include proper investigations carried out by capable, unbiased officials, strong prosecution as well as a protection programme that gives witne sses the assurance that they or their families will not lose their lives for testifying against a terrorist. Protection must also be given to the judges, lawyers and police officers involved in the cases. More than anything else, the will of the state is required to convict and punish terrorists.
The hungry millions

October 19th, 2012
There was a time not too far in the past when the general reality in Pakistan was that while people were poor, few went to bed hungry. With an economy based on agriculture, a sector that constituted the single greatest source of employment, most citizens had access to enough food, even though of the most basic variety. This is no longer the case. Over the years, the number of citizens who do not have access to sufficien t quantities of food has been steadily increasing, and caloric intake has been compromised in even middle -income households. The situation faced by the poor is extremely disturbing. For some time now, various groups have been sounding the alarm. Unicef last year likened the levels of malnutrition in post -flood Sindh to those in Chad and Niger, while
Oxfam International said that over a quarter of the population was undernourished. A survey undertaken earlier during the year showed that two-thirds of the population spends between 50 and 70 per cent of income on food alone.
Despite these stark realities, Pakistan has failed to come up w ith a concerted action plan to fight hunger and malnutrition. Committees have been formed, persons appointed and much paper has been moved around, but little difference can be seen on the ground. On Tuesday, the Minister for National Food Security and Research Mir Israrullah Zehri informed the Senate that according to the National Nutrition Survey 2011 (conducted by the Benazir Income Support Programme) around 58 per cent of the population is food insecure, while nearly 30 per cent suffers hunger or severe hunger. It is unfortunate then that there has been no action, as in the case of the National Zero Hunger Programme announced earlier by the then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. That announcement, Senator Zehri was forced to admit in the Senate this week, has yet to be given formal approval. Meanwhile, a draft Zero Hunger Action Plan prepared by the World Food Programme still lacks operational details. Time is indefensibly being wasted; it seems that our decision- makers have no idea of what it means to not know where the next meal is coming from.
Caught in the act

October 19th, 2012
The CCTV system is there to nab terrorist s, thieves, shoplifters and other criminals. But here it has the habit of shooting the powerful in action. In Lahore alone, the CCTV has been guilty of spying on a PML -N law maker breaking the norms at the airport. It has also disclosed a credit card fraud, again involving a PML-N law maker. In its latest trick the CCTV has captured Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif s daughter at a bakery, her finger raised at a young man identified as an employee. Further footage shows a youth being slapped and kicked by plainclothesmen outside the same bakery, watched closely by sleuths in Elite Force uniform. There is said to be a few hours gap between the two incidents but the two were linked in an FIR which took a whole nine days to lodge. The FIR was registered on Oct 16 only after the chief minister took notice of the incident upon his return f rom a foreign trip. By then, courtesy of the footage, there were plenty of people questioning w hy no case had been registered against Mr Sharifs daughter. She is not seen in the f ootage where the boy is being beaten but allegations are that the thrashing was connected to her visit to the bakery a few hours earlier. Police and the PML N have tried to de-link her from the affair; meanwhile her husband, w ho is not to be seen in either footage, courted arrest on Wednesday. This rather unexplained arrest came amid a rising chorus for equality before the law. The case is being dubbed as a test of Mr Sharifs principles and casts a shadow on his politics. Those who have tried to get him over his Danish school delicacies opponents who couldnt quite stomach his sasti roti are keen instead to have cake at his expense.
A historic ruling
October 20th, 2012 The 1990 general election was rigged. The then army chief, ISI chief and preside nt colluded to rig the election. And a special election cell was established in the presidency to woo politicians and manipulate the election results. Yesterday was an important day in Pakistans political history. Not because the plot to keep the PPP ou t of power after Benazir Bhuttos first government was sacked in 1990 was a secret but because it is now part of the official historical record, cemented in a Supreme Court order that has instructed the government to initiate unprecedented legal proceedings against a former army chief, a former DG ISI and sundry politicians implicated in a tawdry chapter of Pakistans political history. Whether any meaningful action will be taken against those the SC has identified as having committed crimes is almost beside the point. While jail sentences and fines may be cathartic to some, to truly exorcise the ghosts of Pakistans undemocratic past it is perhaps more important that history be laid bare before the public in the grimiest of detail. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan is dead. Generals Beg and Durrani are alive but already mere historical
footnotes. The biggest benef iciary of the 1990 election, Nawaz Sharif, is now an implacable opponent of military intervention and perhaps one whose years in exile have led to a democratic rebirth. And while Benazir Bhutto was killed in another terrible chapter in Pakistans history, her party has survived to steer Pakistan to the verge of the first democratic transition of power in many years. So Pakistan has already moved on in many ways. But if the past is to be prevented from repeating itself and particularly w ith a general election on the horizon the bald truth as stated by the SC is an essential part of turning the page on Pakistans undemocra -tic history once and for all. The more complicated part will be to break the nexus between the security establishment and parts of the civilian political spectrum. For the ugly truth is that whenever the army has sought to manipulate the democratic process, it has found willing partners on the civilian side. Ambitious generals and politicians can be a toxic combination for the democratic project and one way of countering that would be to have more robust and transparent electoral laws and monitoring mechanisms. Even as the army has pulle d back from serious electoral interference, in Balochistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular an army -politician nexus is feared at the next election. Now is the time to find ways to prevent that from occurring.
MMA is reincarnated
October 20th, 2012 In the absence of the Jamaat -i-Islami, the JUI- Fs decision to revive the Muttahida Majlis -i-Amal has failed to create much of a splash. This is an altogether new MMA and JUI- Fs need for the alliance could be linked to its ties with the federal government. In the ruling coalition, Maulana Fazl was blamed for aiding the war on terror. Out of it, he was seen as a most friendly opposition. Lately, with one eye on the polls, the other on those seeking to steal his vote, his criticism of the government has become stronger. From the JUI- Fs perspective, as an alliance the MMA would send out the message that the JUI-F is back in the right spot and also facilitate acceptance of the party among at least its core voters. There is more than one explanation why the JI stayed away from the alliance. One relates to the JUI- Fs being viewed as an ally of the current government while, during the same period, the JI championed many anti government causes. This could be a bigger factor behind the JIs staying away from the MMA than any disagreement over the selection of MMA office bearers. A more compelling reason can be found in comparing the situation today with the one that led to the MMAs creation more than a decade ago. When the MMA won the 2002 polls in the then NWFP, the crucial element was the absence of PML-N as a serious contender. It got votes that would have gone to the PML-N had the Sharifs been around. The Sharifs have since returned to stake a strong claim in the province. They have traditionally stayed close to the JI and at a distance from JUI-F. It was thought that the JI would be able to renew its old ties w ith PML-N, but this did not happen. Instead, the JI was pushed towards PTI, a new entrant which could eat deep into right -wing pockets in Khybe r Pakhtunkhwa. Todays realities dictate that the JI seek a partnership with either the PML-N or PTI for meaningful poll impact not only at the provincial level but also on the national scale.
Impact on Pakistan?
October 20th, 2012
With the spectre of double-dip recession looming, global economic leaders gathered in Tokyo for the World BankIMF annual meetings last week to debate ways of dealing with depressed growth and weak governments. Advanced economies are struggling to emerge from the financial crisis amid rising social discontent. Huge anti-austerity demonstrations in Europe regularly make headlines. In developing countries, where the situation is more complex with deeper inadequacies and insufficient means to cope, the global crisis has further c urtailed options on development issues. The IMF forecasts a 3.3 per cent global output growth, down from 5.1 per cent in both 2010 and 2011 leading to projections of less than two per cent global growth in the current year. Hopes of expansion during 2012 were clouded by a sense of risk and fear at the gathering of finance ministers in Tokyo.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde, responding to the needs of changing times, hinted at revising her organisational position to deal with the fiscal stress. She endorsed findings of a recent study that Brussels and the IMF have underestimated the impact of austerity measures on growth. She said that fiscal policy needs to be appropriately calibrated to be as growth friendly as possible. How would the IMF change of heart play out for Pakistan that, it seems, could soon be knocking at its door for credit? There are fears that higher spending in an election year and depressed resource mobilisation and slow growth will w iden the income -expenditure gap. Besides, the slowdow n in remittances and export earnings against import payments and debt retirement is building pressure on foreign exchange reserves that, already depleted, could touch new lows. If leveraged properly the change in IMF outlook may improve prospects of striking a bet ter deal with the key donor if the government decides to seek its support.
In the doldrums
October 21st, 2012 Girls' education in Pakistan, particularly in the conflict areas, is today symbolised by a teenaged girl hospitalised after a brazen attac k on her by the Taliban. Like Malala Yousufzai, millions of Pakistani girls face formidable obstacles in their path to acquiring an education. If the overall statistics are dismal enough, w ith 25 million children out of school in this country the second highest number in the world then the picture for girls is even bleaker. According to the just-released Education for All Global Monitoring Report, two-thirds of out-of-school children in Pakistan are girls. Only 16 countries fare worse. The report also f inds that efforts to address this issue are not keeping pace with those of other countries in the region. While Pakistan has managed to reduce the number of out of-school girls by 16 per cent, India, Nepal and Bangladesh have done so by over 50 per cent du ring the same period. Other recent studies indicate that only 39 per cent of girls complete primary school against 59 per cent of boys. Many of the girls that do so find it diff icult to continue with their education for a number of reasons. For one thing , there simply arent enough secondary schools for girls, so access is a very real problem. The lack of basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets at many schools, not to mention buildings and boundary walls particularly important in a conservat ive society also contributes to a high dropout rate. Then, girls must contend with a patriarchal mindset that sees their primary roles as that of wife and mother for which education, at least beyond the basics, is considered an unnecessary indulgence. As though this were not enough, floods for three consecutive years have severely impacted school enrolment in general. While natures fury has been more even - handed, the militancy in the countrys north -west has singled out girls education with a vengeance. A majority of the schools levelled by extremists in the region were those catering to girls education. For example, out of 164 completely destroyed schools in Malakand, the worst affected area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 104 were girls schools. Continuing se curity threats and bureaucratic delays have meant that little or no reconstruction has taken place. But education cannot be put on the back burner. The government must take its responsibilities towards ensuring education, and specifically gender parity in education, more seriously. In that lies the only long-term salvation for Pakistan. Unfortunately, as of now, it seems the fate of education in this country, especially for girls, will continue to hang in the balance.
Crisis in the Levant

October 21st, 2012
The bombing which targeted a senior Lebanese intelligence official in Beirut on Friday does not bode well for regional peace. Seen to be linked to the Syrian civil war, it indicates the conflict within the borders of Lebanons eastern neighbour is spilling over. The man targeted Wissam al-Hassan was reportedly in the anti-Damascus camp and had overseen an investigation which linked Lebanese and Syrian officials to a bombing plot inside Lebanon. Syria has condemned the attack. Considering the region s history, it is easy to see how tiny Lebanon can be sucked into the Syrian war. Syria has long been the power broker in Lebanon; its military intervened in the brutal 15-year Lebanese civil war under an Arab League mandate and only w ithdrew following the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Raf ik Hariri. Internally, Lebanon is divided; politically there are
pro- and anti-Syria factions while the country, which is administered under a confessional system, has sharp sectarian divisions. There have already been communal clashes and kidnappings in Lebanon linked to the trouble in Syria; communities in both countries have religious linkages. The bombings and kidnappings are an unhappy reminder of the war that ravaged Lebanon between 1975 and 1990. Long the battlefield of regional proxy wars, it appears as if the unforgiving cycle is beginning anew in Lebanon.
Beyond Lebanon, the situation on the Turkish-Syrian border remains grim. Syrian shells aimed at rebels operating in the border area often end up in Turkey and in the past have killed Turkish civilians. The Turks have responded by shelling Syrian positions. It is easy to imagine this disturbingly frequent exchange escalating into something larger. Meanw hile, UN-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Bra himi was in Damascus on Saturday pushing for the Syrian belligerents to accept a ceasefire over the Eidul Azha holidays. The Bashar al-Assad government as well as the Syrian rebels need to seize such opportunities as steps towards a peaceful settlement. Also, regional and extraregional players must ref rain from supporting factions within Syria. If opportunities for peace are lost, the Syrian conflict will inflame the entire region.
On home turf finally

October 21st, 2012 The arrival of the Internatio nal World XI in Karachi to play two exhibition matches one of which was played yesterday is a breath of fresh air for Pakistan cricket. While the tour is primarily a private venture which has the blessing of the Pakistan Cricket Board, it is being hailed as a step towards the revival of international cricket in the country after a gap of almost three and a half years. No foreign cricket team has toured Pakistan since the terrorist attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009. All endeav ours at the government, individual and organisational level to persuade teams to play in Pakistan proved fruitless. The smooth staging of the World XI matches in Karachi, the general excitement and hopefully a positive feedback from the visiting players, who belong to Sri Lanka, the West Indies, South Africa and Afghanistan, should contribute greatly towards convincing the International Cricket Council that Pakistan is a safe venue for cricketing events. Besides, the matches may also alter the outlook of t he foreign teams themselves, concerned as they are about the security situation in the country, and help persuade them to show off their skills in Pakistan more regularly. It was indeed a welcome sight to see thousands of cricket -starved fans at the National Stadiu m yesterday while many others remained glued to their TV sets. Since Independence, the game has been hugely popular w ith Pakistanis and, in the midst of so many societal divisions, has often proved to be a uniting force and given us some memorable moments. Dedicated efforts are now needed to ensure the revival of international cricket in Pakistan. Not only will these ease tensions all around, they will also help channel youthful energies towards healthy pastimes. This is desperately needed at a time of growing, dangerous divisions.
Immature politics
October 22nd, 2012 The Supreme Court dropped the bombshell, now the political parties are fighting over the fallout. The open secret that the presidency and the security establishment colluded to rig the 1990 elections received an official imprimatur last week predictably leading to all manner of political attacks and counter-attacks in present-day Pakistan, where a general election is around the corner. Rather than say mea culpa and focus on its more recent record of robustly supporting the democratic process, the PML-N has tried to dredge up allegations of electoral manipulation and partisanship in 1993. For its part, the PPP is enjoying the discomf iture of the PML -N and taking liberal pot shots at its rival for national power. None of it is edifying or becoming of a mature political process. Of course, with elections on the horizon in a f ractured polity, few will be thinking about the long -term interests of the democratic project. Survival is the name of the game at the moment. However, this is precisely the kind of political moment in which leadership can make a difference. President Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif carry a heavy burden today, much like the one Benazir Bhut to and
Mr Sharif tried to shoulder in the 1990s but failed. The burden is to carry the democratic project forward and away from the interference and interventions of the army. Slanging matches and throwing f istfuls of mud at one another is not the way forward. Yes, Nawaz Sharif benefited from the patronage and tutelage of the security establishment. But since his return from exile, he has steadfastly and very believably maintained that the armys inf luence in politics must be pushed back against. And for al l the PPPs schadenfreude at the moment, those with longer memories will remember that the PPPs founder cut his political teeth in the countrys first military government. The central challenge, then, is the same for all political parties: to strengthen t he democratic project against military intervention. The PPP, the PML-N, indeed all political parties, will benefit from rolling back the armys internal predominance.
But how to do it? A truth and reconciliation commission, occasionally mentioned by the P ML-N, would be a good idea. So was the Charter of Democracy, and a reincarnation of that platform today would be helpful too. Ultimately, though, the political class will only truly be able to exert control if it learns to govern better and challenge the armys formulation of the national interest and national security in a more intelligent manner. But will self -interest prevail over the common interest?
Wholl go first?
October 22nd, 2012
The interior minister kicked off the speculation with his assert ion that the attack on Malala Yousufzai originated in Afghanistan, and a handful of media reports have been suggesting the same. Maulana Fazlullahs Swat Taliban are behind the attack, the argument goes, and they are located in eastern Afghanistan, where t hey fled after the Swat operation in 2009. Whether or not its true, this analysis has been enough to revive the questions that first came up after Pakistan began seeing cross-border attacks from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011: between Pakistan on the one hand and Afghanistan and Isaf on the other, who will tackle safe havens on w hich side of the border f irst? The Afghans are unlikely to go after Pakistani militants in Kunar and Nuristan until Pakistan tackles the Afghan Taliban on this side; if this was nt already clear, President Karzais remarks in response to the Malala incident that using extremists as a tool against others is not in the interest of Pakistan made it clear enough. Which only intensifies the need for the state to seriously cons ider what its going to do about North Waziristan, a project it appears to have abandoned at the moment. There are least two goals in that tribal agency. For one, for its own survival Pakistan will have to tackle the militants holed up there, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, who have been carrying out attacks within Pakistani borders. Even if the Malala attack didnt originate there, North Waziristan remains a threat to Pakistan itself. Second, it is also becoming increasingly obvious that pursuing the Haqqani network there is not just a matter of resisting American pressure. It is now also a matter of Pakistans own security, as nothing much is likely to be done in Afghanistan about Fazlullahs increasingly dangerous organisation until some action is taken here against militants focused on attacking the Americans and the existing Afghan government. The origins of the attack on Malala might not yet be clear, but it has highlighted once again that a stubborn refusal by both sides to cooperate will only make both less secure.
Unanswered questions
October 22nd, 2012 While thousands of animals have already been slaughtered, many questions remain unanswered. The public has yet to be clearly informed about the central and simplest point: were the 22,000 Australian sheep, which were originally bound for Bahrain but ended up in Karachi in early September, diseased? If so, what disease was it? All weve had so far is several weeks of confusion, obfuscation and conflicting explanations f rom all the centra l characters in the drama. The health hazards being talked about have ranged from foot -and-mouth disease to anthrax to Orf disease. The charade ended over the weekend when the importer for reasons unknown withdrew his court petition against the culling and the Sindh livestock depart ment finished off the reportedly 11,000 animals that had so far survived.
This episode has thrown into stark relief two different issues that should be of concern. First, the inhumane treatment of the animals. As culling progressed in bouts, reports surfaced that some animals were clubbed to death or stabbed, left bleeding to die or buried alive perhaps a sign of the manner in which Pakistani society is becoming increasing brutal. Second, the system in place needs to be rev amped to ensure that everything that enters the market is indeed fit for human consumption. The flaws in the system can be gauged f rom the fact that conflicting findings resulted from the tests conducted at provincial- and federal-level laboratories. It was eventually a UK lab that said that the animals were healthy though local authorities now claim that the foreign lab never tested for the diseases that the provincial health authorities had suspected. If so, why were the sheep not quarantined on arrival, as required? Without follow ing the systems that are in place, Pakistan will continue to court all manner of public health disasters.
A question of will
October 23rd, 2012 Like a political hot potato, the issue of consensus keeps getting passed arou nd. First the army suggests it cannot launch a military operation in North Waziristan unless there is a political and public consensus. Now President Zardari has said that a consensus on key issues of national security, not just a North Waziristan operat ion is not possible because the civilian political opposition is unw illing to engage the government. And the political opposition is sure to reject the presidents claim and suggest that it is not being consulted meaningfully on any matter, so there is no real role for it. Meanwhile, the main issue developing a national consensus against militancy, radicalism and extremism goes unaddressed: a country faced with a growing threat is unable to decide how to counter it. With no one seemingly willing to lead the way and w ith the logical institutions for such decisions moribund the Defence Committee of the Cabinet isnt strong enough, the parliamentary committees on defence and national security are still struggling to find their feet, and the national sec urity adviser slot remains unfilled perhaps the government and the army need to develop a special mechanism to draft and formalise a national policy against militancy, extremism and radicalism. A starting point could be to rationally demarcate the various strands of conservatism and Islamism: religious political parties that operate within the constitutional framework are very different from the violent non -state actors, for example. That would help both isolate the real threat and placate conservative p olitical elements that the war against militancy isnt a surreptitious plot to nudge them out of the political arena. From there, the next step could be to articulate a clear, realistic policy on Afghanistan, the link between militancy in Pakistan and the states quest to dominate Afghanistan being fairly well-known though rarely acknow ledged. The last step could be to define and articulate the threat from militancy inside Pakistan: identify the various groups, explain their agenda and outline what needs to be done militarily, politically, governance-wise, etc to purposefully end the threat. Will the government and the army demonstrate the necessary leadership, though? The problem is an old one, at least a decade old since the world changed on 9/11 and Pakistan struggled to accept that the sell-by date for nonstate actors had passed. Throughout the Musharraf era when there was no real distinction between the military and civilian leadership the ambivalence towards militancy and the reluctance to adopt a zero-tolerance policy bedevilled policymaking. A decade on, the problem is more complex hence the question mark over the w ill to do whats necessary.
Behind the numbers

October 23rd, 2012 When it comes to the cost of living in Pakistan, personal experiences and government statistics dont match up. Having finally dipped below double digits in July, according to the official numbers, inflation has been declining ever since and fell to 8.8 per cent in September. This would be good news if consumers and businesses werent continuing to feel the pinch of rising prices and having trouble making ends meet. Its true that the government isnt claiming inflation is zero per cent or that prices are declining in other words, official statisticians concede
that prices are still going up, but argue that theyre not going up as fast as they used to. The trouble is, though, that questions are being raised about the methodology used to calculate the number. The base year for comparison, for example, has been changed to 2007-2008, when prices were higher than in the previously used base year (2001-2002). The basket of goods on which the calculation is based has also been changed, raising questions about how representative it is of consumer experience.
There are a couple of things the Bureau of Statistics can do to address suspicions that the calculation has been manipulated to show inflation lower than it actually is. For one, it can continue to publish results based on the old method alongside the numbers it pub lishes now. It can also produce one consolidated report laying out what changes have been made to the calculation method, and on what dates. The new method w ill continue to produce lower numbers, but being transparent about changes should help address conc erns that inflation statistics are being manipulated in time for elections or to bring down interest rates in order to lower the cost of the governments heavy borrowing. The question is not whether inflation has come down it undoubtedly has f ro m the early days of this governments tenure, partly because of the fall in international commodity prices. The question is how much it has come down. More transparency is needed before policymakers get complacent about the below-10-per-cent number or the public loses all faith in this official statistic.
Record after record

October 23rd, 2012 The importance of new Pakistani entries in the Guinness Book of Records cannot be underestimated. As these lines are being w ritten, an attempt is being made at a stadium i n Lahore to create the worlds largest painting. Hold it the biggest painting has already been made and a record set. Such is the pace at which the enthusiasts at a mela sponsored by the Punjab government are going about scaling new heights. The giant picture is particularly pleasing since, more than what we are, what seems to matter to everyone around is the kind of image we can convey to the world. All acts of patriotic Pakistanis are consequently aimed not so much at our own salvation and progress, but at our international audience. The Guinness record book provides people here, as anywhere else, eager to break records a forum to flaunt their talents. Apart from the record for the largest gathering of people singing the national anthem an honour we have just snatched from India a man has come up with the fastest rotis mixing, kneading, baking all included. Someone has just pulled a van with his moustache. A young man has been noted for kicking 617 times in three minutes. One charming young lady has displayed brilliant skill in arranging all 32 pieces on a chessboard in a flash a relevant comparison w ith a powerful group of people who set the pawns before an election back in 1990. So many records have tumbled that it is difficult to keep track of all of them and there may be a million more in store. The categories in w hich a record can be made or broken are endless and the mela is a lot of fun. The Guinness people might want to consider setting up a permanent record breaking place here.
Missing the point

October 24th, 2012 If Pakistani politicians have a talent, it is the ability to waste opportunities for meaningful change even w hen these are handed to them on a silver platter. For all its symbolic importance, the Supreme Courts short or der in the Asghar Khan case is in the news for all the wrong reasons. In no uncertain terms, the order declares that it has been established that former generals Aslam Beg and Asad Durrani acted in violation of the constitution by rigging the 1990 elec tions. And yet what is getting lost in the heat of the ensuing political battle is precisely this point, which is also the most important point the role of the generals. Between the ruling partys attempts to make political capital against the PML-N and the latters attempts to defend its reputation and argue about the FIAs lack of independence, the focus has shifted to which politician received how much money. Meanwhile, those who did the real and enduring damage to Pakistani democracy are watching comf ortably f rom the sidelines of this schoolyard braw l. In part the room for this distraction from the real issue has also been created by the SC order itself. After leaving no doubt about the generals guilt, it does nothing to hold them to account beyond t hrowing the ball in the
governments court. In a slew of high-profile cases this court has found ways to enforce accountability directly or appointed people to do so and then monitored their progress. From directly appointing investigation commissions to demanding status updates from law-enforcement agencies and government officials to bypassing the NA speaker and disqualifying the prime minister, it has not hesitated to take action itself. And yet, in this preliminary order at least, it has simply asked the government to take the necessary steps against the generals w ithout sp ecifying what these should be.
This lack of urgency from both the SC and the government is worrying mostly because Pakistani democracy may not be out of the woods yet. Memories are still fresh of the ISI propping up the PML-Q in the 2002 elections. The defence secretary has said that the agencys political cell had stopped functioning five years ago implying it was active until very recently. Even now, there are suspicions that cert ain interest groups and political parties are being supported by the establishment. The militarys involvement in politics may be less blatant this election cycle, but we do not know that it is not taking place. Nor will we know so long as the SC and the g overnment shy away fro m holding past manipulators to account and politicians continue to focus on fighting each other.
Presidential debate
October 24th, 2012 The final presidential debate in the US was the first real opportunity to assess Gov Mitt Ro mneys likely foreign policy if he is elected president in November. With the race tightening, the possibility of a Romney presidency is very real but because the US electorate is more focused on domestic matters, little is known about the kind of worldview the presidential aspirant has and what his administrations foreign policy would be like. Surprisingly, on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr Romney came across as measured and reasonable -sounding. In fact, there was little to separate the policies of President Obama from that of a putative President Romney. The presidential contender embraced the Obama administrations 2014 w ithdrawal deadline in Afghanistan; endorsed the policy to go after Al Qaeda aggressively, including the use of drones; and berated neithe r Afghanistan nor Pakistan. When asked by the moderator if it was time for the US to divorce Pakistan, Mr Romney responded: No, its not time to divorce a nation on earth that has a hundred nuclear weapons and is on the way to double that at some point, a nation that has serious threats from terrorist groups. The bottom line: Pakistans stability is of deep concern for the US but that does not translate into a policy of isolation or containment with devastating consequences for Pakistans positive interconnectedness with the outside world. Of course, a presidential debate on foreign policy does not make for a properly fleshed -out policy. Both Mr Obama whose approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan is, for all the talk of clarity and purposefulness, racked by contradictions and internal squabbling and Mr Romney were sparse on details. Conditioning aid, not cutting Pakistan loose, not isolating Pakistan none of that really articulates either a vision or the nuts and bolts of policy. If Mr Romney does win the election two weeks from now, he is expected to pick his foreign and national-security policy teams from among the ranks of neocons and hardliners. So Moderate Mitt could just be a temporary phenomenon, one designed to tick the commander-in-chief box for an electorate not very interested in the outside world.
Paradise lost?
October 24th, 2012 Many of the famed tourist destinations in the north, including until recently Swat, have been lost to militancy and extremism. But other relatively safe areas are also in danger of losing their charm because of both the inattentiveness of the state and the attitude of local people and visitors. A case in point is Saiful Maluk Lake in Naran Valley, a spot of pristine natural beauty. After the number of visitors to the area increased, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government declared it a national park in 2003 in a bid to protect it. Commendably, in 2009, the provincial w ildlife depart ment launched a Rs7.7m conservation project and took measures to curtail activities tha t were causing soil and water pollution, such as boating and commercial dealings. All that was very well, until the project was declared complete this June and the staff recruited for the management and conservation of the park was withdrawn; almost , the destructive activities resumed, so that all the earlier
efforts have more or less been rendered useless. Reportedly, local people have brought motorboats to the lake to give visitors rides, encroachments have been set up again, and the area is littered with solid waste of all sorts. Though the wildlife authorities have registered dozens of complaints of lawbreakers this summer, the police have done nothing. While the authorities must certainly act to protect the park, a good share of the onus must also be borne by the residents of the area and the visitors. All need to show a sense of responsibility towards doing their bit to keep it beautiful. The local people must recognise that destroying the beauty of the lake amounts to killing the golden goose; and visitors must learn to take their trash away with them. More than the authorities, it is the people who need to change their attitude.
Law of the jungle

October 25th, 2012 More than a year after the Supreme Court issued its order regarding law and o rder in Karachi, progress, as the SC discovered this week, has turned out to be as negligible as most Karachi residents predicted it would be. True, the nature of some of the citys violence may have changed; it hasnt seen the same intensity of violence i t saw last summer, w ith hundreds of people dying in a handful of weeks in politically motivated killings. But each day brings news of four or five or eight people shot dead in targeted attacks for belonging to one political party or another, a sectarian group, or simply for being Shia or Ahmadi or of a particular ethnicity. The explosive spikes in death counts have been replaced by a slower but still unrelenting pace of killings that Karachiites have become desensitised to and that the rest of the country barely notices. As the Sindh attorney general admitted himself, more than 1,800 people have been killed in the city this year already. Add to that street crime: from cellphone snatching and mugging to kidnapping and extortion, Karachis residents live under the constant threat of having their property snatched and their lives endangered. Nor can this be excused as being typical of the worlds largest metropolises. To some extent a city this large, w ith so many places to seek cover and so many people and wea pons moving in and out of it, will never entirely be controlled by law enforcement. But Karachi also suffers from its own unique mix of politics and crime, with the competition for resources backed, or at least overlooked, by those who have political clout people who, if they wanted to, could disallow crime in their fiefdoms within the city or permit law enforcement to function freely. Second, law enforcement here suffers from a dire lack of resources relative to the scale of the problem; w ith over half t he citys police assigned to VIP duty, administrative work or specialised units, about 11,000 policemen remain for maintaining law and order, a ratio of over 1,600 people per policeman that compares appallingly to other large cities around the world. Ultimately that is w hy the SCs instructions issued last year have not been followed: they do not address the roots of the problem. Solutions like deweaponising the city, depoliticising the police force, eliminating no - go areas and rezoning police stations may well reduce violence if carried out. But they simply cannot be implemented w ithout more resources and, crucially, w ithout the requisite political w ill of the various groups that hold the levers of power in this city.
Problem of impunity
October 25th, 2012 There is no doubt that for journalists, this is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Journalists are killed or harassed because of their work or in the line of duty partly because the state has consistently refused to track down the killers or intimidators. Here, journalists are sandwiched between a rock and a hard place: at one end is a shadowy establishment that tries to keep certain information cloaked, and at the other, a war with elements that consider no means too foul to achieve their end. Yet the harassment of journalists, and their killing with impunity is a global problem. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that some 49 journalists have been killed around
the world so far this year, while Reporters Without Borders P ress Freedom Barometer points out that over 270 people, including journalists and netizens, have been put in prison during these 10 months. In this tug -of-war between those who seek to expose the truth and those who try to contain it, what is at stake i s the citizens right to know. It was in defence of this right that the world media community expressed dismay at the ineffectiveness of UN efforts to ensure the safety of newsmen the 2006 UNSC Resolution 1738, among other matters, reminded all parties in situations of armed conflict to respect the professional independence of media personnel. At a symposium on Media Responses to Matters of Life and Death that took place in London last week, ahead of the second UN Inter- Agency meeting on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity that is to be held in Vienna next month, representatives of 40 media organisations f rom around the world called upon the UN to persuade member states to create a safer environment for journalists. The symposium has drafted a set of proposals in this regard. This needs to be given due attention. Too many governments, among them the Pakistani government, are guilty of either perpetrating violence against media personnel or standing by as such violence occurs. If the world is concerned about the freedom of speech, here is where it begins.
Cellphone shutdown
October 25th, 2012
The government is setting an ominous trend by resorting to the shutdown of cellular phone networks on major holidays or each time there is a threat of terrorist acts. Plans are now afoot to suspend cellular services in parts of the country over the Eidul Azha holidays as the interior ministry has information of possible terrorist strikes during the festival. Cellphone services were also blocked on the eve of Eidul Fitr and suspended in Balochistan on Independence Day. But how effective has this practice proved so far? While it is true that no major act of terroris m took place during Eidul Fitr when the shutdown was enforced, the measure failed to c urb the widespread violence that occurred in major cities last month on the day officially dedicated to protesting an anti-Islam film. Shutting dow n cellphones amounts to addressing the symptoms, not the disease. There was indeed life before cellphones; but so deep is their penetration in society that the devices have become essential communication tools that cut across economic lines. Equally true, shutting down cellular services particularly on occasions like Eid spoils the festivities. While terrorists do use cellphones to coordinate and carry out attacks, millions of common citizens also use the devices to check on loved ones during these times. What is more, militants are constantly adapting their methods and unfortunately often stay ahead of law -enforcers where technology is concerned, so it is unrealistic to assume blanket bans on cellphone usage during certain periods would hinder their activities too much. A more intelligent counterterrorism approach is needed. The easy availability of cheap, unverified SIMs needs to be checked, while the relevant authorities need to ensure that all connections are properly registered. Inconveniencing the public through methods such as road blockades, pillion-riding bans and cellphone shutdowns hurts common people more than the terrorists.
Not a remedy
October 26th, 2012 There is much that is w rong w ith the management of the energy sector in Pakistan. But little of what has gone wrong and continues to go wrong can be rectified by the superior judiciary. Yesterday , the Supreme Court declared illegal the pricing mechanism for CNG and has ordered a price revision by Nov 1, a move that is likely to substantially reduce the price of CNG for use in vehicles across the country. Similarly, prompted by the SCs intervention, the weekly adjust ment of petroleum prices has been halted by the federal government until the Economic Coordination Committee issues fresh directions. Both moves are likely to be hailed by the public but for the wrong reasons. Take the case of CNG. The basic problems in the gas sector are: proven gas reserves are fast dwindling because exploration for new reserves or a satisfactory import policy has not been forthcoming for many years; the gas that is being produced is utilised inefficiently because it is disproportionately allocated to
unproductive uses such as to power vehicles rather than to business and industry; and the low price of gas in Pakistan has meant that companies were reluctant to explore for new gas reserves while the consumer is unprepared for the substantially higher prices that imported gas would bring.
It is with this in mind that the government announced the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Policy 2012 in August in which substantially higher rates and other incentives were off ered to lure foreign companies to Pakistan to explore for much-needed gas that many believe is underground. The alternative is to become dependent on imported gas which would dramatically push up the price of gas. So how does the SCs move to get the price of CNG, available at gas stations across the country, reduced help the basic math and puzzle of Pakistans energy crisis? It doesnt. To be sure, the politically connected CNG fuel station owners across the country may be earning w indfall prof its but the bigger problem is that they are selling cheap gas that the country desperately needs to be channelled towards more productive uses. Instead of recognising that the historical policy itself is flawed, the court is tinkering w ith prices. CNG station owners will applaud, motorists with CNG kits will be grateful to the court, but the medium- and long-term logic are inexorable: suppressed prices will not spur invest ment in the gas sector, meaning the country will quickly run out of gas and either turn to more expensive fossil f uels or imported gas. At that not-too-distant point, what will a court order be able to achieve?
Do not enter
October 26th, 2012 In addressing the issue of barricades being placed on public roads, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany was driv en to adopt an acidic tone on Tuesday in Karachi. And w hy not, for this has become a detestably common and inconveniencing tactic. Justice Osmany directed the bulk of his ire towards Bilawal House, the Karachi residence of President Asif Ali Zardari that has swallowed up three lanes of a much-used artery. Yet, particularly in Islamabad and Karachi, citizens are impeded in their passage across their city by bollards, barricades, walls and barbed wire protecting the residences and workplaces of politicians, senior government functionaries, diplomats, police, army officers, etc. Some roads have been off- limits for so long that they have dropped out of the publics consciousness Islamabads Constitution Avenue or the portion of Aabpara Road serving the ISI h eadquarters and the CDA building are examples. Without doubt, the threat leading the authorities to curtail access is very real. The militants demonstrably seek to strike wherever they can any and all venues are kosher, the more high-security the better. Equally true, across the world the movement of those in high office or those who are potential targets for other reasons is accompanied by impediments in the movement of ordinary citizens. Crucially, though, such measures are not permanent. In Pakistan, by contrast, weve turned security needs into a form of high art that involves increasing encroachment on citizens f reedoms the very citizens who continue to lose so much to the terrorists. Yet why should we blame those in high office only? Citing similar reasons, in affluent areas across cities, citizens have through mutual agreement cordoned off entire localities w ith barricades and have employed private security to ensure that no one of the wrong sort gets in. While it is true that the law -enforcement apparatus has failed to control crime in the same way that it has been unable to curb terrorism, the solution does not lie in making it an every man for himself situation. The solution lies in building pressure on the state and its mechanisms to subs tantially improve security.
Spare the rod

October 26th, 2012
While the report in this paper that a Gujranwala man beat his 10-year-old son to death for smoking may be an extreme exception, the fact remains that corporal punishment is common in Pakistan, especially in educational institutions. One survey from 2009 says that corporal punishment was used in 89 per cent of Punjabs schools. Yet despite the prevalence of corporal punishment in society comprehensive legislation addressing the problem is still lacking. The response of the state to tackling this issue indicates that protecting children from violence and abuse is quite low on the governments list of priorities. For example, as noted at a recent workshop in Karachi, a draft law has been pending w ith the Sindh government for close to a year. The only province to have passed significant legislation concerning childrens welfare is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; the Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan authorities have all issued notifications banning corporal punishment. Yet these efforts have failed to eradicate the cruel practice, mainly because government notifications are not replacements for proper laws. Another issue is addressing corporal punishment in madressahs. As many seminaries are not registered, this put s them outside the purv iew of government enforcement. Violence against children cannot be condoned in any form. When youngsters are beaten in school, they not only become alienated from the educational process, they also develop emotional and psychologica l problems, often repeating the cycle of violence once they enter adulthood. The provinces need to formulate laws that disallow corporal punishment at public and private schools, madressahs and childrens welfare institutions. Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which is seen by many as a loophole allow ing for the use of corporal punishment for children under 12, also needs to be re-examined. Passing laws is the first step; the real challenge lies in enforcing them and convincing people that beating children is not good for them.
Untenable claim
October 27th, 2012 If there is a point on which all Afghans unite, it is on the Durand Line. The British-draw n frontier is more than a century old and has been accepted by the world community as an internat ional border. But Afghans to this day have shied away from recognising this reality. On Oct 21, Marc Grossman said in a TV interview that the US considered the Durand Line an international frontier. A few days later, the Kabul government rejected the views of America`s special envoy, prompting the State Depart ment to reiterate its position by upholding Mr Grossman`s declaration. On Thursday, the Foreign Office reaffirmed Islamabad`s position on the issue and said the international frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan was à closed and settled issue. Irrespective of tribal, ethnic, political and ideological differences, the Afghans speak with one voice on the Durand Line and refuse to abandon a stance that has been rendered obsolete by the march of time . Since 1947, Afghanistan has seen governments that differed in internal makeup and foreign policy orientations. The overthrow of the monarchy by Daud Khan, Zahir Shah`s cousin, and the establishment of a republic made no difference to Kabul rulers` stand on the border w ith Pakistan, and the four communist rulers who followed the m Nur Mohammad Taraki, Haf izullah Amin, Babrak Karmal and Mohammad Najibullah shared the royalty`s view ofthe border drawn as far back as 1893. Because Kabul`s communist rulers rec eived greater support than before f ro m the Soviet Union, their stance on the Durand Line and the issue of Pakhtunistan was haw kish. True, their views were echoed by many Pakhtun nationalists here but the bigger challenge of militancy among Pakhtuns has now taken precedence. Understandably upsetting for Pakistan, the victorious Mujahideen showed no interest in having the issue resolved and accepting the line. Even the Taliban, perceived to have been created, funded, armed and trained by Pakistan, showed litt le gratitude towards their hosts and preferred to follow their royal and communist predecessors in rejecting the status of the Durand Line. The Durand Line is a fact, and no day passes without Kabul acknowledging its de facto existence by talking about cross-border incursions. One can understand Kabul`s anticolonial approach in the 19th and early part of the 20th century. But cataclysmic events have unleashed new forces, altered the area`s geopolitical picture and rendered old concepts incongruous. Manned checkpoints on both sides testify to Kabul`s de facto recognition of the line. President Hamid Karzai should
realise that official recognition of the Durand Line would serve as a confidence -building measure, remove a source of friction and help in fighting a common enemy.
Back from the dead

