DWS, Sunday 28th April to Saturday 04th May 2013

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NATIONAL NEWS

Teachers refuse to perform poll duty

By Amanullah Kasi

QUETTA, April 27: The seeming indifference of the state to challengers of its writ in Balochistan has thrown up an unforeseen snag in polling arrangements — thousands of schoolteachers have refused to perform election duty in 11 districts because of threats from outlawed militant groups. The provincial government has already declared these districts “sensitive” vis-à-vis the May 11 elections..
The 11 districts in question are Nushki, Chagai, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Awaran, Kharan, Washuk, Panjgur, Kech and Gwadar.
Mohammad Qasim, general secretary of the Government Teachers Association (GTA), said on Saturday that 18,461 teachers, including women, were working in government schools in the 11 districts.
“Government schoolteachers have always extended all possible help and cooperation to the Balochistan government for holding census, house enumeration and anti-polio campaigns. “However, because of serious threats hurled by militant organisations, they are not ready to perform their duties at the polling stations,” the teachers’ representative said.
The association has sent a letter to the Election Commission, the chief minister and the chief secretary of Balochistan to apprise them about the teachers’ agony and helplessness. However, the association said its members would carry out their election duties in the other 19 districts of the province. “Since the situation is normal in the remaining 19 districts, teachers have no hesitation in doing election duty,” Mr Qasim said.
“The government should, however, ensure safety of teachers’ lives in the districts where they are ready to do their job.”
Around 50,000 teachers work in schools throughout the province.
The provincial government has decided to hold negotiations with teachers’ associations to resolve the matter.
“The education secretary will hold talks with leaders of different teachers’ associations,” Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told Dawn on Saturday.
He said the government had made alternative arrangements for holding elections in the province. “We have an alternative set of government employees who will perform election duties.
“The government has made security arrangements for polling stations and staff. The Frontier Corps will be deployed at polling stations and police, Levies, Balochistan reserve police and other security forces will also be available in all sensitive districts as well as at other places,” Mr Durrani said.
Over the past fortnight, militant outfits have repeatedly threatened to attack offices of political parties and polling stations in the province in order to subvert the general elections. And they have been true to their word on more than one occasion. In the deadliest episode, the PML-N’s Balochistan chief lost his son, brother and nephew when his election convoy came under a bomb attack in Khuzdar on April 16. Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, however, had a narrow escape. The banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed it had carried out the audacious strike.
On April 21, two activists of the Awami National Party lost their lives when gunmen opened fire during a public meeting in Pishin. The same day saw an attack on the house of National Party chief Dr Malik Baloch in Turbat, but fortunately there were no casualties.
The Baloch Republican Army claimed carrying out the two attacks.

Chances of Sarabjit’s survival slim, say doctors

By Asif Chaudhry and Muhammad Faisal Ali

LAHORE, April 27: The condition of Sarabjit Singh, the convicted Indian spy who was injured in an attack on Friday, was serious, said his doctors on Saturday. .
According to them, his chances of survival are slim. He has been intubated and linked to the ventilator in the intensive care unit of Jinnah Hospital.
Singh suffered serious head injuries when two fellow inmates attacked him in the Kot Lakhpat jail on Friday.
His wife Sukhbir Kaur, sister Dalbir Kaur and two daughters will arrive in Lahore on Sunday (today) after grant of visa by Pakistani government.
One of the doctors treating him told Dawn: “Singh was diagnosed on Saturday with 3/15 glasow coma scale (GCS); that elaborates upon his critical state of conscious level.” He said the GCS was a neurological scale aimed at assessing level of consciousness after profound head injury and the reading of 3/15 indicated deep unconsciousness.
With the level of his deep unconsciousness, Singh’s treatment had turned out to be a major neurosurgical challenge for the medical board constituted by the authorities, said the doctor.
Senior neurosurgeon and principal of Post-Graduate Medical Institute, Prof Dr Anjum Habib Vohra; head of Jinnah Hospital’s neuro department, Prof Dr Zafar Chaudhry; and neuro physician of King Edward Medical University, Prof Dr Naeem Kasuri, are members of the medical board.
The doctor said Singh had suffered a critical bone fracture when he was taken to Jinnah Hospital’s surgical emergency on Friday evening.
During clinical assessment, he added, it was established that Singh had diffused brain injury over a widespread area of his head that led to unconsciousness.
Doctors also discovered a haematoma (a localised collection of blood outside the blood vessels) which was greater than 3cm which indicated that the patient was in dire need of surgical intervention.
The medical board examined the patient twice on Saturday and doctors were of the view that there was no need for surgical intervention at this stage.
Singh is in a separate intensive care unit in unprecedented police security and no one is allowed to see him except doctors.
However, first secretary to Indian High Commissioner C. S. Das paid a visit to him in the hospital.
INQUIRY REPORT: Punjab prison authorities submitted to the provincial government on Saturday a preliminary inquiry report about the attack on Singh, saying security lapse was its main cause.
Police have formally opened an investigation into the attack after getting permission from a local magistrate to interrogate two nominated prisoners who attacked Singh in his barracks.
The attack on Singh with blunt weapons in or outside his barracks left many questions unanswered: how the suspects managed to bring bricks and a pipe amid tight security to a special barracks accommodating condemned prisoners; why jail officials allowed the suspects to get close to Singh if both sides had an argument in past and why officials failed to secure Singh in time.
A source in the prisons department confided to this reporter that one of the alleged prisoners told the inquiry officers that he attacked Singh in a ‘national grudge’.
He said the other prisoner told the inquiry team that Singh was a murderer of several innocent Pakistanis and an enemy of Pakistan and it was painful for him to bear Singh even in jail.
The source claimed that neither Singh had complained to jail officials about any issue with any prisoner nor any prisoner had spoken against Singh in past 23 years or so.

3 killed, 43 injured: Three blasts target MQM, PPP

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, April 27: There was no let-up in Karachi’s torment on Saturday as faceless killers mocked the government’s indecisiveness by terrorising two of the three political parties they have placed on their hit list. A little girl and two men died while 43 other people were injured when two blasts targeted an office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Qasba Colony while a third hit a corner meeting of a Peoples Party candidate in Lyari..
Twenty-four people have died in six blasts and incidents of firing since Tuesday.
Police said a bomb planted outside a party office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Qasba Colony went off at about 9.35pm and in the space of a couple of minutes unidentified men hurled a hand-grenade outside an Imambargah in the same vicinity. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Zahid Hussain, said an explosive device, which he suspected was timed, went off outside a unit office of the MQM.
The explosion severely damaged the unit office, a house and five shops located nearby and several cars and motorcycles in the congested and impoverished locality, where the MQM has its powerbase.
Eyewitnesses said the unit office had been closed early this week after a bomb attack on MQM workers in People’s Chowrangi. However, several people were sitting nearby who had to bear the brunt.
Mr Hussain said at least one man died and several others were injured. Officials in Abbasi Shaheed and Qatar hospitals said the number of injured was 27 in this blast.
A hand-grenade, in the meantime, had been hurled outside Imambargah, Masjid Ali Raza, located in the same vicinity, which injured seven more people, hospital officials confirmed.
The blast sent a shockwave among the party leadership prompting it to call for the third ‘day of mourning’ on Sunday. The city had witnessed two complete strikes on Wednesday and Friday on the call of the MQM protesting against previous election-related attacks.
Another bomb attack was reported from New Kumharwara, a neighbourhood of Lyari Town, where a device, suspected to be planted in a motorcycle, went off during a corner meeting of the PPP’s candidates of NA-249 Aziz Memon, and PS-111 Adnan Baloch. Eyewitnesses said dozens of people were there to listen to the candidate’s future plans at the corner meeting when the explosion occurred near the place where children and women were sitting.
Police officials said a nine-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man, identified as Kamran Baloch, were killed and 15 others were injured.
Talking to reporters, Aziz Memon said he had also received minor wounds in his legs, while Adnan Baloch was also injured.
Doctors at the Civil Hospital said they received two bodies, including that of a girl, and 15 injured, ten of whom were in serious condition.
Eyewitnesses said the blast took place as soon as the candidates reached the stage.
Najmi Alam, PPP Karachi general secretary, said the attack was part of the same ‘conspiracy’ to keep the liberal parties at bay from the electoral process.
The blasts created a state of fear in Lyari, which was already charged because of a search operation by the Rangers early in the morning.

Politics of acrimony

By Ismail Khan

THE two main religious political parties that joined forces under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in 2002 to achieve a historic win in the then NWFP are now at loggerheads. .
Not only are the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) taking solo flights in the May 11 elections, they are also taking swipes at each other whenever possible and questioning, amongst other things, each other’s claims of representing the religious right.
“It is not a religious party,” says Jalil Jan, the JUI-F’s information secretary and the party’s candidate from Peshawar’s PK-3. “It’s a party of professors and engineers. We have the mosque on our side, we have the madressah (seminary) and we have a huge following amongst the seminary students. What does the JI have?”
But speak to a JI leader and he’ll tell you how the JUI-F has changed in all these years from a party that represented the pulpit to one that is now dominated by the wealthy.
“Look around, and find out how many of their candidates are ulema (religious scholars),” observes the JI’s Prof Ibrahim. “The rich who have no religious credentials have found a new sanctuary in that party. It has abandoned the ulema.” This may be true — to an extent.
The JUI-F is opening up — nay, transforming — to allow clean-shaven, moneyed candidates to enter a party that has claimed adherence to the Deobandi school of thought and espoused politics of the masjid and the mehrab to great advantage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.
The fate of the MMA’s revival was sealed with the death of veteran JI leader Qazi Husain Ahmed, an ardent proponent of a religio-political alliance. There was little chance of success of the feeble attempts at resurrection made here and there by the MMA’s smaller component parties, which feared elimination from the political scene altogether.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman avoided the move for his own reasons, realising that the alliance suited the JI more than his own JUI-F. The former, Fazlur Rehman’s party leaders believe, won more seats than it would have had it contested on its own.
“Let the JI find out its true worth now,” says Jalil Jan. “It will soon know where it stands.”
The JI for its part believes that had it not been for its own well-organised party machinery, the JUI-F would not have achieved what it did — staking a claim to the top slot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Further, it nurses suspicions about which way the Maulana’s cookie might crumble. A wary and suspicious Munawar Hasan is more inclined towards Imran Khan and, at a lesser level, towards Nawaz Sharif.
In fact, it was the fear of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that prompted a flurry of political engagements between the JUI-F and the PML-N on one side and between the PML-N and the JI on the other.
COMMON ENEMY: The JUI-F and PML-N see the PTI as a common enemy and both set about thwarting its ascendancy by attempting to reach an understanding on seat adjustment in the province. This did not happen, though, despite several rounds of meetings; both sides blame each other for the failure. The PML-N believes the JUI-F was too ambitious and too demanding, basing its claims on its performance in the 2008 elections. It won 12 seats in the province then, but counting the number of their runners-up and candidates that clinched third position, the number of seats the JUI-F figured it could stake a claim to was more than 70.
“That was unreasonable on the part of the JUI-F,” maintains PML-N leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra. “In 2008, we did not have candidates on many of the seats, but we were still willing to clinch a deal with the JUI-F on the basis of some give and take.”
The JI engaged the PML-N and the PTI at the same time. Munawar Hasan’s party boycotted the 2008 polls, a decision party leaders admit cost them dearly (a party task force criticised Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s decision to boycott the polls, noting that the party would have to contest polls if it wanted to be part of parliamentary politics).
A party with a committed cadre, the JI has, on account of its poll boycott, seen some erosion in its traditional stronghold in Dir. Also, it needs to hang on to someone else’s coattails — in this case the PML-N or the PTI — to become relevant electorally and politically.
But Jhagra says that the JI, like the JUI-F, also demanded more than its fair share in terms of seat adjustment. “The JI wanted adjustments on a 50-50 basis,” he reflects. “Besides, it wanted seats in Hazara, which is our stronghold.”
The PTI was slow in finalising its list of candidates and when it did, belief in an overwhelming victory in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pre-empted a seat adjustment with the JI. “They had their own internal problems,” says the JI’s Prof Ibrahim about the PTI.
It may seem odd but religious politics apart, the three parties — or any combination of two — would have made natural allies, at least in the context of present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata that are beset with violent militancy. They have identical views and similar vision with regard to engaging with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the army’s engagement in the tribal areas.
By the same measure, these four parties — the JUI-F, the JI, the PML-N and the PTI — stand to benefit from a beleaguered Awami National Party (ANP) hounded by the TTP on the one hand and haunted by its poor performance at the helm of the provincial government on the other.
The PML-N, the JUI-F and the PTI, by all reckoning, will be the major beneficiaries in an electoral contest whose rules, say some analysts, have largely been set by militants targeting the ANP. And that, they say, is the key factor dissuading these parties from getting into an alliance or a seat-adjustment formula.

ECP yet to receive data on polling stations

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, April 27: Polls are only two weeks away but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not yet received data about polling stations to be made in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. .
Even the data compiled by Punjab is incomplete as it does not mention the location of polling stations to be set up in the province.
Under the law, district returning officers are required to publish in the gazette the list of polling stations in their jurisdiction at least 15 days before the polling day.
Sources told Dawn the ECP had so far received details of polling stations only from Punjab and posted them on its website. The list mentions constituency-wise number of polling stations, booths and staff, but does not give their exact locations.
The ECP needs the details for its key initiative which can be used by voters to find through the “8300” text messaging service the specific polling station where they are to cast their votes.
The ECP has received from various parts of the country complaints about the polling stations being made at ‘wrong’ locations. It has forwarded these complaints to the provincial election commissions (PECs) for examining them in the light of its instructions for preparation of the lists of polling stations by the ROs.
An ECP official said the commission would meet on Tuesday to discuss complaints about personal attacks made allegedly by some political leaders against their opponents in violation of the code of conduct. He said the meeting would watch video footage (of rallies where such remarks were made) to determine the extent of the code’s violation.
Meanwhile, the ECP announced on Saturday that election in the Sindh Assembly’s constituency PS-64 (Mirpurkhas-I) had been postponed because of the death of Waqar Buland Khan, one of the candidates running for the seat.
A notification issued by the commission said: “The returning officer concerned has terminated the proceedings relating to election to that constituency” and that “fresh proceedings will commence after the general elections and the schedule for the said constituency will be announced… in due course of time.”
The notification said it would not be mandatory for other candidates to file fresh nomination papers.
The PPP’s Hanif Memon, the PML-F’s Mukhtiar Narejo, Attaullah Haidri of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and
Shabbir Qaimkhani of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement are in the race for the seat. Mr Khan was a PPP worker but had decided to contest the election as an independent candidate after the party leadership awarded ticket to Mr Memon.

ECP yet to receive data on polling stations

By Our Staff Reporter

JI’s office attacked in Sibi

By Saleem Shahid

QUETTA, April 27: Attacks on election offices seem to have become a daily affair in Balochistan, with three members of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) getting injured in a grenade attack on their office in Sibi on Saturday. .
According to police, assailants on a motorcycle hurled a grenade at the election office of Muzaffar Nazar Abro, a candidate for PB-21 (Sibi) seat of Balochistan Assembly, in the Liaquat Bazaar area.
The grenade exploded outside the office, injuring three Jamaat workers and causing panic in the area. Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Imran and Abdullah were taken to the Combined Military Hospital.
Attacks on election offices, rallies and houses of candidates have been occurring in different parts of Balochistan since the beginning of election-related activities earlier this month.
The violence began with an attack on an election rally of Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, a PML-N leader, in Khuzdar district in which his son, brother, nephew and two other persons were killed.
Later, the secretary general of the Balochistan National Party-Awami, Asad Baloch, escaped a bomb attack in Panjgur.
A grenade was hurled on the house of National Party leader Dr Malik Baloch in Turbat.
A JUI-F candidate from Kachhi escaped a bomb-and-rocket attack on a rally led by him in the Machh area on Thursday. Six workers were injured. The banned Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack on the JUI-F rally.

Customs post blown up in Chaman

By Staff Correspondent

QUETTA, April 27: A customs checkpost in Chaman near the Afghan border was reduced to rubble by a powerful explosion on Saturday, police said. The destroyed post stood near the Customs House. .
Police said the checkpost was destroyed when an explosive device placed in it by unidentified people went off.
“No personnel were at the post when the explosion took place,” they said.
Meanwhile, police foiled an attempt to blow up a power pylon in Killi Qambarani area near Quetta.
Police said they had received information that three explosive devices had been placed under the pylon. The devices were defused by the bomb disposal squad.

Miramshah blast destroys polls office

MIRAMSHAH, April 27: A bomb blast has destroyed an election office in an area near the Afghan border, officials said on Saturday. .
No deaths were reported following the explosion which took place late on Friday at Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region.
The attack came hours after a car bomb exploded outside the election office of a candidate for Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi, killing 11 people.
“A time device, which was planted near the office of Aqal Khan, an independent candidate contesting the May 11 polls, went off but did not cause any loss of life because it was late in the night,” a security official said.
The blast however destroyed Mr Khan’s election office and a few adjacent shops.
Another official, who confirmed the bombing, said nobody had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Taliban have directly threatened the three main parties in the outgoing government, the PPP, ANP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which are often described as secular.
As a result of the threats, there have been few large-scale political rallies leading to a lacklustre campaign for the elections.—AFP

Polling from 8am to 5pm

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that polling for general elections will be held from 8am to 5pm. .
“The ECP has decided that polling for general elections will be held from 8am to 5pm, without any interval, on May 11,” said a press release issued on Saturday.—APP

Nine killed, 56 injured in KP: Bomb attacks on candidates, election offices

Dawn Report

KOHAT/PESHAWAR/SWABI, April 28: At least nine people were killed and 56 injured when bombs ripped through election offices of three candidates in Kohat and Peshawar and the convoy of a candidate came under attack in Swabi on Sunday..
According to AP, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan claimed responsibility for the attacks in Kohat and Peshawar.
“We are against all politicians who are going to become part of any secular, democratic government,” he said.
Police said five people were killed and 23 injured after a time bomb went off near election offices of ANP candidate Khursheed Begum and independent Noor Akbar Khan in the Kacha Pakha area of Kohat.
Initially, it was termed a suicide attack on the office of Akbar Khan, who is contesting for the NA-39 seat in Orakzai Agency, but later the bomb disposal squad said a time bomb of 10kg explosives had been used to target the independent candidate.
The blast also damaged the election office of ANP candidate for NA-14 Begum Khurshid.
SHO of the Ustarzai police station Mujtaba Khan told Dawn that the explosives appeared to have been planted in a shop located between offices of Akbar Khan and Khursheed Begum. The owner of the shop was killed in the blast which damaged six other shops and six vehicles.
Mr Khan said it was not clear who was the target but neither of the candidates was there at the time of the blast.
Ambulances reached after about half an hour and local people took the injured to a hospital in Kohat. Four of them who were in a serious condition were sent to Peshawar.
Police said two of the dead were beggars and another two belonged to Orakzai Agency. The identity of the fifth could not be ascertained.
The Ustarzai police have registered a case against terrorists under Sections, 302, 327, 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code, Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act and Section 5 of the Explosive Substance Act.
Another bomb exploded on Sunday outside the office of another independent candidate, Nasir Khan Afridi, in Maqsoodabad near Charsadda. Three people were killed and 20, including children, were injured.
Former senator Afridi is running for a National Assembly seat in Khyber Agency.
An officer of Khazana police station told Dawn that the bomb had been attached to a bicycle parked near the election office of Mr Afridi. The office was set up in a shop near a market.
A few days ago an explosion had taken place outside the residence of Mr Afridi in Hayatabad Township but there was no casualty.
In Swabi, a teenager was killed and 13 people suffered injuries when suspected Taliban attacked an election convoy of an ANP candidate with a bomb detonated by remote control.
ANP leaders said that former MPA Ameer Rehman and other leaders of the party were returning after addressing an election rally in Rafiqabad. Mr Rehman is contesting for the PK-32 Swabi-II seat and his father, former MNA Rehmanullah, for PK-12 Swabi-I.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police Dr Mian Mohammad Saeed said the explosion missed Mr Rehman’s car. A police van escorting him came under fire. He said Mr Rehman was the target of the attack. Local people took the injured to nearby Seena and Shahmansoor hospitals.
Four of the injured were sent to the district headquarters hospital in Mardan. The deceased teenager was identified as Zain Mohammad who hailed from Aziz Dheri.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack but police said the attack appeared to have been carried out by militants.
Meanwhile, ANP leaders said that Akhtar Muneer, a brother of Mohammad Islam, their candidate in PK-35, Swabi-V, who had been injured in an attack on Saturday night, died at the Lady Reading Hospital on Sunday.

[The report is based on contributions made by Abdul Sami Paracha, Waseem Ahmed Shah and Muqaddam Khan]

Troops to be deployed in sensitive areas of Balochistan

By Saleem Shahid

QUETTA, April 28: Personnel of Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps will be deployed at all sensitive districts and other areas on May 1 for ensuring free, fair and transparent elections in Balochistan, officials said. .
Confirming the deployment plan on Sunday, Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said security arrangements had been finalised to maintain peace and order in the province during the elections.
“Army and Frontier Corps would take their place of assignment on May 1,” he said, adding that they would continue to perform their security duties till May 15.
Mr Durrani said that border with Afghanistan would be closed on May 11. He said security forces would conduct targeted operations in case a subversion act took place.
Over 21,000 personnel of the Pakistan Army and the FC would perform security duties not only in 11 sensitive districts of Makran and Kalat divisions but also in other districts and areas, including Qila Abdullah.
Police, Levies and personnel of the Balochistan Reserve Police would also be deployed throughout the province during elections.
TEACHERS’ RESERVATIONS: Secretary Education Munir Badani will hold talks with leaders of the Government Teachers Association to discuss the situation arising out after teachers’ refusal to perform polling duties in 11 sensitive districts, sources said.
Around 18,461 teachers have refused to perform election duties in 11 districts of Kalat and Makran divisions after banned militant organisations issued threats that they would target all those who would be part of the electoral process.
Official sources said reservations of the teachers would be addressed.

FIA to interrogate Malik in BB case

By Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD, April 28: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has decided to examine its former boss Rehman Malik in the Benazir Bhutto murder case after former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf told interrogators that Mr Malik had decided details of security for the Dec 27, 2007, public meeting in Rawalpindi where she was assassinated. .
FIA sources told Dawn on Sunday that during interrogation Gen Musharraf had denied his involvement in the murder and said the former prime minister had been killed because of security breach for which Rehman Malik, being in-charge of her internal security, was responsible.
Mr Malik served as interior minister during the five-year PPP government and the FIA worked directly under him when it was tasked with investigation into the assassination of Benazir. The joint investigation team (JIT) was constituted by Mr Malik and it never examined him in connection with the murder case.
According to the sources, Gen Musharraf said it was the responsibility of Mr Malik to persuade Benazir not to come out of her bullet-proof car because police could not force her to remain inside.
The JIT decided to record the statement of Mr Malik in order to fulfil a legal requirement mandatory in such investigations, especially after revelations by the former military ruler, the sources said, adding that the JIT would issue a notice to Mr Malik on Monday morning and record his statement the same day.
According to them, Gen Musharraf also claimed that Mr Malik was a mediator between his government and the PPP and he was negotiating with police for security arrangements for the Dec 27, 2007, public gathering at Liaquat Bagh. Benazir Bhutto and 23 other people were killed in a terrorist attack outside the park after the rally, although 1,371 policemen had been deployed for her security.
Barrister Salman Safdar, the counsel for Gen Musharraf, confirmed that the former president had asked why Mr Malik had not been examined so far.
He said that at the time of the assassination, SSP retired Major Imtiaz, who was very close to Benazir, was also with her in the bullet-proof car. “After Mr Malik it was the duty of Major Imtiaz to stop Benazir from coming out of the car after she had successfully addressed the public gathering.”
Mr Safdar said that arrangements Mr Malik had made on the day were only known to him. “Why there was such a major security breach which facilitated the attack is also a guarded secret and only Mr Malik can answer. The former interior should also explain why the FIA took control of the case when the then Punjab government had already constituted a JIT to investigate the matter,” he asked.
The JIT notified by the Punjab government in early 2008 comprised DIG Mushtaq Sukhera, SP Waqar Chohan and SP (investigation) Tahir Ayub.
But on Aug 6, 2009, the PPP government had transferred the case to the FIA’s Special Investigation Group and constituted another JIT headed by FIA additional director general Khalid Qureshi.
On April 26, Gen Musharraf filed an application in an anti-terrorism court and requested it to reconstitute a JIT when the FIA produced him before it to obtain his physical remand.
But ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman rejected the application and advised Gen Musharraf to approach a proper forum for relief.
In his application filed by Barrister Salman Safdar, the former army chief alleged that Rehman Malik was security in-charge of Benazir and she was killed because of his negligence.
When this reporter contacted Mr Malik, his operator attended the call and after noting down the question said Mr Malik would soon respond. But he did not call till late in the evening.

Violence in Sindh after bodies of two JSMM men found

Dawn Report

HYDERABAD, April 28: At least three people were killed in incidents of violence which erupted in different parts of Sindh after bullet-riddled bodies of two activists of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz, a radical nationalist party, were found on a road in Dadu district on Sunday. .
Kotri bore the brunt of the violence; a moving train came under fire and two vehicles were torched. Two people were killed and four were injured in incidents of firing. Another man was shot dead in an attack on his shop in Hyderabad.
Railway tracks were damaged by bomb blasts in Khairpur and Shaheed Benazirabad districts. Ghotki was closed after firing in a busy bazaar and Dadu after low-intensity blasts caused by crackers.
JSMM activists took out processions in Khairpur Nathan Shah, Mirpur Mathelo and other towns. They blocked the Indus Highway near K.N. Shah. Police intervened and arrested 10 protesters. Khairpur Nathan Shah and Mehar were closed in response to a call for strike.
The JSMM has accused an intelligence agency of having killed Amir Khuhawar and Sajjad Markhand and called for a province-wide strike on Monday.
The two had been picked up by the personal of the agency and Rangers from Larkana on April 24 when they were preparing for a public meeting to mark the 18th death anniversary of GM Syed, the founder of Jeay Sindh movement which espouses the cause of independent Sindh, according to a press release issued by the party.
The bodies of the two activists, bearing marks of severe torture, were found on Chokhandi link road near Khairpur Nathan Shah. Police took the bodies to a local hospital for autopsy.
A police official said they had been informed about the bodies by motorists and local people. The hands of the victims had been tied with their back by rope, he said.
Dr Jabbar Landhar said that the bodies bore marks of bullets and torture. Activists of the JSMM, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and the Jeay Sindh Mahaz gathered at the hospital and JSMM leaders Ilyas Bhurgari and Junaid Inqalabi received the bodies.
JSMM activists took the bodies to Mehar where they held a demonstration. The party’s coordinator Munir Cholyani appealed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to order a judicial inquiry into the killings.
Gunmen attacked Awami Express, which was going to Karachi, on Kotri bridge. Four people -- including FIA employee Nawaz Gujjar and policeman Gulrez alias Ali Nawaz -- suffered bullet wounds. Gulrez was taken to the Civil Hospital Hyderabad. Gujjar was admitted to the Kotri taluka hospital.
Amjad, of Hyderabad who worked for a bakery, was also hit by a bullet. He was taken to the Hyderabad hospital but did not survive.
Another man, Abdul Ghani Qureshi was injured by gunfire at Shah Latif Chowk. He was taken to the Hyderabad hospital where he died.
A pick-up was set on fire near the Kotri taluka hospital and a bus of a pharmaceutical company on the railway bridge. Gunmen went on a firing spree, causing panic in the town which was soon closed.
In Hyderabad, a man was killed and another injured when four gunmen on two motorcycles fired at an ice-cream shop in Qasimabad area.
The deceased was identified as Rehmanullah Khan, 40, the owner of the shop, and the injured as Imtiaz Ali.
A firecracker was lobbed at a restaurant off Auto Bhan road. A child is reported to have suffered injuries.
In Khairpur district, a portion of railway track was blown up when an explosive device went off near Gambat railway crossing.
Train service was disrupted and different trains were stopped at various stations.
In Shaheed Benazirabad district, railway traffic remained suspended for three and a half hours after an explosion on tracks near Nawaz Dahiri railway station, 18 km from Nawabshah. The blast damaged the tracks and created a 2.5 feet deep crater.

Heirs to all too apparent kings

By Asha’ar Rehman

ONE of our teachers who had fled Lahore and settled in London before the glasnost in the 1980s had his own yardstick for measuring progress. He would routinely ask visitors from Pakistan: “What is the son of Mr A doing? How far has the daughter of Mr B gone in life?” “Achcha!” he would sigh whenever the answer did not quite match up to his expectations, which was quite often. “This is hardly evolution.”.
The uncertainty the professor sahib’s inquisitive nature brought into a conversation about generational improvements is a feature of Pakistani politics. Pakistanis looking for evolution of politics invariably begin with a rejection of dynasty, in favour of a real political party.
But since it doesn’t work out this way here, their focus then shifts to locating the signs of brilliance in a political heir who they cannot do without: a successor who has some fire in his belly, a rebellious streak early on before he settles into his due place on the throne, leaving the rebellious job to his offspring. A bit like Jahangir as he stood against Akbar, even if in the fictionalised confrontation over Anarkali, in a blossoming of the motley crowd’s hope of achieving equality.
It is a difficult act to balance – carving out a niche in a running dynasty without disowning the benefits of royal lineage. Too much emphasis on the old rules could compromise the freshness of a Hamza Sharif or a Moonis Elahi.
Hamza is the next Sharif choice for the Punjab throne. Uncle Nawaz Sharif, apparently the inspiration behind Hamza’s speech and mannerism, has his eyes set on a third term as prime minister. Hamza’s father, who simply loves challenges, has dedicated the next few years of his life to resolving the energy crisis in the country. This leaves the Takht Lahore unattended, unless of course we see the truth and recognise Hamza Shahbaz as the rightful claimant from the incumbent royal family.
For the time being, Hamza, along with his cousin Maryam Nawaz, is assigned to delivering the youth from Imran Khan’s spell and to the family camp. But more than being a carrier of young dreams he promises continuity, which may be a slightly problematic slogan for those edging to rise in revolt, or who have already revolted, against the imprint of the old.
Moonis Elahi’s case is similar: he is there to facilitate continuity with a few innovations here and there rather than symbolise a transfer of the baton from one generation to another. It took his elders decades to overcome the mental block which prevented them to locate the potential power ally in Punjab in the PPP. And, while they may flash Moonis from time to time as a blend of tradition and modernity, they are in no particular hurry to give up their conventional style of politics and not ready to allow him to lead a surge towards the modern.
It could also be that the young man’s flight has been checked by circumstances. His trial in a corruption case was a setback just when Moonis was appearing to warm up to his role as a backup to the politics of his father Pervaiz Elahi and uncle Shujaat Husain. For the moment, Pervez rules with Shujaat at hand to give his blessings.
Maybe a role in the opposition, which actually doesn’t look too distant, would help Moonis Elahi discover his true mettle. It is far easier for a young scion with right pedigree to get noticed when he is spewing venom at those in power, rather than having to defend a legacy blotted by years in power. Shahzain Bugti and Akhtar Mengal in Balochistan both have a big enough cause to lead their dynasties into battle.
Incumbency is a problem Moonis shares with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the heir to the biggest dynasty in Pakistan whose kingdom is showing grave signs of falling apart. Since the desperation in the PPP’s ranks is most obvious, the calls for Bilawal to be his own man and his own leader are the loudest. It is said that for the PPP in vast areas of the country, it is ‘do or die’ – the all too frequently discussed connotations of this expression signifying the toughness of his task.
Bilawal appears to be sufficiently unhappy yet at the same time he is over-trained and overseen to an extent which can leave wards under-prepared. In the conversations of his subjects, he quite often emerges as the Saleem who must this time rescue his dynasty from the effects of experiments done in Akbar’s tradition of mixing incompatible materials together in the hope of creating a new whole. Reconciliation, the formula was officially named this time.
The concept has cost the PPP dear and, it seems, it is yet to be given up by the presidency. Consequently, constrained by the militant threats, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is further prevented from taking on outside elements who he should be logically taking on now to revive hopes for his dynasty. Whether he has the ability to turn things around will only be known once he begins – or is allowed to begin -- the job in earnest.
One other dynasty in a somewhat similar situation, the Walis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been forced to withdraw from the frontline their new face, Aimal Wali Khan. The ANP chief has instead relied on his nephew, Amir Haider Hoti, to carry Bacha Khan’s flag forward – the pragmatic mama-bhanja (uncle-nephew) partnership being a more successful re-run of an alliance that once tried to take on the developing Sharif empire in Punjab. The partnership comprised Makhdoom Hasan Mahmood and Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Gilani, the nephew in that team, has since grown up from his princely status to have a dynasty of his own. While, on the national stage, he has been reduced by law to play more of a ceremonial queen mother, two of his sons and a brother are contesting national seats in Multan. His famous uncle’s family in Rahim Yar Khan is not doing all too bad either. Gilani’s cousin Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood is the governor of Punjab and two of Mahmood’s sons are contesting national seats in native territory.

Sarabjit battles for life; family arrives

By Our Staff Reporter

LAHORE, April 28: Doctors at the Jinnah Hospital said on Sunday that the condition of convicted Indian spy Sarabjit Singh continued to be critical and he had not regained consciousness. .
The death row convict was thrashed with bricks and blunt objects by fellow inmates in Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 26.
Four members of Singh’s family arrived in Lahore via Wagah border on Sunday and visited him in the hospital amid tight security.
The medical superintendent of Jinnah Hospital briefed the family on the treatment being provided to him.
Punjab IG Prisons Mian Farooq Nazeer and Indian High Commission’s First Secretary C.K. Das were present on the occasion.
One of Singh’s daughters sprinkled the ‘holy water’ on the face of his father.
Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur told reporters that she had come to Pakistan at a difficult time.
Ms Kaur said she, Singh’s wife and two daughters had been given 15-day visa and one of them had been allowed to stay at the hospital as an attendant.
DIG (Investigations) Zulfiqar Hameed told Dawn that police had so far interrogated two accused prisoners and Singh was in no position to give a statement. He said the investigation would focus on his statement.
He said the process of investigation would continue in jail and statements of jail officials and witnesses would be recorded.
AFP adds: A senior doctor at Jinnah Hospital said: “The family have been provided a room inside the hospital. They met Sarabjit Singh. He was still in coma and his condition was critical.”
Ms Kaur thanked Pakistani people for their prayers for her brother’s recovery and hoped he would get well soon and be allowed to return to India.
Singh’s lawyer, Owais Sheikh, earlier told AFP that his client had received threats following the execution of Kashmiri separatist Afzal Guru in New Delhi on Feb 9.
Singh, 49, was convicted over a string of bomb attacks in Punjab which killed 14 people in 1990. His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former president Pervez Musharraf.
His family says he is a victim of mistaken identity and he had inadvertently strayed across the border.
Meanwhile, Indian government officials told AFP in New Delhi that Pakistan had denied consular access to Singh.
“Officials from the Indian High Commission in Pakistan were not allowed to visit Sarabjit Singh on Sunday. The authorities have also refused to share his medical updates with the Indian officials,” said a senior Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said the Indian foreign ministry was making “every possible attempt” to get information about Singh’s health and using every “diplomatic mechanism to get an update about the situation”.
“It is crucial for us to know about Singh’s health and Pakistan cannot deny information to India,” said another government official in New Delhi. The Pakistan foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Caretakers accept IMF terms in principle

By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, April 28: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to introduce major restructuring of public sector enterprises and banking sector safeguards to protect consumers and depositors in case of a financial crisis. .
This is part of a proposed bailout programme the caretaker government has agreed to in principle with the IMF under an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth over $5 billion to be made part of draft of the budget for 2013-14 and to be signed by the next elected government.
An official told Dawn that the package involved reforms in seven key areas. Among them is restructuring of eight major public sector enterprises continuously relying on the federal budget to operate, so that they may stand on their own feet in two years for possible divestment.
The lending agency wants Pakistan to make the best use of breathing space provided by the $5bn loan to create an environment conducive to fresh private investments and issuance of international bonds so that the country’s foreign exchange reserves are built up to a level sufficient for six months of imports and a stable exchange rate may be maintained. The State Bank has been asked to take effective steps in consultation with the government to introduce safeguards in case of failure of small banks by increasing the capital adequacy ratio and possibly setting up a common fund for facing off risks of the small and medium private commercial banks.
The programme proposes that the insurance scheme for bank depositors be expanded through an effective mechanism and strengthening of the insurance sector.
The most important requirement of the new programme will be introduction of massive reforms on the revenue front for mobilising additional resources equivalent to 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in three years. At the current size of the GDP, the additional resource mobilisation works out to Rs580-600bn. Of this 1.5 per cent will have to be raised during 2013-14.
Also in the list of the conditions are power sector reforms to reduce system losses and introduce market-based electricity rates with minimum subsidies.

