DWS, Sunday14th July to Saturday 20th July 2013

	DWS, Sunday 14th July to Saturday 20th July 2013
The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the Pakistani Community on the Internet. DWS is sent by e-mail every Saturday. What’s Inside? National News | Editorial | Columns & Articles	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995 Please send all Editorial submissions and Letters to the Editor to: letters@dawn.com
NATIONAL NEWS
PPP and PML-N trade barbs By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 13: The PML-N and the PPP traded barbs over loadshedding and the circular debt affair on Saturday after the latter called upon the government to explain why there had been no let-up in power cuts even after the payment of a staggering Rs300 billion to producers.. Syed Naveed Qamar, a PPP MNA, ridiculed the government’s earlier claim that the power situation would improve within days of the payment, saying that it had further deteriorated despite passage of several weeks and pumping in borrowed money into power sector. The government instantly came out with a response, saying that only 8,000MW of electricity was being generated on a daily basis when the PPP government completed its term while at present 1,4200MW was being produced. Talking to Dawn, Information Minister Pervez Rasheed attributed the difference in power generation to the clearance of the circular debt that had risen to over Rs500bn during the PPP government. He blamed the previous government for the alarming level of the debt. “We are simply trying to address the issue we have inherited from the previous government.” The Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, came up with the precise figures and said the “amount has not disappeared”. So far Rs326bn has been paid to power producers and the rest of the debt will be cleared soon, he said. He said 14,650 megawatts were produced on Friday — a level reached after one year. On Saturday, he said, the production level had touched 15,170MW, though for a brief period, which was a record as compared to generation level in recent past. This happened only because of better management and clearance of circular debt, the minister claimed. He advised Mr Qamar to raise the issue at a formal channel. “He is a member of the National Assembly. We will be obliged to give response in the house.” Mr Asif said outages caused by technical problems and inefficient transmission system should not be regarded loadshedding. He said it was a government priority to provide electricity to the areas where bills were being paid. Referring to some demonstrations, he said they were being held in the areas where bills were not paid. Mr Qamar said the deteriorating power situation should serve to open eyes of the rulers to the reality that the crisis could not be ended by robbing people to pay to big business. “It calls for rooting out the causes of circular debt”. Frustrated by increasing loadshedding, he said, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) had issued a fact sheet that showed that the power crisis had worsened. According to the fact sheet, textile industry in Punjab is on the verge of destruction because coupled with daily loadshedding of 10 hours, it is denied gas for five days a week. On the other hand, the industry faced only four hours of loadshedding and was supplied gas for five days a week in July last year, the fact sheet said. Mr Qamar said the basic issue was the huge difference between the production cost and the price at which electricity was sold. If electricity continues to be produced at the rate of over Rs14 per unit and sold at about Rs9 per unit, the problem will persist. He said even if the circular debt was cleared now, it would emerge again unless the basic structural issues were addressed. As the power policy was now being manipulated by power producers, he said, it was unlikely that the vested interests would permit addressing the fundamental issues in power sector. The PPP leader said in the past Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif held open kutcheries at Minar-i-Pakistan and led demonstrations against loadshedding, and asked why he was not resorting to such gimmicks now. He urged the government to explain why the revised PC-1 of the Nandipur power project had raised its cost from $329 million to over $574m. He said Chinese contractor Dongfong Electric Corporation had demanded $40m in cost escalation. This, with the increase in the cost due to extended insurance period, would raise the cost of the project to nearly $400m at the most but it had been “mysteriously” increased to $574m, he said. He demanded an inquiry into what he said “the worst example of white collar crime to rob the public”. The information minister held the PPP responsible for the cost escalation and said since the project had been delayed for four years, the difference in rupee dollar parity had increased the cost. He said machinery imported for the project had been lying at the port for four years and added that part of it had been damaged and some components had disappeared.
Gilanis, Shahab own assets worth Rs1.5m, Rs30m By Malik Asad RAWALPINDI, July 13: The families of former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin declared the sources of their income before the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) court hearing the ephedrine case.. According to the details of the assets, total wealth of the wife of former premier, Fauzia Gilani, and their sons Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir is a paltry Rs1.5 million. The value of moveable and immovable property owned by Mr Shahabuddin and his family is about Rs30m. The court had issued notices to them on Jan 29 while hearing an application of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) seeking permanent freezing of the assets and bank accounts. According to the law, the ANF can only temporarily freeze assets of an accused, which it did in June 2012, but to permanently freeze them it needed a directive from the CNS court. The ANF filed an application in the CNS court and wrote letters to revenue offices and banks last year to temporarily freeze the assets of the accused. When CNS Judge Arshad Mehmood Tabassum resumed the hearing, Advocate Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, counsel for the Gilani family, submitted the details of the bank accounts of his clients. According to the reply, Ali Musa owns Rs1,056,000 in Standard Chartered Bank — which he had received as gifts on his marriage in November 2011. Ali Qadir has a bank balance of Rs444,000. The reply said the amount was the monthly salary he had received as a member of the Punjab Assembly and then the National Assembly. Fauzia Gilani has Rs27,000 in Faysal Bank but her bank account has not been operated since 2008, much before the ephedrine case surfaced in late 2010. The counsel said Ali Musa was not nominated in the FIR of the ephedrine case registered in October 2011. He said the ANF had implicated him in the case on a later stage and frozen his property without thoroughly investigating his source of income. Advocate Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, counsel for Mr Shahabuddin, submitted the reply of his client and his family. The ANF in June last year froze the 22 bank accounts of the former minister, his son and two daughters. The counsel said his client owns inherited land in Rahim Yar Khan. He said agriculture was the only source of income of Makhdoom Shahabuddin and his family and the total worth of his assets was not more than Rs30m. The lawyer said his client had ordered the investigation into illegal allocation of ephedrine to private pharmaceutical companies but the ANF had dragged him into the controversy. He said the ANF issued arrest warrants for Makhdoom Shahabuddin when he was likely to become the prime minister as a candidate of the PPP and its coalition partners. The court issued final notices to other accused, including the owners of pharmaceutical companies Berlix and Danas, for submitting details of their assets by July 30. Because of repeated absence of accused Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, former principal secretary to Mr Gilani, the court decided to hold ex parte proceedings for permanent seizure of his property.
Commission report not missing, says minister ISLAMABAD, July 13: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rasheed denied on Saturday media reports that the Abbottabad Commission report had gone missing from the Prime Minister’s Office. . The original report was in possession of the government and no unauthorised person could have access to the document, he said. “The report has neither disappeared nor got leaked from the PM Office.” He said the media reports and comments on the commission’s findings were based on an unauthentic, incomplete and distorted version of the report. Answering a question, he said a former prime minister had set up a committee on Feb 1 to decide whether the report should be released completely or partially, or not at all. The committee was headed by the then law minister and included the foreign and defence ministers. The previous government’s tenure ended on March 16 and the findings of the committee could not be finalised by that date. The minister said the government was looking into the matter and would take a decision about releasing or not releasing the report “in national interest”. Mr Rashid urged the media to wait for the release of the authentic version before making any analysis or judgement.—APP
Two killed in drone attack By Pazir Gul MIRAMSHAH, July 13: Two people were killed when US drones targeted a motorcycle in Moosky village, 35km east of Mirali in the North Waziristan tribal region, late on Saturday night.. The drones kept flying over the area after attacking the motorcycle with two missiles, sources said. The names of those killed could not be ascertained.
Elderly won’t get Haj visa By Syed Rashid Husain RIYADH, July 13: Saudi Arabia will not grant Haj visa this year to the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases.. The Saudi ministry of health said on Saturday that it had taken the decision in order to prevent the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus from spreading. The virus has so far claimed 38 lives in Saudi Arabia since September. Haj and Umra visas will not be issued by Saudi missions to the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and illnesses involving the heart, kidneys and the respiratory system. Others on the list include patients suffering from immune deficiencies, terminal malignant diseases, pregnant women and children; a spokesman for the ministry was quoted as saying in the local press. Saudi missions abroad will begin issuing Haj visas at the end of Ramazan. “The decision will be applicable to the forthcoming Haj and the subsequent Umra seasons,” Arab News said, quoting the health ministry’s spokesman, Khalid Al Mirghalani, as saying. Mr Mirghalani did not stipulate an age-limit, but said the elderly who were feeble and medically unfit to travel would not be considered for the pilgrimage visa. In addition to these requirements, Mr Mirghalani said, the ministry had spelt out quarantine regulations. They include a valid certificate of vaccination against meningitis 10 days before the departure of pilgrims for Makkah and Madina, and for polio vaccinations by pilgrims hailing from countries where the disease is prevalent. There was also an optional requirement for vaccination against influenza as a precaution against flu attacks, he added. He said the ministry was insisting on pilgrims having proper personal hygiene. They should also ensure hygienic cooking, storing, transporting and serving methods to avoid diarrhoea, vomiting, food poisoning, dysentery, typhoid and cholera. “Hands should be washed before eating. Disposable shaving kits should be used.” Wearing masks made of cloth during the performance of Haj rituals will be very useful in preventing respiratory infections such as cold, cough, sore throats and pneumonia, the ministry of health suggested. The ministry has been focusing on preventing food poisoning. Pilgrims have been asked not to keep cooked food for more than two hours. People have been advised to wash fruits and vegetables before consumption.
Petitioner to take up Musharraf case again By Zulqernain Tahir LAHORE, July 13: A lawyer who had earlier withdrawn himself from the judges’ detention case says ‘life threats’ had forced him to take that decision. . “I had stopped pursuing the case following life threats to me and members of my family. Although I am still receiving threats, I have decided to appear in the court on July 20 and pursue the judges’ detention case against former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf,” Advocate Aslam Ghumman told Dawn on Saturday. Mr Ghumman was a petitioner in the case and on May 17 he had announced his decision to withdraw his complaint, citing “national interest”. Meanwhile, Gen Musharraf’s political adviser Chaudhry Sarfraz Anjum Kahlon told Dawn that he would move court against Mr Ghumman, alleging that the lawyer had demanded a huge sum of money besides a one-year-stay in the UK for his and his family. “On my refusal, Ghumman said he will manipulate the legal system to his advantage. The evidence, including text messages, phone recordings and video footage, will be presented in the court to prove that Mr Ghumman was an unfit character to act as a complainant against Musharraf,” Mr Kahlon said. Mr Kahlon said Mr Ghumman had “voluntarily” withdrawn his complaint (against Musharraf) in the “national interest”. He said Mr Ghumman got a case registered last month against retired Colonel Ilyas, a security officer of Gen Musharraf, claiming that he was receiving life threats from him and later filed a petition in the apex court, challenging the Islamabad High Court’s order of granting bail to Gen Musharraf. Mr Kahlon requested the Supreme Court to take notice of Mr Ghumman’s ‘U-turn’. “We are preparing different cases, including extortion, giving false and fabricated evidence to the court and cheating, against Mr Ghumman,” he said. Mr Ghumman, however, dismissed Mr Kahlon’s allegations, terming them part of a campaign the aides of Gen Musharraf were running against him. “I have neither demanded any money nor a stay in London or elsewhere from Mr Kahlon or others,” Mr Ghumman said, adding that he would continue to pursue the case and would not cow down to threats.
Sindh govt revokes promotion of 59 police officers By Imran Ayub KARACHI, July 13: In compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders, the Sindh government withdrew on Saturday shoulder promotion given to 59 police officers over the past decade, but kept positions of 12 key officers intact, without explaining the reason for the favour that defied the court’s directives.. In a notification issued by the services, general administration and coordination department, the Sindh government named 59 officers who were demoted to their original rank and grade after the shoulder promotions were withdrawn. However, the notification did not carry the names of 12 other officers who were given shoulder promotion and are currently holding key slots in the Sindh police. Most of them head anti-terror units. “In pursuance of judgment dated 12-06-2013 passed by the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan in criminal original petition No. 89/2011 and other cases and order dated 10-07-2013 passed by the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan in criminal miscellaneous application No. 397 of 2013, the out-of-turn promotion granted to the following officers/officials of police department are hereby withdrawn,” said the notification, carrying the names of 59 officers. The notification, however, did not mention names of SP Chaudhary Aslam Khan, better known as Chaudhary Aslam, SP Raja Umer Khattab, SP Niaz Khoso, SP Farooq Awan, SP Fayyaz Khan, DSP Mazhar Mashwani, DSP Usman Asghar, DSP Wasif Qureshi, DSP Amir Hameed, DSP Rao Aslam, DSP Chaudhary Ghulam Safdar and DSP Ali Raza. They were also given shoulder promotion, but the authorities did not explain why their promotion was not withdrawn. “Most of the 12 officers are heading anti-terror wings of the Sindh police,” said an official. “These specialised units include the anti-violent crime cell, Crime Investigation Department of the Sindh police, special investigation unit and other investigation and operational arms.” As late as last week, the Sindh government sought two months’ time from the Supreme Court to implement its judgment on out-of-turn promotions in the police department, citing Karachi’s law and order situation. It submitted that in order to comply with the court’s order in letter and spirit, the Sindh government issued notifications about cancellation of absorptions in all departments, including police, withdrawal of nominations of assistant commissioners in excess of quota, repatriation of deputationists and withdrawal of out-of-turn promotions in the Sindh government, except the police department.
7 peacekeepers shot dead in Darfur KHARTOUM, July 13: Seven peacekeepers were killed on Saturday in an ambush in Sudan’s Darfur region, the African Union-UN Mission said, marking the worst losses in the five-year history of the operation. . UNAMID released few initial details of the incident, which adds to worsening violence in Sudan’s far-west region and happened near the peacekeepers’ base at Manawashi, north of the South Darfur state capital Nyala. “Seven peacekeepers were killed and 17 were injured,” said UNAMID’s acting spokesman Christopher Cycmanick. The attack took place about 25km west of another UNAMID base at Khar Abeche, he said. The patrol “was going from one team site to another”, he added.—AFP
Dr Mirza’s visit to UK sparks speculation KARACHI, July 13: Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, the former home minister of Sindh and PPP leader, has gone to the United Kingdom along with his family reportedly on summer vacations, which coincides with the visit to Britain of President Asif Zardari.. However, some reports suggested that one of the reasons for Mr Mirza’s decision to travel to London could be to provide the Scotland Yard whatever information he claims to have about the MQM and its chief’s alleged unlawful activities. Mr Mirza is a known critic of Altaf Hussain and his party. He had given up his position in the previous government because of differences with his own party, which was opposed to taking any action against the MQM. Dawn.com, quoting sources in the Mirza family, said the former minister would meet Scotland Yard officials soon. Dr Mirza, who lives with his family in Dubai, flew to London after British officials got in touch with him, they claimed. London’s Metropolitan Police and the Scotland Yard have confirmed that they are currently investigating a number of charges against the MQM chief. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari telephoned Dr Mirza, asking him not to meet British investigators, the sources told Dawn.com. The latter, however, refused to abide by the president’s advice. The Scotland Yard officials requested Dr Mirza to reproduce the evidence he had offered in 2011 to present against the MQM and Mr Hussain. Dr Mirza had resigned as vice president of the PPP’s Sindh chapter and as a member of the Sindh Assembly following a spat with the MQM, which was then a part of the PPP-led ruling coalition at the centre and in Sindh. The former minister had levelled serious allegations against the MQM, holding the party and its chief responsible for targeted killings in Karachi. The MQM had rejected all allegations hurled by Dr Mirza.—Monitoring desk
PM orders Nandipur project cost probe By Our Staff Reporter LAHORE, July 14: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into a large increase in the cost of Nandipur power project and directed the secretary of the Planning Division to submit a report within three days.. The prime minister directed that all dimensions of the matter should be considered and the report be submitted after a thorough scrutiny. He took the action after reports that the cost of the project has been revised upward in the PC-I without any cogent reason. The original cost of the project was set at $329 million in 2009 and it was scheduled to be completed in 2011. But the project was delayed because the then PPP government refused to give a sovereign guarantee for it and clear its equipment lying at the Karachi port for two years. PPP leader Naveed Qamar claimed that the Chinese firm working on the project had sought just $40 million in cost escalation and coupled with the extended insurance period the total cost should have been around $400m. But in the revised PC-I, the government quoted $574m as the cost “in the worst example of white-collar crime to rob the public”, he said and demanded an investigation into the matter. The PML-N government has attributed the increase in cost to difference in rupee-dollar parity. Information Minister Pervez Rashid claims that a part of the project’s machinery got damaged at the port and some components disappeared. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had met officials of Dong Feng, the contractor working on the Nandipur project, during his recent visit to China and persuaded them to resume work on the site. Engineers of the Chinese company arrived on July 9, inspected the machinery at Karachi port and visited the Nandipur site. The engineers will get the equipment and instruments of the project released and restart work at the earliest.
Pakistani Taliban claim joining Syria war ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, July 14: The Pakistani Taliban have set up camps and sent hundreds of men to Syria to fight alongside rebels opposed to President Bashar al Assad, militants said on Sunday, in a strategy aimed at cementing ties with Al Qaeda’s central leadership.. More than two years since the start of the anti-Assad rebellion, Syria has become a magnet for foreign Sunni fighters who have flocked to the Middle Eastern nation to join what they see as a holy war against Shia `oppressors’. Operating alongside militant groups such as the Al Nusra Front, described by the United States as a branch of Al Qaeda, they mainly come from nearby count- ries such as Libya and Tunisia riven by similar conflict as a result of the Arab Spring. On Sunday, Taliban commanders in Pakistan said they had also decided to join the cause, saying hundreds of fighters had gone to Syria to fight alongside their “Mujahideen friends”. “When our brothers needed our help, we sent hundreds of fighters along with our Arab friends,” one senior commander told Reuters, adding that the group would soon issue videos of what he described as their victories in Syria. The announcement further complicates the picture on the ground in Syria, where rivalries have already been on the boil between the “Free Syrian Army” and the Islamists. Islamists operate a smaller, more effective force which now controls most of the rebel-held parts of northern Syria. Tensions erupted again on Thursday when an Al Qaeda-linked militant group assassinated one of “Free Syrian Army’s” top commanders after a dispute in the port city of Latakia. It also comes at a time when Mr Assad’s forces, with backing from Shia fighters from Hezbollah and Iran, have been making gains on the Syrian battlefield. Another Taliban commander in Pakistan, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision to send fighters to Syria came at the request of “Arab friends”. “Since our Arab brothers have come here for our support, we are bound to help them in their respective countries and that is what we did in Syria,” he told Reuters. “We have established our own camps in Syria. Some of our people go and then return after spending some time fighting there.” The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group enjoys close ties with Al Qaeda and other jihadi groups who have, in turn, deployed their own fighters to Federally Administered Tribal Areas.In the latest sign of this trend, at least two suspected foreign militants were killed in a drone attack in North Waziristan on Saturday night, local security officials said. Ahmed Rashid, a prominent Pakistani author and expert on the Taliban, said sending Taliban fighters to Syria was likely to be appreciated as an act of loyalty towards their al Qaeda allies. “The Pakistani Taliban have remained a sort surrogate of al Qaeda. We"ve got all these foreigners up there in FATA who are being looked after or trained by the Pakistani Taliban,” said Rashid, who is based in the Pakistani city of Lahore. “They are acting like global jihadists, precisely with the agenda that al Qaeda has got. This is a way, I suppose, to cement relationships with the Syrian militant groups ... and to enlarge their sphere of influence.”—Reuters
Nawaz to open Pakistan’s first private hydel plant today By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 14: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to inaugurate Pakistan’s first private hydel power project near Mangla Dam in Azad Kashmir on Monday.. The 84MW run-of-the river New Bong Escape Hydropower Project is expected to provide electricity to Wapda at about Rs8.7 per kwh, compared to average thermal generation cost in excess of Rs18 per unit. The commercial production at the project is estimated to save about 135,000 tons of imported oil costing over $100 million per annum. It will provide 540 GWh of green energy per year to the national grid under a 25-year power purchase agree- ment with the National Transmission and Dispatch Company. Laraib Energy Ltd, a private company taken over by the Hub Power Company (Hubco) a couple of years ago, commissioned the plant two months ahead of its schedule of 42 months. Interestingly, Hubco was the first to establish a 1,292MW private thermal power plant in Balochistan and the company is now planning to convert it to coal under an agreement with the government to provide cheaper energy to reduce dependence on imported oil. One of the biggest issues of the power sector is expensive power generation, and the inauguration of private sector hydel project by Laraib has paved the way for private investment in the sector. It is also Pakistan’s first hydropower plant to be registered with the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change as a clean mechanism development project, and has made solid contribution in offsetting greenhouse emission globally. The Asian Development Bank and other lending agencies, multilateral IDB, IFC and Proparco France and two domestic commercial banks, NBP and HBL, played a constructive role in structuring the project and finance documents. The successful completion of the county’s first independent hydropower project by a private investor, in record time, has given hope for harnessing the vast potential of the water sector. As per official estimates, Pakistan has a potential to generate 100,000MW of hydel power. But only about 6,500MW of the potential has been harnessed so far.
Paratrooper women make history By Ikram Junaidi ISLAMABAD, July 14: The army’s women paratroopers made history by jumping from a helicopter on Sunday. . The first batch of 24 women officers completed their three-week basic airborne course at the Parachute Training School in Peshawar. Captain Sadia was the first lady officer to jump from an MI-17 helicopter and make history. Captain Kiran Ashraf was declared the best paratrooper. The lady officers were awarded the Para Wings (insignia) by Maj Gen Abid Rafique, General Officer Commanding of the Special Service Group, at a ceremony held in Tarbela. According to an ISPR statement, the para-jumping course involved training in exit, flight and landing techniques. The paratroopers were taught to control their parachutes while descending and to carry out emergency measures such as untwisting their rigging lines, taking necessary action upon collision with another parachutist and landing in water. Talking to Dawn, Captain Sana Nasri said it was a unique and great experience. Captain Hajra Khan said: “It is a matter of pride and honour for me to be part of this pioneer course. “This is for the first time in the history of the Pakistan Army that lady officers have been given a chance to undergo the airborne course. Alhamdulillah all of us have successfully completed the course which is a big achievement and a matter of honour for us.” Captain Fauzia said: “I am so happy to be part of this airborne family and successfully completing this adventurous activity.” Brigadier Attiqueur Rehman of the ISPR said it was a landmark achievement by women paratroopers of the army.