October 27th, 2012
It is heartening to learn that where in Pakistan there are elements ready and willing to set out to destroy, there are others prepared to show resilience in the face of adversity. When out -ofcontrol violence accompanied protests against a religiously offensive film last month, amongst the victims were several of the country`s already few cinemas. Three cinemas were burned dow n in Peshawar, and in Karachi six were ransacked and reduced to ashes, including the venerable Nishat, Capri, Prince and Bambino. In many cases, owners watched damage worth tens of millions being inflicted on their properties as enraged young men engaged in arson in some cases, where fire depart ment authorities initially managed to bring the blaze under control, repeatedly, until they succeeded. A number of owners told newspapers later that in view of the scale of the damage, the lack of support from the government and the fact that such incidents could well happen again, they sa w few chances of rebuilding. In this dim scenario, the proprietors of Bambino Cinema are indeed showing steely resolve in restarting operations. Having spent millions on restoring part of the cinema hall (the damage to the faade is so extensive that it will take more than a year to repair), the doors are to be opened to the public today. Reportedly, Capri also intends to restart operations. These businesses ought to be offered support by the government, if not financially then at the very least from the security angle. It is odd to have to think of a cinema as a `sensitive installation`, but the violence cited above is not the only one of its kind to have occurred. In 2003, when protesters burnt down Melody, Islamabad was left a capital city without a single cinema. It is hard to understand why venues that exist solely to divert and delight attract violence and that too from the very people who benefit, for these are cinemas where ticket prices are relatively affordable. Regardless, they are deserving of special protection. The cinema culture should be promoted as too intrinsic a part of the country`s cultural fabric to be lost in this manner.
Eid hygiene
October 27th, 2012
Animal sacrif ice is one of the defining characteristics of Eidul Azha. However, extra care needs to be taken both by the citizenry and the state to ensure that the sacrifice is a safe and hygienic affair. Where the removal of offal and animal waste is concerned, the situation has improved considerably from what it was in the past; over a decade or so ago, waste used to lie unattended on garbage heaps, creating a foul atmosphere. To their credit, over the last few years civic agencies across Pakistan have made efforts to highlight hygiene in the run-up to Eid through the media, while during the three days of the festival offal is picked up fairly quickly. Public awareness has also increased. Yet loopholes remain. While civic agencies must continue their efforts, it is essential that citizens carry out the sacrifice in a disciplined manner as well. Collecting animal waste from every house is im-practical, hence people need to dispose of offal in designated collection areas and not just leave it on the street. Rotting animal waste in the open is not only an obvious health hazard, it also attracts the attention of animals and birds. The presence of birds hovering over offal is a matter of particular concern in neighbourhoods located close to airports, hence civic bodies must be particularly vigilant in these areas to prevent bird strike. Perhaps ideally it would be best if Pakistanis adapted their lifestyles so that sacrifices could be carried out in abattoirs, ensuring the religious obligation is fulf illed w hile maintaining health and safety standards. Until more such facilities are built and until people change their habits, citizens need to avoid sacrificing in the open and dumping waste wherever they feel like. After all, while the sacrifice is an integral part of Eidul Azha, maintaining cleanliness is also a religious duty.
No lessons learnt
October 30th, 2012 Coming as does on the heels of a factory fire in Karachis Baldia Town that killed at least 258 people, the inferno that decimated another factory in SITE over the Eidul Azha holidays was a stark reminder of how unprepared t he authorities remain. While it was a relief that no loss of life was reported, it should be noted as witnessed earlier that fires at such locations can spread at a horrifying pace and prove very difficult to bring under control. The fire fighters that first reached the scene realised that they would be unable to contain the situation, which rapidly reached the level of a third-degree inferno no doubt partly because of the highly flammable contents of the warehouse. An SOS resulted in fire tenders arriving there from across the city, including PAF fire tenders f rom the nearby Masroor Airbase. Even so, it took around 30 hours to contain the blaze, w ith the fire fighters finally leaving when it was feared that the building would collapse. That there was no loss of life was sheer providence and not a result of any safety measures being put in place. Hundreds of people worked in the building, and had the fire broken out during a working day rather than on Eid weekend, w hen it was empty, the possibility of another catastrophic event could not have been ruled out. In the wake of the September incident, vociferous commit ments were made by various administrative quarters to concentrate on improving safety standards in industrial units and to reinstate the factory inspection process. A little over a month later, however, the matter seems to have been swept off the radar. While legal proceedings against that factorys owners are under way, the much more crucial issue of rendering workplaces safe and ensuring the availability of adequate escape routes, fire extinguishers and f ire hydrants etc is not receiving due consideration. For obvious reasons, the importance of protecting workers, whether at industrial units or elsewhere, cannot be overemphasised. Wherever peop le find employment, it is the employers duty to ensure that neither life nor limb is at risk, and the responsibility of the state apparatus to make certain that rules and regulations are followed. Safety standards in general are lax in Pakistan, and the state does little to intervene. In order to alter this trajectory, a pressure lobby needs to be built up in society, with the aim of not just prompting the administration to act but also to raise the workers awareness level. Strong unions could have a much -needed effect in this regard.
Myanmar violence
October 30th, 2012
Fresh communal violence has erupted in Myanmars Rakhine state, between the majority Buddhist population and members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community. The scale of the violence is disturbing; Myanmar authorities say some 90 people have been killed in the latest bout of bloodletting while the UN has said over 26,000 people, mostly Muslim, have been displaced over the last week or so. Hundreds of homes have also been torched in th e rioting. Satellite images released by Human Rights Watch point to extensive destruction in a Rohingya -dominated area. Earlier in June, similarly horrif ic violence was witnessed in Rakhine after the rape and killing of a Buddhist woman, blamed on Rohingya men. The incident sparked savage reprisals and the Myanmar military had to be called in to restore order. Sectarian and ethnic strife is unfortunately quite common in Myanmar. The transition from decades of military rule to a quasi-democracy in 2010 has failed to bring relief to many of the minority groups unhappy with their treatment in Myanmar. This is particularly true of the Rohingya, who have been described by the UN as amongst the worlds most persecuted minorities. Numbering about 800,000 in Myanm ar, the Rohingya are a stateless people as the government does not extend citizenship rights to them; even amongst the general population the community faces widespread discrimination. And w henever there is communal violence, the Rohingya often have nowhere to flee; neighbouring Bangladesh, which already hosts thousands of Rohingyas, has turned back refugees
as it did in June. But perhaps what is most disappointing is the silence of Myanmars pro -democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi over the plight of the Rohingya. Ms Suu Kyi, who struggled against the military junta for years, has maintained an ambiguous stance on the ethnic strife in Rakhine, perhaps due to the impact any defence of the Rohingya may have on her partys electoral fortunes; some of her partys le ading officials have reportedly made openly anti-Muslim statements. Considering her stature, Ms Suu Kyi must rise above communal politics and raise a voice for the Rohingyas so that a permanent solution to Myanmars sectarian strife can be found.
Slaughter season
October 30th, 2012 Of what use are bans when they are not put into effect? Flouting all local and international laws that prohibit the hunting of the endangered houbara bustard, the authorities have issued at least 30 hunting permits to Arab dignitaries to further reduce the numbers of Pakistans annual winter visitor. This number is up from the 25 or so permits granted during the last hunting season. Attempts to soften the blow by issuing a code of conduct and monitoring a bag limit of 100 birds may not be the answer either, especially when the greed of local officials or their lack of clout allows them to look the other way when the rules are not adhered to. Given that the hunting continues unabated, studies claim that the houbara population, w hich has been driven to extinction in Arab lands, may not survive beyond another 15 or 20 years. This would be a great pity, and for Pakistan its loss would deal a further blow to the dwindling number of migratory birds wintering in the country. A related controversy has been the trapping of young peregrine and saker falcons (migratory species) that are used to hunt the houbara. A number of local lager falcons are used as bait to capture the former varieties. This results in the death of a large number of local falcons. For the returning hunters, though, it means the acquisition of a younger peregrine or saker falcon that they can take back on the same permit that allowed the older falcons to enter the country. There can be no excuse for such unethical practices, which, if not checked in time, w ill only increase and cause extreme damage to Pakistans biodiversity. Its about time our government and wildlife officials woke up to the larger concerns posed by natural habitats under threat.
Still far behind

October 31st, 2012 With three years left to go to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Pakistans performance doesnt exactly inspire confidence. There has been some criticism of the MDGs, including that they are too basic or that some indicators are difficult to measure. But for a less developed country like Pakistan, they provide a reasonable framework for assessing progress in fundamental areas of concern including poverty, gender equality, health and education. The UNDP claims that sufficient progress has only been made on about half of the targeted indicators. But a closer look at the organisations own assessment of Pakistans progress paints an even bleaker picture. There has been movement in a handful of areas, including the Lady Health Wo rkers programme, womens political participation and treat ment of tuberculosis. But the literacy rate, for example, was 54 per cent in 2008 -09, according to the UNDP, versus the goal of 88 per cent in 2015. Only 30 per cent of those living in high -risk areas are receiving malaria treatment and prevention versus the goal of 75 per cent. Poverty ranges from 17 to 35 per cent of the population depending on w hom you believe, compared to the 13 per cent goal for 2015. Speak to experts about why Pakistan is not making better progress, and the answer usually depends on what organisation they come from and development theory they buy into. There is the view that only economic growth will lead to better socio-economic indicators. Others argue that the government has to provide a social safety net to improve the lives of citizens and the quality of the workforce. On both counts, the country is failing. Last years GDP growth of less than four per cent was far below the seven to eight per cent needed to employ the coun trys grow ing population. As far as the state goes, beyond the reasonably successful Benazir Income Support Programme, it is entirely unclear what other large-scale projects the government has undertaken. Real progress towards the MDGs requires a concerted effort on a number of fronts: better preparing the provinces
to take on the recently devolved health and education sectors, increasing the budget for development, continuing to include the MDGs in economic planning the latest Economic Survey and growth framework do not incorporate them and involving the private sector and civil society. Even spreading the word would be a good place to start; shockingly few parliamentarians, citizens, businessmen and members of the media are aware of what the MDGs are and w hat is being done to achieve them. Without a genuine campaign on the issue, Pakistan has no hope of even coming close to the goals for 2015.
The virus within

October 31st, 2012
Three attempts by the banned fundamentalist group Hizbut Tahrir in les s than 10 years to launch a coup against the military and civilian leadership and establish a modern-day caliphate in Pakistan the details as revealed in a report in Dawn yesterday are disturbing enough. More worrying is that little is known even today a bout the true scale of the fundamentalist threat within the armed forces and w hat steps have been taken to purge them of extremist, anti-state elements. There is little doubt that a stealthy campaign by Hizbut Tahrir and other extremist groups to penetrate the ranks of the armed forces is ongoing. But both the facts and the strategy to combat the threat, if indeed there is one, have been shielded f rom the public. In the absence of any public scrutiny of what are admittedly sensitive security matters, the chances of repeat offenders cropping up and mistakes being made in tracking down dangerous elements within the armed forces cannot be downplayed. Why, for example, were the same HuT activists able to establish contacts within the armed forces in two separate instances in 2009 and 2011? Was there no way to prevent this? And what has become of the HuT activists detained after the arrest of Brig Ali Khan last year and then released after pressure from the courts over illegal detentions? Does anyone in the intelligence wings of the armed forces know where the released detainees are and if they are trying to lure fresh recruits from the armed forces? From the narrow issue of disabling the particular activists identified and suspected of involvement in plots to overthrow the state, the broader issue of a missing counter-extremism strategy cannot be separated. Hizbut Tahrir survives and thrives in Pakistani society and is able to try and recruit from among the armed forces because there is no attempt to develop a counter-narrative against violent jihad and assorted militancy. Perhaps closer vetting and surveillance of the armed forces could prevent a devastating plot but if the ideological virus continues to spread, will the failure of HuT and likeminded groups still be guaranteed?
Judicial backlog
October 31st, 2012 IT appears as if the countrys superior judiciary is more interested in pursuing high -profile cases, guided by a sense of judicial activism. While this approach may have its merits, there is an equally important need to fill the vacancies in the provincial high courts and thereby clear the huge backlog of cases pending before the courts. As reported in this paper, only 24 out of a sanctioned strength of 40 judges are hearing cases in the Sindh High Court. Around 50,000 cases are pending before the court, some of which have not been decided for over 15 years. Reportedly, over 200 cases are fixed before an SHC bench per day; it is humanly impossible to plough through all the cases during the working day. T he situation in the other three provincial high courts and Islamabad High Court is no different; all are operating below strength. The dearth of judges is one of the main reasons for the tens of thousands of pending cases before the high courts, the bulk of them in Punjab and Sindh. A lack of infrastructure not enough chambers and courtrooms has also been cited as an impediment. Efforts have been made to fill the vacancies, but the process needs to be streamlined and speeded up. Each provincial chief justice sends his recommendations to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, which forwards these to a parliamentary committee. Of course the vacancies cannot be filled overnight, for selection must be a careful process as only individuals of sterling credentials should be appointed to these key posts. Yet there needs to be a sense of urgency so that the delays in the selection and appoint ment process of high court judges can be reduced.
Both the Judicial Commission and the government need to make greater efforts to fill the vacancies so that justice can be delivered to the people in a timely fashion.
EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
Apolitical office
Novembe r 1st, 2012 The Supreme Court has issued an order, the Lahore High Court has weighed in too and now the presidency appears to be responding: official political activities at the presidency have been curbed and more informal meetings are taking their place, according to a report in this newspaper yesterday. The presidency is doing the right thing. T he constitution may be silent on w hether a president can continue to hold an official position within a political party but the office of the presidency does at the very least seem to be apolitical in its design. Much can be made out of the unnecessary and excessive needling between the government and the superior judiciary but in the case of political activities at the presidency, a central fact ought to be kept in mind: whatever the precise legal and constitutional position, the presidency ought to steer clear of partisan politics, particularly given the unfortunate use of the presidency over the decades to further narrow political and personal goals. In structure at least, President Zardari has unquestionably ceded powers to parliament and the prime minister. The 18th Amendment has put in place a system wherein parliament and the prime minister theoretically enjoy paramount power and over the course of time that theory can become practice as the democratic project continues to develop. While President Zardari is the unquestionable boss of the PPP and as such any prime minister from his party will defer to him if deemed necessary, there have been signs though admittedly not robust signs that an internal party dictatorship is not totally skew ing the desi red structure of the state and political government. For while former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani eventually sacrificed himself defending his boss against action by the Supreme Court, the strained relationship between the president and Mr Gilani was also undeniable. The tension has been attributed to President Zardaris unhappiness with some choices and policies of Mr Gilani w hile he was prime minister. So it does appear that the presidency is not exercising its veto as blatantly as it could, nor is i t totally running roughshod over the various ministries, though Mr Zardari still has the unfortunate habit of referring to his ministers when in fact they are technically the prime ministers. Still, much more needs to be done. And perhaps also it is ti me to start thinking about a hitherto taboo subject: President Zardaris parallel role as co -chairman of the PPP. The co-chairmanship came at a time of w renching change in the PPP, but nearly five years on, the democratic project could be strengthened by a further noble gesture.
Miles to go
Novembe r 1st, 2012 At the UN Human Rights Council this week, the foreign minister presented a brighter picture of the human -rights situation in Pakistan than many would be w illing to accept. But quick as we are to cr itique the countrys performance on this front, its only fair to acknowledge the progress that has been made. An elected government is about to complete a full term. The 18th Amendment and the reformulated NFC award have strengthened democracy and given increasing rights and resources to the provinces. Pro-women legislation has been passed, including against sexual harassment, acid throwing and forced marriages. While there is a long way to go to reform the legislation that governs Fata, the extension of t he Political Parties Act to the tribal areas and the weakening of the Frontier Crimes Regulation were steps in the right direction. Any analysis of Pakis- tans human- rights record wouldnt be a balanced one without factoring in the progress made in terms of constitutional and legislative reform.
The problem, of course, is that the proof of any of this lies in implementation, which ranges from successful in a handful of cases to piecemeal or nonexistent in most. And none of it negates the very real problems many groups of Pakistanis face, among them attacks on just about every religious minority, including a rash of Shia killings; enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings; the harshness and misuse of the blasphemy laws; and the condition of IDPs fleeing militancy and natural disasters. Both state and society have become desensitised to the value of human life and the rule of law, and it is hardly surprising that calling Pakistan pluralistic and progressive, as the foreign minister did, was met with disbelief from her audience. If there is one bright spot, it is that the Pakistani media continues to report more rights violations today than it ever has before. There was a time when this kind of news came f rom foreign sources. Though at the cost of too many journalists losing their lives in the process, today the countrys own media is at least able to report on much of the abuse that takes place.
Missing the bus

Novembe r 1st, 2012 Lahore's already famous Metro Bus System excites and exacerbates. The Punjab government is possessed by this pre-poll wonder in the making and the media comes up with one aspect after another related to the initial 27 kilometre stretch that is being built day and night. The chief minister is always around proudly talking ab out the project amid less-than-cautious calculations which say that while officially this is a Rs24bn venture, in actual terms it may cost the taxpayers up to Rs70bn. Buses, said to be 18 metres in length, are being manufactured; a Turkish team which is to run it for some time is being awaited, all kinds of construction, even mazaars and bazaars, standing in the way have been razed and billboards celebrating the development strategically placed. Amid this excitement there are anonymous officials out to inf lict their scepticism on everyone. Some of them told Dawn that they couldnt quite fix a date for the realisation of Mr Shahbaz Sharif s Turkish dream. Officials say the minimum time required for the project was two and a half years. The chief minister, th ey maintain, wants the work done much faster. No one has specified a deadline and no one, it seems, has anticipated the problems. Unforeseen difficulties have held up progress from time to time, yet the fanfare accompanying the work is sending out the message that the job could be completed overnight. People are getting impatient and they are talking about how the money lavished on the MBS could have been better spent elsewhere. This view can only be countered by giving them the opportunity to experience the facility firsthand and then decide on its merits and flaws. Until then, an honest estimate of how much and how long it will take could have the needed calming effect on proceedings.
Joint effort
Novembe r 2nd, 2012 With Pakistan mere steps from t he finish line an election that could mark the country`s first uninterrupted transfer of power from one democratic government to another the conduct of the polls will be more important than ever. If carried out reasonably fairly and transparently, they could mark another milestone in the evolution of Pakistani democracy. Which is where the Election Commission of Pakistan`s code of conduct for political parties, a new draft of which was issued this week, comes in. Most of the restrictions w hose violation the code claims should be met by legal action and possible disqualification are reasonable. They are calculated to avoid law and order problems, ensure that voters and electoral staff are not pressured, and that citizens and local administrations aren`t inconvenienced by campaigning. But historical experience suggests that many of the rules will be ignored, which is why the ECP must focus on two things. First, getting buy-in from the political parties. The draft has been circulated to them for their comments a useful first step. And this ECP has already demonstrated its willingness to compromise; the previously prescribed campaign expenditure limits of Rs1.5m for a National Assembly seat and Rsim for a provincial assembly seat are being revisited because of feedback that they were unrealistic. Thisconsultative approach between the Commission and the parties on formulating the rules should pave the way for the second key step: a good -faith effort by the ECP to actually enforce them, which is important not just for the outcome of this election but for the authority of
the ECP over future polls as well. Wall chalkings and larger-than-prescribed posters might not call into question the fairness of elections, but such violations as pressurising voters and preventing w omen f rom voting both sully the polls and diminish the ECP`s authority if no action is taken against them. This leads to another task that political parties and the ECP must focus on together getting added to the voter list the up to 20 million Pakistani adults who remain unregistered. Nadra and the ECP have taken a transformational step by linking voter registration to CNICs, but without a noticeable public information campaign and reaching out to citizens in rural and remote areas, many will remain unregistered or will be registered at the wrong addresses.
The ECP did hold a day of awareness last month, but that campaign wasn`t enough and voter lists aren`t accessible as widely as they should be. Nor can the ECP ensure all adults are registered without th e help of political parties, in whose own interest it is to get more people on the rolls.
Scenes of anarchy
Novembe r 2nd, 2012 Cause for serious concern should be read into the rising number of cases of mob violence in Pakistan. There have been several instances where incensed individuals, often egged on by malicious elements, have united under perceived common grievances to take the law into their own hands. One such incident, too heartbreaking to be forgotten, was that of two brothers being beaten to death by an enraged mob near Sialkot in August 2010. Now we learn that on Wednesday, a large number of protesters gathered in Lahore`s Ravi Road area after rumours of an act of blasphemy started swirling, and turned violent. Holding off both police and the f ire brigade, they set alight three buildings of a private school whose staff was implicated in allegations of blasphemy and torched the owner`s car. Reports suggest that activists of some religious groups were among the mob, no doubt adding fuel to the fire. Whether or not blasphemy was actually committed is a matter for investigators acting under the mandate of the law to decide. What is undeniable, however, is that vigi-lante action is simply unwarranted in the context of any norm of justice or, indeed, of civilisation itself. Regardless of the enormity of the perceived provocation, under no circumstances can individuals or groups be allowed to take it upon themselves to deliver their version of `justice`. Such incidents constitute dangerous precedents and only embolden future offenders that nurse anarchic tendencies. To avoid sending out the signal that the state and its justice system are either blind to or tolerant of such behaviour, the administration must act fast and come down w ith a heavy hand on t he perpetrators. The ringleaders of the mob need to be identified, investigated and prosecuted, sending out the message in no uncertain terms that the law will not stand by while citizens` rights are violated by those who have no authority to act in the matter. In the case of the Sialkot lynching, several men were eventually sentenced to varying degrees by an antiterrorism court last year. A similar procedure needs to be initiated and expedited in terms of the Ravi Road arson too.
Learning from Sandy

Novembe r 2nd, 2012
Pakistan must learn from America`s Sandy experience, especially how, in spite of the deadly potential of the superstorm, human suffering was reduced to a minimu m. Weather warnings helped. But what mattered greatly was how the people and the emergency services reacted to minimise the storm`s ravages. The administration and relief agencies seem also to have learnt from Katrina and acted with speed and planning. As TV images showed, conurbations along the long coastline were pounded by walls of killer waves, and houses were simply smashed and washed away. But because the evacuation of the coastal communities was done well in time and the people
cooperated with the relief agencies there were very few casualties. The people also heeded the auth orities` warnings to keep off the roads there was no panic and no one called 911, unless there was a lifethreatening situation.
In draw ing lessons fromSandy, we have to be mindful of the obvious differences between a developed country and any Third World nation. The absence of a well-oiled rescue machinery and a late, inadequate response tend to aggravate the misery. Also militating against a scientific response to disasters and contributing to chaos are features typical of developing countries unplanned housing in depressions or close to coasts, lack of discipline among communities with little education, the absence of unity in cities teeming with migrants and the lack of mutual trust and sympathy between the victims and help providers. The trauma of the 2005 earthquake and the havoc wrought by the devastating floods in 2010 and last year are fresh in the people`s memories. We do not know how the monsoon w ill behave next summer, but it is time the National Disaster Management Authority learnt its lessons and prepared itself in advance for any disaster that may strike Pakistan.
Balochistan crisis
Novembe r 3rd, 2012 The shambles that is the Balochistan government has taken yet another turn for the worse this week w ith Chief Minister Aslam Raisani under siege f rom rivals within his party, the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly and the Supreme Court. Citing an Oct 12 Supreme Court interim order, Speaker Aslam Bhootani has turned to the governor for constitutional advice on whether Mr Raisani`s government is still intact and if a session of the Balochistan Assembly can be convened as demanded by the chief minister. Meanw hile, the Balochistan chapter of the PPP has suspended the membership of Mr Raisani on grounds of various allegations of corruption and inc ompetence against the chief minister. But so far the central command of the PPP has not weighed in on the matter. In the murky world of Balochistan politics all is rarely as it seems. Both the speaker and the PPP Balochistan leader, Sadiq Umrani, are believed to be upset with the chief minister for political reasons supporting rivals, manoeuvring a caretaker set-up in place to favour Mr Raisani, etc and that may have much more to do with the crises that now confront Mr Raisani. The chief minister is expected to survive his political challenges in the age-old fashion of Balochistan politics: wheeling and dealing and reassurances given to wary and suspicious allies.Yet, the central problem remains: the Balochistan government is dysfunctional and Balochistan co ntinues to suffer all manner of problems. Added to this is the searing scrutiny of the Supreme Court which, while by and large beneficial to putting Balochistan back on the national agenda, has introduced an unpredictable element in the provincial equation . If there is any part of the country that desperately needs fresh elections and a new political leadership, it is Balochistan. But provincial elections are now synchronised w ith the federal elections and both are very much on the horizon. So an intervention for rapid elections in Balochistan at this late hour may actually create more problems than it could solve. Better then to focus on creating a fairer electoral environment. The caretaker set-up, the participation of all parties in the election and a pol ling machinery that better represents the will of the people all are areas that need serious attention. The pressure on Mr Raisani, then, could serve some useful purpose in perhaps forcing him and his government to make better decisions in the crucial mont hs ahead. It may seem like a forlorn hope given the appalling record of Chief Minister Raisani & Co, but nothing concentrates the mind of a politician like a battle for survival.
Collective failure
Novembe r 3rd, 2012
Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is correct to remind his cabinet colleagues that the failure of this government to resolve the power crisis is a collective one, that they must all share the burden of accountability. The figures given by the minister tell us the scale of this failure. Despite pouring Rs1.4tn into the power sector since this government was elected, the scale of the crisis has only grow n. It`s also important to note that the same time period has seen power tariffs climb by almost 75 per cent, by some estimates. Where did a ll this money go? And the power crisis is not the only failing for which the government needs to be collectively held responsible. The finance minister was compelled to remind his colleagues of their joint responsibility after they had reacted with displeasure and disbelief to his admittedly rosy take on the state of price inflation in the country. It is true that problems like power shortages and price inflation are beyond the scope of any one ministry to address. In the power sector for instance, a proper execution of the right policies w ill need tight coordination among the ministries of petroleum, finance and water and power. It is a mystery why the government has not appointed a strong and credible minister to head the water and power ministry. The same applies to price inflation. The finance minister has a large role to play in maintaining fiscal discipline, which is essential for price stability, but his role must be matched by the rest of the government that must draw up proper spending priorities. If the cabinet fails to pull together in setting and executing the policy agenda the result will inevitably be failure, in spite of the best efforts of individuals. And that is the biggest letdown on the part of this government. It has not been able to come together to draw up and execute a policy agenda that addresses key problems. Instead its approach has been piecemeal and ad hoc. As a result, its performance has been chaotic. That failure belongs equally to each member of the cabinet.
Death in custody
Novembe r 3rd, 2012
There are conflicting claims regarding the death in an alleged encounter on Tuesday of Azizullah Janwari, the prime suspect in last month`s armed attack on a PPP meeting in Khairpur. A number of people were killed in that incident. The suspect was held in a police lock-up near Sukkur after being arrested from Bahawalpur. The police claim members of the suspect`s community tried to free him from detention, which resulted in a shootout with the law enforcers. However, Mr Janwari`s clansmen have alleged that the suspect was eliminated in a staged encounter. Several questions about the èncounter` need to be answered, namely how come the injured attackers managed to flee and no police officers were injured in the `shootout.` Also, serious allegations reported in a section of the media that a ruling party law maker wanted the suspect killed in an encounter need to be addressed by the government. Considering that elections are close, it is essential that this case is investigated to unearth exactly who attacked the PPP meeting and why, as well as the circumstances behind the suspect`s death in custody. Custodial and extrajudicial deaths are unfortunately quite common in Pakistan. One of the main reasons for this is that the legal system has failed to deliver. Since the courts take too long to try suspects or free them on ball, eliminating `troublesome` suspects through encounters is seen as an easy solution by the law -enforcers. This is totally unacceptable. As stated countless times, the system of investigation and prosecution needs to be overhauled while the culture of tolerating or even encouraging, as it has been alleged extralegal killings by the police must be done away with. It is for the courts to decide who is guilty and w ho should be punished. Condoning extrajudicial and custodial killings w ill further speed up our descent into lawlessness.
Time to pay up
Novembe r 4th, 2012
Now it`s the turn of cricketers to be named and shamed for tax evasion or failing to pay their full income tax d ues. The Federal Board of Revenue`s income tax division has issued notices to over 20 cricketers for tax dues owed to the state and a sum of at least Rs100 m is expected to be recovered. As a percentage of the overall tax revenue projected at nearly Rs2.4tr in the current financial year the sums are insignificant, but as a means to alert tax dodgers that the taxman means business, the measure is a public relations coup. The idea stems from the creation last year of an income tax investigation depart ment with in the FBR that has been busy accumulating data on wealthy Pakistanis who pay little or no tax. Data drawn from Nadra last month helped assemble a list of 2.3 million Pakistanis w ho have multiple bank accounts, travel abroad f requently and live a wealthy lifestyle but do not figure in the direct tax net at all. Previously it had become known that of the abysmally low three million people w ith a national tax number, less than half file their tax returns. That the system is broken is universally known. That it has forced a highly unjust, unfair and regressive tax system on the public at large is less well understood. State expendi-tures have to be paid for regardless of whether or not the rich pay their mandated share of income tax. And because the rich don`t pay income tax the less well-off have to carry a disproportionate burden of the tax burden through indirect taxes like the sales tax, customs duties and other levies. Roughly, for every Rs3 raised as direct taxes, Rs7 are raised through indirect taxes. If that were not bad enough, the overall tax collection is disastrously low, forcing the government to borrow heavily from the local market, which creates inf lationary pressures at the same time as it crowds out private invest ment. So it isn`t just a double whammy for the less welloff higher taxes and inflation but a triple w hammy: the squeeze in credit for the private sector slows dow n growth and the creation of much-needed jobs. The picture is even bleaker when the power crisis and circular debt are factored in: the rich still get subsidised electricity because of the tariff structure and even then don`t always pay for it, driving up government expenditure which is largely paid for through more borrow ing and the indirect taxes. So if naming and shaming the wealthy produces results, the FBR should go after the real untouchables including politicians and the media.
A province on edge
Novembe r 4th, 2012
While acts of violence continue to plague Balochistan, officialdom seems bent on denying the fact that a major problem exists. At least 18 people were killed in the ensuing blaze when gunmen attacked abusatafuelstation outside Khuzdar on Friday. Initial police reports suggest personal enmity triggered the attack, with the fuel pump as the target. Aside from the latest tragedy Khuzdar has been on edge for the past several weeks; last month two sons of a local journalist were shot at one of them died while a journalist was gunned down in September. Balochistan overall suffers from rampant lawlessness, with murde rs, kidnappings and enforced disappearances being common. What is ironic is that the bus attack in Khuzdar occurred on the same day the government was defending its record on Balochistan during a Supreme Court hearing on law and order in the province. An interior ministry report cited at Friday`s hearing suggested that the violence in Balochistan was a `limited local issue` concerning some `so called nationalists` and that the provincial government had not failed. These observations, echoed by the interi-or minister in the apex court, would be laughable had t he matter not been so serious. The violence in Balochistan is co mplex and involves many actors. There have been sectarian and ethnic attacks, lawenforcement personnel have been targeted while extrajudici al killings of Baloch political activists have been reported in the province. The security apparatus (said to target
Baloch political workers and separatists), sectarian groups (who have claimed attacks targeting mostly Hazara Shias) and nationalist militants (believed to target non-Baloch citizens, security personnel and pro-government individuals) all appear to be involved. In such circumstances, claiming that law and order in Balochistan has not collapsed is selfdelusional. As a first step, the federal and provincial governments need to stop pretending that all is well in the province and face the facts. While the state is responsible for maintaining order, Baloch nationalists also need to clearly condemn ethnic and sectarian violence. Balochistan`s problems must be handled on several fronts, foremost of which are addressing the grievances of the people and establishing the rule of law.
Losing the plot

Novembe r 4th, 2012
The problem is not that Pakistan gets it wrong; it is that the country goes astray even when headed in the right direction. Proper planning, realistic projections of the future, oversight these factors are generally missing f rom any given endeavour. Consider, for example, two reports published yesterday. The debate on large dams aside, t here has been general agreement for years that sma ll dams can prove very useful. Accordingly, over the first decade of the new millennium, 20 small dams were constructed at the cost of some Rs2.62bn in the Potohar area to provide water to 30,000 acres of farmland. But, according to a recently released Punjab Irrigation and Power Depart ment report, in actual fact they are irrigating a mere 7.45 per cent of the target area. One of them, Sawal Dam in Jhelum Division, is irrigating just three acres against a 930-acre target. Why? Because of insufficient geological investigations, f laws in design and execution, mismanage - ment in supervision and substandard construction materials. On the other side, it has been recognised for some years that school curricula us e pedagogical methodology that promotes rote learning and fails to interest or challenge the students. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, to its credit, made an intervention. A revamped curriculum which, for example, teaches science through experiment, was introduced two years ago. But since only a fraction of the schoolteachers were actually trained to use it 22,000 of roughly 87,000 primary and middle school teachers students are still learning by rote. Disparate though irrigation and education may appear, the problem is the same in both stories: the administration intervened, but didn`t think it through long enough. The result? Wastage of time, effort and funds, to the benefit of none. Until Pakistan learns to stop losing the plot halfway, its `progress` will be characterised by halfbaked initiatives.
Judicial limitations
Novembe r 5th, 2012
The Supreme Court goes to Quetta, it goes to Karachi, it summons officials to the court headquarters in Islamabad, all the time trying to get the other institutions of the state to do more to stabilise trouble spots and protect the public. Controversial as the attempts may be in some quarters, the court`s moves have definitely helped put on the national agenda issues that otherwise languished at the margins: for ins tance, a slow-burn insurgency in Balochistan and the state`s brutal response, and unending violence in parts of Karachi even as the main political players in the city are in government together. But the longer the court`s intervention continues, the more t he limitations of the judiciary are becoming apparent. True, the judiciary was never really designed for interventions on the security front but the main problem appears to lie elsewhere: a numbing reluctance by the state the political government, the security establishment and the security apparatus to do its job, that is, effectively counter security threats and to keep the public as safe and secure as reasonably possible. There is no easy comparison between events in Karachi and Balochistan, as indeed there is no direct comparison with the threat posed by militancy in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Counterterrorism measures are different fro m a counterinsurgency, and an IslamistTHE Supreme Court goes to Quetta, it goes to Karachi, it summons officials to the court headquarters in Islamabad, all the time trying to get the other institutions of the state to do more to stabilise trouble spots and protect the public. Controversial as the attempts may be in some quarters, the court`s moves have definitely helped put on the national agenda issues that otherwise languished at the margins: for instance, a slow-burn insurgency in Balochistan and the state`s brutal response, and unending violence in parts of
Karachi even as the main political players in the city are in government together. But the longer the court`s intervention continues, the more the limitations of the judiciary are becoming apparent. True, the judiciary was never really designed for interventions on the security front but the main problem appears to lie elsewhere: a numbing reluctance by the state the political government, the security establishment and the security apparatus to do its job, that is, effectively counter security threats and to keep the public as safe and secure as reasonably possible.
There is no easy comparison between events in Karachi and Balochistan, as indeed there is no direct comparison with the threat posed by militancy in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Counterterrorism measures are different fro m a counterinsurgency, and an Isla mistinsurgency in the northwest of the country has very different drivers to a separatist insurgency in the southwest. But as months have become years and the years threaten to become a decade, policy drift continues to bedevil Pakistan`s attempts to find internal stability. Perhaps most worrying is the ad hoc approach to the disparate problems. When violence flares in one place, urgent meetings are held between political principals to tamp down the problem. When the killings and attacks on various targets go up in another part of the country, suspects are temporarily rounded up and then after a short while the same cycle of violence and counter-violence begins again. Missing throughout is a coherent, long-term policy. In Balochistan, w ithout a political leadership that is tenacious about reconciliation between the warring separatists and the security establishment, swathes of the province will effectively remain cut off from the rest of Pakistan. In many parts of urban Pakistan, the coordination between the various arms of the security apparatus is still very unsatisfactory, the judicial f ramework is still too inadequate to deal with terrorism and militancy and a meaningful counter-extremism strategy has yet to be discussed. So, perhaps a rethink in strategy isneeded by the superior judiciary and the various arms of the state it is trying to cajole into behaving more responsibly.
Need for caution

Novembe r 5th, 2012 It has been indicated by officials that 7,000 Taliban operatives may have infiltrated Karach i. Media reports have since alleged that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan have taken over several of the city`s large localities. It has long been known that the Taliban have some presence in Karachi, but the kind of claims that are now being made could prove dangerous for a couple of reasons. For one, Karachi is a tinderbox, and ethnic rivalry is one of the main forces that can set it alight at a moment`s notice. Seven thousand is a significant number, a frightening sound bite that will easily be repeated, but it is unclear where it came from. Add to that the assertion that the TTP is in control of several of the city`s Pakhtun neighbourhoods, and such arguments, if not made carefully, can easily spark violent clashes in the port city. Of course the TTP`s Friday statement, in which the outfit set up a direct confrontation with the MQM, did not help matters. But it is essential to avoid tarring an entire ethnic or linguistic group with the same brush. Criminal elements exist in all communities in this metropolis, and conflating them w ith specific communities, or overstating the extent of Taliban influence in Karachi, can quickly lead to bloody ethnic conflict. Secondly, the hype about a Taliban presence can become a convenient way for law enforcement to clai m that outsiders who have infiltrated Karachi are making it harder to control crime and violence. The SC has now asked the provincial government to act against the Taliban threat in the city, but where was law enforcement when thousands of Taliban activists were supposedly entering it? Nor is Karachi`s violence entirely a product of outsiders; as a senior bureaucrat in the provincial home ministry said on F riday, all political parties need to rein in their militant wings if law and order is to be restored. The Taliban threat needs to be taken seriously, and law enforcement should act against it with as much discretion as possible. But it should not be used to distract attention from Karachi`s underlying political problems, or to spark an ethnic war.
Stock market puzzle