Top brass approve deployment for polls

By Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD, April 29: The army on Monday deployed its troops in nine sensitive districts of Balochistan and is set to complete the process in the remaining 21 districts on Tuesday, a senior military official told Dawn. .
The deployment in Kalat, Khuzdar, Kharan, Washuk, Awaran, Mastung, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar followed an approval of a plan for deployment of troops across the country during elections given at a special corps commanders conference. Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani presided over the conference at the General Headquarters.
The deployment was aimed at protecting candidates and voters and providing a safe and secure environment on the polling day.
More than 6000 army soldiers will be deployed across Balochistan.
The military official said the troops would not be deployed inside polling stations; they would be stationed at strategically suitable places to act as quick response force as and when required.
According to him, security requirements of the Election Commission (ECP) and the federal and provincial governments were discussed at the meeting. The security plan was based on information about sensitive and most sensitive polling stations provided by the ECP and the overall law and order situation in the country.
The deployment in Balochistan was made on a requisition by the provincial government. Defence Secretary Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik said at a meeting of the ECP on April 25 that the deployment of troops should be discussed by the provincial governments.
What prompted the government to seek deployment of army troops in addition to civil armed forces was a surge in pre-poll violence across the country.
Since April 21, when election campaigns formally started, the Taliban and other militant groups have carried out over 20 attacks on political parties, killing 48 people and injuring over 200.
Four people were killed when an election convoy of PML-N leader Sardar Sanaullah Zehri came under a bomb attack in Anjira area of Khuzdar in Balochistan on April 16. Mr Zehri survived the attack, but his son, brother and nephew and a guard were killed. At least 25 people were injured.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The worsening law and order situation had also led to refusal by teachers in Balochistan to perform election duties — a decision which was reversed after talks with the government.
The continuing violence ahead of elections was seen by many as an attempt to sabotage the electoral process.
A statement by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan issued on March 18 said it all. Declaring elections part of an un-Islamic democratic system bound to serve the interests of infidels and enemies of Islam, it warned voters to stay away from political rallies of three liberal, democratic parties — PPP, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party.
The continuing attacks on election offices of political parties and their candidates are seen by the ECP as a failure of the provincial governments, which have been asked to ensure that candidates, leaders and voters are protected. The PPP, ANP and MQM, the main target of the attacks, however, appear to have been undeterred by terrorist threats and have called for holding of elections on time.

Taliban’s anti-poll drive kills two in KP

Dawn Report

CHARSADDA, April 29: True to their words, Taliban militants continued their relentless attacks on election candidates and campaign offices of political and religious parties in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, leaving two people dead and three injured. .
The main target of the attacks was the Awami National Party which has been bearing the brunt of the current acts of terror across the country, particularly in KP, Fata and Pata.
ANP candidate for PK-17 Mohammad Ahmad Khan escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded near his car in Sardheri bazaar of Charsadda. A passerby was killed and 10 people were injured. The victim was identified as Bahar Ali.
Witnesses said the ANP leader was in Sardheri bazaar meeting traders to seek their support when the blast took place.
According to bomb disposal squad, at least 2.5 kilograms of explosives strapped to a motorcycle had been used in the blast.
NOWSHERA: A group of men on motorcyclists fired at the election office of ANP candidate Shahid Khan Khattak in Nowshera. A worker of the party was killed and another injured.
Witnesses said the attackers fired indiscriminately but the ANP candidate for PK-13 seat escaped unhurt. The firing left two party workers injured and one of them, identified as Johar Khan, died while being taken to a hospital. The other injured, Shaid Khan, was admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.
Addressing party workers after the incident, Shahid Khattak said his party would not be deterred by such attacks. He accused the government of having failed to provide security to liberal political parties.
MANSEHRA: An election office of ANP candidate and former provincial minister Nimroz Khan was attacked in Torghar by terrorists on Sunday night.
According to police, militants broke into the election office in Muchar area, tore down banners and posters, set the office on fire and escaped.
MARDAN: The hujra of an ANP leader and former Tehsil Naib Nazim Khan Daraz Khan and an adjacent mosque were damaged in a bomb blast in Katlang area of Mardan on Monday.
Nihar Ali Khan, SHO of Katlang police station, told Dawn that Taliban militants had planted a bomb in the hujra of the ANP leader and detonated it. He said the hujra and an adjacent mosque were damaged, but no-one suffered injuries.
KARAK: Candidates of two religious parties came under attacks in different parts of Karak district on Monday.
Police said the motorcade of JUI (Sami) candidate for NA-15 Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz was attacked when he was going to attend an election rally in Guddikhel area. No-one was injured and the assailants escaped.

PPP, MQM, ANP vow to contest elections, undeterred by terror

By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque

KARACHI, April 29: In a rare show of unity against a common enemy, the PPP, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party declared on Monday that they would not be deterred by terrorist threats and would contest the May 11 elections at all costs. They alleged that the terrorists were being patronised by ‘national and international establishments’. .
Persistent bomb attacks on their workers, rallies and election offices have forced the three liberal, democratic parties to set aside their differences and work out a plan to meet the threat. Their leaders met on Sunday night and decided to announce their plan the following day. A press conference held at the press club on Monday was addressed by PPP’s Taj Haider, MQM’s Haider Abbas Rizvi and ANP’s Bashir Jan.
They categorically stated that their parties wanted elections to be held on time and were determined not to leave the ground for “terrorists and their political wings”. They would not surrender to terrorists and religious extremists.
The representatives of the three parties accused state institutions of helping terrorists to target ‘leftwing parties’ and lashed out at other parties for maintaining a ‘criminal silence’. They criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan for preventing progressive people from contesting elections and the caretaker government and law-enforcement agencies for their failure to rein in terrorists.
Bashir Jan went one step further and he said he feared the ECP, caretaker government and terrorists had a common agenda; either they did not want to hold the elections or wanted results of their choice.
Taj Haider said the PPP wanted elections held on time. He said that some western countries did not like the gas pipeline deal with Iran and the handing over of Gwadar port to China.
He condemned terrorist attacks on the three parties and said the ECP and caretakers had failed to act against ‘a few hundred’ militants. Referring to a media report, he said the ECP had allowed 55 candidates whose names were on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, but barred progressive people like columnist Ayaz Amir from contesting elections.
The PPP leader said the terrorist outfits were militant wings of rightwing parties which were carrying out their election campaigns without any fear or hurdle.
He said these parties and militant groups had been previously nurtured by the West and now when Nato forces were about to leave Afghanistan, western powers were trying to hand over the region again to them to further their nefarious designs.
Haider Rizvi of the MQM said moderate, liberal and progressive parties were under attack and extremists were freely targeting them in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. He said terrorists and religious fanatics had been given a free hand to attack the ANP, PPP and MQM and the caretaker government, ECP and law-enforcement agencies were playing the role of silent spectators.
Mr Rizvi said he believed the international establishment was supporting the rightwing parties in Pakistan because it wanted a safe exit from Afghanistan. Referring to the plan for withdrawal of Nato troops, he said the national and international establishments should understand that hasty decisions would not help anyone and a similar decision in the past to leave Afghanistan had resulted in 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks.
Bashir Jan said that instead of patronising rightwing parties, the United States and Britain should prevail upon the ECP and the caretaker government to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in Pakistan.
He appealed to people to reject terrorists and their political wings and tell the world that the people of Pakistan were against extremism.

Frenzied campaigning in a clutch of pivotal seats

By Cyril Almeida

MULTAN: Six National Assembly seats, 13 of provincial assembly; high-wattage candidates; PPP, PML-N, PTI and JI vying for victory; urban and rural voters with their separate dynamics; settlers and migrants versus natives; biradirism and factionalism; and the lurking issue of a south Punjab province – the intensity of the electoral race in Multan is rivalled only by its complexity..
The names here are all eye-catching: Yusuf Raza Gilani’s sons Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir are up against Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI, and Sikandar Hayat Bosan of PML-N. Javed Hashmi is in the same race as Liaquat Baloch, secretary general of the Jamaat-i-Islami. And Shah Mehmood Qureshi is contesting a second seat in Multan city against lesser-known but strong rivals from the PML-N and PPP.
These four seats – NA-148 to NA-151 – are where most eyes are on in Multan and none of the camps involved are confident of victory as yet. Racing from one meeting to the next and campaigning from early morning till the late hours of the night, the candidates and their allies need not state the obvious: they are in the fight of their lives.
Appearing the most relaxed is Yusuf Raza Gilani, freed from the burden of contesting himself but campaigning intensely on behalf of his sons. Driving his Land Cruiser – non-bullet proof, as Gilani points out – and accompanied by a three-vehicle police escort, Gilani is listening to his favourite music and waving to supporters on the road as he shuttles between his sons’ constituencies, one predominantly urban, NA 148, the other largely rural, NA-151.“This is what I like best, being among my people,” Gilani says, after a brief stop at a small house in a narrow lane, where supporters quickly gather to cheer Gilani and the PPP. The Gilanis are relying on two factors to carry them to victory on May 11: one, a loyal PPP and Gilani vote bank in Multan; and two, the enormous money and time Yusuf Raza lavished on Multan during his four-year stint as prime minister.
“Every day I spent at least one hour looking at the affairs of Multan,” Gilani said of his time as prime minister. The results, both supporters and rivals attest, are there for all to see. Large parts of Multan city have been transformed by a quintessentially Pakistani understanding of development: roads, bridges and flyovers are layered across the city in a dizzying, ribbon-like arrangement.
“When Bunny (Abdul Qadir) was contesting, people said, ‘na bijli, na paani leikin Gilani,’” the elder Gilani said with a smile of his son’s hard-fought victory last July in NA-151, the seat vacated by Gilani after his disqualification by the Supreme Court.
SMQ’s MIXED OUTLOOK: “Ali Musa is safe,” said Kasim Gilani, another son of Yusuf Raza who is campaigning for the family, referring to the contest in NA-148 between Ali Musa Gilani, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, PML-N.
Originally Qureshi’s stronghold in Multan, Ali Musa won the seat by a margin of over 50,000 votes against Dogar in a Feb 2012 by-election after Qureshi resigned having joined the PTI. But with Qureshi back in the race now, Kasim Gilani explained the reasons his family is hoping for a second win in NA-148: “It’s a triangular fight now, plus our panel is very strong,” referring to Ali Musa’s running mates, including a brother of Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
“148 is a tougher contest. It is neck-and-neck,” admitted Zain Qureshi, son of Shah Mehmood. “The main problem is that we didn’t take part in the by-election and our voters went over to Ghaffar Dogar (the PML-N candidate). Now, seventy-five to eighty per cent is back with us, but there are still factions with Dogar.”
“150 we are fairly comfortable,” Zain Qureshi continued, turning to the other seat his father is contesting in Multan. “Rana Hassan (the PML-N candidate and winner in 2008) has a very bad reputation and people are sick of him.”
“Secondly, it’s a completely urban constituency, so there is a PTI and Shah Mehmood Qureshi factor there. Thirdly, the Ansaris are split,” the younger Qureshi explained, referring to a seat his father has never contested before and where there is a heavy PML-N and Ansari biradiri influence.
Imran Gabol, a local journalist, echoed Qureshi’s outlook for NA-150: “Shah Mehmood Qureshi has done his homework and has a lot of support. He’s broken supporters from Rana Hassan, who isn’t very popular. It looks like it will be a fight between the PML-N and PTI.”
Gabol, though, cautioned that while the PPP candidate, Nafees Ansari, is weak and a new entrant to the party, the warring but pivotal Ansari biradiri could rally behind him come election time.
Tough fights: The challenge for Javed Hashmi in NA-149, a seat he won in 2008 but vacated after joining the PTI, is a crowded field. “Whenever there is a triangular contest, PPP wins,” Jamshed Rizwani, the Geo bureau chief in Multan, said. “Half the votes there are PPP and the other half anti-PPP.”
An urban constituency with a large conservative vote bank, in the past the PML-N and Jamaat-i-Islami have cooperated here to ensure victory for a right-of-centre candidate. This time there is a four-way race in NA-149: Hashmi, Liaquat Baloch (JI), Tariq Rasheed, the PML-N winner in the Feb 2012 by-election that was marred by accusations of widespread rigging, and Malik Amir Dogar, the PPP candidate.
With the conservative vote now split, Dogar is considered the front-runner on May 11. But Rizwani warned: “It’s a heavily educated constituency. In the by-election, the turnout was very low and the PTI thinks that was its voter staying away. Dogar is strong but you can’t write off Hashmi.”
For the PML-N, Multan remains a riddle it has yet to fully crack – the electorate here being roughly divided between prosperous and conservative settlers from other parts of Punjab and migrants at Partition on one side and PPP-leaning, poorer natives on the other side. Winner of two of the six NA seats in 2008, the PML-N has only one clear front-runner in 2013: Syed Javed Ali Shah in NA-152.
The other is Sikandar Hayat Bosan, who joined the PML-N at the eleventh hour after breaking from the PTI and will face off against Abdul Qadir Gilani in NA-151.
“It’s one-on-one and neck to neck,” said Kasim Gilani, brother of Abdul Qadir. “Bosan has forty to forty-five thousand of his own votes there. Add to that twenty-thousand biradiri votes and ten-to-fifteen thousand N-League votes. We (Gilanis) don’t have our home there and have to start by making up the personal votes Bosan has there.”

Jamaat urges APC on current situation

By Saleem Shahid

QUETTA, April 29: Calling upon the caretaker prime minister to convene an all-party conference on the situation in the country, Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hassan said here on Monday that elections should be held despite various hurdles because postponement of polls could have very serious consequences..
He made the proposal during a meeting with Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) chief Talal Akbar Bugti at the Bugti House.
He urged the government to deploy troops on polling stations to ensure free, fair and transparent elections and use intelligence agencies to protect candidates and other politicians. He said a committee had been constituted comprising representatives of JI and JWP to work out a possible seat adjustment plan between the two parties for May 11 elections.
Mr Bugti said the situation in Dera Bugti, Kohlu and Nasirabad was not conducive for elections because of operations being carried out by security agencies. He added that his party would file a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court on the matter.
He said despite orders of the apex court, Bugti refugees were not being allowed to return to their areas. He said that even his son Shazain Bugti had not been allowed to enter Dera Bugti. A number of JWP workers had been arrested and others were being harassed, he added.
Later, addressing at a workers’ convention of his party, the JI chief said the caretaker government had completely failed to maintain law and order.
He said it was for the first time after 1970 that the JI was contesting elections under its own flag and with its own symbol. He urged the workers to be in touch with people and disseminate JI’s message. He advised candidates of his party to avoid spending large amounts of money on the election campaign.The JI chief said conspiracies were being hatched to delay elections, adding that there were many hidden hands behind such conspiracies.
Mr Hassan said if elections were postponed a puppet leadership would come to power and the country would have to face serious consequences.

43 injured in suicide blast: Afghan officials among 9 killed in Peshawar

By Ali Hazrat Bacha

PESHAWAR, April 29: At least nine people, two employees of Afghan consulate among them, were killed and 43 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop on the University Road here on Monday. .
The blast also damaged nearby buildings and power supply system.
Superintendent of Police Faisal Kamran said it was yet to be ascertained who or what the actual target was. According to him, initial investigation suggests three possibilities. Either a police patrol van or a high-profile Afghan national was the actual target or the bomber was going to hit another target but his suicide vest exploded before he reached his target.
He said police had taken steps to prevent such attacks but it was impossible to do so with the existing manpower and limited resources, particularly at a time when electioneering was in full swing and every candidate expected security.
Afghan Counsel General Ibrahim Khel Afghan said the two officials -- Qari Hilal Ahmed Waqad, who dealt with trade, and Mohammad Idrees, refugee attaché -- had disembarked from a bus and were walking to their office when the blast occurred. Qari Hilal is son of Amin Waqad, a former Afghan minister.
“They were not the target because they regularly came to the University Town office from Hayatabad where they lived and had never received any threat,” he said.
Police official Zahid Hussain said he believed that a police van was the target, adding that the injured included passengers waiting at the Arbab Road bus stop and employees of government and private organisations who were coming to Hayatabad from Swabi in a bus.
Bomb disposal unit personnel said explosives weighing five to six kilogramme had been packed in the suicide vest. They said legs of the bomber had been found and sent to local mortuary.
Witness Najeeb, who lives in the University Town, said he was on Abdara Road when he heard a deafening explosion and rushed to the place.
“Bodies and injured were lying in pools of blood. The injured were crying for help but people were reluctant to approach them because of fear of another blast,” he said.
Jan Sher, injured driver of the wagon, said: “We were at the bus stop when a motorcyclist wearing a helmet blew himself up.” Cleaner Ghazi Gul was seriously injured.
Another witness, Mehboob Alam, of Charsadda and owner of the bus, said his vehicle was carrying passengers to Hayatabad when it was hit by the blast. “I miraculously remained unhurt though I was sitting beside the driver who was seriously injured.”
The injured, a woman among them, were taken to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Lady Reading Hospital. A source in the KTH said seven of the injured were in critical condition. Of the eight bodies brought to the hospital, three were mutilated and beyond identification.
Besides the Afghan officials, three other victims were identified as Shamsuddin, Adeel Shah and Makhdoom.
An AFP report quoted police as saying the attack targeted a top civil servant who heads the city’s administration.
“The suicide bombing targeted senior official Sahibzada Anees, who had passed by shortly before the blast,” police official Mohammad Faisal told the news agency.
The commissioner was the target but he escaped unhurt as the bomber missed him and his motorcycle rammed into a passenger bus, Mr Faisal said.

Judiciary reminded of its role in validating martial laws

By Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, April 29: A lawyer representing former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf cautioned the judiciary on Monday that if he was prosecuted for abrogating the constitution, he would not go down alone. .
“The role the judiciary played by validating successive martial laws in the past is also not something to be proud of,” Ibrahim Satti said before a three-judge bench, adding that the treason charges should also involve all those who had never objected or collaborated, abetted and conspired in such cases since 1956 -- the year mentioned in the High Treason (Punishment) Act of 1973.
The bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, was hearing petitions seeking a directive from the apex court to the government for initiating treason charges against Gen Musharraf.
“We all are sailing in the same boat since 1956,” the counsel said, but received a prompt retort from Justice Khawaja: “And this boat full of people should be sunk”.
The court ordered the caretaker government to facilitate all the three counsel representing Musharraf to meet their client after they complained that they had not seen him for four days.
“We will ensure no injustice is done to anybody as everyone is equal before us,” Justice Khawaja said.
Advocate Satti said Gen Musharraf was ready to face treason charges, but the guns should not be pointed at him alone.
Tracing the history of previous martial laws, he said the world had never accepted validation of martial laws either by parliament or by the judiciary.
Therefore, if any action by way of treason charges had to be taken then his client should not be discriminated against. The charge should implicate as principal accused all those who had aided and abetted in such acts in the past, he said.
It is a wrong perception, he said, that the late Gen Ayub Khan had clamped martial law on Oct 7, 1958. Instead, it had been imposed by the then president Iskander Mirza and validated by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the president was sitting in the office and it was in the interest of the state. After the verdict, Gen Ayub became president on Oct 27, 1958.
Gen Ayub himself violated the constitution and handed over power to the late Gen Yahya Khan, but the apex court protected all acts done by Gen Yahya in the Asma Jillani case because there was an interim constitution of 1962 and the speaker of the National Assembly was working as the acting president, he said.
Likewise, the Supreme Court validated the 1977 martial law of Gen Ziaul Haq in the Nusrat Bhutto case by invoking the ‘doctrine of necessity’ because Chaudhry Fazal Ellahi was functioning as president.
In the same fashion, the Supreme Court legalised the Oct 12, 1999, martial law by Gen Musharraf because Rafiq Tarar was in the office of president and all the courts were functioning smoothly, the lawyer said.
He said the Nov 3, 2007, emergency was also validated by the apex court in the Iqbal Tikka Khan case on Nov 24, 2007, by relying heavily on the Zafar Ali Shah case, although the verdict was overturned by a larger bench in the July 31, 2009, judgment after holding the proclamation of emergency as unconstitutional.
The government had notified the interior secretary in 1994 to lodge a complaint for lodging treason charges against an individual, but before registering a complaint the authorised person had to initiate a thorough inquiry, he said.
The counsel said that the legislators had become wiser and under the 18th amendment, had not only revoked the validation of the 1999 martial law by the Supreme Court in the Zafar Ali Shah case, but had also blocked holding in abeyance of the constitution to discourage any attempt by the judiciary to validate such acts in future.
“Throughout our constitutional history, parliament as well as the people of Pakistan have accepted constitutional changes which become convention later and anything approved by parliament becomes law of the land.”
He said the imposition of emergency on Nov 3 could be termed something different from the previous martial laws or something which was not for the public good.

Article 6(2) needs amendment: PHC: Musharraf barred for life from contesting polls

By Waseem Ahmad Shah

PESHAWAR, April 30: The Peshawar High Court banned for life former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf from contesting election for parliament and provincial assemblies and termed him an opportunist who had no respect for the law and constitution. .
A four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan ruled that the former military ruler had twice trampled the constitution under his feet, imposed emergency on Nov 3, 2007 and placed the Chief Justice of Pakistan and about 50 judges under house arrest along with their families.
The court dismissed five petitions filed by Gen Musharraf against the order of an election tribunal which had disqualified him from contesting the election from NA-32 Chitral after setting aside the decision by a returning officer who had accepted his nomination papers.
“We are of the considered view that a person who has got not a little respect for whole of the constitution how he will pass through narrow and small compass of articles 62 and 63,” the bench observed. The court order said he (Gen Musharraf) would be disqualified for good from getting elected to parliament, provincial assemblies or any other post.
The order said that much needed to be added to article 6 (2) of the constitution dealing with treason and ambiguous phrases and words had to be clarified and even parliament should be included in it, besides executive authorities, so that whenever parliament endorsed actions of a dictator it should cease to exist and the same principle should be applied with much vigour to others who obeyed the order of a dictator.
It ruled that if parliament was not doing its duty of amending article 6 (2) the interpretation placed by this court should prevail and apply to every dictator, parliament, executive and judiciary if they trampled the constitution in future. “All those who obey the order of a dictator should be guilty of the same offence liable to be tried, besides losing office,” the order said.
Advocate Ahmad Raza Kasuri, representing Gen Musharraf, argued that while accepting the five appeals against his client’s candidature the whole emphasis of the election tribunal was on the famous Jul 31, 2009, verdict of the Supreme Court in the Sindh High Court Bar Association case.
He said all 14 judges on the SC bench who issued the judgment had once taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order and if Gen Musharraf was considered a “usurper” those judges were also collaborators or abettors.
The counsel contended that in its judgment the apex court had gone beyond the prayer of the petitioner and made certain observations which were not mandatory in nature. He said that under the constitution only the executive authority was empowered to file a treason case against a person under article 6 of the constitution and the judiciary had no authority to issue any such order.
The imposition of emergency in 1999 had been endorsed by the Supreme Court in the Zafar Ali Shah case, he added. The PHC order said the most crucial step taken by Gen Musharraf, which could neither be endorsed by any provision of the constitution nor by any canon of domestic or international law, was on Nov 3, 2007, and that too at a time when he was party to a case in which retired Justice Wajihuddin had challenged his qualification for contesting presidential elections while in military uniform.
It said that like previous dictators Gen Musharraf wanted a favourable decision but when he apprehended that the decision would be made purely on merit and in accordance with the constitution he had axed the superior judiciary up to the roots level.
Referring to house arrest of the judges, the court said this was a single instance which could be hardly quoted in history books to be written later as no dictator in the past in any corner of the world had committed such a detestable act against the sacred institution of judiciary.
“The plot he (Gen Musharraf) arranged and executed and manoeuvring he made for getting presidentship after destroying the judiciary clearly showed that he was a man of opportunism, had no respect for law much less the constitution, thus he had no face to show that he was eligible to contest the election from any constituency much less the one for which he filed nomination papers,” the order said.
AP adds: Saad Shibli, one of Gen Musharraf’s lawyers, said he would challenge the PHC ruling in the Supreme Court. He said the former military ruler should not be singled out for punishment for his actions while in power since others were involved.
“About 500 officials at different levels and institutions were part of Gen Musharraf’s actions, and if those actions come under scrutiny, all those people should be involved in this matter,” Mr Shibli said.

Parties on ‘hit list’ resolve to defy terrorists

By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque

KARACHI, April 30: A day after the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Awami National Party declared that they would not leave the electoral ground to militants and their political wings, the three parties alleged on Tuesday night that they were being compelled to boycott the May 11 elections..
Senator Shahi Syed of the ANP, Rehman Malik of the PPP and Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM addressed a joint press conference at the MQM’s ‘Nine Zero’ headquarters.
While Dr Sattar said that conspiracies were being hatched to hijack the elections and democracy, Mr Malik told the press conference these conspiracies were actually aimed at disintegrating Pakistan.
Dr Sattar said that the world powers wanted to bring a government of rightwing parties just to ensure their safe exit from Afghanistan.
He warned that if pro-Taliban forces came to power in the country, they would bring instability to the whole region.
He said that Pakistan was heading towards an ‘unjust and unfair election’ and national and international establishments were involved in this conspiracy.
“A clear message has been sent to moderate, liberal and progressive parties that either they will be forced to boycott the elections and if they don’t (boycott) then it is clear that they would not be given equal opportunity to contest the polls,” the MQM leader said.
He said that the ANP, the PPP and the MQM believed that the establishment was giving an open field to rightwing conservative parties to contest the elections.
Dr Sattar urged the caretaker government, the Election Commission of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies to fulfil their constitutional and legal obligations by holding free, fair and transparent elections.
The ANP’s Shahi Syed, who until recently was considered the MQM’s nemesis, said the three parties should evolve a joint strategy to fight against terrorists who were targeting innocent people.
“We will not allow these terrorists to decide about our parliament…no one can enter parliament with the support of these terrorists,” he added.
He said that the terrorists were targeting the ANP, PPP and MQM, but fighting against them was the responsibility of every patriotic citizen and party.
He declared that threats would never force the three parties to run away from the field. Mr Malik said that the elections were a contest between anti-Taliban and pro-Taliban parties.
He used the opportunity to criticise PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and PTI chairman Imran Khan, saying the nation wanted to know whether there was any “unwritten agreement between them and the terrorists” as it appeared that the “Taliban are providing them protection”.
He said the Taliban wanted to bring their own prime minister and it was high time that the whole nation stood up to them.
He said that President Asif Zardari, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and ANP president Asfandyar Wali had decided to fight against terrorists. “We do not want to fight…we just want to save the people of Pakistan.”
Earlier, a number of MQM workers welcomed Senator Syed and Mr Malik when they reached the ‘Nine Zero’.

‘We must not harbour any doubts’ about May 11 elections: It is Pakistan’s war, says Kayani

By Kalbe Ali

ISLAMABAD, April 30: Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani used the occasion of ‘Youm-i-Shuhada’ (martyrs’ day) to send more than one message to more than one audience. .
Assuring everyone that the elections would be held on May 11, he tried to dispel the ever-circulating rumours about the postponement of elections.
He also made it clear that the war the army was fighting was Pakistan’s war and that the anti-democratic forces would never be acceptable, sending a message to all those watching the country’s battle with extremism and militants. And last but not least, he also indirectly expressed the military’s reservations about the treatment being meted out to his predecessor retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
“Allah willing, general elections will be held in the country on 11th of May. We must not harbour any doubts or misgivings about it,” the army chief said while addressing a ceremony at the GHQ to mark the day.
“I assure you that we stand committed to wholeheartedly assist and support in the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections; to the best of our capabilities and remaining within the confines of the constitution. I also assure you that this support shall solely be aimed at strengthening democracy and rule of law in the country,” he said.
Like every Pakistani, he said, Pakistan Army in its humble capacity, had endeavoured to strengthen democracy in the past five years with the hope that the next elections would steer the country towards betterment.
“Now, once the destination is in sight we must not err in accomplishing our responsibilities towards the election process. We must never forget that success of any system resides in coming up to the aspirations of the masses. The success of democracy is intimately linked with the wellbeing and prosperity of the nation. The real virtue of democracy ultimately lies in the safety and welfare of the masses,” he said.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: He termed the next elections “a golden opportunity” for the people that “can usher in an era of true democratic values in the country”.
In his indirect reference to the ongoing trial of former military ruler Musharraf, the army chief said: “In my opinion, it is not merely retribution, but awareness and participation of the masses that can truly end this game of hide and seek between democracy and dictatorship.”
Gen Kayani was of the view that if they succeeded in rising above all ethnic, linguistic and sectarian biases to vote solely on the basis of honesty, sincerity, merit and competence, “there would be no reason to fear dictatorship or to grudge the inadequacies of our present democratic system”.
“Our salvation resides in transforming the government into a true platform of public representation. This would come to pass once the construct of public representation in Pakistan is oriented towards affording primacy and precedence to larger public interest over personal interests. Otherwise, may it be democracy or dictatorship; governance would continue to remain a means of self-aggrandisement and that of plundering national wealth and resources,” he said.
According to the army chief, the conduct of elections is not an end in itself, “but is surely an important means towards delivering us from our present sufferings”.
He regretted that despite tremendous sacrifices, the dream of founding fathers under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal was yet to be realised. “Perhaps, we have either not discovered the correct path or have not remained steadfast in our journey. Yet the spirit of sacrifice and resilience of our nation remains undiminished.”
‘WAR ON TERROR’: Blaming “external enemies” for the menace of terrorism and extremism that had claimed thousands of lives in the country, the army chief criticised those busy in debating the causes and origin of the ‘war on terror’ — an apparent reference to certain political and religious groups accusing Gen Musharraf of bringing this war to the country’s soil.
“We cannot afford to confuse our soldiers and weaken their resolve with such misgivings,” he said, adding: “Considering this war against terrorism as the war of the armed forces alone can lead to chaos and disarray that we cannot afford.”He said the fact of the matter was that today it was Pakistan and its valiant people who were a target of this war and were suffering tremendously.
“I would like to ask all those who raise such questions that if a small faction wants to enforce its distorted ideology over the entire nation by taking up arms and for this purpose defies the Constitution of Pakistan and the democratic process and considers all forms of bloodshed justified, then does the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war?”, he asked.
According to the COAS, even in the history of the best evolved democratic states, treason or seditious uprisings against the state have never been tolerated and in such struggles their armed forces have had unflinching support of the masses; questions about the ownership of such wars have never been raised.
Gen Kayani expressed the desire that all those who had “strayed and have picked up arms against the nation, return to the national fold”.
However, he said, this was only possible once “they unconditionally submit to the state, its constitution and the rule of law. There is no room for doubts when it comes to dealing with rebellion against the state.”
The army chief said the “nefarious designs of our enemy, may it be internal or external, will never succeed and we shall eventually prevail.”
He paid tribute to the 140 soldiers and officers who lost their lives in an avalanche in Gayari sector.
The event honoured the personnel of armed forces and police and the civilians killed by the terrorists and extremists.
Apart from the parents of martyred servicemen, sons of SP Syed Abdul Kalam and ANP leader Bashir Ahmed Bilour, who were killed in suicide attacks, and the children of slain journalist Nasrullah Khan Afridi also spoke.

Candidate killed in Jhal Magsi

By Saleem Shahid

QUETTA, April 30: An independent candidate, along with his two associates, was shot dead in the Jhal Magsi area on Tuesday. .
Levies sources said that armed men opened fire on Abdul Fateh Magsi, a candidate for PB 32 (Jhal Magsi), when he was campaigning in Goth Shanmbani.
Mr Magsi’s security guards retaliated and a heavy exchange of fire continued for about half an hour. Levies officials said all three persons died on the spot while two others received bullet injuries.
The other two dead were identified as Jani Khan and Meharullah Khan Magsi and the injured as Wazir Khan and Arbeelah.
But other sources claimed that unknown armed men opened fire on Mr Magsi when he was taking out a procession.
“Heavy weapons were used in the gun battle from both sides,” Deputy Commissioner Saeed Jamali said.
He claimed that Mr Magsi and his two associates were killed in crossfire and Levies had recovered a huge quantity of illegal arms and ammunition from their possession.
He said that Mr Magsi’s security guards fired three rockets.
According to Mr Magsi’s supporters, they were attacked during their door-to-door election campaign.
The family of Mr Magsi has claimed that he and his two friends were kidnapped on Monday night and their bodies were dumped in a deserted area on Tuesday morning.
But Levies and district administration said they were killed during the exchange of fire.
“We are investigating the incident,” Levies officials said, adding that heavy contingents of security forces had been deployed because the situation was tense in the area.
The Election Commission of Pakistan postponed the election in PB 32 Jhal Magsi.

Diversity and divisions within south Punjab ‘sooba’

By Nasir Jamal

BAHAWALPUR: In April 2011 Salahuddin Abbasi, the heir to the title of the Nawab of Bahawalpur, launched his Bahawalpur National Awami Party (BNAP). The new party was to strive for the revival of the old Bahawalpur state reincarnated as a province. It was to consist of the three southern most districts of Punjab – Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan – as the state of Bahawalpur existed at the time of its merger with Pakistan and before the formation of the One-Unit in 1954. .
Two years later the Nawab is struggling to field his candidates for the May 11 election. He himself decided to stand down after he failed to gain the support of any of the two major political parties – the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. His party, however, says he is not contesting because his younger brother is not well these days.
As a last resort, his party has struck an electoral deal with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the powerful independent candidates like Tariq Bashir Cheema to perk up the chances of its candidates: two for the national assembly and nine for the provincial assembly. The BNAP’s vociferous campaign for the Bahawalpur Sooba overwhelmed by the clamour of bigger players with similar and contrasting agendas, few are prepared to bet on the Nawab’s party for the May 11 race.
On their own, some of the BNAP candidates are big names in local politics. One of them, Farooq Azam Malik, the BNAP candidate for a national seat from Bahawalpur city, does not agree with the general assessment about his party’s chances. He contends that the voters from the three districts had lent “overwhelming” support to the Bahawalpur Sooba Mahaz in the 1970 election because it had opposed absorption of Bahawalpur Sooba into Punjab after the One-Unit was disbanded.
“The Mahaz won 85 per cent of all the national and provincial seats from the districts comprising the (defunct) State of Bahawalpur. It was the only area in Punjab that escaped the PPP wave in that election. Such was, and still is the kind of public support that the demand for the revival of the sooba can stir up,” he argues.
He claims no party can do politics in this area without supporting the revival of Bahawalpur Sooba. “The PML-N, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, PTI, Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, have all included the demand for the revival of Bahawalpur Sooba in their election programmes. Even the PPP, which favours creation of a single Janoobi Punjab province, was forced to rename the proposed province as Bahawalpur Janoobi Punjab for fear of losing public support here,” Malik says.
The BNAP leader has a point that echoes in the ongoing political discussions in Bahawalpur and its surroundings. There exists massive support for the revival of the old Bahawalpur Sooba. However, for the time being it may be mostly restricted to Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar.
“The demand for carving a separate province out of Punjab is not restricted to the Seraiki population of the area. The settlers — Punjabi and Urdu-speaking — are also overwhelmingly in favour of creation of a new province on an administrative basis rather than for ethnic and linguistic reasons,” says a journalist in Rahim Yar Khan, himself a settler. And he points out the public support for a “bigger” province comprising all southern districts of Punjab, starting from Khanewal, as an economically viable unit is much greater than for a smaller Bahawalpur Sooba.
While the proposed new province evokes strong emotions, it is so far not clear if it will become an electoral issue on the scale the PPP is hoping for. A random survey shows that the support for the separate province grows as you go deeper into south Punjab with the increase in Seraiki-speaking population. Non-Seraiki voters will tell you that they want a new province because it will bring “government near their homes”. Seraikis want it on the basis of their “distinct language and culture”. These are strong undercurrents which may grow even stronger as election day nears.
In Khanpur, Mujahid Jatoi, former general secretary of the Seraikistan Qaumi Movement, frankly admits the issue is bigger than may be reflected in the analyses of electoral politics. “It is an issue that no political party contesting the election can ignore. If it were not a big issue for the people of Seraiki areas, no political party would be talking about it,” he says.
The PML-N leaders describe the issue of creating a new province in south Punjab as a political stunt which has absolutely no value in the election. Sheikh Fayyaz-ud-din, a PML-N candidate in Khanpur, dismisses the claims of the PPP that the issue will have a deep impact on the outcome of the election in south Punjab. “It is a gimmick played by the PPP. The issue has already fizzled out.”
The question of a Janoobi Punjab province, analysts say, had always had the potential to tilt the “balance of vote” in favour of the PPP in south Punjab, especially in its urban areas, where Seraiki identity is a big issue for the middle class voters. However, there is a strong feeling here that the PPP leadership has not been able to exploit this issue the way it should have in its election campaign.
“Yousuf Raza Gilani was supposed to lead the party campaign and organise public rallies and meetings in south Punjab, but he has so far not been able to get out of Multan where his two sons and a brother are contesting the polls. How can you expect the party to make the issue a major part of its election campaign and galvanise voters around it in the absence of its leaders?” wonders one observer. He is also surprised not to see any mention of the issue in the PPP election campaign in newspapers and on TV channels. “There may still be time. The PPP can exploit the issue by raising the issue of the Janoobi Punjab province in its rallies and in its campaign in the media.”
The PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi is categorical in his dismissal of the PPP’s attempt. “The issue has boomeranged on the PPP and will not affect the election outcome (in south Punjab),” he says. “The voters know the PPP had lied to them on the issue as it did not have enough numbers in parliament to create the new province and the PML-N had created obstacles (in the way of its creation by staying away from the multi-party parliamentary commission).”
Still, the parties like the PTI are mindful of the importance of including empowerment of the local population in their rhetoric. In his election meeting in Lodhran PTI leader Jahangir Tareen, for example, stops short of talking about the division of Punjab but seeks to assure his supporters that his party would “devolve power to the grassroots level” so that they could take their own decisions without having to travel to Lahore.
The rivals may not see any ‘vote value’ in the issue of a separate Janoobi Punjab province, but the PPP candidates from south Punjab are quite optimistic about attracting the voters because of their party’s stand on the issue. They are hopeful that the party’s efforts for carving out the new province will to an extent compensate for its poor performance in government during the last five years.
“The people in southern Punjab strongly feel about the discriminatory treatment meted out to them,” says Mirza Nasir Baig of the PPP, who is Tareen’s challenger for the Lodhran seat. “You have large sums to spend on expensive Metro bus project in Lahore and motorways. But you don’t have money to bring basic facilities like drinking water, sanitation, healthcare and education to the people in south Punjab. I will not be surprised if the issue of a separate Janoobi Punjab province becomes a strong electoral issue, affecting the election outcome in favour of the PPP.”
With or without the physical presence of the party’s senior leadership by their side, the PPP candidates across the Seraiki belt have consistently been raising the issue in their election rallies to draw as much political capital out of it as possible. “The voters’ response to the mention of a separate Seraiki province in the speeches of the PPP candidates has been immense,” says a journalist in Dera Ghazi Khan. “The crowd just erupts in thunderous applause whenever a PPP candidate mentions the issue in his speech.”