Power secretary changed ISLAMABAD, July 14: The federal government has removed water and power secretary Anwar Khan and appointed Saif Chattha in his place, sources in the ministry told Dawn on Sunday. . Mr Chattha was working as additional secretary in the ministry. Anwar Khan has been asked to report to the establishment division. The decision was taken a day after widespread protests against loadshedding during Sehri, Iftar and Taraweeh.—Staff Reporter
Government promises ‘transparent’ aviation policy By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, July 14: The government announced on Sunday that it would unveil a ‘transparent’ aviation policy in a couple of months as it sought to justify the creation of the new aviation division. . The policy will address concerns of “all stakeholders”, a statement issued by the aviation division said. “To meet the international standards and to get the viewpoint of all stakeholders, letters have been dispatched for their suggestions and comments. Tentative date for holding the first aviation seminar to develop a comprehensive strategy to formulate a National Aviation Policy is under consideration,” it said The announcement gave reasons for separating the aviation sector from defence ministry and setting up an independent division to run its affairs with a litany of complaints against the ministry for neglecting it. The government’s intention to separate aviation sector from the ministry had become obvious at the time of formation of the federal cabinet when Shujaat Azeem was appointed adviser to the prime minister on aviation. The absence of any preceding consultation stirred fears of complications, particularly about overlapping roles of the ministry and the division. The Senate Standing Committee on Defence is meeting on July 17 to discuss the issue while Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has sought response to reports that the aviation adviser has dual nationality. Sunday’s statement attributed the prime minister’s “landmark decision” to separate aviation sector from the ministry to his vision to improve air travel facilities. “The prime minister gave a clear vision to streamline air travel by upgrading the CAA infrastructure, improving passenger facilitation by streamlining outdated procedures, inducting new technologies, and importantly, changing the attitude of all agencies at the airports to make the life of travelling public comfortable and hassle-free,” it said. In what was literally a charge-sheet against the former managers of the aviation sector, the defence ministry, it said the country’s airports depicted a picture of neglect. No sincere efforts had ever been made to make them operationally convenient for the passengers and secure. The statement said the division had been established to turn around the sector in a positive direction through “sincere, honest and focused approach” of the new leadership. Sarcastically responding to the often cited pretext of high security at airports as a reason for keeping the Airport Security Force (ASF) under military control, it said: “While security is the number one priority, yet ASF is still operating with CAT-I scanning machines while CAT-III scanning machines are the standard configurations at all major international airports to counter increasing security threats. This area has been overlooked for a considerable period of time.” It said efforts had been initiated on war footing and with the collaboration of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the ASF to ensure that airports in the country were properly equipped with latest technology. A working paper has been prepared to immediately procure CAT-III scanners. Furthermore, the statement said, the Civil Aviation Authority had been working with outdated radars and communication and radio navigation equipment, worn-out runways and passenger terminal infrastructure. “No major upgrade or induction of latest technology/equipment has taken place in CAA for the last 20-25 years,” it said, adding that a renovation plan envisaging a cost of Rs100 billion was being worked out to ensure that the vital changes were brought in by 2015.
Initial work to rebuild Quaid Residency begins By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 14: The provincial government has started work to reconstruct the Quaid-i-Azam Residency in Ziarat which was gutted in a grenade attack last month.. Militants attacked the residency on June 15, destroying the historical monument where the Quaid spent his last days. A policeman posted at the residency was killed by the attackers. Official sources said on Sunday that a committee headed by former chief secretary Mirza Qamar Baig had been set up to supervise the reconstruction work. Mr Baig was also the head of the committee which oversaw the renovation of the Quaid residency in 1999-2000. The new committee includes renowned architects and experts of heritage who have offered their voluntary services for the purpose. Noted senior architects Nayyar Ali Dada and Kamil Khan Mamtaz, accompanied by officials of the Balochistan government, inspected the damaged site and conveyed guidelines and recommendations to the provincial government for restoration of the historical monument to its original shape.
West Indies at 59 for eight in 33 overs PROVIDENCE (Guyana), July 14: The West Indies, chasing a target of 225 runs, were 59 for eight in 33 overs in the first one-day international against Pakistan at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. . The hosts required another 166 runs with 17 overs remaining. The required run rate was about 10 per over. Earlier, hugely contrasting half-centuries by Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq rescued Pakistan from a perilous position as they reached 224 for nine.
Six suspected militants killed LANDI KOTAL / KOHAT, July 14: Six suspected militants were killed and five others injured when fighter planes bombed their hideouts in Bara late on Saturday night. . According to military sources, six hideouts were attacked in Khurma Tung-Zawa area of Akkakhel and the number of casualties might increase. A government-run high school and a seminary were also targeted. While moving between tribal areas, the Taliban stayed at these places for rest. The seminary was also used as a training centre. The attacks were carried out on the basis of ground intelligence. Local sources said that a large number of militants affiliated with a Bara-based group had gathered in Khurma Tung and were making plans to attack security forces in Akkakhel and police posts in southern peripheries of Peshawar. Meanwhile, militants kidnapped one Tayyab, a resident of Merikhel in Akkakhel. According to sources, the militants suspected Tayyab of spying on them.
Indian telegram service — end of a memorable era By Dilawar Hussain KARACHI, July 14: As India draws curtain on the telegraph service on July 15, when the last of the telegram messages would be sent, it would bring to an end an era in the sub-continent that many relish as fond memory. . In Pakistan, the PTCL had discontinued the service seven years ago at about the same time when Western Union, the biggest telegraph service provider in the world, laid to rest its commercial messaging services on Jan 27, 2006. The internet and telephone have pushed telegram into antiquity. While the first message sent by inventor Samuel Morse from Washington to Baltimore, on May 24, 1844 was: “What hath God wrought”, the last message should perhaps be from Mumbai to a far-off Indian village. Veterans recall that in villages, the sight of the postman slowly peddling on his bicycle on the dusty track was one of great happiness, particularly for girls married off by their parents in big cities like Mumbai into families living in far-off towns or villages. Running half way to the postman, who often would visit after weeks and sometimes a month of an impatient wait, the village girls would fall over one another in grabbing the kindly letter from their parents. Tears welling down, memories recalled, the letter would be read over and over again. A reassuring answer of how happy they were would be sent and the long wait would begin until the next letter arrived. But with the arrival of the telegraph service, all that changed. Messages that took weeks and months to reach a destination by letter could be transmitted through electronic signals over wires in matter of minutes. However, sending a telegram instead of a letter was phenomenally costlier for the telegrams were charged on a per word basis. Letters, therefore, remained relevant, except when a swift message was to be conveyed. In villages, the arrival of a telegram would invariably be the bearer of bad news; most often the death of a dear one. An old lady who lived in a village in the Indian Gujarat says that the solemn face of the postman as he arrived in the village would tell that he has with him a telegram. The question would not be what the message was, but for which house in the village? And the weeping would begin even before the telegraph was opened and read. Compassionate people, though it would cost more, would send two telegrams, the second following the first only to prepare the family for the worst: “Uncle Sattar is seriously sick”, the first would say. The second arriving hours later would convey the correct state of things, saying that the uncle had left for his heavenly abode. Another interesting thing about telegraph messages was the art of compressing words to as few as possible, so as to cut costs. In that the ‘baboo’ sitting outside the telegraph office would come handy. Thus a message: “Dear grandpa. Asalaam-o-Alikum. I hope all is well there. I have to inform you with deep regret that Uncle Sattar who had caught cold last year in Pune, could not recover even with the best treatment and expired. May God give you the courage to bear this loss. Your loving grandson, Abdul Jabbar”, would be slashed by the ‘baboo’ to just five words: “Uncle Sattar is dead. Jabbar”
Large power projects planned: PM By Mohammad Saleem FAISALABAD, July 15: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said here on Monday that power crisis was the biggest problem the government and the people were facing, but his economic team was trying to resolve it. He sought the nation’s support to tackle the energy crisis. . Talking to reporters after a meeting with industrialists, exporters and traders, he said his government was planning to install big power projects based on solar energy, hydel and gas. “We will have to conceive strategies for 25 years rather than focussing on resolving the present energy crisis.” Information Minister Pervez Rasheed, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Water and Power Minister Khawaj Asif and other parliamentarians were present on the occasion. The prime minister said he had come to Faisalabad to visit the factory where a theft of gas worth Rs270 million was detected. He regretted that poor people had been facing shortages of gas and electricity while unscrupulous elements were involved in theft of millions of rupees. “A number of such elements are present in our society and my government will deal with them strictly,” he said, adding that bail should not be granted to the accused involved in gas and electricity theft because they were enemy of the country’s progress. He said duration of loadshedding could be curtailed to three hours from six if electricity pilferers were detected. The prime minister said the media should not only report the areas which were facing loadshedding; the areas availing electricity should also be aired. He said there was corruption in the power sector and substandard material was used to make money. But he said his government would take all steps to get rid of the menace. Mr Sharif said people would not see any corruption or scandal in his government and if anyone was found involved, he would be taken to task. The businessmen and traders complained that they had been facing numerous problems because of shortages of electricity and gas. The prime minister assured them that efforts were being made to solve their problems, but declined to give any timeframe. He said during his recent visit to Beijing, Chinese investors had expressed their interest in different fields, including the power sector. Later Mr Sharif and the Punjab chief minister visited a textile mills on the Faisalabad-Jhang Road, which was involved in gas theft of millions of rupees and was caught by a government team a couple of days ago. The prime minister directed the federal and provincial agencies to launch a crackdown on electricity and gas thieves to prevent huge losses being suffered by the national exchequer. APP adds: “The problems we are facing today did not exit when we were in power in 1990 and 1997. These are consuming the energy of the government which otherwise will have been used for socio-economic development and prosperity,” Prime Minister Sharif said. He said that during the PML-N government in the 1990s the country had surplus electricity and was planning to export it to India. When asked when his government would be able to address the energy crisis, Mr Sharif said he could not give a timeframe. “Whatever we are saying, we will implement and the results will be there,” he said. He said that instead of the required focus on infrastructure development, boosting agricultural and industrial activities, amplifying exports and creating job opportunities, the government’s efforts were now restricted to addressing the energy issue. “It (energy) has become a big issue in Pakistan with respite neither for the masses nor for the government,” he added.
Private hydel project opened MANGLA, July 15: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated on Monday the country’s first private sector hydropower project built on the Jhelum River, about seven kilometres off Mangla Dam, in Azad Kashmir. . Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the project was a milestone in the country’s history and would pave the way for construction of similar projects to cater for the electricity needs of various sectors of economy. The project would substantially improve power supply and also open new vistas of development, he added. The New Bong Escape Hydropower Project has been completed in 40 months at a cost of $215 million. It will produce 84 megawatts of electricity, which will be added to the national grid through a 132kv transmission line. The project, built with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank and a number of other financial institutions, has been completed by Laraib Energy Limited on a build, operate and transfer basis. “The country’s development depends on uninterrupted electricity supply. We need sufficient power for our industry, schools, hospitals and other sectors. Our top priority was to retire circular debt. We have paid its major part and the remaining will be settled soon,” the prime minister said. He said his government had taken a number of short-term measures which would result in a substantial decline in electricity shortages in coming months. “During my visit to China, we signed agreements to set up a number of energy projects which will have a positive impact on the supply situation. We want to ensure cheap and abundant supply of energy to our people. Allah has blessed Pakistan with enormous hydel, solar, wind and coal resources,” he said. He said the government was planning to initiate long-term projects to meet energy needs of the country.—APP
Four Hazara men gunned down By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 15: Four men of the Hazara Shia community were killed and two others injured in an attack on the Masjid road here on Monday.. Police said Raza Hussain, the owner of an electronic items shop, and his colleagues were going home after closing the shop when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on their vehicle. The attackers escaped after the shooting. The deceased were identified as Raza Hussain, Ali Raza, Hussain Raza, and Idrees, and the injured as Taqqi and Faizul Haq. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital and later shifted to the Combined Military Hospital where they were said to be in critical condition. Doctors said the deceased had received multiple bullet wounds. CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood said police were trying to arrest the killers. He said it was impossible to deploy police at every nook and corner. DIG (Operations) Fayyaz Sumbal confirmed that the deceased belonged to Hazara Shia community.Angry members of the community protested outside the Civil Hospital and blocked the nearby roads, including Jinnah and Inscumb roads. They raised slogans against the administration and said it had failed in protecting people’s lives. The Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen and the Balochistan Shia Conference announced a day of mourning and the Hazara Democratic Party and some other organisations called for a shutter-down strike on Tuesday. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the killings. The interior minister asked IGP Balochistan Mushtaq Sukhira to submit a report on the incident and ensure the arrest of killers as early as possible. Governor Balochistan Mohammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch also condemned the attack and directed the officials concerned to take appropriate measures to bring the killers to book.
Senate panel to discuss leaked report By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 15: The leaked report of the Abbottabad Commission will come under parliamentary scrutiny on Wednesday when the Senate Standing Committee on Defence will hold a discussion on it. . The discussion on the leaked report of the judicial commission, formed by the previous PPP government to probe events leading up to the US military raid in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011, is part of a five-point agenda of the committee’s meeting. The committee’s chairman, Senator Mushahid Hussain, told Dawn that the body had not invited any government official or anyone from the security establishment to attend the “in camera” meeting. Because of sensitivity of the matter, the committee members would first hold an internal discussion on the contents of the leaked report and try to reach consensus on how to proceed further. When his attention was drawn to questions being raised over authenticity of the leaked report, he said the government should officially release the report to end the so-called controversy. “For me, it is not leaked but a lead. Whoever has leaked the report, has done a great public service,” he said. “The report has brought truth before the nation.” Mr Hussain, also secretary general of the PML-Q, said he was an ardent supporter of Edward Snowden who had recently leaked information about secret electronic surveillance by the US and that he appreciated the person who had leaked the commission report. He praised members of the commission for preparing a ‘bold and candid report.’
Procedure not followed in two top-level appointments By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 15: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed chairmen of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) and Board of Investment without advertising the posts, despite his earlier stance that all such posts would be filled through open competition.. In his inaugural address to the National Assembly on June 5, the prime minister had said that “in future all top level appointments in government, semi-government and important public sector entities, their boards of governors and heads will be made purely on the basis of merit and ability to work and perform”. “From today onwards, we have closed the chapters of nepotism and undue favours.” Although Mr Sharif, soon after his election and prior to his swearing in ceremony, was not expected to spell out how his government would select chief executives of public sector organisations, he took pains to explain that advertisements would be published both in national and international newspapers to encourage able Pakistanis living abroad to come back and help improve governance. But, at least in the two above-mentioned cases, this procedure was not followed. In the first week of July, Aslam Khaliq was appointed chairman of the PIA’s board of directors. By virtue of his position as head of the board, for the time being he will also look after the charge of chairman of the PIA. Recommended by the federal government, Mr Khaliq has joined the board along with its other new members. Prime Minister Sharif has brought in a number of prominent businessmen on the board, including Mian Mohammad Mansha and Arif Habib. PIA’s spokesman Mashhood Tajwar told Dawn that being a major shareholder in the PIA corporation the government could nominate members of its choice. However, he hastened to add that the government unlike its predecessors had chosen people with a professional background. Mr Khaliq, according to the spokesman, has worked with various multinational companies at top positions. Mr Tajwar said the government had already advertised the position of the CEO for the airliner in national and international media and July 15 was the last date for submitting applications. But the spokesman was unclear about the assignment of the new CEO because as of now the PIA chairman held the position of the chief executive. “I think once the new CEO is selected for which we have received a good response, the government will decide on their (chairman and CEO) working relationship.” In the past, PIA had the defence secretary as its ex-officio chairman and a managing director who, according to an aviation expert, always worked at crossed purposes, one of the many causes of the airline’s many chronic problems. The present government has created a new aviation division, separating it from the ministry of defence. “I don’t know about the plans of the new government but it will have to address this anomaly of overlapping responsibility at the top to bring the PIA out of its current woes.” Successive PIA chairmen as heads of its board of directors have always undermined the MDs who actually run its operations, both in terms of new hiring and business plan, the expert said. The second high-profile appointment which has raised eyebrows is that of the new chairman of the Board of Investment.Last week, the government notified Mohammad Zubair Umar as the chairman.A late entry into politics, Mr Zubair was member of the PML-N media and manifesto committees. A former chief financial officer of the computer firm IBM, Mr Zubair is elder brother of PTI leader Asad Umar. The two brothers stepped into politics early last year but joined different parties. A BOI official said the Prime Minister’s Office had enquired before the appointment how this position had been filled under the rules. According to the BOI ordinance, the chairman can either be directly appointed by the prime minister, as done in the case of Mr Zubair, or through open competition. When contacted, Information Minister Senator Parvez Rashid said that in the PIA case, the situation was so bad that the government could not afford to spend months in selection of its board members and chairman through open competition. The PIA had virtually reached the verge of default and this was the only way to respond to the situation, he said. The senator said the BOI didn’t fall in the category of government entities whose heads should be picked through open competition. He said the government had already advertised posts in several organisations which would be filled on the basis of open merit. However, opposition parties don’t buy the argument. The information secretary of PTI Dr Shireen Mazari recalled the claims of merit and transparency made by the prime minister. Was there any process involved, as the federal government had announced it would follow, she asked. According to government sources, it was just the beginning and in the coming days there will be more such appointments where the prime minister will use his discretionary power. A senior federal secretary said that an announcement by the prime minister that all top government appointments would be made through open competition wasn’t enough, because for that it needed to amend the ordinances and acts under which various organisations were run. In almost all such government entities the prime minister is allowed to make appointments of his choice.
‘Unilateral drone strikes set dangerous precedents’ By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 15: The Foreign Office lodged protest with the US over drone attacks on Monday, warning that the continued unilateral strikes could set “dangerous precedents” in conduct of inter-state ties.. The protest was prompted by Saturday’s attack in North Waziristan in which two militants riding a motorbike were killed by missiles fired from a CIA operated pilot-less drone. This was 17th strike this year, but the first one after the leaked Abbottabad Commission report revealed a Pak-US “political understanding” on the controversial drone war. “The government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations,” Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said in a statement on the latest attack. Pak-US wrangling over the drone attacks that have been taking place since 2004 has continued in public, but the Abbottabad Commission report disclosed that former ISI Chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha had admitted in his testimony that notwithstanding the breach of national sovereignty, “the drone attacks had their utility”. He had also acknowledged existence of a political understanding between Islamabad and Washington on the issue even though there wasn’t any written agreement. There have been 342 drone attacks on Pakistani soil since 2004 in which close to 3,000 people, mostly militants or those associated with them, have been killed. Protestations against drone strikes are mostly politically driven. But, there is also a realisation that the US precedent of drone attacks may be used by Pakistan’s hostile neighbours, particularly India, for striking inside its territory — something to which the FO statement also referred. Mirali, the site of the latest attack, is said to be the coordination hub of Al Qaeda and a number of other militant organisations, including Haqqani Network, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Done attacks are likely to feature high on the upcoming All Parties Conference for formulating a national counter-terrorism policy.
No double standards, says Nawaz By Our Correspondent FAISALABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said here on Monday that unlike the previous government, his government would not adopt double standards on the issue of drone attacks. The previous regime used to criticise drone attacks, but silently supported them, he said. . “We hope that drone attacks will end in the days to come,” Mr Sharif said in an address to industrialists, exporters, traders and media personnel. He said terrorism, suicide bombings and violence were a threat to the country’s sovereignty and the government needed public support to get rid of the menace. All political parties would also be consulted on the issue.
PIA promotes two brothers of PML-N leader By Zulqernain Tahir LAHORE, July 15: The PIA management has promoted two brothers of the PML-N’s Information Secretary, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, with effect from 2007. . Officials told Dawn on Monday that Rashidullah Khan and Sajidullah Khan had been promoted from Grade 8 to 9 (manager to deputy general manager) and Grade 7 to 8 (assistant manager to manager) respectively with effect from 2007. The management has issued a notification in this regard despite the fact that no promotion board meeting took place this year. The officials said that the notification of the promotion of Rashidullah and Sajidullah did not mention whether they would be entitled to other perks and privileges with retrospective effect. They also claimed that the promotion board meeting was not required in such cases. “Both brothers were declared promoted by the selection board in 2007, but their promotion was not notified,” they said. There are also reports that Rashidullah will be given an important position after his promotion from Grade 9 to Selection Grade 10 as no hurdle is now left to promote him in that grade. Mr Rashidullah justified his own and brother’s promotion and rejected the impression that their political connections had anything to do with it. “Sajidullah and I were rather politically victimised over the past five years in the PPP government as my brother, Mushahidullah, was a member of the PML-N. “Even a former PIA managing director had refused to take up our case citing the Mushahidullah factor,” he told Dawn. He said the promotion board had promoted him and Sajidullah in 2007 in Grade 9 and Grade 8, but letters of the promotion could not be issued because the PPP government had taken over the government soon after that. Mr Rashidullah further claimed that his name was on top of the seniority list, but he had been ignored in the previous promotion board’s meetings. “My and Sajidullah’s promotion are absolutely on merit and seniority based and since the 2007 promotion board meeting had promoted us, we are entitled to be promoted from that date,” he said, adding they did not seek perks with retrospective effect. He said his and Sajidullah’s promotion were due over a decade back, but during the previous government employees not even completing five years in service in a grade had been promoted out of turn. Earlier, the Nawaz Sharif government appointed Shujaat Azeem, the brother of another PML-N senator Tariq Azeem, as adviser to the Prime Minister on aviation. Shujaat Azeem was removed from the PAF as he held dual nationality.
New president to be elected on Aug 6 By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 16: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Tuesday that election to the office of the president would be held on Aug 6. . President Asif Ali Zardari has already announced that he will not seek another term after his present five-year tenure expires on Sept 8. According to the election schedule, nomination papers will be received by presiding officers in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar till 12 noon on July 24. The papers will be scrutinised by Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim in Islamabad at 10am on July 26. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 29 and a final list of candidates will be published the same day. The polling will be held on Aug 6, simultaneously at the Parliament House, Islamabad, and at the buildings of four provincial assemblies from 10am to 3pm. Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi has been appointed as presiding officer for the Parliament House and Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Essa for the provincial legislatures in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta, respectively. They will preside over the joint session of the two houses of parliament and the provincial assemblies’ sessions for the polling. The PML-N appears to be in a comfortable position and is expected to win the presidential election hands down. The new president will be the second head of state to be elected in Ramazan — the first being Rafiq Tar elected in 1997. The new president will be the first to be elected under Article 41 (4) of the constitution which requires holding of the election not earlier than 60 days and not later than 30 days before the expiry of the term of the incumbent president. Dozens of constituencies will not be represented in the presidential elections mainly because of a deviation from the constitution in holding by-elections beyond the period of 60 days for seats having fallen vacant. Members of the two houses of parliament and the provincial assemblies form the electoral college for the presidential polls. The polling will be by secret ballot and ballot papers will carry the names of candidates in alphabetical order. Article 41 (2) of the constitution states that a person shall not be qualified for election unless he is a Muslim of not less than 45 years of age and qualified to be elected as member of the National Assembly. But what appears to be a clear negation of the spirit of the constitutional provision, convicts, mentally deranged persons and government employees can contest for the post without the fear of getting disqualified. The ECP amended the rule governing the presidential election on Sept 10, 2007, to take away the disqualification provision — less than a month before the polls comfortably won by then military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf. Key opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were in exile that time. The amendment to presidential rules, which is still in force, was kept a guarded secret by the ECP until it was disclosed by then minister for parliamentary affairs Dr Sher Afgan. In the now defunct section 5(3)(a) of the presidential election rules, the returning officer had the authority to conduct a summary inquiry and reject any nomination paper on satisfaction that the candidate concerned was disqualified under the constitution to be elected as president. The section was simply struck off. The justification for the abrupt amendment was that it was meant to make the rule conform to two judgments of the Supreme Court issued in 2002 and 2005. Interestingly, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was a member of both the benches.