Novembe r 5th, 2012
The spectacular rise of the stock market is bringing back memories of 2007, when the market showed dramatic rises as political uncertainty mounted. To what extent is the continuous upward spiral of the market being driven by corporate earnings and dividend payouts, and to what extent is it speculative buying in the context of a declining interest rate environment? Ever since the State Bank started cutting interest rates, the only measure of economic activity that has risen is the stock market, with values and volumes both registering steep increases. Corporate earnings in the listed companies are encouraging, but invest ment is still nearly zero, and private -sector credit off-take from the banking system is similarly low. Given this context the refusal on the part of the corporate sector to invest it is surprising that the earnings alone could be generating such enthusiasm on the trade floor. It`s noteworthy that theSecurities and Exchange Commission has initiated a high-profile probe into the stock market crash of 2008 at precisely this time, when the market is touching record highs all over again. It`s important to understand why the stock market tends to register such sharp increases in times when all other indicators of economic activity show a moribund economy and deteriorating investor confidence. In the present case, for instance, it`s interesting to note that different categories of stocks have played their role in driving up the index at different points in time. Not too long ago, we were told that penny stocks is w here the rally is, w ith large purchases being made by a single bank. Today, the activity has moved to cement and other blue chips. The shifting winds of trader interest belie most economic analyses given by the market players themselves. The hype surrounding these spikes needs to be carefully scrutinised. Let the buyer beware.
Few answers
Novembe r 6th, 2012 State institutions and the relations between them are back in the news but its difficult to interpr et what it all means at the moment. President Zardari, Gen Kayani and Chief Justice Chaudhry have all spoken publicly in the space of a day about what is best for Pakistan going forward and the first question is whether they have all said the same thing, i.e. that the constitutional order needs to be protected and strengthened, or if they have hinted at some underlying conflict that could boil over in the weeks and months ahead. When President Zardari spoke on Sunday of the dying kicks of the old order an d of some threats still existing against parliament, was he painting a picture of slow but meaningful progress in the democratic order or was he obliquely warning of new dangers? Should the emphasis in Gen Kayanis statement be on his reference to moving f orward with consensus or on his warning that conspiracy theories and rumours were trying to drive an unacceptable wedge between the public and the armed forces and between the leadership of the armed forces and the rank and file? And was Chief Just ice Chaudhrys statement that it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to ensure the supremacy of the constitution in connection with the actions of state institutions and authorities a routine reiteration of a line that the judiciary has consistent ly taken under Chief Justice Chaudhry or a pregnant comment aimed at other institutions? If the questions are many and the answers few at the moment, it is because of the unfortunate history and nature of institutional power in Pakistan. What is clear is t hat the old order is crumbling at the edges. New power centres the judiciary, the media, an increasingly informed and vocal public, and even the political class are jostling for space and trying to exert their newfound influence. So far, w hile forward movement in the democratic project has been halting it is also very real the various power centres have avoided a truly destabilising clash that could take the country back to square one. Perhaps, then, it is a sign of progress that sniping between institutions through public speeches and press releases is as far as things go before common sense prevails and all sides back dow n temporarily. Perhaps also this is the way forward: a messy system in which no institution enjoys predominance and all fight for space. But the ghosts of the past have not truly been exorcised either. Which is why the alarm bells start ringing when elliptical warnings, and threats, are brandished. The days ahead will reveal more.
American cliffhanger
Novembe r 6th, 2012
Americans go to the polls today in a cliffhanger that analysts predict might end up in a tie, leaving the choice to Congress. Sandy did help the incumbent, as did two Republican heavyweights New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. But Mitt Romney can still spring a surprise, so forceful has been his indictment of the Democratic administrations economic performance. Indices over the last few weeks have favoured the president, but they cannot serve to veil the Obama administrations lacklustre economic record since 2008. Mr Romney remains an unapologetic defender of corporate sharks, but asserts that his policies will help revive the economy, create jobs and restrict the states interventionist role. President Barack Obama has hammered home his foreign policy achievements the end of the Iraq war, the drawdown f rom Afghanistan by 2014, and the crippling blows dealt to Al Qaeda, including Osama bin Ladens killing. But the campaign has largely revolved around domestic issues, and that s where Mr Obama is vulnerable. Most analysts agree it is the swing states that will clinch the election. The real issue w ill be the victors post -election discomfiture, for neither Mr Obama nor Mr Romney will find it easy to push forward his agenda through a divided Congress. If Mr Obama gets a second term, he will have to face a lower house that is under Republican control, while a victorious Romney will have to deal w ith a Senate that has a Democratic majority, even if wafer-thin. The mid-term polls could further create problems for the winner and obstruct legislation on such key issues as a quick economic recovery, healthcare, combating climate change, and in Mr Romneys case an extra $100bn for the Pentagon. For the world at large, there will be little change: notwithstanding differences in shades, American foreign policy is largely bipartisan. Mr Romneys kind words for Pakistan contradicted his support for drone attacks, and Mr Obamas June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo turned out to be nothing more than a PR exercise for he has failed to bridge the divide between America and the Muslim world.
Patients misery
Novembe r 6th, 2012 Doctors in Balochistans public hospitals have been on strike for nearly three weeks now due to the abduction of Dr Saeed Khan, an eye specialist, in early October. Only emergency services are available while operation theatres and OPDs have remained closed. Doctors have complained that the provincial government has done nothing to recover the kidnapped medic, while security for medics in Balochistan is very poor. Perhaps Dr Khans abduction was a trigger. While the security situation in Balochistan is highly unsatisfactory overall, it has been particularly so for doctors of late; over the past few months several medics have either been murdered or kidnapped for ranso m in the restive province. In fact media reports say that in some cases doctors have identified the kidnappers, ye t the state has failed to act. From the facts on the ground nobody appears to be safe in Balochistan. Ye t when doctors are targeted and hence unable to perform their duties in a secure environment, the miseries of the common man in Balochistan are compounded. Many patients do not have the means to afford private medical care, the only available option when public health institutions shut down. The doctors appear to have a very genuine reason to protest. The provincial government needs to make concrete efforts to recover the kidnapped doctor, while security for medical practitioners needs to be beefed up, especially in public institutions. Doctors commuting to and f rom work must also be provided extra security. However, as legitimate as their demands are, the doctors should consider other methods of protest. Going on strike for weeks on end hurts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. The medics have every right to pursue their legitimate demands. But this should be done in such a manner that while their message is clearly communicated to the state, people are not denied medical care.
Armys concerns
Novembe r 7th, 2012
As the country digests the army chiefs latest foray into, strictly speaking, non - military matters, it appears that Gen Kayanis comments on Monday were directed at his prin -cipal constituency: the armed forces itself. The discomf ort within the rank and file and the leadership too in recent weeks is not very difficult to fathom. Mehrangate, the NLC scam, inquiries into a luxury resort in Lahore, and myriad other questions about the armys political role and management of security affairs have all combined to probably create a sense of siege. For an institution as proud and domestically predominant as the army has been over the decades, it may well be bewildering to be subjected to the kind of scrutiny and commentary that non-uniformed leaders have long been used to. So Gen Kayanis words targeted as they appear to have been against the judiciary and sections of the media, and not really the civilian political leadership were probably intended to allay concerns within the armed forces that somewhat legitimate criticism of narrow problems, from the armys perspective, were grow ing into wanton and gratuitous criticism of the entire institution. Questionable as the armys concerns may be those never subjected to intense scrutiny will always resist a changing order it is perhaps a sign of the times, and a good one at that, that the army chief chose tough words instead of strong action. In eras past, a discreet phone call or a public swipe would have been enough to tamp down criticis m and make unwanted investigations disappear. So perhaps in time, even the dubious use of the ISP R to put out such controversial statements will be a practice curbed. For the long road to civilian control of the state to be travelled, however, one of the key elements is the question of who determines the national interest. Gen Kayani was correct in saying that no individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or w rong in defining the national interest and that it should emerge throug h a consensus. But in truth, it must go much further than that in a truly democratic polity. While other institutions do have some role to play, the central pivot has to be the civilian leadership that represents the will of the people through parliament. It cannot and must not be forgotten that the internal and external instability the country faces today is largely rooted in policies pursued by the army itself in the name of the national interest. But if a few court cases and investigations so unsettle the armed forces, can they really be w illing to cede control of the national interest?
Development projects
Novembe r 7th, 2012 Any way you look at it, Balochistan is in dire straits. On the political front, the air is murky especially following a Supreme Court interim order last month which led to the current predicament of Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and the crisis over the convening of the Balochistan provincial assembly. (An assembly session has now been called for Nov 13.) On the law and order front, matters are even worse. Many commit ments and expressions of good intent later, there has been no improvement in the security situation. The missing have yet to be traced; minorities continue to be targeted; and the average citizen remains under threat from several quarters. It could have been hoped that matters were better where development is concerned this would have gone a long way towards putting balm on old wounds. But that, it seems, is far f rom being the case. The blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the provincial administration. On Monday, several Balochistan senators and Planning Commission officials told a sub -committee of the Senate that none of the 32 federally f unded development projects initiated in Balochistan over the pas t decade have been completed. All these projects had been handed over to the provincial administration for completion. Together, they are worth some Rs60bn. The list reads like a roll of shame: a technical college in Gwadar completed some years ago by the federal government but now derelict because access roads and facilities were not built, and teachers never appointed; the Pat Feeder Water Sector Project launched 15 years ago by Wapda and then taken over by the provincial government, but completion remains around 10 years away these are just two examples of numerous others. To be fair, some Baloch senators have accepted the onus of responsibility; however, that is hardly enough. If the crisis in Balochistan is to be turned around, here is the simpler part of the solution: develop the province, raising education and employment rates and thus pierce the environment of resent ment. If the provincial
administration cannot do that, it would be dangerously undermining its own position as the peoples representat ive.
Still no YouTube
Novembe r 7th, 2012 Almost two months after the government blocked YouTube, the video -sharing site remains inaccessible to Pakistanis. Google and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority have failed to reach an agreement over block ing links to The Innocence of Muslims, despite the fact that such arrangements have been made w ith other governments, and as a result the PTA has stuck to its convenient solution of putting in place a wholesale ban on the website. In some countries Google is more w illing to comply because it has large, localised operations and banning certain videos in those countries would not block the same videos elsewhere. But if the Internet giant is not going to budge on the issue, surely the Pakistani government should be trying to find a way to block specific videos, even if that requires buying more staff or new technology. The fundamental question is this: after the massive strides Pakistan has made towards freedom of expression, will it continue to take a step back every time someone irresponsible in some part of the world posts something offensive on the Internet? Pakistanis now have the ability to generate and consume a profusion of content through traditional media outlets, social media, and websites and blogs , giving them more space to express themselves than ever before. That has been one of Pakistans defining achievements over the last decade. And yet in its populist or moralistic zeal, or simply for security reasons, the government continues to take clumsy , arbitrary actions that block large chunks of the Internet when banning specific material becomes inconvenient or challenging. In todays globalised world, there will always be something online to take offence at. The PTA needs to find a way to target its efforts so that it can stop depriving Pakistanis of a fundamental right they are becoming increasingly accustomed to.
Obama & Pakistan

Novembe r 8th, 2012 As a country that has been the focus of world attention for reasons more than one, Pakistan will watch with hope and concern how the foreign policy of President Barack Obama during his second term will affect it in the years to come. Will the new Obama administration reassess some controversial aspects of its foreign policy, like the unceasing drone attacks in the northwest, or will the new mandate serve to reinforce its belief in the righteousness of its policies and stay the course? Since 2008, the US-Pakistan relationship has gone through unprecedented turmoil. Three events last year aggravated tensions between the two the Raymond Davis affair, the American commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers at Salala in a US -led Nato attack. In anger, Pakistan boycotted the Bonn conference and suspended the Nato supply line, insisting on an apology. The damage-control exercise took nearly a year to succeed; but it still remains to be seen to what extent the frosty rapprochement can remove the mistrust. The task before the two governments now is to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperate to achieve common objectives. The obvious goal is to give peace and stability to Afghanistan during and after the Nato forces withdrawal by the end of 2014. There are some harsh realities: the Afghan Taliban have not been defeated; the peace talks stand frozen, or if at all there has been progress, America has kept its cards close to its chest; and the beleaguered Karzai regime seems to be in no position to maintain security after 2014. It is here and not because of the 100 nuclear warheads Mitt Romney spoke of that America needs Pakistan. Given the bonds of history, culture, economy and geography that unite Pakistan and Afghanistan, the transition to a long -lasting peace west of the Durand Line would not be possible without engaging Islamabad and addressing its legitimate concerns. More important, it is in Washingtons interest to de -velop a long- term relationship with Islamabad instead of returning to Pakistan only when a crisis beckons. As for its policy towards the Muslim heartland, President Obama should re-read his Cairo speech and judge whether America under him has achieved any of its goals. Iran continues to be under harsh American sanctions, and Israel
builds settlements in utter disregard of President Obamas warnings, toot hless as they have been. His commit ment to the two-state solution has become academic, because Israel has blocked the peace process, and Washington is at the Likud governments beck and call to deny state status to Palestine at the UN.
Drug regulation challenge

Novembe r 8th, 2012 The passage of the 18th Amendment to the constitution has thrown up a number of challenges on different fronts, some of which have proved trickier to resolve than was anticipated. Amongst these is devolution to the provinces of functions of the erstwhile federal health ministry. In recent months, this sector has been in the news frequently. Particularly in the wake of several deaths in Lahore due to the consumption of low -quality or fake drugs, and the scandal that surfaced regarding the manipulation of quotas of medicinal ingredients, the sphere has been the focus of public attention. Much of the confusion has been cleared up as a result of the law establishing the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. Under this, the functions of the health ministry have been taken over by this agency. Yet cracks remain, as was highlighted by a three -judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday in Islamabad. Having taken up the matter of the availability of spurious drugs on the market, the SC bench ordered the four provincial governments to apprise it of steps they have taken to not just control the flow of fake or substandard drugs into the market, but also address the rising prices of medicines. The latter, it seems, does not fall under the purview of DRAP; according to a report submitted before the bench by the additional advocate general, Punjab, Jawwad Hassan, drug prices are fixed by the federal government under Section 12 of the Drugs Act 1976, through notification in the official gazette, and the provinces have no role in the matter. This is as it should be, since drugpricing needs to be standardised across the country and availability must be uniform. Yet having regulations in place on paper is one matter; ensuring that they are adhered to is another altogether. In actual fact, the states role in keeping a check on the quality and sale of drugs is piecemeal to say the least. This gap must be plugged on an urgent footing. The cost to public health is too great to allow anything to fall t hrough the cracks.
Yet more questions

Novembe r 8th, 2012 A US appeals court has upheld the September 2010 verdict that sentenced Aafia Siddiqui to 86 years in prison. The severity of her sentence raises yet another question in a case already riddled with them: what is Ms Siddiqui really being held accountable for? Is life imprisonment justif ied for firing at a handful of FBI agents and soldiers, none of whom were killed or injured? These questions w ill only add to the air of murkiness that still surroun ds the case. That Ms Siddiqui had links to radical Islamists is not really a matter of dispute. What remain problematic are the circumstances of her arrest, the nature of her crimes and the conduct of her trial. Where was Ms Siddiqui between 2003 and 2008? Was she in Pakistani or American custody? If so, is the story of her arrest in 2008 real? If she wanted to carry out a terrorist attack against America, and possessed plans to do so when captured, why was she only charged w ith the crime of firing a gun at American officials after her arrest? The problem with all this uncertainty is that it creates the impression that US authorities are hiding something, which raises doubts about the fairness of Ms Siddiquis custody and trial. All of which only provides a n excuse to Pakistani firebrands to turn her into a symbol of everything that is wrong w ith America and a reason for Pakistan not to cooperate with the US (despite the fact that the Pakistani government has not been particularly forthcoming about her whereabouts prior to 2008). After four years of unanswered questions and a sentence that seems out of proportion to the charges that have been framed, the Aafia case will continue to be a lightning rod for anti American sentiment in Pakistan.
The drama ends

Novembe r 9th, 2012
The end of the so-called Swiss letter saga has come in the softest possible way. Buried in the avalanche of news from the US presidential election, the government announced that the letter demanded by the court and finally agreed to by the government has been dispatched to Switzerland. The good news is that a crisis between the government and the judiciary that at times threatened to derail the transition to democracy has been def used ahead of the next election cycle. The bad news is the toll it has taken since December 2009, when the NRO judgment was handed down. Most notably, gone is the unanimously elected prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, a sacrifice that seems ever more inexplicable on the part of the PPP given that the letter was eventually w ritten. For the longest time it appeared that the PPP had settled on a political strategy to fight its legal troubles w ith the court. Why that was the strategy has never been fully explained. After all, even veteran PPP leaders with legal and political experience had argued, mostly privately but sometimes publicly, that writing the letter to Swiss authorities would have little to no impact on the legal stat us of Mr Zardaris presidency. The educated guess though, admittedly, based on multiple presumptions with little real evidence was that the PPPs strategy of defiance was linked to political calculations: yielding too quickly on the Swiss letter could have opened the floodgates to all manner of other legal headaches for the government, while not yielding had the benefit of bringing into question the courts motives and perpetuating the myth that a PPP government always finds itself under extreme, and unjustifiable, pressure from the establishment. In hindsight, however, there is a sense that perhaps it was as much incomprehension and incompetence that propelled the PPPs strategy of defiance as opposed to shrewd political manoevrings. The party leadership under President Zardari has shown an uncanny ability for political survival but perhaps not so much for the nuances of institutional strengthening. Virtually forcing the Supreme Court to take a tougher stance, sacrificing a prime minister, and playing to the political gallery with hard-hitting comments there were more sophisticated ways of e ngineering a compromise, even if Mr Zardaris eye was on running down the clock on the statute of limitations in Sw itzerland. Nevertheless, a soft end to a dispute that once loomed ominously over the political landscape is something to be thankful for. Have lessons been learned by both the PPP and the court? The country w ill only know when the next confrontation erupts. Perhaps with experience will come maturity.
Young doctors win

Novembe r 9th, 2012
The prolonged standoff between the Punjab government and the young doctors could finally be over. The chief minister is expected to issue a notif ication soon in a formal acceptance of the demands of the Young Doctors Association in Punjab. Hopefully, this time the agreement will be for real. Previously, many truce declarations have turned out to be false, unleashing the painfully familiar scenes of men and women in white coats leaving treat ment rooms for the streets in defiance of government and court orders. The YDA accused the government of reneging on its promise of a change in the service structure for doctors in public -sector hospitals. Its distrust of those negotiating on the governments behalf earlier was reflected in Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif eventually replacing some old negotiators with new ones from the top tier of the PML-N. At an estimated Rs1.5bn, the money required to introduce the new structure was an issue as was, the doctors claimed, an overtly bossy bureaucracy unwilling to loosen its control over hospitals. In return, and not unsupported by public sentiment, the young doctors were painted as a group lacking in professional ethics and the principles of trade unionism. The fact remained that there were problems with the conditions these doctors had been long working under. The announcement of the agreement pending official notification must come as a relief for doctors and those they must treat. Under the terms, the Punjab government appears to have committed to facilitating the withdrawal of a July 2012 murder case filed by the father of a patient against a group of doctors for alleged negligence. While this case will need some sorting out, there is no reason why this glorious moment for doctors should be allowed to impede calls for rules that more effectively cover the issue of negligence. A health commission tasked to take up such cases and other aspects related to healthcare and health practitioners exists only on paper. It should be made functional immediately as a forum w here grievances can be heard without the situation deterioratin g to the level to which it had during this tussle between the government and YDA.
Regressive steps
Novembe r 9th, 2012
Though the Bahraini state crushed last years popular Arab Spring -inspired uprising for greater civic and political rights with Saudi help, the movement has failed to fizzle out. Despite state repression, political activists have continued to rally Bahrainis for change. In order to contain this momentum, the tiny Gulf kingdom has taken a number of regressive steps of late, including banning protests and most recently, stripping 31 Shia activists of their citizenship for undermining state security. Among those affected are former parliamentarians and clerics. While some of the individuals are abroad and have dual nationality, most will become stateless as a result of the move. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the action, as clearly the men have been targeted for their political activism. It has been pointed out that no substantial evidence proving the individual s threatened state security was produced, while the decision is said to violate international law. Interestingly, while the Bahraini authorities revoke the citizenship of political opponents, the kingdom has been accused of naturalising foreigners in an attempt to engineer a demographic shift. Revoking citizenship is apparently not a new tactic in the region. Last year the UAE reportedly cancelled the citizenship of seven individuals linked to the Islamist Al Islah group due to their political activities. Yet as disturbing as the Bahraini governments actions are, it is doubtful they will stop the movement for greater rights in the kingdom. Instead of smothering dissent, the Bahraini state needs to heed the peoples call for reform and work towards initiating an inclusive political process. As a start, it should reverse this drastic decision. Also, w hat is ironic is that while many in the international community have berated Bashar Al Assads regime for unleashing atrocities on the Syrian people, the human rights abuses and authoritarian tendencies of oil-rich, strategically important allies in the Gulf are being ignored.
Politicians reactions
Novembe r 10th, 2012 With refreshing maturity and more than a little cleverness, the ruling party and the PML-N have managed to spin the army chief and chief justices recent remarks as cooperative steps forward for Pakistani democracy. This was, for several reasons, the wise thing to do even as some commentators and public figures were ringing hasty alar m bells about clashes of institutions and threats to the current set - up. For one, Gen Kayanis statement seems to have been designed to boost morale within the army rank and f ile and demonstrate a show of strength in the face of a media and a judiciary increasingly willing to hold the army to account. Best for the civilians then, including Nawaz Sharif, to stay out of the fray and focus on the less hard- hitting bits of Gen Kayanis speech. And while the information minister did take the opportunity to reiterate that it is parliament that sets the constitution, his welcoming of the chief justices remarks was a sensible response. Whether or not it was appropriate for the chief justice to opine publicly on good governance, little would have been gained from reviving the not-so-distant antagonism between the government and the Supreme Court, especially given the relative calm that has followed the much-awaited writing of the letter to Swiss authorities. More importantly, both politicians emphasised a specific and quite cr itical point: they focused on the two chiefs remarks about upholding the constitution and law. The constitution as it stands, though, is more supportive of elected representatives than it has been for several decades, and recent judgments have left little room for doubt about the unconstitutionality of military interventions. So by focusing on this aspect, both Mr Sharif and Mr Kaira managed to use Gen Kayani and Justice Chaudhrys remarks to strengthen the argument for democracy and for institutions remaining within their def ined roles. There was much hype in the hours following the two chiefs statements: who was Gen Kayani sending a message to? Were his words an indication that the militarys patience was running out, a veiled threat that things were about to change? And even if the timing of Justice Chaudhrys speech was simply a coincidence, was he once again trying to assert the superiority of the judiciary over other state institutions? Would Pakistan make it to the next elections? Reactions from the ruling party and the main opposition not only defused the impact of such overexcited speculation, but also cleverly offered interpretations that bolster the case for upholding the importance of parliament and the democracy it represents.
A welcome step
Novembe r 10th, 2012
Life is hard enough for the average Pakistani, but for those unfortunate enough to belong to certain marginalised communities, the scale of the challenge is much more intense. Where religious minorities face the threat of violence, for others on the margins the hurdles are often placed by the government itself. It is encouraging, then, that in the recent past the way has been made smoother for members of two such communities. Last month, the Supreme Court reiterated during a ruling that transgender people are entitled to all the rights afforded to citizens by the constitution, and directed the police and provincial administrations to ensure that such people have no complaints. Last year, follow ing an SC order, the National Database and Registration Authority fixed things at its end and created a third gender-related category for transgender applicants for the computerised national identity cards the requirement for accessing practically everything. Now comes the news that Nadra has take n another laudable step: on Wednesday, it announced that henceforth it would issue CNICs to people w ith unknow n parentage. As matters stood earlier, children of unknown par-entage could not legally obtain B-Forms, which are the basis on which CNICs are issued after the age of 18. It cannot be ascertained exactly how many people will benefit, but the figure is bound to run into several thousands. The move is the result of a petition filed in the Supreme Court by Abdul Sattar Edhi in 2010, and Edhi Home alone says that some 15,000 babies have been left in its cradles i.e. abandoned by their parents over the past two decades. There are several other reasons, too, due to which children may not be aware of their parents names or not have proof of their pare ntage. This category includes runaways and street children amongst others. In the case of transgenders, there are in many cities entire localities of people who cannot access their most basic rights, including the right to vote or file a police complaint, because they lack a CNIC or have to resort to fraudulent means to obtain it. Nadra has taken a progressive step, and this must be appreciated.
Dangerous location
Novembe r 10th, 2012 It is a small miracle that Thursdays truck bombing w hich targeted a Rangers compound in Karachis North Nazimabad area didnt cause more havoc. The vehicle was reportedly laden w ith 150kg of explosives, yet fatalities were mercifully few. Considering that the compound is located as in many other cases where the paramilit ary Rangers are stationed in Karachi in a densely populated residential area, and that the early morning bombing occurred at a time w hen vans are on the roads taking children to school, the number of deaths could have been high. The incident bears a rese mblance to 2008s bombing of Lahores FIA centre, which is also located in a heavily populated area. Over the last year, the Rangers have been targeted in Karachi several times. Though the paramilitary force has been involved in operations against politica l and religious militants in the city, this attack appears to be the handiwork of the Taliban. Mullah Fazlullahs faction of the TTP has reportedly claimed the bombing as revenge for the security forces actions against the terrorist group. The Rangers are often called out in Karachi whenever violence spins out of the polices control. However, w hile the forces presence in the metropolis may be necessary due to the polices deficiencies, the state needs to think seriously about relocating the Rangers b arracks and offices away from residential and commercial areas. One idea is to house the force in isolated areas, such as the citys outskirts. But then questions about quick deployment in times of trouble arise. It is true that Karachis growth has been h aphazard, thus security installations once located in isolated zones are now surrounded by urban sprawl. Yet for the security of both the Rangers and civilians, the force needs to be relocated in such a way that while remaining far from population centres, rapid deployment of personnel is still possible.
Fight for life

Even for a country where victims of tragedy and callousness are left to fend for themselves, the manner in which ASI Sher Mohammad has been forgotten by the organisat ion he served for 25 years is shocking. Of the 55 policemen injured in Islamabad during the mindless violence witnessed on Sept 21 during protests against an antiIslam f ilm, he suffered grievous injuries when hit by a stray bullet fired by one of the prot esters. Initially given up for dead, he was rushed by his colleagues to the nearest hospital an hour later. With the bullet having shattered his ribs, punctured his lungs and oesophagus and grazed his spinal cord, doctors say that even partial recovery, if it at all occurs, will take years. While his medical bills have climbed to Rs2.8m, the police depart ment has, as routine, doled out the sum of Rs200,000 and now appears to have dusted its hands off a man who put his life in the line of fire. To whom shall his family two wives and six children turn? Does the state and society care that the life of a man mandated to protect the citizenry hangs in the balance? Ironically, a hospital ow ned by the business tycoon Malik Riaz offered to treat the policemen injured that day, but Mr Mohammad is the only one in need of expert medical care and is in far too f ragile a condition to be moved. An intervention, most suitably by the police depart ment, is urgently required, and ought to be given impetus by the realisation that this is not a matter of just one mans life. As security in the countrys towns and cities worsens, civilian law -enforcers are the ones at most immediate risk. Paid a pittance and under-trained to counter the new challenges that policing an increas ingly violent polity involves, they cannot help but be cripplingly demoralised by the knowledge that if injured or killed, their organisation would be loathe to go beyond the bare minimum to help them or family members that survive them. The police depart ment needs to learn lessons f rom the army, which does at least look after its own.
Militarised formula
Novembe r 11th, 2012 The words of Hamid Saeed, the retired brigadier w ho executed the orders of the military high command to rig the 1990 elections while posted with the Military Intelligence in Karachi, are only a footnote in the Mehrangate scandal. But as laid out in pages 12- 14 of the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court released on Thursday, Mr Saeeds words provide an eye-opening account of the framework in which the army-led security establishment judges domestic politics and the unshakeable certainty that the militarised worldview is what is best for the national interest. To begin with, Mr Saeed refers to the fallout between the MQM and PPP be fore the collapse of Benazir Bhuttos first government, and quickly connects the dots between the violence in southern, urban Sindh and Indian designs. This, for Mr Saeed, was ostensibly proved because the PPPs alleged policy of revenge against the MQM had led to statements by the MQM leadership that Mohajirs needed to look to India for the protection of their rights which led to unnamed Indian leaders vow ing to protect Indias ex- citizens against state terrorism and genocide. Mr Saeed concludes: Such statements reminded one of the Indian interventions in former East Pakistan which finally resulted in the dismemberment of our country. The sleight of hand is unmistakable: domestic political matters in which the armys role was already known to be s ignif icant but which Mr Saeed conveniently ignores were creating the space for Enemy No 1 to hurt Pakistan. Then the retired brigadier continues w ith a litany of charges against the PPP and Ms Bhutto: the alleged criticism that Pakistans uranium-enrichment programme, under the militarys control, had crossed a threshold that was not acceptable to big powers; alleged endorsement of the Indian states attempt to crush the Khalistan movement, the continuation of which presumably suited the military here; the induction of Al Zulfikar activists into public -sector enterprises here, activists who had been trained by India in espionage and warfare; and having the temerity to allegedly criticise the army for ordering training exercises in Sindh w ithout the prime ministers approval. Publicly, then, the army- led security establishment accused Ms Bhuttos government of corruption and bad governance, when in private the real reasons for seeking her ouster was because she was seen as a threat to the India-centric sec urity paradigm that viewed domestic politics as merely yet another weakness for India to exploit.
When the military both defines the threat and determines the response, the national interest becomes a cudgel against anyone who disagrees w ith its militarised formulation. That was the problem in 1990, and it still is the problem today.
The apology issue

Novembe r 11th, 2012 It is a welcome sign that, despite the deep grudge many in Bangladesh still bear against the West Pakistani military action of 1971, P rime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly accepted Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khars invitation to attend the D-8 summit in Islamabad this month. Dhaka would like a proper apology from the Pakistani government for the large-scale killing of Bengalis. It was not satisfied with then president Gen (retd) Musharraf s expression of regret in 2002. According to the Bangladesh foreign secretary, some unresolved issues still exist although, he says, Ms Khar stated that Pakistan had regretted in different f orms and it was time to move on. The debate by academicians and propagandists on both sides will continue; they will fight over the actual number in thousands for some, millions for others of Bengalis killed while resisting the injustices perpetrated on the m by an insensitive western wing. What cannot be denied is that brute military force was used to exterminate activists, intellectuals and ordinary supporters of what was united Pakistans largest political party, and that consequently led to Indian action and the creation of Bangladesh. On its part Pakistan must recognise the w rongs committed by its leadership during those days, and issue a fullfledged apology not just expressions of regret that is acceptable to Dhaka. In doing so, it would be joining the ranks of other countries and institutions that have been courageous enough to admit the historical wrongs they have committed in order to give both themselves and the victim nation a chance to move on. The Vatican has apologised for the actions of Catholics who persecuted non-Catholics, and expressed sorrow over the attack on Constantinople during the Crusades. Japan has apologised to Koreans for wartime aggression. It is time for Pakistan, too, to come to terms with its past.
Muharram security
Novembe r 12th, 2012 Many parts of the country remain on edge as Muharram approaches. In Karachi, several people both Shia and Sunni activists have been murdered in the past week in a renewed wave of sectarian killings. Victims have included an adv iser to the Imamia Students Organisation and a Shia scholar as well as activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and students of a Deobandi madressah. Quetta has seen its share of targeted killings, particularly of beleaguered Hazara Shias. The situation in Gilg it-Baltistan, which experienced an outburst of sectarian violence earlier in the year, is also tense. There are intelligence reports of threats in Khairpur, Sindh too. While the law and order situation in many parts of Pakistan is already precarious, the administration faces additional challenges during Muharram. Large numbers of people are on the streets on their way to and f ro m mosques and imambargahs, while countless majalis are organised and processions taken out across the country. Securing the venues in such a charged atmosphere, with the threat of terrorist violence ever present, is indeed challenging. The authorities have begun to go through the usual motions. For example, pillion -riding has been banned in certain cities while meetings have been organised with ulema to ensure harmony. Scholars from all sides must ensure harmony while the Shia community needs to cooperate with law -enforcers, and vice versa, for a safe Muharram. Enhanced security, greater deployment and effective intelligence -gathering and sharing are all required. Where need be the army should be deployed; it has already been tasked w ith maintaining peace in Hangu during Muharram and is reportedly on the standby in Quetta. Police officials point out that it is essential for military and civilian intelligence agencies to share advance intelligence in a timely manner so that action can be taken. Coordination becomes all the more important when a number of agencies are involved in gathering different types of intelligence. Also, the intel ligence passed on to the police and Rangers needs to be actionable and specific vague information helps little to avert attacks. Increased surveillance of suspected militants on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act is also necessary. Reports in
the media that security agencies in Punjab have lost track of 50 terrorism suspects are not encouraging. And in case anything untoward does occur, security forces, specifically the police, should be properly trained in disaster management and crowd-control techniques, especially in non-lethal methods of managing crowds. With cooperation from all stakeholders the general population, the Shia community, the security establishment and the state the terrorists plans can be foiled and the period of mourni ng observed peacefully.
Cops as bill collectors

Novembe r 12th, 2012 With unpaid electricity dues well in excess of Rs300bn, the power crisis in the country needs to be urgently addressed. To this end, the Council of Common Interests has approved the us e of the police force to aid power companies in the recovery of electricity dues from defaulters. Provincial police depart ments are to designate one DSP with 40 personnel to be placed at the disposal of each distribution company to accompany recovery offic ers in their quest for the elusive dues. While none can quibble with the objective, the means proposed to achieve it raise concerns regarding fairness and practicality. For one thing, it appears that this modus operandi w ill be employed against defaulters across the board, at the institutional as well as individual level. The biggest defaulters of power dues are public -sector institutions, not to mention government depart ments and the armed forces. Until these recalcitrant offenders are proceeded against, t he process cannot be seen as transparent and even-handed. However, one can safely assume that they dont face the prospect of a police contingent beating dow n their doors to recover the dues any time soon. Politically well-connected private defaulters can also rest assured that the allpervasive culture of patronage will continue to protect them. In areas where kunda (illegal) connections are rife, power personnel seeking to disconnect these have often been confronted with mob violence from locals and there is no reason to believe that matters will be any different if police officers accompany them. It may even result in the situation getting completely out of hand. Moreover, the potential for abuse in the proposed method is enormous. The prospect of the police, an institution that does not to put it politely have a sterling reputation in terms of integrity, being given the power to barge into private homes on the pretext of dues recovery is alarming. It would serve the power distribution companies far better to implement the methods so far employed only in a lackadaisical manner, such as lodging FIRs for power theft and pursuing them to their logical conclusion, and doing so without fear or favour.
Tough climb ahead

Novembe r 12th, 2012 As the world gea red up to mark the Global Action Day for Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistan government launched on Friday a literacy programme to provide free education to children, primarily girls. The four-year Waseela-i-Taleem initiative, undertaken under the umbrella of t he Benazir Income Support Programme, aims to educate three million poor children, w ith President Zardari noting during its launch that no country can make any progress without investing in its human capital. We hope the state remains committed enough to achieve its goals. There is no doubt that, as report after report has pointed out, Pakistan faces an education emergency with the young not being able to attend school due to a wide variety of reasons ranging from convention or poverty to security as the injuries suffered by Malala so horrifyingly demonstrated. Not only are there not enough schools in the country, Pakistans dropout rates are much higher and enrolment figures woefully lower than they should be. The grim picture of the fate of the next generation, particularly its female members, is draw n in clear lines by the recently released Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Pakistan is among the bottom 10 countries in terms of education for females in straitened financial circumstances. It was also amongst the last 10 for the amount of time girls spend in schools in their lifetimes, with almost two-thirds of the poorest girls never going to school at all. These figures are cause for serious concern, for coupled w ith population growth and demog raphic figures, they point towards a future where growing numbers of people are not just poor but illiterate as well, thus further decreasing opportunities for uplift. Only if the government takes strides towards achieving the Waseela -i-Taleem initiatives goal can it be considered to have demonstrated its commit ment to this crucial sector.
A rare opportunity
Even as the ruling party tries to make what political capital it can out of the Asghar Khan case, it will probably not be able to sweep under the carpet the real question: who w ill punish the generals? If Nawaz Sharif and other politicians took bribes to rig polls, who doled out those bribes? And heres another complication: at whose direction was the money handed out? For all t he temptation to use the case to make the main opposition look bad before the general elections, the ruling party knows it will look just as bad if it tries to implement only those parts of the Supreme Court verdict that suit it best. Because along w ith so rdid tales of how low Pakistani politicians can go, there are two other important things at stake as the IJI saga unfolds in all its gory detail: the governments courage in the face of the military, and its willingness to accept that a Pakistani president should not be involved in politics. Perhaps that is why the FIA has yet to start investigating w ho received the money, despite the ruling partys protests about the evil machinations of the PPPs opponents and the PML-N itself now courting a probe. For the opposition party, this appears to be a reasonable political gamble at the moment: invite accountability, betting that the ruling party will not have the fortitude to open up a can of worms that will require trying retired but very senior army generals and will also invite more questions about the PPP co-chairmans occupancy of the presidency. Add to this the assessment that concrete proof about who received bribes will be hard to come by, and the oppositions push for an investigation emerges as a reasonable risk-reward calculation. But that is consistent with the oppositions primary goal at the moment performing well in the general elections. For a ruling party that claims to have achieved a milestone for Pakistani democracy, something more last -ing should be at stake. Through a combination of its own political savvy and because of the leanings of the current chiefs of the military and the judiciary, the government and the president have managed to bring the country to the brink of completing a full de mocratic tenure. But during that time they have hardly been willing or able to assert their authority as the militarys commanders. This could be the last real test of the current set - ups commit ment to democracy. With just a few months left to go, a civil ian trial of generals Beg and Durrani, rather than leaving their fate to the military, would add to a lasting legacy.
Pragmatic approach
Novembe r 13th, 2012 A potentially disruptive confrontation involving the Election Commission of Pakistan and a number of law makers over the issue of dual nationality has been put off, at least until Nov 30. That is the new deadline the ECP set on Monday for law makers to submit their affidavits declaring that they do not hold dual citizenship. While the original deadline had expired last week, according to the latest reports around 200 law makers, including the prime minister, had not filed their documents. MNAs, senators and members of the provincial assemblies are all on this list. The Supreme Court had ruled in September that holding dual nationality for law makers is unconstitutional, and the ECP proceeded to seek affidavits follow ing the apex courts verdict. Around 12 legislators have already been disqualified for holding dual citizenship. As a matter of principle, since the Supreme Court has ruled on the matter and as the ECP is insisting on it, law makers need to file their affidavits along with the requisite paperwork without delay. Senators especially should submit their documents as the upper house w ill remain aft er the present assemblies complete their tenure. Yet it is also true that general elections are on the horizon and with only a few months remaining before the assemblies complete their term, any drastic action taken against a large number of law makers at t his point may upset the apple cart and create another unwanted confrontation between state institutions. Hence, it is imperative that all stakeholders the law makers, the ECP and the Supreme Court handle the matter tactfully and pragmatically to ensure a new crisis does not emerge. The ECP should work on creating an effective procedure through w hich candidates are thoroughly scrutinised for the upcoming polls to ensure dual nationals do not contest. Also, if the SC deems it fit, it can review its earlier order on the issue to facilitate a smoother democratic changeover. And if the legislators feel the law is unfair, perhaps they should amend the constitution to allow dual citizens to hold public
office, though this newspaper agrees w ith the view that dual nationals are, as per the constitution, ineligible for public office in Pakistan.
Airblue crash
Novembe r 13th, 2012 It seems to be a case of who do they think theyre fooling? The investigation into the causes that led an Airblue plane to crash two years ago, dragged on for long. After a series of delays, a report on the tragedy prepared by the Safety Investigation Board was released by the government. It seems to pin the blame on the crew in charge of the ill-fated plane. But if the families of the victims 146 passengers and six crew members thought that they had finally been allowed closure, they were wrong. After the Peshawar High Court issued an order opening a reinvestigation into the crash in January, a fact-finding team of the International Civil Aviation Organisation visited Pakistan in June. No words were minced in pointing out that the report released by the government was not only inadequate, but that the accident investigation authority SIB as well as the investigation process is indeed not independent. The ICAO report noted that the fact -finding team was not provided a copy of the main report and was only allowed to examine it under supervision. And, there were omissions that even to the layman must seem glaring: no information, for example, about the crew members f light hours (which would indicate experience), medical history and duty and rest times, or about maintenance checks carried out on the aircraft. As a result, not just the victims families but anyone who travels by air is left wondering. Was the plane safe to fly or not, and if it wasnt, what guarantee do we have that domestic fleets and their crew comply with international safety standards? This confusion must end. A credible and comprehensive inquiry into the tragedy needs to be conducted with speed, and the results made public. Further prevarications will not be acceptable.
Saving the saviours