Prices of petrol down by Rs4.7, diesel by Rs2.5

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, April 30: Ignoring recommendations by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for up to 7.2 per cent cut in oil prices, the caretaker government on Tuesday reduced the rates of petrol and diesel by 4.6pc and 2.32pc respectively with immediate effect to pass on to consumers the impact of lower international prices. .
The government also increased petroleum levy on almost all oil products to earn higher revenue and also protected comparatively higher GST on them.
According to a press release issued by oil marketing companies after approval by the government, the ex-depot price of petrol was reduced by Rs4.71 to Rs97.59 per litre from Rs102.30. Ogra had recommended a reduction of Rs7.37 per litre. The levy on petrol was increased by 27pc to Rs10 per litre from Rs7.84.
The price of high speed diesel (HSD) was fixed at Rs106.06 per litre, down by Rs2.53 from Rs108.59. Ogra had proposed a reduction of Rs6.50 per litre. The levy on HSD was increased by 81pc to Rs8 per litre from Rs4.96.
Kerosene price was reduced by Rs4.09 (4.16pc) to Rs94.17 per litre from Rs98.06. Ogra had called for reducing the price by Rs5.15 per litre. The petroleum levy on the poor man’s fuel was raised to Rs6 per litre from Rs5.76.
The price of light diesel oil (LDO) was reduced by Rs4.22 (4.52pc) to Rs89.06 per litre from Rs93.28. Ogra had recommended a reduction of Rs4.91 per litre. The levy on LDO was increased to Rs3 per litre.
The price of high octane blending component (HOBC) was reduced by Rs8.46 (6.4pc) to Rs123.57 per litre from Rs132.03. The government continues to charge Rs14 per litre as petroleum levy and 16pc GST on HOBC.
The prices of two jet fuels were also reduced — JP-1 by Rs5.21 (5.9pc) to Rs83.44 per litre from Rs88.65 and JP-8 by Rs5.21 (5.9pc) to Rs83.11 per litre from Rs88.32.

SC freezes development funds

By Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, April 30: The Supreme Court restrained the caretaker government on Tuesday from disbursing development funds because of apprehensions that the action might influence the coming elections. .
“Only elected representatives should disburse development funds. Therefore, the caretaker government should not grant any amount until the May 11 elections,” a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said.
The order was issued after Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood informed the court that Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso had issued instructions for the release of development funds because he wished to help the flood-affected people in Balochistan. The court had asked about the release of funds by the prime minister.
The court objected to the move and said the initiative taken by the prime minister would send a wrong message to people during the election campaign.
The court was hearing a suo motu case about doling out of billions of rupees by former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for development projects in various constituencies under the People’s Works Programme II. A total of Rs42.486 billion was released for development on the instructions of the former prime minister -- Rs25bn more than his annual discretionary fund.
These funds were distributed among 69 lawmakers, including former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s sons Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir. Former premier Gilani, after his disqualification from the post, also got Rs25 million.
Moonis Elahi received Rs50million and his father Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Wajahat Hussain received a total of Rs1bn. Sheikh Waqas Akram got Rs30m and the Shirazi family of Sindh Rs100m.
Mr Ashraf released Rs2.5bn for his own constituency.
The court asked the finance secretary to explain whether the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules had been followed in the disbursement.
The secretary will also explain before the court on May 6 whether the PWP II funds can be distributed among ‘notables’ and members of the provincial assemblies.
The managing directors of the Sui Southern, Sui Northern and Pakistan Electric Power Company were asked to submit reports declaring whether the electricity and gas schemes had been executed transparently in accordance with the rules and regulations.
The MDs will also explain the status of the development schemes after the release of the amount.
The court expressed its displeasure when it was informed that Rs30bn had been diverted from Public Sector Development Programme projects of the Water and Power Development Authority, Lowari Tunnel and Higher Education Commission without the consent of the departments concerned.
It asked whether the country did not need money for electricity generation and whether the HEC had surrendered the funds allocated to it.
The finance ministry will also explain whether the allocation of funds by the previous PPP government for development schemes after March 10 was a violation of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s Jan 21 order banning diversion of development funds.
A representative of the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR), Tahir Mahmood, told the bench that Rs22bn had been allocated for the PWP II in the current year’s budget and the amount had been increased to Rs52bn by diverting Rs30bn from other ongoing projects. Of the PWP II fund, around Rs42bs has been released to various departments.
The court also inquired about any mechanism in the finance ministry to ensure that funds were utilised for the schemes for which they were allocated.

Rs1.34 per unit raise in power tariff approved

By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, April 30: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) approved on Tuesday an increase of Rs1.34 per unit in electricity tariff and directed the National Transmission and Dispatch Company to decrease supply to the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to below 300MW..
Presided over by its vice chairman Khawaja Mohammad Naeem, Nepra’s public hearing at the request of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of power distribution companies decided that the price increase would not apply to domestic consumers of less than 50 units per month and the consumers of the KESC for their March bills.
The CPPA informed the regulator that there was no power generation by coal-based plants in March and during the month gas supply for power generation was also low which had forced the generation companies to rely on expensive high speed diesel and furnace oil.
Nepra noted that about Rs165 million worth of electricity generation was lost due to system losses and overall cost of generation during March amounted to about Rs55 billion.
Mr Naeem and Nepra’s member from Sindh Habibullah Khilji expressed concern over continued supply of 650MW or above to the KESC from national grid despite a decision made by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to withdraw supply of 350MW to the company and divert it to combined power system of the rest of the country. Mr Naeem said the continued supply of 650MW to the KESC was adversely affecting the supply system in the country, particularly its southern and northern parts.
He said the CCI had taken a unanimous decision to stop supply of 350MW to the KESC and later Nepra had decided that the company would not get 650MW. In any case, he added, the supply to the KESC should not exceed 350MW.
But a representative of the CPPA said the Sindh High Court had issued a stay order against implementation of the CCI decision.
Mr Naeem said the stakeholders, including Nepra, respected court orders but the regulator had not received any restraining order in writing.
He asked the Ministry of Water and Power and the power companies concerned to carefully examine if the court had actually issued such an order.
He urged the ministry and the companies to see whether the CCI decision could be immediately implemented and, if it was not possible, file an intra-court appeal for vacation of the stay order and evolve a mechanism to decrease supply to Karachi in the intervening period because the regulator could not allow existing arrangement for an indefinite period.
He asked the CPPA to at least evolve a mechanism that could be immediately implemented when the confusion over the SHC order was removed. This was important because the KESC had been receiving even 840MW from the national grid while the rest of the country suffered widespread loadshedding, he added.
A senior representative of the CPPA conceded that even if full supplies of furnace oil and gas to power plants were ensured, it would not help to eradicate loadshedding. He said the country’s power generation capacity currently stood at about 17,700MW whereas maximum generation hovered at 9,000MW.
He said about an additional amount of Rs4b would be required per day to confine loadshedding to three hours a day across the country.

Sindh calls out army for poll security

By Habib Khan Ghori

KARACHI, April 30: The Sindh government has called out the army under Article 245 of the Constitution to help the civilian government in holding peaceful elections. In Karachi, troops will be deployed within 48 hours, but in the interior Sindh the deployment will take place when and wherever required by the civil administration. .
This was stated by caretaker Information Minister Noorul Huda Shah at a Press Conference after a government-convened Multi-Party Conference (MPC) held in the Sindh Assembly building on Tuesday.
She said there was unanimity among the participants about holding of elections on time despite serious security concerns.
When her attention was drawn to the demand by 17 out of the 21 parties which participated in the conference for deployment of troops in Karachi, the minister said all participants were concerned about the security situation and all were in favour of deployment of the army in the city.
She said the parties attending the conference presided over by caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi had expressed their resolve to face the challenge posed by Taliban militants and participate in elections to continue the democratic process.
Ms Shah said the government had decided to provide maximum security and a plan was being worked out which would be ready in a couple of days.
Replying to a question about the Defence Housing Authority not allowing poll campaigns and rallies in areas under its jurisdiction, she said the matter had been discussed at the conference and would be taken up with the authorities concerned. She said the caretaker government had no desire to get its rule prolonged and it only wanted to hold free and fair elections and transfer power to elected representatives of the people.
Special Assistant to the Home Department Sharfuddin Memon condemned recent bomb blasts on MQM, ANP and PPP rallies and election offices, which left a number of innocent people dead or injured.
He said providing security to political parties, their candidates and leaders was the basic responsibility of the government.
He said it augured well that despite the loss of precious lives in bomb blasts and other acts of terror, there was complete harmony among participants of the conference to fully cooperate with the government in coping with the challenge of terrorism.
Mr Memon said that because of the peculiar security situation in the city and concerns of leaders and candidates of different political parties, the government had relaxed a ban on carrying weapons if prior permission had been obtained from the district management. He said the government had also allowed five private guards to leaders of all political parties with prior permission from the district magistrate concerned.

Sarabjit goes into ‘deep coma’

By Our Staff Reporter

LAHORE, April 30: Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who was severally injured in an attack by inmates in a prison, went into ‘non-reversible’ coma on Tuesday and was heading to ‘brain death’, said the doctors struggling to save his life. .
His Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) had dropped to a critical level which showed that he was moving towards ‘brain death’, a senior doctor at the Jinnah Hospital told journalists. The GCS is a neurological scale that records the level of consciousness of a person.
“Now only his heart is beating but without brain function and this is because of his profound head injuries,” the doctor said.
But, he said, the medical board examining him on a daily basis was not in the position to declare him brain dead without consulting the authorities and Sarabjit’s family. After an extensive physical examination, the doctors had the unanimous opinion that he was absolutely unresponsive and unable to breathe without ventilator. They also examined the result of the GCS and finally expressed the opinion that he met the criteria of ‘brain death’.
The doctor said the authorities had been informed about the failing health of Singh.
Replying to a question, he said that Singh would not be removed from ventilator without approval of the government and consent of his family.

Nawaz refuses to forgive Musharraf

By Sajjad Niazi and Kalbe Ali

SARGODHA / ISLAMABAD, May 1: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has refused to soften his stance on former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, saying he cannot forgive a person who harmed the country’s integrity and economy. .
Addressing a public meeting in Sargodha on Wednesday, a day after comments made by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in his address at a ‘martyrs’ day’ function that democracy didn’t mean mere retribution, Mr Sharif said he had no personal grudge against anybody, but he could not forgive a person who had harmed the integrity of Pakistan, destroyed its economy and turned it into a beggar because of mounting foreign debt.
He said his party would bring about “revolutionary change” with the help of the youth and set the country on the path of prosperity and integrity.
He claimed that he had no lust for power and was only interested in the betterment of the people and wanted to see the country flourishing. Mr Sharif mentioned his 14-month solitary confinement “without any fault” which he said had deprived him of an opportunity to serve the country for seven years.
He reiterated that he had given the country the motorway and made it a nuclear power, defying international pressure.
He also listed services of previous Punjab government led by Shahbaz Sharif, saying no other provincial government had delivered like it.
The PML-N chief also made a brief appearance in the federal capital and addressed local traders.
He said the agenda of his party was to steer the country out of crisis.
He assured the business community that the hard times they had faced during the previous government would end if the PML-N was voted to power.
“I am confident to steer the country out of the current quagmire because we have an agenda and a team to do so. The basic principal is to have traders, industrialists and workers on one side of the table and the government functionaries on the other.”
He said his party’s government form economic policies after consulting the traders and industrialists and would make efforts for curbing terrorism and overcoming shortage of electricity. He said Gen Musharraf had gifted loadshedding during his rule and the PPP had increased its duration, destroying the limping economy of the country.
“I am a man of the masses, I have played cricket, you all know that but that is not all that I have done in my life, I made atom bomb for the country too.”

Two contestants survive blasts: No let-up in attacks on poll offices, rallies

By Rehmatullah Soomro and Saleem Shahid

SHIKARPUR/QUETTA, May 1: Two candidates survived bomb attacks on their convoys and the public meeting of a religious party and the election office of a candidate came under attack in poll-related violence in Sindh and Balochistan on Wednesday. Eleven people were injured in the incidents. .
According to police, Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Jatoi, a National People’s Party (NPP) candidate for NA-202 Shikarpur-I, was going to Zarkhail from his Napearabad village to attend an election meeting when a suicide bomber blew himself up near his motorcade on Shikarpur-Khanpur stretch of the Indus Highway, near Toll Plaza.
Dr Jatoi survived the attack as he was on a bullet-proof vehicle which was damaged in the blast. Three passers-by were injured.
According to witnesses, the 30-year old bomber had taken cover behind a tree and when the motorcade reached near him, he detonated the explosives hidden in his suicide jacket. Two body parts of the bomber were brought to Civil Hospital for examination. The injured were taken to different hospitals. According to sources, people caught a suspect who was injured and handed him over to police.
Police said 15kgs of explosives were used in the blast. Soon after the attack, the highway was blocked and all markets and shops in Shikarpur were closed in protest against the incident.
The attack drew a strong reaction from leaders of the NPP, PPP (Parliamentarians), PML-Functional and nationalist parties. They asked the caretaker government and the Election Commission (ECP) to provide security cover to candidates and voters.
BALOCHISTAN: An election meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Harnai town and an election office of a PML-N candidate in Quetta came under attack. Eight people were injured in the two incidents.
According to sources, the JUI-F had arranged a public meeting in connection with the campaign of its candidates — Baz Mohammad Marri for NA 265 Sibi-Kohlu and Syed Khaliq Shah for PB 22 Harnai. The party’s Balochistan chief, Maulana Mohammad Khan Shirani, and other senior leaders were to address the meeting.
The sources said rockets were fired from the nearby mountains while the JUI-F leaders were addressing the gathering.
“Ten rockets were fired at brief intervals but these could not hit the target and exploded after landing in the open,” officials said, adding that the attack caused panic among the people and they started running for shelter.
Four JUI-F workers were injured in the stampede.
Maulana Shirani and other senior leaders of the party were not present at the time of the attack. They reached the place after the attack. Four workers were injured when militants on a motorcycle hurled a grenade at the election office of PML-N leader Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani in Quetta’s Arbab Ghulam Ali Road area. Mr Lashkari is contesting for a provincial assembly seat (PB 4 Quetta-IV). Police shifted the injured to Civil Hospital. “The office was badly damaged in the blast,” police said.
In Nasirabad, an independent candidate narrowly escaped a car bomb attack. According to police, militants parked an explosives-laden car on a bridge in Bedari area of Dera Murad Jamali to target the election rally of Allah Dino Umrani, an independent candidate for BP 29 Nasirabad.
“Fortunately, the bomb exploded when the rally was about to reach the bridge,” a senior police officer said, adding that Allah Dino and his supporters in the rally were safe. “About 10 to 15kgs of explosives were used to target election rally,” police said.
On Tuesday late night, election offices of two candidates were attacked with grenades in Noshki and Hub.

Candidate kidnapped

By Our Correspondent

MIRAMSHAH: A candidate of the Qaumi Watan Party was kidnapped from an area near Mirali on Wednesday, officials said. .
Akbar Khan, who is running for a National Assembly seat (NA 40 North Waziristan), was going home near Mirali after an election rally in Khaisur village.
They said gunmen stopped the vehicle carrying Akbar Khan and four personnel of Khasadar Force and took them to an unknown location in a non-customs paid car. The kidnappers later set free the security guards, who were provided to the candidate by the political administration.
An official of the administration confirmed the kidnapping and said a jirga had been assigned the task of ensuring Akbar Khan’s safe return.

Imran promises to end ‘operation’ in Balochistan

By Our Correspondent

LORALAI/SIBI, May 1: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said on Wednesday that after coming to power his party would end ‘military operation’ in Balochistan and all issues pertaining to the province would be resolved through meaningful talks. .
Addressing public meetings at Loralai and Sibi, the PTI leader said that negotiations were the only way to resolve all disputes faced by the nation, especially in the province.
“Political issues cannot be resolved through military operations and the use of force. These need political wisdom and dialogue and my party will adopt the political way to resolve all issues,” Mr Khan pledged.
He said the pervious government was not serious in resolving the Balochistan’s problems and remained busy in loot and plunder of national resources.“No efforts were made by the government to resolve serious issues faced by the people of the province,” he said, vowing that his party would give serious attention to Balochistan if it came to power.
Mr Khan said that atrocities had been committed with the people of Balochistan over the past 64 years, which increased the sense of deprivation among the people.
He said his party was struggling to introduce a new system of government in which the people would be provided justice and their due rights.
“We will introduce a new political system in accordance with the ideology of Pakistan to make the country a true Islamic welfare state,” he said.
Mr Khan announced that after coming to power, the first step of his government would be to revive the local bodies’ system to empower the people at the grassroots level.
He said the next priority of his government would be education and health, adding that it would raise the education budget five-fold as only education could bring about a revolution in the country and the masses would be directly given powers to use development funds through local bodies’ system, instead MNAs and MPAs whose only job should be making laws in parliament.
The PTI chief also held Sardars and Nawabs of the province responsible for extreme poverty and illiteracy in the province.
He said if the people of the province wanted any change, they would have to struggle to liberate themselves from clutches of Sardars and Nawabs.
He said all feudal lords across the country wanted to retain the existing system to ensure continuation of the exploitation of the poor masses in Balochistan and other parts of the country.
Mr Khan said Balochistan was a very rich province, but unfortunately its people had been made pauper by those who had ruled it over the past several decades.
He appealed to the people to come out on May 11 and cast their votes to elect their representatives on the basis of ideology instead of personality or sectarianism.
Our Jacobabad correspondent adds: Addressing a big public meeting at the Exhibition Ground in Jacobabad, Mr Khan appealed to the people to cast their votes for PTI candidates to lay the foundation of a new Pakistan and new Sindh on May 11.
He said that feudal lords ruling Sindh over the past several decades had done nothing for the people.
He said that those people who used to cast their votes for the Bhuttos should now realise that there was no Bhutto party and it was now a Zardari party and instead of the Quaid-i-Azam’s Muslim League, there was the Nawaz League. They both always enjoyed luxuries of the rule after getting votes from the people, but did nothing except bringing more poverty and miseries for the people.
The PTI chief said that it should be remembered that Mr Zardari was not Bhutto and the people should ask him as to how much money he had plundered and deposited in foreign banks.
He said that over the past 25 years, the PPP ruled the country five times, but did not provide health, education and clean drinking water -- basic necessities of life – to the people of the province.

Sarabjit dies of cardiac arrest

By Our Staff Reporter

LAHORE, May 1: Condemned Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who was critically injured by fellow prisoners at the Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 26, died of cardiac arrest at the Jinnah Hospital late on Wednesday night shortly after his Glogow Coma Scale (GCS) dropped to zero. .
The Principal of Allama Iqbal Medical College, Prof Dr Mahmood Shaukat, confirmed his death.
He told Dawn that Sarabjit’s body had been sent to the mortuary after he was removed from ventilator. He said the postmortem would be performed on Thursday.
He said the condition of the patient was already critical because of low GCS.
Another doctor treating Sarabjit said he suffered a massive heart attack which led to his death. He said the surgeons made an attempt to insert a pacemaker to bring the patient back to life, but to no avail.
APP adds: Earlier, Sarabjit’s wife, two daughters and sister left for home on Wednesday.
Talking to newsmen at the Wagah border, Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur said providing security to foreigners serving jail terms in Pakistan was the responsibility of the government.
She said they were returning to India because of the illness of her nieces.

Crisis cell placed at ECP’s disposal

By Iftikhar A Khan

ISLAMABAD, May 1: A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected observations that it was duty-bound to maintain law and order in the run-up to the general elections and asked those responsible to admit their failure, the caretaker government placed the National Crisis Management Cell, presently working under the ministry of interior, at the disposal of the ECP on Wednesday. .
The NCMC is a repository of different “national assets”, which include representatives of intelligence agencies and specialised services.
“The decision was taken by the prime minister to allay concerns raised by the ECP regarding the law and order situation and is consistent with the government’s policy to assist the ECP in the conduct of general elections in a free and fair manner,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s secretariat.
“Alluding to recent tragic incidents in various parts of the country as a result of bomb blasts and terrorist attacks, the prime minister termed them unfortunate and expressed concern over the prevailing law and order situation,” it said.
The prime minister has reiterated his resolve to leave no stone unturned for providing security to political leaders and candidates.
Although law and order was a provincial subject, the prime minister said, the federal government had been extending all possible assistance to the provincial governments for enhancing their capacity.
The caretaker government, having inherited the decade-old law and order problem, reaffirmed its commitment to take all that it takes to defeat the nefarious designs of those who threaten the life, property and honour of the people of Pakistan.
The statement said the issue of security and maintenance of law and order was given top priority in the very first meeting of the federal cabinet. Subsequently, a meeting attended by the chief ministers and chief secretaries of all provinces, representatives of federal/provincial law enforcement agencies, besides representatives of intelligence agencies was convened to discuss the mechanism for implementation of cabinet decisions.
The caretaker government decided to use all available resources, including deployment of the army and civil armed forces and permitted targeted operations in some parts of the country to flush out terrorists and anti-social elements.
The prime minister, who is personally monitoring the situation, is in touch with the provincial governments as well as the federal authorities. Besides, necessary directives are being issued to take remedial measures as and when deemed necessary.
The caretaker government praised the efforts being made by the ECP in conducting general elections and reiterated its commitment to continue working harmoniously for achieving a conducive environment with the objective of holding free, fair and transparent elections in the country, the statement said.
The ECP had asked those responsible for law and order on Tuesday to first accept their failure and then take concrete remedial measures.
It asked the caretaker government to put in place a mechanism for implementation of a report of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security as a first step to provide security to life, property and honour of people.
“One such mechanism could be a separate division directly under the control of the prime minister, including representatives of all intelligence and law enforcement agencies …..who should sit together at PM Secretariat and adopt necessary measures on a daily basis to solve the problem in the short term as well as long term,” the ECP said in a statement.

The Pakhtun factor in Balochistan

By Naziha Syed Ali

QUETTA: About forty kilometres short of Chaman on the Pak-Afghan border, and a 90-minute drive north-west of Quetta, lies the town of Qilla Abdullah. The road that runs through its market hosts a two-way complementary traffic: trucks carrying Afghan Transit Trade goods towards the west and, in the opposite direction, vehicles ferrying smuggled goods into Pakistan. Locals tell you unabashedly, “The main sources of income here are fruit farming and smuggling”. There’s also a large Afghan population in the area with towns along the route, such as Saranan and Jungal Pir Alizai, home to large refugee populations who have settled down in this part of the country. .
Qilla Abdullah town is part of Qilla Abdullah district, one of the eight out of the 30 total districts in Balochistan where Pakhtuns are in a majority. Named after the tribal leader Sardar Abdullah Khan Achakzai, it is the home constituency of Mahmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). The party has a secular, nationalist agenda, but it doesn’t advocate a breakaway state as do the more extreme Baloch nationalists. Instead it demands a loose federation, with a redrawing of provincial boundaries so that Pakistan’s Pakhtun population, currently divided in four different areas — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab and Fata — is included in one province.
In the interim, the party says the Pakhtuns must have an equal share in the province’s resources, a demand that causes friction with the province’s Baloch majority (this ‘majority’ is also disputed by the party). “If there is 50 per cent division, we will be masters of the province. Also, the offices of the chief minister and the governor should be held by rotation between Baloch and Pakhtuns. Then there will be neither goli nor gaali,” says Achakzai at his Quetta residence, in a conversation that reveals his fondness for aphorisms.
The Qilla Abdullah seat (NA-262) is not a sure shot for Achakzai (he’s also standing from another national assembly seat in Quetta) despite his consistent electoral success so far.
Pakhtun nationalism, once a rallying cry of some of Pakistan’s foremost politicians, faces increasing competition from religious parties that have always had a vote bank in Balochistan. Islamist sentiment was further promoted as part of state policy in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and large numbers of foreign-funded madressahs came up in the province at the time.
According to local journalist Fazal Mohammed Jajak, there are also five or six large madressahs at a short distance from Qilla Abdullah that have been around for some 30 years. “Each one has between 600 to 1000 students, who are mostly from Helmand in Afghanistan. Smaller madressahs tend to have only Pakhtun students.”
After the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) swept the 2002 elections in Balochistan riding the crest of public anger against the US invasion of Afghanistan, yet more madressahs came up. Many belonged to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), which was a member of the six-party alliance of religious parties that came to power through the ballot.
Along the road to Gulistan, a sub-division of Qilla Abdullah, a procession of motorbikes and double-cabin pickups raises clouds of dust. The participants hold black-and-white striped flags identical to the JUI-F standard, but these are supporters of its splinter group Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Nazariati (JUI-N). “Both groups are planning a show of power today,” says a local journalist. Although the rift occurred before the 2008 elections, JUI-N members contested them as independent candidates. The group is more hardline and openly pro-Taliban; among the sea of zebra stripes in the procession flutter a couple of white flags of the Taliban.
In the procession is Malik Mohammed Essa Kakar, a young man with flowing dark hair and an unexpectedly closely cropped beard. He’s a candidate for the area’s provincial seat, and explains the intra-party estrangement vaguely as “differences over Islam. They’re more interested in pursuing their own interests.” He’s more forthcoming about the party’s raison d’etre: “imposition of Islami nizam, purdah and an anti-US policy”. This point of view, which sees religion as a unifying force, decries nationalism as an effort to create divisions among the Pakhtuns. The JUI-N has had traction in the Pakhtun belt from the outset, with its leader Maulana Asmatullah defeating JUI-F’s Balochistan provincial president Maulana Sherani from Zhob district in the 2008 elections.
Back in Quetta, Achakzai sounds off about the policies that have led Pakistan to a juncture where the electoral process is openly threatened by separatists and religious extremists. “Our intelligence agencies are not incompetent. They can find a needle in dirty water but they don’t know where the terrorists are? The fact is some militants have been the agencies’ blue-eyed boys. Now they have to make a choice,” he says. “A sovereign Pakistan cannot come into existence until it supports the sovereignty of its neighbours and stops interfering in their affairs. If there is peace in the region, then the aman ki asha will start from Kabul and end in aman ki bhasha in Delhi.”
The PkMAP along with several other parties, in protest against the holding of elections under Musharraf’s military-led government, boycotted the 2008 polls. The coming elections will tell if that was a short-sighted move which allowed other parties to make inroads into its vote bank. In 2008, Qilla Abdullah’s three provincial seats were won by the MMA, ANP and an independent candidate, while the national assembly seat was bagged by the JUI-F’s Haji Rozuddin from the MMA platform. It was a splintered vote typical of the Pakhtun belt where tribal rivalries also play a big role in determining electoral alliances.
According to JUI-F secretary general Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, nationalism is no answer to Balochistan’s problems. “Nationalism is not a system,” he says. “It’s a slogan. Besides, PkMAP is present in only two or three districts, it’s a local party, whereas we have support throughout the province.” He believes the Baloch have legitimate grievances that have been further stoked in recent years. “All separatists took part in the 1970 elections, didn’t they? They’ve been victims of injustice for 60 years, but the separatist movement started only five years ago.”
Achakzai acknowledges that religious parties have gained ground but adds, “If the intelligence agencies don’t support them, no mullah will win.”
Meanwhile, there is a deceptive calm in the Qilla Abdullah town market, where the contesting parties have their election offices. JUI-F candidate Maulvi Juma Khan voices apprehension that tribal rivalries, rather than political differences, are more likely to disrupt elections here. Haji Mohammed Essa, member of PkMAP’s central committee, says “We’ll be grateful if polls take place peacefully. If the army isn’t deployed here, it’ll be a major sin.”
People in the marketplace say they plan on casting their vote. The town falls in the provincial constituency won by the ANP and unusually, incumbency seems to be working in its favour. “They’ve done some work around here. The Arambai dam, for example, was built on their watch,” says Mohammed Siddiq, a butcher. For Mohammed Nasim, who runs a shop selling smuggled goods, it is another aspect of the ANP’s work that appeals to him. “They’ve made a masjid in town,” he says. “The JUI-F hasn’t done much.” Perhaps Achakzai is right after all when he says “you have to trust people’s street wisdom”.

JUI-F opposes use of force against terrorists

By Tariq Saeed Birmani

DERA GHAZI KHAN, May 1: The JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has called for tackling terrorism through political means. .
Addressing an election rally in Taunsa Sharif, some 85km from here, on Wednesday, he said the JUI-F was against the use of force against terrorists.
He blamed wrong polices of retired General Pervez Musharraf for the current wave of terror acts in the country.
The Maulana claimed that Gen Musharraf created an anti-Pakistan faction in Afghanistan by extending support to another, while “we organised an inter-tribe grand jirga against terrorism”.
He said his party presented a bill in the National Assembly against terrorism and mustered support of all parties, but it could not be passed.
The JUI-F chief said the country was passing through a difficult time, but things could still be set right by giving rights to people. It was the first public meeting addressed by a party head in this region.

Moderates will resist backward forces: Altaf

By Mohammad Hussain Khan

HYDERABAD, May 1: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has said that liberal and enlightened forces would not let retrogressive forces impose their brand of Sharia on the nation. .
The MQM, ANP and PPP were in high spirits for the elections despite terror attacks, the Muttahida chief declared.
“Elections are now a contest between moderate and retrogressive forces,” Mr Hussain said, making it clear that the Muttahida would not boycott the May 11 polls.
He said that only supporters of “terrorist and extremist organisations” were running their election campaigns in Punjab while in the other three provinces, offices of moderate political parties and their candidates were being attacked with bombs and guns.
Addressing a public meeting at the Pucca Qilla ground by telephone from London on Wednesday, he said liberal and moderate forces were now united and those who carried out the bombings were now on the run. The resolve shown by leaders of MQM, ANP and PPP is commendable, Mr Hussain added.
“Gun-toting and self-proclaimed champions of Islam now want to impose their brand of Sharia on the entire nation,” he said.
“If they [forces opposed to MQM] think that we will boycott polls or will find excuses then they are wrong. We will adopt every constitutional and legal path to fight them,” he said.
He said that liberal forces would make the country what Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be and would not let extremist forces succeed in their agenda.
“Extremists and terrorists must remember that MQM supporters faced Hyderabad carnage (Sept 30,1988) and Oct 31, 1986, killings in Qasba Colony and Ali Garh Colony in Karachi yet they sided with the MQM. Despite atrocities they [workers] have kept MQM alive. Sacrifices of the people of Hyderabad can’t be erased from pages of history,” Mr Hussain said.
He paid tribute to those supporters and workers of PPP, MQM and ANP who lost their lives in recent bomb and gun attacks. He condemned Wednesday’s bomb blast in Shikarpur at a meeting of National People’s Party candidate Dr Ibrahim Jatoi and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Even in Balochistan, he said, candidates were being attacked.
“Only supporters of extremist organisations are running their election campaigns with ease and peace in Punjab. They are allowed to run campaigns freely while situation is different in three other provinces. Can such elections be called free, fair and transparent,?” he questioned and asked “where is the caretaker government and Fakhru Bhai-led Election Commission of Pakistan”.
He lauded Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani for making a clear and bold statement on the subject of terrorism. He said the army chief had rightly stated that the war against terror is Pakistan’s war and no-one should now have any doubt about it.
The army chief’s statement, he said, must silence those voices who preached the mantra of “this is not our war”.
The MQM chief said that Gen Kayani’s statement reflected sentiments of the entire nation, adding that it was not the war of UK, US or Nato.
“This war directly concerns our country and we have to face and confront it,” he said.
He said that MQM activists would fully back armed forces in their fight against terrorists and extremists.
He said supporters of extremist and terrorist organisations were still adamant that it was a war of the US despite knowing that that Taliban were killing and maiming civilians, personnel of army, police and other law-enforcement agencies.
“It’s a war of survival of Pakistan. Our people are sacrificing their lives, yet it is being dubbed that it is someone else’s war,” the MQM chief said.
He said that neither Quaid-i-Azam nor Allama Iqbal were jihadis, adding that his party wanted Mr Jinnah’s Pakistan where Muslims and non-Muslim had equal rights as citizens and their places of worships were protected.

Non-implementation of orders irks Irsa: Unusual drop in Tarbela level

By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, May 1: With water stored in the Tarbela reservoir plummeting to an amount sufficient for the country’s irrigation requirements for only three days, the Indus River System Authority’s (Irsa) capacity to manage and plan the resource has come under serious threat owing to wide variation in hydrological data and non-implementation of its orders for water discharges. .
An Irsa official told Dawn on Wednesday the water regulator was ‘really confused’ over variations in hydrological data coming from Wapda since early this week and perturbed over non-implementation of its instructions for water regulation in a timely manner.
Inflow in river Indus at the country’s largest Tarbela reservoir was reported at 32,000 cusecs in the morning on Tuesday, but it was 27,000 cusecs in the evening. It was 35,000 cusecs in the morning and 33,500 cusecs in the evening on Wednesday. “Such variation is unusual, more so when temperatures have not increased in northern areas,” the official said. Over the past three days, inflow in river Kabul has also changed a lot, increasing from 40,000 cusecs to 45,000 cusecs and further to 50,000 cusecs and then receding to about 36,600 cusecs on Tuesday evening and then slightly improving to 39,900 cusecs at 1800 hours on Wednesday. To some extent, this was understandable because of rains in its catchment areas, he said.
What worried Irsa here was that such a variation in Kabul and Indus did not make a mark at Chashma barrage. “There is no logical account of these additional flows” which are quite evident at Kalabagh but missing downstream to Chashma.
On top of that, Irsa directed Wapda authorities on Tuesday to reduce discharges from Tarbela dam from 40,000 cusecs to 30,000 cusecs. “Wapda did not reduce outflows from Tarbela dam but cut down releases
from Chashma,” the official said, complaining that Irsa’s regulation mechanism had been badly disturbed.
As a result of fluctuations, Irsa has not been able to take a decision on Sindh’s 10 daily indents that it had sought to increase to 65,000 cusecs from May 1. Likewise, the regulator has failed to approve Punjab’s demand for increasing discharges through Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal to 10,000 cusecs from current flows of 5,000 cusecs the largest province has been seeking for quite some time.
Consequently, Irsa has been forced to continue with provincial irrigation indents of previous 10 days, ending on April 30 under which it was releasing 50,000 cusecs to Sindh and 81,000 cusecs to Punjab. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are being provided 3,000 cusecs and 4,000 cusecs of water, respectively.
This is happening at a time when the water stored at Tarbela has dwindled to a critically low level of almost three feet, enough only for three days at prevailing discharge rate if Indus flows do not go up or Wapda does not reduce Tarbela outflows.
On Wednesday evening, water level at Tarbela dam was recorded at 1,381.32 feet against its dead level of 1,378 feet. “Because of preference for power generation, the irrigation priority is being badly affected and making it difficult for Irsa to manage provincial irrigation requirements,” said the official.
According to hydrological data recorded on Wednesday evening, Tarbela dam is receiving only 33,500 cusecs against its outflows of 40,000 cusecs. Water level at Chashma stood at 647.60 feet against its dead level of 637 feet as it received 70,471 cusecs and discharged 66,000 cusecs on Wednesday.
The water level in Jhelum river at Mangla dam stood at 1,108 feet on Wednesday against its dead end of 1,040 feet. Flows at Kalabagh upstream were recorded at 81,572 cusecs on Wednesday against downstream flows of 75,572 cusecs. Maximum temperature at Skardu was recorded at 20 centigrade where river flows were recorded at 33,900 cusecs against 36,000 cusecs at Besham.