PML-N board meets to select candidates By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 16: The parliamentary board of the ruling PML-N met here on Tuesday to select the party’s candidates for by-elections scheduled for August 22. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also the party chief, presided over the meeting. . The PML-N Chairman, Senator Raja Zafarul Haq, told Dawn that the meeting had a one-point agenda — selection of candidates for the by-polls. The board discussed various names for nomination, he said, adding that the final list of candidates would be announced in a couple of days. “Since there is a huge interest in the party ticket for the by-elections, the leadership wants to field best candidates and, therefore, is taking some time to pick them,” he said. Answering a question, he said that the PML-N was yet to discuss the presidential election. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that polling for the next president would be held on August 6. A party leader said that another meeting of the board would be held in two to three days after which final list of candidates would be announced. He said that on Tuesday discussions were held on short-listed candidates who had been interviewed over the past couple of weeks. Of the 16 seats of the National Assembly up for grabs, the PML-N had won two in the May 11 polls. Of them, Nawaz Sharif has vacated the seat of NA-68 (Sargodha-V) and his brother Shahbaz Sharif has left NA-129 (Lahore-XII). Besides the two constituencies, the party has also received an overwhelming number of applications for the ticket for NA-48 (Islamabad). A member of the parliamentary board said that over 25 candidates had applied for the ticket for NA-48, including Anjum Aqeel who had lost to Javed Hashmi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Mr Hashmi has decided to retain the seat he had won in his home constituency of Multan. The PTI has decided to field Asad Umar, a well-known name in the corporate world, to retain the seat the party had won in Islamabad city. A senior leader of the PML-N said that Mr Aqeel had low chance of receiving the ticket because the party had a wide range of options in the constituency. Besides, Mr Aqeel’s alleged involvement in land grabbing has dented his chances. Other two constituencies where the ruling party has a decent chance of winning are NA-83 (Faisalabad) and NA-103 (Hafizabad). By-elections are due in the two constituencies because polling could not be held in NA-83 due to the death of a candidate and the ECP had declared the result of polling in NA-103 void. The PML-N is facing tough competition also for tickets for 14 seats of the Punjab Assembly. The meeting was attended also by Ishaq Dar, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pervaiz Rashid, Ahsan Iqbal, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Khwaja Asif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Rana Sanaullah, Anusha Rehman Khan, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar and Rana Tanveer Hussain. Asif Kirmani, political secretary to the prime minister was also present. As per ECP notification, the by-elections will be held in 16 constituencies of the National Assembly and 26 of provincial assemblies throughout the country. The commission has received nomination papers from July 3 to 9 and their scrutiny will be conducted until 17 (today). It will hear appeals from the candidates from July 23 to 29. Candidates may withdraw their nomination by July 30 and a final list of the candidates will be published on 31.
All secret funds must be audited: SC verdict By Malik Asad ISLAMABAD, July 16: The Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that all secret funds be audited by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP). . In its judgment in the media commission case, the court declared illegal and unconstitutional Rule 37 (5) of the General Financial Rules (GFR) which is currently being used to exempt secret services funds from independent audit by the AGP. It said all expenditures from the public exchequer must be made in a transparent manner and each rupee must be audited by the AGP in order to ensure compliance with the law. The secret funds allocated to about 27 ministries in the budget 2012-13 totalled over Rs3.57 billion. The 20-page verdict was issued on petitions filed by journalists Hamid Mir and Absar Alam seeking abolition of secret funds maintained by the Ministry of Information. Authored by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, the judgment said that after the 18th Amendment under Article 170 (2) of the constitution, the AGP enjoyed a strong constitutional mandate to audit all public expenditures without exception. “The funds which have been declared as secret either by an executive order or ordinary legislation do not fall outside this purview. Furthermore, autonomous public bodies which do not receive any government funding but are established by the government or are under its control are also not beyond the AGP’s duty and power to audit,” it said. The verdict said the AGP was allowed, in fact obliged, to exercise oversight of accounting procedures adopted by the government. Article 170 (1) of the constitution and Section 5 (1) of the Controller General of Accounts (Appointment, Functions and Powers) Ordinance, 2001, make this amply clear. “The AGP should, therefore, examine the adequacy of the accounting system prescribed for secret service funds, under Rule 37(1) to (4) of the GFR. It may be mentioned by way of background that the method prescribed by these rules is extremely sketchy, relying entirely on the good faith of the users of these funds. This system is clearly open to abuse. If the AGP, after independent assessment, finds the mechanism below par, the government will be obliged to substitute it with a more transparent one,” the verdict said. The court also clarified that under Article 171, the AGP’s reports must be shared with the president, governors, parliament and provincial assemblies. Justice Khawaja said accountability of people holding high offices represented the very foundation for levy and legitimacy of taxes, etc. Citing the famous incident of Hazrat Umar who was held to account for his two pieces of cloth, he emphasised that “[i]t is through such levels of financial probity and public accountability that governments exercising authority in the name of the people derive legitimacy.” The judgment also cited the example of countries like the UK, France, Germany and even the security state of Israel which have gradually moved towards more rigorous standards in public accounting and audit. It said there might be exceptional circumstances where certain audit information would need to be kept outside the public purview. “If such exceptions are to be claimed these must be through legislation and not in an arbitrary manner. Furthermore, such legislation should be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with constitutional requirements.” The verdict said that distinction between audit and secrecy had been made clear, adding that it would be for the AGP to ensure the audit of each rupee spent from the consolidated fund and the public accounts without exception. Parliament may make a law imposing “reasonable restrictions” on public disclosure of such parts of the AGP’s report as may be classified. The court said the matter relating to 19 institutions, which had claimed that their finances/accounts were not subject to audit by the AGP, would be taken up on July 22 for which notices have been issued to them.
Punjab governor’s resignation accepted By Zulqernain Tahir LAHORE, July 16: The resignation of Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmud, tendered after the May elections, was accepted by President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday.. “A notification in this regard will be issued on Wednesday,” the outgoing governor told Dawn on Tuesday. “I had resigned from the office on May 11 on moral grounds after the defeat of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Punjab but the president did not accept it, as the transition of power was not completed,” he said. Later Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked him to continue till the conclusion of the provincial assembly’s budget session. The former governor said he was ready to accept any position in the party. “My first job is to strengthen the PPP and do service for my party.” Makhdoom Mahmud is an influential politician of Rahimyar Khan district and his two sons are parliamentarians. He remained in office for about seven months. He and his sons joined the PPP after quitting the PML-Functional in December. Punjab PPP’s information secretary Raja Amir said Mr Mahmud might be made a member of the party’s central executive committee. “Mr Mahmud will also be given an important position in the party,” he said. The Makhdoom may be considered for the post of Punjab PPP chief after the merger of the central and south chapters. On the other hand, the PML-N leadership is yet to decide on a suitable candidate for the office of Punjab governor. Speaker Rana Iqbal is taking the charge of acting governor. Three PML-N senators — Jaffar Iqbal, Zulifqar Khosa and Rafiq Rajwana — are reported to be lobbying for the slot. Sources said the party leadership was taking time because it was looking for a ‘docile’ person. Our Staff Reporter in Islamabad adds: According to President Asif Ali Zardari’s spokesman, the president, on the advice of the prime minister, approved the resignation and appointed the speaker of the Punjab Assembly to perform the functions of the governor till the appointment of a new governor.
PTDC assets worth billions being handed over to provinces By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, July 16: The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) has decided to hand over assets and properties worth billions of rupees of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) to provinces without evaluation, a document of the ministry reveals. . The decision of the IPC ministry seems to negate an earlier one of not handing over assets to provinces without prior evaluation. According to sources, assets of the PTDC are being distributed without any criteria and prior approval of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. If the decision of the IPC is implemented, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be the biggest beneficiary because a majority of PTDC resorts are located in that province. The document said a recent PTDC board meeting, held in the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, had decided that a liquidator would be appointed to evaluate the value of corporation’s assets after making adjustments of their current liabilities, which include dues payable to employees such as gratuity, leave increment, provident fund and other benefits. Talking to Dawn, IPC Secretary Faridullah Khan said that resorts and other assets of the PTDC were being handed over to provinces due to pressure being exerted by them. According to the secretary, assets were being handed over to provinces in implementation of the 18th Amendment. After passage of the amendment, the tourism ministry was devolved and the fate of PTDC, its assets and employees remained undecided. However, the move sparked a tug of war between provinces and the centre over assets/resorts of the corporation. The document said the ministry of IPC had recently advertised in the print media the slot of a liquidator, but the process could not be completed for one reason or the other. Surprisingly on July 4, a meeting was held in the IPC ministry and the decision of the earlier board meeting was bulldozed by the board secretary, Zaffarullah Siddiqui, and it was decided that no liquidator would be appointed and properties/assets of the PTDC would be immediately handed over to provinces on geographical basis. Majid Yaqoob Awan, chief of PTDC Employees Union, condemned the decision of the IPC, alleging that the initiative was made at the behest of “a strong group of bureaucrats sympathetic to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government”. Other provinces were being deprived of their rights, he said. No approval was sought from the prime minister for the transfer of assets. The decision has been vetted by PTDC’s ‘caretaker’ managing director, Furqan Bahadur Khan (additional secretary of the IPC ministry). Below is a snapshot of key assets of the PTDC: ISLAMABAD: A property near the sports gymnasium in Shakkarparian, a restaurant in Daman-i-Koh and a restaurant in Jaltrang. KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: A resort in Chakdara and motels in Saidu Sharif, Kalam, Miandam, Panakot/Dir, Chitral, Chattar Plain, Besham, Barseen, Balakot, Naran and Ayubia. GILGIT-BALTISTAN: Motels in Gilgit, Gopis, Hunza, Phandar, Rama Lake, Sust (Pak-China border), Astak, Khaplu, Satpara and Skardu. BALOCHISTAN: Motels in Taftan (Pak-Iran border), Ziarat, Khuzdar and Chaman. PUNJAB: Motels in Taxila, Wagah (Pak-India border) and Bahawalpur. SINDH: A motel in Moenjodaro.
Strike in Quetta against killings By Amanullah Kasi QUETTA, July 16: A partial strike was observed by traders in the city on Tuesday on call of the Hazara Democratic Party in protest against the killing of four men of the Hazara community on Monday. . Members of the Shia Hazara community criticised law-enforcement agencies and said they had failed in protecting people’s lives. Speaking at a press conference, Hazara Political Workers Party president Mohammad Tahir Hazara said that Hazaras would approach the United Nations and human rights organisations over continuous killings of the members of their community. He said police and other law-enforcement agencies were silent spectators and terrorists had been given a free hand to kill innocent people. He said under a conspiracy Sunnis living in adjacent areas to Hazara Town were being targeted in an attempt to foment sectarian violence. However, he added, people belonging to both Sunni and Shia sects would foil the conspiracy against them. In a statement the Hazara Democratic Party thanked traders for observing the strike and said that it was responsibility of political groups and religious personalities to raise voice against sectarian violence.
Pakistan to get additional UN funds By Our Correspondent UNITED NATIONS, July 16: Pakistan is among 12 countries which will receive additional emergency funds as part of a United Nations programme to assist people in neglected crises, the office of UN Humanitarian Affairs announced on Tuesday. . “Millions of people around the world are in dire need but we don’t always see or hear of their plight,” the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos said. This money will save lives by ensuring that humanitarian organisations can continue to support the most vulnerable men, women and children caught in the midst of devastating disasters and conflicts. This latest allocation brings the total amount provided by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to an unprecedented $172 million in a single year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release. The funds will support vital humanitarian aid in Pakistan ($10 million), Bangladesh ($2 million), Chad ($8 million), Colombia ($3.5 million), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ($6 million), Haiti ($1.5 million), Madagascar ($3 million), Mauritania ($4 million), Myanmar ($3 million), Niger ($8 million), the Philippines ($3 million) and Somalia ($20 million).
Cleric among 3 shot dead in Quetta By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 16: A cleric, his brother and another man were gunned down here on late Monday night.. Police told Dawn that Maulvi Mohibullah and his brother Amanullah were sitting outside a soft drink shop on Khudaedad road after Taraveeh prayers when they came under fire. The cleric, his brother and another man accompanying them died on the spot while three other people were injured. The assailants escaped. The injured who had been brought to the Sandeman Civil Hospital were later moved to the Combined Military Hospital because of the nature of their injuries. People enraged by the incident blocked roads leading to Civil Hospital and protested against the murder of the religious scholar. Police cleared the roads after assuring the protesters that the killers would soon be brought to justice.
No discussion with Pakistan on civilian N-tech: US By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, July 16: There has been “no discussion of civilian nuclear technology” between the United States and Pakistan, the US State Department said on Tuesday. . Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said at a briefing in Islamabad that Pakistan and the US had agreed in principle to continue dialogue on cooperation in civil nuclear technology. The minister, however, also said that no timeline could be given for any agreement on the issue. The finance minister made these remarks after a meeting with the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation president Elizabeth Littlefield. At the State Department, spokesman Patrick Ventrell told a briefing that the United States was aware of Pakistan’s energy needs and wanted to help Islamabad overcome the energy crisis but there had been “no discussion of civilian nuclear technology”. Mr Ventrell welcomed Pakistan’s interest in buying electricity from India, saying that “anything that improves relations between India and Pakistan is a good thing” and it includes (cooperation) in the energy sector as well. Pakistan has been urging the United States for some time to conclude a deal for civil nuclear technology similar to the one finalised with India. Washington, however, has been reluctant to do so due to concerns linked to the proliferation ring run by Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan.
Taliban say still focussed on Pakistan PESHAWAR, July 16: Pakistani Taliban commanders on Tuesday rejected suggestions they were sending fighters to Syria, saying some have gone there independently but the movement’s focus remained on Pakistan. . They said some militants, mainly Arabs and Central Asians, had gone to fight the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, but a senior Taliban leader dismissed reports of them setting up camps in Syria. The tribal areas of northwest Pakistan along the Afghan border have long been a magnet for militants from across the Muslim world eager to fight US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan. But since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, foreign militants have flocked to Syria, where disparate groups are seeking his downfall. Some media reports in recent days have claimed that scores or even hundreds of Pakistani Taliban are among them and that they have set up camps in Syria. A senior commander who sits on the shura of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said there was no tactical shift and no decision had been made to send forces to Syria. “There is no reality in these reports, we have far better targets in the region, Nato troops headed by the Americans are present in Afghanistan,” he said on condition of anonymity. “We are already in a war with Pakistani troops. We support the mujahideen’s struggle in Syria but in our opinion, we have a lot more to do here in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” The TTP is an umbrella group for numerous factions trying to bring down the Pakistani state and impose Sharia law. It has ties to the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda. “The great evil (America) is here in Afghanistan, troops from 30 kafir (non-believer) countries are attacking innocent people in Afghanistan, so Bashar al-Assad is not that important for us,” the TTP commander said. “Obama is the big evil, Americans are a much bigger evil for us. The Taliban shura has never discussed sending mujahideen to Syria.” Another mid-ranking TTP commander in Miramshah said some fighters had gone to Syria “in a personal capacity”. A third senior TTP cadre said those who had gone were mostly Arabs, Uzbeks and Chechens. More than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad erupted, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai dismissed claims of the TTP setting up camps in Syria as “a publicity campaign” by some of the militants. “But we cannot deny the fact that they are quite ambitious and want to send a clear message to the world that they are still very strong and have strong linkages with other local and international groups,” he said. However, Ismail, an Arab fighter from Al Qaeda, said that he planned to join the fight against Assad. “I am going to Syria in the next few days, my family will stay here,” he said. “Our mujahideen are going not only to Syria but also to Lebanon, Egypt and other Arab countries.” Saifullah Khan Mehsud, the executive director of the FATA Research Centre and an expert on the tribal zone, said fighters had been going to Syria from Pakistan for at least a month and a half. “Most of them are foreigners but Pakistanis have also joined them,” he said.—AFP
PML-N set for smooth sailing on Aug 6 By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 17: The nominee of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) looks set for a smooth sailing through the presidential election when voting takes place on Aug 6. . The opposition, however, can produce some fight only if it agrees on a joint candidate. Given the party position and affiliations in the four provincial assemblies, the National Assembly and the Senate, if all members vote in accordance with the party lines, no candidate will have the potential to create a hurdle in the way of the PML-N’s nominee entering the Presidency in September after the term of President Asif Ali Zardari expires. A projected outcome of the presidential poll in case of a 100 per cent turnout shows that the PML-N’s candidate should secure 388 votes. Statistics show that the opposition — comprising the PPP, the PTI and the MQM as main parties — cannot cross the 300-mark even if it succeeds in fielding a joint candidate. The votes will be calculated according to a formula given in the Second Schedule of the constitution. This formula gives equal representation to the provincial assemblies. The Presidential Election Rules of 1988, devised in the light of Article 41 of the constitution, provide for a 1,170-member electoral college of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. But the total number of votes, according to the formula, is 702. As 52 seats are vacant in the legislatures, the number of electoral votes this time will be 672. The winner must get a majority of the votes polled. The electoral college comprises 342 members of the National Assembly, 104 of the Senate, 371 of the Punjab Assembly, 168 of the Sindh Assembly, 124 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 65 of the Balochistan Assembly. As the Balochistan Assembly is the smallest house with 65 members, votes in the three other provincial assemblies are to be divided by 65: so 5.7 MPAs of Punjab, 2.58 of Sindh and 1.9 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be equivalent to one vote. On the other hand, one-member-one-vote formula is applied in the NA, the Senate and the Balochistan Assembly. In the National Assembly, the coalition comprising the PML-N, JUI-F, PML-F, PkMAP, NP and other smaller groups enjoys the support of 218 MNAs, compared to the opposition’s 105. In the Senate, the situation reverses itself as the ruling coalition has 34 members, while the opposition parties have 67. The PPP is still the largest party with 39 members in the house. PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLIES: The PML-N, however, enjoys an absolute majority in the Punjab Assembly with 302 MPAs in the 354-member house. Thus it is expected to get 53 electoral votes in Punjab while the opposition parties have seven. The opposition parties, however, are far ahead of the PML-N and its allies in the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. In Sindh, the PML-N and its allies are expected to get only seven electoral votes whereas the projected combined votes of the PPP and the MQM come to 55. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PML-N’s candidate can only get a maximum of 20 votes against 42 electoral votes of the opposition parties, including the PTI and the JI. The accompanying table depicts a complete picture of all the legislatures with projected electoral votes.
Aziz plans to visit Kabul on Saturday By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, July 17: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz will go to Kabul on Saturday on a daylong ice-breaking trip.. Mr Aziz disclosed his plans to travel to Afghanistan for delivering an invitation to President Hamid Karzai from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Pakistan, at a press conference along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague after their talks. Unravelling of Islamabad-Kabul ties has impeded international efforts for peace in Afghanistan and world leaders have been encouraging both countries to mend fences. “Good relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are fundamental to the security of the region,” Mr Hague said and added that the UK was ready to help the two countries bridge their gulf. The British foreign secretary’s visit comes two and half weeks after Prime Minister David Cameron travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to persuade their leaders to develop a cooperative relationship. During his Kabul visit, Mr Aziz will try to address some of the contentious issues that have tended to sour bilateral ties in recent months. He will also talk about trade and economy with his Afghan interlocutors even though the otherwise important issues look peripheral given the acrimonious phase of relationship through which the two countries are currently passing. Afghan leaders have unleashed a running diatribe against Pakistan as their relationship dips to new lows. As Mr Aziz’s visit to Kabul was finalised, his Afghan counterpart Rangin Dadfar Spanta fired yet another salvo in a radio interview saying Pakistan was a bigger threat to peace than Al Qaeda. The anger against Pakistan in Kabul’s power echelons is out of fear that Islamabad could be trying to bring the Taliban back to power. Mr Aziz would in Kabul, one of his aides said, reiterate Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful and united Afghanistan, and offer help to revive the Doha process which collapsed because of controversy over the name of office and raising of flag. At the press briefing, Mr Aziz expressed the hope that the difficult patch in the Doha process would be overcome and discussions between the Taliban and the US would start soon. He was, however, unsure when the Taliban and Afghan High Peace Council — the Afghan body that coordinates reconciliation process — would meet and said that Pakistan, the UK and the US were all working towards that end. Mr Aziz’s meeting with Afghan Ambassador Umar Daudzai over a fortnight ago, in which the Afghan side claimed he (Mr Aziz) had proposed to the Afghan government to share power with the Taliban, sparked a serious diplomatic row.
SC calls for local govt polls across country by Sept 15 By Nasir Iqbal and Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, July 17: After having received a commitment from the federal government that local government elections in all cantonment boards would be held by Sept 15, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the provincial governments and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) should consider doing so on the same day or with slight modification.. The fate of the LG system hangs in the balance as provincial governments have so far failed to make effective legislation and give the people a better replacement for the one introduced by the Musharraf regime and address their problems at the grassroots level. “We will appreciate if the provinces and the ICT hold the local bodies’ elections within the same period,” observed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The issue cropped up during the hearing of the Balochistan law and order situation by a three-judge bench. The court noted that although the elected governments had taken over the affairs, no concrete step had yet been taken to fulfill the constitutional commitment. At a previous hearing the court had asked law officers of the provincial governments to seek instructions from their administrations about holding the LG elections. “It is necessary to hold the local government elections not only to fulfill the constitutional command but also to ensure participation of people for good governance,” the court observed. Except for Sindh, all other provincial governments as well as the ICT expressed their willingness in the court on Wednesday to hold the elections, but none gave a final date. “Prima facie, we are of the opinion that for want of a network at the grassroots level it is difficult to establish contact with citizens living in far-flung areas and it is the need of the hour as well as constitutional commitment in terms of articles 32 and 140-A of the constitution to hold the local government elections,” the court observed. Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti submitted a statement on behalf of the ICT suggesting that it was ready to hold the elections in rural areas of Islamabad under the Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance 1979. But the chief justice asked him to ensure that elections were held in both the rural and urban areas without any distinction. The court directed the provincial governments to submit on Thursday statements suggesting a specific date for holding the LG elections. The Election Commission has been asked to make a presentation when it will be in a position to hold the elections. The superior judiciary had also issued similar orders in the past, but the bureaucracy and provincial governments turned a deaf ear to them. An expert on the LG system alleged that the bureaucracy was creating hurdles because of its vested interests. He said senior government officials in the provinces, especially those belonging to the District Management Group, had been waiting for a judgment by the Balochistan High Court on a petition seeking magisterial powers for local administration officials. Daniyal Aziz, a former chairman of the defunct National Reconstruction Bureau, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2009 seeking an order for holding the local government elections, but a decision is awaited. The Balochistan government has introduced its own LG Act, but it has many flaws. One of its clauses states that LG polls will be held by the provincial election commission. But the constitutional amendment requires that these must be conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Another anomaly is that some of the posts created under the LG Act 2000 still exist despite the fact that the system introduced by the Musharraf regime has been wrapped up in Balochistan. The Punjab government is reported to have prepared a draft of the LG Act, but it is yet to be adopted by the provincial assembly. The Sindh government restored LG Act 1979 in February for political point scoring and to please one of its political allies, but it was later withdrawn and the provincial government has yet to introduce an alternative LG system.