Novembe r 14th, 2012 While the security situation has been derailed across the country over the past decade or so, it is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that has borne the brunt of increasing incidents of bombing. Lives are not only lost when terrorists hit security or civilian targets; even the bomb disposal squad is at risk when it attempts to defuse an unexploded device. The latter point was underscored by the death of explosives expert Inspector Hukam Khan who was killed while defusing an IED device in September. The incident highlighted the fact that bomb disposal is a potentially lethal line of work and each attempt at defusing explosives is haunted by potential tragedy. It is fitting, then, that yesterdays newspapers carried photographs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police dep -artment initiating the use of robotic systems operated remotely through a computer interface and capable of defusing explosive devices. Purchased from the British government, the robotic systems can scan a suspicious object or vehicle and defuse explosives if present. Equipped w ith camera sensors and w ith the capability to dig up explosives, they can be used for dealing w ith IEDs, bombs, parcel bombs and vehicles rigged with explosives. Indeed, on Monday such a robot was used to defuse a devic e in Peshawars Nasirpur area. Police depart ments all across the country, particularly in metropolises where bomb attacks are common, need to be equipped w ith such technology. The hard fact is that militants and terrorists are conversant with technology of various kinds for their grim purposes from cellular communication tools to the Internet to ever-mutating methods of blowing things up. Worryingly, however, the countrys law -enforcement agencies, particularly on the civilian side, continue to operate with archaic methodologies and insufficient technology. Investing in machines and systems that can help save lives and avert tragedy is expensive, but the countrys hostile and worsening climate demands just this.
New wave of violence

Even as the law and order situation in Karachi gets increasingly out of hand dozens have been killed since the start of the weekend the reaction to the sectarian violence that has flared up has been as inadequate as the usual response to political violence in the city. When clashes erupt between activists of ethnic or mainstrea m political parties, those parties let a certain amount of bloodshed take place before they hammer out a deal and then issue instructions to their workers or affiliates to retreat. While that process is taking place, law enforcement appears to be at a complete loss as it sits back, taking only reactive action, and waits for the politicians to sort out the mess. Meanwhile, the interior minister blames mysterious and unnamed external forces. As sectarian clashes now dominate the Karachi hea-dlines, a similar pattern of response or lack thereof seems to be emerging. In this case it is the ulema who are issuing empty platitudes in public while in reality being unable or unw illing to order their followers to stop the bloodbath. Over the weekend the Milli Yakjehti Council met in Islamabad not in Karachi, where a meeting of this particular organisation, meant to promote cooperation across sects, would have sent a strong signal against sectarian violence. And while it discussed everything from the role of religious parties in Pakistani politics to unity of Muslims across the world to supporting the blasphemy laws, what got lost in all this talk was the carnage taking place in Karachi, which should have been the focus of the meeting. A couple of days later, the interior minister made the rather remarkable assertion that there is no sectarian conflict in Karachi and that the recent clashes are being carried out by invisible forces. He said this after another meeting of the ul ema again held in Islamabad. The upshot of all this is that officials and lead-ers appear to be doing nothing, leaving an ill-equipped, poorly trained and understaffed law-enforcement structure to react to incidents once they have already taken place. Putting in place extraordinary Muharram security arrangements is a necessary st ep, but that is only a short-term fix. What it will not improve is the fundamental inability of law enforcement to tackle a problem that is simply beyond its scope; even the army is now vulnerable to anti-state groups, and the Rangers have demonstrated that they cannot fill the void created by an undermanned and easily influenced police force. As long as the ulema and the government fail to develop a more lasting political solution, there is only so much any of these organisations can do.
Changes to Army Act

Novembe r 14th, 2012 Though the army may not seem to be too enthusiastic about changing its internal justice system, the Supreme Court has asked the government to consider amendments to the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, to allow for documents of the field general court martial to be made available to the accused. The apex court said this while hearing two related petitions concerning the armys internal judicial process on Monday. As per the current practice, convicts or the accused in military courts do not get copies of judgments or depositions immediately, which makes appealing decisions difficult. The petitioner also claims that taking a statement from an accused under oath in a court martial and using it against him as evidence clashes with the Qanoon-i-Shahadat, an assertion some legal experts agree with as, according to them, the investigators need to establish independently whether the charge is correct. The court adjourned the hearing of the petitions for three weeks on Tuesday due to the Ministry of Defences plea for more time. Constitutionally, every citizen has the right to a fair trial and due process. Considering the SCs observations, the Army Act should be amended to bring it in line w ith constitutional requirements; providing the accused with judgments and other details immediately would be a first step. As far as the appeals process is concerned, some lawyers recommend that a special appellate tribunal be constituted that features members from outside the military hierarchy, as it is highly unlikely that serving officers will take decisions that differ from those of the high command. If military trials cannot become more open, at least the appeals process should be made more transparent. The accused also need to have access to the defence coun sel of their choice. While the armys concerns about internal discipline may be valid to an extent, these have to be balanced with other factors, such as constitutional requirements and respect for fundamental rights. Also, as the SC observed on Monday, if the air
force and navy have made certain amendments to their internal judicial processes, there is no reason why the army cannot do the same.
Beyond lip-service
Novembe r 15th, 2012 It has been argued that if one were to look for a starting point that has led Pakistan to the woeful place where it is today, it may be lack of education. Alongside the low literacy levels, the curricula, the lack of oversight and the know ledge base of even those who have been to school have continued to be called into ques tion. The challenges faced by the country on this front are myriad and multi-dimensional and begin from the general lack of infrastructure. A population skewed heavily towards the young features low enrolment and high dropout rates, with one in every 10 out-of-school children in the world being Pakistani. Add to this a worsening economic climate which forces parents to keep their children out of school, and the targeting of schools by terrorists, and it is hardly surprising that, as a study undertaken last year estimated, there are 26 countries poorer than Pakistan, but that send more children to school. Fortunately, though, in the recent past there have been a couple of developments that give some hope. As a consequence of the 18th Amendment, Article 25-A of the constitution directs the state to provide f ree and compulsory education to children aged between five and 16 years. And on Tuesday, the National Assembly adopted the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2012 it has already been passed by the Senate and called upon the provinces to adopt similar bills. The legislation has worthy features, including infrastructure development and teacher training, stricter regularisation of private schools and punishment for employers who do not send children working for them to school. There is no denying that much would improve if the count ry could educate its children. As usual, though, the devil lies in the detail. Has the state the will to undertake the change in mindset that is necessitated to put every child in school? To put every child in school, we would immediately have to see teachers being trained and schools being built on virtually every street. We would need a countrywide strategy to reduce the need for children to work, or for their parents to keep them out of school for other reasons, to create employment opportunities for matriculates or incentives for further education, and to install an educational net that embraces all children, everywhere. And doing that would require far more spending by some estimates six or more per cent than the 1.7 per cent of the GDP currently being spent. So, the question then becomes one of political will. Is the state willing to put its money where its mouth is?
Chinas new leader

Imme nse challenges face the new leadership as Xi Jinping, whose assumption of office is now only a formality, becomes the first post- 1949 Chinese to become the Communist Partys general secretary. The astonishing pace of Chinas economic development has made its economy the worlds second largest. But this has not been w ithout a price in terms of social pressures, a widening rich-poor gap and such a high level of corruption that outgoing president Hu Jintao had to devote a considerable part of his speech to the subject on the opening day last week of the Chinese Communist Partys 18th Congress. Mr Hu said if China failed to tackle corruption it could prove fatal to the party and cause the fall of the state. These are grim words from a veteran during w hose d ecade-long rule China overtook Japan as an economic power. Western experts forecast that the Chinese economy will pass Americas during the Xi rule. But voices within party and government are calling for urgent political and economic reform to address growing discontent as seen in the social media. While the Bo Xilai affair highlights the ideological dissent within the party, the conviction of Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel laureate, shows dysphoria in the fast -expanding and vibrant middle class, especially among the intellectuals. Mr Bo was a powerful member of the politburo and a candidate for the top post. His reservations about what is called Dengism and emphasis on a return to Maoism triggered a rift within the top brass, leading to his expulsion f ro m the party. Mr Xi, the fifth-generation leader, is said to be a man of vision and must move fast to reform the system. There are indications the party constitution may be amended, and the economic reforms could include the
breakup of large state-owned enterprises. Mr Xi, who w ill replace Mr Hu when he is elected president by parliament next March, will also have to tackle some knotty foreign policy issues and develop rapport with a re -elected American president to remove differences on such issues as Syria, Iran and the quarrel with neighbours over disputed islands.
A welcome initiative
Novembe r 15th, 2012 Speaking to a counter-narcotics conference on Tuesday, the president called for regional efforts to eliminate the drug trade. A contact group has been formed in t his regard and the initiative seeks to target all stages of the illicit trade from the cultivation of raw material to the trafficking of the end product. This is an important step as Pakistan, partly due to its geography, is a major transit point in the global drug trade. Afghanistan to our west is considered the worlds largest opium producer and according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, around 40 per cent of Afghan opiates end up in or transit through Pakistan. This situation has had ve ry negative consequences on Pakistan; considerable numbers (estimates range from 500,000 to over a million people) in this country are struggling w ith heroin addiction while the drug trade is also big business for the Taliban and criminal groups. Also, UNO DC says that Pakistan is a know n destination and trans -shipment point for precursor chemicals substances used in the production of drugs. Ephedrine, over which there has been much domestic u proar, falls in this category. It is welcome that a regional approach is being applied to the problem. Yet simultaneously, we need to put our own house in order. On paper our anti-narcotics policy is fine, but the problem occurs in its implementation. Better efforts need to be made to prevent the transportation and transit of illegal drugs through Pakistan. Spots along the Balochistan coast and the area along the Afghan border need to be particularly monitored. The manufacture of drugs in mobile labs must also be addressed while the Anti- Narcotics Forces capabilitie s, specifically its ability to gather advance intelligence, must be vastly improved if Pakistan is not to be considered a major conduit for international drug smuggling.
Shift in the wind?

Novembe r 16th, 2012 Finally, a possible breakthrough. After months of apparent reluctance to help facilitate Afghan reconciliation, Islamabads handing over of a handful of Afghan prisoners is a promising sign that Pakistans thinking on the issue might be shifting. Little is known publicly about who the released prisoners are, and w hat level of influence they have on decision makers w ithin the Afghan Taliban. Mullah Baradar and other high-profile prisoners the Afghans requested remain in Pakistani custody. The rifts within the Taliban over whether or not to talk t o the Karzai government are well- known. But Pakistans move has at least two important positive implications. It could, if the prisoners handed over are able to help, breathe some life into an Afghan reconciliation process that appears to be stalled. The more likely and long-term benefit of the exchange, of course, is that it has the potential to become a turning point in Pak-Afghan relations, creating the opportunity for future initiatives that could pay off even if these particular prisoners arent able to do much. There is also the matter of a lack of willingness on both sides to take action against groups carrying out cross-border attacks, something they may be more willing to do as relations improve. As the clock winds dow n, bringing the region closer to Afghan elections and the Nato withdrawal, the lack of a constructive relationship is not something either Pakistan or Afghanistan can do w ithout. Pakistans coming to the table is hopefully a recognition of just this fact. Also promising is how this mo ve could boost Pakistan-US relations, even as Americas role in this exchange, of whatever nature and extent, was wisely played down. The focus on the bilateral aspects of this particular agreement is important, a confidence-building measure between the two countries that will have to manage affairs once Western troops leave. No matter what choices Pakistan makes regarding a role in Afghan peace, it is hard to predict how things will play out. If, for example, the Afghan Taliban have a role in a future Afghan government, one facilitated by Pakistan, might they provide shelter to Pakistani Taliban seeking ref uge there? But if reconciliation doesnt work and the
country descends into further conflict once Nato forces leave, might there be spillover in Pakista n? The outcome of any given Pakistani approach is hard to predict. But one thing we now know for sure: impeding peace in Afghanistan by trying to hedge our bets through proxies has been a losing strategy. Supporting or sheltering the m has only caused damage here at home. It is time to back a peaceful political process next door instead.
Inhumane punishment
Novembe r 16th, 2012 Given the strong pro-death penalty lobby in Pakistan, it has been difficult for the country to join the ranks of the majority around the world where this most ultimate of punishments has either been removed from the law books or is not administered. Nevertheless, during the tenure of the current government, a middle ground had been found and there was a de facto moratorium on execut ions. Since the PPP came to power in 2008, Pakistan has been one of 36 countries that do not implement the death penalty. Conversely, it is also one of the countries w ith the highest number of prisoners on death row according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the figure is over 8,000, w hile prison records show that it is at least 7,164. But the moratorium came to an end on Thursday as a soldier, sentenced to death for having killed a superior officer four years ago, was hanged early Thursday morning in Mianwali Jail. His mercy petition had been rejected by the president last December. Human rights agencies refer to the death penalty as the ultimate in cruel, degrading and inhumane punishments. They see it as violating the right to life as enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The global campaign to abolish it spans decades and two-thirds of all countries have done just this either by law or in practice. Pakistan, too, needs to follow suit. Right to life takes on added significance here. The prosecution process and investigation methodologies are so f lawed in most cases, it is difficult to ascertain whether the accused is indeed guilty of murder beyond any shadow of doubt. There were some indications that the government wanted to take up the issue. Early this month, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the government was planning to introduce in parliament a bill converting the death penalty to life imprisonment. Since then, though, nothing has been heard on the subject. That bill needs to see the light of day at the earliest. Meanwhile, the de facto moratorium on executions should be restored. The world needs to see capital punishment being abolished.
New names
Novembe r 16th, 2012 Lahore had set out to rediscover Shaheed Bhagat Singh by pressing for a city square to be dedicated to the freedom fighter close to where he was hanged. The process has helped it to find many others w hom it should have honoured long ago. A committee established by the government has no w given recommendations for honouring others close to the peoples heart. We are in urgent need of our heritage being recognised. It was no small coincidence that on Wednesday as the committee searched for a spot worthy of boasting the great Bulleh Shahs initials, a group was protesting in Shadman, imposing their ow n anti - Islam and unconstitutional identities on the proposed Bhagat Singh memorial. This makes the public honouring all the more desirable. Of the 26 names endorsed by the Dilkash Lahore Co mmittee, the formality of seeking feedback has been completed for the Bhagat Singh and Chaudhry Rehmat Ali chow ks. The remaining w ill be advertised for comments before being officially notified. From among these, someone like Jalaluddin Akbar would have pe rhaps liked a memorial closer to his fort instead of the rather distant placement he has been given. Also, the committee could have looked for a few more female names to adorn the citys expanding landscape in addition to Habba Khatoons. Obviously, some political choices have been accommodated and great caution seems to have been exercised in celebrating non-Muslim personalities. Apart from Bhagat Singh, only Justice A.R. Cornelius and Jogindar Nath Mandal, who chaired the f irst constituent assembly of Pakistan, have made it to the list. The old practice was to choose a spot draw ing its name from a British colonial personality and to give it a new name. This has been shunned. The effort to not encroach on the past signif ies progress. The addition of new names while the old identities remain undisturbed will make Lahore richer.
Another clash?
It's that time of year again. For the more conspiracy-minded Pakistanis, enough has happened in the last few days to get them wondering if a new front has opened up in the land that lurches from one real or perceived clash of institutions to another. Through a slew of cases, the judiciary charges or accuses serving and retired army generals of everything from picking up people in Balochistan and r igging the 1990 election to mismanagement and corruption at the NLC, Pakistan Railways and Fauji Foundation. The chief justice announces that missiles and tanks will not keep Pakistan secure, and a few days later issues another public defence of accounta bility and the constitution. A petition questioning the army chiefs extension is revived, and the Rawalpindi bar passes a hard hitting statement against the COAS. Meanwhile, Gen Kayani publicly asks institutions to stay within their domains and the lawyer filing the petition against extension gets beaten up by unidentified thugs. That is enough to lead to wild speculation and rumour- mongering in Pakistan, but it is also enough to raise the need yet again, sadly to urge all parties involved to take a deep breath and a step back. The government and the judiciary seem to be getting along better, especially since they reached an understanding on the Swiss letter, even though the Supreme Court continues to intervene in some areas w here the executive should have the last word. And while the government has from time to time tried to challenge the military, it has largely accepted the limits of how far it can go on that front and has worked out ways to keep itself in power, if not fully in control. But now a judge-versus-general tussle could be brew ing, and it has the potential to create instability just as Pakistan is six months away f rom the finish line of on-time elections. This is not to say that corruption charges against the military should not be invest igated to the fullest extent. The revival of the petition against Gen Kayanis extension is also perfectly legitimate. The timing of the move is arguably suspicious, since the petition has been rejected before, but on its merits the case is a strong one. W hat is needlessly provocative, though, are public speeches asserting the judiciarys superiority and tacit encouragement to lawyers associations to jump into the fray. The same goes for the khakis: public pronouncements and a blatant physical attack on a perceived troublemaker will achieve nothing more than raising tensions. Both these institutions have plenty of work to do to address the real challenges the country is facing. Can they afford these petty distractions?
Lame excuses
Novembe r 17th, 2012 This week the Supreme Court was informed by the national carriers own counsel that PIAs accumulated losses have risen to Rs119bn. This is a staggering figure even though it has been at least eight years in the making. In the nine- month period running fro m January to October 2012, PIA posted a loss of over Rs22bn, which had been Rs19bn in the corresponding period the previous year. The airlines losses began in 2004 and have gathered momentum ever since, in spite of sharp increases in the cost of travel. T he present authorities, through their counsel, have told the Supreme Court that they will not accept responsibility for the failures of past managements, thus implying that since the accumulated losses were largely incurred by previous PIA managements, no explanation will be provided for them today. This is a deplorable attitude. Ever since the current losses started becoming apparent, the airline has been serving up one excuse after another to explain them away all the while increasing passenger fares s harply. Last years annual report, for instance, blamed the losses on factors like slow economic growth in developed economies and the Gulf countries, natural disasters and continued global recession and the depreciation of the rupee. The latest quarterly results, filed in October from where the carriers counsel took the figure of Rs119bn in accumulated losses, add turmoil in the Middle East, uncertainty about eurozone economies, stress on Pak - US relations to the list. This is an old trick that managements typically use to explain their poor performance as they hide f rom the headlines. The board of directors has a duty to ask the necessary questions that cut through this fog of hype and zero in on the main issue: why are operating losses mounting in s pite of passing the costs of rising fuel prices to the passenger? The fact that PIA has been able to include such diverse and frivolous reasons in its annual reports shows that the board of directors has not been doing its job of properly monitoring the ma nagements
performance.
Perhaps
the
Supreme
Court
should
ask
the

board to explain.
Ineffective solutions
Novembe r 17th, 2012 High drama was w itnessed on Thursday when Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that motorcycles would not be allowed to ply the roads of Karachi and Quetta on Friday, the first day of Muharram. In its turn, the Sindh High Court, responding to a petition, swung into action late Thursday night, suspending the interior ministers ban. While Karachis million-plus motorcyclists must have been pleased w ith the courts intervention, the Balochistan government decided to implement Mr Maliks order, though the ban was challenged in the Balochistan High Court on Friday. The action against two-wheelers was taken due to fears that motorcycles may be used in acts of terrorism; Mr Malik told the Senate on Friday that motorbikes had been used to carry out over 400 bombings across the country. And in what now appears to have become standard operating procedure during any major religious occasion or whenever there are heightened threats of terrorism, cellphone services in Karachi and Quetta were also suspended on Friday. These methods are arbitrary and unlikely to counter terrorism in a big way. They are easy ways for the government to wriggle out of its responsibility of maintaining law and order. The logic behind the motorcycle ban is shaky; if tomorrow there are intelligence reports that cars or trucks will be used in acts of terrorism, w ill the state order all vehicles off the road? True, perhaps the SHC should have acted more prudently and listened to the governments view before suspending the ban as it is not clear whether the court was aware of the threat level. Nevertheless, while various remedies have been given for the security situation, especially in Karachi, and have included Senator Raza Rabbanis impractical solutions, little has been done to beef up intelligence -gathering and counterterrorism efforts. These would be far more effective than stopgap measures which paralyse daily lif e.
Customer comes first

Novembe r 18th, 2012 The automobile industry in Pakistan is correct in registering its protest against the flood of used cars that have been entering the country for the last year and a half. It takes courage and tenacity in business affairs here to lay down large stakes in the economy, and substantial fixed invest ments require a stable policy environment in order to be viable. Its true that in the past, demands for policy stability have been used to cover up rent -seeking opportunities. But this isnt always the case, and the present situation with the automobile companies protesting against the tsunami of used car imports should not be seen as a demand for rentier protections. Its a fair and reasonable demand for policy stability and the government needs to treat it accordingly. But on the flip side, the government also has a point in underlining the rising costs of local cars, and the degradation of quality. The auto companies are reminding us all of the jobs that they cre ate, and the foreign exchange that is saved through local assembly. But they should also recall that the main purpose of any business is to make money thro-ugh satisfying consumer demand. There are legitimate complaints of constantly rising prices of local cars and constantly falling standards of quality. The automobile companies need to understand that there are grounds for the suspicion that they are using the protections afforded to them as opportunities for making rentier prof its. Of course some of the complaints are very challenging to address, such as artificial shortages created by speculators who buy up large quantities of new cars and then sell them on with own money charges. But addressing these complaints must remain a priority, and the companie s are welcome to publicly ask for the governments assistance where it can help, such as in tracing speculative buyers. So where does one take things w hen both parties have a valid point? In this case, the automobile industry and the government should sit down together to devise a long-term policy for the sector. The mixed experience of previous strategies should be allowed to become a source of discouragement. The last long-term strategy was the so-called deletion programme which sought to use the sector as a job-creating motor by emphasising the growth of indigenisation and local manufacture. Those are worthy goals, but in todays world, where further liberalisation of trade is a certainty, the emphasis needs to be on competitiveness. And our auto sector can only hope to become truly competitive when it is more sensitive to the needs of its customers.
Gaza violence
There is no better way for Benjamin Netanyahu to win the January election than to have yet another murderous go at Gaza. Dozens of Palestinian Gazans and three Israelis have been killed in four days of rocket exchanges between Palestinian militants and Israel as reports mount that the Likud government has called 75,000 reservists for a ground assault. What has piqued Israe l is the extended range of Palestinian rockets, some of which Israels Iron Dome anti- missile system failed to intercept, for one of them hit Jerusalem. Mr Netanyahu, however, could strengthen his claim to another term as prime minister because Israeli str ikes have killed Ahmad Jabari, Hamass military commander, and destroyed hundreds of Fajr missiles supplied by Iran to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The issue before the international community is to move fast and stop Israel from launching yet another invasio n of the kind it did in 2008- 09. That invasion had flattened Gazas cities and killed 1,417 people, most of them civilians. Of the war crimes committed by Israel, the most barbaric was the use of phosphorus shells on civilian targets as confirmed by international human rights organisations and the UN. There is every possibility that Israel may repeat this performance and, as always, will get away with it because of its overw helming military advantage, its utter disregard for the laws of war and its diplomat ic clout with the US and the European Union. While Russia accused Israel of disproportionate use of force, President Barack Obama said he supported Israels right to defend itself, and asked Egypt and Turkey to use their influence to end the rocket war. With Egypt under a Muslim Brotherhood leadership and Turkey still sore over the peace flotilla attack, it is unlikely Mr Netanyahu will listen to them. Israel has no intention of quitting occupied Palestinian territories, the 2005 disengagement of Gaza b eing a fraud, because Israel continues to control the strips air, land and sea exits. So long as Gaza remains occupied, the Palestinian people will continue to fight for freedom, and in this lie the roots of the violence now in evidence.
Poetic licence
Novembe r 18th, 2012 A full court meeting headed by Pakistans chief justice on Friday adopted the song Justice for All w ritten by Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jillani and f irst heard at a Supreme Court function on Aug 14, 2006. The meeting also deliberated upon and granted a request by the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council seeking permission to play the song at PBC events. The etiquette followed by the PBC here may be a bit confusing to those outside legal circles. Why would an organisation even of lawyers need the courts permission to adopt as its anthem a piece of verse even one w ritten by an honourable judge? The PCB likes it and can have it, in the same way lawyers, if they so desire, can address the judges as janab-i-wala without petitioning the courts. If there is a case here, it may be one for the literary critics to judge. Feared as a law unto them, the most unyielding of critics would concede a trend is shaping here. The bench likes to quote from literature to add emphasis to their observations turmoil facilitates the lavishing of all kinds of poignant sayings on this beloved land. This nation has been pitied and it has been reminded of Faizs lines in recent times. If these were allusions made within the larger body of a court ruli ng, the anthem is different in that it is an original. The toil, the sweat, the tears and the blood Thou may belong to any religion, creed or caste, Oh! The vision is distorted, the march is thwarted, Castles in the sand, babes in the woods. This is p oetry that too of the revolutionary variety to which all struggling people have a right. Once the poet has spoken there can be absolutely no embargo on who can adopt the lines as their own.
Witness protection
Much has been said about the absence of an effective witness-protection programme in Pakistan. The fact that Haider Ali, the sixth and last witness to the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar, was killed in Karachi on Nov 11 only underscores the immediate need for one. Report edly, there were 23 witnesses to Mr Babars January 2011 killing in the metropolis. Only six took the risk of testifying. Each man was gunned down in a f righteningly systematic manner. Mr Ali, for whom the Sindh High Court had ordered extra protection, was shot dead despite being underground. Policemen have also numbered among the murdered witnesses. These killings expose the callousness of the state and its inability to protect witnesses; when it knew that the men were at risk of being eliminated, stronger efforts should have been made to protect them. Witnesses in other high-prof ile terroris m cases have been similarly killed. This creates a frustrating situation: when people are afraid for their lives they will not testify, which means suspected killers will walk f ree. The Sindh information minister said on Friday that Rs10m w ould be given to the home depart ment to provide protection to witnesses. While this amount, however meagre, is welcome, as it is expensive to relocate witnesses and give them new ident ities, funds are just one aspect of the issue. What is also required is direction and planning. The president has reportedly ordered the Sindh government to draft a new w itness -protection law. Yet a clause for protecting witnesses exists in the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2007, so perhaps the main focus should be on strengthening this provision. Anti-terrorism experts suggest that a witness-protection programme should be implemented incrementally as local authorities lack the capacity to initiate a programme simila r to what is being practised in developed nations. Initial steps can include making sure that witnesses get to court without their identities being disclosed, and in-camera trials have been proposed. Another suggestion is to give witnesses financial incentives, as presently they get nothing for risking their lives. Meanwhile, the police must revise their standard operating procedures where the gathering, preservation and analysis of forensic evidence is concerned. A forensic lab exists in Lahore, so police investigators should be required to submit evidence to this facility, while similar facilities need to be built in other cities. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, recently told his counterparts in Sindh and Punjab that he controlled rampant crime in that Indian state through speedy trials, strong prosecution and taking action against suspects irrespective of their connections. Perhaps our officials should have been taking careful notes.
No boost to the economy

Novembe r 19th, 2012 The cabinets approval of an amnesty scheme offering millions of tax dodgers a last chance to legalise hidden assets and income and to register themselves as taxpayers by paying the paltry amount of Rs100 to whiten their black money has spawned a new controversy. The scheme will have a life of three months and take effect after it gets legal cover from parliament. The approval of the amnesty scheme comprising the Tax Registration and Enforcement Scheme and Tax Invest ment Scheme in spite of widespread opposition s hows the authorities desperation to increase the number of active taxpayers and generate additional revenues to raise the abysmally low tax-to-GDP ratio of less than 10 per cent, equivalent only to that of some extremely poor Af rican nations. The success of the scheme is also expected to enable the government to win back the confidence of the IMF, upon whose approval of Islamabads policies hinges the flow of billions of dollars in multilateral and bilateral loans and grants. Islamabad had to terminate the IMF loan facility in 2010 because of its failure to implement tax refo rms due to political problems. That the amnesty for tax dodgers has draw n flak from all quarters indicates the low level of trust in such measures. Its opponents have been pleading w ith the government to launch a crackdown against the 3.8 million tax dodgers it has identif ied and to shame them publicly rather than offer them yet another opportunity to launder their illegal money at the expense of honest taxpayers. Their criticism has a v alid point: such schemes havent delivered in the past and will not work in future years. The government promises it is a one -off opportunity for tax thieves and plans to take stern action against those who do not avail themselves of it. Why not take actio n now? Only a few tax evaders are likely to sign up for the amnesty and millions will line up for yet another scheme some years down the
road. The authorities obsession with the scheme appears to justify the perception that the amnesty aims at benefiting some powerful and wealthy people rather than helping the economy.
Tip of the iceberg

Novembe r 19th, 2012 It is a discovery that ought to cause more worry than is what is currently visible. Access to fake driving and weapons licences, identity and trav el documents, etc can facilitate crimes that range from terrorism to human smuggling to remaining unidentified after a traffic violation. It was thought that the creation of the National Database and Registration Authority, which in many respects has been a success story, and the changeover to computerised documents would plug many of the gaps. Yet the police had an inkling that forged documents were in circulation since many times during verification certain individuals had remained untraceable on Nadras database. Their fears turned out to be well-founded when an operative of a gang involved in forgery was arrested in Islamabad. Subsequently, the police uncovered a network that specialises in forging crucial documents. And it seems that this is only the tip of the iceberg, for the arrested man told the police that the gang has separate wings in different cities; the main operators of the gang remain undiscovered w hich is disturbing to say the least. The investigation instituted by law-enforcement agencies should be lent urgency by the fact that terrorists apparently have obtained fake identification papers and arms licences in large numbers from different operatives of the gang. Wherever documents of the type that the gang is known to have replicated are re quired to be produced, such as at airports or cellphone outlets issuing Sims, more stringent checks need to be put in place immediately. Reportedly, it was very difficult to identify the differences between 30 documents recovered during the operation and the authentic article. Further, Nadra must step up its campaign to have people switch to its new Smart national ID card, which is chip-based and would be much harder to forge.
Unverified voters
Novembe r 20th, 2012 It is encouraging that Pakistan is f inally undertaking much-needed electoral reforms. An important step in the right direction has been the linking of the electoral rolls to Nadras identity cards record. But that has also thrown up the ongoing contentiousness over the issue of unverif ied voters. On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan disclosed that it had detected some 4.8 million unverif ied voters. The estimated figures per constituency are such that legislators have expressed the fear that these could upset the entire elec tion scenario. Some of them have demanded these unverif ied voters be immediately removed from the lists. Thankfully, the next day Nadra clarified that unverif ied voters did not mean false identities or bogus votes, but referred instead to verification of voters places of residence. All these people have valid and verified identities, confirmed Nadra chairman Tariq Malik, and CNICs have been cross-referenced with other data such as bank accounts and machine -readable passports. The problem, evidently, is that these 4.8 million people are unverif ied because their current place of residence as opposed to the permanent place of residence listed on the CNICs has not been verified through the door-todoor contacting process. The current place of residence determines the constituency in which a citizen would vote. Nadra says that for all these individuals, verification was attempted three times. According to Mr Malik, not contacting the ECP for changes indicated that the individuals were satisfied with t he status of their entries. Certainly, no one should be disenf ranchised and it is worth noting that the unverified millions include 69 law makers, six judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, and many bureaucrats and army officers. What we need then is a large-scale campaign involving the administration as well as citizens to set the record straight and to ensure that peoples status is verif ied. The question is, where are the politicians in all this? The only interest they have shown so far is in demanding the arbitrary disenfranchisement of several millions. Are they not the primary stakeholders in a free and fair election? They should be far more involved in the process of registering people on the electoral rolls, helping verify their places of residence, the constituencies in which they are eligible to vote and other relevant details. Once the elections take place and results start rolling in, it is easy to predict that bickering will occur. How about helping the ECP and Nadra w ith the unwieldy but crucial task now? That would be a
more
valuable
contribution
to
the
democratic
project
than

constantly complaining.
Muharram fears
Novembe r 20th, 2012 Sunday's blast at an imambargah in Karachi has heightened the immediate fear of the ci tys residents that this years Muharram could be a bloody one. This was a nagging concern even before the weekend, both because of the record of violence during the holy month in past years and especially because of the sectarian violence that has plagued Karachi in the weeks leading up to it. Now, with an attack having been successfully carried out despite heavy security and several days still left to go before the particularly sensitive first 10 days of Muharram have passed, the spectre of another, and possibly more deadly, attack has become more real than ever. As is the case every year, extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place for the month and volunteers from various communities and law enforcement are present at religious gatherings and processions in large numbers. And last years success in preventing large -scale attacks in the city shows that the authorities have built up some expertise in how to address the risks that Muharram brings. But Sundays blast showed that existing measures are still not enough. The attack, in which a motorcycle parked near the imambargah blew up, makes it clear that one obvious measure is to increase the radius around at -risk places of worship w ithin which vehicles should not be parked, however inconvenient this might be for worshippers and nearby residences and businesses. But it also remains important to balance the need for security with citizens basic needs; this attack should not be taken as a reason for a blanket ban on motorcycles, on which over a million people in the city depend. Given this years record of sectarian violence across Pakistan, Sundays blast also begs the question of where else in the country an attack might take place and argues for an even greater effort in other sensitive areas as well. Karachis horrific Ashura blast of 2009 is still a recent memory, and this years trajectory suggests that law enforcement will have to step up their efforts to prevent another tragic event.
Publics responsibility
CNG cylinder blasts are not something that can be entirely blamed on the government while the public plays the innocent victim. In fact, such explosions the latest blast in Karachi on Sunday took two lives are very much of the peoples own making. They are mo stly the result of greed, disregard for safety and a general disrespect for life. They can hardly be attributed to the lack of a public -awareness campaign. The frequent explosions are loud enough in themselves to remind the public of the dangers posed by f aulty CNG kits. CNG stations have to prominently display a notice refusing gas to the drivers of those vehicles that do not carry certificates declaring that their gas kits are in working order. There has been no let -up in official and media reminders about the urgency of a CNG kit examination. Aside from private hands some of them competent, others adept only at complicating matters there is the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan that requires these kits to be examined every five years and has its own designated inspection centres. At around Rs500 per kit the job doesnt entail too high a price. It is criminal how vehicle owners ignore all these warnings at such huge risk to life and limb. Of course the government can be asked to set up more examination centres and expedite their working. It also has a responsibility to haul up all those vehicles fitted with all kinds of improvised and unfit CNG cylinders and find effective ways to punish their users. At the same time, for their own sake, the citizens must look around and help in the identification of lawbreakers. Provided that everyone is willing to come out of their false security zones and get their kits checked, many precious lives may yet be saved.
Deadly consequences
Novembe r 21st, 2012
A picture carried by this newspaper yesterday was certainly worth a thousand words. It showed rows upon rows of military uniforms on sale at a market in Mardan, despite a ban on such sale. It is pertinent to highlight here that several major terrorist incidents over the past few years have been carried out by perpetrators clad in army uniforms. These include, among others, the massacres of Shia bus passengers in Kohistan and Mansehra in February and August this year, respectively, as well as the attacks on the PNS Mehran and Minhas Kamra airbases. The army itself fell victim to this ruse when terrorists in army uniform attacked the GHQ in October 2009, after which a ban was imposed on the unauthorised sale of military uniforms. By all accounts, the ban h as never been enforced. Impersonating members of the army or law-enforcement agencies is a virtually foolproof tactic of gaining access to at least the outer parameters of high-security areas, not to mention an effective way of intercepting vehicles on the road. It is thus incomprehensible how army uniforms, as well as those of civilian law -enforcement agencies, can be openly sold in markets to which the public has access. Moreover, the particular market depicted in the photograph mentioned above is not in some remote outpost in the tribal areas but in Mardan, the second largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is the province most affected by terrorism. While it may be difficult to completely prevent people bent on creating mayhem from acquiring such uniforms, the government can at the very least ensure that the ban is strictly enforced and those flouting it are penalised to the fullest extent of the law. In a country where terrorists are running amok, lets not make their job easier.
Slaughter in Gaza
Novembe r 21st, 2012 International efforts to effect a ceasefire in Gaza had not succeeded when these lines were being w ritten, but eight days of Israeli rocket fire on the Mediterranean enclaves crammed population centres has led to over 100 deaths. More menacingly, as reported by a Western wire agency, Israel has signalled a readiness to expand the war. That was hardly a reportable readiness. Delegates from the two sides have met in Cairo to stop the killings, but the United Nations has done nothing t o put an end to them. Instead all that the diplomats at the Security Council have done is to draft a statement which they have sent to their respective foreign offices, while the international media continues to convey graphic scenes of the death and devas tation inf licted on the Palestinian people. A ceasefire will sooner or later come into effect, but the pertinent question to ask is: w hen w ill Israel launch its next blitz? Are peacemakers f rom the secretary general of the United Nations to the re-elected president of the sole superpower really making an effort to solve the problem for good and seeking a solution that will last? In other words, do they really think they can put out the fire by tackling the flames instead of going to the source of the blaze? The issue is the Palestinian peoples right to self -determination; the issue is the continued occupation of the Palestinian peoples ancestral land by settlers; the issue is how to end the occupation of the Arab lands and give to the people of Palest ine a state of their own, w ith Jerusalem, now under Israeli occupation, as its capital. Not that the world doesnt know of this historic injustice. It does, but only in theory. The UN has passed at least two landmark resolutions 242 and 338 calling fo r Israels withdrawal from Palestinian territories, and at least two American presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, had the w isdom and courage to make Israel accept reality and give up w hat was not its own. The 1978-79 Camp David agreement made Israel w ithdraw f rom the Sinai while the 1993 Declaration of Principles laid down a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal. But, after the man who signed it for Israel, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, was murdered, successive Israeli governments have reneged on it. Since then, there has been a stalemate, and Israel continues to build new settlements on the West Bank to alter the occupied territorys demographic character. As experience shows, a ceasefire serves to end a slaughter only temporarily; it doesnt root out the cause of the conflict that has continued for decades.
Anti-polio efforts
Novembe r 21st, 2012
For several years now, any progress on Pakistans anti-polio efforts has been followed by several steps backwards. At one point, there was hope that the crippling disease would soon be eradicated in this country. Instead, along with Nigeria and Afghanistan, we remain one of the worlds last three polio -endemic countries. Formidable challenges have raised their heads on numerous fronts. On the side of the sta te, these have included vaccinating teams missing children because of the remoteness of their area of residence and interruptions in the cold -chain storage system. Immense damage has also been done to the vaccination campaign by the rhetoric of hard -line c lerics in the northwest that the drops would harm children. To add to this, the Pakistani Taliban banned polio vaccinations in areas under their thrall, while a jirga decided that they too would resist the campaign unless drone strikes were halted. All this has meant that cases of polio are being reported in an increasing number of spots in the country with alarming frequency. Now, it seems, officialdom has realised that in the north, Peshawar is a polio reservoir, with at least 10 new polio cases repo rted over the provinces five districts having originated in the provincial capital. Reportedly, the provincial health secretary chaired a meeting and ordered that special anti-polio drives should be initiated in 42 high-risk union councils. F urther, it was decided that records would also be kept of those children that had missed vaccinations. This last step may prove useful in identifying the trends in the failure to administer the drops and to create more targeted interventions. No doubt the challenges are myriad but they must be surmounted. The resistance to polio vaccinations may actually be grow ing in Pakistan, as indicated recently in a survey conducted in Karachi: of well-off parents interviewed in five large shopping malls across the city, 72 per cent believed that the vaccine was harmful while 8.5 per cent said it was unnecessary, indicating that the proble m is not one of low-income or the lack of education. This profoundly depressing f inding should add to the impetus of anti-polio efforts.
Sound and fury