Anti-Muslim riots erupt again in Myanmar

OAKKAN (Myanmar), May 1: Religious violence that saw mobs attack mosques and torch homes left at least one dead in central Myanmar, officials said on Wednesday, as anti-Muslim unrest crept closer to commercial hub Yangon. .
A Muslim woman was among those being held after authorities said she accidentally bumped into a young monk in the street on Tuesday, sparking rioting in the small town of Oakkan, around 100km north of Yangon.
Myanmar is in the grip of acute religious tension after a wave of unrest in March that saw monks and Buddhist mobs attack Muslim areas in violence that spread towards the country’s main city.
Two mosques and more than 80 homes in four villages around Oakkan were damaged or destroyed in the latest attacks, according to a local government official, who asked not to be named.
“A 29 year old man died of his injuries and nine others were also hurt during yesterday’s violence,” he said, adding that calm had been restored.
He said 18 people were arrested over their involvement in the unrest and Win Win Sein, the woman who had knocked into the novice monk, was also being held, although he did not give a reason for her detention.
Terrified villagers of both faiths said police were not there to protect them when a crowd attacked a local mosque on Tuesday evening in Mie Laung Sakhan village, near Oakkan.
“About 200 to 300 people arrived in our village on motorcycles and destroyed the mosque. All the villagers ran away. We were scared and didn’t resist. They destroyed until they were satisfied,” Soe Myint, 48, a Muslim, said.
The mosque was seriously damaged and around 10 homes burned, according to a journalist at the scene.
“Even we were threatened to be killed. We are also scared. We need security urgently,” Than Soe, a Buddhist, said.
A heavy security presence was visible on Wednesday morning in Oakkan, where some 30 shops in the market had been destroyed and another mosque damaged.
Attacks against Muslims — who make up an estimated four per cent of Myanmar’s population — have exposed deep fractures in the formerly junta-run country and cast a shadow over reforms under a quasi-civilian regime that took power two years ago.
President Thein Sein, who was criticised for waiting days to speak out during the last round of violence, is set to address the nation on Thursday morning, state media reported on Wednesday night.
At least 43 people were killed and thousands left homeless in March in fighting apparently triggered by a quarrel between a Muslim gold shop owner and Buddhist customers in the central town of Meiktila.
Some monks were involved in those clashes, while others are behind a nationalistic campaign calling for boycott of Muslim-owned shops.
Muslim residents in Mie Laung Sakhan were urged to hide as the mob descended on their village.
Win Hlaing said local Buddhists had tried to help their Muslim neighbours. “We have been living together for a long time and have had no problems at all,” the 60-year-old said.
Last year around 200 people were killed in clashes in Rakhine state between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya — a minority treated with hostility by many Burmese, who see them as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Human Rights Watch last week accused authorities of being involved in “ethnic cleansing” in Rakhine — a claim rejected by the government.—AFP

US delegation lauds Pak role in fight against terror

RAWALPINDI, May 1: A five-member US Congress-ional delegation, led by Senator Joe Donnelly, called on Defence Secretary retired Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik here on Wednesday. .
The meeting, also attended by US Ambassador Richard Olson, discussed important issues relating to bilateral ties, said a press release.
The US team commended Pakistan’s efforts, role and support in the war against terrorism. Senator Donnelly also paid tribute to the spirit of sacrifice of the armed forces.
The meeting focused on matters relating to regional security. Both sides emphasised on improving security environment and overcoming security challenges along the Pak-Afghan border.
Mr Donnelly observed that ties between the two countries had improved after the Salala incident. “The improvement in the relations between the two countries could be seen by some visible increase in cooperation and restoration of ground lines,” he said.
Gen Malik stressed the importance of smooth transition in Afghanistan, saying there should be a synergy of joint efforts to support reconciliation, capacity building and necessary assistant towards successful transition of power and security responsibilities, leading up to drawdown of international forces.—APP

Imran vows to bring plunderers to book

By Mansoor Malik

LAHORE, May 2: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan said on Thursday that after coming to power his party would bring “big plunderers” to book. He said poor people were sent to jails for committing minor thefts but big plunderers held important posts and became members of the national and provincial assemblies. .
Addressing public meetings in Lahore, Pasrur, Zafarwal and Shakargarh, the PTI chief said the PML-N had failed on all fronts but was now claiming that it had vast experience of running the government. “May God save Pakistan from the experience of the N-League.”
Mr Khan said he felt pity for the “Lion” (PML-N’s election symbol) because it was heading to a humiliating battering on May 11. “God himself has taken suo motu on Pakistan as its people have suffered a lot and has given them an opportunity to change their destiny on May 11.”
He said the N-League had brought all top turncoats and corrupt politicians into its fold, including those involved in the ephedrine quota scandal.
Reiterating to make Pakistan a real Islamic welfare state, Mr Khan said he would ensure rule of law and justice, establish a genuine zakat system and focus on education by increasing its allocation five-fold. He said a uniform education system would be implemented and different education systems abolished.
He said the PTI government would not bow before the US and live with dignity, adding that it would utilise all indigenous resources and make Pakistan a prosperous country. The PTI chief promised to hold local bodies’ elections within 90 days after coming to power so that people’s problems were solved at the local level.

Election violence: 74 killed and counting

By Imran Ayub

KARACHI, May 2: Thursday’s bomb blast outside an office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was the 42nd attack on electioneering since April 11 when the May 11 polls were exactly a month away and the deadly trend, including bombings and armed assaults, has claimed more than 70 lives, including two contesting candidates, and left over 350 injured as both the security administration and caretaker government find it the “most bloody and challenging elections” of Pakistan’s history. .
It is already looking like one of the worst waves of pre-election violence in the country’s history.
However, with less than 10 days left, the authorities sounded confused and divided in their opinion over the origin of threat, the motive behind the brutal trend and what exactly lies ahead when the mainstream parties claim to have restricted their election campaigns and others express mistrust of the administration under the caretaker set-up, demanding deployment of army troops inside every polling station.
“Obviously, the situation Pakistan faces today was never witnessed in its history before,” said Arif Nizami, the federal information minister. “So it’s a great challenge for us to hold free and fair polls on time. But you see there are misreporting by the media as well which counts every act of violence or incident under election-related violence.”
However, he agreed that militancy and banned outfits were the major threats amid “random incident of violence with political motive” and blamed “internal and local elements” for the major acts of violence.
The minister’s thought was contrary to that of the interior ministry, which says election-related attacks are being patronised from across the western borders.
“We have intelligence reports that terrorists who have infiltrated from Afghanistan are involved in attacks on political parties during electioneering,” the director general of the ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC), Tariq Lodhi, told Dawn on Wednesday.
There was no assessment from the NCMC on local front amid threats by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which has claimed to have carried out majority of the recent attacks, including killing of an MQM candidate for a Sindh Assembly seat in Hyderabad, suicide attack on election rally of ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour in Peshawar that claimed 15 lives and a couple of Karachi bombings mainly targeting the electioneering.
Since April 11 to date, 74 people have been killed and 369 injured, including women and children. With the election campaign by political parties yet to gain momentum in three provinces — Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — election camps and offices were also attacked. This affected the pace of electioneering and raised security concerns among candidates and activists.
The situation turned so grim that the Election Commission, in a statement issued earlier this week, had expressed dissatisfaction over security arrangements and called for chalking out an action plan to maintain peace during electioneering.
With frequent attacks averaging more than one everyday since April 11, the authorities in Sindh now admit that they would need the army’s assistance for polling security. They, however, find a “unanimous stand” by three major parties against recent acts of terror satisfactory which had saved Karachi from violence on political grounds -- a traditional phenomenon during every election.
“We have formally requested the authorities concerned for the army’s assistance,” said Sharfuddin Memon, special assistant to the caretaker chief minister of Sindh. “Actually the united stand by three parties -- ANP, MQM and PPP -- has at least removed the fear of violence on political grounds and there is hardly any incident of violence reported in Sindh on political grounds. Fear of militancy is the only major threat so far and we hope to meet the challenge with the support of political parties.”

Two polling stations blown up

QUETTA, May 2: Two schools designated as polling stations for the May 11 elections were blown up in the Chatter area of Nasirabad district on Thursday, official sources said. .
Police sources told Dawn that an improvised explosive device planted in a government middle school in Tahir Kot was detonated on Wednesday night and a primary school was blown up on Thursday in a nearby village in Chatter tehsil.
Three rooms of the middle school were completely destroyed while five others suffered partial damage. The two-room primary school was completely destroyed, police said.
Sources in the provincial election commission confirmed that the two schools were to be used as polling stations in the elections.
AFP adds: “The school buildings were designated as polling stations for the May 11 general elections and we think that they were targeted for this reason,” district police chief Tahir Allauddin said.—Saleem Shahid

70,000 troops to protect poll process

By Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD, May 2: Around 70,000 troops will be deployed across the country to perform security duties till the completion of the electoral process. .
Addressing a media briefing here on Thursday about the security plan prepared by the army, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said deployment in Balochistan had almost been completed while the process in Sindh would begin on Friday.
He said movement of troops for deployment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had begun and the movement for Punjab would also begin on Friday.
Personnel of the civil armed forces will be deployed at polling stations and the army will act as a quick response force on a need basis.
This was the first official word from the army ruling out the presence of its troops at polling stations.
Maj Gen Bajwa said airborne quick response force would also be in place and around 50 army helicopters would be dedicated to election security.
Asked if the army was ready to carry out any operation terrorist havens in Karachi before the polls, he said targeted operation by Rangers and police was already going on in the city.
“The army will take any action required to bolster election security,” he said.
He said the troops had been called out in aid of civil power under Article 245 of the constitution.
When asked if the troops on election duties would act on the command of the civil administration or seek instructions from their superiors in the military, he said the army’s role was to reinforce the security plan and all steps would be taken in accordance with the constitution.
The ISPR chief said the deployment plan had been prepared after assessment of threats while keeping in view intelligence reports.
He said the plan could be modified on the basis of subsequent intelligence tips.
He said the army already had a presence in most parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and a comprehensive security plan had been prepared to ensure peaceful elections there.
The army had been deployed in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for security of the presses, where printing of ballot papers had begun on April 19.
The military’s spokesman said the security cover of the army would remain available for safe transportation to the provinces and from the air bases to the district returning officers (DROs) and polling stations. Both the air and land routes will be used for the purpose.
Answering a question, he said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and not the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency would monitor the polls.
In reply to another question, he said the Foreign Office should be asked whether the decision to seal the Afghan border on the election day had been discussed with the International Security Assistance Force.
MEETING: Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso presided over a meeting on law and order during the elections. The ministers for interior and information, secretaries for interior and law and director general of the Intelligence Bureau attended the meeting.
Briefing reporters, Information Minister Arif Nizami confirmed that the Afghan border would be sealed and surveillance in areas along it enhanced on the polling day.
The Afghan refugees have been asked to keep their movement restricted to their camps.
He said the prime minister had ordered that the CNG stations throughout the country should remain open on the polling day and there should be no loadshedding from May 10 to 12.
Mr Nizami said security would be enhanced manifold two days before the polls and aerial surveillance would also be carried out to review the situation.
CRISIS CELL: Meanwhile, the ECP has refused to take control of the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC).
The commission held a meeting on Thursday and observed it was now well-settled that the maintenance of law and order was exclusively the responsibility of the provincial governments. It noted that all executive authorities in the federation and the provinces were under an obligation to provide assistance to the ECP, including provision of adequate security at the polling stations.
It said maintenance of law and order and provision of security during elections was the responsibility of the executive and it could not be entrusted to the ECP.
AFP adds: The commission had set up more than 73,000 polling stations, with 20,000 earmarked as “sensitive or most sensitive”, ECP spokesman Khurshid Alam said.
He said the number of “sensitive” locations could be increased.
Five security personnel would be stationed at each polling station and seven to 10 at sensitive and most sensitive ones, he said.

Pirs in politics

By Omar Waraich

MULTAN: Just before Zain Qureshi steps into his campaign Prado, a woman and her daughter approach him to ask for a prayer. Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s son and heir duly raises his cupped hands and obliges. In Multan, as in many rural parts of the country, the Makhdooms are seen as intercessors. Their status, as custodians of revered local shrines, can also lend candidates an advantage in the “city of saints”. “The pag carries a lot of weight,” says one of Qureshi’s supporters, looking on approvingly from the back of the vehicle.The contest in Multan’s mostly rural constituency of NA-148 pits two Makhdoom families against one another. The quarrel between the Qureshis and the Gilanis stretches back to before elections came to the country. Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Yousuf Raza Gilani both entered local politics in 1983, running for Multan’s District Council. They both secured seats in the 1985 non-party NA elections. And until two years ago, the pirs of Multan were members of the same PPP-led cabinet. Now Gilani’s son Musa is taking on Shah Mehmood in the former foreign minister’s traditional seat, reviving an old and fierce rivalry..
Sitting in his redbrick compound, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani receives guests who stoop to almost genuflect. Before they can touch his knees, he grabs their hands and lifts them back up. Before he ventures out into the constituency, he flicks open a gold-plated mobile phone and summons support. “Go find me a ’70 model or an ’88 model,” Gilani says to a voice at the other end. He isn’t in search of cars, but PPP supporters from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto’s first election wins.
“Our people,” says Gilani, “don’t vote for other parties. But they shouldn’t stay at home.” Like other PPP members across Punjab, he’s aware of the chance of a low party turnout. Gilani concedes that as a descendant of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Abdul Qadir Gilani, the 12th century Mesopotamian saint, he can secure some votes for his three sons and brother who are fighting elections in Multan. The Gilani family’s pirs have devotees in the city. But it won’t be enough.
“What matters,” says the former prime minister, while driving around Multan himself, waving to slightly startled passersby, “is your own performance, what you do for the area, the party you represent, and your alliances with other dharras. Being from a spiritual family helps, but only a little.” Other makhdooms can help a little, too. Shah Mehmood’s brother is a provincial candidate with the Gilanis, while Javed Hashmi’s daughter is a provincial candidate with Shah Mehmood.
At a rally of around a thousand in an empty plot of land in the shade of an abandoned warehouse, Gilani rouses the party faithful with a mix of swipes at his opponents and talk of a new Seraiki province. “The PPP is the only party that values our Seraiki people,” he says. “The PPP gave you a Seraiki president, a Seraiki prime minister and speaker, and even a Seraiki foreign minister. Remember him?” If someone can’t stay loyal to their party, Gilani adds, “How can he be loyal to you, the people?”
Shah Mehmood’s core supporters aren’t fussed about the switch. They’ve been supporting the Qureshis for generations, both when Makhdoom Sajjad Hussein Qureshi was Gen Ziaul Haq’s Governor of Punjab and when Shah Mehmood was Benazir Bhutto’s president of the PPP in Punjab. “If Shah Mehmood goes to Imran Khan’s party, we’re fine,” a well-wrinkled man with widely spaced teeth reassures the Qureshi camp, at a meeting in one of NA-148’s many villages. “Even if he goes to the [Indian National] Congress, he’s acceptable to us.”
The 34th Makhdoom of Shah Rukne Alam is counting on a personal vote. “It’s the same constituency and the same candidate,” his son Zain explains to the huddled group of supporters. “But this time we have to vote for the bat.”
Shah Mehmood has few mureeds in his constituency. “They’re mostly in Sindh,” says Zain. The former foreign minister will also be seeking their votes there. But even in the constituencies of Umerkot and Tharparkar, the mureeds may be loyal to Shah Mehmood but needed the Pir of Pagara’s nod to vote for him.
The influence has traditionally proved electorally lucrative in swathes of south Punjab and Sindh. In Sindh, for example, the Makhdooms of Hala have a vast following and have never lost. But they’re an exception. Two other powerful pirs of Sindh are the Pir of Pagara and the Pir of Ranipur. In 1988, the father of the current Pir of Pagara suffered a stunning defeat to a little known PPP candidate, Pervez Ali Shah. And the Ranipur pirs are now divided among themselves and too weak to influence elections in their area.
What matters more than spiritual clout is development work. Voters want roads, sewerage systems, and gas supplies. Gilani’s supporters cheer the fact he is said to have diverted vast sums from Islamabad to Multan. They point to the new bridges, underpasses and roads that have changed the way the city looks. Jobs matter, too. One man squeezed into the back of a Qureshi Prado fondly recalls being summoned by then PML-N provincial minister Shah Mehmood to Lahore in the late 1980s, where he was given a job in Nawaz Sharif’s provincial government of the time. The man sitting next to him, an amateur cricketer, has a brother who works at the Foreign Office.
Voters also demand you stay in touch. “We’re going now to go and placate someone,” Gilani explains after the rally, as he plunges his own Prado through narrow and winding roads near his ancestral village. What’s the gripe? “He doesn’t like my face,” Gilani quips. “But watch this.” After hearing a brisk Gilani speech, men slouched on rope beds rise to announce their support for Musa. “I wasn’t angry,” says a visibly gratified Sardar Khan, the owner of the home. “He just hasn’t been here in five years.” The visit enhanced his standing in the union council where his father was once president.
Such occasions also offer the chance to vent freely to a captive audience. When Qasim Gilani — the only Gilani son not fighting an election — visited a traditional supporter, he was forced to hear out a litany of complaints. In the end, the supporter yielded. “The Gilanis are my pirs, so I can’t vote for anyone else.” To avoid upsetting more supporters, candidates hasten to every wedding and funeral in the city. “If even a donkey dies today,” says Qasim, “every candidate will send someone to offer condolences.”
The pirs also have powerful rivals in other parts of Multan who don’t have the titles or the devotees to match. Different members of the Dogar clan are strong candidates in urban seats. Sikandar Bosan, who is fighting against Abdul Qadir Gilani in NA-151, can draw on an extensive clan for votes and the thousands that live on his land. “Bosan starts out from his house with 40,000 votes,” says Qasim. For all their saintly sway, neither the Gilanis nor the Qureshis can beat those numbers without working for most of them.

Protest lodged over Afghan shelling

ISLAMABAD, May 2: Pakistan summoned the most senior Afghan diplomat in the country on Thursday to protest against cross-border fire in which, according to officials, two Pakistani soldiers were injured and an Afghan guard was killed. .
The Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to the foreign ministry to protest against “unprovoked firing”, said a statement.
“This is not the first time that the heavy fire was initiated from the Afghan side, causing heavy injury and damage to the Pakistani structures,” the foreign ministry said, adding that such incidents were creating “avoidable tension”.
An Afghan official, who declined to be named, said in Kabul that one Afghan police guard was killed in several hours of artillery exchanges.
“Afghan border police posts came under fire at about 9pm (1630 GMT) last night. Our border police returned fire,” interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. The exchange lasted until 2am, he said, adding that no further details were available as the incident was under investigation.
The renewed friction focuses on a gate partially constructed by Pakistan at a site that Afghan officials allege is inside Afghanistan.
“The gate which was built inside Afghan territory was destroyed in last night’s clash, and Afghan security forces are now in control of the area,” said Ahmadzia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the government in Nangarhar province.
According to witnesses, hundreds of people turned out at the funeral of the policeman, chanting anti-Pakistan slogans and hailing him as a national hero of Afghanistan.
“It was continuous fire on one of our checkposts that forced our troops to retaliate,” a senior Pakistani security official said.
Fauzee Khan Mohmand adds from Ghalanai: Two Pakistani soldiers were injured in the exchange of fire with Afghan security forces along the border in Mohmand tribal region on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, security officials said.
An official told Dawn that Afghan forces had attacked three Pakistani checkposts — Gursal, Gursal-1 and Mohmand — with rockets and small weapons that triggered an exchange of fire which continued for more than four hours.
Two injured soldiers were taken to a hospital.
Mohmand Agency’s political agent Dr Amber Ali Khan confirmed the clash and said that five ambulances with paramedical staff had been sent to the area.

ATC allows grilling of Musharraf over Bugti murder

By Malik Asad

RAWALPINDI, May 2: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) allowed the Balochistan police on Thursday to interrogate retired General Pervez Musharraf over the murder of Baloch nationalist leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti. .
The Balochistan police had sought permission of ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman to arrest Gen Musharraf because he had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case last year.
On April 26, the same court had turned down the request of the crimes branch, Quetta, because at that time Gen Musharraf was in four-day custody of the Federal Investigation Agency in connection with the Benazir Bhutto murder case.
According to an official of the Quetta’s crimes branch, Gen Musharraf would be quizzed in his Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which has been declared a sub-jail, for security reasons.
Akbar Bugti was killed in a cave on August 26, 2006 during a military crackdown ordered by Gen Musharraf.
On July 11 last year, an ATC in Sibi had issued arrest warrants of Gen Musharraf and several other accused.
According to an FIR registered under Sections 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, former Balochistan governor Owais Ghani, former chief minister Jam Yousuf and former home minister Shoaib Nosherwani and former deputy commissioner Abdul Samad Lasi are other accused in the case.
AFP adds: Officials said police questioned the former military ruler on Thursday over the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti.
“A three-member team of Balochistan comprising senior police officials is investigating general Musharraf,” prosecutor Hassan Kakar told AFP.
They would also record his statement in the case, he said.

Balochistan teachers agree to perform election duty

QUETTA, May 2: The Government Teachers Association (GTA) Balochistan agreed on Thursday to perform election duties after a government team assured it during talks that adequate security would be provided to the polling staff. .
At the talks, Munir Ahmed Badani, secretary secondary education, led the government side and teachers’ delegation was headed by GTA chief Noor Mohammad Jhattak.
In a statement, GTA general secretary Mohammad Qasim said the government had accepted demands of the teachers’ organisation. The government would provide full protection to the teachers performing duties at polling stations on May 11. Besides, teachers would be provided pick and drop facility to and from polling stations by the security forces.
The statement said that after successful talks the GTA reversed the decision it had announced last week that teachers would not perform election duties in 11 sensitive districts of the province because of threats by outlawed militant groups.
—Amanullah Kasi

Balochistan teachers agree to perform election duty

Body handed over to India

By Asif Chaudhry

LAHORE, May 2: The authorities handed over the body of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh to Indian officials at the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Thursday after conducting his postmortem in Jinnah Hospital. .
According to the initial postmortem report, the ‘confirmed condemned prisoner’ of Kot Lakhpat jail had died of massive internal bleeding from a 5cm head injury, an official told Dawn.
Singh suffered a critical cardiac arrest in the intensive care unit of Jinnah Hospital in the wee hours of Thursday and died instantly.
The postmortem was performed by a six-member district medico-legal board, headed by the Government Mian Munshi Hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Dr Mohammad Amir.
A member of the board said the cause of death was internal bleeding from deep head injuries. “It appeared that a 5cm-wide injury on the top of the skull was the cause of his death,” he said. The board also found some minor injuries on the face, neck and arms.
The member said the board had sent samples from some organs of the body, including spleen, kidneys, liver, stomach and parts of brain, for forensic analysis. He said a detailed report would be issued on the basis of the content analysis by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency within a couple of weeks.
Singh was allegedly attacked last Friday by some inmates in the jail with iron rods and other blunt weapons, leaving him critically injured.
His body was shifted from Jinnah Hospital to the airport in an ambulance escorted by policemen in several vans.
The transportation of the body to India was halted for some time when the customs authorities at the airport raised an objection that the documents presented did not include a no-objection certificate by the foreign ministry, police reports etc.

Sarabjit to get state funeral amid anger

By Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, May 2: Who was Sarabjit Singh? The question remained as important after his death in a Lahore hospital on Thursday as it should have been in 1991 when the mysterious man arrested in Kasur was handed the death sentence for a string of terror attacks, which he carried out as an alleged Indian spy. .
As the news of his death travelled in India, rage, accusation and threats followed. There was grief too, as Congress scion Rahul Gandhi broke down consoling the uncontrollably sobbing sister. There was shock and disbelief too. The sister began to deliver a political speech, calling for a united India to deal squarely with Pakistan. She accused Pakistani activist Ansar Burney, the man who had been helping the family all along to keep Sarabjit’s hopes of being freed alive, of quietly demanding money to facilitate Sarabjit’s freedom.
The Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh, true to form, told the government to recall the Indian envoy from Islamabad. Television channels demanded tough action, but stopped short of declaring war.
The question about Sarabjit’s identity was partly answered late on Thursday as a special Air India plane flew his battered body from Lahore to Amritsar. After a second postmortem, by Indian doctors this time, he would be handed over to the family for a state funeral on Friday in his Punjab village. A three-day mourning will see the national flag at half-mast in the state.
If the 50-year old Sarabjit Singh was an innocent tippler who carelessly strayed across the border into Pakistan, as claimed by his family, why would he be given a state funeral in India? If he was a spy who died for his country, as Pakistan’s law courts found him to be, why did no Indian leader take up the issue of his release vigorously from 1991 when Sarabjit was given the sentence. And why did Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee not clinch the issue during the famed bonhomie in Lahore in February 1999?
In a more pragmatic mode, the Punjab government announced a financial assistance of Rs10 million for the family of Sarabjit Singh and declared a three-day state mourning. Flags will fly half-mast on all government buildings and there will be no official ceremonial functions during this period, an official spokesman said.
Sarabjit Singh was the second Indian prisoner to die in Pakistan’s Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore this year.
“Particularly regrettable that the Govt of Pakistan did not heed the pleas.... to take a humanitarian view of this case,” tweeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after Sarabjit Singh’s death.
“May his soul be granted the peace that he could not enjoy in life. The nation shares his family’s profound grief with them,” said another tweet. In a separate statement Prime Minister Singh demanded punishment of criminals involved in the assault.

‘Rs2bn being spent daily on thermal power’

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, May 2: The government disclosed in the Supreme Court on Thursday that about Rs2 billion was being spent daily (Rs749bn a year) on purchase of furnace oil for thermal power generation. .
“This Rs749bn is in addition to Rs250bn which the government has to incur in terms of subsidised electricity provided to certain consumers,” Managing Director of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) Zarghoon Ishaq Khan informed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry which had taken notice of the rising electricity loadshedding.
The court regretted that despite spending a huge amount on thermal power generation people continued to endure huge power cuts.
The total electricity shortfall currently stands at about 4,000MW against a demand of 13,800MW. The generating units at present are collectively producing about 9,200MW.
The court directed Pepco, National Transmission and Dispatch Company, generation companies, Indus River System Authority and Alternative Energy Development Board to come up with actual reasons for loadshedding, bottlenecks and difficulties in providing the required electricity to consumers.

Nawaz vows to steer country out of crisis

By Iqbal Khwaja

THATTA, May 2: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said if voted to power his party will eliminate poverty, illiteracy, load-shedding and lawlessness and steer the country out of the present quagmire. .
Addressing a large public meeting at Naka ground here on Thursday, he pledged to revive the Keti Bunder Port of Thatta, bring an end to gruelling power load-shedding, electrify 2,000 villages and supply gas to almost all villages in the area.
The PML-N leader also promised to build Thatta to Ghorabari double road and a motorway from Karachi to Hyderabad connecting Thatta.
About loadshedding in the area, he asked people how many hours of load-shedding they faced daily and the reply was an average of 18 hours.
Mr Sharif regretted how miserable the life of patients in hospitals and children and people in general would be in such a situation and asked the audience if they would vote for a party which had ruled the province but done nothing to rid the masses of this menace.
The PML-N chief said now was the time to vote for a party which was promising to end this situation and lead the country to the path of progress and prosperity.
Mr Sharif claimed that he was not power hungry, but interested only in people’s welfare and betterment of the country. He asked President Asif Ali Zardari what sort of services his party had rendered in Sindh, particularly during floods which left hundreds of thousands of people in the province marooned and without shelter. He said fertile land of Sindh was destroyed, but the PPP government did nothing for the people.
Referring to the condition of educational institutions and roads in Thatta, Mr Sharif said it was a pity that there was not a college or university, not even a proper school here. He promised that if voted to power, the PML-N would set up a university of international standard in this historical town.
He said that after visiting several areas of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Tando Allahyar and Thatta in Sindh during the election campaign, he came to the conclusion that the PPP had miserably failed to do anything for the people, especially in its home province of Sindh.
Referring to the problems of unemployment and poverty in the area, he turned to youths at the meeting and said that his party would set up a bank in Thatta which would extend loans to help them set up their own businesses.
Mr Sharif claimed that during the term of Mr Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab there had been no plunder of public money and merit was the only criteria for appointment, but in Sindh corruption, nepotism and favouritism were promoted.
He said if the people of Sindh voted PML-N candidates to power, they would themselves witness a change in their fate.
Praising PML-N candidate for NA-237 Marvi Memon, Mr Sharif said Ms Memon was a brave woman who was struggling for the cause of all people, especially the poor.
Addressing the meeting, Ms Memon said she would do her best to bring about a visible and concrete change in the living condition of the people of this poverty-stricken and neglected district of Sindh.
Our Staff Reporter in Karachi adds: Mr Sharif refuted a claim made by PPP, MQM and ANP that the PML-N had been spared by terrorists in their anti-poll bomb and gun attacks and said leaders and supporters of his party had also been victim of terrorism and extremism.
He said that the son and nephew of PML-N Balochistan President had been attacked by terrorists during a recent election rally.
He claimed that leaders of the former coalition government were trying to divide the people because they had lost their vote bank as a result of bad governance and poor performance over the last five years.

Nine injured in attack on MQM office

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, May 2: At least nine people were injured when a bomb ripped through ablution area of a mosque adjacent to an election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement off the Burns Road here on Thursday evening, officials and witnesses said. .
Police confirmed that a bomb had been planted in the narrow lane near the Fresco Chowk on the busy road.
The office is at the end of the closed street and the MQM’s colours and its election symbol ‘kite’ is painted on its walls. It is the party’s main office of its candidates for NA-250, PS-112 and PS-113 constituencies. Eyewitnesses said they heard a massive blast at about 9.15pm, when the area was brimming with people sitting at the various eateries and food stalls.
“The blast was so strong that the ground seemed to shake. I was having food nearby and rushed to the scene of the explosion and saw the injured people,” said Abdul Wahid, who lives in a nearby building.
Senior Superintendent of Police Nasir Aftab said that officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad were examining explosives used in the bomb. He put the number of wounded at five but the hospital staff said they had treated nine people.
The blast damaged a wall of the mosque and one could see splinter marks on the nearby buildings and shops. Pieces of ball bearings were strewn in the street.

Khoso vows fair polls, smooth transfer of power

By Kalbe Ali

ISLAMABAD, May 3: Again scotching rumours about delay in elections, caretaker Prime Minister retired Justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso made it clear on Friday that the interim set-up would not accept an extension in its tenure under any circumstances..
In a televised address, he assured the nation that free, fair, transparent, impartial and peaceful elections would be held on May 11. “This is the mandate of the caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan. The caretaker government will take all necessary steps to achieve this objective.”
On completion of the electoral process, he said, power would be transferred to elected representative by the caretaker government without any delay.
Paying tribute to political leaders and workers enthusiastically participating in the electoral process, he noted that this year’s elections had an extraordinary significance for the country. “It is facing internal and external challenges which can be overcome only by an elected government.”
Mr Khoso’s remarks came days after Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani brought rumour-churning mills to a halt by saying that there should be no misgivings and doubts about the polls, and showed that the caretaker government and military establishment were on the same page as far as holding of timely polls was concerned.
The caretaker prime minister said he was addressing the nation at a very important juncture when people were going to exercise their right to vote. “It is right of every Pakistani to express his opinion through… vote. We will endeavour to enable a voter to cast his vote according to his choice and with freedom. We will ensure that the sanctity of the vote is maintained. I have instructed all government departments and officials to remain impartial.”
Terming maintenance of law and order and security as a priority of the caretaker government, he said no one would be allowed to disturb peace and play with the life and property of people. He deplored acts of terrorism in Balochistan, Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Sindh in which innocent people had lost their lives.
Condemning terrorism, Mr Khoso said measures were being taken to control the scourge. “Although according to the constitution, maintenance of law and order falls under the domain of provincial governments, I am in touch with caretaker chief ministers and law enforcement agencies to ensure that electoral process goes on peacefully,” he said.
The government had prepared plans for deployment of army and a quick action force to meet any eventuality during the elections, the caretaker premier said. A special cell had been set up in the interior ministry to collect intelligence reports and share them with provincial governments and law enforcement agencies. “This cell is also empowered to take decisions for timely action if needed.”
Steps would be taken to improve security at sensitive polling stations and monitor polling process there, he added.
“I am convinced that an independent and impartial election commission is capable of meeting any challenge,” Mr Khoso said, adding that the federal and provincial governments were extending cooperation to the ECP.
The appointment of a caretaker prime minister from Balochistan would cast a far-reaching impact and help remove sense of deprivation from among the people of the province and promote national harmony, he said.
Referring to problems being faced by people because of electricity loadshedding, he said he had ordered the Ministry of Finance to urgently release Rs45 billion so that fuel was provided to thermal power plants. The situation could be improved by increasing production.
He said he had directed the water and power ministry to ensure that there was no loadshedding for 36 hours beginning from the evening of May 10 so that people could cast their votes without any irritation and election results were compiled as quickly as possible.
He said he had also directed the finance ministry to ensure that next budget was realistic, government expenditures were reduced to minimum, austerity was adopted and national resources were used in an efficient manner. “There should be no room for extravagant and unnecessary expenditures. Welfare of people should be given priority and common man should not be overburdened.”
“I am hopeful that we will hand over a better economy to the elected government through fiscal discipline and effective measures,” he said.
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso strongly urged the people to use their vote to put the country on strong footing and accelerate the process of development.

Taliban claim responsibility: ANP candidate, son shot dead in Karachi

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, May 3: Continuing their attacks on moderate political parties in Karachi, Taliban on Friday shot dead Sadiq Zaman Khattak, Awami National Party’s candidate for National Assembly. His four-year-old son also died in the attack..
A spokesman for the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ihsanullah Ihsan, told Dawn.com from an unspecified
location that the killing was the work of his organisation.
He said the assassination was in line with TTP’s resolve to attack secular parties, the PPP, MQM and ANP.
Mr Khattak, a candidate for Karachi’s NA-254 seat, is the first candidate killed during the election violence in the city.
Earlier, MQM’s candidate for provincial and national assembly seats in Hyderabad was shot dead and the PPP’s covering candidate was killed in Karachi.
The bomb and armed attacks in the country have claimed the lives of at least 70 people and left more than 350 injured.
Police said that when Mr Khattak, his two sons and some workers of his party came out of Rehmania mosque in Korangi’s Bilal Colony after Friday prayers, four terrorists on motorcycles opened fire on them.
Mr Khattak, his two sons Aimal Khan, 4, and teenager Shahid Zaman, and four other men — Islam Iqbal, Mohammad Khalid, Mohammad Faisal and Qayyum Raja — suffered multiple bullet injuries.
They were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where doctors pronounced Mr Khattak and Aimal Khan dead.
Doctors said Mr Khattak had suffered 13 bullet wounds and Aimal 10 bullet wounds.
“Mr Sadiq Zaman Khattak and all other ANP candidates had been receiving threats for a long time and the phone numbers from where these threatening calls were being made had been provided to law-enforcement agencies, but no security was provided to our candidates,” ANP Sindh chapter’s General Secretary Bashir Jan told Dawn.
Mr Jan said that Mr Khattak was general secretary of the party in District East and he was a poet.
Sindh ANP President Senator Shahi Syed said the party would register a case against chief election commissioner, caretaker chief minister of Sindh and the IGP.
The ANP Sindh announced a day of mourning across the province on Saturday. The mourning would be peaceful and business and transport would not be affected, a spokesman for the party said.
Funeral prayers of Mr Khattak and his son were offered at the PIA’s cargo terminal and were attended by a large number of people.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has postponed elections on the seat because of Mr Khattak’s assassination.

Anti-election pamphlets appear near Peshawar

By Waseem Ahmad Shah

PESHAWAR: Pamphlets purportedly issued by banned militant organisations were pasted on walls in different villages, on the southern outskirts of the city on Friday, asking voters not to cast votes and teachers not to perform election duties. .
Official sources confirmed that the pamphlets had been seen mostly in small rural settlements in Mathani and Badabher areas near the highway connecting Peshawar with Kohat. They believe that the Bara-based proscribed organisation, Lashkar-i-Islam, distributed the leaflets in Urdu.
A resident of Hameed Khan Machine, a small locality in Sherkera union council, said when the people woke up in the morning they found the pamphlets at different places. “The pamphlets say the so-called democracy is against the teachings of Islam and threaten teachers who intend to perform official duties.”
He said such pamphlets had also been seen in the nearby Captain Tor Khan village, about 10km from the Indus Highway.
The pamphlets have been found in areas close to the Peshawar Frontier Region where several operations have been carried out by law-enforcement agencies to flush out militants.
An official at the Mathani police station said they had received reports about the pamphlets but when a police team visited the area they did not see any. However, a senior police officer confirmed that the pamphlets had been circulated in different areas over the past few days.
He said in some of the pamphlets seen on the northern parts of the town, people had been asked not to display banners and posters and avoid hoisting flags of the Awami National Party and Pakistan Peoples Party and warned of serious consequences if they did so.
According to newspaper reports, the threatening pamphlets seen in Garhi Sherdad and Chagarmati areas carried messages in Pashto without mentioning the name the organisation which had issued them.
Teachers, mostly women, are already scared of the situation also because several polling stations, particularly in NA-3 and NA-4 constituencies of Peshawar, would be in “no go areas for outsiders”.
Several teachers were seen in the Judicial Complex where offices of returning officers are situated, trying to get their election assignments cancelled.