Balochistan police infiltrated by criminals, court told By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 17: A lawyer representing the Balochistan government conceded before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the provincial government was not in a position to play a proactive role in the absence of a special force against 48 ‘Farari’ camps situated around border areas. . Advocate Shahid Hamid said the previous government had been informed at a special briefing that 5,000 to 8,000 members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had disappeared in such camps. A three-judge, bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had taken up the breakdown of law and order in the province on a petition filed by the Balochistan High Court Bar Association president. The Chief Secretary of Balochistan, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad, informed the court that during his last visit to the province Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had ordered revamping of the police force as it had been infiltrated by criminal elements. The criminals have even launched systematic attacks against the chief secretary, the inspector general of police and other members of the provincial administration. “Some individuals who have been influenced by the proscribed outfits are now working in the police force,” the chief secretary alleged. He said the June 15 attack on students of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University was in retaliation for a number of police raids on the hideouts of terrorist organisations. Fateh Mohammad said the number of criminals in such hideouts was increasing and they were being joined by similar elements from other cities and provinces. But he hastened to add that a change in the attitude of police was visible, saying that they had started conducting effective raids in the troubled areas of Balochistan, forcing terrorists to move to other cities. Police, Levies Force and Frontier Constabulary have been engaged in the operation against criminals. He regretted that despite issuance of notifications, government officers from other provinces were not coming to Balochistan to join their duty. The prime minister, he added, had assured the provincial government that the issue would be resolved. Although the chief justice expressed dismay over the state of law and order in the province in view of a series of terrorist attacks, he tried to explain that despite apprehensions that free and fair elections were not possible, the polling in eight to nine troubled districts had been held smoothly. Advocate Hamid informed the court that 18 of the 25 kidnapped people had been recovered and 20 abductors arrested. Similarly, 36 of the 87 cases of missing persons involving 110 individuals have been resolved. He said 10,000 personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary were being made part a special anti-terrorist force. High Court Bar president Malik Zahoor said that a number of people belonging to the Hazara community had been killed, but the government failed to arrest their killers. He also regretted that no effective step had been taken to recover the missing persons. Advocate Munir Ahmed had been picked up from Khuzdar, but no serious effort was made by any of the security agencies for his recovery. The court agreed that target killings either on sectarian grounds or other reasons had created uncertainty and people were feeling insecure. “It is the state which is responsible to protect the life and property of its citizens,” the court observed. It said that if incidents of sectarian-related killings were not controlled, it would be very difficult to provide an atmosphere where people ran their affairs freely and independently. “Therefore, both the provincial and federal governments are required to take immediate steps to protect the life and property of citizens,” the court observed. It directed Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti to submit on Thursday a report on behalf of the federal government suggesting how it would provide assistance to the Balochistan government in maintaining law and order as well as ensuring that the life and property of all citizens regardless of their identity were protected and sectarian killings, which are increasing day by day, stopped.
Initial draft of May 2 probe report leaked By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 17: Jehangir Ashraf Qazi, a member of the Abbottabad Commission, informed the Senate Committee on Defence on Thursday that the inquiry report carried by Al Jazeera last week was the first draft and not the final version submitted to the prime minister.. The final copy is said to be a watered down version of the leaked draft that was highly critical of the armed forces, particularly the ISI, not only for its failures, but also for stymieing the growth of civilian intelligence organisations. The final report comes with a 40-page strongly worded note of dissent by Mr Qazi and observations on the note by commission’s Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal. Mr Qazi was summoned by the Senate committee to testify in its in-camera session. The committee also heard the views of Additional Secretary Defence Air Vice-Marshal Arshad Qudoos. Mr Qazi and another member of the commission, retired Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed, separately scripted the initial drafts. The reconciled and final version was authored by Justice Iqbal. The leaked copy was prepared in October last year, while the final report was presented on Jan 2 to then prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf by the chairman. The committee was informed that differences had cropped up among the members over the issue of fixing responsibility after the preparation of the first drafts. The chairman then had to come up with the “reconciled” copy. But Mr Qazi disagreed with the chairman over his alleged attempt to “play safe” in his findings and expressed his mind in his note of dissent. The phrase “collective failure” was included in the report on the suggestion of Justice Iqbal who did not want any particular individual or institution to be blamed and suggested that all pillars of state shared the ignominy for having contributed in one way or another to the situation that culminated in the May 2 national embarrassment. According to a statement issued by the Senate Committee’s Chairman, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the members urged the government to make public in a formal and official manner the contents of the Abbottabad Commission report and place it before parliament for a debate. Senator Sayed called for avoiding a blame game in the aftermath of the report and for focusing on correcting the mistakes of past. “There should not be any blame game or finger pointing targeting individuals or institutions, rather the endeavour should be to examine the causes of what the commission has called was a collective failure and to ensure that wrongs are reversed so that such failures do not recur,” he said. The committee that has been working on civil-military ties since last year decided to hold a public hearing on “Intelligence reform and re-organisation” soon after Eid. Senator Sayed said the committee would give its own recommendations regarding national security and counter-terrorism strategy after thorough deliberation on the contents of the report.
Commission set up to select heads of govt enterprises By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 17: The government on Wednesday set up a three-member commission, headed by the federal tax ombudsman (FTO), for selection of chief executive officers (CEOs) of state-owned enterprises. . According to the Prime Minister Office, the decision to constitute the commission has been made in line with Supreme Court directives to make such appointments only on the basis of merit. Newly appointed FTO Abdul Rauf Chaudhry will head the commission. Shams Qasim Lakha, head of the Aga Khan Foundation and well-known educationist, and Dr Ijaz Nabi, a professor of administrative sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, will be its members. The commission will operate free of government influence and will be provided administrative support by the establishment division. The government has issued advertisements for vacant positions in about 40 enterprises, including the PIA, PSO, Pakistan Steel Mills, Wapda, PPL and OGDC. To help the commission, a senior official at the Prime Minister Office said, the government was going to hire the services of a human resource firm of international repute and had placed an advertisement in international media for the purpose. The secretaries of finance and law ministries and cabinet division will select the HR firm in a day or two. It will help the commission in short-listing candidates. Final interviews will be conducted by the commission. Talking to Dawn, a federal secretary praised the establishment of the commission ‘if the government implements the plan in its true spirit’. Besides selecting right people for the right job, the commission will help the government to keep hangers-on away from the corridors of power. A positive thing about the commission is that its members are from private sector and have good reputation. One of the major allegations the previous PPP government is facing is the appointment of people like former Ogra chief Tauqeer Sadiq at key positions on the basis of nepotism. “On the face of it, the selection of CEOs through an independent commission and with the help of an international HR firm sounds perfect (idea) but, let’s see how it plays out on ground,” said the secretary. In response to a petition filed by Khawaja Asif of the PML-N against postings and transfers made by the caretaker government, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had said on May 22: “The new government should know well that appointments of choice and against the norms of merit will not be allowed. Doctrine of merit will stand implemented for the sake of good governance and the discretionary powers will also have to be exercised in the light of verdicts of the court. “It (the government) will have to maintain the highest standard of transparency and bring to end the culture of likes and dislikes,” he said.
Levies’ man, two bandits killed By Our Staff Correspondent QUETTA, July 17: A Levies Force man and two dacoits were killed in an exchange of fire on Gandhawa-Notal road in Jhal Magsi district on Wednesday. . Jhal Magsi Deputy Commissioner Tariqur Rehman Baloch said that Abdul Nabi, a Levies’ Force personnel, was escorting a mini passenger van when armed robbers signalled the van to stop on Gandhawa-Notal road, triggering an exchange of fire between Levies Force man and the eight bandits which left Mr Nabi and two dacoits dead. “We have deployed personnel of Levies Force on passengers’ coaches and vans to escort them and to provide security to commuters due to increasing incidents of highway robberies as several gangs of dacoits were now involved in looting passengers and other people in the area,” the deputy commissioner said. He said that when the driver did not stop the van, dacoits opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle. “The shootout between a single Levies man and eight armed robbers left Abdul Nabi and two bandits dead,” he said. The body of Abdul Nabi was handed over to his family after autopsy while bodies of the dacoits were kept at hospital morgue. He said the passenger van was heading towards Jacobabad, adding that teams of Levies Force had been dispatched to arrest other six bandits. Meanwhile, traders and shopkeepers shut down their shops in Jhal Magsi main bazaar to mourn the death of Abdul Nabi.
Pakistanis rescued from sinking boat SYDNEY, July 17: A boat carrying about 150 asylum seekers capsized in Indian Ocean waves, triggering a frantic rescue effort by Australian crews who saved nearly every passenger from the churning water, officials said on Wednesday. . Four people died after the boat rolled over on Tuesday in choppy seas 125km north of Christmas Island, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare told reporters. The survivors, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq, were taken to Christmas Island, along with three Indonesian crew members. A navy ship was sent to assist the vessel after it was spotted by an aircraft patrol on Monday, Mr Clare said. When the navy ship arrived, the boat appeared to be in good condition. By Tuesday, however, several on board had called maritime authorities asking for help, saying the engines had stopped working. A second navy ship was sent to the scene and rescuers attempted to board the boat. But towering, 4-metre waves coupled with the vessel’s high sides made climbing on board impossible, said David Johnston, Commander of Australia’s Border Protection Command. Rescuers decided the safest option would be to escort the boat to Christmas Island, where Australia operates a detention camp for asylum seekers. Several hours into the journey, however, the boat started leaning and some passengers began jumping into the water. Shortly after, the boat rolled and capsized, Mr Clare said. Rescuers dropped life rafts into the water and hopped into small boats to reach the scores of men, women and children struggling against the choppy waves. Officials managed to pluck 144 people to safety, and recovered the bodies of two women and two men before calling off the search on Tuesday night. There were around 19 infants and children on board, Johnston said. “It is a dreadful feeling in the stomach when we hear that a vessel has capsized, or that it is in some difficulty,” Mr Johnston said. “Recovering 144 people in the conditions they had yesterday was extraordinary work.” Customs officials estimated the boat had 150 passengers and said they were interviewing survivors to determine the exact number. Christmas Island is a popular destination for asylum seekers who crowd into rickety boats at Indonesian ports and pay people smugglers to ferry them to Australian shores. Hundreds have died while attempting the journey in recent years. Last week, another boat packed with asylum seekers sank off Christmas Island. —AP
LB poll delay: SC warns of consequences By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, July 18: The governments of Punjab and Sindh showed reluctance in the Supreme Court on Thursday to specify timeframe for holding local bodies’ elections in the provinces. . Punjab’s acting Advocate General Mustafa Ramday said the provincial government had initiated the process of holding the elections and would promulgate a law in this regard but required at least 90 days to complete the delimitation exercise. And whenever the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is finally ready, Punjab will have no objections. Additional Advocate General of Sindh Mir Qasir Jat said the provincial government needed five months because new districts, union councils and Talukas would have to be created through delimitation before holding the elections. ECP’s Additional Director General (legal) Abdul Rehman Khan said the commission would hold the local government elections in 90 days after the provinces sent requisition for the purpose. But the court did not accept the arguments and warned that it would issue a judgment with all consequences for the provincial governments for not adhering to the constitutional command under Article 140 (a) of the constitution which required the holding the LB elections. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had directed the provincial governments to submit on Thursday statements suggesting a specific date for the elections. The ECP was summoned to state when it would be in a position to hold the elections. The court had on Wednesday asked the provincial governments to consider holding the LB elections on Sept 15 -- the day similar elections would be held in all cantonment boards. The issue cropped up during the hearing of the law and order situation in Balochistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province which said it was ready to hold the elections. “Following the constitutional command and mandate under Article 140(a) of the constitution, the provincial government has decided to hold the elections as early as possible,” Additional Advocate General Syed Arshad Hussain said. Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti informed the court that the federal government was ready to hold the elections in both rural and urban areas of the federal capital subject to EC’s readiness. A representative of the Balochistan government informed the court that Advocate General Shakeel Baloch had flown back to Quetta to seek instructions. The court pointed out that there was continuity in both Punjab and Sindh because before the installation of the newly elected governments the same administration of the same political parties and the same chief ministers had been functioning in the two provinces. It was incumbent upon both the governments to adhere to the constitutional provisions, but they had failed to take necessary steps for strengthening the democratic order by devolving the financial responsibility and authority to the chosen representatives at the grassroots level, the court said. No departure from the constitutional provisions is possible, particularly when the chief executives of newly elected provincial governments have taken oath to preserve the constitution. The court was also not pleased with the stance taken by the ECP and said the commission should not have showed reluctance in discharging its duty. The court postponed hearing to July 22, enabling the provinces to submit written statements.
Three LNG import projects approved By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 18: The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet approved on Thursday three projects for importing up to 1.7 billion cubic feet (BCF) of liquefied natural gas in two and a half years, starting with 200 MMCFD in six months.. A meeting of the ECC presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar agreed in principle to sidestep procurement rules for early implementation of the projects without going for biddings and authorised a committee comprising the chairman of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and secretaries of finance and petroleum to address the issue. The three projects will involve construction of terminals at Port Qasim for receipt, storage and re-gasification of LNG. The Fast-Track Engro Terminal Project with a capacity of 200 MMCFD is likely to be completed in six to eight months at a cost of $30-40 million. The secretaries of finance and petroleum will finalise modalities for licensing, financing and other technicalities of the project. The ECC decided to reaffirm its earlier approval for Sui Southern Gas Company’s LPG retrofit project having a capacity of 500 MMCFD at a cost of $175-200m. The project is expected to be completed in 18-22 months. The meeting also decided to launch the bidding process for construction of a new LNG terminal, with a capacity of 500 to 1,000 MMCFD, at a cost of $200-250m. The project will take 26 to 30 months to complete. The committee constituted a high-powered committee headed by Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid and comprising Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, deputy governor of State Bank and secretary of economic affairs to streamline registration and regulation of national and international non-governmental organisations and put up a comprehensive report to the ECC in two months. Mr Hamid was authorised to co-opt any person he might deem necessary for the purpose. An official statement said the ECC reviewed implementation of its previous decisions and expressed satisfaction over its pace. The committee expressed satisfaction over sugar stocks and was informed that 100,000 tons had been released for July’s and Ramazan’s requirements. There is a stock of fuel for 21 days as compared to 12 days in the corresponding period of last year. The ECC was informed that a 4.2 per cent growth was recorded in the large-scale manufacturing sector during the last financial year compared to 1.3pc in the previous year. Exports totalled $24.52bn and imports hovered around $44.95bn in 2012-13. Remittances recorded a growth of 5.6pc, reaching a record $13.920bn during the last financial year. However, revenue collection was Rs1,882.7bn, showing a growth of only 3.1pc. The meeting was informed that the stock exchange index had reached a record 23,160 points and market capitalisation had nearly doubled. The committee noted that the ministry of industries had floated two international tenders of 50,000 tons each for urgent import of urea and one of the tenders would be opened on Monday. The ECC decided not to extend the quota expiry period of the parties which were unable to export sugar within the stipulated time. The quotas of about 400,000 tons of sugar will now be awarded on a first-come first-served basis and the applicants will have to establish an irrevocable letter of credit with a shipment date within 60 days.
Imran for closed-door meeting with military By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 18: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has again called for a closed-door meeting with the military leadership before an APC (all parties conference) on national security. . Mr Khan who is in London issued a press release on Thursday, reiterating his earlier stance that a conference would be a futile exercise if it was held before fully knowing the underlying facts about the country’s involvement in the ongoing war on terror. “I realise that perhaps the facts cannot be stated in a large open forum like an APC because of national security but, at the same time, it is essential for political leaders to be apprised of these facts regarding the extent of the commitments given to the US as well as the reasons behind the continuing sectarian terrorism in the country,” Mr Khan said. The PTI chief said that about two months ago when he was in hospital he had asked for a meeting attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, General Kayani and himself. The purpose was to know the truth about; one, the government’s (including the military) prevailing understanding with the US on its war on terror and drone attacks; and, two, the position of intelligence and security organisations on sectarian terrorism. Mr Khan, who will be returning to the country towards the end of this month, said a number of APCs had been held, including those organised by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and the Awami National Party, but the Taliban had responded by saying that dialogue would be worthwhile only if the military was on the same page. He said if the military and political leaderships did not hold the same view on the issue of national security no conference could resolve the issue of terrorism. Referring to the government’s understanding with the US on the war on terror and drone attacks, he said it was imperative for the government to inform political leaders about the nature of the understanding. He called upon the government to clarify if the recently approved IMF package was linked to the government’s support for the war on terror. Mr Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was worst affected by terrorism and since his party headed the provincial government it wanted the federal government to clarify its position on the issue of terrorism. Without holding a dialogue between all stakeholders on the basis of truth the issue of terrorism could not be resolved, he said. He criticised the previous government and said it had kept the nation in dark over its understanding with the US on the war on terror and drone attacks. All the resolutions adopted by the parliament on the issues proved useless because they were discarded soon after these had been adopted. He said that for a long period successive governments had been lying to the nation on the issue and never took political leaders into confidence. There were many hidden truths about the country’s engagement with the US and the nation needed to be informed about them, Mr Khan added.
SP suspended after scuffle between police and Zehri’s guards By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 18: A scuffle between police and private guards of Balochistan’s Senior Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri after the former stopped the guards from entering the premises of the Balochistan Assembly on Thursday led first to suspension of a superintendent of police by the chief minister and then to a notice issued by the Balochistan High Court on the action of the chief minister.. According to sources, an argument and a scuffle followed when the guards tried to force their entry into the premises. Mr Zehri brought the incident to the notice of Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch who ordered the suspension of SP City Quetta Samiullah Soomro. The chief minister’s directive led to protests by police personnel. The matter was brought to the notice of the BHC chief justice who issued notices to senior officials, including the home secretary and the inspector general of police, to appear before the court on Friday. Talking to journalists, the protesting policemen said they had been instructed by Speaker Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali not to allow private armed guards of lawmakers into the assembly premises. They said there was seating arrangement for private guards and other employees of lawmakers outside the building. A senior police officer said private guards were not allowed to enter the premises of the Parliament and provincial assemblies. After the protest by policemen, Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood met the chief minister and said the suspension of the SP would demoralise his force. The chief minister was of the view that Mr Zehri had tribal enmities and needed extra protection for which presence of private guards was necessary. The CCPO did not talk to journalists when he returned after meeting the chief minister. The policemen ended their protest after the chief minister and the speaker came out to meet them.
‘Ogra consulted ex-PM on contentious move’ By Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, July 18: Tauqeer Sadiq, the former chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) who is the main accused in a major scam, has told the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that a decision to increase the limit of unaccounted-for gas (UFG) losses for the utility companies had been taken in consultation with then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, petroleum minister Syed Naveed Qamar and adviser Dr Asim Hussain. . In his statement recorded on July 15, he said several meetings were held in this regard when he was the Ogra chief, Mr Qamar was the petroleum minister and later Dr Hussain was the adviser. The handwritten statement in Urdu, submitted in reply to questions asked during the investigation, highlights his lifestyle and sources of income while he was abroad after escaping from the country. He claimed that he had settled the pending issue of UFG for the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL). “The demand for increasing the UFG by the gas companies was there for many years, but I was able to decide the case when I was the chairman of the authority.” Mr Sadiq is suspected of causing a loss of Rs82 billion to the national exchequer when he was head of Ogra between 2009 and 2011. He fled abroad after the Supreme Court declared his appointment illegal on Nov 25, 2011, and ordered NAB to begin an investigation against him. Mr Sadiq said the decision to increase the UFG had been taken after consulting the authorities, including the prime minister and the petroleum ministry. He said he had given briefings to then prime minister Gilani in the presence of several ministers and federal secretaries. The MDs of both gas companies had also briefed the authorities on the subject. He said there was no irregularity and all authorities concerned were in the loop. “Even the MDs of the SSGC and the SNGPL gave a presentation in a meeting with the prime minister.” Mr Sadiq said the companies had pleaded that they would go bankrupt if the UFG losses were not increased. He mentioned Mirza Mehmood, the counsel for both the gas companies and also a board member of the SNGPL. “I have known Mirza Mehmood in various capacities for the past 20 years. He pleaded the case of UFG and non- operating income with Ogra.” He said Ogra had taken the decision after reviewing all record presented by the petitioners. Tauqeer Sadiq said the companies had claimed that if the UFG was not increased, their operations would become unaffordable and the consumers would suffer. He cited some observations given by Ogra under him to underscore that he was not lenient towards the companies. In reply to a question about his escape, Mr Sadiq said he was afraid of persecution and had fled to the UAE. Travelling on a green passport, he later moved to Sri Lanka, making a living as a legal expert there and in the UAE after August last year as he was a lawyer by profession. The charges framed by NAB are that Ogra increased the UFG benchmark from 4.5 per cent to 7pc and reclassified some heads from ‘operating income to non-operating income’. NAB investigators informed courts that by describing certain heads as non- operating income a royalty of Rs3.68bn from the JJVL Company, late surcharge of Rs1.59bn on payment of bills and profit of Rs424 million on meter manufacturing would not be part of the operating expenditures of the SSGC, which would cause a loss to the government as the profits would go to the shareholders. Because of the increase in the UFG, consumers would have to pay an additional Rs3.61bn to adjust gas theft and losses, they said. After recording the preliminary statement of Mr Sadiq, NAB has expanded the scope of the investigation to fix responsibility for insider trading in the stock market in the shares of the SSGC and SNGPL where billions of rupees were whisked away, an official said. The SSGC managing director and counsel for both gas companies recorded their statements on Thursday and defended the UFG hike.
Sectarianism challenge for PML-N govt: US report By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, July 18: More than 700 people have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan during the past 18 months, says a US report released on Thursday.. The findings “paint a grim and challenging picture for the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” warns the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which conducted the study. The commission urges Islamabad to take “concrete, resolute action” to curb religious violence and emphasises the need to “ensure that perpetrators of violence are arrested, prosecuted and jailed”. The findings are based on 203 publicly-reported incidents resulting in more than 1,800 casualties, including over 700 deaths. “The findings are sobering,” says the commission while once again urging the Sharif government not to shy away from punishing groups and individuals responsible for these attacks if it wants to stem the rising tide of violent religious extremism.“The Shia community bore the brunt of attacks from militants and terrorist organisations, with some of the deadliest attacks occurring during holy months and pilgrimages,” the report notes. The commission, which is a bipartisan US federal government body created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, monitors religious freedom across the world and also publishes an annual report. But the statistics on Pakistan are from a special project it initiated for monitoring religious violence in the country. “While Shias are more at risk of becoming victims of suicide bombings and targeted shootings, the already poor religious freedom environment for Christians, Ahmadis, and Hindus has continued to deteriorate, with a number [of] violent incidents occurring against members of these communities,” says the report. Between January 2013 and June 2013, there have been 77 attacks on the Shias, 54 against Ahmadis, 37 against Hindus, one against Sikhs and 16 against other groups. As many as 635 Shias have been killed in these attacks while 834 have been injured. The Ahmadis are second on the list with 22 dead and 39 injured. The Christians are third with 11 dead and 36 injured. Two Hindus were also killed and four injured. The Sikhs lost one person while other groups lost 46 people. The report notes that while banned militant groups and private citizens are responsible for the majority of attacks on religious communities, “government actors are not blameless”.