Novembe r 22nd, 2012 For all the talk of deweaponisation in the last few days, its clear what the drama is really about: politics. Any genuine concern for law and order is at best a secondary concern for Karachis main political parties; that mu ch was obvious from the way the debate shaped up this week. Trying to avoid a special focus on Karachi and def lect any talk of a military operation there, the MQM argues that deweaponisation should take place not just in Karachi, but across the country. The ANP argues for the opposite, likely in part because stripping people of arms would be culturally unacceptable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, but mainly because it wants the focus to remain precisely where its political rival does not want it to be on Karachi. Meanw hile, in a glaring display of lack of concern about policy effectiveness, the ruling party supports both moves in an attempt to protect its political alliances. Proceedings in the National Assembly and the Senate this week were thus a farce, with parliament becoming a forum for political parties to one-up each other rather than address citizens concerns. Lost in all this rhetoric were the practical challenges of carrying out deweaponisation, w hether in Karachi where it has been tried and has failed or elsewhere in the country. Who, for example, would carry it out? In Karachi, at least, with an overwhelmed police force and the Rangers ability to operate effectively in the city in question, the military would likely have to be called in, wh ich would be a political minefield. Who would be targeted? A first step might be to choke off supply lines, focusing on curbing smuggling rather than trying to retrieve huge amounts of unlicensed arms from their ow ners. Whatever the answers, the lack of s ubstance in this weeks debates proved that the conversation was about political posturing and appearing to be concerned about law and order. And ultimately, regardless of the methods used, deweaponisation in Karachi would run into the same road block that other law and order problems do: the extent to which violence and politics are intertwined in this city. Short of a no-holds-barred, bloody military operation which would only temporarily relieve political rivalries, as previous operations have done, rather than addressing them the only way to tackle the problem is for all the citys major political players to reach a sustainable agreement on arms control. But as this weeks drama has proved, nothing will change as long as they continue to view Karachi as a zero-sum battleground rather than a city in which millions of people are trying to survive.
Kasabs execution
Novembe r 22nd, 2012
The secret execution and burial of Ajmal Kasab, the sole gunman to survive the 2008 tragedy in Mumbai, revives the memory of a senseless but well-planned act of mass murder that brought Pakistan and India to the brink of war. Four years later, many questions still remain unanswered on this side of the border: who were the brains behind the slaughter of the innocent civilians? What did they propose to achieve? Where and how were the gunmen trained and armed? Who brainwashed them into undertaking that ignoble mission? Who provided the operational facilities, including the boat journey to the Indian port? And why did these activities go unnoticed in Pakistan? Subsequently, the authorities in Islamabad acted to establish facts that distanced the state from the work of a few fanatic killers. But that doesnt serve to hide the shortcomings in the working of Pakistans anti -terrorism apparatus and its inability to keep tabs on organisations not necessarily banned which manage to amass enough resources to run clandes-tine cells that undertake fiendish operations of such magnitude. The Pakistani part of the trial is dragging on, prompting allegations from New Delhi that Islamabad is not serious. The fact that the prosecution came up w ith some new information about the Pakistani handlers of the suspects and the money transfer mechanism to shed some light on the case gives hope that the case will be pursued w ith speed and that justice will be done so that those responsible for the massacre are exposed. Above all, Pakistanis deserve to know what the government intends to do to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated. The issue is linked to the hydra-headed monster that terrorism has become for us. Militants are now operating throughout Pakistan and feel free to choose their targets, strike at will and plan operations abroad. The lesson to be draw n from the Mumbai events and its aftermath is that the government must make efforts to ensure that the state and citizens unite to root out what has become the biggest threat to our peace of mind as well as to our own and regional security.
No end in sight
Novembe r 22nd, 2012 As the doctors strike in Balochistan expands in scope, there has been a parallel increase in the peoples misery. While previously the strike was limited to government hospitals, doctors in private healthcare facilities have now joined the protest. Matters took an even uglier turn on Tuesday when emergency services and out -patient depart ments were shut in reaction to the rough treat ment meted out by the police to protesting medics on Monday. In a related, equally disturbing development, doctors bodies in Sindh o n Tuesday also threatened to stop work if their colleagues in Balochistan were not freed and cases against them, lodged in reaction to Mondays protest, not withdraw n. Doctors in Balochistan have been on strike now for over a month; the protest was sparked by the kidnapping of eye specialist Dr Saeed Khan, w ho was abducted in October. Several doctors have either been killed or kidnapped in the restive province in the recent past. The police action against protesting doctors is condemnable while it is well-known that security in Balochistan is very poor. We sympathise with the plight of doctors, yet there can be no justification for adding to the grief of the people by denying them medical care. Harrowing images came out of Quetta on Tuesday, of patients des perate for medical attention. Doctors in public and private facilities need to immediately return to work and pursue their rights through other methods of protest. While industrial action may be an acceptable mode of protest in other professions, when it c omes to doctors it is literally a matter of life or death for patients, so shutdowns of hospitals should be out of the question. Also, instead of adopting a confrontational posture, the Balochistan government needs to respond to the medics demands, especially by recovering the kidnapped doctor and providing the medical community with adequate security.
Sound and fury

Novembe r 23rd, 2012
For all the talk of deweaponisation in the last few days, its clear what the drama is really about: politics. Any genuine concern for law and order is at best a secondary concern for Karachis main political parties; that much was obvious from the way the debate shaped up this week. Trying to avoid a special focus on Karachi and def lect any talk of a military operatio n there, the MQM argues that deweaponisation should take place not just in Karachi, but across the country. The ANP argues for the opposite, likely in part because stripping people of arms would be culturally unacceptable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, but mainly because it wants the focus to remain precisely where its political rival does not want it to be on Karachi. Meanw hile, in a glaring display of lack of concern about policy effectiveness, the ruling party supports both moves in an attempt to prot ect its political alliances. Proceedings in the National Assembly and the Senate this week were thus a farce, with parliament becoming a forum for political parties to one- up each other rather than address citizens concerns. Lost in all this rhetoric were the practical challenges of carrying out deweaponisation, w hether in Karachi where it has been tried and has failed or elsewhere in the country. Who, for example, would carry it out? In Karachi, at least, with an overwhelmed police force and the Rang ers ability to operate effectively in the city in question, the military would likely have to be called in, which would be a political minefield. Who would be targeted? A first step might be to choke off supply lines, focusing on curbing smuggling rather than trying to retrieve huge amounts of unlicensed arms from their ow ners. Whatever the answers, the lack of substance in this weeks debates proved that the conversation was about political posturing and appearing to be concerned about law and order. And ultimately, regardless of the methods used, deweaponisation in Karachi would run into the same road block that other law and order problems do: the extent to which violence and politics are intertwined in this city. Short of a no-holds-barred, bloody military operation which would only temporarily relieve political rivalries, as previous operations have done, rather than addressing them the only way to tackle the problem is for all the citys major political players to reach a sustainable agreement on arms control. But as this weeks drama has proved, nothing will change as long as they continue to view Karachi as a zero-sum battleground rather than a city in which millions of people are trying to survive.
Kasabs execution
Novembe r 23rd, 2012
The secret execution and burial of Ajmal Kasab, the sole gunman to survive the 2008 tragedy in Mumbai, revives the memory of a senseless but well-planned act of mass murder that brought Pakistan and India to the brink of war. Four years later, many questions still remain unanswered on this side of the border: who were the brains behind the slaughter of the innocent civilians? What did they propose to achieve? Where and how were the gunmen trained and armed? Who brainwashed them into undertaking that ignoble mis sion? Who provided the operational facilities, including the boat journey to the Indian port? And why did these activities go unnoticed in Pakistan? Subsequently, the authorities in Islamabad acted to establish facts that distanced the state from the work of a few fanatic killers. But that doesnt serve to hide the shortcomings in the working of Pakistans anti -terrorism apparatus and its inability to keep tabs on organisations not necessarily banned which manage to amass enough resources to run clandes-tine cells that undertake fiendish operations of such magnitude. The Pakistani part of the trial is dragging on, prompting allegations from New Delhi that Islamabad is not serious. The fact that the prosecution came up w ith some new information about the Pakistani handlers of the suspects and the money transfer mechanism to shed some light on the case gives hope that the case will be pursued w ith speed and that justice will be done so that those responsible for the massacre are exposed. Above all, Pakista nis deserve to know what the government intends to do to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated. The issue is linked to the hydra-headed monster that terrorism has become for us. Militants are now operating throughout Pakistan and feel free to choose their targets, strike at will and plan operations abroad. The lesson to be draw n from the Mumbai events and its aftermath is that the government must make efforts to ensure that the state and citizens unite to
root out what has become the biggest threat to our peace of mind as well as to our own and regional security.
No end in sight
Novembe r 23rd, 2012 As the doctors strike in Balochistan expands in scope, there has been a parallel increase in the peoples misery. While previously the strike was limited to government hospitals, doctors in private healthcare facilities have now joined the protest. Matters took an even uglier turn on Tuesday when emergency services and out -patient depart ments were shut in reaction to the rough treat ment meted out by the police to protesting medics on Monday. In a related, equally disturbing development, doctors bodies in Sindh on Tuesday also threatened to stop work if their colleagues in Balochistan were not freed and cases against them, lodged in reaction to Mondays pr otest, not withdraw n. Doctors in Balochistan have been on strike now for over a month; the protest was sparked by the kidnapping of eye specialist Dr Saeed Khan, w ho was abducted in October. Several doctors have either been killed or kidnapped in the restive province in the recent past. The police action against protesting doctors is condemnable while it is well-known that security in Balochistan is very poor. We sympathise with the plight of doctors, yet there can be no justification for adding to the grief of the people by denying them medical care. Harrowing images came out of Quetta on Tuesday, of patients desperate for medical attention. Doctors in public and private facilities need to immediately return to work and pursue their rights through other methods of protest. While industrial action may be an acceptable mode of protest in other professions, when it comes to doctors it is literally a matter of life or death for patients, so shutdowns of hospitals should be out of the question. Also, instead of adopting a confrontational posture, the Balochistan government needs to respond to the medics demands, especially by recovering the kidnapped doctor and providing the medical community with adequate security.
Restricted contact
Novembe r 24th, 2012 Once again the government has resorted to suspending cellular phone facilities on a day when security concerns are high. In the approach to Ashura, it has gone one step further by also banning wireless phone services. Whether or not these steps are actually effective in averting a terrorist attack remains a moot point; we still await evidence to prove that such measures, which also restrict access to essential services such as police and emergency helplines, are necessary in the fight against extremism. While we can still take heart from the fact that the suspension of phone services is temporary, what possible defence can be found for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authoritys first imposing a ban on night -time and low-rate cellphone packages, and now preventing cellphone operators from offering chat-room services to users? PTA says it is following the directives of the Supreme Court, and that legislators say such services are being misused, especially by students. On the floor of the National Assembly, a few voices have raised such concerns, with one legislator tabling a private members bill on the issue: MNA Nosheen Saeed is reported as having commented Are these mobile telephone operators offering telephone services or running other services to misguide young people? Obviously, then, in the view of certain circles the threat to Pakistans social fabric comes not from entrenched issues such as terrorism, poverty and the lack of education, but from the morality codes of the young. According to this regressiv e view, it is the states responsibility to take up the role of morality police. Nothing, perhaps, can be more repugnant to those who stand for civil liberties and who point out that the answer does not lie in curbing personal f reedoms. Further, each such step becomes a precedent for the next that shifts the goalposts and imposes more restrictions. The state has already established that peoples online f reedoms can arbitrarily be curtailed YouTube has remained offline for several weeks now, and PTA has not yet clarified its position or made a firm announcement that it will be reinstated. Does the government really want to go down this path? Regression is what extremists in Pakistan also want. The state and its functionaries, as well as the representatives of the people, need to dwell on the fact that the citizenry needs to be empowered through increasing freedoms and
choices, not disempowered still further with the state itself taking on the role of an enforcer of bans and a restrictor of liberties.
Morsis coup
Novembe r 24th, 2012 Buoyed up by his success in effecting a ceasefire in Gaza, President Mohamed Morsi has acted the wrong way he has given himself sweeping powers in a move that the opposition calls a coup against legitimacy. The new decre e issued on Thursday says decisions taken by the president cannot be overturned by any authority, including the courts. This negates the very spirit of the Arab Spring. Already, the president had enormous powers, because there is no legislature and he himself makes the laws. By pre-empting a judicial review of his actions, the president has armed himself with absolute powers. No wonder opposition leaders, who include such names as former Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa and Nobel laureate Mohamed El Baradei, allege that the president has anointed himself Egypts new pharaoh. More menacingly, there is a hint of witch-hunting in his moves, because he has decided to reopen Hosni Mubaraks trial and sacked chief prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, a Mubara k loyalist. The charge against him was that he failed to secure adequate punishments for pro -Mubarak demonstrators who had attacked the security forces. He had earlier withdrawn his decision to fire Mr Mahmoud under pressure from Egypts powerf ul legal f ra ternity. An acute and dangerous polarisation could grip Egypt, because Muslim Brotherhood activists have demonstrated in the decrees favour, while the opposition has begun street protests and attacked Muslim Brotherhood offices. On Thursday, shortly after the decree was announced, Muslim Brotherhood activists staged demonstrations in f ront of the main court building, demanding that the judiciary be purified. This is a disturbing development. Unless such demands for purges are discouraged in time, the country could head towards authoritarianism. At present, Egypt has no parliament, and a Brotherhood-dominated assembly is still drafting a new constitution. The absence of any constitutional and legal checks on a head of state who already wields executive and legislative powers could throttle democracy, strengthen totalitarian tendencies and dash the populist hopes for w hich the people of Egypt had launched a valiant struggle against a despotic regime. As an opposition leader said, the anti Mubarak stir was not launched in search of a benign dictator.
Law for senior citizens

The announcement by a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister that the province would soon introduce legislation focusing on senior citizens rights must be welcomed. If things go as planned, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be the first provincial government in Pakistan to introduce a much-needed law addressing the rights and concerns of the elderly. What is also important is that the minister said that once the proposed bill becomes la w, efforts w ill be made to enforce its provisions. It is well-known that many finely drafted laws are rendered ineffective in this country due to lack of enforcement. Pakistan has a large number of senior citizens. This age group is expected to grow in kee ping with global trends of longevity. Yet neglect of elders in society is widespread and as economic pressures on families increase, traditional safety nets are beginning to fall apart. As a result, seniors have ended up as one of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Many do not have access to proper healthcare or social services. Seniors are especially vulnerable in emergency situations, such as natural disasters. Along with other issues, the legislation should address access to affordable healthcare for seniors as well as a respectable pension and social security payments, including coverage for those elders who have worked in the informal sector. Khyber Pakhtunkhwas initiative must be lauded while the other provinces must follow suit. However, there is a need to speed up the law making process as it has already taken too long; a draft bill on senior citizens rights has been pending since 2007, though neither the centre nor the provinces have up till now made efforts to pass the law. Statements of intent are fine, but the provinces need to introduce the legislation so that a legal framework for the protection of seniors rights can be established.
Another crisis
Novembe r 25th, 2012 Barely has one controversy between the presidency and the superior judiciary been put to rest with the dispatch of the letter to Switzerland that another crisis is brew ing: this time over the appoint ment and seniority of judges in the Islamabad High Court. The plot is complicated and involves multiple judges and t heir futures but in essence it started with the decision to elevate the chief justice of the IHC, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, to the Supreme Court. The controversy started when the Judicial Commission nominated, and the parliamentary committee endorsed, Justice Mohammad Anwar Kasi to the chief justices post as the senior - most judge of the IHC. When the summary appeared before President Zardari for routine signing, an anomaly was cited: another judge of the IHC, Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan, had been considered senior to Justice Kasi and therefore in line to succeed Justice Rehman as the IHC chief justice. In the midst of this tussle, two other judges of the IHC have become collateral damage because their continuation as judges beyond Nov 20 was contingent on approval by the Judicial Commission w hich did assent but whose composition was taken as incomplete by the presidency owing to the dispute over who wa s the IHCs seniormost judge. If that sounds complicated, it is. On the face of it, the presidency appea rs to be inserting itself into a decisionmaking process that is two-tiered judicial and parliamentary and in which the role of the president was not really envisaged to include questioning the decisions taken by the judicial commission and endorsed by the parliamentary committee. But scratch the surface and the matter becomes more complicated because it appears the presidency may have a genuine case that Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan and not Justice Mohammad Anwar Kasi is technically the seniormost judge of the IHC behind the chief justice who has been elevated to the SC. The bigger mystery here is why the Parliamentary Committee, which is meant to debate and scrutinise the Judicial Commissions recommendations, appears to have simply rubber -stamped a change at the top of the IHC that may be out of line w ith accepted convention. Considering the speculation that has been generated, it is important to know the reasons behind the out -of-step nomination of the next IHC chief justice. Meanwhile, legal experts are hoping these developments have nothing to do w ith a petition challenging Gen Kayanis extension as army chief that was to be taken up by the two judges whose tenure expired on Nov 20. The presidential reference to the SC should be moved quickly to end this unnecessary impasse.
Food security
Novembe r 25th, 2012 The governments decision to raise domestic wheat support price for the next harvest by 14 per cent to Rs1,200 per 40kg has its pros and cons. It will encourage farmers to grow more wheat to reap a record output of 26 million tons next spring. The hike in the cereals price will not only offset the surge in input costs but also increase the growers margins, which should help cut rural poverty. Additionally, it will make the country more food -secure than ever in the past in terms of availability and bring down the food import bill. But is higher crop production alone sufficient to reduce food insecurity? More than half the households, including subsistence farmers, in the country remain food-insecure despite a rapid increase in grain production during the last few years on higher-than-global domestic wheat prices. It means surging prices, especially of wheat, have put food out of the reach of most people. The new crop will be 80 per cent dearer than the one harvested in 2008, restricting the access of more people to enough food. Thus, while giving price incentives for increasing food production, the government should evolve a mechanism to feed everyone. Food inf lation isnt the only disadvantage of h igher wheat price. It will put additional burden on the cash-strapped government that would be required to borrow greater funds from banks for its wheat procurement operations to keep the market from dipping, and pay heavier costs for the storage of grain. Moreover, the higher price may encourage farmers to bring more land under cultivation keeping them from becoming more efficient. While the decision has its economic value, it will also help raise the ruling PPPs stock in the rural areas of Punjab and Sindh in an election year. With a considerable number of people in rural Sindh angry with the PPP over the new local government law and many in south Punjab frustrated by its failure to create a new province for them,
increasing support prices is perceived as a move to help the party win back a large chunk of its unhappy voters.
Unregistered vehicles
Novembe r 25th, 2012 From time to time, this newspaper has carried photographs of vehicles with illegal number plates that is, personalised plates as well as those reading Applied For Registration, or AF R for short w hich have proliferated across the country. In a status-conscious society, vehicle registration plates are another means of gratuitous self promotion. There is no dearth of vehicles bearing MNA, MPA or Senator plates plying the streets, or Shaikh and Nawab for that matter. In a sign of the times, when contempt of the law is itself deemed an act of bravado, one can even come across an occasional Gangster brazenly affixed to a vehic le. Two prominent notices by the Sindh government in this newspaper on Friday offer hope that the days of unregistered vehicles may be coming to an end, at least in this province. One stated that owners must register their vehicles within 60 days, failing which they will be fined between Rs5,000 to Rs100,000, depending upon the delay in registration. The other notice addressed those vehicle owners who have inexplicably not picked up their government -issue number plates despite having applied and paid for them, and who are now presumably driving without plates. Although there have been a number of ineffectual campaigns of this kind over the years, there seems to be a new urgency to this drive given that the Supreme Courts Karachi bench, during a recent hea ring on law and order in the city, ordered that unregistered vehicles, those without number plates and non-custom paid illegal vehicles be impounded. The practice in question not only deprives the government exchequer of taxes due on newly registered vehic les but, particularly important in the context of Pakistan, also makes it impossible to trace vehicles involved in terrorism as well as other crimes, including hit -and-run incidents. This time, there is no room for any laxity.
Fatal medicine
Novembe r 28th, 2012 Death by drinking is not unheard of in Pakistan. The number of deaths caused by consuming substandard liquor runs into many scores each year. The incidence of such fatalities invariably picks up during holidays when imbibers revel as a group. But the 17 who died after having apparently drunk a cough-syrup based concoction in Lahore over the Ashura holidays did not consume the poison in a group. They had their f ill individually. An initial official inquiry indicated they may have spiked the cough syrup, sold under the brand name of Tyno, for an enhanced kick. While the bottles they bought carried the same brand name some of them bore a price tag of Rs19 as opposed to the standard Rs42. But these clues raise more questions than offer explanations. One, a brand must have a certain reputation to attract the attention of fake manufacturers. Two, if users had bought the syrup individually, it is odd that each one on that particular day mixed it with a substance which turned it into a cocktail of death. T he investigators should focus on w hether the unfortunate users had bought some other drug f rom the same or another nearby shop to get the desired mix. The concentration of the deceased in one area of Lahore Shahdara should make it easier for police to narrow down the problem and unearth the racket. The outcome is almost expected: the probe is going to expose the nexus between desperate addicts and their heartless, greedy suppliers. What has already been exposed though is the official failure of not lea rning f rom deaths caused by substandard drugs in the past. Almost a year ago, Lahore lost 150 precious lives due to the administration of a contaminated drug at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Investigations into the case still continue while monitorin g remains so lax that it allows the sale of all kinds of substances. On Tuesday, the district coordination officer arrived in grief stricken Shahdara to discover a factory making spurious medicines a few days late. According to a health official, Punjab is yet to fully understand its requirements and responsibilities under the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan law signed by the president recently. The law, among other objectives, seeks to regulate the working of the pharmaceutical industry and aims t o prevent the manufacture of fake drugs. This delay in understanding the new system is criminal and while the fog must be cleared as early as possible, the blame for the havoc caused by substandard drugs, as well as the misuse of known brands does, by and large, lie with the province.
In the line of fire

It is unfortunate that societys lack of respect for the police obscures the fact that men of the force regularly risk their lives in their attempt to carry out their duties in an increasingly violent country. They do this with poor training and equipment a situation that renders them a prime target for a variety of violent elements. Take the example of Karachi, where, as reported, more than 100 policemen have been gunned dow n so fa r this year. Similarly, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 600 police personnel are estimated to have fallen in the line of duty since 2007. Many of the murdered policemen in Karachis case were targeted by criminal gangs, as well as sectarian and religiously mot ivated militants. In the past, policemen associated with the 1990s Karachi operations have been systematically targeted, reportedly by ethnic militants, but the sheer number of those slain this year is a matter of concern. Most of those killed were from t he lower ranks. Although such a large number of policemen have been killed while performing their duties, the Sindh police high ups appear to be unmoved. For example, there has been no real progress when it comes to following up on the cases of murdered police personnel. What is more, when policemen are killed or injured compensation is announced, but bureaucratic hurdles are created which make it difficult for the heirs to claim f inancial compensation, while corrupt elements within the police also demand a cut of the money before the families have access to it. Such disregard for the welfare of policemen and their families results in a corrupt, demoralised force unable to meet the challenges of urban policing. While better training and equipment are import ant, what is equally vital is to assure policemen that they will be looked after if injured and that their families will be cared for if they fall in the line of duty. This may boost their morale and result in better performance. The process of compensatio n payment must be reformed to make the amount sufficient, while the process should not be a humiliating one that adds to the miseries of the affected families.
Detestable practice
Novembe r 28th, 2012 Two jirgas decide fate of four girls this headli ne in yesterdays edition of the paper masks a universe of suffering and pain. Variations of it are printed with disturbing frequency in other newspapers too. In one of the cases reported yesterday and pertaining to the Sukkur/Shikarpur area in interior Si ndh, a man accused of having had illicit relations w ith the wife (subsequently killed) of another man was ordered by a tribal court to hand over his two sisters and a niece to the aggrieved family under the sang chatti custom (also known as swara or vani ). Currently underage, the girls are to be handed over once they reach puberty. In the second case, a jirga in Khairpur district settled a free - will marriage dispute by ordering a 13-year-old girl to be immediately handed over in marriage to a 50-year-old man. The police have been directed to register cases and make arrests. The victims can technically be protected by more than one law including child protection laws and the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act 2011, which specifically lays out punishments for giving females in marriage to settle disputes. Jirgas themselves have been actively discouraged or banned, as in Sindh. Yet the detestable practice remains as entrenched as ever. This is partly because while there is much talk of the law in urban areas, it is not so easy to implement these in the dark hinterlands where state justice is elusive. What is needed is effective and prohibitive implementation. In the two cases, the names of the men convening the jirgas are know n. They must be pursued, and made to face justice. Until the majority of men in the country are aware that the abuse of women is criminalised and that violators will face the full force of the law little real change will be forthcoming.
Courts expenses
Once again, the Supreme Court is in the news and once again not necessarily for the right reasons. Parliaments Public Accounts Committee has renewed its demand for the Supreme Court registrar, Faqir Hussain, to appear before the committee and present the su perior courts administrative budget and expenses for scrutiny by the PAC. The demand that the registrar appear before the PAC is an old one. It is also one that the court has resisted over the life of this parliament, in fact since the mid-2000s. This time the PAC has not as yet set a fixed deadline for Mr Hussain to appear before the committee but the matter should come to a head by the second week of December if the court digs in its heels. Legalese aside, there is no clear legal or constitutional reason w hy the court can or should resist the PACs demands to scrutinise its expenditures. These expenditures are duly audited by the auditor general of Pakistan but not scrutinised by an independent body like the PAC. The court has taken refuge in a court decision f rom the mid- 2000s after which the PACs oversight was rejected but few independent constitutional or legal experts accept the courts rationale or argument. Why, then, has the court resisted parliamentary scrutiny of its expenses? The assumption is t hat given the strains between the superior judiciary and the government, the court fears a public hearing on its expenses could become a political tool to undermine the courts credibility and standing with the public. On the face of it at least, there is no reason to suspect the PAC will find anything seriously amiss in the courts administrative expenses. Judges salaries are part of the official record and the lump sum transferred to the court to use in its discretion for salaries of court staff, upkeep of buildings, travel, etc is also know n. Perhaps the court apprehends that the PAC, with its public hearings, could turn into a circus where politicians bandy about the sum it costs to keep a Supreme Court justice in office and the amount spent on inf rastructure and travel sums that even if innocuous could resonate in a negative way w ith the public in a struggling economy and w ith questions about the courts ability to deliver effective, timely and low-cost justice still lingering. But perceptions are not the law and neither is the PAC a government entity even after the exit of Chaudhry Nisar Ali, the PAC remains a cross-party parliamentary body. Every other institution, including the military, has submitted to PAC scrutiny. So should the Supreme Court.
Friendly exchanges
Novembe r 29th, 2012 After being treated to some charged scenes, the audience has finally been given relief. Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday showed his opposition to any move to disqualify Nawaz Sharif the FIA probe of allegations that the PML-N chief had taken money from the ISI in 1990 providing the likely background. Though he didnt give the context, the minister said those who thought Mr Sharif could be ousted from politics were living in a fools paradise. A couple of days earlier, Mr Sharif had said he would not mind taking oath from President Asif Ali Zardari if elected prime minister after the next polls. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also in recent days offered the PML-N leaders some praise. Such has been the history of this country that even a handshake involving two opposing politicians can conjure up drastic scenarios about the intentions of a non-political force. Past interventionists will have to stay committed to elected rule for a much longer perio d before these fears are banished altogether. Like life and television soap, Pakistani politics is full of intrigues and squabbles and f requent cheek-rubbing among friends and partners, enemies and nemeses. The relationship between the PML-N and PPP is in focus because of their central role and their vow to change the political culture. These two parties may be mercurial by design. When they are at each others throat, they scare the faint -hearted but do endear themselves to those who want hostilities to c ontinue. Contrarily, an exchange of reconciliatory messages between the rivals pleases one group at the risk of angering brash fighters in their ranks. Neither party can be seen to be intimidated by the other, but then, neither can they brandish their firepower as they had done in the past for fear of alienating large groups of wary Pakistanis. This is a difficult balancing act to perform. As for those looking for some decency in politics, they have no choice but to look at the increased number of polite exchanges between politicians as the beginning of a lasting tradition where issues can be discussed in sober tones.
TTP vs media
If certain sections of the media were still attempting to justify the TTPs agenda or divert attention fr om it, the attempt on television anchor Hamid Mirs life should leave no journalist or media outlet with any excuse to continue serving as apologists for the Pakistani Taliban. The TTPs claim that it was behind the attack is not solid proof, but in the absence of any denials from the group, one can only take it at face value. And so it appears the Taliban have reached new levels of boldness w hen it comes to targeting the media. Going beyond just sending personal threats, which they have done with other journalists in the past, this time they have publicly announced that a particular journalist is a target and that they plan to continue targeting him. The same unrepentant message of defiance came through recently when the TTP claimed the attack on Malala Y ousufzai and some sectarian attacks: they have said they w ill continue trying to kill the young girl and Shias. In the case of the media in particular, the Pakistani Talibans antagonism is alarming because it underscores that they cannot stomach any crit icism. Simply speaking out against them is a crime in their eyes, one for which the only punishment is death. As such, they stand against everything that Pakistans hard -won media freedo m represents. On a practical level, intelligence agencies must ensure that journalists are made aware of any threats to their lives; while the odd interior ministry notification is issued from time to time, there are instances of direct threats not having been communicated to the journalists they are made against. But more i mportantly, recent events should serve as a red flag for journalists and politicians who support, defend or excuse the TTPs actions that they do so at the cost of their own freedom of expression.
Not so simple
Novembe r 30th, 2012 The much-touted but largely ignored National Counter Terrorism Authority may be about to receive a new lease of life follow ing approval by the federal cabinet of the Nacta bill on Wednesday. Next up for Nacta created by an executive order in the late 2000s and so lacking the proper legislative cover will be a debate in parliament, at the committee stage first presumably, before the bill can be converted into an act. So far so good, it would seem. But few things concerning Nacta are ever simple. Conceived as an intellige nce coordination, research and international liaison entity, Nacta has suffered f rom the scepticism of law makers and the territorial attitude of various intelligence agencies at the provincial and federal level. In principle, Nacta is an excellent idea and one that the countrys counterterrorism and counter-extremis m strategies desperately need. At present, particularly at the coordination level, cooperation among Pakistans intelligence agencies is so ad hoc and shambolic that it almost borders on the criminal. While pragmatists have speculated whether an agency like the ISI would ever really consent to treating civilian counterparts as equals or even deserving of serious attention, we are still left with a situation where a number of civilian -run agencies could do with better coordination. For example, if the Sindh police are searching for a terrorism suspect who has escaped to another province, there is no institutional way at the moment to consistently and reliably share such information in a timely manne r. Nacta could help plug that gap at least. But if Nacta is to productively contribute to counterterrorism and counter-extremism strategies, it has to be organised along professional and independent lines. The draft bill approved by the cabinet is not avai lable for scrutiny as yet but it is believed to have resolved the impasse over w hether the prime ministers office controls Nacta, as the Punjab government has demanded, or the interior ministry does, as Rehman Malik has wanted, by sharing control of the authority in a way that will effectively give the ministry the power to operate it. That may be a recipe for resistance from many intelligence agencies, who will likely balk at control by a highly politicised entity, as the interior ministry inevitably is u nder any government. In addition, who will guarantee that Nacta is staffed with competent and qualif ied analysts and administrators as opposed to political appointees who tend to populate such offices without a robust and transparent recruit ment mechanism? The problem with entities like Nacta is that as good as they are on paper, w ithout purposeful implementation of the idea, more problems are created than solved.
Indefensible delay
It had emerged sometime back that a massive backlo g had developed in the issuance of passports, due to reasons that included absence of staff, the slow release of funds and non-payment of dues to the Security Printing Corporation (SPC) which provides the blank booklets. The Directorate General of Immigrat ion and Passports had said that a mere 5,000 passports were being issued per day, against a daily application rate of more than 15,000. It had been hoped that the relevant administration would take urgent steps to plug the gaps, but regrettably that has not been the case. On Wednesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was informed by the director general, Immigration and Passports, Syed Wajid Hussain Bokhari, that the backlog of passport applications had crossed the 300,000 mark. In September, applicants were waiting for up to two months for a document issued through the normal (as opposed to urgent) process. There does not appear to have been any change for the better. According to Mr Bokhari, the main reason behind the delay is that the money allo cated to his depart ment has not been released. Consequently, the depart ment is unable to pay the SPC which, in turn, is releasing only 5,000 booklets a day against a much larger demand. He claimed that were the funds to be released immediately by the finance ministry and the SPC induced to provide 25,000 booklets a day, the entire backlog could be cleared w ithin one month. That such a crucial part of the states work is not being done for such a reason leaves us lost for words. Obtaining a passport is the basic right of every citizen and it is far too important a document to not issue indefinitely particularly since many applicants need to travel urgently for medical treatment, education, employment or other reasons. Moreover, given that all the applicant s affected have already paid the fees required for the issuance of their document, no excuse by the state is acceptable. The finance ministry and the passport issuing authority need to get their house in order soon.
Dangerous environs
Novembe r 30th, 2012 The fact that a newborn at a Rawalpindi hospital was bitten by a rat earlier this week is a horrifying, extreme example of the lack of hygiene in the nations health facilities. It is perhaps sheer luck that the baby escaped serious harm. Officialdoms re sponse to the scary incident has been predictable: inquiry committees have been formed while senior officials at the hospital concerned have been suspended. Rodents and cats are said to be frequently spotted at the facility, yet it is not the only one in t he country where animals and pests compromise the high sanitary standards that are expected at a hospital. With hygiene standards at public hospitals in all provincial capitals extremely poor, one can only imagine the state of rural health units. While the condition of private hospitals is relatively better, it is public health facilities which cater to most patients. A shortage of funds for maintenance and upkeep is one of the reasons behind the unhygienic conditions. Overcrowding in public facilities is another concern, as there are not enough beds to cater to the number of patients, especially in gynaecology wards. Some quarters also disagree with outsourcing sanitation duties to contractors as the latter reportedly cut corners. Unfortunately, those tasked with keeping hospitals clean are paid a pittance, work long hours and hardly receive any training; there is little to motivate them into doing their job diligently. Health authorities in all provinces need to rethink their approach towards maintaining s anitary standards. The environment within and outside hospitals must be f ree of filth as well as animals. For this, sanitary staff must be motivated with higher salaries and better working conditions. In fact, all stakeholders, including doctors, nurses and hospital administrations should look upon it as a challenge that can only be met with a collective effort.
EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF DECEMBER
Kalabagh issue
Decembe r 1st, 2012 Kalabagh dam enjoys support in the capital of Punjab w hich is the only unit in the federation backing its construction. For some, the proposal has been a dream for many decades now. For just as long, the smaller provinces have opposed the construction of the dam, their opposition intensifying even at the mere hint of attempts to force the project through. But on Thursday, there was more of a thrust from the blue. The Lahore High Courts order has been met with the standard objections outside Punjab. In fact, so sensitive is the subject that even those who support Kalabaghs construction have been guarded in their response to the LHC decision that the federal government is constitutionally bound to start the project in the light of the decisions of the Council of Common Interests. The decisions referred to in the LHC short order were made in the 1990s and called for technical and political issues associated with the dam to be addressed to make the latter acceptable to all. The court says the projects fate should not be sealed on the basis of presumptions and surmises , perhaps seeking to put the focus back on the CCIs calls for evaluation of contentious aspects of Kalabagh. Maybe there is a hope that this would help iron out the differences between the provinces manifested in the anti-Kalabagh resolutions passed by the assemblies of Balochistan, Sindh and the erstwhile NWFP some years ago. In any event, the matter will ultimately come to the peoples representatives which is only fair. Regardless of whether or not they agree with the court, the politicians have, witho ut exception, spoken of the lack of consensus on Kalabagh in response to Thursdays ruling. The question is: if it is to be ultimately referred to the politicians why did the LHC have to intervene in the first place? The temptation is there to find an answ er in the judiciarys relationship with a government whose decision to shelve the Kalabagh project forever was among its first resolutions. In more recent times the superior judiciary has ruled that a provincial government (in Balochistan) has lost its mandate to govern. It has also sought to fix CNG prices. This approach to addressing problems can be termed risky since it can increase the gap between two pillars of the state which cannot do without each other and must complement one another. The Kalabagh ruling by the LHC has already been dubbed anti- federation. It could cause perhaps it already has caused greater polarisation in a country confronting major provincial and ethnic divisions.
Palestinian victory
Decembe r 1st, 2012 It may be unfortunate for America and meaningless for Israel, but an overwhelming majority of the General Assemblys members voiced the feeling of people across the globe w hen they voted on Thursday to grant Palestine the status of a non- member observer state. The vot e takes the Palestinian people a step closer to their ultimate aim of having a sovereign state of their own on their native soil. President Mahmoud Abbas called the vote a birth certificate for the Palestinian state and said the UN move was the last cha nce to save the two- state solution. Already, more than 130 states recognise Palestine as a sovereign entity; Thursdays 138 yes votes and only nine nays (with 41 abstentions) show that more states have swung to the Palestinian cause and rejected the Israe li stance that seeks to perpetuate Israels occupation of Palestinian territories. The vote also shows the diplomatic isolation of Israel and America the two principal opponents of the move. Thursdays vote also means Palestine will be able to join the U Ns specialised agencies, including what America is seen to dislike most Palestines membership of the International Criminal Court. While Palestinians have hailed their diplomatic victory, they and their supporters w ill have to reckon with Israeli intransigence, Americas unqualified support for the Jewish state, continued settlement activity in the West Bank and Israels arrogance stemming from its armed might. In fact, Israels UN ambassador clearly indicated the future course of the Likud governments policy when he said the vote would put the peace process backwards, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Mr Abbas, alleging that his UN speech did not contain the words of a man of peace. Secretary General Ban Ki- moon, like the American and Israeli ambassadors, called for
direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to achieve peace, forgetting perhaps that Israel has torpedoed every peace plan, including the ones to which it is party. Palestines diplomatic victory at the UN has embarrassed Israel and America, but they have no choice except to bow to reality, for the Palestinian people have a strong case based on history.
Skyfall
Decembe r 1st, 2012 Man has always looked heavenwards for answers but on Wednesday night, disconcerted residents of Dadu district in Sindh had more than the normal vexations of life to quiz the higher powers about when large chunks of unidentifiable equipment dropped out of the sky over an area spanning several villages. That no one was hurt a nd no property damaged can only be termed a miracle, for the pieces were far f rom small. The biggest fragment weighed some 187 kilograms, while a former nazim of the area described a piece of iron as being five feet long and two feet wide. Military authorities soon took possession of the remains and Pakistanis were left speculating whether the unidentified equipment was a bird, or a plane. Or, going beyond the Superman terminology, a dismembered satellite perhaps? Or even a missile? The last theory gained currency rapidly. Earlier on the same day, ISPR had reported that the army had successfully test -fired its nuclear-capable Hatf-V Ghauri ballistic missile. Following this line of reasoning, a few wary souls started wondering whether or not the huge amount of public funds spent on missile-system development produce stable results. Fortunately for the future of defence -system development, military authorities issued a statement yesterday saying that the objects constituted the part that separates in the normal course of a rocket launch; the missile reached its destination, so the test had been successful. That will no doubt come as a relief to the nervous, sky-gazing residents of Dadu, and other citizens, too, who may fear f inding themselves in the flight path of a missile at any time after this incident. We can only w ish that such tests would be conducted in more remote areas and with much more care. Surely working out which regions are populated is no rocket science.
Delimitation
Decembe r 2nd, 2012 Due to the Supreme Courts recent actions, there is renewed focus on the electoral dynamics of Karachi. Two cases before the apex court have raised issues concerning how the metropolis votes. In the f irst, the court has called for new delimitation of electoral constituencies in the city while hearing the suo motu case on law and order as a measure to quell violence. In the second case, in reply to petitions filed by several political parties arguing that votes have been shifted out of Karachi, the Supreme Co urt has suggested the army be called to assist in door-todoor verification of voters. Clarity in a number of areas is needed before these moves proceed any further. Firstly, controlling crime and redrawing the map of electoral constituencies are two very different things and have little in common. Clamping down on violence in the metropolis requires other, more direct solutions. It is unclear what delimit ing new constituencies will do to crack down on criminal elements. Secondly, as far as the act of deli mitation itself is concerned, there are two pertinent questions: w hy just in Karachi and why now, when elections are just months away? Legally and practically, a new census is essential for the delimitation process to be error- and controversyfree. But there has not been a population count since 1998. The law requires that constituencies be delimited after every census. Also, redraw ing only Karachis constituencies may open a Pandoras box. For example, it has been pointed out that there is as dire a need for new delimitation in Balochistan and Fata as there is in Karachi. As for the number of voters that have been registered outside Karachi despite living and working in the metropolis for several years, this also needs to be clarif ied. A figure of three mi llion such voters has been cited. Where did this number come from? Election observers note that while the issue may be genuine, the number of such voters is much lower. The Election Commission of Pakistan needs to investigate and come out with the facts, keeping in mind that while Karachis population grows due to its status as an economic hub, other parts of the country are also experiencing population shifts, which need to be reflected in the electoral map.
Ideally, a census should be carried out after the general elections; when reliable population data emerges, the delimitation process can be carried out countrywide. Perhaps this point deserves due focus. Meanwhile, electoral matters are best left to the ECP to decide, as the courts intervention in thes e affairs may complicate the situation, even if guided by the best of intentions.
Iran N-stalemate
Decembe r 2nd, 2012 We are familiar w ith the smoking gun shibboleth. The Hans Blix commission, searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, reporte d to the Security Council it had found no smoking gun. America and Britain still chose to invade Iraq. Thats why Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltaniehs assertion at Fridays Vienna meeting that the International Atomic Energy Agency had found no smoking gun in Iran is no guarantee of peace. Given Israels gung- ho record, its obsession with the Iranian nuclear programme and Tel Avivs frustration over the Palestinian diplomatic victory at the UN last Thursday, the Likud government could still choose to ha ve a go at Iran smoking gun or no smoking gun. The issue is not only Irans right to a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, it is also the Iranian leaderships failure to address predominantly Western concerns about uranium enrichment. Iran admits it has an ongoing uranium enrichment plan but insists it is meant for power production. That is where it runs into trouble w ith the IAEA. Fridays Vienna meeting followed the release earlier last month of an IAEA report that claimed Tehran continued to violate UN resolutions. On the day Mr Soltanieh spoke, the US Senate approved 94-0 another sanctions package against Iran, something the House of Representatives has already done. A day earlier, the American envoy to the IAEA said if Iran showed no substantive cooperation, Washington would take the issue to the Security Council. There Iran is unlikely to have the benefit of a Chinese or Russian veto, for the talks w ith P5+1 have so far produced no results. With the IAEA scheduled to meet again this month, and talks w ith P5+1 likely to resume shortly, Iran must make a determined bid to reassure them about its nuclear intentions. Statements like the one made by its nuclear chief, Ferydoon Abbasi Davani, that his country would expand its nuclear activity with force do not help, nor does Mr Soltaniehs threat that Tehran may pull out of the NPT if Israel bombed the country. It wouldnt matter whether Iran remained in the NPT or not if there was war.
Cause for concern