Gas reserves found in Kirthar belt

ISLAMABAD, May 3: A new gas reserve has been found in Kirthar range, the petroleum ministry said on Friday. .
Italian energy major ENI with joint venture partners Pakistan Petroleum Ltd and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company made the discovery in the Kirthar Fold Belt region, 270km north of Karachi.
“During the production testing gas flowed at 33 million cubic feet per day highlighting an excellent potential for the future energy needs of the country,” the ministry said in a statement.
Officials said that under an early production scheme, gas supply from the new reserve would be possible within three years.
Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui said the discovery was “good news for the nation and the energy sector of Pakistan”.
The discovery of new oil and gas reservoirs were “vital” to cope with the prevailing energy shortage in the country, Mr Siddiqui said.
ENI has been in Pakistan since 2000 and is the country’s largest producer, with an average production of 54,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2011.—AFP

Prosecutor in Benazir case gunned down

By Munawer Azeem

ISLAMABAD, May 3: A public prosecutor in the Benazir assassination case was gunned down here on Friday. .
Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali was scheduled to submit a challan in an anti-terrorism court against former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in connection with the murder case and was going to the FIA headquarters to discuss the matter. The court was to take up a bail application of the former military ruler.
According to police, Chaudhry Zulfikar left his G-9/1 house along with his official guard, Frontier Constabulary constable Farman Ali, at about 7am.
Four armed men lying in wait near Dak Khan bus stop intercepted his car and opened fire with 9mm and 30 bore pistols.
Chaudhry Zulfikar suffered multiple bullet wounds and lost control over the car which first collided with a tree and later hit a woman who died on the spot.
The constable was hit by a bullet but he fired at and injured one of the attackers. The gunman’s pistol and celphone fell on the road, but his associates helped him escape from the scene.
Inspector General of Islamabad Police Bani Yamin Khan said a pamphlet had been found at the scene of the attack carrying the name of hitherto unknown Mujahedeen-i-Islami. It reads: “Those who help punish mujahideen will meet the same fate.”
Police said Chaudhry Zulfikar had been receiving threats from militants and had been given a guard at his request.
IG Yamin said the prosecutor had been attacked from four sides. There were multiple bullet marks on both sides of the car and its windscreens had been smashed. When police reached the area the prosecutor was already dead. According to doctors, he had been hit by a number of bullets in the head, neck, face, shoulder and chest. Seventeen wounds were found on the body.
His guard had received a single bullet injury in the leg, they added.
He told police that the car was intercepted when it was negotiating a U-turn. He said he had fired back and injured one of the attackers.
Witnesses said there were four to six attackers. Caretaker Interior Minister Malik Habib ordered an inquiry into the incident and arrest of the killers.
A joint investigation team headed by Deputy Inspector General Tahir Alam Khan and comprising Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jamil Hashmi and officers of the Crime Investigation Department, Investigation Wing, FIA and intelligence agencies was set up.
Our Staff Reporter in Karachi adds: President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the murder of Chaudhry Zulfikar and called for a thorough investigation to expose the real culprits and bring them to justice.
AFP adds: Chaudhry Zulfikar was also a state prosecutor in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case.

Pakistani prisoner assaulted in Jammu jail

By Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, May 3: A Pakistani prisoner was murderously assaulted by an Indian inmate in Jammu’s Kot Bawal jail on Friday, prompting New Delhi to explore a joint effort by the two countries to prevent future tit-for-tat targeting of prisoners. .
Sanaullah Haq, serving a life term under India’s anti-terror laws, was being treated for severe head injuries in a hospital in Chandigarh where he was flown from Jammu.
The assault came a day after the death of Sarabjit Singh, convicted of spying and bomb blasts in Pakistan. He was hospitalised last week after two inmates attacked him in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Sarabjit was given a state funeral on Friday and was declared a national martyr by the Punjab government.
India said the Jammu assault was ‘regrettable’ and assured the guilty would be punished even as Pakistan sought his urgent repatriation.
India allowed three Pakistan High Commission officials to go to the hospital in Chandigarh, where the prisoner is recuperating. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, had earlier tweeted, “3 Pakistani officials were granted permission for consular access to the injured prisoner in Chandigarh”.
Condemning the attack, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said: “Attack on Pakistani prisoner in Jammu jail is unfortunate and extremely distressing.” Earlier, the Pakistan High Commission also sought immediate consular access to 52-year-old Sanaullah.
“Pakistan High Commission has shown serious concern. It has taken up with Ministry of External Affairs the attack on Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah in Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu,” a spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission here said.
Pakistan has also sought airlifting of Sanaullah by an air ambulance to Pakistan and assistance in ground facilitation. He said that apart from seeking immediate consular access, the High Commission had also asked for detailed information about the incident and medical facilities for the victim and security of other Pakistani inmates.
“We are aware of the regrettable incident involving a Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah who was injured today during an altercation with another inmate of the jail in Jammu. The matter is being investigated and the guilty will be punished. Safety and security of prisoners in custody lies with the jail authorities and the necessary action is being taken. We are in touch with the Pakistan High Commission on the matter. The injured is receiving the medical treatment and once the medical arrangements are in place, the consular access will be provided,” Mr Akbaruddin said.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also said that in view of these ‘tragic incidents’, which included the killing of two Indian prisoners in a Pakistani jail and that involving a Pakistani prisoner in a jail in Jammu on Friday, there was a need to take stock of the current measures in place to ensure safety, security and humane treatment of Indian and Pakistani prisoners in each other’s jails.
“For this, we are proposing a meeting of the concerned authorities of both countries to study the recommendations and identify and put in place further measures to avoid such tragic incidents in future,” he said.
Thousands gathered in Sarabjit Singh’s hometown near the border in Punjab. Wrapped in an Indian flag, his coffin was carried through the streets before his cremation on Friday. Some shouted “Death to Pakistan”. Police played the Last Post and gave a 21-gun salute at a state funeral organised by the Punjab government.
Crowded on rooftops and balconies in the summer heat, people watched the preparations amid heavy security deployed for dignitaries like Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, who attended the service.
Protesters took to the streets in several cities for a second day. India has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to protect Sarabjit.
Several Indian states beefed up security in their jails. Many states already keep Pakistani prisoners segregated from their Indian counterparts.
PAKISTAN’S REACTION: In Islamabad, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani spoke to his Indian counterpart on Friday and asked for evacuation of Sanaullah to Pakistan for treatment, according to news agencies.
The Indian deputy high commissioner was also summoned to the Foreign Office and lodged a protest at the attack on the Pakistani prisoner.
Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said in his weekly briefing that Pakistan had expressed its deep concern over the attack and called upon the Indian government to take all measures to ensure that Sanaullah received best available medical treatment, investigate the matter thoroughly and punish perpetrators of the atrocity.
When asked to comment on the reward announced by both the central and state governments of Indian for the family of Sarabjit, which amounts to treating them heroically, Mr Chaudhry said Sarabjit was a terrorist who had taken many innocent lives in Pakistan. He was awarded punishment in accordance with the laws. The spokesman said the issue would be taken up with the Indian authorities.
Caretaker Interior Minister Malik Habib Khan also condemned the attack on Sanaullah and called upon the Indian government to provide best medical facilities to him and ensure security of all Pakistani prisoners detained in Indian jails.

Electables open doors for PTI in south Punjab

By Khawar Ghumman

ISLAMABAD: In most of south Punjab’s 50 National Assembly constituencies, more or less the same lot of politicians is contesting for the May 11, 2013 general elections though their party platforms have changed. .
This change of loyalty has among other things caused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which was a non-entity in the region before, to emerge as a major political force in this part of Punjab.
Four PTI candidates — Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Javed Hashmi, Afzal Sindhu and Jahangir Tareen — had won the 2008 general elections from south Punjab but on different party tickets. In addition, another 10 PTI candidates in the area were the runners-up in the last general election. Take Multan for instance.
In three of its six National Assembly seats, the PTI is a major force that has a good chance of representing the city in the parliament house in Islamabad.
Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who won the 2008 general elections as a Pakistan Peoples Party candidate from NA-148, Multan-I, is contesting the same seat for PTI against the PPP’s Syed Ali Musa Gilani, the younger son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
After Mr Qureshi jumped sides, the contest in this constituency is seen to be between the PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Five years ago, he faced the PML-N’s Rai Mansab Ali as his main opponent.
Next doors lies NA-149, Multan-II, which is Makhdoom Javed Hashmi’s home ground. He won here in 2008.
However, back then he was the ‘baaghi’ of the PML-N and now he has donned the PTI colours for the May 11 elections. He had in 2008 defeated the PPP’s Malik Salahuddin Dogar and this time around he faces the candidates of the Jamaat-i-Islami, PML-N and PPP.
Although, both Mr Hashmi and Mr Qureshi are seen to be tainted by their past record in the tried and tested parties, observers feel their success or failure on May 11 will be the test case for the PTI.
Mr Qureshi is also the PTI’s candidate for NA-150, Multan-III, because of which this seat that was a two-way contest between the PML-N and PPP in 2008 is a three-way fight this time around. In 2008, the PML-N’s Rana Mehmoodul Hassan beat Abdul Qadir Gilani, the former prime minister’s son.
NA-151 is former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s seat from 2008. He won it by defeating Sikandar Hayat Bosan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.
Later this seat was won by Mr Gilani’s son who is once again contesting the seat — but this time around he faces Mr Bosan on a PML-N ticket. In other words the PPP-PML-Q contest has become a PPP-PML-Q contest.
The last Multan seat is NA-153, which in 2008 was won by Dewan Ashiq Hussain Bokhari of the PML-Q. He scraped by with a narrow margin of fewer than 1000 votes against Rana M. Qasim Noon. This time around Mr Bokhari holds a PML-N ticket, whereas Mr Noon will be the PPP candidate — in 2008 he fought as an independent candidate.
Multan is not the only district in which the PTI is a serious contender.
In Vehari district, which has four National Assembly constituencies, the PTI has fielded some serious players as the runners-up in three NA constituencies from the 2008 elections have jumped the PML-Q ship and joined the PTI.
In NA-168, Vehari-II, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, who lost in 2008 by a margin of fewer than 2,000 votes to the PPP’s Azeem Daultana, is contesting the seat for the PTI.
Similarly in NA-169 Vehari-III, Khan Aftab Ahmad Khan Khichi, who was defeated by the PML-N’s Tehmina Daultana by a margin of 3,000 votes, has joined the PTI. He will once again face Ms Daultana but his switch means that the race is now between the PTI and the PML-N instead of the PML-N and the PML-Q.
Next doors in NA-170 which is Vehari’s third national seat, the margin of victory between Tochi Khan of the PPP and Aurangzeb Khan Khichi of the PML-Q was more than 30,000 voters in 2008. Now he faces Khichi once again who holds a PTI ticket. Though some people see the race as a walkover for Mr Khan, the general mood swing against the PPP and the un-quantifiable popularity of the PTI, the race may just throw up some surprises.
Similarly in Lodhran too, the two seats are now witnessing PTI candidates. On NA-154, Jahangir Tareen faces the PML-N’s Mirza Nasir Baig. While on the second one, NA 155, the PTI has awarded a ticket to Nawab Aman Ullah Khan against Akhtar Khan Kanju of the PML-N and Rana Muhammad Faraz Noon of the PPP.
Indeed it can safely be said that the result of these 14 constituencies may end up determining the fortunes of the PTI in the region.
Out of the 50 National Assembly constituencies from the south Punjab, if the PTI wins elections on these 14 seats, where its candidates enjoy their personal vote bank as well, the party will emerge as a strong political force.
Shakeel Anjum, who is a bureau chief of a private TV channel in Multan, said south Punjab was witnessing a three-way fight among the PPP, PML-N and PTI in general. He added that the parties were leading in different districts.
“If in a district like Vehari, the PTI has put up strong candidates, the PML-N has good chances in Khanewal district, and the PPP is in lead in Layyah district,” said Mr Anjum, who has been reporting from the region for the past 15 years.
Syed Gulzar Hussain Bokhari, who is secretary general of Layyah district PPP, said that the PTI had a number of electables on its side in the region and could manage at least five seats more there. He however hastened to add that the PPP would remain in the lead in the southern belt.

Google recognises ‘Palestine’ on its page

JERUSALEM, May 3: Internet giant Google has recognised the Palestinians’ upgraded UN status, placing the name ‘Palestine’ on its search engine instead of ‘Palestinian Territories’, the US company said on Friday. .
The domain name www.google.ps, Google’s search engine for the territories, now brings up a homepage with ‘Palestine’ written underneath the Google logo.
The change took effect on Wednesday, Google spokesman Nathan Tyler said in a statement. “We’re changing the name ‘Palestinian Territories’ to ‘Palestine’ across our products. We consult a number of sources and authorities when naming countries. In this case, we are following the lead of the UN... and other international organisations,” he said.
The UN General Assembly on November 29 upgraded Palestine to the status of non-member observer state by a vote of 138 votes in favour, nine against and 41 abstentions.
Palestinian authorities have since begun to use the ‘State of Palestine’ in diplomatic correspondence and issued official stamps for the purpose.—AFP

12 militants killed in Waziristan: officials

By Sailab Mahsud

LADHA, May 3: Fighting broke out between security forces and militants in Ghundai area of South Waziristan early on Friday morning in which each side claimed inflicting heavy causalities on the other. .
The clash followed an attack by militants on a security post. According to sources, militants loyal to the Shamim Mehsud group attacked the checkpost situated on a hill at about 3.30am. Security personnel retaliated and the subsequent gunfight continued for about 90 minutes.
Intelligence sources claimed that 12 militants were killed and several others injured in the fighting. They said that security personnel took into custody four bodies of militants which were later buried in the area.
They also admitted that a soldier was killed and three others were injured in the clash.
On their part, the militants claimed to have killed 12 security personnel and seized a huge quantity of arms from the post. They said they had taken away heads of three slain security personnel.
Meanwhile, nine militants and a soldier were killed in a clash in Dabori area of Orakzai tribal region.
Sources said a group of militants carrying sophisticated weapons attacked a checkpost in Shin Qamar area of Dabori, a stronghold of Taliban, at about 1pm and killed a soldier, Akram.
Reinforcement forces backed up by tanks and artillery pieces soon reached the spot to help the personnel manning the post. After a heavy exchange of fire, the security personnel managed to repulse the attack. Security forces claimed that nine militants were killed and four injured in the fighting. They said an explosives-laden vehicle had been destroyed.

US names envoy for Pakistan, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, May 3: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday named veteran diplomat James Dobbins to be the new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan at what he called ‘a pivotal moment’ for the two nations. .
Mr Dobbins, who has served in difficult posts such as Kosovo, will be taking up a job once held by Richard Holbrooke, Mr Kerry said in a statement.
The post of special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan has been vacant since Marc Grossman stepped down in December.
Mr Grossman had come out of retirement to take the job after Mr Holbrooke’s sudden death in December 2010.
“This is a pivotal moment for both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with interconnected political, security, and economic transitions already under way in Afghanistan, and Pakistani elections just days away, marking an important and historic democratic transition,” Mr Kerry said.—AFP

Chinese envoy awarded Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, May 3: President Asif Ali Zardari conferred Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam on Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian at a special investiture ceremony held here at the Bilawal House on Friday. .
The award has been conferred on Mr Liu in recognition of his ‘pivotal role’ in further cementing and expanding the existing strategic friendship between Pakistan and China and for his untiring efforts to enhance mutual cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, according to an official statement.
The ceremony was attended among others by Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi, president’s spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jillani, ministers, members of diplomatic community, senior officials of the Chinese embassy and other senior officials.
The citation read out on the occasion said Mr Liu Jian had devoted his energies to forging ties between the two countries in the fields of defence, strategic relations, culture, sports and people-to-people contacts during his three-year tenure as ambassador to Pakistan. The Gwadar Port Project, which is a hallmark of the Pak-China strategic partnership, was handed over to a Chinese company during his tenure.
Being a great friend of Pakistan, Mr Liu would be remembered for his commitment to strengthening bilateral relations in diverse fields, the citation said.
Later, Mr Liu called osn President Zardari and discussed with him matters relating to Pak-China bilateral relations.
Senator Babar said the president congratulated the ambassador on the conferment of the award and praised the invaluable contributions made by him during his tenure.
The president said the high-level visits and frequent interaction between the top leaders of the two countries were a testimony to Mr Liu’s untiring efforts to further enhance the brotherly ties between the two countries.
He said Mr Liu was instrumental in fetching Chinese investment in various sectors in Pakistan, including infrastructure, energy, communications and agriculture.
Mr Zardari said the people and the government of Pakistan valued the fraternal relations with China demonstrated by the fact that the government and people of China had always stood by Pakistan in times of distress. He said the two countries would always stand together under all circumstances.
The president said Pakistan was proud of its time-tested and all-weather friendship with China and expressed satisfaction over the current level of bilateral trade that reached $12.4 billion in 2012 with a three-fold increase in Pakistan’s exports to China since 2008 reaching $3.14bn in 2012.
He appreciated China’s economic support and assistance to the socio-economic development of Pakistan and said that Pakistan wanted to promote closer collaboration in agriculture, irrigation, security, energy, railways and infrastructure development.
Mr Liu thanked the president and the government of Pakistan for conferring on him the Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam. He assured Mr Zardari that he would continue to be a friend of Pakistan.

BNP-M’s manifesto envisions end to centre-Balochistan confrontation

By Saleem Shahid

QUETTA, May 3: Bringing to an end the confrontation between the federation and Balochistan as a priority, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) unveiled its election manifesto on Friday. .
Speaking at a press conference here, BNP-M senior vice-president Dr Jahanzaib Jamaldini said his party wanted to end the province’s political and economic confrontation with the centre in order to solve problems faced by its people.
Dr Jamaldini was accompanied by Sajid Tareen, Agha Hassan and some other senior leaders of BNP-M.
He said after coming to power the BNP-M would stop military operations in Balochistan, release all detailed political activists and work to trace out missing persons. The party would take steps for the rehabilitation of internally displaced people and efforts would be made to improve security situation, especially to end target killings. Political rights would be restored and human rights would be protected, he added.Dr Jamaldini said if voted to power the BNP-M would give control of the natural resources of Balochistan to the people of the province. He mentioned areas of the province which are rich with natural resources — Sui, Chamalang, Saindak, Rekodeq, Dhuddar (Lasbela) and Daraap (Washuk).
The BNP-M’s manifesto envisions total control of Balochistan government on its coast and ports. Dr Jamaldini said a ban would be imposed on the use of big trawlers for fishing in deep sea. The province would get financial benefits on the use of its routes for trade purposes.
He said the BNP-M would encourage industrialisation in the province. Cottage industries, including embroidery and carpet weaving, would be given special attention and the livestock sector would be developed on modern lines. Economic support would be provided to small industries, such as handicraft. He said 90 per cent jobs in the province would be given to local people.
New roads and railway routes would be developed to link cities of Balochistan. Energy crisis would be resolved on priority basis and natural gas would be supplied to all areas of the province.
The BNP-M leader said large and small dams would be built for the preservation of rainwater that would be used for drinking and agriculture purposes.
New universities, including a marine university, and two medical colleges would be established to promote higher education in the province.
Every district of Balochistan would have a 200-bed hospital and child and maternity centres would be established with provision of modern equipment and facilities.
Tourism would be promoted in the province and hotels and motels would be built in Ziarat, Harboi and Hingol.
Referring to the country’s foreign policy, Dr Jamaldini said the BNP-M would favour peaceful relations with neighbouring countries based on the principle of peaceful coexistence. The party would strictly follow the policy of non-interference in the affairs of other states and would favour trade relations with other countries, he added.

Editorial NEWS

The need to condemn: Election violence

UNHAPPILY, and tragically even, the 2013 elections are rapidly becoming a tale of two countries. There is Punjab, where election campaigns are in full swing and the vibrancy and the intensity of electoral competition can be felt across the province. And then there is Balochistan, Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, where many a campaign has either come to a shuddering halt or is limping along. In the PPP’s case outside Punjab, the party has yet to even launch a serious campaign, knowing full well the ferocity of the attacks that will come its way when — if — it does launch its campaign. By now, the very worst fears about militant violence marring this election have already come true..
The choice between death and campaigning that many politicians and several parties are confronting is so fundamentally anti-democratic and fearsome that it amounts to savagely distorting the electoral process even before a single vote is cast. The asymmetry is as obvious as it is expected: liberal and left-of-centre parties are in the militants’ cross-hairs while the religious right and centre-right parties are able to campaign and mobilise support largely unmolested. Now, with each passing day, there is a greater and greater need for the mainstream parties not targeted so far to speak out and denounce the violence — particularly the PML-N and the PTI. Watching Imran Khan and the Sharifs campaigning furiously in Punjab, the parties outside Punjab increasingly consigned to the fringes of the campaign season must be wondering what it will take for those two parties, and the religious right, to denounce in unequivocal terms each act of violence and rise to the defence of the under-siege democratic process.
Cynically, the leadership of the PML-N and PTI may be calculating that in a tough electoral climate where the two parties are fighting hard for largely the same slice of the electorate, it is best to not add to the complexity of the electoral challenge by drawing the attention of militants presently occupied elsewhere. If that makes sense, it does so only in the narrowest of contexts and shortest of terms. Silence and acquiescence are the militants’ allies in achieving their goal of an anti-democratic, narrowly defined Islamist Pakistan. Imran Khan’s words of condemnation last evening are a necessary and important statement, indicating an awareness of what is at stake and why political parties, whether rivals or not, need to present a unified front against militancy. Winning an election at the cost of losing the country is not a model of sustainable democracy, as Khan has rightly suggested.

The cost of shutdowns: Frequent strike calls

KARACHI has a long history of protests and shutdowns that have had an adverse affect on businesses in the country’s financial hub. On Thursday, port activities were affected as roads were blocked when Lyari residents protested against the killing of three men by law enforcement personnel. Former PPP MNAs claimed that they were party activists. Earlier, on Wednesday and then again on Friday, businesses were shut in response to strike calls given by the MQM whose election offices had been targeted. The business community has frequently pointed out that the losses accrued during days when business comes to a grinding halt run into billions of rupees, while the suffering of daily-wage workers is also a matter of grave concern. When transport is not running and workers cannot make it to their industrial units, production falls, affecting export orders and delivery schedules. Previously producers kept large inventories, but with improved communication and transportation facilities keeping a huge inventory is no longer considered cost-effective. Hence whenever unscheduled disruptions in production occur firms have a tough time meeting their delivery deadlines. When companies fail to deliver to international clients on time Pakistan is inevitably seen as an unreliable market. Meanwhile, contract employees constitute a good proportion of the labour force and every strike means the loss of a day’s wages. With many households barely making ends meet even on normal days, the major impact that frequent shutdowns have on family budgets can only be imagined..
Under these circumstances, the ANP’s categorically stating that businesses and transporters should continue as usual on Saturday, even though it was observing a day of mourning for those killed in an attack on an election corner meeting in Orangi, should be welcomed. All parties have a right to stage protests. But they must also consider what form these protests should take and how they can be made effective without disrupting the city’s financial machinery and causing citizens to suffer.

Slide into anarchy: Iraq’s sectarian conflict

IT could be a throwback to the 2006-07 days if the sectarian conflict now in evidence in Iraq is not checked. The death toll in five days of violence has crossed 200, and, judging by the situation, is likely to keep increasing. Bomb blasts and clashes with security forces have taken place not just in Baghdad but in many Sunni-majority provinces as well. Although violence erupted on Tuesday, when security forces attacked a protest camp in Hawija near the town of Kirkuk, the situation worsened after Friday prayers in several cities after four Sunni mosques, located in and outside Baghdad, were bombed. In Ramadi in the Anbar province, a mosque imam warned there could be more bloodshed, unless the army withdrew from the city. The Sunnis are now demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has appealed for calm and warned of sectarian conflict. He has appointed Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni, as chairman of the Hawija enquiry committee. But the Maliki government is unstable, and some Sunni ministers have already resigned as a protest against the raid..
Iraq seems to be coming apart at the seams, with Kurdistan enjoying autonomy and dealing with multinationals directly for oil sales. A worsening of sectarian animosities could lead to anarchy and provide ideal conditions for Al Qaeda to turn Iraq into a base of operations. If such a scenario is to be prevented both the Sunni and Shia communities must exercise restraint, and not play into the hands of those advocating violence. Mercifully, some top Shia and Sunni clerics have come together and appealed for peace and sectarian harmony. Their efforts will get a boost if Saudi Arabia and Iran can use their influence to stabilize the situation.

Valid concerns — Teachers refuse poll duty

THE announcement by a schoolteachers’ association in Balochistan that its members are refusing to perform polling duties in 11 of the province’s 30 districts because of security threats has thrown another spanner in the provincial electoral machine. Already electoral campaigns of political parties are operating under a dark shadow of violence and there are fears of a record low turnout in a province where the number of those casting their vote is historically low in any case. Given the very real threat to their safety and security, the schoolteachers’ fears are understandable. However, there is an onus on the Election Commission of Pakistan, the caretaker government and the security apparatus to ensure that polls are held on time and in as secure a manner as possible..
What can be done? Several things, some of which the responsible authorities are already working on. A massive security blanket is expected to be thrown over the troubled parts of the province from the start of May and plans are being prepared to ensure that the electoral machinery and set-up is as well protected as possible. Of course that leaves the broader question of fear among the voters and that can only meaningfully be addressed by a significant and urgent public relations campaign to both explain to voters the measures being taken to safeguard the elections and to encourage them to exercise their democratic right. There are also the fears of the political parties that have to be addressed. While campaigning is continuing in a low-key manner in the troubled areas, large rallies have been avoided and the energy of an election is missing. Corner meetings and local offices of candidates are not a meaningful substitute for even medium-sized rallies — election and state authorities ought to reach out to the parties to work with them to help create as much of a healthy election environment as possible.
While Balochistan faces a different set of threats, the overall security challenge is the same as across swathes of Pakistan. With elections now less than two weeks away, it is time that the political parties, the caretaker governments and the ECP sent out an urgent and unified message: namely, that elections will be held on time, that they will be secured as best as possible and that the immediate threats to the democratic process will not be allowed to prevail. For that, action is as important as words. Can Ehsanullah Ehsan, the TTP spokesperson, for example, not be captured and swiftly brought to justice to send the necessary signal?

Appalling tragedy: Bangladesh building collapse

WITH the appalling garment factory fire in Karachi in which over 280 people lost their lives a little over six months behind us, Pakistan is sadly well placed to empathise with Bangladesh, where the collapse of a similarly used building on Wednesday caused the deaths of at least 320 people. While intensive rescue efforts were witnessed, and some of those trapped in the rubble provided with oxygen cylinders, an estimated 3,000 workers were present when the building came down, and hundreds remain unaccounted for. As in Pakistan, the story behind the tragedy is one of negligence and desperation: in terms of the former, the failure of the buildings’ management and the countries’ governments to ensure workplace safety, and vis-à-vis the latter, the lack of choice available to the hapless who are forced by sheer need to continue to toil in such environments. There couldn’t be a starker, more heartrending example of the costs borne by the people of the callousness of their governments..
But if building managements and governments are to be blamed for disasters of this sort, should strong censure also not be reserved for a world order where such inequity is tolerated because it satiates richer countries’ populations’ thirst for consumer lifestyles? The boom in the Bangladesh garment industry, where poor conditions give rise to tragedies in potentia, is because of the fact that the clothes retail business is a billion-dollar sector in the West, and low-cost labour in the Third World keeps prices down and the customers returning for more. It is not just Bangladesh’s government or businessmen that need to introspect; a much more thorough look inwards is required on the global level. Where consumers have demanded a shift towards ethicality, it has been achieved, a prime example being Pakistan’s football industry which has largely been free of child labour. The images of Bangladesh’s anguish flashed around the world should become a reason for swift action.

A grim picture: PIA’s financial losses

THE delay in restructuring and reforming PIA is adding to the financial distress of the national flag carrier. During 2012, the airline recorded a huge after-tax loss of over Rs32bn, up by more than 20pc from Rs27bn a year earlier. The company’s net revenues dropped, albeit marginally, to Rs125bn from Rs127bn. The fall in the revenues is not unexpected given the fact that the airline has cut down its daily flights to 100 from 150 sometime ago as out of a fleet of 39 aircraft 15 are not operational because of want of repair on account of shortage of funds. The expenditure on keeping the company afloat, on the other hand, is continuously increasing because of growing operational and other inefficiencies, overstaffing, poor governance and, last but not the least, political and bureaucratic interference. The airline needs an immediate bailout package to survive. While a package was announced, it has yet to materialise..
More importantly, the airline immediately needs complete restructuring of its management and operations on modern business lines to improve governance and eliminate political and bureaucratic interference. The restructuring of the company will be a painful and politically tough decision as it will not be confined to replacement of its aging fleet or changes in the top management or induction of professionals. It will also involve retrenchments, a major factor that kept the previous government from moving ahead with the reforms. In its annual report for the last financial year, the State Bank of Pakistan had underlined the need for “rationalising” staff — most of which was inducted on a political basis over time. This is essential if the idea is to help the national carrier get back on its feet. The sooner we implement the needed reforms the better.

Unfulfilled promises: Circular debt

IF there was a way to generate electricity from promises, we’d be awash with it. It would be tedious to list all the promises we have had to hear on the road to our present predicament, but the last assurance needs special mention. We are now told that the government is going to inject Rs45bn in the power sector to address the liquidity needs of PSO, the state-owned oil importer which is having a hard time retiring its letters of credit due to its cash-flow problems because of non-payment by the power bureaucracy..
If promises and words alone could pay our bills, the country would have very few problems of any sort. But lately it feels like each day is Dec 31 when one recalls the most infamous of the promises that the last government made in its efforts to address the power crisis. If the government had Rs45bn to throw at the problem, we would not have had a crisis to begin with. The reason why we are in the midst of a power crisis, it is becoming increasingly clear, is that the power bureaucracy cannot generate electricity within its cost allowance, no matter how many tariff increases are given to it. The same power bureaucracy is unable to recover any money from its customers regardless of the extent to which it is empowered to do so. If Pakistan burns somewhere around 18,000 tons of furnace oil everyday to keep its power plants running, then only something like 13pc of the money to pay for that oil actually comes from the power bureaucracy. The remaining 87pc has to be financed by the government in the form of a subsidy.
Given the grim facts, it is hardly surprising that the circular debt has spiralled its way up to Rs537bn. This is an increase of almost 272pc from the day the PPP government was sworn in. Addressing this problem is now the first task for the next government, followed quickly by the declining reserves situation. Between the circular debt and the reserves, it seems the incoming government is all set to walk into the proverbial space between a rock and a hard place. Our power sector is now quite literally running on fumes, and unless serious policy decisions are made to redirect natural gas towards power, and to force the power bureaucracy to either deliver or step aside, we run the risk of running aground on our own promises.

Prisoner at risk: Attack on Sarabjit Singh

IT’S a case of the syndrome from which Pakistan is frequently found to suffer: not taking care when there is time and then trying to patch up matters when they have gone wrong. On Friday, Sarabjit Singh, an Indian spy on death-row in Pakistan, was brutally attacked by fellow inmates at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail. Sustaining critical injuries to the head, he was, at the time of writing, in a coma. Police officials have said that two prisoners have been interrogated — one hopes that even without the victim’s statement the investigation is pursued with all seriousness and that the persons responsible are identified and punished. Indeed, conditions in Pakistani jails are deplorable to say the least. Overcrowding frequently means that petty offenders are made to share the same space with hardened criminals and are thus at risk. Moreover, the smuggling in of arms adds to the danger of jail brawls and attacks on other prisoners. This is an issue that needs to be addressed as part of the overall reform of jails..
However, Sarabjit Singh’s case is different — because it is a high-profile one with political and diplomatic overtones as it involves the citizen of another country. The question that prison authorities must answer is why was Sarabjit Singh not considered a prisoner at risk. Globally, it is fairly standard practice to provide greater security for convicts such as him, who because of the nature of their crime or identity are subjected to the ire of other inmates. Indeed, Singh’s lawyer said the convict had received threats following the execution in India of Afzal Guru who was sentenced to death for an attack on the Indian parliament. The attack on Singh could easily have been prevented had jail authorities been more vigilant. The one positive aspect is that Singh’s family were given prio-rity visas and allowed to see him in hospital. The only way this country
can provide them closure is to identify the persons responsible for the attack on their relative and bring them to justice.

Questionable death: Murdered Sindhi nationalists

SEVERAL parts of Sindh saw violence on Sunday after the tortured, bullet-riddled bodies of two Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz activists were found in Dadu district. The Sindhi nationalist group has accused the intelligence apparatus of killing its workers; the victims had reportedly been picked up by security men from Larkana a few days ago. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the bodies of Sindhi nationalists have been found in this fashion. Last year, the body of JSMM secretary-general Muzaffar Bhutto was discovered near Hyderabad in similar condition — he had been missing for over a year. In that incident as well the victim’s family blamed the intelligence agencies. Though not on the scale of Balochistan, the number of enforced disappearances in Sindh appears to be rising, while several extrajudicial deaths of nationalists — especially those thought to harbour separatist tendencies — have been reported. Hardly any of these cases have been solved..
It would be highly unfortunate if, in such a charged atmosphere, the security establishment was found to be involved in these activities. With Balochistan in the throes of a separatist insurgency; stoking similar feelings in Sindh by resorting to brutality can result in dangerous developments. The PPP, PML-F and some other parties in Sindh enjoy mass support which separatist elements do not. Yet if the security apparatus resorts to such actions it will fuel alienation in the province. Instead of pushing people to the edge, the state needs to explain who killed these men in an extrajudicial manner. If there is proof some activists are involved in militancy this must be presented in court; kidnapping activists, killing them and dumping their bodies is not a sustainable anti-separatism policy. The political process is alive in Sindh. It cannot be subverted by allowing extralegal methods which will result in people’s disillusionment with the system.

Need to speak up: Condemning election violence

THE joint statement on Monday from the PPP, MQM and ANP in Karachi saying that the parties would contest the elections despite the terrorist violence they have been confronted with is a bold move. It reflects political maturity as these very parties have in the past fought it out between themselves on the streets of Karachi. In fact, the statement in Karachi should be echoed by the parties’ top leaders at a national level. Obviously there has been a realisation that there is a bigger common enemy (religious extremists, mainly the TTP) to contend with and there is more at stake (the democratic transition) here than petty political gains. After all, these three parties have been most affected by the violence: the ANP has relentlessly been targeted in KP and the MQM’s election offices in Karachi have been bombed while one of its candidates was killed in Hyderabad. The PPP has not even begun its campaign due to the security situation. It is also important that the parties have called for the elections to be held on time. A delay will only serve as a victory for the militants. That is why it is essential that the state vastly improves its security measures..
All parties must send out a strong message of having polls on time and not bowing to the extremists’ tactics on the national stage. In particular, those parties need to speak up who have escaped the militants’ wrath so far. After much debate Imran Khan has spoken out against the targeting of political parties, even if this has come in the form of making an appeal to the militants to cease their campaign of destruction. At least he has spoken up. On the other hand, major political forces such as Nawaz Sharif and the religious parties have either remained silent or been ambiguous in their condemnation of pre-poll violence. JI chief Munawar Hassan has called for an “all-party conference” to discuss the national situation. But with such a small window left between now and election day this may not be a feasible option, considering that many leading candidates are out on the campaign trail.
Instead, the JI and all other political stakeholders need to condemn the violence in unequivocal terms and express solidarity with the parties that have been targeted and are under threat. If silence is maintained, it will only add to the feeling that certain parties are indirectly gaining from the militants’ campaign against liberal and left-of-centre political forces.

Baloch voters need security: Army steps in

THE decision to deploy the army in Balochistan ahead of the May 11 polls was a long overdue and difficult one considering the security establishment’s controversial role in the province. Nevertheless, given the level of threat from the insurgents, the army’s role in maintaining security should be welcomed as polling day approaches. The deployment began on Monday in 11 ‘sensitive’ districts; by Tuesday evening, many other districts had been covered, sending a message to both democratic and anti-democratic forces. The former need security and the latter an adequate force response. Separatist elements have targeted a number of parties and candidates — they are even against Baloch nationalists contesting the polls. Their tactics and the mainstream parties’ determination to contest makes the holding of these polls even more important, as the elections could prove to be a turning point in Balochistan’s quest for its rights through peaceful and democratic means. While the TTP has targe-ted candidates and election offices in KP and Karachi as well, Balochistan faces threats from both the Taliban and the separatists. The Taliban may have nothing in common with Baloch insurgents whose ideology is not based on religion, but both are against the electoral process. Against this background the presence of the security forces should deter both ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ militants and at the same time give a sense of security to all candidates, party workers and the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, the army should not overstep its mandate and strictly restrict itself to election security. Its duties are supposed to begin today and last till May 15. There should be no reason for it to stay on after this date. .
Meanwhile, KP and Karachi also need attention. No province has suffered more from the TTP’s murderous policies than KP, and no city has been subjected to terror attacks the way Karachi has been since the start of campaigning. Controlling the terror attacks will constitute a major step towards creating a level playing field for all parties and candidates.