Gilani refuses to appear before NAB officials By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, July 18: Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani again refused on Thursday to appear before officials of the National Accountability Bureau investigating a case relating to appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. It was for the fourth time that Mr Gilani has refused to meet NAB investigators under summons issued to him. . He said that being a former prime minister he enjoyed immunity and could not be summoned by an investigation agency. “We summoned Mr Gilani on Thursday in connection with illegal appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq,” NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid said, adding that the former prime minister had already defied three NAB notices and on Thursday again he did not visit the headquarters to record his statement. A NAB official said that after the arrest of Mr Sadiq the investigators wanted to match his statements with that of Mr Gilani. Another former prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, has also been accused of being involved in the appointment as chairman of the interview board. The official said that under the NAB Ordinance a person defying three consecutive notices of the bureau was liable to be arrested. But, according to legal observers, Mr Gilani cannot be arrested because an arrest order has to be approved or signed by the NAB chairman. But the office has been vacant for about two months since removal of retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari by the Supreme Court on May 28. According to sources, an accountability court in Rawalpindi has been informed about the former prime minister’s stance. But again, the NAB spokesman said, the accountability courts usually issued arrest orders in such cases on complaints signed by the chairman. Mr Sadiq was arrested by Abu Dhabi police on intervention of Interpol and brought to the country. An accountability court handed him over to NAB on 14-day physical remand which will end on July 23. The former prime minister has already submitted his reply to investigators’ queries. The sources said he had rejected the allegations but agreed to be of help in the investigation. Our Staff Reporter adds from Lahore: Mr Gilani said in a statement issue here that the constitution provided complete immunity to the prime minister and, therefore, he was not accountable to any law-enforcement agency for what he had done as the chief executive of the country. “I have performed my duties as then premier in good faith.” He said he had taken a similar stance regarding immunity of the president. He said people were asking why only cases relating to the president, him and his family were being pursued. He said he would like to know what action was taken to implement the Asghar Khan case verdict.
Power supply to 17 districts suspended By Amanullah Kasi QUETTA, July 18: Saboteurs blew up four power pylons early on Thursday, suspending supply to provincial capital and 16 other district headquarters, said the Quetta Electric Supply Company. . A Qesco statement said saboteurs planted explosive substance by pylons in Bibi Nani area of the Machh subdivision in the wee hours of Thursday and detonated it, damaging four 220kv and 132kv pylons. It said the incident cut off power supply to 17 district headquarters, including Quetta, but the company made an alternative arrangement from Habibullah coastal power house and Qesco Sheikhmandh thermal power house to restore electricity supply to the provincial capital. The statement said that a total of 1,550MW was needed to meet the demand of urban and rural consumers in the province, but the company was receiving only 270MW. The shortage, it added, had affected agriculture feeders. The work to repair the pylons would be started after security clearance was given by the provincial government, the statement said.
Sartaj trip to Kabul delayed by a day By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 18: The planned visit to Kabul by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz has been delayed by a day. He will now be travelling to Afghanistan on Sunday.. Mr Aziz had on Wednesday announced at a press conference that he would visit Afghanistan on Saturday to deliver an invitation to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to visit Pakistan. The delay will not change much, except that Mr Aziz’s desire for an overnight stay in Kabul will remain unfulfilled. It will be premature to say how the ice-breaking trip will go, but Afghans, diplomatic sources revealed, had not been too keen about the visit said to have been pushed by Western leaders. Pakistan and Afghanistan are having a protracted bad patch in their ties, which is affecting the reconciliation process. Mr Aziz intends to address some of the concerns of the estranged Afghan leader-ship and persuade them to work with Pakistan for taking the peace process forward. At a meeting with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in Islamabad on Thursday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to support all initiatives aimed at promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan. Secretary Hague, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, expressed support for all the initiatives.
Govt seeks change in schedule By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 19: The government has sought a change in the schedule for presidential election but, according to a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan, the request is likely to be rejected.. The official told Dawn that the commission had received a letter from the Ministry of Law saying that on Aug 6 when the election was proposed to be held, several members of parliament and provincial assemblies would be in Saudi Arabia to perform Umra and some of them would be observing Aitekaf. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to hold the poll on Aug 6 which would be 27th of Ramazan. The ministry requested the ECP to review the schedule. The ECP officials concerned of the ECP discussed the letter and gave their legal opinion. According to them, sources said, it was almost impossible to change the schedule at this stage. The government’s request along with a summary on its legal aspects will be presented to the chief election commissioner and its four members from the provinces. At one stage, sources said, the commission was considering holding the polls between Sept 4 and 6 because it was not aware of Article 41 (4) of the constitution which required the holding of presidential election not earlier than 60 days before the expiry of the term of incumbent president and not later than 30 days after the expiry. He said holding polls after Aug 7 would be a violation of the constitution and changing the schedule by a day or two would mean nothing because the date would again fall during the last 10 days of Ramazan. According to the schedule, nomination papers will be submitted on July 24 and scrutinised on 26. The papers may be withdrawn on July 29 when the final list of candidates will also be issued. The election will be held on Aug 6 and results will be announced on 7. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that the ECP did not keep in view the sanctity of the last 10 day of Ramazan when proposing the poll schedule. He said in a statement that the election could have been held between July 9 and Aug 9 and urged the ECP to consider holding the election on the 19th or 20th of Ramazan.
CCI meeting on power policy planned By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 19: The government has decided to convene a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) with the single-point agenda of getting the new power policy approved by the chief ministers. . Talking to Dawn on Friday, a government official said the meeting had been scheduled for July 25, but the date could be changed to ensure availability of all the four chief ministers. However, the official added, the government was determined to hold the meeting this month. The government notified setting up of the CCI on June 26, a constitutional requirement after the election of the prime minister. The prime minister chairs the CCI meetings and the four chief ministers are its members. The prime minister can nominate three CCI members from his federal cabinet The new power policy includes a whole range of power sector reforms to improve electricity production and bring loadshedding to a manageable level. According to sources, the government intends to increase power generation in the country to the tune of 26,000MW, more than double what is being produced at the moment. To improve efficiency, the government has decided to replace heads of generation companies (Gencos) and distribution companies (Discos) if they fail in achieving the targets. For improving the management, big power companies will be divided into small companies in phases. Cutting down line losses from the present 36 to 16 per cent is also on the target. The government is already working to introduce rigorous punishment for those found involved in electricity theft. Action will be taken against power defaulters within 60 days. Import of electricity from neighbouring countries — preferably from India and Iran — is also part of the new policy for which infrastructure will be put in place on priority basis. Generation of electricity by using coal will be given priority under the new policy for which new projects will be initiated in coal rich areas of the country. To avoid recurrence of menacing circular debt which the government has announced to clear by the mid of August, the policy will underline a time bound schedule of payments from 45 to 60 days, after which the liable parties will be severely penalised. Under the policy, performance contracts will be signed between Gencos and Pakistan State Oil and fuel will be purchased on tender basis instead of single supplier. And the government will also lay down pipelines for the supply of oil to power plants.To rationalise pricing mechanism which at present involves huge subsidy — costing Rs1 billion per day to the government — the new policy will suggest an across the board increase of prices except for life line consumers. Usage and production of natural gas have also been duly addressed in the new policy which will be shared with the chief ministers at the CCI meeting. Under the policy, the government intends to divert gas from CNG sector to power production. Moreover, besides controlling cases of gas theft, government will announce special incentives for investment in gas production sector, exploration of Shale and Tight gas.
Concerns of Afro-American boys need to be addressed: Obama WASHINGTON, July 19: Looking for positive lessons to draw from the shooting to death of Trayvon Martin, President Barack Obama said on Friday the nation needed to do some “soul-searching”, to look for ways to bolster African-American boys and examine state and local laws to see if they encourage confrontations like the one in Florida.. “Where do we take this?” Mr Obama wondered aloud in an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room. “How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction?” The president said it’s time “for all of us to some soul searching,” but he also said it’s generally not productive when politicians try to orchestrate a conversation. On the positive side, he said race relations in the United States actually were getting better. The widely followed case led to discussions about race and US self-defence laws. Mr Obama, the first black American elected president, rarely speaks about race. Martin was black.The president declined to wade into the detail of legal questions about the Florida case, saying, “Once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works”. But, he said state and local laws, such as Florida’s “stand your ground” statute, need a close look. Mr Obama said it would be useful “to examine some state and local laws to see if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of confrontation” that led to Martin’s death. He questioned whether a law that sends the message that someone who is armed “has the right to use those firearms even if there is a way for them to exit from a situation” really promotes the peace and security that people want. And he raised the question of whether Martin himself, if he had been armed, shot neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman if he felt threatened when being followed.—AP
PPP names Rabbani as its candidate By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, July 19: The PPP nominated on Friday Senator Raza Rabbani as its candidate for the post of president of Pakistan. . “We have consulted all leaders of the party across the country and the name of Mr Rabbani was also discussed at all levels of the organisational structure, including districts and the four provinces,” PPP leader Amin Fahim announced at a late-night press conference held at the Chief Minister’s House. He said the PPP was holding talks with other opposition parties to field a joint candidate. The party had even approached the PML-N leadership with the same proposal, he added. Mr Rabbani said he was ‘honoured’ to become the party’s candidate for the presidential election. If elected, he said, he would contribute to strengthening the federation and strive for more provincial autonomy. According to APP, Rana Ikram Rabbani, a PML-N leader and former provincial minister, obtained nomination form for the presidential election from the Lahore High Court’s registrar on Friday. Talking to reporters, he said he had fulfilled all constitutional criteria for the post of president. He said the filing of the nomination paper would be subject to approval by the party’s leadership. Retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, and eight others also obtained forms for contesting the presidential election. Ishaq Mehboob, Muhammad Shakir and Syed Mustafsir Hussain also collected the forms. Sources in the provincial election commission said a PPP leader had obtained five forms from the commission. PML-N MEETING: A meting of the PML-N leaders in Islamabad is reported to have shortlisted its candidates for the post of president. According to television reports, the meeting discussed the names of Sartaj Aziz‚ Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui‚ Mamnoon Hussain‚ Ghaus Ali Shah‚ Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Mehtab Abbassi. It set up a committee to contact other parties and seek their support for the PML-N candidate. The committee comprises Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif‚ Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan‚ Ahsan Iqbal and Saad Rafique.
Case against five guards of Zehri registered By Amanullah Kasi and Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 19: Police on Friday registered a case against five private guards of a provincial minister who scuffled with police on the gate of Balochistan Assembly building on Thursday.. Earlier on Friday a division bench of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) directed police to register a case against the guards. An argument and a scuffle followed between police personnel and private guards of Senior Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri when the latter tried to force their entry into the premises of the assembly. After the incident, Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch ordered the suspension of SP City Quetta Samiullah Soomro.The chief minister’s order led to a protest by police personnel outside the assembly building. BHC Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa took a suo motu notice of the incident and issued notice to senior officials to appear before the court on Friday. The bench, comprising the chief justice and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, expressed dissatisfaction with police for not registering a case against the guards. The court did not issue any order following an assurance by CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood and provincial chief secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad that a case would be registered against five guards of the minister. Advocate General Shakeel Ahmed Baloch informed the court that the chief minister did not issue suspension order of the superintendent. The court remarked that no one was above the law and that it would act if laws were violated. The hearing was adjourned to Aug 1. PRESS CONFERENCE: CCPO Mehmood told reporters that police registered a case against five private guards for thrashing sub-inspector Naqibullah and misbehaving with other police personnel. The case was registered at the Bijli Ghar Police Station. He said that the five guards would be arrested soon as investigations were in progress. He said police had been instructed by Speaker Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali not to allow private armed guards of lawmakers into the assembly premises. In reply to a question, the CCPO said he was thankful to the chief justice for taking suo motu notice of the incident.
Power companies, plants to be privatised, says minister By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 19: Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Mohammad Asif has said the government has decided to privatise generation and distribution companies and power plants under the energy policy being prepared to meet terms of lending agencies. . Addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pervez Khattak after a meeting here on Friday, Mr Asif said the policy would be given a final shape in five to 10 days. “We are moving very carefully on energy policy. We are entering into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank is going to provide financing for projects under the energy policy. So support of these two would depend on energy policy and hence it requires utmost care. Otherwise, there is no delay,” he said. He defended the cost escalation of the 425-525mw Nandipur power project from Rs21 billion to Rs57bn which has attracted apex court scrutiny following a letter written by a former managing director of the Pakistan Electric Power Company and said: “We have justifications for the cost escalation but there is no question of corruption because the money has not been spent yet.” Mr Asif said Rs342bn had recently been paid to the power sector to clear circular debt and the process of making more payments had started. When asked how provinces could set up power plants when a regulatory framework did not exist in this regard, he accepted that there was a roadblock and said the regulatory bodies would have to move with the fast pace of the government to resolve energy crisis and provide relief to people. The federal government, he said, would strive to resolve the issue of loadshedding in KP while the provincial government would help in recovery of electricity dues. The chief minister has promised to provide support and security to staff of electricity companies during recovery. He said the issues relating to transmission and distribution system in the province were of peculiar nature which would be taken up with the prime minister to ensure their resolution. Mr Asif said KP had a rich potential of generating hydel power and the federal and provincial governments had decided to jointly work to make full use of the resources. He said the provincial government had been assured that there would be no recurrence of last week’s situation which had led to mass protests. “We will ensure that there is no discrimination against any province but… there is shortfall all over the country which needs to be shared on equitable basis.” Chief Minister Khattak described his meeting with Mr Asif as constructive and expressed the hope that the issues of loadshedding, funding and power production would be resolved soon. Grid stations in the KP were in a poor condition, he said, adding that even if the federal government succeeded in improving generation, power outages would continue in his province because of faults in the distribution and transmission system. He urged the federal government or Wapda to upgrade the system. Answering a question he said he believed that Kalabagh dam should be built with national consensus and when all provinces agreed to it. Efforts should be made to develop this consensus. He said the KP had a potential of generating over 24,000MW hydropower and he had requested the federal government and the chief minister of Punjab to invest in the province so that additional electricity could be added to the system in two to three years. The province required about 2600MW but was currently getting about 2100MW, he said, adding that the shortage was not the only issue. Because of poor transmission and distribution system, many areas were facing forced shutdowns and the situation was creating problems for his government. He said the province produced more electricity than it received. Its government was willing to take over the Peshawar Electric Supply Company if it was also given control over generation in the province. He said curbing electricity theft was the responsibility of Wapda and the government would provide support and security to its staff during its campaign against theft.
Al Qaeda can’t be defeated without Pak help: US general By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, July 19: The United States cannot defeat Al Qaeda without Pakistan’s support, the US military chief tells a powerful Senate panel during his reconfirmation hearing. . In a written statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday afternoon, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey also emphasised the need to help Pakistan stabilise as instability in this key South Asian state would hurt the entire region. “Our strategic and national security goals remain to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and to prevent the return of safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he wrote. “This would not be possible without Pakistani support.” Explaining the need for continued US engagement with the country, Gen Dempsey said: “We also have an interest in a stable Pakistan and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology.” The general also said that the two countries were now moving towards a more focused and issue-related relationship instead of a more generalised friendship they had in the recent past. “On the security front, we have a more limited relationship than in the past, but I believe it is a pragmatic and constructive approach,” he said. Gen Dempsey, who has been re-nominated by President Barack Obama for the same post, was responding to a series of questions from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on US-Pakistan relations. In his written response, the general acknowledged that Pakistan’s cooperation on counter-terrorism had not always met US expectations. Although since 2009 Pakistan has undertaken counter-insurgency operations against extremist organisations in the northwest, including Swat, North and South Waziristan, Mohmand and Bajaur, those operations had produced “mixed results”, he said. The United States, however, had helped Pakistan carry out those operations by providing funds and other resources, he added. “Security assistance, Coalition Support Fund reimbursements and cross-border coordination with Isaf and Afghan forces have helped enable these operations,” he said. “It is in our interest that Pakistan continues this campaign as effectively and comprehensively as possible.” Gen Dempsey told the lawmakers that while recent elections had further strengthened democracy in Pakistan, the US defence establishment must maintain its ties with the Pakistani military. “Our engagements, and especially our security assistance programmes, are essential for effective military cooperation between our two countries,” he said. The US military chief informed the panel that he had engaged productively with Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani, many times in the past, and the Office of the Defence Representative in Islamabad played an important role in building and sustaining military-military ties at lower levels. “These relationships allow us to engage Pakistan in clearly defined areas of shared concern such as maintaining regional stability, curbing violent extremism, and countering the threat of improvised explosive devices,” he said. Gen Dempsey told the lawmakers that if reconfirmed he would continue “a frank and respectful dialogue” with Pakistan about “our shared interests” in countering extremism and promoting regional stability. “Security cooperation cannot succeed without the buy-in of Pakistani leadership and continued support of the US Congress,” he said. The US general warned that there would be no American troops in Afghanistan post-2014 without a signed Bilateral Security Agreement but he also said he was confident it would be signed in time.
NAB starts inquiry into huge tax exemptions By Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, July 19: A multi-billion rupee public sector scam appears to be brewing as the National Accountability Bureau has initiated a case study into the affairs of some officials of the Federal Board of Revenue to detect corruption relating to tax exemptions. . NAB estimates that the country could be suffering an annual loss of around Rs200 billion siphoned off from the tax collection system. “The preliminary report shows that more than 3,500 companies have availed tax exemptions and 188 of them have been given exemptions of more than Rs100 million annually,” an official said. “It’s only the tip of the iceberg, because as the inquiry progresses names of companies getting exemptions of even larger amounts will also start coming up.” Sources in NAB told Dawn that the next phase of the inquiry would focus on detecting links or nexus between the FBR officials and beneficiaries of tax exemptions. The exemptions have been availed in sales tax, additional sales tax, regulatory duties, income tax and federal excise duty through statuary regulatory orders (SROs). The FBR commissioners enjoy powers to grant tax exemptions to any individual or company, depending on the circumstances, through the SROs, but most of the time these powers are exercised out of merit. NAB investigators are seeking to hunt down the officials involved in issuing these fake tax exemption certificates in the Inland Revenue Services (IRS) department of the FBR. “We have noticed that a chain of importers and clearing agents act as ‘matchmakers’ between the companies and the FBR to obtain the exemptions facility,” a NAB official said. “The owners of large businesses do not come to the FBR for seeking exemptions, neither the commissioners make deals with everybody; this job is done by clearing agents, tax lawyers and other small players. They have links within the FBR office.” The people who act as brokers for large businesses ensure that the amount agreed for getting tax exemptions reaches the officials concerned. The NAB’s A&P wing has asked the FBR to submit details of the companies, organisations and institutions which have availed tax exemptions between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2012. The data will be collected from the FBR offices concerned since the exemption certificates are issued by regional tax offices and large taxpayers units. The initial NAB report shows that model customs collectorates (MCC) PaCCs and MCC appraisement worked out exemptions worth Rs36.43 billion during the first seven months of fiscal year 2012-13. The MCC PaCCs is an automated clearance system for customs agents. It cleared consignments worth Rs22.11bn. Similarly, the MCC appraisement allowed exemptions under various concessionary SROs to the tune of Rs14.32bn during that period. It is believed that some IRS officials are also involved in issuing fake exemption certificates without verifying the status of sales tax-registered persons. Some of the private and public sector companies which have been granted tax exemptions worth billions of rupees are: Airblue Limited (Rs920 million), Novartis Pharma Pakistan (Rs2.83bn) and Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd (Rs1.77bn), PIA (Rs7.18bn), Wapda (Rs1.02bn), Gul Ahmed Textile Mills (Rs164m), Artistic Garments (Rs988m), Arabia Gold Export (Rs493m), Golden Arts (Rs440m), Rogorna Arts (Rs284m) and Eastern Gold Craft (Rs410m). Interestingly, the US Embassy also availed tax exemptions of Rs220m during seven months of the last fiscal year. NAB official said there were chances many companies had genuine reasons to avail the exemptions, but the facility should not be used as a cover to conceal false cases. In January, the then finance minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh told the National Assembly that the government had granted a relief of Rs656bn in customs duty, income tax and sales taxes to the public and private sector companies over the past four years. The value-added tax law suggests that the power to grant tax exemption be transferred from the FBR to parliament to improve transparency. FBR’s spokesperson Riffat Shaheen Qazi said the power of tax exemptions had been designated to chief commissioners and commissioners of regional tax offices, and the senior management of the FBR which included members did not have any involvement in the matter.
Detailed verdict in Zaka case released ISLAMABAD, July 19: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declared the appointment of Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) illegal and also struck down four sections of the board’s new constitution. . Announcing detailed judgment in the case about appointment of the PCB chairman, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui declared that Najam Sethi was no longer the acting chairman but a caretaker chief for 90 days. In his judgment, Justice Siddiqui observed that the ministry for inter-provincial coordination should have told the IHC bench that the prime minister was considering appointing Mr Sethi as the acting chairman of the PCB. The judgment said Mr Sethi would be looking after the day-to-day affairs of the board and would not be able to make major decisions like appointing staff. Justice Siddiqui directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections for the post of PCB chairman in a transparent and credible manner.—Malik Asad
Ex-official has disowned statement, Delhi tells Islamabad By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 19: The Foreign Office said on Friday it had been informed by the Indian authorities that the official who accused New Delhi of carrying out attacks on parliament and in Mumbai had denied making the allegations. . According to reports in Indian media, a former official of the Indian home ministry submitted a declaration in the Supreme Court of India that he was told by a former member of the CBI-SIT team that the terror attacks (on parliament and in Mumbai) were staged “with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation”. The Foreign Office had asked the High Commission in Delhi to seek explanation from Indian authorities on the reported statement. At a weekly media briefing, FO spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said the Indian government had given an initial response to Pakistan’s request for clarification on the matter. “In its preliminary response, the Indian government says that the said Indian former official has denied having made that statement,” he said. A full response is awaited. Pakistan which always pursued the policy of friendly ties with India has lately intensified its efforts for normalisation of relations. “We hope that the two countries will be able to overcome the mistrust that tends to undermine cooperation. A number of CBMs are in place which need to be implemented,” Mr Chaudhry said. The backchannel diplomacy which was revived last month with the appointment of Ambassador Sheharyar Khan as Pakistan’s pointman for Track II, the spokesman believed, could help in bridging the gulf of mistrust. He said Pakistan also desired resumption of composite dialogue — a tag that was shed in 2010 when Islamabad and Delhi agreed to restart peace talks suspended after the Mumbai attacks. “All these processes can help improve bilateral relations.” Mr Chaudhry expressed concern over desecration of a copy of the holy Quran by BSF soldiers in India-held Kashmir and said it was a matter of grave concern which had hurt the feelings of Muslims throughout the world. In a separate statement, the FO condemned the death of six people in the violence which followed the desecration incident.