Decembe r 2nd, 2012
The first World Aids Day, Dec 1, was observed in 1988. For the bulk of the years since then, it seemed that the war against this disease would never be won. Finally, however, in 2010, the UN said that the world had turned the corner and the tide had been reversed. Given this context, then, it is unfortunate in the extreme that in Pakistan, despite local and international efforts, HIV prevalence is continuing to rise in 19 cities. On Friday, in anticipation of World Aids Day, WHO issued a statement expressing concern over Paki stans high rates of unscreened blood transfusions, and poor infection control practices in healthcare centres across the country. Other factors that raise the risk of HIV transmission are as endemic: un-sterilised medical equipment, the re-use of syringes by drug addicts and the lack of awareness on part of vulnerable groups. It gets worse. Since 1987 when the first Aids case was reported in Pakistan, the spread has been progressive w ith it now reaching the status of a concentrated epidemic in high-risk groups. Its incidence in injecting drug users stands at 27 per cent and in transgender sex workers at six per cent; both groups have breached the five per cent threshold set as the division between a first - and second-stage HIV epidemic. Further, we have seen outbreaks in rural communities such as Jalal Pur Jattan in district Gujrat because of overlap between injecting drug use, unsafe hospital infection control practices, the demand for therapeutic injections and commer-cial sex. This is a frightening trajectory. Given the passage of the 18th Amendment, provincial governments must evolve their own strategies and divert funds. Stretched though they may be, addressing this issue is vital. Already mired in a battle against polio, Pakistan must do more on the Aids front too.
Further delay
Decembe r 3rd, 2012
Trade with India is supposed to be the game-changer in relations between the two countries. Better ties with India, including flinging open the doors to mutually beneficial trade, is supposed to have b ecome a bedrock principle among mainstream politicians. But few things here follow a smooth script. According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, Pakistan has missed a self-imposed deadline to allow all tradable items to cross the land border w ith India as opposed to many goods which presently make their way into Pakistan via the sea because agriculturalists and their supporters in cabinet are reluctant to endorse the governments own plan ahead of an election. The thinking is typically protectionist, and bereft of a full understanding of what Pakistan would have to do after cabinet endorsement of trade liberalisation with India. Allow ing goods to cross over f rom Wagah and other land routes will not automatically hurt agriculturalists and their powe rful supporters because key products like sugar, w heat and cotton would still be regulated. But given the quality of debate in the cabinet and the electoral considerations of politicians becoming paramount with an election on the horizon, rational argument is an unfortunate casualty in decisionmaking. Just as worrying is how easily the decisionmaking process can be manipulated by vested interests, even on the civilian side. The outreach to India could be the centrepiece of this governments foreign policy credentials going into the election; the manifold benefits of trade, including the positive spillover for other security aspects of the fraught Pakistan-India relationship, are undeniable; and with an economy struggling to return to a high growth path, every little bit can help and yet the process of trade liberalisation with India has been gummed up because of parochial interests. For constituency politicians, even the impression of hurting their voters interests can be fatal but then that is the point of a federal cabinet: to rise above narrow, local interests and promote policies that benefit society overall. Over 65 years of a dispiriting relationship w ith India, there are few reasons or excuses that have not been proffered to thwart better ties. But at least this much has become clear: without bold and courageous political leadership, meaningful improvements in Pakistan-India relations will never materialise. The issues and disputes between Pakistan and India are very real. The haw ks on the Indian side are equally real, as is the grow ing suspicion of Pakistan across the Indian elite in government, civil society and the media. But none of that is reason to stop trying. Trade is a w in-win situation for both Pakistan and India; the federal cabinet needs to better educated in the matter.
Upwards, downwards
Decembe r 3rd, 2012
After flying on their fancy bridges for long, Lahores minders have woken up to the need of going under at a crucial point. Kalma Chow k that has been subjected to much chopping and building under the current government is to be now given an underpass as well. As the sequence goes, they first made a road there, then came up with the bridges and are now digging for gold in the form of an underpass. Presuming all this is our top -most priority, shouldnt they have begun with the underpass? The time is up for another few rows of trees, causing a lot of heartache to not just romantics but also to practical ones opposed to the arbitrary development model. In official books, the new underpass at Kalma Chow k was always on the cards and it was only a question of when. But still the entire exercise has come in for a lot of criticism. Much of this criticism has solid basis to it, often draw ing upon the peculiar character of the city of Lahore, and made to sound like a long unending lament for lack of an official ear. The antithesis is strong. Beginning with the more petty monetary side, a professional plan could have saved the taxpayers money. Under the erratic plan, of which Kalma Chow k is a prime example, new ly laid roads have been dug up to create passages. If this wastage of public money spent on projects undertaken without any evidence of consultation with the people is not a big enough reason for concern, little heed has been paid to the argument which calls for spending money where it is more urgently needed. Where the environment and cultural preservation are concerned, these are subjects those who are trying to create a new Lahore virtually by submerging the old
have never appeared to c are for. It is almost impossible to get the message through to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif especially when he is in a creative mood. What his city requires at this moment is some relief from his speed, pause and ref lection.
New targets
Decembe r 3rd, 2012 While Ashura passed off relatively peacefully in the days since Muharram 10, sectarian killings in Karachi, targeting mostly Shias, have resumed, with militants also attacking women and children. At least five people were killed in such attacks on Friday, including a man dropping off his 12-year-old daughter to school; the schoolgirl, who saw her father killed in f ront of her eyes, was injured in the attack. On Thursday, a husband and wife, employees of a local hospital, were gunned down on their way t o work in w hat is also believed to be a sectarian attack. If these incidents are harbingers of a rising trend, it would mark a new low even for sectarian militants. Women and children indeed have died in terrorist bombings. Yet as police officials point out, the killing of the couple is probably the first incident in the city where a woman has been directly targeted in a sectarian murder. In an incident last month, an adviser to the Imamia Students Organisation was gunned down in f ront of his w ife, but the killers spared the woman. Also, in the recent past we have witnessed militants target male members belonging to the same family, both Sunni and Shia. Even in the shadowy world of religious militants women and children have usually been considered off -limits. Some of the ideologues of the modern jihadi movement have specifically outlawed the targeting of these two groups. Yet in an increasingly violent, anarchic scenario, sectarian militants seem to be doing away with such strictures. To them, nothing is sacred. Unfortunately, the core problem remains unaddressed. While blanketing cities with security cover during religious occasions may be a successful way to ward off terrorist strikes, no coherent strategy is being seen to combat the relentless, frequent waves of targeted killings. It is this menace which the security establishment must counter.
Voter verification
Decembe r 7th, 2012 All appears set for launching a door-to-door verification of voters in Karachi after the chief election commissioner said on Wednesday that his organisation was ready to implement the Supreme Courts orders. Given the anomaly pointed out in a petition to the apex court, a rectification of the electoral rolls would serve to give the voting right to those millions who have been registered in their hometowns despite being Karachi residents for a long time. A verif ied and up-to-date voter list would pre-empt manipulation allegations after the election. The issue is the gigantic nature of the task within the short time available t o the Election Commission of Pakistan. Mobilising adequate manpower to go door to door in a spraw ling city with an estimated population of 18 million is a huge task. In the normal registration process done leisurely years in advance, the ECP falls back on part-time workers like school teachers to register voters. But with little time available, it remains to be seen how the ECP goes about it. The SC has suggested that the services of the army and Rangers be utilised. This raises a major question: can the army spare men for the job in the violence-prone metropolis? There is no doubt Karachis police force has its hands full. Its resources are stretched, given the citys endemic ethnic and sectarian violence, acts of terrorism, the crime mafias, as in Lyari, and the security duty to protect VIPs. Besides, the force is politicised. It is, therefore, the army and Rangers that may have to step in. But, again, the men of the two forces can only provide protection to enumerators; they cannot do the paperwork. With the CEC having pledged himself to the task, all one can do is to hope the commission would be able to complete verification well in time despite the odds. What matters is an on-time general election. Nothing should be done that in any way upsets the schedule for the next polls for which the electorate and the political parties seem ready. Finally, it is relevant to mention the delimitation debate here. While the verification of voters can enhance the credibility of the elections, delimitation at this point in time would have the opposite effect. It is a potentially
divisive and dangerous exercise in a city mired in ethnic politics, especially if it is carried out without a census and only in Karachi. Although close to the polls, the verification of voters s hould go ahead w hile the ECP should put off delimitation till the next census.
Power tussle
Decembe r 7th, 2012 Instead of aiming for a speedy resolution to the benefit of all, the tussle over the post of executive director at the Higher Education Commission has been allowed to drag on unfortunately, the normal course of affairs in Pakistan. HEC chairperson Dr Javaid Laghari believes that the commission had the right to extend the tenure of Dr Sohail Naqvi as executive director, which it did on Aug 27 t his year; the government, however, gave the additional charge of executive director HEC to the secretary, Ministry of Education and Training, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. Meanwhile, the HEC invited applications for the post of executive director through advertise ment, but a day before the Aug 28 deadline, it deferred the recruit ment process and extended Dr Naqvis contract. According to Dr Laghari, this was because the commission came to know about a ban on new appoint ments in the management pay scale category, under w hich the executive director is employed. In all this, it is the future of the HEC and the spending of billions on higher education that it oversees that is at stake. If quarters within the HEC have concerns that the commissions autonomy may be under mined, these are not unfounded. The direction in which it is headed has remained confused since it was decided that in the wake of the 18th Amendment, the HEC should be split up into provincial units. In June, the government decided to give administrative and f inancial control of the commission to the Ministry of Professional and Technical Training. It is true that devolution makes certain demands on several institutions, including the HEC w hich the latter is resisting. But while the commissions detracto rs may have some fair points, it nevertheless is one of the few institutions w ith a good track record. While reform is necessary, particularly on the issues of audits, plagiarism and transparency, it should be progressive and participatory, and the government should not tamper with that which works. The countrys concerns about primary and secondary education, quality, etc, notwithstanding and the state must step up efforts in these contexts higher education is far too important a sector to demolish merely for a slice of the pie.
Inokis return
Decembe r 7th, 2012 The visit of Antonio Inoki know n as Mohammad Hussain after he embraced Islam to Pakistan has generated quite a stir. The ace Japanese wrestler of yore is on a goodwill visit to celebrate six decades of Pakistan-Japan diplomatic relations. Mr Inoki is accompanied by an entourage of Japanese w restlers who took part in exhibition matches in Lahore and Peshawar. Many Pakistanis will remember his classic December 1976 bout with local hero Akra m Pahalwan. The match, held in Karachis National Stadium, was quite the sporting spectacle and telecast live on TV with a running commentary on Radio Pakistan. Inoki was then in his prime; earlier that same year, he had met boxing great Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts duel and held the mighty pugilist to a draw. It was a challenge from Akram that brought Inoki to Karachi. Inoki, who was younger and fitter, made short work of Akram. Though the local wrestler had said he would finish off the Japanese f ighter in three rounds, fate would decide otherwise. It was Inoki who barely into the third round applied a devastating arm-lock to Akram, which not only dislocated the latters shoulder but decided the match in the foreigners favour. A brief mle wa s witnessed as Akrams supporters stormed the ring after the shock defeat. As an editorial in this newspapers Dec 14, 1976 edition put it: Akram the proud scion of the immortal Gama clan fell before the mighty mat man from Japan in the much-vaunted encounter in Karachi A few years later, Mr Inoki also w restled Akrams relative Jhara. It is good to see M.H. Inoki back in Pakistan. Being a true gentleman, he said he had also come to pay his respects at the graves of Gama and Akram. The visit by the vet eran Japanese athlete not only brings back memories of an exciting match, it may also help promote freestyle wrestling in Pakistan.
Too soon
Decembe r 8th, 2012 The one-man Suddle commission has established that Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of the chief justice of Pakistan, received favours from a controversial property magnate with complex political and business relationships and after reaching that preliminary finding, the commission has simply been wrapped up by the Supreme Court. That is, quite simply, extraordinary.Transparency demands that at the very least a larger commission be set up, the new commission be given a wide-ranging mandate and powers, and a serious effort be made to establish who did what and, perhaps most crucially, why. A behind-the-scenes powerbroker like Malik Riaz is unlikely to lavish foreign trips and other goodies on a scion of a top judge just as a means of establishing good relations. Even if Mr Riaz was testing the waters as opposed to actually having a deal in hand, w hat led him to believe that partially financing Arsalan Iftikhars lavish lifestyle was an invest ment worth making? As for Arsalan Iftikhar, could the Malik Riaz connection be just the tip of a dirty iceberg in w hich other powerful business and political interests also coddled the scion of the chief justice in the hope or false promise of favourable treatment by the superior judiciary? The citizenry of Pakistan, which has reposed such trust in the superior judiciary as a born-again institution of principle, deserves to know the truth. The unhappy, larger truth here is that the tawdry Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz episode cannot be assumed to be an isolated set of circumstances. Fear of the gavel being brought crashing down ensures that even the most serious of allegations remain only whispered and rarely aired in public. Almost certainly, given the suspicion and mistrust between the government and the court, there is no chance for a full, proper and fair inquiry into potential wrongdoing in judicial circles. To expect the judiciary to open itself to such scrutiny by a critical, if not hostile, government is perhaps unrealistic. But the Suddle commission has established enough facts to warrant a new high powered commission to probe existing allegations, and new o nes that may arise if such a commission were to seriously solicit input from the public. What may be necessary too is to investigate the nexus between politics and big business in Pakistan. How and why does an individual like Malik Riaz command such inf luence? Are those links the unavoidable cost of a nascent democracy with weak institutions? Much seems inevitable until an unexpected crossroads arrives and reforms are forced through by circumstance. Pakistan can do w ith fewer individuals operating in the sh adows of the state.
Illegal transmissions
Decembe r 8th, 2012 In understanding how much damage can be done by failing to crack dow n on the wide dissemination of divisive speech, the case of militant leader Fazlullah is instructive. He was amongst the f irst extremists to turn to FM radio to cast the shadow of fear over parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so much so that he became popularly known as Mullah Radio. It was only after his group virtually took over Swat and imposed upon it an extremist version of religion that the Pakistan Army was moved to push it out in 2009. But the problem of hate speech being broadcast by FM radio remains; diverse militant and/or extremist outfits continue to use the medium to spread their divisive views. Indeed, the bloody battle fought in the Khyber Agency between the Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansar-ul-Isla m occurred in part over the illegal FM channels each group broadcast. Given this background, it is a step in the right direction that about a dozen unlicensed FM radio channels hav e been shut down, and their equipment seized in Swabi district over the past few days. They were being used to air programmes concerning different religious schools of thought of a nature that made the authorities fear breakdow ns in law and order. However, the state needs to bolster this crackdown on illegal radio stations by creating incentives for legal, licensed channels that produce superior and non-controversial programming. The further one is from the urban and settled areas, the lower the penetration of FM programming even though a sizeable audience is clearly available. Lowering licence fees and making it possible to apply for an FM radio licence instead of having to wait for Pemra to announce an auction, as is currently the case would go a long way as an incentive. True, a large portion of the northwest is covered by Radio Pakistans medium-wave transmissions;
but FM has appreciably better broadcast quality and in a region that Pakistan needs to develop, a case can be made for the plurality of voices. Responsible radio programming can make a difference. The rest of Pakistan has benefited from the FM revolution; so should the northwest.
Forbes list
Decembe r 8th, 2012 This list does what most others do not. The Forbes roll of the most powerful people on earth includes Gen Ashfaq Kayani, w hich was not unexpected given Pakistani army chiefs have always been among the most influential in the world for whatever reason. What makes the list special is the rare instance it provides of a Pakistani imp roving his or her ranking. Gen Kayani was rated 29th in 2011 and is 28th this year. Some two dozen posts adrift, at number 52, stands Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam, chief of the ISI w hich in its own right is known for its clout. The magazine describes some recent court observations holding the military accountable for human rights abuses and political meddling as representing a low light for the general. However, this new factor has not had any real impact on the ranking which appears to attach considerable s ignificance to a persons international value, along with their importance in the area and field they belong to. Consequently, both Gen Kayani and Lt Gen Islam being Americas allies in the war on terror is a factor of critical import. Lt Gen Islams fir st visit to the US is described as a highlight and ISI, the magazine says, w ill be hugely influential in determining the regions future. Obviously, given the angle from w here the jury has appeared to have selected the entries, there is little room for any other Pakistani to make the list. It was out of the scope of this exercise to analyse why Pakistan continues to be represented by its generals in comparison to political and business faces emerging on the chart of honour elsewhere. But the point does add to the never-ending list of occasions where Pakistanis have wondered about the old tag of a nation governed by the army sticking to them despite grand pronouncements about democracy.
The forgotten
Decembe r 9th, 2012 In the midst of the high drama perennially offered by Pakistan`s political scene, with its plethora of headline grabbing personallties, other important stories featuring òrdinary` people sometimes slip off the news agenda altogether. One such story is that of the nearly five million people affected by this year`s floods, whose desperate plight has been highlighted in a series of recent reports in this newspaper. According to the National Disaster Management Authority, over 600,000 homes were `partially or fully damaged` by floodwaters t his year. In Sindh the worst-hit province nearly 142,000 people are still living in government -run relief camps. Hundreds of thousands more all over the country are either living in tents provided by NGOs or in makeshift shelters they have constructed on the wreckage of their homes and even along roadsides. Having waited in vain for sufficient compensation from the government, many are trying to rebuild their homes through their ow n resources, an undertaking that is pushing them further into debt as they ha ve to take out loans to pay for the construction. Those whose livelihoods depended upon the land are now at the mercy of relief goods distributed by NGOs. Large areas remain submerged, and little or no effort has yet been made to drain out the water. In Ja cobabad, the main ricegrow ing area of Sindh andthe worst affected district in the province, the standing water may severely impact the next ric e crop by delaying its sowing. Aside from the immediate steps the government needs to take to ameliorate the lot of those affected ensuring that compensation is paid quickly and basic needs are met, particularly given the approaching winter it is imperative that long-term plans are put in place to minimise the fallout from what has now become a recurring natural disaster. And if, as some water experts believe, this requires some rethinking of irrigation infrastructure development, then those difficult decisions must be taken. Ad hoc measures are no longer excusable.
In some ways, however, the vast human tragedy unfold ing in the hinterland was perhaps inevitable. After floods in three consecutive years, donor fatigue was always a possibility. The apathy of officialdom was also scarcely surprising, even more so with a cashstrapped government. Also, most floods tend to be a slowly developing catastrophe which does not sync with the short attention span of the media nor the public whose tastes it influences. It is nevertheless the media`s responsibility to ensure that the suffering of millions of our compatriots is not a case of out of sight, out of mind. Only in that lies hope that the issue will be comprehensively addressed.
School crisis
Decembe r 9th, 2012
It is a strange juxtaposition. Two stories printed on the same day in this paper point to the anomaly in the education sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas. In one report, the ANP -led government of the province no doubt with an eye on the elections has proclaimed its achievements in the field of education during its tenure. Below this is a story which says that in Mohmand Agency, only six out of the 112 schools targeted by militants have been rebuilt. Fears of kidnapping, especially of female teachers, have also adversely affected educational activities in the agency. More schools have been destroyed by militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than in Fata; government figures show that around 750 schools have been blown up in the province since militancy gained ground over the past few years. Floods damaged another 1,700 schools. There are two distinct areas that need attention in order to improve Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s educational system. The first is a purely academic and administrative problem. The ANP has made some impressive claimsregarding its improvement of the education sector; these include raising the provinc ial literacy rate by seven per cent to an overall 56 per cent, as well as recruiting teachers, building more colleges and universities and raising enrolment rates. Yet while there have been improvements in the province`s educational inf rastructure, the administration of schools leaves much to be desired. Hence perhaps the focus should be on quality rather than numbers. The second issue is that of security. While the government builds and rebuilds schools, militants keep destroying them. It is simply not possible to protect every school by posting security men outside them. Besides, there`s little a watchman or police officer can do when a group of militants show up and decide to blow up a school. The issue is a much larger one that of improving security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata by uprooting militancy. That is something the administration and security apparatus need to handle. Unless the environment is secure, the students of the province and Fata will be unable to realise their full potential.
Meshaal`s return
Decembe r 9th, 2012
Khaled Meshaal`s return to Palestinian soil after 45 years comes in the wake of some positive developments for his people, though challenges still lie ahead. First, Israel called off its ground invasion, deterred as much by international pressures as by the determination of the Palestinians not to surrendertoforce.Second, Palestinians won a resounding victory last month at the UN w here the majority of the General Assembly`s members voted `yes` to give Palestine nonstate member status. Mr Meshaal is a hero to his people. Co-founder of Hamas, Mr Meshaal assumed the resistance movement`s leadership after its other founder, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, was murdered by Israelis. Now based in Damascus, Mr Meshaal, who himself survived an ass assination attempt by the Mossad in Jordan, has turned Hamas into an organisation that combines political and military activities with extensive social welfare work in Gaza. The apogee ofHamas`s power came when it swept the polls for the Palestinian legislative assembly in 2006, routing Fatah. In this lay the seeds of disunity and fratricide, because
Fatah did not reconcile to the lapse of its traditional monopoly over the Palestinian people. The civil war that followed led to Gaza`s `secession` from t he West Bank.
Today, Gaza and the West Bank are working under two different administrations. This has reduced Palestinian territories to two cantons which have no status in international law. Mahmoud Abbas was the man behind Oslo. To him also goes the credit for Palestine`s diplomatic victory at the UN last month. Mr Meshaal`s first -ever visit to Gaza on the 25th anniversary of Hamas`s founding provides them w ith the right moment to bury the hatchet and unite in the interest of their people. They should know Pa lestinian unity is the prerequisite for a united struggle for ending the Israeli occupation of their land.
Another row
Decembe r 10th, 2012 When Afghanistan pushes, Pakistan pushes back it is almost an immutable law of relations between the two countries that until days ago seemed to be inching closer to a more stable and productive relationship. But then the attempted assassination of the Afghan intelligence chief last Thursday prompted President Hamid Karzai to suggest the attack had been planned in Pakistan and now the Pakistan Foreign Office has lashed out against Mr Karzai. As with the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, also blamed by the Afghan government on Pakistan, the attempted murder of Asadullah Khalid, the Afghan intelligence chief, will further complicate already complex ties, though this time even closer to the crucial 2014 deadline that all sides have their eyes on. The Pakistani states demand for proof that Mr Khalids assassination was planned in this country is unlikely to be met by Kabul; that is simply in the nature of such murky and dangerous issues. But perceptions can matter as much, if not more, than the proven facts in such issues. As an Afghan known to be hostile to Pakistan and sceptical of reconciliation w ith the Taliban, Mr Khalid has had many enemies in the grey areas of overlaps between the state here and the insurgents in Afghanistan. Few in the Afghan state will be willing to believe Pakistan or its alleged Afghan proxies were not in some way involved in the attempt on Mr Khalids life. The fact that he is such a senior official in Afghanistan w ill only make those suspicions harder to overcome and cause them to linger much longer than otherwise. The timing also could not have been worse for those seeking to stabilise relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Accusations and recriminations aside, the problem for Pakistan policy on Afghanistan is two -fold. One, the recent positive developments between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been discrete events at the highest lev els elsewhere along the operational and intelligence apparatus, there is still little day -to-day contact and much suspicion. Two, for all the talk of Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation, the security establishment here continues to hedge its bets and play both sides. Whether that is out of fear or ambition, it is untenable to talk one line and walk another. Clarity is needed; or Pakistan may end up losing the very thing it craves in Afghanistan: influence.
Factors behind delay