Absent unions: May Day

THIS year, with May Day being observed just before a general election, the loss is felt all the more. Trade unions are missing from the scene. We have only numbers and statistics to justify and disprove. Individuals and groups have taken a backseat as life is held hostage by percentages. There is no antithesis. It has been presumed trade unions are a luxury which can be done without for the sake of progress, that unions actually prevent development, and that the prevailing system will, as if by magic, self-correct and eventually ensure fairness for all if not equality. These are all excuses for laziness and resignation, for perpetuating an exploitative system and for a lack of understanding of the realities and indeed of market logic. .
When the elected government took power in 2008, one of its earliest vows was to restore the unions. Later on, the same government was repeatedly attacked for its failure to honour its words over so many issues; but no one thought it necessary to remind it that it had once promised the revival of trade unions also. It has been said and it will no doubt be reiterated in the future that an organised workforce could provide an effective counter to the retrogressive elements in society, some of which go as far as wanting to derail the entire system. But then, a union empowers people against monopolies and against basic inequalities, as, in parallel terms, does an elected local government. Thus it naturally scares powerful political players. The worst part is that, while the local governments do find a place in election speeches, the unions remain absent even from rhetoric — a sad case of a huge force no one is ready to exploit.

Refreshing comments: Army chief’s speech

TEN days after Gen Kayani stoked controversy with his ‘Pakistan is Islam and Islam is Pakistan’ speech in Kakul, the army chief has taken on the critics of the war against terrorism with some straight-talk. “However, despite all this bloodshed, certain quarters still want to remain embroiled in the debate concerning the causes of this war and who imposed it on us…. [D]oes the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war?” Wrong as he was 10 days ago in his ill-advised comments, Gen Kayani’s speech on Monday is precisely the kind of direct rebuttal that is needed for those advocating a policy of appeasement when it comes to the Taliban. For over a year now, the army chief has underlined just how much the war against terrorism is Pakistan’s own war — not one imposed on the country by the outside world nor one that we can avoid fighting in any circumstances — and coming from the chief architect of Pakistan’s national security policy, Gen Kayani’s words carry great meaning..
But, and unhappily there is always a but when dissecting the army-led security establishment’s policy against militancy and extremism, the army chief and his high command are not able to carry their words to the logical conclusion. Yes, those advocating the appeasement of the Taliban fighting the Pakistan state are doing a disservice to state and society by making it that much more difficult to develop a much-needed consensus on why the anti-Pakistan Taliban need to be taken on directly and decisively. And yes, by using his significant megaphone to shout down the critics, Gen Kayani is helping dismantle the argument against taking on the Taliban militarily. But why does the argument for appeasing the Taliban gain such traction among the public in the first place?
The answer has much to do with the army’s own dual policy. The Afghan Taliban are ‘good’; the Pakistani Taliban ‘bad’ — that tends to perpetuate the confusion first sown by the state and the army wrapping its arms around the jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s. If sponsoring jihad against Afghanistan’s invaders in the 1980s was a legitimate policy, then so it must be against the Americans and the outside world in the 2000s — and because the Pakistani state is half-supporting the US-led effort in Afghanistan, then it too must be considered a legitimate target. Until and unless there is clarity about why armed jihad anywhere is bad policy, there will always be confusion inside Pakistan — no matter what Gen Kayani or anyone else says.

Time for action: Striking at militants

MUCH blood has already been spilt in the run-up to next week’s general elections, most of it by religious militants. Considering the ease with which militants have managed to pervert the democratic process — effectively vetting parties and unleashing destruction against those not in their good books — the state needs to take decisive action against the extremists. It is up to the government to decide whether it chooses to strike now or after the polls. However one thing is clear: not taking any action against the militants will only embolden them. Despite the army’s claims that the extremists’ back has been broken, the constant targeting of political forces over the past few weeks has proven that the TTP and those of their ilk are far from a spent force. The military is taking action; on Wednesday jets reportedly bombed militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency killing a number of fighters. But there is a need to expand such actions in Orakzai and beyond, wherever the militants have established bases. North Waziristan seems to top this list, as it is often described as the ‘nerve centre’ of militant activity. Parts of South Waziristan have also been singled out as militant strongholds. .
Moreover, going after small-time operatives and foot soldiers in peripheral areas will not be effective until those directing and planning the militants’ campaign of destruction are targeted. Masterminds such as Hakeemullah Mehsud and other forces, such as the Punjabi Taliban and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, who are using the tribal belt to plan attacks against the rest of Pakistan, must be brought to justice. If today the militants get the feeling they are winning and can control the political process, tomorrow they can launch campaigns to dislodge governments they don’t like. Action against militants will have public support, as the 2009 operation in Malakand has shown, while it will also symbolically prove that all pillars of the state are determined to protect the democratic process from the extremists’ assault. The time is now.

No lessons learnt: Another bank heist in Karachi

TUESDAY’S bank heist at a UBL branch was Karachi’s tenth this year. It highlights the police’s failure to combat crime and exposes the bank staff’s disregard for security precautions. The involvement of the armed guard in the robbery doesn’t mean that all private security men are unreliable. Many have shown commitment to duty and were killed resisting robberies. But in this case, as the investigation showed, the antecedents provided by the guard were fake: the address he gave and the names of guarantors turned out to be fictitious. This points to one major aspect of bank heists: all applicants for security jobs need to be thoroughly vetted. In the past, guards posted at banks have aided and abetted criminals linked to proscribed militant groups as well as organised criminal gangs while funds robbed from banks have reportedly been used to finance terrorist activities. .
In this case it would be unwise to focus on the security guard alone; the bank management has much to answer for. It had no back-up digital video recording system, and when the armed men took away the available record, the police had no footage to go by. The bigger part of the cash looted — Rs53 million — belonged to other branches, which send their money at the end of every month to the University Road branch, which is the regional headquarters. The police accuse the bank staff of disregarding security considerations, for the money was being handled not in the strong room but outside it. The banking high command ought to overhaul the security system, look into these legitimate police complaints and penalise the staff where they failed to follow standard procedures. The latest heist is just one more reason why security overhaul and background checks of guards should be a priority for all banks.

Judicial overreach: Musharraf ban

BANNED for life — Pervez Musharraf’s abortive return to politics has been brought to a screeching halt by the Peshawar High Court order on Tuesday. Parsing the logic of the order is delicate business: Musharraf has clearly committed grave crimes against the Constitution and the superior judiciary was a direct target of Gen Musharraf in 2007. But there are two other, relevant matters here: one, the issue before the PHC chief justice was simply the former general’s disqualification from contesting a National Assembly seat in Chitral; and two, Gen Musharraf has yet to be convicted in any of the numerous cases, and countless allegations, lodged against him. So in many ways, the high court has put the judicial cart before the horse — an unhappy situation of judicial overreach where perhaps none was necessary. .
For Gen Musharraf, the tightening of the judicial noose means he has largely run out of options, at least public, legal ones. All legal routes ultimately lead to the Supreme Court — and no one need be reminded who and what awaits him there. The issue, however, is larger than a former dictator and a superior judiciary unwilling to extend to him the legal proprieties a less controversial accused may expect. As much as there is a legal side to how best the case of Gen Musharraf ought to be dealt with, there is a political side too — ultimately, the decision to prosecute the former dictator and keep him out of politics ought to be one taken by the people’s representatives. Where the elected representatives have not moved as quickly or efficiently as the courts would have liked, the superior judiciary has tried to produce ad hoc solutions. But in the case of Gen Musharraf, the judiciary itself has much to account for given that his 1999 coup was sanctioned by the Supreme Court and that the referendum which allowed the then-army chief to stay on in power beyond the initial three years granted to him by the court also occurred with minimal judicial interference or objection.
Perhaps what the country needs most — and Gen Musharraf’s determination to return to Pakistan has created an opportunity for — is a meaningful and wide-ranging revisiting of Article 6 of the Constitution and the 1973 law operationalising the punishment for treason, a job a strong parliament after May 11 could undertake. More specifically, treating enablers and aiders and abettors at the same level as the general taking over in a coup, could perhaps help make it more difficult for a would-be coup-maker.

Blaming others: ‘Foreign hand’ behind violence

HOLDING ‘hidden hands’ and external forces responsible for our security woes is an old excuse that officialdom trots out to deflect criticism. And in keeping with this practice, the head of the interior ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell has told this newspaper that “terrorists who have infiltrated from Afghanistan are to blame for much of Pakistan’s poll-related violence. While it is believed that some fugitive Pakistani militants such as Fazlullah are based in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has asked Kabul to take action against them, the fact is that the major security threat to this country is internal, ie militants based in Pakistan are responsible for the recent poll-related havoc. The TTP has proudly claimed responsibility for bombings and has also distributed pamphlets warning citizens not to take part in polls. It has also threatened liberal parties such as the ANP, MQM and PPP. The leaders of the extremists’ campaign against democracy and their spokesmen are all located within our borders. Even the army chief, while blasting “external enemies” for rampant terrorism in Pakistan the other day, conceded that internal elements also need to be dealt with. Hence what further argument is required to convince the state that the problem is very much internal? What is more, playing the blame game does little to tackle militancy in practical terms. .
It is true that in a geopolitically complex world elements based outside our borders could well be trying to destabilise our security. But proof is needed of this and more importantly, what is the state doing to prevent such activities? However, in the context of our predicament vis-à-vis religious militancy, the problem is a product of our own follies — we have allowed the internal militant threat to grow into a monster. Instead of passing the buck the state needs to come to terms with the issue. Admitting the problem, and that it is our problem, will help us deal with it effectively; maintaining a state of denial will only have adverse consequences.

Winds of change: Women’s vote encouraged

THE change in the offing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may be due more to reasons of hard-nosed electioneering than altruism, but it is certainly very welcome. Areas such as parts of Malakand division, the outskirts of Peshawar and Upper and Lower Dir have historically resisted women casting their vote; indeed, there are some places where women have never voted at all. This is because tribal elders or jirgas decree that the women in their area will not vote. Either cultural norms are cited for this decision or contesting candidates settle the point among themselves. This time, however, no such agreements have so far surfaced anywhere; in fact, there seems to be a concerted push towards encouraging women to participate in the upcoming elections. The two major mainstream religious parties, the JI and the JUI-F, are running an active campaign across the province to address female voters and win over their vote. Indeed, the latter is holding a Khawateen Ijtema, or a women’s meeting, on Sunday in the Talash area of Lower Dir, while the JI is running door-to-door campaigns across the province to connect with female voters. .
Conservative though these parties are — although the JI has an active women’s wing — it is nevertheless to their credit that they have not attempted to disenfranchise women. This is crucial in the context of KP politics. If norms are to change, this is the starting point, and it would be a step in the right direction for the Election Commission of Pakistan to set up, where advisable, separate polling stations for women, as has been decided for areas such as Talash, Timergara and Mayaar. Moreover, the electoral statistics collected should include gender-specific data so that women’s voting patterns can be studied and their choices taken into account.

Uneven playing field: Election violence

THE concerns of the Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim that free and fair elections are not possible without proper security arrangements were further justified with the killing of a National Assembly candidate in Karachi yesterday. There will now be no elections on May 11 to the seat he was contesting. On Tuesday, a provincial assembly candidate in the Jhal Magsi area was killed — polling in his constituency too has been suspended. Meanwhile, on Thursday, two polling stations in Balochistan’s Nasirabad district were blown up while an MQM election office in Karachi was bombed. The militants’ campaign of violence is in full swing. .
There have been over 40 election-related acts of violence since April 11. Over 70 people have died in these while more than 350 have been injured. Parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, and Balochistan, along with Karachi, are the worst affected while thousands of polling stations countrywide have been declared ‘sensitive’. All this violence has proved that there is anything but a level playing field especially for those parties that have been singled out by the militants for their ‘secular’ leanings. However, the parties that have been spared by the extremists, including the PML-N and PTI as well as the religious parties, have either been lukewarm in their criticism, ‘appealing’ to the militants to hold their fire, or have maintained a deafening silence. Quite naturally, there are many concerns about how the ongoing mayhem will affect voter turnout. With such frequent shootings and bombings, the public cannot be faulted for being wary about stepping out on election day, especially in areas that have witnessed the most violence.
This is where the role of the state and the Election Commission of Pakistan comes in. The deployment of 70,000 troops for election security has begun and hopefully this will reassure jittery voters that matters are under control. Yet public confidence will only rise when there is a noticeable decrease in the acts of violence in the days leading up to May 11. The state needs to project that troops are on the ground for the safety of candidates, political workers, polling staff and the voters while the ECP needs to launch a major media campaign reassuring voters that it is safe to come out and cast their ballot. It is essential to convince the voters and ensure a sizable turnout for two main reasons — to defeat the extremists’ campaign and to grant legitimacy to the continuity of the democratic project in Pakistan.

Grim repercussions: Sarabjit Singh’s death

THE death of Sarabjit Singh on Thursday should be taken by Pakistan’s prison administrations as a wake-up call — they should be forced to review their treatment of prisoners who may be at risk because of the nature of their crime or their identity. Across the world, incidents occur of inmates attacking each other and therefore it is standard practice to provide convicts at risk with extra protection. Singh was an Indian national convicted of spying and of playing a role in the bombings that killed several people in 1990. Had the prison authorities been more vigilant, this sad incident could have been prevented. The same can be said of India, where a Pakistani prisoner, Sanaullah Haq, in Indian-held Kashmir was attacked by a fellow inmate and critically injured yesterday..
Singh was given a state funeral amidst the din of angry protests and a hawkish stance on part of the country’s media; the government in Indian Punjab declared a three-day period of state mourning and its assembly unanimously passed a resolution terming Singh “a national martyr”. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, meanwhile, referred to him in a statement as a “brave son of India”. So who was Sarabjit Singh and what was he doing in Pakistan? If he was merely someone who had crossed the border accidentally, as his family claims, why the state funeral? If, on the other hand, he was an agent of the Indian government, as Pakistani courts found him to be, why the decades-long silence in Indian diplomatic quarters over his incarceration here? Or was he merely a pawn in the spy-vs-spy game that many suspected characterised the hostile India-Pakistan relationship during the period he was arrested and sentenced? Given the anger being voiced across India over Singh’s death, and possible resentment here against the attack on Sanaullah Khan, it is necessary to remember those years and exercise restraint. The process of the normalising of ties must continue; hawkish attitudes yield few benefits while restraint and goodwill offer many.

Lack of substance: Parties and foreign policy

USED only as rhetoric, foreign policy has not received serious attention in the current election campaign. More often than not, it has been subjected to demagogy and exploited to rouse emotions. Afghanistan, Kashmir, nuclear policy and relations with America, China and India are sensitive issues that need responsible handling, because those now treating geopolitical issues flippantly will be called upon to handle them one day. As participants at a seminar, organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs in Karachi on Thursday observed, none of the party manifestos released recently attached much importance to foreign policy and resorted to clichés and generalisations. The manifestos spoke of “a balanced” or “independent” foreign policy, without explaining precisely how this would be conducted by a country that had an external debt running into billions of dollars. As pointed out by a former ambassador, one major party omitted any reference to drone attacks, another said it was against attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles, while another party that expects a landslide win merely spoke against “unilateral attacks” and didn’t even use the word drone. .
The poverty of ideas on foreign policy stems from the absence of input by experts, because no political party has a shadow government. In countries where a shadow government exists, politicians show responsibility in utterances because they know that one day they could be called upon to manage the affairs themselves. In Pakistan, there may be specialists here and there, like some former foreign ministers and economists now in the electoral arena. But the parties haven’t bothered to set up permanent think tanks and committees, each devoted to a specific subject — foreign policy, economy, education, environment, mass transit, etc. This has militated against the development of serious intra-party dialogue on crucial foreign and domestic issues.

Columns and Articles

Shifting Asian pivot

By Munir Akram

OVER a year ago, President Obama announced America’s strategic pivot to Asia, away from its century-old Eurocentric focus. The rationale offered for the pivot was to counter the presumed challenge from a rising China. .
The case made in Washington was that China had not responded to President Obama’s early attempts at engagement on political and economic issues. The Chinese armed forces were engaged in a massive, non-transparent build-up that would threaten US and regional stability. The Pentagon’s strategy review identified China as America’s adversary.
The consequent US assertiveness towards China became quickly visible. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton declared at an Asean forum that the US was an interested party in maritime disputes between China and some Southeast Asian states. This encouraged Vietnam and the Philippines to press their claims to disputed islands more aggressively.
The Pentagon announced that the majority of US naval forces would be deployed in the Pacific. Australia accepted the stationing of US troops on its territory. The US held joint military exercises with several Asian countries. The US delved into China’s internal affairs, offering support to dissidents and human rights activists. The ‘threat’ of cyberwar from China was highlighted.
Recent events indicate that the US decision to challenge China’s rising power is being modified. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Beijing in the midst of the latest Korean crisis, conveyed a call for Sino-US cooperation to build Asian and global stability. Kerry reportedly emphasised China’s responsibility as the world’s second and soon to be the first economic power. China was assured the US did not seek to threaten its vital interests. It had not taken sides on the islands dispute with Japan.
Kerry’s overtures found a responsive chord in Beijing. His trip was followed last week by the visit of US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Martin Dempsey who explained the US sought to be a “stabilising” factor (in Asia) and that its absence would be “destabilising” for the region. China’s chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s general staff repeated President Xi Jinping’s view that “the Pacific Ocean is wide enough to accommodate” both the US and China.
Although the US naval deployments in the Pacific and cyber-security were raised in the discussions and media, the visit was free of the open differences that have marked previous high-level Sino-US military exchanges. An agreement was announced for joint military exercises to combat maritime piracy and conduct humanitarian operations.
The proximate catalyst for the nascent Sino-US rapprochement was the crisis created by North Korea’s nuclear tests and its irresponsible threats of war, including the use of nuclear weapons. The new Chinese leaders have affirmed China’s commitment to zero nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. There is anger in Beijing at the “ungrateful and irresponsible” behaviour of Pyongyang’s young leader.
Apart from the Chinese position on North Korea, the freshly friendly US approach is probably the result of a closer look at the negative consequences of challenging China. Over the past year, Beijing’s responses to Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan have demonstrated China’s determination to defend its maritime claims. The humiliation suffered by the Philippines was not lost on others. No Asean state, apart from Vietnam, supports the “internationalisation” of the maritime disputes, as advocated by Hillary Clinton last year.
The US has also no doubt learned that India is unlikely to play by Washington’s rule book. New Delhi considers itself to be “too big to be used” by the US. If anything, India would like to utilise the American desire for collaboration to promote its own agenda of South Asian dominance. At the same time, India is unwilling to confront China. To win Beijing’s goodwill, New Delhi has offered assurances to the Chinese that they desire a stable and prosperous Pakistan.
In contrast to America’s narrowing strategic options, China has the choice to collaborate with Russia, as signified by President Xi’s selection of Moscow as the venue for his first visit abroad. This can shift the balance of power not only in Asia but also in Europe. Nato, already to be weakened by the US pivot to Asia, would become even more vulnerable to Russia’s still considerable military power.
And, China can build the BRICS grouping into a credible counterweight to US dominance of international financial and political institutions. A first signal was Beijing’s agreement at the recent BRICS summit in South Africa to the establishment of a BRICS bank. Some group members are anxious to give the forum a political and strategic dimension. China has resisted so far; but could accede to this plan if strategically challenged by the US.
It is too early to predict which way the pivotal Sino-US relations will tilt. Today, the road to a “balance of cooperation” between the world’s first and second power is open. This could enhance the prospects of stability in a complex multipolar world that faces multiple threats from unresolved disputes, nuclear and conventional arms escalation, growing poverty and inequality, climate change and terrorism. President Obama, in his second term, has the domestic flexibility to build such a cooperative relationship with a rising China.
Under such an umbrella of Sino-US strategic cooperation, peace and stability in Asia, and elsewhere, would be easier to achieve. A number of local disputes among and within Asian countries could be more effectively addressed, first and foremost, the danger arising from North Korea’s adventurism. Even maritime disputes may become more amenable to solutions. And, Sino-US economic cooperation could accelerate global trade and growth and end the prolonged financial crisis.
The question is whether the process of Sino-US strategic cooperation will be allowed to happen. Large military budgets can be justified by highlighting the possible military threats to national security, however improbable. Great power cooperation and rational foreign policy choices may once again become a victim of the “military-industrial complex”, as that great general, president Dwight Eisenhower, eloquently warned.

The writer is a former Pakistan ambassador to the UN.

Will loadshedding end?

By Moazzam Husain

HOW long will we live with loadshedding? Will the next government be able to fix the problem during its term? .
I have to admit I have not gone into the party manifestos in great detail. I have no doubt they all have well-meaning and lofty plans of increasing generation capacity, improving the fuel mix, improving distribution efficiencies and tackling the root causes of circular debt. No quarrel with that.
There is no shortage of plans collecting dust in the government archives as well. We all know what needs doing. The question is how do you get the plan funded? According to estimates, Pakistan will need $10 billion in capital spending to deal with the power crisis in the coming years and another double this amount to build large dams. Let’s see where we can find the first $10bn.
Public funding is out of the question. The exchequer, already burdened with billions of dollars of circular debt, will not be able to absorb such large capital expenditures. The next possibility is to look at the multilateral financial institutions (MFIs) like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
MFIs may finance technical and feasibility studies, they may even co-fund projects in hydropower and provide concessional loans to undertake grid improvement projects.
Similarly, the bilateral assistance agencies such as the USAID may offer project specific assistance for such things as capacity building of personnel and very specific efficiency improvement projects. From the money received under the Kerry Lugar act, for example, the turbines of some public-sector plants were upgraded to release a few hundred additional megawatts.
Still, it would be naïve to expect the international agencies to play more than a marginal role in financing Pakistan’s energy plan.
Under the power sector reforms that began in 1997, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) was unbundled and vertically disintegrated into independent generation companies (Gencos); distribution companies (DISCOs) and a transmission company (NTDC). The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority was created as the industry regulator.
That process has remained stalled with the result that where the benefit of experience and central planning (under Wapda) has been lost, the intended gains from better market efficiencies have not been realised. What we have today is the worst of both worlds.
The incoming government will need to complete the transition to the industry regime of the future; that is based on competition, open access and market-based pricing. Like the imposition of value-added tax and agriculture income tax this will not come without a great deal of pain; a major reason why all governments since 1997 have been reluctant to complete the power-sector reforms.
Even if the incoming government is able to cut through all the bureaucratic red tape, the reforms will take a minimum of two painful years to complete. Immediately after that, Pakistan will be able to turn to the most plausible source of financing for its energy plan: private capital.
In a distressed world economy, investors seek watertight guarantees. Power plants commissioned under the 2002 power generation policy have, in recent years, faced frequent and prolonged shutdowns on account of fuel shortages — natural gas and furnace oil. When the existing plants are lying idle, seeking new investors is frustrating.
A key decision the incoming government will need to make is on the choice of fuels going forward. There is a moratorium on building new furnace oil and natural gas-fired power plants.
Unfortunately, coal has recently become a no-no with most of the international financial community (except China, but for coal transportation, railways would need to move first). Nuclear and hydropower are very long term. Alternate energy — wind and solar — are good options but cannot yet become mainstay.
One way to fast track investment would be to revive the 1994 power policy; specifically the clause relating to capacity payments; while the reforms are under way on a parallel track.
The stumbling block here would be the issue of furnishing larger sovereign guarantees. Pakistan’s financial
limits to provide any further guarantees are already overstretched.
To circumvent this, the new government may access the MFIs’ programmes that extend sovereign and political risk cover to investors where governments in developing countries are unable to.
The challenge here is that even if done at full speed, the preparation of paperwork and processing time for an application is about 18 months. In addition, the MFIs often have their own set of conditions they want the government to sign.
But this process will remove political risk, and with reforms taking place on a parallel track, the new government will be able to start attracting investment for new projects. By this time it would be about two years into its term. Even if the plants are then built at record speed of three years — these would be commissioned after the five-year term of the incoming government has ended in 2018. And that, dear reader, is the answer to the title of this column.
The silver lining is that we can expect the thermal and small hydro projects that are already in the pipeline to start coming on-stream during the next five years — on the proviso that they’re able to achieve financial close.
If the incoming government shows sufficient will to take the energy sector reforms forward, then that pipeline will deliver energy projects a lot faster. A great deal of that work has already been laid out for the next government. The will to push through the reform is what is now needed.

The writer is a strategist and entrepreneur.
moazzamhusain.com

Notes from south Punjab

By Cyril Almeida

WHAT the state is meant to provide but doesn’t, the private sector can sometimes help sort out. .
Cattle rustling is a big deal in the rural south. Gangs steal cattle to make a quick buck. A politician miffed you’re leaning towards a rival will send his goons to raid your property and set loose your cattle in the middle of the night. The city cattle dealer welcomes any additions to his herd, no questions asked.
Whether for money or politics, for generations, cattle rustling has defined life here. But a strange thing has happened in recent years: it’s become harder to steal cattle.
Not because the local police have woken up to the pervasiveness and seriousness of the crime — a subsistence farmer’s cattle is his living, and total, wealth — but because the private sector has provided an incidental solution.
The big dairy companies hungry for milk have given small farmers and poor households cattle to look after — and crucially, sheds to house the cattle. Where once cattle was tied to a tree stump at night or kept in rudimentary, rickety pens, now there are metal sheds with padlocked gates for the cattle to be kept safe in.
Lock-picking being more difficult than untying a rope thrown around a tree and metal gates clanging being more of a warning than intruders stealthily moving around a field in the dark, an ancient problem has been addressed and the little guy is more secure against the depredations of his powerful neighbour.
It’s a story the little guy in the south frequently delights in telling, throwing in a choice word or two for the local police, which is still aligned with his more powerful neighbour.
PPP strategy: Where in north and central Punjab the PPP candidate is trying his best to play up his personal appeal to voters and downplay his party affiliation — some candidate’s banners have no trace of PPP colours and only a discrete teer is placed in a bottom corner —in the south, the PPP candidate is happy to trade on his party’s continuing appeal.
But it’s not the headline stuff that the party is relying on principally to pick up more seats in the south.
Yes, the Seraiki suba can be an emotive issue and may yet become an electoral one; BISP has empowered women who will pad the PPP vote bank; and the money pumped into the agricultural sector will help keep the PPP’s vote bank stable, the party here hopes.
But taken together, all of that is still not enough for the PPP to cross the finish line way ahead of the rest in the south, which is what the party needs if it is to have a shot at returning to power.
Instead, the PPP electoral strategy in the south is built on two familiar planks: neutralising the opposition where possible by winning over as many electables and their networks of local influentials as possible, and where that isn’t possible, banking on triangular and quadrangular contests seeing its candidates through to victory.
So rather than a regal stroll to victory, the party expects a hard fight — an old-fashioned slugfest with less of a party-ideological twist and more the breaking and making of constituency-level coalitions of support.
Provincial PTI: It’s more discernible in north and central Punjab but the south tends to confirm a little-noticed trend: whatever the results at the centre, the PTI is threatening to make a serious dent in the Punjab Assembly.
Provincial assembly seats have smaller and more homogenous electorates than National Assembly seats: firstly, because there are two PP seats for every one NA seat and secondly, because of the quirks, often deliberate, in the 2002 delimitation, an NA seat often has large chunks of both urban and rural voters.
At the NA level — the bara vote — everything is bigger, more complicated, more expensive and harder to do. Most importantly, an NA candidate needs strong arms, wings, panels: the local parlance for running mates on provincial assembly seats, the chota vote.
The provincial assembly guy has a less complicated scenario, and more options. If his is an urban constituency, he can catch the electoral wave that sweeps through his area by having the right ticket. If his is a rural constituency, he can work the politics of patronage and thana-katchery to secure his hold.
And, because winning is the name of the game, the provincial assembly-level guy can reach an understanding with an NA candidate from another party if the overall configuration of the one NA-two PP constituencies means they have something to offer one another.
So wherever there’s a PTI candidate in a tough fight on an NA seat, there’s often a Punjab Assembly running mate for whom victory looks more likely. The next Punjab Assembly could have a very interesting dynamic.
Prediction time: Out in the constituencies, everyone thinks they’re still in with a chance. But the pundits on TV and in print are confidently making their predictions and projections already. So who’s right?
The disconnect between the confidence of the macro analysts and the wariness of the micro watchers is rooted in a fundamental uncertainty at the moment: who will turn out to vote on May 11 and for whom.
With most races having kicked off just a week ago, the coalitions at the constituency level, so essential to winning seats, are only now starting to take shape. Hour by hour, the players with one, two, three thousand votes behind them are making their allegiances public — and each announcement of affiliation and support at the micro level is shaping the overall constituency race.
With two weeks to go, most micro watchers will only make one prediction right now: May 4, 5, 6 — that’s around when the winners and losers will become clearer. The rest is just noise.

The writer is a member of staff.
cyril.a@gmail.com
Twitter: @cyalm

Impact of violence

By Moeed Yusuf

THE run-up to the elections is proving extremely bloody. There is certainly more to come. Interestingly, what Pakistan is experiencing is usually not considered ‘election-related violence’. .
The traditional concept is more about constituency-based, candidate- or party-driven violence, voter intimidation, post-election violence triggered by the losing side, etc. Ours is still militant violence — its targets however, have momentarily become election-related. Nonetheless, in as far as this violence is likely to affect elections profoundly, it is entirely relevant. There are two points of view on this.
Some continue to insist that elections won’t happen, arguing that either the powers that be will make violence an excuse to derail the ballot or that there will be such mayhem that elections will simply not be possible. Both arguments are a stretch.
In terms of deliberate postponement, all sorts of conspiracy theories have gone on for months; eg the PPP government doesn’t want elections and thus will get parliament to extend their term; Tahirul Qadri’s here to fulfil this agenda; we may have a coup; the establishment is deliberately letting violence escalate, etc. None of this has happened. And even if someone wanted to derail the polls, the time to pull it off has passed.
As for violence making elections impossible, the quantum would have to jump multifold and that too in key urban towns to spread the kind of fear that would result in elections being postponed. The ‘threshold rule’ applies here: the state has virtually no capacity to prevent targeted violence up to a certain threshold; beyond this, the militants have little chance of carrying out a coordinated campaign of major attacks in city centres in a short time. There is little reason to believe this will be upended over the coming fortnight.
The other point of view on the violence-election link is that elections will take place but it won’t be a level playing field. This is correct; elections are likely to happen and violence is certain to affect parties disproportionately. There is a need to examine just how this is likely to play out however. Let me offer some preliminary thoughts. We know the following:
(i) The Islamist enclave has targeted the three in-power parties from the previous set-up, the PPP, the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). They have ostensibly spared right-of-centre outfits; (ii) major violence is in areas already known to be sensitive — Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi and parts of Balochistan. Punjab has been incident-free so far; and (iii) if the militants want to make it truly count, one can expect attempts to strike key urban metropolis with greater frequency.
We also know from virtually all the survey and polling data produced by various sources over the past three to four months that the election race at the national level will be a two-way battle: the PML-N is the frontrunner followed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). The PPP is lagging. (Provincial data is not consistent enough across surveys to make a call.)
Finally, from global evidence and conventional wisdom, we can decipher the mechanism through which militant violence may impact electoral outcomes: this type of violence induces uncertainty; uncertainty leads to lower and more unpredictable voter turnout in affected areas; these constituencies then become more likely to throw up unpredictable results — read, create upsets. In essence, all else being equal, the parties that are otherwise favourites to win seats in impacted areas (or are banking on votes of segments of society most likely to opt out of voting due to security concerns) will be most adversely affected.
So what does this say about the 2013 elections? The first obvious implication is that the right-of-centre parties have an advantage over their left-of-centre counterparts. Indeed, the ANP has been targeted more frequently than any other party; the MQM has been increasingly so; and the PPP ostensibly is too scared to campaign properly.
That said, since none of these parties appear to be the favourites, it may be a non-issue in determining which outfit emerges with the single largest share of seats; both the PML-N and PTI are in the ‘spared’ camp.
As for sensitive locations, parties ahead in constituencies in western KP and Fata, Quetta and its surroundings and Karachi are likely to be most affected. The PTI and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl are banking heavily on votes from KP’s most troubled areas. This will help parties like the PML-N whose strongholds are in relatively more secure regions. Similarly, results from Punjab will be least influenced by violence. This will help the predicted frontrunner in the province — again the PML-N.
In Sindh, the MQM depends largely on Karachi; the PPP’s rural strongholds are less affected and thus are likely to produce the expected results (in the PPP’s favour). Balochistan’s dispersed support makes it difficult to predict but parties with a Quetta bias will have most to worry about.
In terms of the potential for the heat being turned on in the urban metropolis, the MQM and PTI with their relatively stronger urban bases (all other parties have a stronger support base in rural and rural-urban constituencies) will face the greatest unpredictability.
Finally, one can’t neglect the importance of the new, young voters in this election. The PTI is banking most on them. How they’ll react to violence is anybody’s guess. One view is that they are the most idealistic and energised and will be least affected. The contrary argument is that urban youth, especially the elite, are most risk averse and least familiar with what to expect at a polling station and would thus opt out. The former helps the PTI tremendously; the latter may be a kiss of death.
Overall, if we are to believe the surveys available, the PML-N is ahead; the current pattern of violence will reinforce its position.

The writer is South Asia adviser at the US Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.

The medium and the message

By Hajrah Mumtaz

MUCH is being made about the historical significance of the upcoming elections, and not without reason. .
Quite apart from the dimension of a civilian government completing its term and expecting to hand the reins of government over to another elected assembly, the electioneering is facing violence of an almost prohibitive nature.
In general there is an atmosphere of fear for rallies and corner meetings; in particular, several people have already died in attacks, with three parties that claim for themselves secularism in the cross-hairs of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan is hardly a stranger to elections being conducted in a violent atmosphere, amidst a strong sense of foreboding. Five years after the event, it is hard to shake off unsettling memories of contorted faces, smouldering vehicles and burning structures in the riots that followed Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
Nevertheless, the threats and attacks that are being borne by several political forces today take the fear factor to a new level altogether, given that the TTP is not against one political party or the other but against the very system of parliamentary democracy.
Whether it is because the electioneering is so constrained or simply because the time for it has come, the manner in which political forces are using the media in their campaigns is also a somewhat new dimension to Pakistan’s election landscape. Before the liberalisation of the electronic media during the early years of the Pervez Musharraf regime, advertising on the two state-run channels was not an option (except for the party in government, which has been known to have used PTV as its personal propaganda machine).
In any case, the penetration of television beyond the urban areas was never as ubiquitous as it is now.
I don’t recall television having played too significant a role in the 2002 elections, except that the general was all over it. And in the run-up to the 2008 elections, while there were some promotional ads here and there, there was nothing of the sort of organised election campaigning that is in evidence today.
The medium truly seems to have come into its own in this sense, and it would seem that a version of the marketing/brand manager and media campaign organiser is now an indispensable part of a political party gearing up to contest elections.
Generally, the ads being run by various political parties show reasonable recording and editing qualities, with input from video professionals and singer celebrities. And it does need to be conceded that they constitute a welcome diversion from the nitpicking that is a feature of our news channels, as well as a sort of anthropological insight into the party’s hive-mind.
But as on the grandstand, where political leaders have traditionally tried to build their own case by attempting to weaken that of their opponents, so on television, parties are succumbing to the temptation of playing dirty.
A notable attempt in this regard is airing these days: it’s an edited-together sequence of an opposing political leader at different occasions over the years, announcing that he’ll bring loadshedding to an end in so many days, or so many months, or so many years. Strung together like this, the clips do show up the randomness of his claims and indicates that they were crowd appeasers rather than underpinned by any real planning.
There are similar maligning attempts across the political spectrum, running as advertisements in the print and electronic media. But they add an unfortunate feeling of hitting below the belt — though some would argue that this, precisely, is politics in Pakistan.
Yet, America’s experience should be kept in mind: the game of undermining your opponent gets very dirty, very fast, and in the US it led to a backlash from the voters, many of whom went for the underdog.
Elections everywhere generate mini-economies where certain sectors suddenly find themselves with more work. In Pakistan, these include printers that handle posters and banners, flag-makers, panaflex manufacturers etc.
If the trends evident now persist, as they are bound to, then to this list has been added not just the television channels that earn revenues off such advertising, but also smaller players in the field such as cameramen, sound and video editors, etc.
The social media too are being used in the campaigning process in Pakistan for the first time on this scale. Whether or not they will have an effect on actual voting trends remains to be seen, for the social media are largely an urban phenomenon while vast swathes of the voting population live in the rural areas.
But for the class that thrives on Twitter and Facebook, the elections have become that much more personal. Many argue that reading a tweet by a politician is much more one-to-one than hearing him on television (though I disagree).
Yet here too, modern times require the public to navigate a sharp learning curve. A couple of videos I’ve seen circulating on the web appear to be endorsements of certain political parties or particular leaders by non-partisan (ie not associated with that party) supporters.
There is no way of telling whether or not this is in fact the case, but certainly the internet provides a great deal of freedom to mislead or misrepresent.
Similarly, politicians that are making so many promises through their social media cells would be wise to keep in mind that what goes on the web stays there for ever, just like what’s captured on a television camera is always available to be revisited as part of the public record. There is some evidence that the country’s political classes have matured; the next logical step is to remember that promises are made to be kept, and the electorate has a long memory.