Editorial NEWS
Courage and clarity: Malala’s UN speech ON her 16th birthday, Malala Yousufzai made her country proud once again. The composure, poise and maturity of Malala on display at the United Nations were truly a sight to behold. Leave aside her age, the fact that she had been shot in the head less than a year ago infused the moment with a great deal of poignancy. As ever, though, Malala sought to move the subject away from herself. “Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights,” the young activist said. Malala is truly the pride of Pakistan. And yet, even as perhaps the sole beacon of hope in this country where hope and inspiration are all too difficult to find, Malala’s speech, and her mission, will perhaps not gain the kind of attention and sustained coverage it deserves.. The reason why Malala has not reached the iconic status inside Pakistan that she deserves is dis-piritingly familiar: at age 16, Malala has the kind of clarity and sense of purpose that a divided Pakistani society simply does not. And therein lies the central challenge to putting Pakistan on the road to a stable and secure future. How exactly and who exactly will provide the leadership to drag society from its state of confusion towards coalescing against some clear and coherent principles? In particular, how will Pakistan inch towards a zero-tolerance policy towards non-state actors, the very forces that tried to kill Malala and have killed many thousands of Pakistanis over the years? The answer to those questions is much murkier. The obvious candidates are the political leadership and the army high command. But it is difficult to know if they can ever truly be brought on the same page given the long and treacherous history of institutional tensions in Pakistan. Unhappily, while the urge is to suggest that they must somehow provide the leadership the country deserves, there is little historical evidence, nationally or even internationally, to suggest that will necessarily be the case. In the absence of that clarity, however, Pakistan’s drift towards extremism, militancy and terrorism and a declining state seems to be a near certainty. The only unknown there is the timeline: will it happen sooner than later or will a slow-motion downward spiral play out? The trend, though, can be checked and reversed even. Whether cataclysmic events act as the trigger or statesmanship prevails before that, the slide towards chaos is only inevitable if Pakistan and Pakistanis let it become so.
Serious allegations: MQM in the spotlight THE MQM’s activities, particularly that of the party’s chief, have been in the news recently after a British TV programme revealed various details that have emerged in the course of MQM leader Imran Farooq’s 2010 murder investigation. As reported in the BBC Two’s Newsnight programme, Altaf Hussain is being investigated after a large amount of money — around £400,000 in cash — was discovered in raids conducted by the London Metropolitan Police from two properties connected to him. While it is normal for parties to raise funds from supporters for political activities both in Pakistan and abroad, the discovery of such a large amount of cash in a foreign country is bound to raise eyebrows. Some experts are of the view that this may lead to money laundering charges, though no one has been formally charged yet and the MQM has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. However the broadcast has opened up a Pandora’s Box. Many of the points raised in the programme were already being discussed in the public domain, though perhaps in hushed tones, while other revelations were new.. It is quite possible that the funds in question were personal donations or money meant for party use. For most Pakistanis it is understandable, and perhaps even acceptable, to have such a large amount of cash without declaring it for tax purposes. But the British authorities, who follow a very strict tax regime, may not understand this practice. Therefore, the MQM and its leadership need to move very carefully in this regard. Instead of describing the investigation as a conspiracy or criticising media reports as “character assassination” of its leader, the MQM needs to cooperate with and satisfy the London police because what is important here is for the party to clear its name in the eyes of the British law enforcement authorities, not just its supporters in Pakistan. Full cooperation must also be extended in the Imran Farooq case as the MQM leadership has also said it wants the killers to be brought to justice.
Syrian dissidents’ infighting: Al Qaeda making inroads THE murder by a jihadist militia on Thursday of a powerful Free Syrian Army commander highlights the country’s drift towards anarchy. Commander Kamal Hamami belonged to the FSA’s supreme command and wanted to discuss military operations with rival leaders when an Al Qaeda-linked group shot him. The killers belonged to the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’, which later said it would kill the entire leadership of the FSA’s supreme military council. Originally confined to its country, the Islamic State of Iraq merged a few months back with extremist Syrian groups to acquire its present nomenclature. This infighting among the rebels has helped President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has gone on the offensive and gained some important military victories, including the capture of Qusayr from the rebels. His government could now concentrate on wresting Homs from the dissidents.. Even though the Syrian civil war is more than 27 months old, its character underwent a radical change over the last year, with the spirit behind the Arab Spring giving way to a sectarian conflict. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are lending political, financial and military support to extremist elements at a time when around two-thirds of Syria is not under the Assad government. This has enabled Al Qaeda to make a major effort to turn Syria into a base of operations. As a report says, even Pakistani Taliban have managed to find their way to the country and work in tandem with those having a larger Islamist agenda. This could destabilise the entire Middle East. While there is a split in the Western world over arming Syrian rebels, America and Russia should try to revive the Geneva peace conference move, now in limbo, to end the slaughter which has so far cost 100,000 lives.
New fears: TTP in Syria THE problem with a head-in-the-sand approach to fighting militancy is that the rest of the body is left exposed. For a while now the TTP has been an enemy of the Pakistani state but there is hardly a faction within that umbrella organisation that at some point over the years has not been in the good books of the army-led security establishment. But the good Taliban/bad Taliban dichotomy never made sense to begin with and as time has gone by, the contradictions have become apparent. The TTP in all its forms has always been bad news for this country’s internal stability and external relations. Just how bad has been underlined in recent days with two foreign news services reporting that the TTP has claimed to have sent men to Syria to fight alongside rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.. The Arab nexus, including links to Al Qaeda, has always been apparent in the arc of the TTP’s relatively short history. Unlike, say, the Afghan Taliban who by and large have hewed to a purely domestic agenda, ie ridding Afghanistan of foreign ‘invaders’, the TTP’s overall agenda has leaned more towards the concept of a global jihad. In the past, that has meant offering sanctuary to foreign militants who arrived in Fata for training or to escape more hostile environments in their home countries. Eventually, however, a resilient TTP was always likely to seek to contribute directly to so-called jihadist struggles outside the Pak-Afghan region. As with all things, TTP claims made by various commanders take time to be established but if the Syria claims are verified, it would mark an alarming new phase in the militant network’s existence. Syria may be an epic mess on its own, but other countries that could be potential destinations for the TTP’s battle-hardened cadre of fighters will surely be alarmed by the possibility. Pakistan is already fairly isolated in the international arena because of its inability to systematically curb the activities of non-state actors on Pakistani soil and this latest development will only add to the pressure. But it is in the domestic arena that the repercussions will be the most severe. The TTP has proved to be far more resilient than originally thought, though perhaps that is in no small part aided by the lack of a coherent strategy on the part of the state to fight militancy. If the TTP is confident enough to be sending fighters abroad, does that mean the network believes it has enough resources locally to successfully fend off the Pakistani state? That is an enormously worrying possibility.
An equal justice: First-ever female jirga IT is difficult to believe that in a country that boasts of female fighter pilots, not to mention a twice-elected female prime minister, women and girls can still be parcelled out like chattel to settle scores in tribal feuds. Yet that is so, despite the practice — usually known as swara or vani — having been declared illegal through a criminal law amendment in 2005 and again in a subsequent piece of legislation in 2011. The Supreme Court on Thursday took notice of a recent jirga in south Punjab which had decreed that three girls be handed over in marriage to settle a case of murder. Fortunately, timely intervention by the police prevented the decision from being carried out. It’s heartening to note that through a combination of legislation, judicial and civil society activism, and media reportage, the inhuman custom is reportedly on the decline.. This shows that even the most entrenched patriarchal traditions can be countered with persistence backed by institutional support. And so a group of women in Swat has decided to shake the foundations of the definitively male bastion of tribal culture — the jirga — by forming Pakistan’s first-ever female jirga. A particularly gruesome case of domestic violence, in which a 16-year-old girl died of acid burns inflicted by her husband, was the catalyst for the women to defy local convention in which public space and the right to dispense justice belong to men alone. Their objective is to counter the typically misogynistic decisions that, in the absence of the female perspective and coupled with women’s low status in society, are often handed down by the traditional jirgas. Unfortunately, weak systems of civil administration allow the anachronistic jirgas to survive in many parts of the country as a means of inexpensive and speedy ‘justice’. Although they must in time be replaced by the formal justice system, for now jirgas could certainly do with a shake-up to their male-centred approach that treats women as little more than dispensable bargaining chips.
Now, something new: Tax on old clothing FOR the cynics accusing the young government of trying a series of second-hand remedies, this is truly an ingenious move. And this time the government has begun where everyone wants it to, at the grass roots. The federal government has lent greater respectability to the merchandise by levying a five per cent tax on the import and local supply of worn clothing. This clearly betrays vision. The government has the ability to tap new areas to increase revenues. The silver lining for the people here is that a government which is aware of the deals at the stalls in the old clothes lunda bazaars might one day end up looking deeper into the lives of the always pitied low-income groups.. As usual, this five per cent tax is accompanied by statistics. The import of 354,895 metric tonnes of worn clothing worth $137,315m in 11 months must be a sign of good business, which the Federal Board of Revenue has sought to cash in on through an order with immediate effect. The figures can be used to argue that the sales are actually falling. A decline of 4.3pc was recorded between July 2012 and May 2013 just as the value of these clothes rose by 0.84pc. This indicates increase in prices. The next time someone tries on a shirt at the stall down the street, he might have to haggle with the seller just a little more. Five per cent on pieces starting at Rs50 or even below, the government must be hoping, will be bearable. But while we might not see the traders’ appeals in the papers for withdrawal of the levy, the step does unclothe a strange official mentality in a country where many of the privileged remain untaxed.
New scam? Nandipur project IT may or may not be the beginning of yet another epic scandal in the power sector but the questions being raised over the revival of the Nandipur power project already have the makings of, at the very least, an unnecessary distraction. Whether a former managing director of Pepco is a whistleblower or a partisan critic, the facts brought forward by him demand some kind of explanation. If a project that was originally slated to cost roughly $330m has now ballooned to $575m it does not automatically suggest corruption has played some role, but it does indicate that a more detailed explanation for the cost hike ought to be given. The Ministry of Water & Power’s initial clarification does not amount to a full explanation and it is correct that the prime minister himself has now requested a detailed report on the project from the Planning Commission.. Yet, the circumstances in which Mr Sharif has waded in also merit some comment, especially since the Supreme Court has already taken up the issue. Since being sworn in as prime minister, Mr Sharif has, by his own admission, focused relentlessly on the energy crisis. The government’s priorities have been two-fold: one, close the supply-demand gap as quickly as possible; two, bring down the average cost of electricity over the medium term, a task impossible in the immediate future as prices must necessarily rise to eliminate subsidies. As with most governance decisions, however, the temptation to focus on short-term benefits at the expense of long-term costs is ever present. This is where Nandipur’s 425MW, and many other projects like it, comes in. The political expediency of more electricity soon means quickly turning to new power projects as part of the solution — although it is questionable how much of the energy crisis is an overall capacity issue — and whenever there is political urgency, somewhere or the other the rules get overlooked, bypassed or deliberately ignored. The long history of cyclical crises in the power sector means there are many examples of controversy. The IPP policy of the mid-’90s was revisited by the PML-N government and led to legal complications and investor interest drying up. The previous PPP-led government also appeared to approach the energy crisis as principally about an issue of capacity; that led to the great RPP scandal. The new PML-N government has long promised to do things differently this time. Nandipur is an early test and a report in three days, as demanded by the prime minister, is not sufficient.
Railway turnaround: Chinese company’s offer THE government should seriously look into the offer by a Chinese company to help turn around the collapsing Pakistan Railways. In an interview with a Pakistani wire service, a senior official of Sinotec Song Shuangping stated that his company had a “plan to steer the decades-old railways system out of the crisis and make a profitable entity”. The plan suggests strengthening of the existing railway tracks and usage of electric locomotives to reduce the travelling time and signifi- cantly save the railway’s expenditure on running its trains. The Chinese company, which has been working on different power projects in Pakistan for the last 10 years, says the train network can later be extended up to the Gwadar port for the transportation of goods to other parts of the country. If implemented, it should reduce the country’s oil import bill, decrease the heavy traffic load on the highways, provide swifter and economical travel facility to the passengers, and, importantly, increase profitability. The president of the company met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his recent visit to China. It is hoped that the government will also explore the possibility of Chinese cooperation for the revival of the railway when a delegation of the company visits Pakistan next month.. The railway is in a deep mess and its turnaround requires a lot of money, hard work and technical expertise. The previous government had also initiated a few reforms to involve the private sector to provide better travel facilities to the passengers and steer the department out of financial crisis, but no tangible results have so far been achieved. The new government has promised to restructure PR and revive it in the shortest possible time. As a first measure, it allocated Rs30bn for the railway in the budget for this year and cut the fares to attract more passengers. But the government’s turnaround plan will take a while to yield results. Chinese cooperation can be a quicker route to the railway’s recovery.
Indefensible complacency: Prisoners’ escape from custody IT is hard to foresee an improvement in Pakistan’s woefully low conviction rate if suspects being tried in serious cases are able to flee from custody with relative ease. Two incidents last week in Karachi showed that lackadaisical security arrangements coupled with a crumbling infrastructure paves the way for dangerous men to make good their escape. On Saturday, two suspected TTP militants managed to flee from the city courts; an account of their escape would be truly comic were it not for the fact that the absconders were suspected violent extremists. The handcuffed suspects came out of an armoured personnel carrier in which they were being transported and walked out of the courts’ gate right under the nose of the policemen. It is strange the men in uniform thought nothing unusual about a pair of handcuffed individuals strolling out of the courts’ premises. Earlier in the week, three undertrial prisoners escaped from the anti-terrorism courts through a window in the washroom. The men were being tried in kidnapping and murder cases. It is a disturbing thought that hardened criminals and militants can easily break loose from custody, melt into the crowd and then resume their activities.. It is essential that stronger security measures are put in place to prevent such incidents, which have occurred on numerous occasions previously. A security plan for the city courts has been ready since 2010 but bureaucratic lethargy has prevented it from being implemented. The easy, unchecked entry and exit from the courts must be controlled; for suspects being tried in high-profile terrorism cases, a better option may be to opt for jail trials where, hopefully, better security can be ensured. Also, the authorities must look at possible collaborators within the police ranks, who may be helping dangerous suspects to escape.
Same formula: PIA’s problems A SUPPOSEDLY professional, apolitical management is in place now, but old habits die hard it seems. The formula to make PIA profitable again appears to be the same regardless of how political or non-political its management. The struggling airliner asks for a fistful of cash as an emergency bailout. It usually wants the fanciest of new aircraft to operate and a grotesquely bloated employee count is one of the items on the priority list. In addition, or perhaps linked to that last point, a political heavyweight or two in the incumbent government remembers relatives or friends employed by PIA who were treated unjustly, obviously by the previous government, and those heavyweights make it their business to right the wrongs done unto their near and dear ones. So it is that two brothers of Senator Mushahidullah Khan, the PML-N information secretary, have been retrospectively promoted in PIA and the family believes that an injustice has been righted. . In the larger scheme of things, especially for a top-heavy, massively overstaffed organisation, the promotions of the senator’s brothers may be a small affair but it does suggest that a true shift in institutional culture, both on the political side and in PIA, has not yet taken place. And surely, putting aside the PML-N’s pledges about transparency and a by-the-book approach for a minute, that cannot be a good thing for either politics or airline business. Yet, the broader issue is of PIA’s survival itself. Having asked for Rs16bn and drawn up a wish list that the government is supposed to pay for, the new management of the national carrier has been given Rs7bn. Was either the demand — for Rs16bn — or the actual bailout sum — Rs7bn — grounded in a viable plan? The demands for emergency cash infusions vary. Sometimes it is Rs20bn, at other times it is several times that for new planes; then again, it can be a smaller sum to allow the airline to keep its planes up in the air for the next few hours or days. But the basic questions are never really answered. Is PIA’s immediate problem that the average age of its fleet in service is 16 years or the fact that it has 18,800 employees for the 24 planes it operates, an employee-to-plane ratio of more than four times the global average of profitable airlines? The un-happy truth is that for all the red on PIA’s balance sheet, the airline has learned that it can milk the government endlessly.
Judicious water-sharing: Illegal diversions WHILE low inflows from upstream have been cited as a reason for reduced availability of irrigation water in Sindh, it is equally true that illegal diversions within provincial boundaries are playing a significant role in the uneven distribution of water. Well-connected individuals illegally divert canal water to irrigate their lands, leaving tail-end growers with less than their share. Highlighting this unlawful siphonage, the Indus River System Authority has found over 70 illegal water outlets connected to the Sukkur Barrage’s Northwest Canal. Not only are these outlets depriving Balochistan of its share, tail-enders in Sindh are also being affected. An Irsa team has said both the Sindh and Balochistan governments are not doing enough to prevent the illegal siphonage of water. The team has also said that the Sukkur Barrage is under threat as a delta has formed in its storage area, while some individuals are using the formation to plant crops. The delta has formed because apparently, irrigation rules were ignored. This has resulted in a reduction of the barrage’s storage capacity.. Both these instances point towards mismanagement and neglect. For this, the provincial irrigation departments particularly in Sindh where the irrigation authorities’ poor performance has repeatedly come in for flak, must be held responsible. Honest officials who try and put a stop to illegalities are either ostracised or transferred. Managing the water shortage and judiciously sharing water are major challenges before the federation, particular-ly between Sindh and Punjab and now Sindh and Balochistan. Hence if water management is ineffective within a province, it only exacerbates the overall situation. For judicious inter- and intra-provincial sharing of water, Sindh’s irrigation department needs to be overhauled to prevent water theft and system losses. The provincial chief minister has himself stressed the need to crack down on water thieves while tail-end growers in the province have for long criticised illegal diversions of water. Politicisation within this key department must end while professional and honest officials must be allowed to do their jobs, without interference from ‘influentials’.
Realism is required: Persecution in Egypt THE military-led interim government in Egypt would be making a grave mistake if it focuses on persecuting Mohammed Morsi and his supporters instead of working on a quick return to constitutional government. Since the July 3 coup, Mr Morsi has been under arrest, the assets of 14 Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been frozen, and there are reports that the public prosecutor plans to move on complaints of ‘criminal offences’ against the ex-president. This indicates the military’s preference for a non-electoral cleansing of Egyptian politics instead of a transparent poll. Mr Morsi was his country’s first democratically elected president, though there is no doubt his rule was devoid of good governance. He made many mistakes, failed to improve the economy, and decided to concentrate powers in himself. This provided enough ammunition for action to his political opponents comprising liberals and remnants of the Hosni Mubarak regime. They had every right to express their opinion and protest. But the demonstrations took a violent turn, and this gave the military a much-needed pretext to overthrow his government. . Did the demonstrations at Tahrir Square and elsewhere reflect majority sentiments? Even if they did, there was no justification for military intervention. The interim set-up is already in the soup. The Brotherhood has refused to join the cabinet, so have two other conservative parties. The Brotherhood insists it will continue its protests till the reinstatement of the Morsi government. Such a possibility is remote, and Mr Morsi’s party too should show realism. Its leadership would be unconsciously advancing the army’s cause if it prolongs its confrontation and thus enables the military to postpone the election. In the interest of Egyptian democracy, both the army-backed government and Morsi supporters should agree on a formula for democracy’s return.
The next president: Election date announced A PRESIDENTIAL election is scheduled for Aug 6 — and with it the first fully civilian-led democratic transition in decades will be complete. Perhaps the greatest testimony for stability and continuity is the relatively low-key manner in which the election has been announced and received by the public. A short walk down memory lane and the uncertainty that marked the exit of retired Gen Musharraf and the election of the president is easily recalled. Of course, there is a significant structural difference this time round: the presidency has been stripped almost entirely of any power of significance and the office has been returned to close to the status envisaged for it under the 1973 Constitution. Even after the 18th Amendment reversed many of the powers accrued to the presidency by Mr Musharraf, the office remains heavily politicised owing to its present occupant — technically, because President Asif Ali Zardari was also co-chairman of the PPP until earlier this year and de facto because he called the shots in the governing party until March.. Still, there are some creases that have yet to be ironed out when it comes to the presidency. For one, this business of by-elections rendering the electoral college — parliament and the provincial assemblies — incomplete needs to be looked into. Dozens of seats in the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly have yet to be filled because by-elections to seats either not contested on May 11 for procedural reasons or vacated by winners who opted to hold on to another seat have not yet been held. While political heavyweights undoubtedly prefer the option of being able to contest multiple National Assembly and provincial assembly seats, a more sensible approach would be to limit one candidate to one seat. For another, the tweak to the rules in 2007 ahead of Mr Musharraf’s re-election bid needs to be looked at again. Why, for example, because of an attempt to smooth the re-election process of Gen Musharraf should the clause barring certain types of individuals from contesting the election not be re-instated? In the run-up to the finalisation of the list of contenders on July 29, however, the focus will be inevitably on who will be the next president. This much is clear: the PML-N candidate will almost certainly win on Aug 8. But who will that person be? Given the overwhelmingly Punjabi roots of the present dispensation, a candidate from one of the other provinces would be a great idea. But whoever that person is, controversy and stirring up unnecessary political tensions should be avoided.
Still not accessible: YouTube ban FOR users of YouTube, the popular video-sharing website that has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012, there is little on the horizon indicating that a lifting of the ban is imminent. Efforts are being made to challenge the blackout in the judiciary, with petitions being heard in the Lahore and Peshawar high courts. The Lahore High Court is not happy with Google, which owns YouTube, for its apparent lack of willingness to attend case hearings. However, at its core this is not a purely legal issue but one of access to information. The internet is a vast expanse, with all sorts of material spread across its far reaches. Considering this, citizens cannot be denied access to important portals on the web simply due to the existence of a few offensive links. The state does not realise the importance of sites like YouTube. While it is true that such websites do host some inane and even outright offensive material (such as the anti-Islam film trailer that originally ignited the controversy), there is also far more productive content that web users are denied access to when states enforce blanket bans. This includes entertainment content, such as popular ditties and classic movie clips, as well as content of a more educational and informational nature (online lectures, tutorials, etc) along with rare archival footage.. Considering the educational and informational value of YouTube, as well as people’s right to access information, perhaps the best course for Pakistan would be to work on a mutual legal assistance treaty with the US. Through this, websites can be directed to respect the laws of other countries. Such arrangements are in place elsewhere in the world, and facilitate in filtering out objectionable content. Hence, it is hoped the courts direct the government to pursue such a treaty so that the YouTube blockade is lifted soon, and the next time deliberately provocative content is uploaded, a more intelligent approach is used to counter the move instead of blocking entire websites.