Decembe r 10th, 2012 The water and power ministry has blamed the reluctance of international lenders like Asian Development Bank in providing funds for delays in the launch and completion of different hydropower projects in the country. But does the statement of the minis trys high-ups before the Senate Standing Committee represent the true situation? While officials blamed foreign lenders for not financing mega hydropower projects, the Americans were committing $200m for the Bhasha dam. Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh has also rejected reports that ADB wasnt interested in the project. He told the media in Washington the same day that both ADB and the US would finance the preliminary work on the multi-billion dollar project to be completed in Gilgit -Baltistan in eight to 10 years. So the much sought-after foreign assistance for hydropower projects is likely to start flowing in even if it was slow in finding its way to Pakistan until now. However, the delay in foreign assistance is not the only factor responsible for the lack of development of the countrys vast water resources for cheap hydropower generation. Lack of political w ill, bureaucratic inefficiencies
and mismanagement are other important factors keeping the country from improving its unsustainable energy mix. Pakistan is estimated to have a massive generation potential of at least 50,000MW electricity from micro to mega projects against the existing hydropower capacity of 6,500MW. According to Wapda, the authority could complete projects with a generation capacity of 20,000MW by 2020 if funds are provided w ithout interruption. It says many smaller projects could be completed over the next few years if the National Transmission and Despatch Company released the outstanding electricity arrears of Rs80bn to Wapda. It could be a good start on hydropower generation for mitigating growing power shortages. At the same time the government could take a few steps to ensure transparency in the implementation of plans and prevent bureaucratic lethargy from further delaying underconstruction projects to avoid cost overruns and inordinate delays in completion. We have to prove that we are serious about developing our hydropower sector if we want to rope in international lenders. Complaining about them will not get us anywhere.
Inflated bills
Decembe r 10th, 2012
NEPRAs disclosure that an inadvertent error was made in the schedule of tariff for KESC is enough to shake all confidence in the power bureaucracy. For three years now, we are told, an erroneous calculation of the power tariff charged to various categories of consumers in the city of Karachi has resulted in inflating their bills by an average of 14.5 per cent. Whats more, the government also has had to pay more in the form of power differential subsidy on account of this error, with the exact amount not yet calculated. It is puzzling that the error was not detected over three years. It is equally inexplicable why two additional offices of government the chief engineering adviser of the water and power ministry, and the auditor general both failed to catch the error. Perhaps a little less puzzling is KESCs own silence over the years, though somebody there must have noticed the error. And if not, what does that say for the professionalism of the private management running the utility? Is their silence explained by the fact that the error went in their favour? KESC must be made to repay the money by adjusting its receivables f rom the government under the tariff differential subsidy head. And the power bureaucracy must be made more transparent to restore some measure of confidence in its ability to perform its job. This error, as well as a similar episode in Faisalabad recently, speaks of the chaos in the power bureaucracy, a state of affairs for which the general public is bearing the cost. Aggressive accountability and transparency are the only solution now. A template for regular disclosure of information needs to be developed, and made legally binding upon the power bureaucracy. Once key information starts to be disclosed regularly, attentive minds in the public will take care of the rest.
Walis proposal
Decembe r 11th, 2012 Asfandyar Walis statement, made in Peshawar on Sunday, reaffirms w hat we have always been saying in these columns that it is the politicians who hold the key to Karachis peace. Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar, the chief of the Awami National Party said things that are often lost in the din of the phenomenon that is Karachi. Not all Urdu-speaking people supported the MQM, he said, nor were all Pakhtuns in the lap of his party. He then asked President Asif Ali Zardari to call a conference of all stakeholders to ensure lasting peace in Karachi. Undeniably, there is more to Karachi than ethnicity. Not all violence has ethnic overtones, nor do all killings have political motives behind them as there are crime mafias, such as those in Lyari. But what has turned Karachi into all but a war zone is essentially political in nature. Which means politicians can give the nations biggest city pe ace if they really make up their minds not to arouse passions in the name of ethnicity. In the past we have seen how President Asif Ali Zardari managed to effect peace in Karachi by bringing the MQM, ANP and his own party together. There is no reason why s uch a truce cannot last longer. A multiparty conference called at this hour could have a salutary effect on the Karachi situation. The delimitation of constituencies is a controversy that has disturbed the MQM. Several of its leaders, including Altaf Hus sain, see in this move a conspiracy to snatch the mandate which they say the people of Karachi have given them in several municipal and
general elections. While nobody can snatch any partys mandate, a conference of the kind demanded by Mr Wali could serve to address the MQMs fears. The focus of such a conference should essentially be on ensuring lasting peace in Karachi by making the politicians realise that it is they who can make a difference to the lives of Karachi residents by pledging to abjure vio lence, disassociate themselves from militant groups and use the political weapon to remove differences among them.
Collection of hides
The strange case of the hides has not been brought to the fore by Robert Louis Stevenson but it does feature a split personality belonging to none other than the government. On the one hand, rulers instruct officials to stop banned faith-based groups from collecting the skins of sacrificial animals on Eidul Azha. On the other, members of these, often pro- militancy, groups freely roam the streets, collecting hides. An intelligence report prepared in Punjab says the hides collected by some groups that have been proscribed or are under watch sold for more than Rs78m on the market last Eid. The actual fig ure may be much higher since it is almost impossible to verify the number of hides sold. An effort seems to have been made to come up with round figures. For instance, one group is said to have collected 60,000 hides in Lahore alone. But whatever the estimates, they piece together a picture that is disturbing and calls for action. Also mentioned in the intelligence report are specific instances which bring out the dangers of carrying out directives to keep these banned organisations from the lucrative busin ess of hide collection. The police have encountered the might of political groups over claims to hides. But in this case, they appear to shy away from their duties in the face of threats by banned faith-based groups. Indeed, the instance where police in a Punjab district are shown to have quickly released three men arrested for gathering hides is a true manifestation of the influence, actually fear, that some banned organisations exercise over the whole system. The report says the release came on the orders of senior police officers who are in turn answerable to the rulers. Ref lective of the general approach that manifests itself in other instances too, it seems it is the rulers who do not want to take on the might of such groups. There is a tendency to explain away this matter in terms of the grow ing religiosity in Pakistani society. This is something that cannot be denied; but what we have here is a classic case of camouf laging what is essentially a law and order issue. Just as policemen are inclined to b lame petty crimes on poverty, the administration chooses to explain the leeway it allows banned groups on hides and the collection of cash donations by referring to the religious choices of the people. It is a simple problem: what is legally banned cannot be allowed. Unless we truly want this practice stopped, there is no use having intelligence officials trace all these hides to the market.
Culture lives
Decembe r 11th, 2012 Two recent events the International Urdu Conference and the International Boo k Fair (both held in Karachi) are a welcome reminder that the countrys soul, though gasping for air, is alive. The usual symbols associated with Pakistan are of violence and anarchy, so it is good to occasionally witness cultural events which prove that some aesthetically inclined citizens w ith a taste for literature and learning also live here. This was the f ifth edition of the Urdu conference, which lasted four days, while the book fair attracted book-lovers over a period of five days. The audience at the Urdu conference was treated to highly absorbing discussions focusing on literature and critiques, while papers on the lives and work of giants such as Manto, Miraji and Krishan Chander, among others, were read out by scholars from all over the country. Debates also centred on the condition of Urdu. New questions were raised while rarely discussed literary topics were highlighted. It was encouraging to see young Urdu aficionados as well as families at the sessions. Some of the discussions were jam- packed while certain debates ran late into the evening. Nevertheless, the organisers should note the views of some literature buffs who felt that the event could have been smoother maybe next time more Urdu scholars from India could be invited too.
Meanwhile, at the citys Expo Centre, bookworms flipped through an assort ment of tomes; here too it was heartening to see families in attendance. However, the number of books on religious topics overshadowed other genres a sign of the times in changing Pakistan. T he next time, the organisers should try and include a greater variety of titles. In a society where debate and freedom of thought are becoming endangered concepts, such cultural activities need to be encouraged to defend against the onslaught of ignorance.
Still no progress
Decembe r 12th, 2012 The current administration touts the strengthening of democracy as its most important achievement. Yet one of the building blocks of democracy remains unavailable to Pakistanis. An elected government is about to complete its term and a number of constitutional amendments have strengthened parliament and handed more rights to the provinces. But at the local level Pakistanis have no representatives, leaving only inaccessible provincial - and national-level law makers to turn to for the resolution of their everyday concerns. The federal and provincial governments have come up with a string of excuses to avoid sharing power with elected representatives at the local level, including law and order, electoral rolls and passing the buck to the Election Commission. In Islamabad bureaucrats prefer to hold on to the city themselves. And in Sindh the issue has deteriorated into a political mess, with opposing camps trying to implement or block local government elections based on their ow n narrow concerns. Across the country, then, the root of the delay is an interest in power over democratic reform. Mondays Supreme Court hearing on the subject brought up another problem that persists even when local elections are held. In Pakist an, cantonment areas are now more than just cantonments they are real estate ventures. With plots originally owned by soldiers sold outside the military over the years, depriving cantonment areas of the right to vote effectively means disenfranchising mi llions of civilians. And yet, despite the issue having been brought up in parliament, no legislative work has been done to allow them to participate. It is this foot-dragging that has also created space for the SC to weigh in on yet another matter that should be the domain of law makers. The holding of local government polls and the issue of allowing cantonment residents to vote are matters properly debated in parliament and executed by the federal and provincial governments, and have been discussed in the assemblies several times. But the lack of movement on this front has become one of the glaring failures of this administration, as has been the case during previous democratic set -ups, yet again allow ing the current Supreme Court to opine on matters of governance. But at this point, holding local elections seems logistically impossible until after the general elections. With all its rhetoric as well as its real work to strengthen democracy, including some historic constitutional amendments, movement on the local bodies could have become a lasting legacy for the current elected administration. But like many others before it, it has failed to make government responsive to the people at the level at which it most closely affects their lives.
3G licence auction
Decembe r 12th, 2012 The countrys seemingly endless journey towards acquiring 3G cellphone technology appears to have taken a small step forward with the setting up of a five-member oversight committee by the prime minister that will apparently independently monitor the 3G licence auction. Essentially, there are three stakeholders: the federal government, the cellphone operators and end-users. The government stands to collect somewhere in the region of $1bn f ro m the auction though the estimates vary wildly from a few hundred million dollars to several billion. For a revenue starved government staring at yet another record fiscal deficit, a 3G licence auction would be a welcome fillip. Less salutary is the speculation that where vast sums are due to the government, there may be well-placed officials hoping to make a windfall through kickbacks and bribes. Cellphone operators so far have only expressed cautious interest in 3G licences, knowing that the market for expensive data packages is very small at p resent and that the cost of delivering such a service, from acquiring a licence to installing the necessary infrastructure, may be in the region of half a billion dollars per 3G licence. Set against those government and business interests is a simple fact: small as the base may be for high-end datadriven mobile services at present, there is a market of premium customers w ho can and should have the best
technology available to them. At the end of the day, cellphone operators will buy the licences because th ere is a business opportunity to tap customers who want to stream video or surf the net at decent speeds and are willing to pay a premium for it. Why, then, is the market in w hich both sellers the cellphone operators and buyers (endusers hungry for faster ways of using the Internet on the go) are available not being set up? The answer appears to lie somewhere between the incompetence, indecision and greed of the government. It is a familiar and sorry tale that the latest committee set up by the prime minister may do little to resolve; 3G technology may remain a mirage for some time yet.
Tragic fall
THE death of Owais Baig is a unique kind of tragedy. The young man, attempting to escape a fire in a high -rise building in Karachi, jumped to his death with the grim event shown live on television. A large crowd of spectators as well as rescue personnel were present as the youth fell from the building. Yet many important questions regarding the unfortunate incident remain. For instance, did rescuers try and convince the man to stay put until they reached him? Or were some efforts made to bring in rescue equipment that could have broken his fall? Unfortunately, human life is of little value in this society. So whether it is one man jumping to his death from a burning building, or over 250 people perishing inside a blazing factory, as was the case with Septembers Baldia inferno, we soon move on without learning lessons from such incidents. The case of Owais Baig is in the limelight perhaps because it unfolded live on TV; yet similar tragedies happen almost daily in Pakistan. The problem is one of mindset. There is no public awareness of how to react during emergencies. On our roads we dont give way to ambulances or fire tenders, w hile mo bs congregate at sites of traffic accidents or other disasters, turning tragedy into a spectacle and obstructing rescue work. One hopes that society learns from these incidents and changes for the better. But for that to happen major efforts are required, and it will be a lengthy process. The state should start with devising effective emergency response mechanisms as well as by launching public awareness campaigns about these. These should educate citizens in how to act during emergencies, to make way for ambulances in disaster sites and to call rescue services. Continued complacency will only cause tragic events to repeat themselves.
Hockey bronze
Decembe r 13th, 2012 It is hard to recall the last time Qasim Zia and Akhtar Rasool appeared so happy. A bronze in the Champions Trophy in Australia has provided the two hockey stalwarts their moment of vindication. Others w ill dispute their claim, which wont detract from a reasonably good show by Pakistan at the Champions Trophy a tournament close to this c ountrys heart. Pakistan started this tournament and won its first two editions when hockey was at its peak here. The sport is not quite the same anymore. Nor is the Pakistan side w hat it used to be. The pushes have given way to vulgar shoves and some harsh stick-work. But the attempt at finding refuge in the glory that was Asian-style hockey is of no use and the show has to go on. Pakistan must improve to feature as a worthy contender. Thats where everyone needs to chip in. The national giants of yore have of late been found trying to score goals against each other. The current management has been on the defensive for not coming up to the expectations that hockey still generates here. It has particularly been under tremendous pressure f rom some vociferous ex-national stars, many of whom have also run the affairs of the team in recent years. Pakistan Hockey Federation president Qasim Zias call to these greats to contribute to the progress of hockey at a time when Pakistan has shown some promise should be re ciprocated. Simultaneously, the management needs to concentrate on removing the flaws he has identified the two major ones being lack of initiative upf ront and of mental strength among the players generally. Pakistan hockey has been through a dark chapter. If it can sustain these signs of improvement in the Asian Champions Trophy in Qatar later this month it can genuinely hope to stay in the game.
Under scrutiny
On Tuesday some members of the Public Accounts Committee argued that Pakistan needs to step up auditing of NGOs receiving foreign funding, in particular the large sums flow ing through in the form of Kerry -Lugar assistance. This is tricky business. There is some logic to their concerns: if aid is coming in from a foreign government, there is a need to know that it is being spent in a way that is benef icial, that doesnt break Pakis -tani laws or compromise Pakistani security, and that reflects positively on Pakistans relationship w ith the foreign government. But the idea of increased scrutiny of NGOs is a slippery slope, and can easily fall prey to agendas that have little to do with misspending and everything to do with paranoia and political concerns. Quite often NGOs become the focus of negative attention in Pakistan; tw o recent examples include accusations by the right during Gen Musharraf s tenure that NGOs were promoting un -Islamic values, and the harassment of foreign-funded organisations after the killing of Osama bin Laden. In the wake of questions surrounding the role of Dr Shakil Afridi in tracking down the Al Qaeda chief, workers of some foreign-funded NGOs have come under heightened surveillance, had their movement restricted, required increased approvals for travel w ithin the country and been denied visas for entry into Pakistan. It is clear that the increased scrutiny and constraints are driven not by concerns about corruption or mismanagement but instead by mistrust of American intentions and broader foreign-policy agendas, thus ignoring the role that NGOs play in a country like Pakistan. In the absence of social safety nets provided by the government, it falls to NGOs to provide many of the services that a government should be providing. Put simply, the country and its citizens cannot do without them. So while some monitoring is necessary, it needs to be carried out in a way that doesnt affect their ability to function effectively. Foreign governments, including the US, already work w ith Pakistani officials to define priority sectors that need funding. Beyond that, it would make sense for the government to know which NGOs are receiving funding, how much, and w hat for. But to repeat audits that USAID and other donor groups are already carrying out would only create additional work and costs for both the governme nt and NGOs, lead to more government interference than is necessary, and become a reason to scrutinise NGOs for all the w rong reasons. There is a need to proceed cautiously with any plan to do so.
Pre-budget session?
Decembe r 13th, 2012 While the budget is a good six months away, it is a positive sign that our parliamentarians are taking note of an exercise that is the foundation of a nations development. However, they need to remind themselves that budget making calls for careful, informed input which should begin months before the annual exercise is undertaken. At present, budget-making is a thoroughly bureaucratic job. A bureaucracy stuck in a groove has many disadvantages, like the unw illingness to take risks and indifference to popular urges. Nevertheless, the bureaucrats are armed with statistics and have the requisite academic qualification and expertise to make a budget. The issue is to make the budget welfare-oriented, and that is possible only when officialdom is checked and guided by the peoples representatives. This exactly was the purpose of the move in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Thwarted for procedural reasons, the proposed amendment to the rules of procedure demands that every ministry send its budgetary proposals to the relevant house committee, and that the lower house have a pre-budget session to finalise demands for grants and appropriations. In developed democracies, political parties have panels of their ow n on key issues economy, education and foreign and defence policies. In many Commonwealth countries, parties have shadow cabinets in Australia, the opposition elects shadow ministers which not only criticise the government but have well-argued policy options of their own. This system is lacking in our country. Parties mostly impart a dynastic flavour and revolve round personalities. This leaves hardly any room for political parties, even those among them that do not have an heir apparent, to study a given issue independent of political considerations and come up with s uggestions that they could implement if they are elected to govern. The budget debate in the National Assembly is mostly political
rhetoric, and it is only seldom that we hear a speech that is truly economic in essence. While the move for a pre budget session is welcome, it is time our parties developed expert panels on economy and f inance to make the annual parliamentary budget debate meaningful.
Hopeful signs
Decembe r 14th, 2012 Is it finally time for some cautious optimism? Islamabad and Kabuls fri endly overtures this week in Turkey were the latest of a number of positive signs that have provided some hope that the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan might be working their way towards closer cooperation for peace in this region. Pakistans release of Afgha n Taliban prisoners, an encouraging sign, had been a long-standing Kabul demand that had been resisted for years. It followed a number of public statements by Pakistani officials about wanting to help facilitate talks with the Taliban. On Wednesday, despite accusations that Pakistan was behind the attack on the Afghan intelligence chief, presidents Karzai and Zardari were able to showcase some degree of unity against the security threats that have destabilised both countries. Mistrust persists, and much remains to be worked out in particular the issue of each countrys militants taking refuge across the border. But movement on the Taliban reconciliation project has created at least one avenue of concrete cooperation despite lingering suspicions. On the Pakistan-US front too, after the post-Salala agreement, there is reason to hope that ties are being rebuilt, and this time in a more intelligent fashion. The constant media leaks and provocative public statements from both sides that plagued ties last year and through the first half of this year have subsided, suggesting acceptance that squabbling in public was worsening matters. Visits and interactions have been more low -key but are continuing, indicating behind-the-scenes forward movement in understanding ea ch others needs and constraints. The US defence secretarys statement on Tuesday that Pakistan was willing to take action against safe havens this f ro m the same man who earlier said that the Haqqani network was a veritable arm of the ISI was clearly intended to preserve progress in the relationship. But Pakistans ties with the US are, in significant part, about Afghanistan, and any improvement in them also bodes well for w hat will happen in both Pakistan and Afghanistan over the next two years and o nce most Western troops leave. All in all, the increased cooperation and less fraught communication among the three sides hold great potential. The challenges are still enormous questions remain about whether the Afghans will be able to handle their own security post-2014, to what extent Pakistani and Afghan militants will continue supporting each other and foreign militants, and whether the Afghan Taliban w ill come to the table in a meaningful way. But at least when it comes to the three governments cooperating w ith one another, the signs are encouraging. The question is how well they will take advantage of this moment.
Corruption tag
Decembe r 14th, 2012 Financial corruption is all too often overblown. The media has a vested interest in publicising co rruption stories, and is often guilty of overstepping its limits. This is a reality governments have to live with. Case closed. However, the matter is viewed differently when an election is near and the government is fighting a serious image problem and the ruling party has been taken to task by television channels. At the very outset of his latest stint as information minister that began a few months ago, Qamaruzzaman Kaira had show n his intent to match the tone of the governments strongest detractors in the media read television channels. His government now vows to directly take on the media in this sensitive phase leading to elections. To combat the vicious media campaign against it, the government has formed a four- member committee comprising fede ral ministers, seeking to unmask forces stigmatising the PPP. Politically, the party rightly evaluates it will have to fight the negative perceptions of its rule in the context of the next election. It is also correct in pointing out that it has had the rawest deal from the media in recent years. At
issue, however, is how the PPP government goes about dealing with this situation. What does the government plan to do in the not-unlikely event of its worthy ministers unearthing the bit of truth they are look ing for? Turn to the media with proof? Also, if it is to be conceded that the media is biased, has it been inventing on its own all these surveys that paint Pakistan as one of the most corruption-infested places on earth? The latest of them is the National Accountability Bureaus f igure w hich says the country is being ravaged by corruption to the tune of Rs7bn a day. The best option for a government battling such allegations is to restore transparency to its workings. For instance, Mr Kaira could have made a better impact had he announced that the ministers and treasury MNAs who had in the past failed to file their tax returns now stand corrected and would open their accounts for public perusal.
Marriage bureaus
Decembe r 14th, 2012 It could well be the oldest profession in South Asia. No, not the one that conjures up images of Umrao Jan, but the one typified by the elderly aunt with a gimlet eye and paan-stained mouth who knows just about everyone in town. The matchmaker immortalised through several inc arnations in Hasina Moins TV plays has been a staple of Pakistani culture for generations. In a society where opportunities for men and women to meet are limited or, in many quarters, frowned upon, families have often needed help to find life -partners for their marriageable sons and daughters. This is particularly so when no suitable candidates are available w ithin the extended family, usually the first port of call. As technology developed, this role evolved and diversified. The matchmaker went commercial. Ads for marriage bureaus multiplied faster than you could say Shadi Mubarak (although many were questionable, hole-in-the-wall operations) and matrimonial websites offering an array of mind-boggling choices sprang up. A recent ad for a marriage bureau placed prominently in newspapers and on Karachi billboards illustrates that marriage is bigger business than ever before. The bureau in question boasts a well-designed website, a FAQ page, a newsletter, and a photo gallery with images of its corporate-looking office which, incidentally, is located in one of Karachis most expensive office spaces. Such an invest ment implies confidence in high returns. This booming business can be seen as a commentary on Pakistani society; migration has scattered families , which means the extended family networks are no longer as strongly established. And even though, as Jane Austen said, It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife, it seems that he still would prefer one from his own culture.
Downward trajectory
Decembe r 15th, 2012 Poverty figures are often controversial, and in the past some estimates provided by NGOs and international development organisations have been met with scepticism in Pakistan. But now the government itself has admitted how much worse poverty has grown during its nearly f ive years in power. The Ministry of Food Security told the Senate this week that 58 per cent of the population was food-insecure last year compared to the Sustainable Policy Development Institutes figure of 49 per cent for 2009. It also pointed out that the SDPIs estimate of 22 per cent of Pakistanis living in extreme poverty in 2009 was higher than a UNDP and World Bank number of 17 per cent living be low the poverty line in 2007- 08. By the governments own admission, then, Pakistanis are poorer and hungrier today than they were when the current administration came to power. Inflation figures provide one major clue to why this is the case. The Planning Commission published its latest report on the food basket the minimum recommended intake of various food items which reveals that the monthly cost of the basket has grown by 81 per cent since 2007-2008, and that actual consumption is about 1,700 calories rather than the food baskets prescribed 2,150 calories per person per day. A square meal is now clearly beyond the reach of the majority of Pakistanis, leading to the demonstrated problems of undernourished and underdeveloped children, poor rates of mother and child survival, and a weak and ailing labour force. Add to this the following statistic: for the poorest Pakistanis, the cost of food now makes up 59 per cent of total spending. Combine this with the lack of high-quality and accessible subsidised healthcare and education, and it is obvious that the average Pakistani is increasingly worse off when it comes to the basic necessities of life. Government officials often cite the Benazir Income Support Programme as an example of the administrations p ro-
poor policies. But as the numbers demonstrate, one flagship programme or one type of intervention is not enough. BISP is considered successful on a particular front providing extra cash to the poorest families through women and has added some features, such as health insurance and small business loans, that should enable the poor to earn higher incomes. But the need for more and different interventions has only increased. Given the extent of the problem, these interventions dont need to be brilliant ly innovative. Plenty of models exist elsewhere. Making a dent in the poverty numbers in Pakistan is rather a question of political w ill, and of placing a value on the most basic human rights.
Delimitation exercise
A decision has been taken. The ECP has said that Karachi alone will have its constituencies delimited as per the Supreme Courts directives. The court felt that such an exercise would reduce violence in the metropolis. However, as we have stated before, it is not a wise idea to focus on delimitation in Karachi alone for a number of reasons. Keeping the citys many conflicts political, ethnic, sectarian in mind, delimit ing constituencies at this point and in this manner will almost certainly prove divisive. For example, t he MQM whose chief has been issued a contempt notice by the court for criticising the judiciary on the matter opposes delimiting Karachi only. In contrast, parties such as the ANP, seen as competing w ith the MQM over Karachis spoils, support the idea. In fact, the ECP will consider proposals from several political parties before redraw ing the constituencies. So delimitation at this time can have unintended consequences; instead of reducing violence in the city it may actually add to it. Also, the contention that new delimitation would be faulty without a fresh census report stands as there is no headcount on the horizon. The other question why Karachi alone remains valid. After all, there have been complaints regarding the redraw ing of constituencies in other parts of the country. So why is Karachi being singled out? No satisfactory answer to this has been forthcoming f rom the relevant quarters. As reports indicate, the date for general elections is due to be announced soon. And it is hoped that the delimitation exercise is not used as an excuse to postpone polls. Elections must be held as per schedule for continuity of the democratic process; hence there is much logic in the suggestion that delimitation across the country be carried out after the pol ls based on new census numbers. There is no need to rush such a delicate process, that too in one of the countrys most politically volatile cities. Instead, we feel the ECP should concentrate on other areas, such as an error- free voters list, and ensure that political parties respect its code of conduct. It should leave the issue of delimitation for another day.
Doctors strike
After a long stand-off between public -sector hospital doctors and the government in Punjab, an almost two-month strike by doctors in Quetta threw up familiar scenes of patients misery. In both cases the doctors were called upon to not punish those whom they were bound by oath to look after. In both, the protesters held firm, resolving to not resume work until the acceptance of their demands. In Quetta, the local press club intervened and brought the strikers and government together for a fruitful dialogue. That was a crucial step towards reconciliation and the doctors in the Balochistan capital returned to work on Friday. In Lahore earlier, an important demand of doctors was for the government to drop the cases against some 74 of their colleagues booked under charges of interfering in official work, etc. The government agreed to do so, paving the way for an en d to the protest. Similarities apart, the causes behind each of these strikes were different. In Punjab, the doctors were fighting for improvements in service structure, whereas in Quetta, personal security was the main issue. The Quetta strike came in the wake of a spate of attacks and kidnappings targeting doctors. That ransom has been paid in all cases where a doctors release has been secured in Balochistan points to a weak official security setup. Unless some drastic measures are put in place, the danger w ill loom, w ith all its painful ramif ications for doctors and patients. Also, some kind of a forum must be established to address the grievances of the medical staff to prevent their
resort to the extreme option of a strike. The provision of this forum and security are vital to building an atmosphere where doctors can be more easily asked to stand by their oath and by those who need them.
Simply a coincidence?
Decembe r 16th, 2012 Corruption isnt good for Pakistan. But that doesnt mean that the manner and timing of revelations about it cannot be questioned. The NAB chairmans public claims about the extent of wrongdoing by powerf ul people have effectively been political statements whose tone, timing and content suggest that combating corruption is not his only motive. The job of his agency is to investigate specific instances of corruption, not to make sweeping public statements without providing concrete evidence. What makes the chairmans motives even more questionable are his estimates of the value of corruption allegedly taking place in Pakistan on a daily basis, a f igure he nearly doubled f rom Rs7bn to Rs13bn overnight and w hich counts items such as the gap between potential and actual tax collection and the financial losses of public -sector enterprises of which corruption is only one component. Add to this another statement that the Punjab government was at least as guilty as the federal government, and it becomes clear that politics, though with an unclear endgame, has at least partly shaped these claims. This being Pakistan, the corruption story is hardly unfolding in a vacuum. Take two other recent developments: the report on law makers not filing tax returns and underpaying taxes, and the decision to create a new delimitation of constituencies in Karachi before the general election. The underlying problems in both cases are not new and are well-known. Pakistan has a dismal tax-to-GDP ratio, and the elite avoiding taxes is a major part of the problem. There are long-standing objections t o the way constituencies have been draw n up in Karachi, and the citys demographics have likely changed significantly since the last census (though delimitation should be carried out across the country if it is carried out in one city). But is now the best time to bring up these issues? Or, to ask the question another way, w hat would be gained and who would benefit by bringing them up or tackling the m three months before a caretaker government is meant to take over? Asking these questions doesnt mean excusing corruption, tax evasion or efforts to limit the value of certain votes. It is an unfortunate outcome of the fears that have been spawned by Pakistans history of interrupted democracy. Just as important as addressing these issues is the need to en sure that Pakistan doesnt waste the progress made over the last four-plus years in managing to cling on to a democratic system, as flawed as the current set -up may be. If the coincidental emergence of these latest developments represents a threat to the s ystem, they must not be allowed to derail that progress.
Not enough
Decembe r 16th, 2012 There is no doubt that both the new India-Pakistan visa regime and the bonhomie were welcome. But substance was lacking when Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sushilkumar Shinde, his Indian counterpart, celebrated the formal signing of the accord in New Delhi. The new regime will increase the number of cities accessible to visitors from three to five and exempt those holding a business visa from reporting to the pol ice an exercise of considerable hassle at the moment. Similarly, while senior citizens w ill get their visa on arrival, the application process for younger visitors travelling by land will take 45 days or less. While these are positive moves, they hardly constitute a festive prelude to the cricket -crazy subcontinents first series since 2007. It is clear, then, that despite several meetings between Indian and Pakistan officials since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, including at the very top, the trust deficit has hardly been plugged and bureaucracy continues to hamper greater people -to-people contact. The news about a new visa accord, had, in fact, been broken by former Indian foreign minister S.M. Krishna more than a year ago, and had raised hopes all around. There were speculations that consulates would reopen in Karachi and Mumbai, police reporting would be done away with and visa processing would be easier in terms of the time taken and the volume of documents required. Not much of that sort has happened and o btaining a visa for most people remains a hassle as before; perhaps the only real piece of good news in this context was the granting of
visas to more than 3,000 Pakistani cricket fans. So the new regime remains a baby step at a time when giant strides are needed to build up trust. Evidently, security agencies view all visa-seekers as potential terrorists and forget that actual terrorists do not seek visas. Indian officials continue to say there has been little progress in the Mumbai trial in Pakistan, and Islamabad has done little to assuage New Delhis concerns. Indian policy indicates it has made the normalisation process conditional upon the Mumbai suspects trial. This is unfortunate, even if New Delhis frustration is justified.
Lost heritage
In Pakistan, where crime is all too common, the plundering of our historical legacy doesnt often get the attention it deserves. That it should is underscored by a report in this newspaper yesterday that some 60 apparently smuggled Gandhara artefacts went under the hammer at Christies in New York in March 2011, even though the matter was being pursued by Pakistans Depart ment of Archaeology and Museums. These items included bronze and stone depictions of the Buddha prominent among them was a statue of the fasting Buddha and constituted priceless treasures in terms of their historical and cultural significance. But since nothing passes through an auction house without a price being settled on its head, the fasting Buddha went for more than $11m. It seems the artefacts had been illegally excavated and smuggled out from Pakistan in the early 1980s. While the archaeology depart ment and the Pakistan embassy in Washington had been pressing for their return, they could not provide details of exactly when and f rom where the items were stolen. Moreover, there is no bilateral agreement between the two countries for the protection of cultural heritage. These factors allowed the auction to take place. Pakistans history and its pre -Islamic heritage are being sundered from the very people who should be fighting to conserve them. A few months ago, Karachi police acted on a tip-off to intercept an entire container of Gandharaera relics meant, no doubt, for foreign shores. Yet even there, the lack of respe ct for such irreplaceable artefacts was in evidence: the pieces were handled so roughly that many of them were damaged. The unpalatable truth is that Pakistans own lack of interest in conserving its heritage is matched by the voraciousness with which such relics are sought in other parts of the world. Its up to us to ensure that such theft does not take place.
Another attack
Decembe r 17th, 2012 Another military airbase attacked; another full set of lessons that perhaps w ill not be learned. Since the attack on the Mehran airbase in Karachi, the militants have demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of both the psychology and methodology of high-profile attacks. Targeting an airbase in even a semi-successful attack captures public attention in a way that a highly successful attack against other military targets would not. And while the security forces appear to be protecting vulnerabilities at airbases better than was the case before the Mehran attack, the militants are also adapting. They appear to be probing for weaknesses by deploying new combinations of fidayeen and suicide attackers, and still have fairly good intelligence on their targets. Why this is so is a question that the public has not received an answer to. So the focus must necessarily tu rn to more transparency and accountability within the security and intelligence apparatus. Every new high-profile attack is a reminder of how little is known publicly about the investigations into previous such attacks. Was physical security as rigorous as it could be? Was the vetting of security personnel posted at these installations thorough? Were maps and schematics and other information protected adequately? And after weaknesses were exposed, how effective was the response of the security apparatus to ensure a repeat would be difficult? Clearly, as the attack on a foreign airbase in southern Afghanistan proved, the militants can exploit weaknesses in defences in even the most hostile environment. But in the absence of transparent and public investigations and accountability, we cant be certain that negligence, incompetence or complicity in the security apparatus here is being identified and punished as thoroughly as it should. Then there is the broader question that always comes up in these moments. P eshawar is adjacent to the tribal areas and as such will always remain more vulnerable than most Pakistani cities unless a coherent policy for eliminating militancy is developed. But despite having tens of thousands of troops stationed in Fata and launchin g a
series of military operations that have recovered swathes of territory that had virtually been ceded to the militants, the absence of a zero-tolerance policy towards militancy has made it difficult to win this war. Apologists for the Taliban, w ho refus e to see that the militants war is against Pakistan and its people, have stood in the way of a unified stance. North Waziristan, and also the Tirah valley, remains a fundamental threat to security in Pakistan. Yet it is still not clear how the army-led security establishment intends to defang that threat. Paralysis and policy drift will only enable the militants to push harder to find even more weaknesses.
Not a long-term solution

The State Bank of Pakistan managed to cross another rickety bridge on F riday without putting further pressure on the weakening external sector or jeopardising growth prospects. The small cut of half a percentage point in the key policy rate may have dismayed some businessmen. But given the challenges the ec onomy faces at the moment it was perhaps the right response. By continuing monetary easing in response to the broad -based decline in price inflation, though at a slower pace than expected by the private sector, the bank has indicated its desire to support new private invest ment in the economy to counter weak growth. At the same time, the move is calculated to protect the economy from risks emanating from a deteriorating exchange rate on dwindling foreign financial inf lows and huge debt repayments. But the question is: will the bank be able to continue its monetary easing in its next review two months dow n the road? Any rise in inflation may force it to put the brakes on, or even reverse, the process of monetary easing. And the risk of inflation very much remains in the shape of a deteriorating exchange rate and massive fiscal borrowing. Unless the government stops or substantially reduces its borrow ing from domestic sources and foreign private and official capital inflows start coming in, the inf lation risk w ill remain. The direction of monetary policy in the near term w ill thus be determined by the successful auction of 3G telecom licences and the release of coalition support fund payments by the US. The medium- to long-term sustainability of low interest rat es w ill hinge on reduction of the fiscal deficit and a substantial increase in foreign inflows. The four-percentage-point reduction in the cost of borrowing during the last 16 months has perked up the economy somewhat. Inflation declined fast, growth momentum picked up and corporate profits rose. Yet private invest ment remains muted. While invest ment will not pick up unless interest rates are brought down further, the reduction in credit cost alone is not enough. The energy crisis will have to be addressed, security improved and the fiscal deficit bridged.
Tendulkars dilemma
Decembe r 17th, 2012 Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkars fall from grace in the ongoing cricket series against England has not only dismayed millions of his fans across the world but has also compelled critics to ask him to hang up his boots. Rated as perhaps the greatest post-war batsman, Tendulkar has been a picture of misery in the four- match series, struggling to put together a decent score against an opposition which by no means can be dubbed as menacing for a player of his class and stature. His rare but continued failure with the bat in 2012, both at home and abroad, has drawn boos and jeers f rom the crowds, even in places like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur where he has b een revered as a demigod since making his international debut 24 years ago. His former colleagues Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and a few others have openly criticised him for not looking the part anymore, mainly due to his slow reflexes and poor shot selec tion. But Tendulkar is certainly not the first Asian batsman to face this unpleasant situation. A number of great players before him, including compatriots Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, our own Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Zaheer Abbas, and several others have been forced out of cricket after repeated failures or have simply faded into history after refusing to quit the game at the right moment. It was only recently that one of Australias most successful captains and batsmen, Ricky Ponting, retired after realising that he could no longer cope with the rigours of international cricket. Tendulkar, unfortunately, has not been able to choose his departing moment and must now be ruing the blunder of not having called it a day in March 2011 when India won the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Set a date
Decembe r 18th, 2012 It's time for the government to announce an election date, and not just to silence political opponents calling for change and a population dissatisfied w ith the current administrations chronic ally poor governance. Even more important is the need to fend off forces that seem eager not to let the last elections lead seamlessly to the next. The political rumour mills are churning once again, this time about whether or not polls will be allowed to proceed on time. As much as this may be dismissed as unreliable gossip, recent developments make it hard to escape the conclusion that an environment is being created in w hich the usual complaints against civilian governments corruption, incompetence, ec onomic mismanagement could be used to postpone a democratic transition. The theory that those currently at the helm of Pakistans key institutions arent in favour of an outright military takeover doesnt rule out more subtle moves. An interruption cou ld well be more restrained this time around: delay polls while still keeping civilians at the helm by installing a caretaker government of technocrats, for example, and getting the judiciary to bless the move as being w ithin the bounds of even the updated and more democracyfriendly constitution. What will not be new are the arguments that will be made to defend such a move: the need to stabilise the country, particularly on the economic and law and order fronts, by taking a break from ineffect ive and dishonest politicians. None of this is to say that our politicians are not, in fact, ineffective and dishonest. But the alternatives have been tried before, multiple times, and they have failed. More importantly, the answer to Pakistans problems is not to deprive its citizens of the right to build up a democratic system, however slow ly and painfully, that will eventually hold those politicians accountable. The answer is to get out of the way so that this country can truly embark on the long-term project of creating a sustainable democracy that responds to the peoples needs. From leaks and revelations about corruption and tax evasion to calls for delimitation in the tinderbox that is Karachi and businessmen calling for military interventions, several potential disruptions seem to have sprung up at the same time. In a moment like this, politicians, particularly in Karachi, need to avoid playing into the hands of those who may be out to delay elections. And whether or not it decides to complete its full tenure, the government needs to consult immediately with its coalition partners and the opposition on a date for elections, and announce it as soon as possible.
A business of billions
Tax frauds in Pakistan are common. There are numerous loo pholes in the system that enable the dishonest to swindle the government. This is in the FBRs know ledge but nobody cares. After all, FBR officials have a vested interest in preserving the flawed system. The rampant fraud in sales tax refunds and input tax adjust ments, for example, is not new. It is as old as the law allowing input tax adjust ments and sales tax refunds on imports for exports. Some time ago, the authorities had proudly claimed to have removed the lacunae used for bogus claims. But the practice continues as pointed out in a story in Saturdays issue of this paper. According to the report, more than Rs63bn were released in bogus refunds and input tax adjust ments in the first four months of the current fiscal against fake often called flying invoices across the country. In many cases, the refunds were disbursed on a fast track in spite of red alerts from the intelligence wing of the FBR. A few years ago, we had factories in Faisalabad selling flying invoices to help fraudsters. Now the sw indlers have become more sophisticated. They set up fake companies to file legal tax refund claims. As the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan does not physically verify the addresses given in the application for registration or check the credentials of the sponsors of such companies, it is easy for the cheaters to get away with the fraud. Should the SECP examine its record, it would find thousands of such companies that do not exist at all. Since these frauds cannot be committed without the connivance of tax officials, the FBR needs to clean up its own act as a first step to preventing them in future. The guilty should be punished and made an example of. That should be followed
by restructuring of the tax regime in such a way that all loopholes are actually plugged. This will not be easy because of the resistance from w ithin the depart ment. Yet it is possible if the authorities have the will to stop tax frauds in future.
Easy accessibility
Decembe r 18th, 2012 The proliferation of guns is one of the major problems facing Pakistan today. It is not just a crime -related issue or a danger that leads to the phenomenon that is terrorism; the issue has a bearing on societys evolution. With a gun in hand, there is considerable possibility of arguments being settled by firing a shot or two. In societies where children are regularly exposed to shootout scenes on screens, the fascination with guns and the temptation to kill and be a hero leads to tragic consequences. The latest reminder of the dangers o f easy accessibility to guns was last weeks shooting in a Connecticut school. The killing of 26 people, mostly children, was just one example of the senseless massacres in schools and shopping malls in America. The recurring tragedy stems from the failure of Congress to have effective gun control laws in a country where reportedly there are more guns than people. One of Americas biggest lobbies is the National Rif le Association, which has succeeded in pre -empting every move to curtail the easy availability of handguns. The most determined attempt at gun control was made by James Brady, one of Ronald Reagans aides who was injured in an assassination attempt on the president in 1981. Yet all that the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act achieved was to ens ure checks on the purchaser. Pakistans problems are different than Americas. In the US they know the manufacturers and sellers: it is all legal and constitutional (by virtue of the Second Amendment). In Pakistan, it is all illegal. The constitution say s only the state can maintain armed forces; in practice there are dozens of private militias, besides criminal groups. There is no constitutional ban in the way of gun control; what we need is effective law -enforcement.
In the dark
Decembe r 19th, 2012 Tuesday marked yet another day of violence in Pakistans north -west. After the audacious attack on the PAF base in Peshawar on Saturday and the shoot -out in a nearby village with some of the fugitive attackers the follow ing day, the deadly car bombing in Jamrud on Monday, and yesterdays grenade attack on an army recruiting centre in Nowshera district, the area has suffered from an outburst of organised terrorism. And yet the public remains clueless about what is going on in this troubled area in and aroun d Peshawar, one of Pakistans largest and most populated cities. Security imperatives obviously demand some level of secrecy about any plans to tackle the problem. But what is perfectly within the rights of Pakistani citizens, and especially the residents of the affected areas, to expect is some indication about the nature of the various threats and what the authorities intend to do about them. One particularly opaque question that has emerged as a result of the airbase attack is that of the presence of Russian and Central Asian fighters alongside Pakistani militants. While foreigners are known to have collaborated with factions of the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal areas, this is a rare instance aside from the Mehran airbase incident and the Bannu jailbreak of their involvement in an attack in the settled areas. The implication is clear: Pakistani security forces have been unable to convince Fatas most powerful tribal leaders, either through deals or the threat or use of force, to stop harbouring foreign fighters. In fact, collaboration has only grown more audacious. Maulvi Nazir may have taken a stand against them in South Waziristan, but they have simply sought refuge elsew here, particularly in North Waziristan, with other Pakistani groups. With both Afghanistan and their own countries no longer safe for them, Pakistan clearly continues to be their safe haven of choice. How many such fighters there are, and w ho is offering them shelter and using their services, is information that Pakistani authorities have never shared with the public. The last few days have created yet another moment that demonstrates Pakistans militancy problem is far fro m over. That the airbase attack took place despite available intelligence, and that the Jamrud and Nowshera attac ks were able to take place despite the heightened security that should subsequently have been put in place, are worrying facts. But given the official reaction thus far, this will likely turn into another moment that both civilian
and military authorities will fail to capture to inform the public about the extent of the danger, or to turn public opinion against those responsible.
Support still needed

Decembe r 19th, 2012 Tipped to unite the status-quo parties, Imran Khan has already brought female parlia mentarians of all hues on a single platform. On Monday, they joined voices to condemn a statement by the PTI chief in which he opposed reserved seats for women in the assemblies. Mr Khans argument was that the women who entered the assemblies on these seats were not directly elected. Though he did subsequently suggest that some sort of system should be developed to elect rather than nominate female law makers to reserved seats, his earlier comment raised concerns about his intentions regarding the support t hat women still need in Pakistan to ensure that they are adequat ely represented in parliament. Despite Mr Khans qualifications of this comment, the female legislators alarm about it was understandable, the result of a genuine concern about any potential changes to the system that might impact womens representation. Reserved seats are an unfortunate necessity, the continuing need for them a grim reminder of how the group the quota seeks to benefit is still being denied equal opportunities in politics. In an ideal world the most promising candidates would be allowed to represent their parties, contesting against all other candidates regardless of their gender or religion. But Pakistan has not yet provided girls and women with the opportunities that would allow the m to enter the public sphere, and especially politics, as equal participants. Mr Khan is right in w ishing for a more active role for women in politics. But until that day arrives, there will have to be systems in place to ensure that womens voices are heard in parliament, particularly to represent a section of the population whose needs are routinely overlooked; the legislative work that has been done during this administration and the last to protect womens rights is testament to that. Since Mr Kh an is in the process of learning the nitty-gritty of the system, he would do well to be more conscious of the struggles Pakistani women face in his future comments on their role in society.
Turkish soaps
Decembe r 19th, 2012 What's being aired on Pakist ans television screens is in the news again, this time because of the Turkish soap operas that are being broadcast by some leading private television channels. They have been broadcast for several months now, and garnered a large and lucrative following. Whats changed, though, is the decision of certain private channels to start airing them during prime time broadcast hours. On Monday, the United Producers Association, which represents a large number of private television producers and production houses, held a press conference in Karachi to protest against this. On the same day, the issue was taken up by the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting and concern was expressed about this programming running contrary to local culture. But this is to dangerously misinterpret the situation. As was highlighted by the UPA and the Senate committee itself was informed by PTV managing director Yousuf Beg Mirza, the problem is that with such content being run on prime time, the space for broadcasting locally-produced material is being restricted. Those against the broadcast of foreign content at peak viewing hours believe that it could seriously harm the local television production industry, which has grow n rapidly since the countrys media policy was liberalised a little over a decade ago. Given the manner in w hich perceived threats to culture tend to provoke a violent, knee -jerk response in Pakistan, it is important not to confuse matters. The controversy over Turkish programming is about economics, and must be treated as such. The local industrys concerns should be heard seriously and addressed, but the answer does not lie in restricting viewers choices. What the ministry of information needs to do is devise ways to provide incentives to and revitalise the local production industry, so that it is better able to compete with international standards. Other countries have created protectionist regulations without banning material; Pakistan needs to be able to do the same.
National shame
Decembe r 20th, 2012 Make no mistake. Though it is receiving far less attention, this is no less, if not more, a shameful tragedy for Pakistan, than the attack on Malala Yousafzai. The facts speak for themselves: eight polio workers killed and several injured in the last three days in a chilling succession of attacks. One shot dead on Monday, with little sign of the carnage that was to come in the following days; five shot dead within a chillingly short span of time on Tuesday in seemingly coordinated incidents; a string of attacks yesterday, killing a worker and her driver, carried out by undeterred imitators or co-conspirators. The reported ages of those killed in these incidents vary, but a number of them were teenagers, and most were women. Their crime? Administe ring free medication to children at risk of polio, a crippling disease that no child in the world should have to suffer in 2012. These were not security forces engaged in a war against militants. They were not the officials of a government perceived to be Americas stooge. They were simply harmless citizens carrying out a service for their countrymen for a pittance and despit e the threats to their safety. How did politicians react? In Sindh, the president distributed awards at a ceremony in Karachi, the sce ne of many of the attacks, and the Awami Tehrik and supporters of MQM chief Altaf Hussain held rallies in support of their respective political causes. From other parties, too, including the ANP, the party in power in the province where the remaining attac ks took place, there was relative silence on the issue. True, there was condemnation of the attacks in both houses of parliament, but was this enough? In the face of an incident that should have brought business as-usual to a halt, those in power went about focusing on their planned tasks instead of calling off all events and registering strong public outrage and determination against the unjustifiable evil that Pakistan has become home to. Perhaps the biggest tragedy of all is that Pakistan, one of only t hree nations where polio is still endemic, was beginning to see a slowdow n in the spread of the virus. Down f rom 173 cases detected by this time last year, only 56 cases have been registered in 2012, a 68 per cent decline. The commit ment of international d onors, the WHO and the provincial and federal governments had begun to pay off. But the attack against a local polio worker and his WHO colleague in Karachi in July should have led to the establishment of a system in w hich no polio team goes out unprotected. In the coming days, the authorities owe Pakistanis answers to several glaring questions. How did the security lapses take place; does the polio campaign have to do a better job of ensuring security, or do the police have to do a better job of providing it? Why are these attacks taking place now, even though polio vaccination has long been opposed by certain groups w ithin Pakistan? Who was responsible? Were these coordinated or copycat attacks? And perhaps most important of all: what next? The WHO has as ked for the campaign to be suspended in Pakistan, and until more dependable protection is put in place, that is the wisest course for both international donors and local administrations to take. But failing to resume the campaign as soon as possible will h and victory to those bent upon Pakistans destruction. Three things must be done immediately. Those responsible should be found and punished. Second, a foolproof system to protect polio workers has to be devised and implemented. And third, if there was eve r a moment that called for a coordinated response from clerics and politicians and the launching of a high-profile national awareness campaign in support of polio and against the worldview of those who violently oppose it, this is that moment. It is deeply unfortunate that the nation has barely recovered from the Malala incident when we have a new tragedy on our hands. But all Pakistan can do with these moments is capture them to try to turn the ship around.
Better sense has prevailed

Decembe r 20th, 2012 Squabbling and occasional brinksmanship may be in the nature of Pakistani politics and the new era of relations between the superior judiciary and politicians, but it is perhaps a welcome sign that at least on the political side, more mature responses than in years past are becoming evident. The call for restraint by MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, ahead of the Jan 7 contempt hearing by the Supreme Court against Mr Hussain should help calm the worrying
escalation in accusations and recriminations between the court and the political party that dominates Karachi. Whatever the concerns, legitimate or otherwise, about the courts foray into Karachis electoral and political problems, the response by the MQM until Mr Hussains intervention on Tuesday had drifted far from the norms and decorum of constitutional politics and institutional independence. Given the history and the attack by members of the PML-N on the Supreme Court in 1997 in particular comes to mind here the call for MQM workers to descend on Islamaba d and protest the Supreme Courts move against the MQM chief could easily have escalated into another shameful chapter in politician- judiciary relations in Pakistans history. That the possibility of a dangerous clash appears to have been averted is a test ament to the good sense prevailing in a fraught environment.
Rightly, then, the focus should now switch to the Supreme Courts increasingly liberal use of its contempt powers to stem the tide of criticism of the superior judiciary. The media has found its elf in the cross-hairs as have certain politicians the PPP senator Faisal Raza Abidi is a notable example and it is becoming clear that some serious debate is needed on where to draw the line between unacceptable criticism that undermines the institution of the judiciary and critiques of the courts actions that legitimately seek to inform the public and alert the court to differences of opinion rooted in reasoned argument. Robust criticism that questions the courts actions is part of the process of strengthening the institution of the judiciary and should not automatically be seen as attacks on the judiciarys independence or as attempts to influence it. The barring of legitimate critique and criticism w ill only lead to other forms of speculation and rumour. More directly, the court needs to flesh out the proper and acceptable use of contempt powers and apply them evenly. Perhaps Jan 7 can be an occasion for more complete answers.
Out of hibernation
Decembe r 21st, 2012 There is no shortage of complaints against government depart ments in Pakistan. Yet it is not always clear to whom citizens should turn so that they can lodge their complaints for meaningf ul action. The institution of the federal ombudsman, however, was designed to address this concern ; its raison dtre is to deal w ith complaints regarding maladministration in the federal government. Hence it is welcome that Salman Faruqui, secretary general to the president, has been given temporary charge of the institution. The post of ombudsman had been lying vacant for two years, ever since the last occupant left office. As a result, the institution had become dormant. In fact, some 75,000 complaints have piled up in the last two years as the approval of the ombudsman is required for the resolution of grievances; meanwhile, it is distressing to hear that because of the absence of an ombudsman many foreign agencies have withdraw n support to the institution. The office of ombudsman has much potential and was well-received by the public when it was first set up. Though it is not an alternative to the courts, it has the potential to take part of the burden off the legal system. Its promises are attractive. For example, the institutions charter says it will accept or reject a complaint within 24 hours, while it will try and resolve grievances within three to six months. In a legal system that is notoriously slow, where the backlog of cases in court is said be in hundreds of thousands and where decisions can take years, this is relatively quick justice. A lso, the ombudsman looks into complaints free of cost, which is a big plus for citizens who cannot afford lawyers or court costs. Yet the office does have its limits, as it does not accept complaints regarding matters related to defence or which are sub -judice or other issues concerning external affairs. If the federal ombudsman remains inactive, people will have no option but to take their grievances to court, thus putting further stress on an already overloaded system. Its reactivation is positive, but ha s come a bit late in the day, even if Mr Faruqui is a capable individual. The institution must be assigned a permanent head while it must be ensured that it does not go into hibernation the next time the person in charge leaves midway or retires after completing his tenure. The presidency must not be slow to name a new ombudsman when the time comes. What the federal and provincial ombudsmen need to do is to publicise the institution to let people know where they can lodge their complaints regarding the workings of the state.
Where will the money go?