The writer is a member of staff.
hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com

A power-sharing paradigm

By Fayyaz Ali Khan

PAKISTAN is passing through a crucial phase. The new administration thrown up by the elections will have to confront a host of issues that are central to the country’s progress. At the apex of these multifarious problems are the Balochistan issue and terrorism. .
The Balochistan problem has been a festering wound. The country has gone through phases of executive presidency and military rule, and is currently experiencing the system of parliamentary democracy. None of these experiences have been able to heal this wound.
Balochistan, which occupies a place of strategic importance in the present regional scenario, is suffering from an acute sense of alienation. It continues to be an outsider to the federal power equation. From this situation have emerged young Baloch nationalists who have, by and large, taken over the Baloch following of old tribal leaders.
Under the present system of governance where political representation is determined by headcount, these Baloch nationalists don’t find much hope for themselves as equal partners in the federal power structure. These ‘Young Turks’ hold the key to the future, not only of Balochistan but of the country as a whole.
Despite years of independence, Pakistan has failed to evolve a meaningful Pakistani nationhood, the reason being that we are a nation of diverse languages and cultures, and hence there are distinct nationalities (one can call them sub-nationalities).
In order to coalesce as a nation we need to be governed by a system which allows justice for all. All countries evolve a system of governance which suits their particular make up and needs. The governance systems that we have experimented with have all been borrowed and have apparently failed to address our particular needs as a nation.
Without intending to cast aspersions on the current governance system as enshrined in the Constitution, I feel that the system, being based on headcount, fails to satisfy the aspirations of the people of a province, who are small in numbers but distinct in their language and culture.
They are equal participants in the federal structure, deserving an equal share of federal power. The strategic importance of Balochistan in the geography of Pakistan and the natural wealth of the province, which can bring prosperity, fairly balances its shortage of numbers.
Here is, therefore, a situation peculiar to Pakistan which the current governance system seems to have no provision or answer for. If the current system can find a solution to this it will go a long way in addressing the sense of alienation among the Baloch nationalists and fostering cohesion.
National cohesion is imperative to Pakistan’s peace and progress. It can be developed by introducing a system which delivers justice and equality to all federating units. This can be a system of governance where effective and ultimate federal power is shared collectively and equally at all times by all federating units.
This is possible under a system where we have a presidium comprising four members. Each member would be directly elected by the voters of a federating unit, born and bred in that province.
Each representative of the federating unit so elected to the council may act as the chairman of the council and head of state for a one-year term on rotation in alphabetical order of the province represented. The tenure of the council may be appropriately fixed.
A list of subjects under the purview of the council may be drawn up. It is suggested that the power to make policy decisions with respect to foreign policy, economy, defence and national security may vest with the council.
The powers and appointments which are currently under the purview of the president may also vest in the council. The decisions of the council on matters involving the vital interests of a federating unit may be subject to the approval of a two-thirds majority of the provincial assembly of that federating unit.
The military leadership may assist the council in matters of defence and national security and their reporting line may be to the council. Allowing the status of national language to languages of the federating units will be an additional factor in fostering cohesion.
Needless to say there would be no place for a Senate under such a system and parliament may comprise a unicameral legislature (National Assembly). Elections to the parliament and of the prime minister may continue as at present.
However, the prime minister may be answerable both to parliament and the council. He may be responsible for implementing the decisions of the council in matters within its purview.
Effective and collective sharing of federal powers at all times by all federating units, through their directly elected representatives is likely to go a long way in bringing the young Baloch nationalists into the mainstream and ending the insurgency in the province, by giving them a sense of ownership and belonging.
Any insurgency has its roots in political injustice or a strong perception thereof. Addressing the issues underlying the insurgency politically, rather than by use of force, is the right answer to the problem.
Pakistan has tremendous resources. Besides human resource, Pakistan’s strategic location in the region and its natural resources are a big plus for the country. In order for it to realise its true potential national cohesion is needed, and this will result from a judicious power structure, fostering a spirit of bonhomie among the federating units and various nationalities (or sub-nationalities) forming the federation.
Such an environment will be conducive to defeating any conspiracies against the interests of Pakistan. It goes without saying that any outside manipulations can never succeed without an unstable situation inside the country and internal support.
National cohesion will help foster peace and security so essential to allow us to invest our energies in fighting the scourge of terrorism, tapping our latent resources and bringing the fruits of state endeavour to the doorstep of the common man.

The writer is a former police officer.
fak562003@gmail.com

Challenge of GDP growth

By Shahid Kardar

LACKLUSTEr economic growth and large fiscal and external imbalances (with declining rates of growth also contributing to poor growth in revenues) have made macro-economic management a challenging task. .
Still-high inflation — even if it has declined, partly because of controversial methods of its estimation and partly owing to the deferment in administered price increases of electricity, gas and petrol — continued postponement of fundamental structural reforms and an uncertain international environment have also contributed to the macro-economic management challenge.
These outcomes have been discussed in the media by a host of analysts and donors. This article attempts to review the composition of the low 3pc average annual growth in the last four years.
It is revealing that the two principal production sectors of the economy, agriculture and manufacturing, have performed rather poorly, with much of the growth driven by the services sector.
Despite the attractive incentives offered by government in the form of higher support prices (for wheat) and subsidies to inputs (fertiliser) and increased global commodity prices the average annual growth in agriculture was just over 2pc.
Resultantly, its contribution to growth was less than 12pc; and even within this, 83pc of the sector’s contribution came from the sub-sector of livestock, whose growth rate of 4pc per annum in real terms is not based on actual but assumed projections which simply overstate its contribution. The contribution of crops was rather limited.
In the same period the contribution of the manufacturing sector was 20pc, with almost the entire increase coming from the small-scale manufacturing sector. Again, as in the case of the livestock sector, the contribution of small and medium enterprises is not actual but assumed at an annual average of 7.5pc in real terms. This is difficult to defend given:
a) the extent of loadshedding, which affects this sector more because it does not have the financial wherewithal to purchase and maintain its own power supply and remain competitive;
b) this sector does not function in isolation — it buys and sells goods to the formal sector and ought to be affected by the ‘fate’ of the formal sector; and;
c) the extension of the road network which has improved access of the formal sector to local markets which were previously sheltered for local enterprises. The contribution of the large-scale manufacturing sector was more or less flat during this period.
On the other hand, the services sector contributed almost 60pc of this growth — although its contribution is likely to be even higher because a major portion of the sector is undocumented — with almost half of it from expenditure on public administration and defence/security. This includes the increase in the share of ‘community services’ as a result of the deteriorating law and order
conditions.
In fact, given the manner in which national accounts are produced, economic growth can be enhanced by simply increasing the budget deficit through overstaffing and salary revisions at a rate higher than inflation, which happened in our case, with more than a doubling of salaries of civil and military personnel over the period.
Moreover, much of this GDP growth has been enabled by consumption, with a rapid fall in the level of investment from 22pc to 12.5pc, with the share in investment of the key job-creating sectors of large-scale manufacturing and transport and communication declining sharply from 45pc to a mere 14pc.
The fact that the government tried to keep fiscal deficit in check, albeit with limited success, through cuts in development spending on infrastructure (especially energy) and much-needed social sector spending is likely to have contributed to the dampening effect on growth.
Owing to energy shortages, there is a fair degree of under-utilised capacity that can stimulate a higher growth rate from the existing stock of machines. However, for pushing up the growth to higher rates, investment in equipment, infrastructure and skills will be required. But easing these key constraints to growth and productivity will take time and such investments also have long gestation periods.
Furthermore, enhancing the growth rate will require resources for investments which in turn require a higher rate of domestic savings to generate these investible resources, because of the continued uncertainty — for a variety of reasons — of non-debt-creating external funds in adequate amounts. In other words, the savings required to maintain high rates of investment will have to come from domestic agents, the government, the corporate sector and households.
Pakistan’s experience suggests that the government will continue to be a ‘dis-saver’ in the foreseeable future, its revenues not enough to meet its annual operational expenditures. Given the nature of our tax base and our taxation systems it would be too much to expect a major breakthrough on the revenue front, while there will be continued heavy demands for defence, loss-making public-sector corporations like PIA, Railways, Steel Mills, etc. and debt-servicing obligations.
It is also difficult to see how household savings can rise astronomically to make up for this shortfall, especially since such savings are in themselves a function of growth and only sustained growth can push up the propensity to save appreciably.
To summarise, domestic savings must increase to finance the investment required for propping up the growth rate since inflows from abroad are not likely to be forthcoming easily, and in any case there are implications of using externally borrowed money.
In view of the constraints described above to raising savings dramatically in the foreseeable future, the average annual rate of growth for the next three to four years, even with a business-friendly government in power, will at best be between 4.5pc and 5pc.
This will be largely through improved capacity utilisation and that too provided some of the electricity/power sector issues are resolved, and notwithstanding the contribution to savings and investments by the informal/black sector not picked up by official statistics.

The writer is a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.

No expectations

By Mobeen Azhar

PAKISTAN’S transition from one elected government to another is cause for celebration. .
On my most recent trip to Pakistan my celebratory reference almost became a mantra that I’d recite each time I was accused of being ‘pessimistic’ about Pakistan’s future.
So, now that we’ve momentarily celebrated, let me explain my alleged pessimism. Earlier this year I came to Pakistan to make two documentaries. For the first I wanted to investigate the violence against the Hazara community in Quetta. For the second I was looking at Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, in particular, their effect on Pakistan’s Christian minority.
Soon after I arrived I heard news of a blasphemy case in Lahore’s Joseph Colony. A Christian man, Sawan Masih, and his Muslim best friend had exchanged heated words after a drinking session. Masih was accused of blasphemy.
Within 24 hours, over 100 Christian-owned homes and two churches were set alight. The police helped vigilante groups clear the area of Christian families in preparation for the looting and burning.
The Joseph Colony episode was a clear assertion that in Pakistan, ‘minority rights’ and ‘rule of law’ are terms with little legal or practical meaning.
A few hundred miles away in Quetta I met mother of four, Ruqsana Bibi. Ruqsana is Hazara Shia. As we sat down on the floor of her family home she talked me through her memories of Jan 10.
Earlier that day I’d visited the shell of a snooker hall located on Alamdar Road. In January a suicide bomber walked into the hall, a hangout for young Hazara men, and detonated his device. Fifteen minutes later, as volunteers and rescue workers flooded the area to help; a second bomb was detonated. Over 120 people died that day.
Three of Ruqsana Bibi’s sons were amongst those trying to help. “When I heard the news I ran to the mosque barefoot and I saw the bodies of three of my children. I kissed their faces. I said to the eldest, ‘You must take care of your brothers in the grave.’ Who are these people who want to cause conflict between Sunnis and Shias?”
The militant group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) has terrorised Pakistan’s Shia community for years. A Quetta-based journalist told me he received a call from a group leader 10 minutes after the snooker hall bombing demanding that he publish a statement by the LJ taking responsibility for the bombings and justifying its anti-Shia stance.
More shocking still are the accounts of military, police and policymakers in Quetta who explained why no action against the LJ has been taken. A senior military spokesman, wishing to remain anonymous explained: “Quetta is small. Half the city is the cantonment. We could stop this but the intelligence service won’t work with us. There is something bigger going on.”
Almost universally, when I ask about the whys of the Quetta bombings I receive answers about Iranian involvement, Saudi influence, American money and geopolitical war. Neither the military nor the police take responsibility for defending Quetta because of such ‘external factors’.
It’s this conspiracy-laden cocktail of half facts and pseudo theories that has permeated so much of Pakistani politics that the obvious question — why is the government consistently failing to protect Pakistani citizens — is never really asked.
A handful of arrests were made in Joseph Colony but where is the public debate about the blasphemy law? Why has no action been taken against the LJ? The group is in theory proscribed but its sister organisation Sipah-i-Sahaba is openly fielding candidates in the upcoming election under the name Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat.
Where are the protests? Most of Pakistan is too busy pointing fingers across borders and discussing half-baked conspiracies to even acknowledge that the government is asleep. The government is meant to protect its citizens. It is fundamentally and consistently failing. It must be held accountable.
It was in Islamabad, at the home of Paul Bhatti, former minister for interfaith harmony, that I received the most honest answer to the question of government failure. “For the majority of Pakistan’s history, we have been ruled by the military. We have not had the time or opportunity to implement policy properly.”
Perhaps the takeover by the interim pre-election government meant that Bhatti was willing to speak openly, but whatever it was, this acknowledgement made sense. In a nation where the military is so celebrated, culturally and financially, who is really to blame for the deficit in security?
The fact is, elected governments have hardly ever had the opportunity to fully form and implement effective policy in Pakistan. The electorate, so deflated by decades of military intervention, has learned to expect nothing. No security, no progress, no stability. Nothing.
This explains why, perhaps, when I ask Ruqsana Bibi what she wants the government to do she responds by telling me “I am not interested in politics. I just want the killing to stop.”
The relationship between the electorate and Pakistan’s leadership must begin healing through this election. Amongst all the speculation about gains, losses and wild cards there is already one triumph. The Pakistani people will at last witness a democratic transition. By asserting values over tribalism and by beginning to hold leaders accountable, Pakistan must de-programme the culture of expecting nothing.
The persecution of Pakistan’s minorities has been an electoral non-issue in 2013. It may take a generation for the issue of minority rights to gain electoral muscle but the mechanism of democracy is the only way for this to happen.
Only through the ballet box will Pakistanis begin to believe that they can shape their own futures and demand a nation that guarantees the rights of all its citizens.

The writer is a BBC journalist and filmmaker. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect those of the BBC.
Twitter: @Mobeen_Azhar

Young Pakistan is dying

By Asha’ar Rehman

HE is one Chaudhry these days obscured by the Chaudhrys busy fighting for family honour and election glory. And he is angry at his work having been eclipsed by the media obsession with election and electoral campaigns. .
The Chaudhry in question is a health reporter in Lahore. Even though he is forever burdened with the heaviness of his beat, he has fallen unusually quiet these days. Prick him with an inquiry and he explodes: “Election! All we want to talk about these days is election. So what if children are dying in this city of a disease which could have been prevented?”
Clearly, the measles outbreak is the straw that makes it so very unbearable. For you know the species called journalist is not easy to move.
Chaudhry himself is a veteran of dim, dark and foul-smelling hospitals. This is where he spends his days, chasing and choosing stories, often intervening with a doctor on behalf of one of his friends who frequently fall ill. It can be said that breaking into a specialist’s chamber with the request for treatment of a patient gives him as much satisfaction as breaking the horror stories the hospitals are such big nurseries of.
He has seen death at close range more often than most would want to read about in the paper, reporting, campaigning, taking sides and ruffling feathers when he all along knew that those who decide are not going to be always receptive to his habitual calls for emergency.
He has trudged on willy-nilly, but he appears to be finally losing patience — in the sense of the helplessness of a man who must keep his eyes and ears open to the unending wailing around him. The brief stay and the silent exit of the ‘victims’ of measles has scarred him deep.
Yes, victims these souls are called. Patients also, but more often, plain victims. Over the last few days, a line of these young Pakistanis have died at Lahore hospitals amid all these thunderous election speeches about the need for discovering a young country.
This rhetoric has found prime space in the media, while little Pakistani citizens who failed to draw their elders’ attention to their basic needs during their lifetime die a by and large unmourned death.
Chaudhry’s reminders are brutal. Once again he talks about a blundering government which couldn’t keep its pledge to the citizens and broke its promises to the outside world demanding that we immunise our children.
The gentleman is certainly disturbed and could do with time away from the front he has been long fighting on. Maybe a dose of politics for some time. Or he could scour his territory for stories of hope: like the accounts of those who have managed to find saviours amid these shouts about the killers who can never be pinned down.
A detour to the positive would do those who bring us details from the hospitals a world of good but in Lahore of late there has been absolutely no respite. Disease has been advancing on us like battalions of an army.
Health is always a happening beat and the paper is never in short supply of horrifying stories of patients and the facilities where they are treated or not treated. The last few years have, however, been particularly busy for those covering matters at the hospitals in Lahore.
There have been deaths caused by the adulterated medicine distributed at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, there has been a dengue epidemic, and men looking to ‘drown their sorrows’ have succumbed to a substandard cough syrup. And then there have been deaths by more natural causes, and also there has been a long doctors’ strike with its own deadly connotations.
All these incidents have been flashed in the media, the government has been blamed and inquiries and damage-control drives ordered. At the end of all these grand exhibitions in which our collective conscience is shown to have awoken, we are hardly any more vigilant than we were before we received these shocks one after the other.
As usual, the news of measles outbreaks a few months ago was received with quite a lot of sympathy for the ‘victims’ but no real alarm: as always the old defence mechanism was switched on and again it was something happening at a distance from our safe havens.
In discussions quite a lot of people here appeared to be trying to convince themselves that it was a disease that had its origins in the floods two years ago and just as the city had avoided the floods back then it would avoid its fallout now. Soon, the false fortress was penetrated and there were reports of deaths by measles in ‘our own’ Lahore.
If the city dwellers’ defence against the ‘distant’ threat was based on callous notions of personal security, official efforts at stopping the spread of measles were nowhere in sight.
It was as if the officials, too, believed that it would die down without causing too much damage — even though precious lives had already been lost before it became an issue worthy of being taken up at high-level governmental meetings and at public forums including parliament.
In January, the federal minister of health admitted in parliament there had been problems with the immunisation programme.
Yet, a city comparatively as well provided for as Lahore had to wait at least another two months before calls urgently went out for accelerating the vaccination programme.
Once again the government had other priorities. The focus was on the grand, all-important election and no one had the time for small matters as the immunisation of children. So what if the enemy had already raised its head? Democracy calls for sacrifice.

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

Kurdish solution?

By Najmuddin A. Shaikh

FOR our friends in Turkey much of the news in their neighbourhood is disturbing. In Syria, the conflict remains stalemated. Further Western intervention may flow from what the West sees as confirmed reports of the use of chemical weapons. Turkey as the main conduit for support to the Syrian insurgents will be seriously affected. .
Retaliating to Turkey’s support for the Syrian insurgents, Assad deliberately pulled his troops out of Kurdish-majority areas in Syria enabling the Kurds to not only exercise administrative control but also to grant Turkish Kurd insurgents safe haven. From Turkey’s perspective they are seeking greater autonomy or independence and are intent on making common cause with the Turkish Kurds.
Iraq’s sectarian divide, exacerbated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s authoritarianism and by the sectarian coloration acquired by the anti-Bashar al-Assad struggle in Syria, has scaled new heights. This is a result of the recent attack by Iraqi forces on a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk, the consequent death of 42 people and the resurgence of violence in Sunni-dominated provinces. Turkey as a neighbour and with a Sunni leadership cannot remain indifferent.
And then there are the Iraqi Kurds. The five million people in the three Kurdish provinces enjoy relative peace and with 17pc of Iraq’s federal budget being transferred to them they are enjoying a period of unprecedented prosperity. With more oil flowing from the concessions the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has granted not only in the three provinces but also in disputed territory, oil production may rise to a million barrels a day.
Turkish firms have been in the forefront, seeking these concessions and arranging for overland transport of the oil to Turkey. Oil and gas pipelines running from the Kurdistan Region directly into Turkey are under construction. The KRG’s close economic relationship with Turkey has not however prevented it from providing shelter and military training to Syrian Kurds.
The one piece of good news for our Turkish friends is peace with the Kurds. On March 21, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader after long negotiations with the Erdogan government, called for an end to Kurdish hostile activities against the Turkish and did so without repeating the demand for the creation of an independent Kurdish state. He spoke instead of “1,000-year-long coexistence in Anatolia under the flag of Islam based on brotherhood and solidarity”.
More than 35,000 people have died since the insurgency erupted in 1984 and which, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has cost Turkey more than $400 billion. Ending this conflict and bringing the Turkish Kurds into the political mainstream will not only be a feather in Erdogan’s cap but will also have a positive impact on the regional landscape.
The Kurdish demands for recognition as Kurds rather than ‘Turks’ and for greater autonomy for the Kurdish region will need changes in the Turkish constitution. Erdogan cannot remain prime minister after completing his present term but were the constitution to be changed to accommodate the Kurds he could also, with the support of Kurdish representatives in parliament, secure an amendment to reintroduce a presidential system of government and then seek election to that office.
There are of course many obstacles that stand in the way. Turkish nationalists are opposed to any degree of autonomy for the Kurds. There are apprehensions that Ocalan’s word may not be law for all Kurds many of whom, sceptics say, do not trust the Turkish government or even Ocalan.
So far, however, events seem to be moving in the right direction. The announcement by Ocalan on the day the Kurds were celebrating Nauroz was welcomed in Diyarkabir, the unofficial capital of Turkey’s Kurdish region. Kurdish fighters in Turkey were scheduled to leave Turkey for their sanctuary in the Qandil Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan by August this year. Instead, the leader of the fighters Murat Karayilan, during a news conference at his headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan, announced that all fighters would leave Turkey by May 8.
The rebels would retain their arms only for self-defence and Karayilan called for international observers to monitor the withdrawal. The demands he made — Turkey should frame a new constitution giving Kurds demo-cratic rights and Kurdish prisoners including Ocalan should be released — were modest.
The immediate benefit for Turkey is that it need not fear Syria’s Kurdish areas becoming a safe haven for Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. In the longer term, the implementation of the agreement will erase the blot on Turkey’s human rights record and make it more difficult for the European Union to deny Turkey’s application for membership and enable it to play the larger role in the region that has long been its ambition. It will make it easier for Erdogan to play a more constructive role in Syria.
Prime Minister Erdogan will, however, have to handle with great care the relationship with the Iraqi Kurds. Currently, he is at odds with the Maliki government, which he regards as Iran’s puppet. He is concerned about the frequent breakdown in oil supplies from the south of Iraq. In contrast, Turkey enjoys enormous trade benefits in Kurdistan Region with almost 80pc of imports being from Turkey. The KRG-controlled region can, with its growing oil reserves, meet all Turkey’s energy needs relieving it of dependence on Iraq, Iran and Russia. But Turkey would have to think hard about letting this lead to support for KRG’s independence.
Given the history of the region and long-held Kurdish aspirations Turkey must see that this would only mean the resurgence of demands for a greater Kurdish state encompassing not only Iraq’s three provinces but also the Kurdish regions of Iran, Syria and Turkey. Far better would be the policy of using the leverage it enjoys to ensure that Iraq remains united, that Baghdads relations with the KRG are normalised and that the Iraqi Kurds seek no greater autonomy than what they already enjoy.

The writer is a former foreign secretary.

The darker side

By Mahir Ali

EXACTLY one day before the Rana Plaza on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital crumbled last Wednesday, press reports in Britain noted that Primark, a leading retailer of cut-price attire, had recorded a 24pc increase in sales in the six months to March, its revenue jumping to £2 billion and operating profits leaping by 56pc to £238 million..
Not a bad result, particularly amid an economic downturn. In the same period, Primark opened 15 new stores across Western Europe. Fantabulous. How does it do it?
One of the answers obviously lies in its expertise in sourcing cheap raw materials and manufacturing facilities. Then, notwithstanding a substantial profit margin, the finished product can still be retailed with a competitively low price tag.
The consumer is pleased to bag a bargain, the company is delighted by the bounce in its bottom line. Everyone’s thrilled by the efficiency of free-market operations, right? Well, not quite. The low-cost, high-profit-margin phenomenon all too often entails that at the other end of the capitalist food chain, life, too, is cheap.
Primark was a leading customer at one of the garment factories housed in the Rana Plaza, whose collapse last week has killed hundreds of workers. The official death toll stood at nearly 400 at the time of writing, and was expected to rise because dozens of employees remained missing after rescue efforts — which saved scores of lives — formally ended earlier this week.
Ominous-looking cracks had reportedly appeared in the building a day earlier, and local authorities in the Savar industrial area claim they warned the business owners in Rana Plaza to temporarily shut down their facilities. A bank and a few shops complied with the advice, but the garment factories ignored it.
“I wouldn’t call it an accident,” Bangladesh’s information minister Hasanul Haq Inu declared after the event. “I would say it’s murder.”
Mass murder would be more accurate, and it’s an act in which the minister’s government is at least partially complicit. Bangladesh relies on garments for more than 80pc of its export earnings.
Tighter regulation of that industry could bite into those earnings, which possibly helps to explain why — beyond customary inefficiency and endemic corruption — the laws that exist are often not enforced.
Rana Plaza’s owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana — a minor luminary of the ruling Awami League’s youth organisation who, according to reports in the Bangladeshi press, initially made his fortune from drug dealing and was closely associated with the local MP — was captured on Sunday, apparently while trying to escape into India. Some of the factory owners are also in custody. All of them will presumably face trial.
Rana Plaza is said to have been built without proper planning permission on swampy terrain. But even if the government were to make a greater effort to ensure that building safety standards are adhered to — something it did not seriously bother to do after 112 workers died in a garment factory last November — the bigger issue would remain unresolved.
It is, after all, an insidiously vicious circle. It is clearly in the interests of the western retailers to pay as little as possible for the products they obtain from countries such as Bangladesh. It is equally clearly in the interests of their subcontractors to squeeze expenses — be it in terms of salaries or maintenance of premises — in order to maximise their own profits.
The workers, in turn, are willing to toil long hours for a pittance, because it beats going hungry, or trying to earn a living via subsistence agriculture.
In recent decades it has commonly been argued that globalisation has lifted millions out of poverty in nations such as China and India. That’s technically true, going by the international marker of absolute poverty, supposedly an income of about $1 a day.
That hasn’t kept pace with inflation, but even if it had done so, it would surely be arbitrary to argue that an increase in daily intake from $0.95 to $1.05 — or even $1.50 — represents a substantial difference in either absolute or relative terms.
The minimum wage in Bangladesh may have risen in recent years, but enforcement remains an issue. As does child labour. Practices that are against the law are not necessarily against the norm.
It has been noted that if the global labels that exploit Bangladeshi labour were to pay an extra 10 cents for each of the more than six billion pieces of clothing they procure each year, the additional $600m could pay for marked improvements in factory conditions.
It would not be terribly easy to ensure, however, that the extra revenue goes where it is directed. Primark has announced that it will compensate the families of last week’s victims, and has urged other retailers to follow suit. Let’s hope they do, but what are the chances this post hoc generosity will alter the kind of mentality that precipitated last week’s “structural adjustment” in Dhaka?
The original May Day was marked 123 years ago as part of the struggle for an eight-hour day. Winning rights for workers that transformed them into human beings with some kind of life outside the workplace was an uphill struggle in the West. The victory wasn’t quite complete when the dominant capitalist powers discovered that the conclusion of direct colonialism did not necessarily entail the end of exploitation from a distance, via proxy bloodsuckers.
Were the international proletariat to unite today, it would be a largely Third World coalition, stretching from Africa, across much of Asia, to Latin America. It could be a neoliberalism-threatening phenomenon, but the forces arrayed against it should never be underestimated.
mahir.dawn@gmail.com

The Al-Awlaki affair

By Rafia Zakaria

THE group of drones that scouted and killed Anwar al-Awlaki took off from southern Saudi Arabia. It was a morning in September 2011 and the sun was shining clear and bright. .
In the account published of Al-Awlaki’s infamous death, the American-born Yemeni preacher and his cohorts had just finished breakfast and boarded the trucks that were transporting them.
On that day two of the Predator drones pursuing them pointed their lasers at the targets and two armed Reaper drones took aim. Within minutes of the fatal shot, fired by a pilot thousands of miles away, everyone in the convoy was killed. Al-Awlaki was among them, one of two Americans killed that day.
This, of course, is the story of Al-Awlaki’s end, and in recent months, as the controversy over the legality of US drone attacks has gathered steam, this portion of his story has garnered the most attention.
Several lawsuits filed by American civil rights groups in US courts have sought more information about the attack and the events that led to it. Several legal arguments have been propounded, questioning the constitutionality of a drone strike that targets a US citizen to kill him without granting him the constitutionally mandated due process of law under the US constitution. While Al-Awlaki was not the first US citizen killed by a drone, the legal controversies surrounding his death have dominated the debate over targeted killings.
The question of how he died is only half the story. As a new book written by American journalist Jeremy Scahill reveals, the questions of how Al-Awlaki lived and became radicalised may be just as important as how he
perished.
In Dirty Wars: the World is a Battlefield, Scahill spends several chapters tracing Al-Awlaki’s development from an American kid who loved to swim at his local YMCA, to a firebrand cleric connected to Al Qaeda and condemning all Americans as evil right up to his death.
It is what happened to Al-Awlaki in the interim that is worthy of attention. In Scahill’s meticulous telling, we learn of how Al-Awlaki returned with his parents to Yemen when he was a young boy of six or seven. Growing up in Sanaa, neither he nor his family were particularly religious.
He studied hard and when the time came for him to pursue higher education, his father’s connections with Americans in Yemen helped Al-Awlaki score a USAID-funded scholarship to the US. He returned, this time to Colorado, to study engineering.
The beginning of his religious career was in fact accidental; after being asked to give a Friday sermon for the Muslim Students Association, Al-Awlaki discovered that he had a penchant for public speaking and that he wanted to do more of it. Indeed, his love of attention, rather than his affinity with faith, may well have directed his path.
The beginning of his career in preaching did not mean instant radicalisation. In fact, after 9/11, Al-Awlaki was emphatic not only in his denunciation of the attacks but also of America’s right to retaliate against those who had chosen to target innocent civilians.
At the mosque where he preached, he encouraged Muslims to donate blood and to support the victims of the horrific attacks in any way that they could. Nor did Al-Awlaki seem to be poised against US government institutions. He led prayers held at the US Capitol and, according to his father, even considered joining the US army to attend to the faith needs of American Muslim soldiers.
It is a bit after this point, in early 2002, when Al-Awlaki began to change. Interestingly, it is also the time, in late 2001 and early 2002, when the USA Patriot Act, the legal basis for profiling and targeting thousands of American Muslims, was passed and when Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded.
According to Scahill’s account, Al-Awlaki’s criticism of post-9/11 policies was not incidental; hundreds of people in his congregation were questioned by the FBI, and he himself became the subject of scrutiny because two of the 9/11 hijackers had prayed at his mosque in San Diego. In June 2002, Al-Awlaki became the subject of investigation again, as the FBI focused on the funding of Muslim charities.
By now, nearly two years after the attacks, Al-Awlaki’s faith in the US, whose right to even violent self-defence he had championed, seems to have begun to dwindle.
His sermons begin to reveal his dejection and radicalisation, now criticising the increased and arbitrary profiling of American Muslims and denouncing what he has begun to see as a broad US war, generally targeting Muslims rather than particularly focused on eliminating Al Qaeda.
In 2002, Al-Awlaki left the US. While he would return for a short while before moving to Yemen for good, his love for the United States had vanished.
There is no doubt that by the time he was designated as a target and killed by a US drone in 2011 Al-Awlaki was radicalised and politically aligned against the US.
In the wake of the Boston bombings, as political analysts in the US pore over every detail of the Tsarnaev brothers’ path to radicalisation, it is even more instructive to study Al-Awlaki’s trajectory. Unlike previous assertions, Al-Awlaki’s path to radicalisation seems to have been motivated by a frustration with US policies and the anti-Muslim paranoia that gripped the US in the immediate years after the attacks.
If early reports indicating that the Tsarnaev brothers acted alone are true, then it could disprove some American beliefs about radicalisation.
Taken cumulatively, the cases of the Tsarnaev brothers and Al-Awlaki may indeed suggest that radicalisation may not always be the brainwashed product of a foreign group in a remote land, but also a particularly American problem, born of a specifically American context of alienation and suspicion.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.
rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Democracy under attack

By I.A. Rehman

QUITE a few observers have declared that the 2013 elections have already been subverted. Worse, the ostriches in command have buried their little heads in the sand. .
The terrorist attacks on candidates, election meetings and political workers have certainly made holding a free and fair election nearly impossible. Except for Punjab, all parts of the country are disturbed, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Fata in an acute state of disorder. Thus, peaceful elections in 124 National Assembly constituencies, 45.5 per cent of the seats up for direct election, are quite unlikely.
The terrorists are enjoying the freedom of the land. During the week ending on Monday last more than a score of cases of election-related violence were reported, in which nearly 25 people were killed. The political parties under attack are giving brave statements about foiling the terrorists’ plans to disrupt the polls but the latter’s success is quite evident.
On Sunday, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan again announced their resolve to continue murderous attacks on three political parties — the PPP, ANP and MQM — on ideological grounds and added that they did not expect any good from the other parties either. They have been emboldened by two factors. First, the Twiddledums and Twiddledees supposed to be running the government are merely parroting their intention to extend maximum security cover to all parties and are only busy increasing security for themselves and their outfitters.
Secondly, the parties that have been spared are displaying criminal indifference to the systematic extermination of their rivals. The PML-N is not bothered because the terrorists consider it a like-minded organisation and also because it is free to carry out electioneering in its home province. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief has made a feeble plea that the terrorists may kindly stop killing people because he does not want any distractions.
The Jamaat-i-Islami chief, otherwise known for sobriety, wants the terrorists to be identified despite the fact that they have repeatedly introduced themselves. The implication is that some hidden hands or the victim parties themselves are involved. Perhaps religious parties alone can get away with such doublespeak.
The attitude of the parties for the time being approved by the extremists clearly betrays their naiveté as there is no guarantee that their turn will not come. It also highlights the most fatal flaw in Pakistan’s politics, namely, a strong tendency among politicians to treat fellow politicians as their worst enemies and thus contribute to the victory of their common oppressors. There should be little doubt that all political parties and the population they claim to lead will again pay a heavy penalty for failing to read the signs.
The violence perpetrated on selected political parties and candidates apart, the new wave of terrorism has created such a climate of fear that at some places the polling staff are refusing to accept assignments. Even threats of dismissal from their regular jobs and imprisonment are said to be having no effect on them. If the polling staff cannot be convinced of the authorities’ ability to protect them the ordinary voter will have even less faith in his security.
What the government and the political parties perhaps do not realise is the difference between the earlier acts of terrorism and the present, election-related series of killings. Earlier on, the extremists were either resisting encroachment on their traditional domain or putting pressure on Islamabad to concede their demands, while the present wave of terror is directed at destroying democracy, the very foundation of the Pakistan state, as a tribal warlord has again proclaimed.
What we see on the chopping block is not merely the head of this party or that, at stake is the basic premise of the state, its integrity and the people’s future.
Unfortunately, the blood of all those killed in election-related violence is not on the hands of militant extremists alone. The hands of all those who have the power to confront the extremists are not clean either. Besides, a ceaseless campaign to demonise politicians, started by Ayub Khan and carried out to this day by holy knights of various brands and in different robes, has alienated the people from democracy to an extent that they do not see in the killing of a political worker an attack on their own rights.
That organised disruption of electoral activities should spread despair in society is understandable. One should not be surprised if calls begin to be raised for postponing the elections or for the intervention of the oft-tested messiahs. Both courses will cause irreversible harm to the polity. The concept of representative government might disappear altogether and the militants might be handed over a victory they do not deserve.
All such options, which are no sane options in fact, must be categorically and demonstrably rejected. The people of Pakistan must accept their predicament as the bitter fruit of their follies, their own failure to bury the mischief that had raised its head many, many years ago. They must also realise that refusal to settle the bill now will mean inviting a heavier claim the next time around.
The worst possible prospect is that some more lives may be lost, the militants’ cover may give wings to religious parties’ ambitions, and many among those that may be elected on May 11 could be extremists’ nominees and not representatives of the people. But the people will survive them as they have survived a long list of all conquering hordes. The extremists can only delay the Pakistani people’s tryst with destiny as a free and self-governing community. They do not have the power to turn the clock back.
However, the extremists can still be defeated, not by the clueless security forces but by unarmed citizens. If they turn out in huge numbers on the polling day they can still win the day for democracy and for themselves.