Kremlin’s anti-spy device: Typewriter revival AUTHORS and journalists the world over must have felt nostalgic over the Kremlin’s plans to re-induct the typewriter. A document produced on the typewriter, Russian apparatchiks say, is less prone to leaks in a world where cyber espionage has begun to affect relations among nations. No doubt, the typewriter had a romance all its own. Its tick-tick had a soothing effect that enabled wordsmiths to produce billions of words in the form of classics whose magic has withstood the ravages of time. For journalists, the typewriter was an intrinsic part of their being. Old-timers remember hordes of journalists boarding planes and descending on media events carrying their portable Olivetti through airports without scanners. The CEO thought it beneath his dignity to haul a portable typewriter, but today enjoys carrying his laptop and works on it aboard a plane. The Urdu-script typewriter never clicked because of the Kufi type. No wonder as late as the mid-’80s Urdu-language newspapers employed lowly paid calligraphers to do the job. . Few computer-using authors can boast a tome comparable to the classics produced on the typewriter — or works produced before the machine was invented. The Bard had no typewriter, and Tolstoy must have written War and Peace in Cyrillic in longhand. To American wit Mark Twain went the honour of being the first author to write a book on the legendary Remington typewriter. Muslim scholars wrote on paper, and then there were the masters of antiquity whose nuggets of wisdom came even before Cai Lun invented paper. Meanwhile, the typewriter had one priceless advantage: it didn’t distract one’s attention by allowing jokes sent via email from a cousin in the Cayman Islands to disturb the writer’s train of thought as he hammered away on the keys.
Inexplicable delay: Local government polls IT is sad fact that in Pakistan, elected governments have usually dillydallied on the question of holding local government elections. On the other hand, authoritarian regimes have often facilitated this essential democratic exercise. There is little to indicate this trend is changing as the judiciary seems more interested in ensuring the holding of local body polls than the provincial governments. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the provinces to submit dates by July 22 for holding LG polls, reiterating its earlier instructions that the elections should be held by September. Various problems related to service delivery in health, sanitation and other sectors have arisen due to the absence of elected local governments countrywide. If democracy is to be devolved to the third tier, it is essential that citizens elect their own local representatives.. The main problem seems to be the absence of workable legislation at the provincial level to allow the holding of LG elections and a functional, responsive system to be run under such laws thereafter. In KP the previous ANP government revived the Zia-era LG law in its last days, though the present PTI-led government reportedly wants to pass new legislation in order to introduce its own LG system. Balochistan passed an LG law in 2010 restoring the commissionerate system, but the law needs to be overhauled. Political expediency has hampered the passage of an effective LG law in Sindh as the MQM and PPP have sparred over which system is best for the province; an updated version of the Musharraf-era law, or the 1979 system. Politicking can also be seen at work in Punjab, where a new LG law is sitting in the assembly. Apparently, the N-League is wary about possible gains the PTI could make at the local level. Regardless of the fears holding back the parties from passing the requisite legislation, it must be realised that elected local governments are a constitutional requirement. If lawmakers feel the Musharraf-era legislation gave excessive powers to the third tier, they should make the necessary amendments. However, the workable elements of the previous system should not be jettisoned. Moreover, when the new systems are in place, they must be allowed to work and not overturned every time a disagreement with a political ally crops up or a new party takes the helm. This political seesawing can be disastrous for governance. Each province must decide which system it wants, pass or amend the relevant laws and set a date for polls without further procrastination.
Stumbling blocks: Investment treaty with US TALKS towards a Bilateral Investment Treaty with the United States are starting again. It is worth bearing in mind that this effort has been going on for almost a decade and that past negotiations have run aground on more than one occasion. The terms demanded by the US for the resolution of disputes are so stringent and bypass all domestic channels for arbitration so completely that this has become the main impediment in the negotiations. Unfortunately, this time there is an added disadvantage to the Pakistani position that the last government, in its closing days, had already initialled a draft of the treaty which gave some space to local dispute resolution mechanisms but still kept international arbitration as the ultimate forum for appeal. This agreement ran into criticism at home and the government was accused of ‘selling’ Pakistan’s interests abroad.. So it is a positive sign that both countries have once again agreed to resume talks on BIT. Pakistan already has bilateral investment treaties with 47 other countries, and almost all of them provide for the international arbitration of disputes. It is an unfortunate fact that many of these agreements were signed without careful vetting, and in almost all cases the initial draft was always placed on the table by the counterparty, not Pakistan. A number of expensive lawsuits have arisen as a result, burdening the state with high costs of litigation at international forums. This time it is very important that the draft be thoroughly scrutinised and that space be reserved for domestic institutions to serve as the first port of call for dispute resolution. But it is equally important that emotional tirades of ‘selling’ the country’s interests be avoided, and the need for foreign investors to have recourse to international arbitration be acknowledged. At the end, it would be a good thing for Pakistan to eventually have a BIT with the US, and finding the path to this outcome should be the first guiding principle in the talks ahead.
Fair trial or persecution? Bangladesh war crimes PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid must ask herself what exactly will be achieved by the war crimes trials, whose fairness has been questioned by Bangladesh opposition leaders and human rights’ activists. On Wednesday, a court sentenced a Jamaat-i-Islami leader to death two days after a life sentence was given to a former JI head for a slew of crimes that ranged from the torture of intellectuals to what was termed as genocide. At least five people have been killed in the latest wave of violence as Islamist activists protested against the conviction of former JI head Ghulam Azam. As the trials proceed, it has become impossible to avoid the impression that the judicial proceedings have acquired a partisan character. Those on trial also include leaders of the opposition Bangladesh National Party led by Khaleda Zia. The former prime minister has called the trials a “farce” because she believes that the ruling Awami League is using the courts to persecute the opposition.. The AL included the trials in its 2010 campaign, and there is no doubt this must have partly helped it win the polls. But reopening old wounds at a time when the country is already in the grip of severe political violence that has left scores dead doesn’t make political sense. Polarisation between the Islamists and their opponents can quickly degenerate into utter lawlessness as exemplified by the Shahbag protests that are too recent to be forgotten. The 1971 civil war and the brutalities that took place were no doubt traumatic happenings, but the AL government should try to heal the wounds and achieve internal reconciliation instead of exploiting that tragedy through a bizarre mixture of politics and law. A continuation of the trials could push Bangladesh into anarchy.
Society’s silence: Sectarian and minority killings ACCORDING to the findings of a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan body of the US government, more than 700 people have been killed in sectarian and minority attacks in Pakistan in the last 18 months. Of this number, 635 were from the Shia community. Despite having witnessed the human face of the tragedy that such attacks have left in their wake in the shape of countless deaths of and injuries to innocent citizens; the unburied bodies of small children; and then mass funerals, the hard, cold statistics still manage to shake us to the core. The loss of so many lives over a year and a half means more than one death per day — every day — for 18 months. But if there is a greater tragedy than these unrelenting attacks, particularly on the Shia community in terms of numbers, it is the indifference they have elicited from state and society. . From the military to the political parties to others such as those who profess to be our spiritual and religious leaders, there is no condemnation and no plan of action to stem this killing spree. The mainstream political parties have rarely found the courage to condemn the militant outfits by name; the military leadership can occasionally find the voice to speak out against ‘extremism’ as a whole but not specific groups; and our religio-political leadership can mobilise against drone attacks but not against the murder of innocent children in Quetta. But the fault is not the state’s alone though it has to answer for a number of sins of commission and omission. Equally at fault is the society in which these militants exist and operate. The quiet acceptance of their violent agenda is a result of the prevalence of their hate ideology in the society at large where literature targeting sectarian and minority beliefs is widely available and banners and posters expressing similar sentiments are publicly displayed. Apart from a few individuals whose voices are barely heard against the loud militant voices baying for blood, when have we ever witnessed a sustained campaign for the rights and safety of such communities? It is this silence of the rest of society that has allowed the state to remain apathetic; for the political parties to stay quiet and for the militants to continue killing. Till this silence is not replaced by a strong demand for an end to this madness, this killing spree will continue.
Atrocities continue: Violence in India-held Kashmir THE protests erupting in India-held Kashmir over the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and the manhandling of a cleric come at a time when the new political set-up in Pakistan is making serious attempts to revive diplomatic efforts to restart the peace process with India. Thursday’s shooting spree by India’s Border Security Force in Ramban district that left at least four people dead further exacerbated the situation and is a sad commentary on the occupation authorities’ heavy-handed approach to the tense situation in the Valley. The BSF version that the Indian forces opened fire to disperse a crowd approaching an arms and ammunition base was countered by an imam who said the security personnel had come looking for militants. Irrespective of what led to the shooting, one thing is clear: the incident has added fuel to the simmering unrest in the Valley. All major towns in India-held Kashmir are now under curfew as angry Kashmiris have called for a three-day strike. India’s home minister called the protesters’ killing “saddening” and has ordered an inquiry, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah remarked that the BSF’s conduct was “unacceptable”. This ritualistic condemnation for record’s sake doesn’t cut much ice. Indian security forces are known to operate with impunity in Kashmir. What is needed in this case is an honest probe into the shooting to establish guilt and punish the perpetrators. . It is about time that New Delhi realised that Kashmir is still at the core of India-Pakistan relations, and that the passage of time has not served to lessen the importance of the issue. A lasting peace between the two countries is hardly possible without a solution that is acceptable to the two countries and, above all, to the people of Kashmir, and that’s where India has shown a regrettable lack of foresight. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might have conveyed to British Foreign Secretary William Hague his keenness to normalise relations with India, but incidents such as these will not help the peace process.
Shows of charity: Help during Ramazan RAMAZAN has changed over the years. Displays of opulence mixed with piety were always there but it seems that Pakistanis today have that much more to spend and showcase. During the holy month, charity queues in the streets are a regular sight. Little attention is paid to the merits of keeping it low key; the giving of charity generates much ceremony instead of taking the form of quiet help dictated by one’s conscience and religious obligations. Chaos in these charity lines is routine, sometimes with consequences as dire as death and injury.. There is no respite from loud expressions of wealth and piety, and it was inevitable that the media which loves passionate scenes has entered the contest to claim its share of spoils generated by this type of Ramazan activity. The television channels in particular appear to relish the melodramatic value of highlighting misery and causing pangs of guilt among the viewers. Ultimately, the appeal for aid to families and individuals in distress does not translate into the desired level of relief, for reportedly, only a small percentage of the money pledged in response to televised appeals materialises. But the channels have little to complain about. They can have the satisfaction of appearing as do-gooders and also do good business to cover the worldly side of things. Indeed they can be content they have sufficiently shaken the more privileged sections into remembering their duties towards fellow human beings or fellow countrymen or fellow Muslims, whatever sells best at the moment. It is a simple formula: fight misery by making the audience feel miserable — permissible in the absence of an ethics code to govern matters of charity. A code could restore some dignity to life in this country during and after Ramazan.
Columns and Articles
Developing a strategy By Muhammad Amir Rana THE problem and its causes are very well known. What is missing is the political will, the drive and the confidence as well as institutional coordination.. It is expected that the likely exercise of a debate on the emerging security policy of Pakistan will lead to the development of some sort of consensus among the country’s political leadership. However, there are slim chances of there being useful and creative additions to what the new government has suggested so far. According to media reports the proposed strategy would have five elements — dismantle, contain, prevent, educate and reintegrate. These five elements cover all the aspects pertaining to the strategic, the political, rehabilitation, reintegration and countering extremism. There is nothing new in the strategy as most of its parts have been taken from counterterrorism approaches being practised in different regions of the world. Without going into the details of whether the new strategy entails a well-thought-out process or is simply an exercise in ‘copy and paste’, one should bear in mind that Pakistan needs to start from somewhere, from some point. The flaws and gaps in the five-fold strategy will eventually be exposed and then repaired during the implementation phase. As far as the will of the state is concerned, there is nothing more important at present than for it to go for urgent action with a view to reducing the risk of violence and militancy. The major challenges are those related to removing ambiguities, which still persist at the policy level and that hinder the development of accurate perceptions of the threat level, and a demonstration of the state’s will to tread on the path it chooses. The ambiguities can be removed through applying a proper framework. At present, Pakistan has in place a security framework that is strategically oriented. What has or has not been achieved through employing this framework is a separate question, but one thing is clear — it has intensified internal threats. There was always a need to review this strategy and add nationalist and political attributes to it. It seems that the PML-N government is planning a different approach. Economic recovery apparently seems to be a new component of the framework to achieve security. Focusing on religious militancy in Pakistan, an effective approach to countering terrorism cannot function properly until the threat perception is made clear. This is a critical issue, which deals with threat perceptions of the security apparatus in Pakistan, and prevents the formulation of an effective response to security threats. A clear approach based on the distinction between the challenges of a tribal insurgency and the pervasive terrorism in the country is required. Foreign militants, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups in Pakistan may have a nexus, but their operational strategies are different. Countermeasures at the security, political and ideological levels need to factor in those differences and respond accordingly. Understanding the nature of the challenge in each context is always important. In this backdrop, understanding the structural complexities of the militant groups can help evolve better counter-strategies. Complex organisational militant structures and nexuses are another major challenge. The nature and agendas of militant groups in Pakistan in recent years have been anything but stagnant. Militant groups have faced internal fissures, external pressures and have kept changing their strategies and nexuses. The groups involved in terrorist activities across Pakistan are largely splinters of banned militant organisations, in addition to a few groups that have emerged recently. The security challenges in the tribal areas and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are inherently different from those in Punjab and urban Sindh. The tribal areas are in the throes of an extremist militancy which has a local and regional context and the militants have resorted to violent acts of terrorism as a tactic against the security forces. In mainland Pakistan, however, terrorism has its roots in ideological, political and sectarian narratives developed by the religious parties, militant groups and, at times, by the state itself. The disparate nature of threats calls for an equally diverse approach to countering them. Comprehension of the ideological and tactical evolution of militant groups in Pakistan must be the first step towards evolving a comprehensive policy on militancy. To develop an accurate threat perception, the local context and experience must be prioritised. Although considerable literature is available on militant groups in the West, most of it is based on secondary sources and is full of factual inaccuracies. An analysis based on faulty data obviously cannot lead to accurate threat assessments. Furthermore, Pakistani militant groups have kept changing their strategies and tactics according to the circumstances and countermeasures that they have faced. The available data is old and few attempts have been made to update it with a view to understanding the patterns of evolution of militant outfits. The demonstration of the state’s will to show that it is committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism is essential, not only to win the confidence of the public but to ensure the effectiveness of its policies as well. It is equally important to develop transparency and monitoring mechanisms. How can a state demonstrate its will? No doubt the action taken is a measure of political will, but in countering terrorism, what is needed is a coordinated response involving different institutions. In the Pakistani context, it can be demonstrated through a series of open trials of militants in court. These trials would not only help to identify the ‘foreign hand’ in terrorism in Pakistan, they would also go some way in improving the public’s and media’s understanding of the issue. Open trials will help improve investigation, prosecution and other judicial procedures. Most importantly, it will make it easier to evolve a national consensus on the issue. The writer is a political analyst.
Cancer care: disturbing facts By Faisal Bari OVER the last few months, my wife and two dear friends, all in their forties, passed away due to cancer. . Five more friends have either had an episode of cancer or are still battling it. I know of many more, beyond my circle of friends and relatives, who are also suffering from one form of cancer or another. Are cancer rates going up in Pakistan? Unless I have a pool of very high-risk relatives, friends and acquaintances, it does seem that cancer rates are rising and quite significantly. Conversations with some oncologists suggest the same, though there are others who believe that rates have not changed. Since we are better able to detect and diagnose, we are recognising the problem more. Even if this is the case, and the numbers have been significant all along, it should be a matter of concern. But cancer rates have gone up a lot in many countries. So, it would not be surprising if they have increased in Pakistan too. But all this is based on anecdotal, experiential and/ or small-number data evidence. Pakistan does not have a national registry of cancer patients so we do not know the exact number of cancer patients in the country. To the best of my knowledge, we do not have relative baselines and numbers recorded over time either, so it is very hard to know precisely if the figures are changing. Given the impression of significant increase in rates, it is worth investigating the issue and start collecting national level data. All my friends, relatives and acquaintances who have had to negotiate the world of doctors, specialists and hospitals in Pakistan, due to cancer, have had horror stories to narrate. There are no standard operating procedures and protocols for dealing with patients and medicine regimens; diagnostics seem not to be state-of-the-art even at the best, most well-known places; patients have to run from pillar to post to find experts; and no hospital seems to have a team in place to coordinate treatment decisions and options and present a consolidated plan of action to the patient. The diagnosis of cancer is stressful enough. Every person and family facing cancer issues that I know of has faced higher levels of stress due to problems in finding the right doctors, getting the diagnostics done and finding out about the right treatment options. A colleague was treated for cancer for a couple of years by one of the leading hospitals that we have but after that period, his doctors told him that they had gotten the initial diagnosis wrong and had been treating him for the wrong cancer. The other cancer had, by then, become considerably advanced and was no longer treatable. Another friend went to a second oncologist for confirmation of the initial diagnosis. He got a very different opinion from the second doctor. And the third doctor gave an opinion that was totally different from the first two. The two leading hospitals of the country gave, on similar tests, totally different opinions on the kind of cancer that a colleague had. Since the treatment for each is also very different, it presented a rather difficult problem. Deciding on the kind of treatment is not something that can or should be accomplished by tossing a coin. In at least two cases I know of, doctors either failed to look at alternative explanations of the symptoms and/or ignored what their own colleagues were saying. In both cases the patient passed away before the oversight, negligence and/or stubbornness could be rectified. Cancer is a hard disease to manage, even with the best of facilities and the best of help. Cancer cells can spread to other parts in the body; a primary cancer can lead to secondary ones. Cancer cells can hide very well, and become drug resistant quickly. To deal with a cell that is so smart and agile, medical protocols have to be agile too. This is where there are major lacunae in systems in Pakistan. There are few oncologists in the country and too few specialised cancer wings/hospitals. Different cancers require very specialised knowledge and most of our oncologists tend to be jack of all cancers. Diagnostic facilities are not up to the mark. I do not know of any patient who did not go to at least two or three laboratories/hospitals to get tests done and redone. Can cancer hospitals in the country, or oncologists working in the country, get together to form collectivities that allow national registries to be established, diagnostics to be standardised, protocols to be set up for treating at least mainstream cancers and referral systems to be developed so that patients can find the relevant experts quickly? Can cancer hospitals and oncologists get connected with hospitals and doctors abroad so they are able to access research and the latest clinical practices that are being developed outside the country? Cancer research is a fast-moving field where new drugs and new protocols get developed all the time. Since most cancers tend to grow quickly, it is important to develop ways of getting the advanced knowledge to Pakistan as quickly as possible. If all of this is too much to ask for from administrations at cancer hospitals and oncologists, as they might not have the time and/or the incentive to work on sharing and protocol development initiatives, maybe the government should step in and form committees or commissions that can facilitate the development of these elements of public welfare. It is probably too much to ask at this stage for cancer patients and families to start organising themselves for public action. The writer is senior adviser, Pakistan, at Open Society Foundations, associate professor of economics, LUMS, and a visiting fellow at IDEAS, Lahore.