Decembe r 21st, 2012
The receipt of another $700m under the Coalition Support Funds comes at an important time for Pakistan. With reserves eroding, and the outlook on the external sector getting darker, any inflow at this time is helpful. But here the good news ends. After this receipt, further inflows are not visible on the horizon. The 3G auction is up in the air, efforts to cajole a balance payment out of Etisalat are under way but chances of success loo k slim. The rate at which the countrys reserves are falling is set to accelerate further as large debt repayments become due in the second half of the fiscal year, and where $700m is clearly helpful in meeting these obligations, the amount by itself is insufficient to strengthen the outlook. Hence, the unfortunate search for additional inf lows continues. The bigger question is w hat will we do with the money? The last large inf low, a $1.1bn payment in August, was used to retire money borrowed from the Stat e Bank. It also helped bring our current account deficit into surplus briefly. Buoyed by these developments, the State Bank found comfort in the numbers and gave away a full percentage and half cut in interest rates. The beneficiary was the government, since industry has yet to use the declining interest rate environment to restart invest ment. So what should be spelt out in clear terms is w hat these inflows will be utilised for. It should also be made clear at this stage that once the funds arrive, they wil l produce a small and very fleeting uptick in our external sector, and in some of our fiscal indicators. That small increase must not be used to pop any corks, and there should be no haste in putting the funds to work. Lets restrain the enthusiasm a little, and recall that the long road ahead is still there, and while foreign inflows are important it will take more than these to meet the challenge. Foreign inf lows must be accompanied by restructuring of the domestic economy and tough fiscal reforms to fend off a balance-of-payment crisis.
Mirwaizs concerns
Decembe r 21st, 2012 Looking at it from the Kashmiri point of view, Mirwaiz Umar Farooqs concerns can be understood. Speaking at a seminar in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the chief of the All Parties Hur riyat Conference couldnt help saying that, after 2008, Pakistan was not playing the role expected of it. Similar sentiments were voiced by another APHC leader, Abdul Ghani Bhat, who felt that, instead of prioritising other bilateral matters, the Kashmir issue should be resolved first. The impediments arose after the Mumbai tragedy that saw India freeze all talks w ith Pakistan and call off the composite dialogue the two sides had agreed upon in Islamabad in 2004. Talks were later resumed after the two pri me ministers meeting in Thimphu. But even after that, and despite many high -level meetings on the sidelines of international conferences, the two governments failed to take steps that could be called a t haw in the frosty environment. The Mirwaizs concerns stem from the fact that most of the time Islamabad and New Delhi have been talking about other, secondary issues Indus waters, Sir Creek, Siachen and cultural contacts in a manner that may give the impression that Kashmir is no more on Pakistans ag enda. In fact, Pakistan has made a conscious effort to take up all outstanding issues with India. Islamabad believes that attempts to resolve the Sir Creek and Siachen disputes or to liberalise trade creates the kind of conducive at mosphere that is needed for comprehensive talks on Kashmir. It is a pragmatic policy aimed at improving relations and does not relegate Kashmir to the back burner. On its part, India, whose human rights record in the occupied territory has been severely criticised, knows full wel l that unless the Kashmiris are given the right to self-determination, chances for lasting peace in the region will continue to be remote.
Protection vs privacy
Decembe r 22nd, 2012
With its passage by the National Assembly bringing the Investigation for Fair Trial Bill one step closer to becoming law, Pakistan stands on the edge of a new world of legal but risky information gathering. Several countries have gone dow n this route since 9/11, and there are conditions specific to Pakistan that make it just as important here, if not more, to be able to intercept the communications of those suspected of criminal activities. In combining the countrys terrorism problem with limited forensic tools and training, lack of protection for judges and w itnesses and laws restricting the admissibility in court of several kinds of evidence, the need to strengthen the hands of intelligence agencies and police in preventing crimes is clear. As it stands, this inability of the state to punish perpetrators has consequences beyond creating incentives to carry out crimes and releasing terrorists who are then free to strike again. It also contributes to extrajudicial killings, deaths in encounters and enforced disappearances that the security establishment has come to rely on as an alternative to the existing legal system. Be all of that as it may, Pakistan is also a place where the ability to legally intercept communication carries particular risks. Wiretapping and other types of monitoring have been used both by and agains t politicians as tools of politics and corruption. There is little training, among either the judges who will grant warrants for monitoring or those who will carry it out, on how to balance privacy concerns against the need for information, and little case law to fall back on. The newly legal method could well be overused by overzealous intelligence agents, with investigators tracking too many people who have no intention of committing crimes. And unless some of the other weaknesses of the investigation and prosecution systems are addressed, intercepting communications will be of limited value. Given the last- minute changes that were made to the bill in the Assembly, the exact language of the legislation is not yet known. Opposition and coalition parties did play an important role by asking for some much-needed amendments, including, reportedly, punishment for misuse by investigators, reducing the time period for w hich warrants will be valid and restricting the number of agencies that can intercept communica tions. But as the bill goes to the Senate on its way to becoming law, it still needs to be looked at with an extremely cautious eye including carefully defining w hich crimes it w ill cover and creating a rigorous monitoring mechanism so that the legislation that ultimately goes into effect doesnt impinge on privacy and citizens rights more than is absolutely necessary.
Renewed cooperation?
Decembe r 22nd, 2012 As the text of the latest Pentagon report on the war in Afghanistan submitted to the US Co ngress is parsed, more nuggets have come tumbling out that shed light on the state of Pak-US-Afghan ties. According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, complementary raids have been carried out along the volatile region of the Pak -Afghan border in t he Afghan east and Pakistans Fata and tribal areas further north. This hints at renewed cooperation over the fiendishly complex problem of cross-border raids wherein Afghan Taliban w ith sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the border penetrate eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistani Taliban escaping military operations in Fata and the Malakand region have set up shop on the Afghan side from w here they harass and target Pakistani security forces. The problem of cross border raids by militants affects not only st ability in eastern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan but broader Pak-US and Pak-Afghan relations because of the recriminations and mistrust that such raids generate. Still, it is far from clear what level of cooperation is actually taking place to try and stem at least some cross-border militant activity. The US military strategy of focusing on population centres has meant a withdrawal from posts in remote border areas, while the Afghan forces are still unable to rise to the challenge that cross-border raids present. This leads to complaints from Pakistan that the necessary hammer-and-anvil strategy cannot be implemented. It also generates suspicion that cross-border raids from the Afghan side are a tit -for-tat response to militant activity from Pakist an into Afghanistan. More worryingly, f rom Pakistans perspective, it also serves to delay the inevitable operation in North Waziristan, from where emanates the single greatest threat to stability on both sides of the border and also Pakistan proper. Perhaps none of this can edge closer to a resolution until the US
strategy in Afghanistan is reevaluated and the course of action over the next couple of years made clear. Now that President Obama has been reelected, the reassessment should occur soon. But if it resembles a kind of contradictory surge-and-exit strategy, little may be clarified or resolved.
Politics and state

Decembe r 22nd, 2012 Two slogans in Pakistans two largest cities both emphasising the leader. In Lahore the stage is being prepared for the return of Allama Dr Tahirul Qadri. In Karachi, wall chalkings of the MQMs earlier slogan, Manzil nahin rehnuma chahiye (leader not destination) have cropped up once again. The catchphrase for Dr Qadris Dec 23 rally is Siyasat nahin, riyasat bachao. Literally, this means save the state, not politics but a clearer translation would be discredit old politics to create room for your ow n. This is so typical of born -again tehriks. Politics and the Pakistan Awami Tehrik have somehow not combined well, even though Dr Qadri has a large follow ing and despite his past attempts. Dr Qadri rose to prominence during Gen Zias rule as a law teacher and religious scholar. Later, he chose to grace Gen Musharrafs 2002 National Assembly. It is unfortunate the s tate could not be saved then and there, leaving it precariously in the hands of who else but the politicians. Having decided politics was something not worth saving, Dr Qadri is happy over the backing he has got from the MQM when no one quite knows how PAT is going to go about its campaign. When Dr Qadri thanked the MQM chief for his support recently, he said it was the fight against feudalism that had brought PAT and the MQM closer. It is ironic then that the wall chalkings in Karachi do not reflect this. Unless the objective is to convey that the leader is a destination unto himself, the slogan might come across as somewhat feudal in modern times. In earlier times, when the MQM was subjected to severe persecution by the state, the frustration was unders tandable, but now that it has entered mainstream politics as a democratic force in its own right it must aim for higher standards.
Hope and trepidation

Decembe r 23rd, 2012 Punjab is heating up. A new governor is set to take over f rom Sardar Latif Khos a. Shahbaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Manzoor Wattoo and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi are all out drumming up support for their parties, with Allama Tahir ul Qadri introducing a new angle to it with his appearance. From somewhere an intelligence document by the Punjab s Special Branch has entered the discussion saying the general polls scheduled after March next year could be delayed. Bridges and roads are fast coming up in Lahore in anticipation of the general vote and their builders are extremely keen on ensuring the elections coincide with the opening of these grand avenues. Chief Minister Sharif has upped the ante by warning against any delay in the polls and he has accelerated the pace to wind up his projects before going into an election. Also, there are reports the PPP politicians in Punjab are keen on having the election in early April next year, to avoid popular anger generated by long hours of power suspension in hot summer months. These are all signs of a forthcoming election whose delay would be easier sough t then effected. Yet confusion seeps into the proceedings from time to time and the old fears about a delay in polls still hang in the air. In any event, PPP on its own is lacking in authority to put off the polls. It is clear that those who are warning against a postponement are actually warning against some outside intervention in politics. This is where actors such as Allama Qadri are identified as outside agents painting all politics as bad and allegedly seeking to create room for a non-elected setup. These rumours w ill only die dow n with the announcement of an election date. Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmoods sudden selection as the new governor of Punjab will or should add to the pre election feeling until there is solid evidence that some conspiracy to put off the elections is indeed afoot. It will boost the alliance-making activity in the province. The federal government will want the effects of this step felt well beyond Punjab, using it as an example of the reconciliatory politics it has been claiming to practice since its arrival in power. The move has been explained in the context of politics in southern Punjab where PPP is looking to woo voters with a new Seraiki province. No less signif icant is the politics of PML-N w hose grand search for allies has won it some notables, ruff-ling the feathers of some big birds. Lagging well behind in the catch-the-influentials race, PPP would be hoping for more crossovers to bring the competition to upper Punjab areas.
CNG prices
Decembe r 23rd, 2012
The Supreme Courts order to Ogra to devise a consumer-friendly CNG pricing formula has apparently put the government in a difficult position. Although the court has told Ogra to consider the governments policy guidelines on the matter, it has stopped the regulator fr om following them if these arent in the interest of the CNG users. Thatll make it much more difficult for the government to achieve its policy objective of discouraging use of the depleting gas resource for filling the car tanks of the wealthy. While it isnt advisable for courts to encroach upon the territory of the executive, the government is to blame for the situation it has landed itself in. Its decision in 2008 to let CNG station owners rip off consumers and later to link the fuels price with impor ted petrol without legal backing led the court to intervene in the public interest. Even the courts intervention failed to move the government and it delayed determination by Ogra of a new CNG pricing formula. Ever since the court order to de link the f uels price from imported petrol and curtail illegal profits of CNG station ow ners on Oct 24, the government has been hoping that the hefty reduction in their profits may force them to wind up their business or switch to LPG. Meanwhile, the consumers, whose interests the court wants to protect and whom the government wants to switch to petrol by increasing the CNG prices, have suffered for the last two months. After all, w ho would not want to use CNG when it is available at 35-40 per cent of the petrol pric e even if it means waiting in long queues for hours? Their ordeal is unlikely to end until a new price is fixed as the majority of gas stations remain closed on one pretext or the other as part of their unofficial protest against the cut in their margins . The government will need to change the relevant laws if it really wants to restrict the consumption of CNG for public transport to benefit the poorer segments of the population and put the precious resource to productive use.
Sheer madness
Decembe r 23rd, 2012 Where is this society headed? Two gruesome incidents that occurred on F riday clearly indicate the depths we have sunk to. In the first, a 1,000-strong mob beat to death and later burnt the corpse of a suspect for allegedly desecrating the Quran in Sindhs Dadu district. The mob prised the victim out of police lock -up and decided to dispense justice themselves. Meanwhile in Karachi, in an apparent revenge attack, the associates of an ANP leader shot earlier in the day barged into the emergency depart ment of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and killed one of the suspected assailants. Firing into the air, the enraged men had arrived at the hospital w here the body of the slain ANP leader was brought and, upon discovering that one of the suspect ed assailants was in the same facility, shot him while he was in the casualty ward. One can imagine the sheer terror that must have overtaken the patients, doctors, and others present at the hospital. Doctors are often manhandled by emotional attendants. Also, in Karachi it is normal for political activists to resort to heavy gunfire every time a fellow worker is brought to hospital for treat ment or autopsy. The JPMC was also targeted in the past, when a bomb went off on Chehlum in 2010. But this is a frightening new development perhaps the first time a victim has been shot inside a casualty ward in the city. Yet no satisfactory steps have been taken to improve security for doctors or patients at the facility. As far as the lynching case is concerned, sus pected criminals as well as alleged blasphemers have been meted out similar treat ment by charged mobs in the past. Both incidents are indicators of the madness and zea-lotry that is now swee-ping across Pakistan. In this violent, brutal society, logic and sanity are fast becoming nebulous concepts.
Undefeated militancy
Decembe r 24th, 2012 Bashir Ahmed Bilour, an ANP stalwart and an implacable critic of militancy and Pakistans drift towards extremism, is no more. Killed by the same ideology he preached against and which saw him as a threat to the agenda of remaking Pakistan into a darker and more troubling place, the tragedy of Mr Bilours death is that it was perhaps a death foretold. In recent weeks, the surge in militant violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata may have come as a surprise to some, but to anyone follow ing the arc of militancy in the region closely, the signs of an unbowed and undefeated militant threat looking to reassert itself were plentiful. And given that the states response in the face of the morphing threat from militancy appears to have been yet more uncertainty and near paralysis in some areas, the likelihood of high-prof ile attacks that would grab headlines and inflict further blows against the morale of the state and the public was very high. Now, Mr Bilour is dead and its almost certain that the recent wave of attacks in Khyber Pakht unkhwa and Fata will continue. What can the state do? In moments like this, well- meaning commentary about better strategies and tactics and who to fight where and w hen are almost beside the point. Once, and only once, Pakistani state and society develop a consensus that militancy, radicalisation and extremism need to be decisively reversed, can any military, political or social strategy work. There is often much focus put on the role of the army -led security establishment in prolonging Pakistans association with militancy, radicalisation and extremism. The focus is correct and necessary because until the army adopts a zero-tolerance polic y towards militancy, the state is unlikely to ever develop the will or capacity to smother the threat permanently. However, there is a serious burden of responsibility on the civilian political class too a burden of responsible leadership that few have been able to carry well w hen it comes to confronting the militant threat. For all the levers and control the security establishment may have over state and society, if there is to be meaningful change, it is the civilian political leadership that will have to demonstrate courage and clarity. Too much obfuscation, too much dithering, too much doublespeak has characterised many civilian politicians response to the threat from militancy. Myopia can only take a politician so far; ultimately, the militants have made it clear: it is them versus everyone else.
Ulemas fatwa
Decembe r 24th, 2012 Even though the Pakistan Ulema Council did not specifically refer to the polio workers tragedy, its condemnation of the murder of innocent people deserves to be applaude d. A fatwa, issued on Thursday by some of Pakistans leading Darul Ulooms grouped under the PUC, denounced all murders and declared categorically that a suspect could be given justice only by the state. The fatwa has a direct relevance to the situation in Pakistan today, because it also denounces murders in streets or markets. The PUC fatwa recognises the equality of all citizens when it declares that a non-Muslim killed by a Muslim citizen deserves the same legal process as when a Musli m falls victim to murder. Technically speaking, the PUC fatwa breaks no new ground when it reiterates the justice inherent in Islamic law; but its signif icance lies in its timing, for it comes at a time when some leading Islamic scholars and religious personalities have refrained from condemning acts of terror and the recent killings in Karachi and KP of anti-polio workers, most of them women. PUC Chairman Haf iz Tahir Ashraf i said the decree was issued to disabuse some people of the notion that the ulema approved of terroris m or were involved in it. While the fatwa must be lauded, the silence which most heads of religious parties have maintained is astonishing. Even if some of them have condemned the polio workers murder as a matter of form, what is missing is a unanimous a nd categorical denunciation of the barbaric attacks on people engaged in the noble task of immunising the future generation of Pakistanis against polio. Isnt it time for men like Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Samiul
Haq, Munawwar Hassan, Hafiz Said and others to not only unequivocally condemn these murders by bigoted fanatics but also declare their full support for the polio campaign?
Kerry gets the post

Decembe r 24th, 2012 The nomination of Sen John Kerry as the next US Secretary of State is a welcome move from the Pakistani perspective. Sen Kerry has demonstrated two key understandings in his dealings w ith this country: one, that continued engagement and patient diplomacy are essential if fundamental divergences are ever to be narrowed; and two, the civilian political leadership needs the consistent and serious support of the US, which in the past has too quickly and too fully relied on the Pakistan Army as its principal ally. With elections in Pakistan on the horizon, the drawdow n in Afghanistan coming closer and a post-war-in-Afghanistan focus on Pakistan likely to grow, Sen Kerry will steer his countrys diplomatic approach to Pakistan at yet another critical juncture in this countrys domestic political evolution and regional security environment. The more pragmatic approach to Pak-US relations over the last year gone is talk of a strategic relationship and the like should help Sen Kerry keep his goals narrow and focused, though that still leaves much to do. Take just the aid under the Kerry -Lugar-Berman law that has not flowed in the quantity originally conceived nor has it really had the kind of impact that its sponsors would have hoped for. On the political front, with elections on the horizon in Pakistan, the further away the US stays from ill-conceived ideas like the abortive Musharraf-Benazir alliance of 2007 and just opts to support relatively f ree and fair elections with the chips falling w here they may, the better off Pakistans democratic transition will be. Even in the pared-back relationship, the challenges will be mighty, though. Complicating the scenario for Sen Kerry, and Pakistan, is the reality that under President Obama, foreign policy has been crafted by a small core of presidential adviser sinside the White House. Secretary Cli ntons relatively innocuous term, at least with regard to policy, may be the template for Secretary-nominee Kerry, who enters the job as an avowed Obama loyalist. So it is to the White House and changes in the national-security positions there that attention must also turn to understand how the Pakistan policy may be tweaked in the months and years ahead.
A new contender
Decembe r 25th, 2012 All rallies, even mammoth ones, are not equal. Slightly over a year since the PTI rally in Lahore shook the count rys political foundations, another would-be saviour arrived in the Punjab capital to preach a slightly different kind of politics. The turnout on Sunday for Tahir ul Qadri, chief of the Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran, was massive, and expected. As head of a populist, Barelvi group, Mr Qadri commands support from a group of dedicated followers cultivated over the decades through an educational and preaching network thats especially strong in Punjab but that has also spread its roots to the other provinces. Despit e being a political lightweight, the charismatic Mr Qadri has adroitly meshed conservative Islam w ith modernist values to craft a message that appeals to a far wider cross -section of people than that of the PTI. Which is why, scanning the crowd at Manto Pa rk on Sunday, both rural and urban, rich and poor, highly educated and less literate persons could be seen in large numbers. Yet, support for a religious leader is one thing; turning out voters quite another. This is w here Mr Qadris message becomes problematic. Mr Qadri has demanded that a clean, technocratic, patriotic and efficient caretaker set -up to fix all that ails Pakistan be put in place or else his followers would descend on Islamabad and pressurise the government until his demands are met. Wit hin that demand lies a tacit admission perhaps that the TMQ does not have the electoral support to convert his political agenda into an electoral victory that could lead to reform f ro m within the system. Mr Qadris message w ill strike many who have followe d the trajectory of democracy in Pakistan as old and failed. But the fact that it comes so close to the first civilian-led transition in decades will have raised some alarm bells. For all its failings, the political class, that has disillusioned so many, has the one thing that other would-be saviours do not: genuine political legitimacy. It may be flawed, it may be problematic, but support for the mainstrea m political parties represents the democratic will of the people. It is this legitimacy, which Mr Qadr i and others like
him do not appear to recognise or accept, that needs to be protected by the electorate when attempts are made to snatch it away. The country is close to a general election that will be intensely competitive and which represents a genuine opportunity to move the democratic project forward. That is the fundamental change the country needs, no matter what the personal ambition of leaders like Mr Qadri may suggest.
A better democracy
One measure of the maturing of Pakistani politics will be its evolution away from a system in w hich voters can only choose among a small number of established political parties with money to burn. And yet a couple of the electoral rules being developed by the Election Commission of Pakistan run the risk of preserving the status quo. The limit on election spending is a particularly tricky decision. Set it too high and theres the risk of legalising an uneven playing f ield. Set it too low and it will be unrealistic and flouted blatantly. As the ECP proposes a four-fold increase in the limit, to Rs6m for a National Assembly seat and Rs4m for a provincial assembly seat, it needs to publicly share the basis of these numbers and a plausible plan for how it will enforce them so that civil society can weigh in on whether they are reasonable. Beyond limits, there is also the question of transparency. Aside fro m records of how much was spent and on what, its important to channel candidates personal funds through parties accounts, for example, and to document contributions from business interests and other large donors. Campaign finance is not as simple as setting a spending cut-off, and the ECP needs to be more open and consultative about how it plans to enforce transparent political spending. The other piece of the proposal that needs to be rethought is the requirement that parties demonstrate a specified level of public support or a wide enough national presence to qualify for an election symbol. Its true that taxpayers money should not be spent on supporting non-serious candidates or those simply out to strike deals with bigger parties. But emerging political voices should not be stifled either. One way around this could be a system such as the one in India, where parties are allowed to graduat e from local to provincial to national polls. The ECPs efforts at electoral reform, including consulting political parties and civil society, have been a welcome change from prior years. But some of the rules need to be reconsidered to move Pakistan towa rds a more equitable democracy.
Victory for Morsi

Decembe r 25th, 2012 The approval of the new constitution by the Egyptian people, confirmed in the second round of the referendum on Saturday, hands yet another victory to President Mohamed Morsi and pav es the way for the general election due in about two months time. The low turnout alleged by the opposition to be 30 per cent doesnt serve to denigrate the importance of a 64 per cent yes vote. What matters is Egypts gradual advance towards democr acy after decades of authoritarian rule, even after the country became a republic in 1953. Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power about two years ago, but in this short period despite some anxious moments, including the refusal of the old guard to quit President Morsi has on the whole managed to control the situation. He has been tough where necessary and conciliatory where expediency so demanded. His sacking of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi as supreme commander and defence minister and the dismissal of the three services chiefs strengthened his power and dealt a coup de grce to the Mubarak remnants. His mistake was the decree that debarred courts from review ing his actions. He, however, had the foresight to take it back when it evoked strong dome stic and international criticism. The National Salvation F ront, a coalition of opposition parties, has now decided to fuse into one party and struggle by democratic means to amend the constitution. The opposition has reservations about the constitution be cause it has been crafted by an assembly dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Front says the constitution ignores the rights of Egypts Christians, who constitute 10 per cent of the population. There is no doubt the parliamentary elections will be a mi lestone in Egypts march towards freedom. A constitution is in place, and that should serve as the bedrock for the growth of democracy.
Economy bombast
Decembe r 30th, 2012 Sometimes, election-related messaging and sloganeering can stretch the bounds of credulity. Now it seems that the government is preparing a set of talking points to take to the general public regarding its economic successes. The minutes of a cabinet meeting held earlier in December are reflective of a weak effort to try and hype up an economic track record for election purposes, to develop a narrative of economic success for a government that is notorious for its indifference to the economy and its myriad ailments. And of all people, it is the so-called technocratic finance minister, only recently labelled a suitcase economist by some of his own party colleagues, who has been tasked with developing this blueprint of hype. From the minutes of the cabinet meeting where the plan was discussed, it appears the common man will be told that between Pakistan and neighbouring countries, the prices of food items are lowest in Pakistan, and this is because of the governments policies. Will it work? Highly unlikely. Does the common man really care what the state of affairs is in neighbo uring countries? And isnt it possible that in spite of being more dear, such items of daily use may actually be more comfortably w ithin reach of the common man in those countries because their targeted subsidy schemes are better than ours, or the rate at which incomes are grow ing for the common man over there is higher? Its a long shot for this government to try and spin a narrative of economic success since the hype and the hopes it seeks to fan will fly massively in the face of the lived experience of t he common citizenry of Pakistan. The one area where this government could claim success has been the effort to normalise trade ties w ith India. This is a potential strategic game-changer and could form the most important legacy of this government in the decades to come. Yet even here it has not done the needful. Dec 31 was the date by when the grant of MFN status was to have been made and the negative list abolished. Nothing of the sort is about to happen, because the government has not been able to build the consensus, or stand up to certain groups that prefer to remain wedded to the past. With failure as its track record in all major areas of economic management, it might be better for the government to avoid any mention of governance altogether rather than develop a strategy to sell a hyped-up version to the general public.
A shared problem
The death of the female student who was gang-raped on a Delhi bus earlier this month is a tragic conclusion to a shockingly violent event that highlighted the threats to womens security in South Asia. Rape does happen around the world. But the attitudes towards women in this region make them particularly susceptible to sexual violence. For one, they are considered objects belonging to their male relatives, which leads to rape being used as a tool for settling personal scores, tribal feuds or commercial disputes, defending ones honour or taking revenge on someone other than the rape victim. In the Delhi case, too, the violence may have been linke d to an argument between the rapists and the victims male companion. But even when a motive is unclear, the sentiment is not: such attackers not only lack any respect for women, but in this part of the world they also expect no consequences for mistreating women in the worst possible way. This is largely because those who should be helping victims share similar attitudes; the suicide this month of a teenaged rape victim in Patiala harassed by police, who wouldnt take action against the accused and tried t o make her settle the issue out of court, is just one instance of the discrimination rape victims face in South Asia. The latter instance is all too familiar here in Pakistan. Societal attitudes towards rape victims who bear the brunt of social disapproval combined with the likelihood that they will not be taken seriously or their attackers punished, makes reporting rape far more trouble than it is worth. The Protection of Women Act passed in 2006 was an important step to rectify some of the problems with the Hudood Ordinance, and the law no longer allows for a rape accusation to be used as an accusation of adultery against the victim. But the deeper problem the attitude that paints a rape victim as somehow being the guilty party persists. Delhi has been dubbed the rape capital of
India w ith good reason. However, thousands of women in Pakistan are the sufferers of a police system that fails to respond to victims needs and a society that shuns them.
Cellphone disruption
Cellphone services were once again shut down in Karachi on F riday, reportedly due to threats of terrorism. Such shutdowns have now become a favoured tool of the government every time there is a signif icant threat of terrorism, especially during religious occasions and major national holidays. In the current year, cellphones have fallen silent nationwide on several occasions, including both Eids, during Muharram and when an official holiday was declared to protest an anti-Islam f ilm. However, w hile in the case of most previous shutdowns the state gave the public advanced warning, on Friday cellphones in the metropolis went silent for over seven hours without any prior intimation. While the interior minister said the shutdown was necessitated by the threat of terroris m, it is also true that several high-profile visitors were in the city on Friday, including the prime minister, the chief of army staff and the naval chief. Hence, there is some discussion that the cellphones fell silent for the security of these officials . There appears to be some truth to the claim that terrorists use cellphones to set off explosives. A Sindh government official quoted in this paper has said over 40 improvised explosive devices connected to cellphones have either exploded or been defused this year. However, we do not believe that cellphone bans are the best method to prevent acts of terrorism. If the authorities feel such actions are inevitable, prior warning must be given to the public so they are not caught unawares. For example in a te eming city like Karachi, panic levels can accelerate drastically if cellphones are abruptly silenced and people are unable to contact friends and relatives. The state must resort to cellphone shutdowns very selectively. They must not be used for discouraging revellers during festive occasions like New Years, or worse, to sabotage political gatherings in the name of countering terrorism.
Nature of the threat

Decembe r 31st, 2012 From Peshawar to Mastung, with Quetta and Karachi throw n in to add to the t oll of blood and gore, the country has endured another weekend of tragedy and violence. Policemen, Levies personnel, Shia pilgrims and, it seems, ordinary travellers the range of targets was diverse, as are the likely groups involved in the killings. Unsurprisingly, but dispiritingly as ever, the response of state and society has been relatively muted, almost a collective shrug of helplessness and confusion. Meanw hile, militant conglomerates like the TTP seem to mock the Pakistani state with their arrogant offers of talks that are thinly guised terms of surrender by the state. Can state and society here come together and understand the nature of the threat in their midst? Part of the problem at present is that many strands of the threat are shadowy and amorphous. In Balochistan, the suspicion for Sundays attack on the bus convoy carrying Shia pilgrims w ill immediately fall on Lashkar -i-Jhangvi but who is the face of the LJ in Balochistan? There is none, just a group of killers who may number a few dozen or several hundred. In a society where so many overlapping strands of violence exist, the seeds of doubt and confusion in the public imagination are buried deep and are difficult to dislodge. Meanwhile, in Karachi, militant activities have picked up in recent months, but little is know n publicly about these groups and their leaders. Adding to the confusion, authorities have yet to establish if the Karachi bus was bombed or exploded because of a faulty gas cylinder. But the failure in creating public aware ness of the militant threat is necessarily the states. When Maulana Fazlullah was in territorial control of Swat and Baitullah Mehsud was in control of South Waziristan Agency and swathes of Fata, the threat was obvious Pakistan had physically lost cont rol of parts of its territory to armed groups seeking to overthrow the state and the symbols of defiance well know n: Maulana Radio, Sufi Mohammad and Baitullah Mehsud. This time round, w ith North Waziristan Agency and the Tirah valley under the virtual c ontrol of militant groups, the state has failed to take the extra steps necessary to bring these more remote areas to national attention for the right reasons, i.e. building a consensus to fight militancy. North Waziristan has infamously become tied up wit h the American demand to do more rather than be recognised for a more relevant reason: it is the single greatest threat to the stability and security of the country. The state, both the security establishment and
the civilian-led parts, cannot expect the public to understand the nature of a threat that is kept hidden from them.
To ban or not to ban?

Decembe r 31st, 2012 About three-and-a-half months after it was imposed, the government announced that the ban on YouTube was finally to be lifted.The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, it said, had now acquired a powerful software firewall to comprehensively block blasphemous online material such as the trailer of an anti-Islam film, Innocence of Muslims, which had led to the ban in the first place. The joy of millions of Pakistani Internet users was short lived however, when YouTube, soon after being unblocked on Saturday, was banned again on the governments orders. One can concede that given the trailers provocative content the government had littl e choice but to impose a blockade in the charged at mosphere of the first few days although many other countries blocked only the offending video and not the entire site. Pakistan did initially approach Google Inc. the Internet giant that owns YouTube to take down the offending trailer, and failing that, to block access to it. But it is a measure of PTAs incompetence that it did not have an agreement with Google that would have allowed it to block the video. All this notwithstanding, the PTA cannot justify such an extended ban that deprives Pakistanis of thousands of sources of online information. Concerns for security should not outweigh peoples fundamental right to information. Also, the PTA cannot hide behind the excuse that it did not have the tec hnical means until now to counter the situation arising from the uploading of offensive material. Telecommunications is one of the healthier sectors of the economy so finances certainly could not have been a factor. The lack of a coherent policy on the Int ernet or the social media seems more to blame in this case. The Internet is a vast space that can be put to positive and negative use and the authority should have been prepared to deal w ith such an eventuality. Moreover, the on-again, off-again ban reinforces the impression of a government out of step with the times where a mature approach is needed to navigate the minefield known as the World Wide Web.
Tobacco-free Islamabad
Decembe r 31st, 2012
One hundred thousand dead. Thats the number of tobacco-related deaths that occur in Pakistan every year. The campaign announced in the media during the past several days that Islamabad is to be a tobacco-free zone from Jan 1, 2013, is therefore a step in the right direction, and long overdue. For years after the iconic Marlboro man fell from grace in the West, he continued to gallop his way across many an advertisement and into the hearts (and lungs) of millions of people in the developing world, with dire consequences. In Pakistan, smoking was banned at all pu blic places in 2002, including offices, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions, airports and shopping centres. However, implementation has been lax. The ban on smoking inside public transport vehicles is also flouted with impunity, as is the requireme nt that cigarette packets display a pictorial health warning. A study conducted in Karachi found most of the outlets in the survey even sold cigarettes to minors. Assuming that is the template for the rest of the country, its little wonder that an estimat ed 1,200 Pakistani youngsters take up smoking every day. In short, the health burden of tobacco -related illness, w hich includes soaring rates of lung and oral cancers, the latter thanks to widespread consumption of chewing tobacco, is one that Pakistan wit h its myriad problems can scarcely afford. The media campaign by the governments tobacco control cell promises that the law will henceforth be strictly enforced. The law stipulates that violators can be fined up to Rs100,000 and jailed for up to three months. With Islamabad hopefully the starting point of a countrywide campaign, it would be fitting if government functionaries, especially those with a public profile, set an example by not smoking in public. If that can be done and the ban strictly enforce d, one would have to say, Youve come a long way, baby.

Editorials From August To December 2012

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Editorials From August To December 2012

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Editorials from DAWN Newspaper

[August to December 2012]

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Table of Contents Name of Month

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EDITORIALS FROM THE MONTH OF AUGUST

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Land for sale

See-saw oil prices

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Uptight in the 60s

Infiltrating the ranks

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South Waziristan festers

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Facing the flood

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Khan and the Taliban

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Far from well-read

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North Waziristan issue

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The impasse continues

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The award list

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OICs Syria decision

Less aggressive now?

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Shia killings on the rise

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Stock market rally

Pakistans own war

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For improved security

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Yet more drone strikes

Banning prepaid service

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Before disaster strikes

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Kalash under threat

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