Behind the billowing smoke

By Jawed Naqvi

BEFORE he was stopped for questioning at the Boston airport last week, Azam Khan was perceived as a ghetto-embracing politician, an Indian Muslim with a provincial worldview. .
He was once quoted as famously wanting to lead a mob to tear down the Taj Mahal because it symbolised a waste of money. He had earlier claimed that the Babri mosque could only be demolished over his dead body. Well? And he runs an educational institution after a Muslim hero who strove to restore the caliphate in Turkey against Kemal Ataturk’s modernising efforts.
After he was checked at the Boston airport, following which he kicked up a right royal fuss, Azam Khan comes across as the gross neighbour who walked into a house in mourning with an eye on the warm biryani.
The minister from Uttar Pradesh mistimed it though. He had gone to the United States to be feted by the Indian diaspora but was quizzed at the airport where security happened to be on a higher alert than normal.
He claimed he was singled out for being a Muslim. It is perfectly possible that the computerised data on the US terror watch flickered when it saw someone close to his description, and why not?
After all, Muslims have been in the thick of these things. Two Muslim migrants had shockingly wreaked havoc in Boston the other day, evidently in pursuit of their religious calling. They attacked a marathon race, making it the third time when people with Muslim names targeted sportspersons at events where the prize was a cornucopia of human fellowship.
How does Azam Khan respond to the fact that people bearing Muslim names killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972? They targeted a friendly Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.
Who knows what the computer threw up on him, but Azam Khan is known to be so self-absorbed he wouldn’t have noticed that Meera Shankar was handed a pat-down at a US airport when she was India’s ambassador in Washington DC. It’s a country in serious trouble. Former defence minister George Fernandes and movie actor Shahrukh Khan were questioned too.
What seems even more ironical for Azam Khan’s pervasive sense of victimhood is the fact that Narendra Modi has been denied a US visa, ostensibly because of the extremist politics he practises in Gujarat.
The tangled skein of terror and counter-terror of course goes beyond easy references to religious pursuits as the source.
The example of Timothy McVeigh has been cited in the context of the Boston tragedy. McVeigh was a former US soldier with a disturbed childhood. He was decorated with a military medal for his services in the Kuwait-Iraq expedition before he rammed a truck loaded with explosives in Oklahoma into a government building packed with people.
His grouse with the American government seems to have had little to do with his Roman Catholic faith.
McVeigh was executed with a lethal injection, but every year militarist American policies create more and more disturbed war veterans. The Guardian in February detailed a horrific tragedy unfolding in the United States with practically every military outing.
Describing what it said was a suicide epidemic among US war veterans, The Guardian homed in on the heartrending story of William Busbee, “archetype of the US soldier” whose mother feels he was let down by the army he loved so much.
“Libby Busbee is pretty sure that her son William never sat through or read Shakespeare’s Macbeth, even though he behaved as though he had,” wrote The Guardian. “Soon after he got back from his final tour of Afghanistan, he began rubbing his hands over and over and constantly rinsing them under the tap.”
The reference was to Lady Macbeth’s writhing with guilt at the cold-blooded murder of King Duncan by his trusted lieutenant, her husband.
“Mom, it won’t wash off,” the 23-year old William Busbee said. “What are you talking about?” the mother replied. “The blood. It won’t come off.”
The paper records how on March 20 last year, the “soldier’s striving for self-cleanliness came to a sudden end. That night he locked himself in his car and, with his mother and two sisters screaming just a few feet away and with SWAT officers encircling the vehicle, he shot himself in the head.”
Busbee became part of a gruesome statistic. In 2012, for the first time in at least a generation, the number of active-duty soldiers who killed themselves, 177, exceeded the 176 who were killed while in the war zone, the report noted. “To put that another way, more of America’s serving soldiers died at their own hands than in pursuit of the enemy.”
But who is the enemy that young men like William Busbee and Timothy McVeigh are routinely deputed to fight? Before the blood of the three victims killed in the Boston blast was dry, President Obama had sanctioned $133 million or thereabout to arm religious extremists fighting the secular albeit undemocratic Assad regime in Syria.
The trouble is that many of the beneficiaries of the American largesse in the Syrian conflict are the same people whose ideological perversion was responsible for the tragedy of the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
This cynical American pursuit of make-believe strategic security becomes equally untenable when the Boston bombers turn out to be inspired by anti-Russian religious bigots who are considered to be kosher by Washington as long as they don’t harm Americans.
I can fully understand Azam Khan getting frisked at the Boston airport, but it is difficult to accept the rest of the story behind Boston’s billowing smoke, which masks America’s unending tryst with self-inflicted horrors.

The writer is Dawn’s
correspondent in Delhi.
jawednaqvi@gmail.com

Prior actions and the IMF

By Khurram Husain

IT’S entirely correct and appropriate for the interim government to hew to a minimalist line. .
They are right to eschew any deals with the IMF and leave such policy decisions with long term consequences for the next government. After all, the interim government has a limited mandate to hold elections in a fair manner and then exit the stage.
It was thus a little out of line for the financial advisor, Mr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, to complain about the terms of the 2008 Standby Arrangement. He went to Washington DC to attend the annual spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, and also held some consultations with the IMF on the outlines of a possible new facility to help with the repayments of the last one.
So far so good. But it was a little beyond the call of duty to complain about the stringent repayment requirements of the last facility or about the conditionality attached to it. That was a decision made by the last government in the midst of a balance of payments crisis, and it is not the job of the financial advisor of an interim government to pass judgement on it five years later, and that too before the very creditors whose help he was discussing.
But that being a minor point, the good news here is that the interim government is resisting all temptations to play saviour and rightly keeping itself within safe bounds of a minimal agenda. Of course this means that the incoming government will have little time in which to find its feet, and realise that we are drifting towards another balance of payments crisis if corrective steps are not taken very quickly.
Fortunately though, much of the groundwork for these steps would already have been done. There’s lots to fault the last government on regarding its economic legacy, and where Hafeez Shaikh clearly struggled to be heard when he tried to sound a note of caution regarding the direction in which the country’s balance of payments was headed, he found that there were other voices that were contradicting him and arguing that all was well.
The other voices, we are told, included State Bank Governor Yasin Anwar, who is still around to see the fruits of his efforts bloom. But the other one is gone, Minister of State for Finance Salim Mandviwala. So now that the can of an inevitable approach to the IMF has been kicked a few months further down the road, all it means is that the incoming government will have very little time to lose and will need to knock on the IMF’s door within weeks of being sworn in.
But unlike 2008, there is an upside here. Back then the newly minted PPP government took many months to realise that the country’s balance of payments was deteriorating and carrying it towards a financial crisis. Even after the realisation set in, much time was wasted in the hope that the Friends of Democratic Pakistan would come to our aid and an approach to the IMF would not become necessary.
As early as July 2008, during his maiden visit to Washington DC as Prime Minister, Mr Yusuf Raza Gillani was told in very clear terms by everybody he met that he should quickly get onto an IMF program before any other bilateral aid could be arranged. But the government held on to the hope that the Chinese would come through with cash assistance, or that the Saudis will arrange another oil facility of the 1998 sort. As late as August, then finance minister Naveed Qamar was continuing to sound optimistic notes about the possibilities of a $7bn oil facility that the Saudis had given their assent to. Of course no such thing had happened.
When Shaukat Tarin became financial advisor, he had to start from scratch. A panel of economists had to be assembled and, huddled for days in the ground floor rooms of the Lahore Gymkhana, they worked to produce a roadmap, an economic plan of sorts, which called for strict efforts to restrain the yawning deficit.
On the other track, there was a large effort at persuasion that was required to get the cabinet to accept the inevitability of an IMF approach. Of course this effort was aided along by the sharply negative turn of events from October onwards, but nevertheless, the approach had to be made from scratch and in a very short timeframe.
No such problem awaits the incoming government this time. Hopefully they’ll be quick in realising that they need to get onto a program before the crisis arrives. And once they’ve decided, much of the spade work for the actual facility appears to already have been done.
There will remain the pesky question of “prior actions”, the code words used by the IMF to indicate that they will ask for some difficult conditions to be met before any money can be disbursed. These “prior actions” are bound to include revenue measures, such as removing tax exemptions from powerful business groups, and perhaps tariff reform in the power sector, both politically difficult to achieve.
But if push should come to shove, the government may be able to get the IMF to back down from demands for “prior actions” by playing the American card. This will be the key to watch out for. Will the new government insist on money first and deliverables second, or will the IMF succeed in staring them down by insisting on “prior actions”?
From what we hear, the IMF did indeed speak of “prior actions” with the Pakistani team during their discussions in DC, but the finance advisor chose not to dwell on that aspect of the talks in his public remarks upon his return. A fair amount of consensus is already building that an approach to the IMF will be necessary very soon. What remains to be seen now is how well they’re able to manage this question of “prior actions” and how the international community plays its cards at the crucial time.

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist covering business and economic policy.
khurram.husain@gmail.com

Pathways to growth

By Sakib Sherani

ON the whole, political parties have revealed little in their manifestos of what economic philosophy will govern their policies once in power — will it be the path of liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation that will be pursued, or will it be a “big government” approach that will see the public-sector stamp an even larger footprint on the economy? .
Generally, the manifestos are a patchwork of intent and wishes without a coherent framework underpinning the largely unspecified policies. A road map of the institutional and structural reforms required to achieve the stated objectives and goals is also, by and large, missing. While the manifestos are not expected to be detailed policy documents, at least in one area they have left a gaping hole — in not articulating the very real trade-offs and choices that their suggested policies would entail.
One critical area where these trade-offs have inter-generational consequences is in the pursuit of economic growth. To put it simply, the fundamental choice here is whether the policies on economic growth will be debt-fuelled, or will have a stronger and more sustainable foundation built on structural and institutional reform.
While sparking growth via the first approach — a liquidity-driven, debt-accumulating binge — can be relatively easier and, equally appealingly for a political party, can show results quicker depending on the initial conditions, its effects are invariably short-lived and distortionary. It also shifts the burden of adjustment to future generations, and, in the case of higher inflation, to the most vulnerable in society. On both these counts, this approach can be deemed to be unfair.
The second approach, which has broadly come to be referred to as “macro-economic stabilisation” — or loosely as “fiscal austerity” — distributes the burden of adjustment, some would argue, more fairly across society (if done right) and across generations, by undertaking a measure of up-front adjustment.
At its core is an emphasis on fiscal consolidation — reducing the budget deficit by measures to improve revenue collection supplemented by better expenditure management. This approach seeks to first stabilise the public debt, and then to lower it progressively to more manageable levels.
The advantage of this strategy is two-fold. First, this approach generally lowers inflation after an initial period of adjustment in administered prices, if required. Second, as government borrowing declines, more space is created for banks to lend to the private sector. Importantly, it is not just the availability of credit to private businesses which improves, but the price of credit as well — both of which can be important channels for growth.
Despite its prolonged use of IMF resources since the 1970s, and its pretence of reform, Pakistan has followed, by and large, a debt-laden or liquidity-driven approach to stimulating growth — with underwhelming results even in the medium term. On the other hand, periods of macroeconomic stability and even limited moves on reform have been followed by a robust growth and investment response.
Two key episodes of economic reform in Pakistan’s recent history — the “big bang” de-regulation and privatisation orchestrated by Sartaj Aziz as finance minister in the early 1990s , and the liberalisation of the financial and telecoms sectors in the mid-2000s — were followed by an upsurge of investment in the economy. Even in the wake of the severe 2008 crisis, the pursuit of stabilisation policy under Shaukat Tarin successfully restored confidence to investors and markets (with the release of a wad of cash by the IMF admittedly a powerful influence as well).
The fact is that given the state of Pakistan’s public finances, the level of its debt, and the weak institutional links and broken “transmission channels” between policies and outcomes, the country does not have the luxury to follow outright expansionary Keynesian policy.
However, contrary to popular misconception, the fact is that macroeconomic stabilisation can be pursued in ways that are not only growth-neutral, but are actually growth-enhancing. Below is a partial framework of policies that can be pursued under the aegis of a plan of macroeconomic stabilisation that will, I believe, lead to not only a rapid return to higher economic growth, but do so in a durable and sustainable manner.
1) Reduce undirected consumption subsidies and partially replace with investment subsidies. Almost the entire subsidy allocation in the budget — barring a miniscule amount — is geared towards supporting consumption. If the overall subsidy burden is reduced, and a part of it reoriented towards new capital investment or new hiring by businesses, or the absorption of new technology, it will be more growth-enhancing than the current regime.
2) Reduce overall government expenditure — but channel more resources to high-priority areas such as overcoming the energy crisis and the water challenge, and enhancing yields in agriculture by spending more on research and extension services.
3) Widen the tax base, and reduce the marginal tax rate.
4) Make provinces more accountable — for revenue mobilisation as well as service delivery. An ‘adjustor’ should be applied to the provinces’ NFC Award transfers for shortfalls in either area. While this measure will not directly lead to economic growth in the short run, it will improve the resource envelope in a substantial manner, and lead to a lower level of fiscal consolidation in future.
I have returned to the theme of fiscal consolidation repeatedly since last year for good reason. It is highly misunderstood, for starters. Equally important, with almost all political parties that could form the next government demonstrating an unrestrained populist impulse in their previous stints in power, it is more than likely that we could see a continuation of Pakistan’s historical pattern of “over-financing and under-adjustment”. Were this to happen, it would be unfortunate and counterproductive as well as outright dangerous.

The writer is a former economic adviser
to government, and currently heads a macroeconomic consultancy based in Islamabad.

On classification

By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar

WITH the advent of the modern state, humanity’s unerring quest for control — over the natural environment, of one class over another, of man over woman — arguably reached its climax. And not just because the state, à la Weber, enjoys a monopoly over the (legitimate) use of organised violence..
In my estimation, as important as its coercive power has been, it is the modern state’s establishment and progressive refinement of systems of classification that facilitate social and political control.
The world’s population is now over seven billion. An astoundingly large amount of personal information about an overwhelming majority of this enormous number of people circulates across computer screens throughout the world, available to state personnel who are charged with the task of enforcing the law.
All of us fit into any number of categories at any one time: I am male; a citizen of Pakistan; speak a certain language (or two); hail from a particular religious group, and so on and so forth. The state — or the personnel that act on its behalf — more often than not maps my propensity for either good or bad behaviour on the basis of the categories into which I have been cast.
An examination of history reveals that this method of mapping a population for the purposes of controlling it was arguably perfected in the colonies. India in particular was a major laboratory in this regard. The British conducted many social engineering experiments in the subcontinent, all of which relied on their knowledge of the subjects over whom they ruled. The tautology was that the British themselves produced this knowledge for the purposes of perpetuating their rule.
For example, the colonial state came up with the classification ‘martial caste’, quite arbitrarily determined those who fit into this category, and then proceeded to decree that this select group was predisposed to occupations such as military service. Other prominent categories included ‘agricultural’ castes and ‘criminal’ tribes.
It is debatable whether we have moved on from the crudity of colonial categories but it is certainly true that we have further perfected the politics of classification on a large scale. And it is not just the state that favours the use of categories to serve its purpose. There is now massive institutional and financial investment in the polling industry. The preferences of society are conveniently summarised in the form of polls, and human complexity reduced to easily understood categories.
Even mainstream political parties are statist in this sense. Take for example the current pitch that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is making vis-à-vis ‘youth’. Now I am all for the idea that we should reach out to the very large constituency of young people in this country, but the manner in which the ‘youth’ factor is being discussed at present is nothing short of ludicrous.
It is as if 100 million or so people who speak a host of languages, hail from different classes, and have often diametrically opposed worldviews are suddenly going to coalesce around a single political party because someone has decided to clump them all together under the category of ‘youth’.
I am not suggesting that we should critique any political force that seeks to mobilise a particular social constituency by name. The left, for instance, has distinguished itself throughout the modern period precisely because it has claimed to speak in the name of a particular ‘class’. The right, conversely, often sees the world in terms of distinct ‘cultures’ or ‘religions’.
All of these interpretative lenses are inevitably reductive, but this is not a problem per se. The problem arises when history is rewritten, or alternatively when society is mapped in a particular way for the purposes of social control. The modern state does this as a general rule. Political parties that gloss over complexity and difference so as to achieve a parochial agenda are but microcosms of the state.
Those who have historically called for oppressed classes and nations to unite do not pretend that differences do not exist within particular classes or across nations. Whereas reactionaries who wish to secure state power and use it to perpetuate the status quo go out of their way to have us see the world in terms of categories that somehow do not overlap with the ‘other’ that is being vilified.
The most obvious and absurd notion of this kind in the present context is that Pakistan is somehow divided between those who are ‘corrupt’ and those who are ‘incorruptible’. All that needs to happen is for the ‘corrupt’ to be banished and for the ‘incorruptible’ to take the reins of state power, and then there will be bliss.
Needless to say I do not share the optimism that there is a critical mass of ‘incorruptible’ Pakistanis who have come together and will lead us all towards salvation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as elections draw nearer, the truly patriotic contenders for power are invoking more and more imagery of ‘true Muslimhood’ to supplement the ‘incorruptible’ theme.
The men in khaki have also chosen to speak to remind the common hordes that we are all Muslims, Pakistan is the homeland of Muslims, and the army is the defender of this holy homeland.
It is thus that the reality of the statist systems of classification to which we are all subject come into contradiction with the illusion of unity that the state itself projects ad nauseam. It makes one wonder whether those who talk of mobilising grand categories like the ‘youth’ have actually bothered to think about how incredibly confused and divided young people actually are in practice.
But then again, reactionaries do not think much about their immediate objectives. They usually make an already bad situation worse, and leave it to the very awam that they claim to represent to pick up the pieces.

The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

Health: empty promises?

By Mohammad Hussain Khan

HEALTH is a crucial sector covered by all major political parties in their manifestos. If elected to power, the parties say they will increase health spending. .
The PML-N has aimed for a three-fold increase in the health budget while the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) say they will allocate 5pc of GDP towards health. Polio eradication by 2015 and 100pc vaccination coverage are other goals.
The PPP intends to bring together polio, routine vaccination, lady health workers (LHWs), mother and child healthcare, malaria, hepatitis control and family planning under a properly managed public health programme. Currently, they work under separate departments.
A national health insurance (NHI) scheme has been proposed. The PML-N document says NHI shall initially cover the poorest segments of the population and will be free for students under 12, senior citizens and families with low income.
The PPP says it is formulating a regulatory framework for a micro-insurance health sector, anticipating that this would help it create a transparent and enabling environment for increased health insurance. It claims that the Mother and Child Support Programme is a flagship healthcare package developed by it for implementation in 2013-18.
All this appears promising but can only be evaluated in the implementation stage. The execution of these plans demands proper, honest and transparent administrative handling given the large budgetary allocations. This can only be ensured if there is no political interference in administrative affairs. But there’s hardly any party that says it will do away with political interference.
Such interference has resulted in the health sector’s poor administration, certainly in the case of Sindh, in the last five years. There were no merit-based transfers and postings. So the trickle-down effects that have a direct bearing on the lower tiers of administration at the district and taluka level had no positive impact.
According to health professional Dr Samrina Hashmi, in the last five years the PPP could have done all that it now promises. Able people were not chosen for important positions because of political considerations.
The health sector has clearly not received the serious attention it merits, despite the fact that three of the eight Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, directly concern health. MDG-4 aims to reduce under-five mortality, MDG-5 to improve maternal health and MDG-6 to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
According to the UN children’s fund, Unicef, there were improvements in the rates of infant, child and maternal mortality in Pakistan, but they still fell short of the 2015 MDG targets.
In Sindh, there is serious lack of administrative oversight in areas such as immunisation which remains below 40pc. Similarly, there is below par progress on the part of LHWs as far as antenatal care is concerned. This becomes a serious issue in rural areas.
Sindh has faced natural disasters back to back since 2010. This has affected the nutritional status of children in rural areas which were mainly hit by the super floods of 2010. Then came the torrential rains of 2011 in the lower Sindh region. These disasters led to the displacement of thousands of people.
The highest number of deaths from measles was reported last year despite tall claims that there had been 80pc immunisation coverage, as the managements of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation and the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) kept wrangling over jurisdiction.
Under MDG-4, under-five mortality is to be reduced to 48 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) cut to less than 140 per 100,000 live births under MDG-5. Pakistan’s infant mortality is 78 per 1,000 at present and the MMR is 276 per 100,000 live births. Against the latter national average, Sindh’s rating on MMR is 314 while Punjab’s is 227 according to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey. These findings were reported in 2008. This shows how badly Sindh fares in the health sector.
The primary reason for the higher MMR figure is the absence of skilled birth attendants. LHWs are supposed to pay weekly visits to expecting mothers to guide them about healthcare issues. But they are mostly engaged in polio vaccination. Basic health units, otherwise supposed to offer 24 hours emergency maternal and obstetrics care, work as outpatient departments.
Affairs in the health department are managed in a casual manner, with junior officers holding important positions. The appointment of junior officers to senior posts was normal practice for the government in the days before the assemblies were dissolved and in complete disregard of court orders. Several positions are lucrative. Anyone with the right political connections can grab them easily.
Besides political influence of this sort, health programmes in the province also suffered on account of rivalries.
For instance, the health ministry was with the MQM but the health minister was heard complaining that he was not allowed to work freely. Officers were posted without his knowledge through some channels existing in the Chief Minister House.
Manifestos may be important documents that convey the goals of the party aspiring to form the next government, but it is political will that is needed to implement polices.
Healthcare conditions in Sindh are abysmal in both the urban and rural centres; the latter’s crisis is compounded by the absence of even basic facilities such as potable water.
Seen in the light of ground realities, the future of the health sector in Sindh does not appear particularly bright. Having said that we still hope that whoever forms the next government will at least ensure transparency in administrative affairs in the larger interest of the poor.

The writer is Dawn’s senior reporter in Hyderabad.

The law and editors

By A.G. Noorani

THE law lags behind public opinion and public opinion lags behind social necessities. The soundness of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ warning is felt acutely in the law concerning the press. .
It took the courts long to accept that freedom of the press stands on a higher footing than an individual’s right to freedom of speech. In 1980, in the Richmond Newspapers case, the US Supreme Court recognised the media’s claim to be “surrogates for the public”.
However, a colonial law still governs editors in India — the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. An editor is defined by Section 1 as “the person who controls the selection of the matter that is published in a newspaper”. The newspaper of 1867 was a slim ancestor of the one we now know. No modern editor “controls the selection of the matter” that goes in all the pages. Two other changes are publication of multiple editions in some of the leading towns and establishment in some newspapers of a separate autonomous editor for each section.
The act mocks at the realities of modern times. Having defined ‘editor’ it demands that every copy of the newspaper shall contain his name as well as that of the owner. Section 7 fastens on the editor’s liability not only in civil but also in criminal proceedings on the basis of his being named as such.
It says, “In any legal proceeding whatever, civil as well as criminal … in the case of the editor, a copy of the newspaper containing his name printed on it as that of the editor shall be held (unless the contrary be proved) to be sufficient evidence … that the said person was the editor of every portion of that issue of the newspaper of which a copy is
produced.”
The presumption drawn can be rebutted. But is it even fair to draw a presumption which flies in the face of the realities especially a presumption of liability for “every portion of that issue of the newspaper”?
In 1970, the Supreme Court of India fairly emphasised in the D.P. Mishra vs Kamal Narain Sharma & Ors case, the editor’s actual knowledge; namely that “the publication was to the knowledge of the editor”.
The editor “admitted his responsibility because he was the chief editor” but he said that he “generally laid down the policy of the newspaper and gave general directions”. Publication of reports by correspondents was attended to by the subeditors.
This ruling was affirmed in 1978. An offensive cartoon was printed in the Muslim League’s official organ, Chandrika during an election campaign. The League leader, Haji C.H. Mohammad Koya, was named as its “chief editor”. One V.C. Aboobaker was named as the printer, publisher and editor. It was proved that it was he who did the actual editing.
The Supreme Court found that Koya’s name “as chief editor was merely ornamental”. Its ruling is significant. “A presumption under Section 7 of the Press Act could be drawn only if the person concerned was an editor within the meaning of Section 1 of the Press Act. Where, however, a person does not fulfil the conditions of Section 1 of the Press Act and does not perform the functions of an editor, whatever may be his description or designation, the provisions of the Press Act have no application.”
But this ruling, sound as it is, does not touch the related question of one who is in fact editor but is sought to be held legally liable for something published in his paper of which he was not aware and could not, in all reason, be expected to be aware of.
The court ruled later that the designation of one as ‘chief editor’, ‘resident editor’ or ‘managing editor’ was irrelevant. The presumption is only against one “whose name is printed as editor….”
The Supreme Court’s latest ruling on March 11, 2013, goes against this liberal trend. Its precedents of 1970 and 1978 were not referred to. A complaint of criminal defamation was filed against Sandesh, a newspaper published from different cities, each with a resident editor with an editor stationed at Ahmedabad at the apex. The offending matter was published only in the Baroda edition.
The high court quashed the complaint. The Supreme Court reversed the order on the ground that the editor at Ahmedabad was accused of complicity in the defamation.
Unfortunately, none of the cases noted a ruling by the chief justice of England Lord Parker and two distinguished judges on Nov 27, 1967. The Sunday Times had committed contempt of court. The writer of the article had been warned of the risk of contempt of court by the paper’s legal adviser. The editor, Harold Evans, was not informed. An elaborate system had been devised to prevent publication of libellous and contemptuous matter. It failed.
Lord Parker said: “Any system is liable to break down owing to the human element, and undoubtedly it did so in this case.” And: “So far as Mr Harold Evans is concerned, he, of course, as editor takes full responsibility.
On the other hand, when one is considering the question of penalty, one must consider his personal culpability. It is quite clear that he knew nothing about this. It is also quite clear that an editor in his position could not possibly be expected to know everything that was happening. It is quite unnecessary to impose a sentence of imprisonment or in the circumstances of this case any penalty whatever on him.”
The italicised words are the heart of the matter. Harold Evans took “full responsibility” as editor. Yet the court recognised that he could not be held responsible for “every portion” of his newspaper.

The writer is an author and a lawyer.

The ballot and the bayonet

By Irfan Husain

IN most countries, if a criminal gang had issued a death threat against high-profile national organisations five months earlier than their killing spree, two things would happen: .
Firstly, the state would make a concerted attempt to track down and neutralise the murderers; and secondly, the targets would be provided enhanced security. In Pakistan, neither has happened after the Taliban’s declaration of intent last December. As a result, they are attacking the PPP, the MQM and ANP candidates with bombs and bullets at will.
The reason why the Pakistani state has adopted such a kid-glove approach towards these terrorists was made clear by Maulana Fazlur Rehman at a speech in Dera Ghazi Khan recently when he demanded that no force be used against the TTP. Clearly, he was currying favour with them so he could continue his campaign without having to worry about security.
This theme was echoed by Imran Khan at a rally in D.I. Khan when he waved aside precautions, saying he did not need any security on the stage. Of course, he doesn’t: he did not acquire the nickname Taliban Khan for nothing. By excusing terror attacks on ordinary Pakistanis by saying they are being caused by the US drone campaign, he has sought
to legitimise the TTP’s onslaught that has killed tens of thousands.
Nawaz Sharif, too, is reaping the rewards of his studied silence on the issue. His brother, Shahbaz Sharif, the Punjab chief minister for the last five years, has hardly been energetic in pursuing the militants based in southern Punjab. They have used these sanctuaries to attack targets in the other three provinces. And when he appealed to them not to launch attacks in Punjab because his administration was not pursuing them, he was raising the white flag of surrender.
Understandably, the Taliban were emboldened by these clear signals from these right-wing politicians, and have decided to settle scores with the three parties standing in their way. As Ejaz Haider wrote recently in the Express Tribune, the Taliban have a clear strategy for imposing their version of Sharia on Pakistan. While they know they could never hope to come to power through elections, they are using terror to push their agenda.
The reason they are succeeding is that divisions across the political spectrum have prevented decisive action. In order to gain immunity from attacks, politicians like Fazlur Rehman, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan have sown enough confusion to cause paralysis among the defence establishment.
The PPP-led coalition that ruled these last five years — hardly the best example of dynamic, clear-headed governance — was powerless in the face of multiple challenges from the military, the judiciary, the media and the opposition. Constantly bleating about the lack of consensus, the government was an impotent witness to an escalating terror campaign.
If Pakistan were under attack from, say, India, there would be an instant consensus on the need to defend ourselves. And yet the threat Pakistan faces from terrorism is just as serious. So why this ambivalence among our politicians and our generals where the TTP is concerned?
Lenin, when advising on how to advance a cause, wrote: “Probe with a bayonet: if you meet steel, stop. If you meet mush, then push.” The Taliban must be delighted at meeting mush most of the time. The only time they met steel was in Swat, but it’s been plain sailing since that setback.
Apart from the tragedy of the lives lost in this bloody run-up to the election, another loss is the truth. Given the brakes that have had to be applied to the campaigns of the PPP, the ANP and the MQM, they will always be able to claim that they received less votes than they would have in normal circumstances. And it is true that many of their voters will be reluctant to risk their lives by queuing at highly vulnerable polling stations.
Thus, we will never really know how the incumbency factor and the perception of poor governance has affected the outcome. Out of the three parties, the MQM is likely to be the least troubled by the terror campaign as its well-oiled machine delivers in each election. Most voters in the areas the party controls have little say in how their ballots are cast.
The other troubling factor is the perception that fortunately, Punjab has been barely hit by the TTP’s terror tactics. The smaller provinces have some justification in blaming Shahbaz Sharif’s policy of appeasement for the bloodbath they are experiencing. This will add to the feeling of disenfranchisement the smaller provinces feel, and fuel anti-Punjab sentiment.
When the Boston Marathon was bombed last month, the FBI assigned 1,000 agents to reconstruct the steps that led to the attack, and to determine whether the two young Chechen brothers were part of a terrorist organisation. This is the kind of meticulous investigation that has warded off other similar attacks.
In Pakistan, apart from routine editorial handwringing, it’s business as usual after a terror attack. Our pathetic security apparatus has no clue about the perpetrators or their whereabouts. In fact, the whole intelligence failure over the last few years has been nothing short of catastrophic.
Considering the billions allocated annually to the ISI, MI and sundry other intelligence organisations, it’s a scandal that they have done so little to counter the Taliban threat. The next government will hopefully stir our spooks into action.
But if — as is widely expected — Nawaz Sharif becomes the next prime minister, why would he want to disturb the arrangement he seems to have reached with the Taliban? Imran Khan, too, wants no military action against these killers.
So it seems the Taliban will continue meeting mush as they push their bayonets deeper into Pakistan.
irfan.husain@gmail.com

Right needs wise counsel

By Abbas Nasir

“AL QAEDA hardly exists here,” he said, “and what are called the Taliban are [our] own tribal people. The more we kill them, the more militants we produce.” .
Thus spoke PTI leader Imran Khan to BBC’s Islamabad reporter Orla Guerin as she accompanied him on his campaign trail towards the end of April. The prime ministerial hopeful’s stance on the Taliban is well known but his denial of Al Qaeda’s presence here was surprising.
In the past, he has received briefings on issues of national importance such as ‘memogate’ from security agency officials and it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to ask such officials for information before making such a categorical assertion.
Al Qaeda apparently exists in Pakistan’s lawless and largely ungoverned tribal areas and the country’s security establishment is aware of this. In fact, data compiled by a number of agencies demonstrates that a large number of committed cadres of the terror group are based here.
For example, two years after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, his former deputy Ayman al Zawahiri is said to be either in the tribal region or in the border areas in Afghanistan. He runs an operational command network from Fata of top Al Qaeda men who number in the double digits.
Zawahiri, now the Al Qaeda chief, may now be more focused on developments in Iraq and Syria but retains several hundred, mostly Arab, fighters on Pakistani soil dedicated to operations within Pakistani territory. These fighters work hand in glove with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliates such as the Punjabi Taliban.
The names, including those of two sons-in-law of Zawahiri, and nationalities of the various people who form the apex group and fill various key positions such as finance, bomb-making, trainer, chief screener, courier etc are known.
If Al Qaeda “hardly exists here”, who are Safiyan al Maghrabi (deputy amir and Zawahiri’s son-in-law), Mansoor al Harabi, Asad al Kuwaiti, Abdur Rehman Maghrabi (Zawahiri’s son-in-law), Obaid Talishui, Rehman al-Sharqi; Hamza Darnvai; Hamza Ghamdi, Omar Khalil Sudani, Sanafi al-Nasr and Waleed Ansari to name just a few of those reportedly in Pakistan.
There is evidence to suggest that Al Qaeda is not only present in Pakistan and in the Afghan border areas in its close proximity but also loosely guiding the terror group’s campaigns in Iraq, Syria, Libya and even in some of the African countries from here.
Another group said to be several hundred-strong and aligned to Al Qaeda, TTP and the Afghan Taliban, is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan led by Abdul Fattah Ahmadi based in North Waziristan. Its erstwhile amir was Tahir Yuldashev who was killed in South Waziristan.
The IMU possesses some of the deadliest fighters, most of them from the Ferghana valley but it also has a number of Westerners in its ranks such as two of the main commanders, said to be Germans of Afghan origin.
Several other groups belonging to militant Islamic movements in different countries and seen as Al Qaeda affiliates are also based in Pakistan. At least privately security officials confirm this. Even then the PTI leader denies the presence of Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
But it isn’t Imran Khan’s fault that the TTP is threatening to alter the outcome of the May 11 elections. The terror group has been given much space by the ambivalence towards it in the top echelons of the security establishment and elsewhere.
The fear of, even if not support for, the terror group is so compelling that key national leaders, hoping to lead the government following the elections, have stayed silent as the TTP has avowedly targeted selected political parties with bloody violence and crippled their campaigns.
However, an interesting scenario is emerging. To try and call the election result would be foolhardy but it is clear that some of the serious contenders for power believe that the country’s defence, foreign and national security policies have been on the wrong track.
They are right to hold any opinion and seek a mandate for policy change. On the other hand, despite his own institution’s earlier ambivalence on issues such as the Taliban and the so-called war on terror, the army chief has of late taken to saying the war against the TTP is “our own war”.
The army chief’s statements are normally taken to represent the collective view of the institution. This may be one of those rare occasions when one finds oneself in agreement with the country’s top military man but that isn’t the point.
What if after the polls parties that have long maintained that the war against the TTP isn’t Pakistan’s war come up with a majority? For example, Imran Khan has repeatedly said he’d stick to his guns on the need to abandon ‘America’s war’ and initiate a dialogue with the Taliban.
Will such a stand put him and others who share his thinking such as the Jamaat-i-Islami on a collision course with the military? Well, if the mandate is clear-cut in favour of a policy change one is sure he has the determination to stay the course regardless of the consequences.
But whatever stance he takes after poll results are clear, he’ll need to make sure it is much more informed than saying that Al Qaeda “hardly exists” in Pakistan. If he doesn’t do his homework he’ll only undermine his ability to influence policy and change its direction.Being honest and well-meaning is wonderful but being naïve or deliberately economical with the truth isn’t advisable for a leader pledging a “new Pakistan”. It is another matter his new Pakistan, given the rhetoric so far, threatens to be more right-wing than anything we have known so far.
The so-called liberal parties’ poor governance and propensity to corruption may have strengthened the right’s hand.
But the right too will have to temper its views on the Taliban with the reality of the latter’s criminality, terrorism and disdain for democracy to have a chance of governing effectively in case of an election win.

The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
abbas.nasir@hotmail.com

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PoliticusUSA

Cricket - Sports

Saturday, May 4, 2013

DWS, Sunday 28th April to Saturday 04th May 2013

Teachers refuse to perform poll duty

By Amanullah Kasi

Chances of Sarabjit’s survival slim, say doctors

By Asif Chaudhry and Muhammad Faisal Ali

3 killed, 43 injured: Three blasts target MQM, PPP

By Our Staff Reporter

Politics of acrimony

By Ismail Khan

ECP yet to receive data on polling stations

By Our Staff Reporter

ECP yet to receive data on polling stations

By Our Staff Reporter

JI’s office attacked in Sibi

By Saleem Shahid

Customs post blown up in Chaman

By Staff Correspondent

Miramshah blast destroys polls office

Polling from 8am to 5pm

Nine killed, 56 injured in KP: Bomb attacks on candidates, election offices

Dawn Report

Troops to be deployed in sensitive areas of Balochistan

By Saleem Shahid

FIA to interrogate Malik in BB case

By Malik Asad

Violence in Sindh after bodies of two JSMM men found

Dawn Report

Heirs to all too apparent kings

By Asha’ar Rehman

Sarabjit battles for life; family arrives

By Our Staff Reporter

Caretakers accept IMF terms in principle

By Khaleeq Kiani

Top brass approve deployment for polls

By Iftikhar A. Khan

Taliban’s anti-poll drive kills two in KP

Dawn Report

PPP, MQM, ANP vow to contest elections, undeterred by terror

By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque

Frenzied campaigning in a clutch of pivotal seats

By Cyril Almeida

Jamaat urges APC on current situation

By Saleem Shahid

43 injured in suicide blast: Afghan officials among 9 killed in Peshawar

By Ali Hazrat Bacha

Judiciary reminded of its role in validating martial laws

By Nasir Iqbal

Article 6(2) needs amendment: PHC: Musharraf barred for life from contesting polls

By Waseem Ahmad Shah

Parties on ‘hit list’ resolve to defy terrorists

By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque

‘We must not harbour any doubts’ about May 11 elections: It is Pakistan’s war, says Kayani

By Kalbe Ali

Candidate killed in Jhal Magsi

By Saleem Shahid

Diversity and divisions within south Punjab ‘sooba’

By Nasir Jamal

Prices of petrol down by Rs4.7, diesel by Rs2.5

By Our Staff Reporter

SC freezes development funds

By Nasir Iqbal

Rs1.34 per unit raise in power tariff approved

By Khaleeq Kiani

Sindh calls out army for poll security

By Habib Khan Ghori

Sarabjit goes into ‘deep coma’

By Our Staff Reporter

Nawaz refuses to forgive Musharraf

By Sajjad Niazi and Kalbe Ali

Two contestants survive blasts: No let-up in attacks on poll offices, rallies

By Rehmatullah Soomro and Saleem Shahid

Candidate kidnapped

By Our Correspondent

Imran promises to end ‘operation’ in Balochistan

By Our Correspondent

Sarabjit dies of cardiac arrest

By Our Staff Reporter