Belling the cat By Cyril Almeida FORGET for whom the bell tolls. We already know: for all of us. More pertinent: who will bell the cat?. Pasha’s testimony before the OBL commission has simplified matters. The army cannot, will not, submit to civilian supremacy. The civilians are corrupt, incompetent, unpatriotic and dumb. The army is well intentioned and, more to the point, knows what’s best, for all of us. So now what? Conferences, summits, consultations, moots, strategy, tactics, operational expediencies — it’s all a waste of time, really. Who, in God’s name, will bell the cat? Nawaz has been cautious. He knows it’s down to him, but he’s not ready to pull the trigger yet. So the boys have had it all their way so far. They want to own Afghanistan? Let them. They want to pound Tirah? Go ahead. They want to chuck foreign journos out? So be it. They want to wield a soft veto on India? Whatever. They’re OK with drones, but want others to hate them? Sure. For now. The problem is, the longer Nawaz waits, the more he becomes hostage to circumstances. The OBL report leak helped make that point. Maybe — probably — someone sold it for a tidy sum. But will they, the boys, ever really believe that? With your conspiracy hat on, the possibilities are obvious: either the PML-N did it to embarrass the boys or the PPP threw an early curveball. Plumb the depths of conspiracy and the missing page suggests another possibility: some of the boys did it themselves, perhaps to head off the possibility of yet another term for Gen K. It doesn’t matter what’s real and what isn’t: as Pasha so arrogantly demonstrated, a belief is a belief is a belief, the facts be damned. The problem, then, for Nawaz is that in waiting for the right window of opportunity, many other, wrong windows can, and probably will, open first. What, for example, are the risks of waiting until Nov, when a new chief could mean, in Nawaz’s mind, a new opportunity to reset ties? June to Nov is, after all, just a few months of a five-year term; why hurry? Because stuff, events, tends to happen here. Like the OBL report leak. Before you know it, you’re in fire-fighting mode and the great strategic things you may have wanted to work on become more and more elusive. Wait till Nov on India, for example, and it means the Indians will be about to plunge into their election campaign. But there has been some movement this week and it looks like Nawaz has zeroed in on two goals: intel sharing and police reforms. The first goes to the heart of the civ-mil imbalance. The second is the Trojan horse or analgesic, depending on your point of view, necessary to get the first job done. Again, Pasha’s testimony helps illustrate the point. From para 469: “With regard to sharing information with the police, the concern was one of the need for confidentiality. There were too many instances where information shared with the police had been compromised. Accordingly, the ISI preferred to act alone. It was important that the Internal Security and Counter Terrorism Wings of the ISI be granted powers of arrest. Similarly the Police needed to be restructured and made a professional force based on merit.” The only point that matters is “the ISI preferred to act alone”. It’s the only point that matters because Pasha — and let’s not pretend his are the views of an individual — tells us what he ultimately wants: more power for his agency. But, because the boys are smart, they don’t say it directly. That would be bad form. Instead, they blame the alternative for not being up to scratch. The police is corrupt, incompetent and politicised, as are the civilian intel agencies, Pasha tell us. Since we can’t wait to have an honest, competent and depoliticised police and civilian intel apparatus — can’t wait because the threat from terrorism is clear and present — the ISI should formally be given the powers it has arrogated to itself anyway, Pasha explains. Clever, isn’t it? Nawaz’s one-two is meant to corner the clever ones. Boys, the PM is saying, this business of intel sharing and coordination has to be figured out. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. And I understand your concerns about the other folk not being up to scratch, so I’m going to work on that, too. Intel coordination made possible by the Trojan Horse/analgesic of police and civilian intel reforms. Can it work? Possibly. But it depends, ultimately, on how much resistance the army will put up. And how much resistance is put up depends on how the army ultimately sees its role inside Pakistan, which takes us back to the civ-mil imbalance and the question of, who will bell the cat? Or perhaps, will the cat allow itself to be belled? For the ISI’s predominance in the intel arena is the very tool through which the lopsided civilian-military balance is engineered. Take that away and you’re in an entirely different world of relations between institutions. There is a possibility the army may relent. A core national interest — domestic stability — is under threat in a way that the army alone cannot fix. So circumstances may force the army to reconsider its prerogatives in the greater national interest, or even just institutional survival — the army itself being a direct and systematic target of militancy, terrorism and extremism. But it is only a possibility. Pasha’s contempt for civilians could be where the matter actually rests. And if that’s the case, who in God’s name will bell that cat? Godspeed, Nawaz. The writer is a member of staff. cyril.a@gmail.com Twitter: @cyalm
The twilight years By Hajrah Mumtaz LAST week, I wrote about the difficulties faced by unknown numbers of senior citizens in the country because of a tightening economic climate that makes them work past retirement or because their children have relocated to climes more conducive to prosperity.. Several people wrote in response, saying that this was a tragedy. Many pointed out that it was ironic that the West, for all the godlessness for which people in Pakistan tend to criticise it, had found a workable solution; meanwhile we, who pride ourselves on being part of a society respectful of age, are increasingly leaving our seniors to fend for themselves as best as they can. And, in urban Pakistan, within a limited social strata, lifestyles are changing along the pattern seen in the West a couple of generations ago, with families moving towards the nuclear model and individualism slowly taking root. Other societal shifts, such as migration within or beyond borders — so that families break up as people move away — also contribute to the need for the state to intervene and set up safety nets for the aged. But several Western countries have for many years been facing a different sort of age-related problem, that of an aging population compounded by falling birth rates. Due to a range of factors, a growing number of people in North America and Europe are deciding not to have any children, or not have enough of them. This is attributed to several different factors depending on the academic prism through which an analyst views them. It has been pointed out, for instance, that the development of a welfare state model such as that which exists in several Scandinavian countries means that people no longer have to look to their children to look after them in old age, since the state will do it; therefore, some of the impetus behind starting a family has been undermined. Similarly, it can be argued that professional ambitions or economic realities may lead many to decide against parenthood. Raising a family is expensive, and being a working parent is an unenviable task. (Although there is also a trend evident, particularly in affluent sections of Americans, of professional women choosing to give up their careers to become stay-at-home mothers.) Whatever the reasons, the end result is the same: states realising in dismay that as they have more and more people crossing over into retirement, they have falling rates of young people entering the workforce, resulting amongst other things in a shrinking number of workers subsidising the needs of a growing number of retirees. The latter, thanks to advanced medicine and medical care, have every expectation of living far beyond 65 years. In many ways, this has led to positive results. Countries have responded by providing incentives for starting a family, including, variously, subsidised childcare, added maternity benefits, equal paternity leave and so on. As a result of lobbying by parents’ groups, a few workplaces are trying to make the work day more flexible and normalise home offices so that childcare and work routines are made more compatible, to mutual benefit. These are all praiseworthy initiatives, even though the cynic might point out that they’re motivated by base economic concerns. While they may go some way towards addressing the falling birth rates’ issue, they’re also valuable for the cause of gender equality and equal opportunities. The aged of different countries face unique challenges. South Korea, for example, is now a vibrant, youth-oriented society leaning heavily towards capitalism and individualism. But welfare spending constitutes a relatively new and small part of government spending; national health insurance was introduced in 1977 and welfare as a system was set up mainly during the 1990s. What this means, then, is that while people can today look towards their retirement with equanimity, the oldest sections of the population — who might have retired before the welfare system was instituted or worked in fields/companies that had not yet set up benefits such as provident funds — do not. The generation in its 80s now is, ironically, the one that pulled the country up by its bootstraps after the war and envisioned the welfare system; but it depended on its children for support in its own old age. This generation, now, is amongst the poorest sections of the population, given the changing social system in which increasingly children do not fend for aged parents as they traditionally did — even though the East, like the subcontinent, venerates age. How bad can things be? Unwilling to bring shame to their families by committing suicide, many old people in South Korea try to starve themselves to death. Meanwhile, earlier this month, China passed the Elderly Rights Law — widely criticised by tens of thousands of web users — ordering adults to visit their elderly parents or face fines or jail. While the implementation of the law may be difficult (it does not set out a visiting schedule, for example), it does reveal the scale of the loneliness of many. In many ways, Pakistan can be seen as having much more pressing problems than loneliness or children who don’t fulfil their filial duties. Yet, perhaps not. The prosperity of a state depends, as a one-point root, on its citizens’ belief in it and loyalty to it. It depends on citizens having a stake in the system. To the young, this country offers a future of slim economic and security pickings, alienating many and leading to brain drain. To the old, it offers neither comfort nor care. Who, then, can be said to have a stake in the system? The obvious answer is: those that have no choice. The writer is a member of staff. hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com
From Gwadar to Kashgar By Moazzam Husain TWO and a half hours flying time from Islamabad lies Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region. A further 320 kilometres beyond Urumqi’s airport is the Eurasian continental pole of inaccessibility, the world’s most landlocked spot. . From that vantage point the shoreline of Gwadar must appear as does land to a ship in mid-voyage through a great ocean. And while a Gwadar to Kashgar corridor may not pretend to be the most viable route to China’s eastern seaboard, where most of the population lives, Xinjiang itself is a sprawling landmass, home to 22 million people, and a $104 billion economy. It is a rich oil-producing region whose growth rate in the recent decade has outstripped the rest of China but the benefits of this growth have been lopsided. It still lags behind the rest of the country and the government in Beijing is keen to bring development to the region and also address the Uighur unrest. One such significant initiative is the Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone that has attracted sizeable Chinese and foreign investment in projects that include manufacturing of wind power turbines, iron and steel, oil and gas drilling equipment as well as food and beverage and consumer products manufacturing. Xinjiang region is adjacent to the Central Asian countries with which China has become the largest trading partner, ahead of even Russia. A large part of this is overland trade. Accordingly, for the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) the Horgos Free Trade Zone on the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border might be worth looking into. As the largest land port in Western China this can serve as a springboard for Pakistani goods into the Central Asian region. This would circumvent Afghanistan where perpetual war (and warlordism) has blocked our access to the Central Asian region. Meanwhile TDAP’s counterpart, the Xinjiang region’s bureau responsible for export and trade promotion, is making efforts to attract industry that can produce goods for Central Asia’s future requirements for chemicals, farm products, capital goods, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy equipment. Similarly, it plans to develop Kashgar, bordering our Gilgit-Baltistan into a regional logistics centre. Apart from cheap land, the planned fiscal incentives include tax exemptions, subsidised electricity and transport and low interest loans. Ultimately the Chinese vision is to bring Kashgar and Horgos at par with coastal boomtowns like Shenzhen and Xiamen. Of course, the Chinese endeavour is to stimulate the production of goods in this region and then to get these goods out via land routes to neighbouring countries and via Gwadar to West bound destinations — towards Africa and Europe. Apart from finished goods this would also spur a regional trade in raw materials and intermediate goods and once again TDAP may be able to probe deeper into the potential emerging opportunities for Pakistani industrial produce here. If one is to benefit from these developments then one has to go further afield than becoming a conduit to other people’s cargo. Just naming a 2,000km stretch of road an ‘economic corridor’ does not make it one. In any event the term has become a deflated buzzword after the ‘national trade corridor’ of the Musharraf government which could not come to life. Let’s also not forget that for 12 years, Pakistan was a conduit for Nato containers with little economic benefit accruing from that activity, other than transit fee. For example, even bottled water supplies for the troops of the International Security Assistance Force were procured from Dubai. We have to look beyond exporting our traditional finished goods, and towards integrating Pakistani manufacturing enterprises with regional production networks. In the heyday of the US automobile industry for example, General Motors would outsource the manufacture of many parts to vendors in Canada even if the final assembly was done in Detroit. With some deeper probing, our Ministry of Industries and affiliated agencies such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority may be able to identify areas in agro processing, farm implements and textile and leather processing for instance where our value chains can be integrated with Chinese production networks in the Xinjiang region. If on the other side, the same can be done with South Asian regional trade, then Pakistan emerges as the biggest beneficiary from the network effect that gets created. There have been concerns in Pakistan about the Iranian port of Chahbahar, located on the same shoreline 70km from Gwadar and that India will use it to access Afghanistan and Central Asia. While I am unable to digress and address the India-in-Afghanistan paranoia, I do not view the two ports as a zero-sum game. On the contrary I would suggest connecting both these ports with a 70km rail line so they could become alternate nodes in the same transport system. Gwadar and Chahbahar though adjacent, point in different directions — one is oriented northeastwards towards China and eastern Afghanistan while the other is oriented towards western Afghanistan and the Caspian region. The proposed interlinking would allow each country to access the other. In addition, there are economies of scale and complementarities from which both benefit. One of these could be Iran locating petrochemical facilities between the two ports. One has to look no further than the United Arab Emirates and find a number of seaports (and airports) close to each other and the entire region prospering as a highly efficient logistics and transport hub. For its part, Pakistan must do its bit to allay Chinese concerns with opening the border and implications for the Uighurs’ religiously-inspired militant separatist movement. In recent years, Pakistani sectarian groups have made inroads into the Gilgit-Baltistan region. These have to be put out of business and the area has to be cleansed because Pakistan’s jihadis providing any stimulus or sanctuary to the Uighurs could become a show stopper. The writer is a business strategist and entrepreneur. moazzamhusain.com
Comprehension challenge By M. Zaidi AS terrorism becomes a major challenge for the new government, so does the comprehension of the phenomenon. . The major strategic orientation for Pakistan has been the global war on terrorism, which many Pakistanis perceive as being forced on the country in the aftermath of 9/11. Former president Pervez Musharraf is widely seen to have colluded with the US in joining the “war on terror” in an attempt to give legitimacy to his undemocratic regime, by propping it up with American help. What began as tribal uprisings in Fata soon escalated into full-blown insurgencies in Swat and North and South Waziristan. We saw the rise to notoriety of entities such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), now a household name. Even more worryingly, extremism and radicalisation has been on the rise in Pakistan at an exponential level. These are widely diffused but sufficiently ambiguous in Pakistan inasmuch as they are not identifiable as the enemy per se. Conservative values are respected in Pakistani society. But a number of reports in the Western media about ‘extremism’ and ‘fundamentalism’, and the perception of the Pakistani public as a monolithic entity when it comes to having a conservative mindset have not helped. Most Pakistanis continue to live an existence that features a mix of progressiveness, conservatism and traditional religious values. Such a society is not easily understood by the West. Since the factors which give rise to the ‘spawning’ of militant groups are not properly understood by the Pakistani public and policymakers alike, it is not surprising that they continue to remain ambiguous for the world at large. The problem is compounded by the fact that even identifiable militant entities in Pakistan have morphed into fluid command and control structures that do not show up on the security radar clearly. Al Qaeda particularly remains elusive partly because of its propensity to rapidly alter its command and control structures in response to changing circumstances. The difficulty in substantiating linkages is that the organisation has become decentralised in Pakistan by integrating itself into jihadist movements. Even Osama bin Laden’s death may not reveal much more about the changing structure of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, since it probably exists in a networked structure composed of small ‘cells’ found in jihadist organisations such as the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), as well as in ‘clusters’ of these cells under the larger Taliban umbrella organisation. Many militant entities have also transformed into more ambiguously demarcated organisations, such as the LJ which has expanded its ambit of sectarian terrorism significantly over the last few years. What was previously a hit-and-run entity seems to have become more organised, but one’s not sure on what pattern. Even more confusingly, the TTP, the biggest enemy of the state, is not a monolithic entity but a constantly morphing conglomerate of loosely held ‘militant franchises’. These could be formed from anything, from a few militants to organised bands of thousands. Thus, even at a superficial level, such fluid structures are difficult for the state to understand. Whatever the rationale and causes, a state of national security uncertainty is always dangerous, and finding the balance continues to be one of the biggest challenges for national security in this century. A major problem is that if we are unsure about the intent of our opponent, we will not be adequately prepared to meet the challenges presented by our opponents’ goals, interests, and capabilities. For instance, if we are able to define a certain quantum of activity as insurgency, we will need to prepare more intensively for a counterinsurgency campaign, and vice versa. This also pertains to the topic of negotiations with the TTP which is now a major policy issue for the government especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It does not seem that the militants in this country are amenable to talks — the political side of the counterinsurgency (COIN) theory — and have in fact used the negotiating table as a means to interrupt operations under way at the time. The state initially tried to reason with the militants as a logical enemy, but has not gained any useful advantage. In all operations before the definitive Rah-i-Haq and Rah-i-Nijat, the Pakistani government’s counterinsurgency policy was consistently skewed towards negotiating with one warlord or the other. Ineffective military operations overly emphasised destroying infrastructure and captured few important militants. They were followed by negotiations, which were then usually succeeded by a ceasefire. The intermittent ceasefires were violated at whim by the warlords to either strengthen their own positions or violate terms of peace agreements by capturing security personnel and imposing their radical ‘laws’ on the local populace. At one time or the other, negotiations were attempted with Baitullah Mehsud, Faqir Mohammad, Fazlullah, Sufi Mohammad, and many medium- to top-level militant commanders, with none giving the desired results. However, by mid-2009, military operations became much more intense, and military doctrines of engaging the enemy head on seemed to have been more successful in terms of displacing militancy from areas such as Swat and even South Waziristan. Thus, the army operations may continue to evolve but the learning curve is slow. Trend lines now show that the Pakistani military is much more successful in tackling the militants head on. However, the trick will be the political follow-on to the military’s actions in these matters. Of course, the state may get to learn about these enemies gradually, but the learning curve has been and may continue to be painful till such time ambiguity about the enemy persists. This remains a major challenge. The writer is a security analyst.
On the origins of misogyny By Sultan Mehmood WE have a problem. A very complex problem. Half of our population does not participate in the economy, and henceforth are severely discriminated against. The women of Pakistan are missing. . To mitigate, and perhaps one day eliminate the wanton discrimination against women, the natural first step is to understand the genesis of discriminatory attitudes towards women. In this article, I will provide you with an explanation why there is great variation in attitudes towards the appropriate role of women in different societies. According to the World Values Survey, described as a “global research project that explores people’s values and beliefs”, 79pc of Pakistan opines that men are more entitled to have a job than women. A similar picture emerges when we look at more objective measures of female discrimination. For example, Pakistan has one of the lowest female labour force participation, firm ownership and literacy in the world. For far too long we have been ignorant and misdiagnosing the whole problem of discrimination against women in Pakistan. The hitherto ‘solution’ proposed by our government is the vague promise of greater education for women. On the other hand, the ‘cultural critics’ point towards some cut-off year that launched the Pakistani society into a cultural regress. These explanations, or more appropriately speculations, probably do play a role but these are, nonetheless, simplistic explanations to the ubiquitous and complex problem of discrimination against women, which of course is not idiosyncratic to Pakistan. There are larger natural forces at work. Let us understand them. In 1970 Ester Boserup put forward a radical explanation on the origins of gender discrimination. She hypothesised that differences in gender roles in different societies have their origins in the form of farming traditionally practised in the pre-industrial period. She identified important differences in “shifting and plough cultivation”  practices. Shifting cultivation is labour intensive and requires hand-held tools such as a hoe and digging stick. On the contrary, plough agriculture is capital intensive using the plough to prepare the soil. Unlike the hoe or digging stick, operating the plough requires significant upper body strength, grip strength and “bursts of power” which are needed either to manipulate the plough or control the animal that pulls it. Hence, Boserup postulated that when plough agriculture is practised, men have an advantage in farming relative to women. She theorised that the belief that the home (read chaar-diwari) is the “natural” place for women evolved from the type of farming practice in place. And even when societies move out of agriculture, these beliefs, internalised by society, persist. In a recent paper published in May 2013, Alberto Alesina and colleagues at Harvard University effectively vindicated this long-held Boserup hypothesis. Using data from 177 countries, they found overwhelming evidence in favour of Boserup’s hypothesis. They documented that countries that employed the plough displayed greater misogynistic tendencies and lower female firm ownership, labour force and political participation, relative to the countries that were pursuing shifting cultivation. They found identical evidence at district, ethnicity and individual level. Moreover, as the type of agricultural practice pursued was heavily dependent on the climate and location, it could not be possible for more discriminatory societies to “adopt” plough use. Hence, the direction of causality was immutably from plough use to discrimination. They tested their conclusions against a whole battery of sensitivity analysis but the large effect of plough use on gender roles and attitudes remains. In an earlier article, I had argued for the institutional roots of poverty. It is of course possible that historical plough use promoted institutions, policies and markets that are less conducive to participation of women outside the domestic sphere. To address this concern, Alesina and colleagues employ an ingenious technique. They employ data of immigrants born and raised in the US and Europe. They exploit the fact that cultural norms and attitudes unlike institutions are internal to the individual ie when individuals move, their cultural values largely stay with them, while their external environment is left behind. Utilising a large data set of immigrants born and raised in US and Europe, they document that if the women’s parents are from a “traditional plough use” country, their participation in the labour force is much lower and they display the same less equal gender norms and attitudes relative to societies that practised shifting agriculture. Of course, there are other forces influencing female discrimination: the discrimination at the workplace, discrimination within the family, and the subtle effect of women marrying older and henceforth higher-income spouses that provides an intrinsic incentive for women to work less or not at all, to maximise family income. All these effects are carefully and painstakingly taken into account by Alesina and his colleagues but the conclusion that plough use accounts for 35-50pc of all variation in discriminatory attitudes and objective measures of female discrimination remains unchanged. Ergo, cultural historicism plays a large role in the varied discriminatory attitudes towards women across countries, ethnicities and individuals. Pakistan needs more intense introspection at a societal level to reform our attitudes towards the appropriate role of women in society. This of course is not enough. The government needs to step in to dislodge our long engrained “plough mentality”. Given the magnitude of these cultural effects, there is a need for deliberation on laws that provide special incentives and subsidies to parents to send their female children to school and then out into the labour force. The view that women belong at home is perpetuated from generation to generation and has its origins in plough cultivation that led men to work in the field and women to stay at home. Hence, there is nothing “natural” about women working in the home. It is mere historicism, an accident that needs to be undone. The writer is an advisor to the Dutch government on macroeconomic policy. Twitter: @mrsultan713
Not much substance By Zahid Hussain LEAVING aside the controversy of whether it is just a draft or the final version, the leaked Abbottabad Commission report reveals nothing that was not known before. . It fails to answer the critical question of how the world’s most wanted militant managed to stay undetected in Pakistan for so long. The focus of this report is mainly on the US military action and the security agencies’ failure to prevent the ‘humiliation’ caused by the intrusion. More authentic and detailed accounts are available in foreign news literature and one does not need to read the report to find out what happened during the May 2 raid and how Osama bin Laden was killed. There is also nothing new about the “gross incompetence of our intelligence agencies”, that allowed the CIA to build a clandestine network in the country. Ironically, the Commission failed to examine the most vital component of its terms of reference related to Bin Laden’s support network that helped him stay in the country for eight long years. The report is an indictment of the security agencies for failing to detect Bin Laden’s compound in a high-security zone and a scathing condemnation of the unilateral US action violating Pakistan’s sovereignty. Indeed, the unilateral US action is condemnable and could not be justified on any pretext, but it should not be used to cover up our own failure that allowed Bin Laden a safe sanctuary in the country. The report rightly observed that May 2 was the blackest day for Pakistan. This applies to not only the US military raid, but also to the humiliation of being caught hosting the world’s most wanted militant. Yet, the latter fact seemed to have been buried under strong rhetoric and clichés about national sovereignty. Predictably, the report has ruled out complicity of any state institution in harbouring the Al Qaeda leader. Certainly there is no evidence of that. But then who provided Bin Laden protection and logistic support? It could not have been possible for a fugitive with a $25 million bounty on his head to cross into Pakistan and safely shelter without a strong support base within the country. During the time he hid in Pakistan, Bin Laden and his family travelled to many places. He is said to have stayed in Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat and Haripur before settling in Abbottabad. His wives and children also lived in Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar. For all that, they must have had the support of a dedicated and ideologically committed group looking after the logistics as well as their security. It is also clear that Bin Laden continued to guide Al Qaeda activities while cloistered in his house inside the high-security garrison area. The report summed up the question about the network in just one paragraph and that too in terms of probability: “It was probably quite small and largely, if not exclusively, Al Qaeda and its associates. It probably had a wider group of less dedicated and less regular support from sympathetic Pakistani jihadi groups and individuals.” Nothing could be more vague. It is not the probability that the Commission was required to discuss. One expected the Commission to probe more deeply the jihadi and militant groups that operated as a support network for Bin Laden. The line of questioning makes it quite apparent that the Commission approached the issue rather fleetingly and did not examine it in depth although the matter was part of the terms of reference. It is also important to identify the network because it may still be actively working for Ayman al Zawahiri and other Al Qaeda fugitives apparently hiding in Pakistan. There should not be any doubt that the US would use force again if Zawahiri were tracked down. We need to act before another humiliation is inflicted on us. We don’t need another commission to tell us what happened then. The report has identified only two brothers who served as Bin Laden’s couriers and his links to the outside world. Abrar and Ibrahim who used different aliases were killed in the May 2 raid. The Kuwait-born brothers whose family hailed from Shangla district in Swat also helped Bin Laden release audio and video messages and communicate with other members of the support group. That is also how Bin Laden continued to guide Al Qaeda’s terrorist activities in Pakistan and other countries. The identification of the two men, who lived with their families in Bin Laden’s compound, had opened new channels of inquiry for Pakistani investigators probing his support network. But the trail seems to have since gone cold. That raises serious questions about our security agencies. Though the two were raised in Kuwait, they maintained connections with their ancestral village where one of the brothers was also married. I visited Martung village days after the May 2 incident. A three-hour drive from Abbottabad, the scenic village is a quiet collection of mud houses scattered along a hillside and surrounded by terraced fields. Narrow dirt streets crisscross it. Most residents congregated at a mosque in the centre of the village that Friday afternoon. Subsistence farmers for the most part, they were visibly scared to talk about the two brothers. Just few miles from Martung there is another village where Bin Laden and his family had stayed for more than eight months before moving to Haripur and then to Abbottabad. It was also where the Al Qaeda leader last met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Could all that happen without a powerful local support network? It is less important whether the leaked report was a draft or the final version. Whatever the case, it does give a clear insight into the Commission’s failure to answer the most vital question linked to our battle against terrorism and national security. The writer is an author and journalist. zhussain100@yahoo.com Twitter: @hidhussain
Curious case of Hyderabad By Anjum Altaf PESHAWAR is by no means the busiest airport in the world but compared to Hyderabad it is a monster. . I mentioned in an op-ed in this newspaper (Anchoring KP province, June 30, 2013) that the number of flights per week into Peshawar airport was 79 of which 56 were from the Middle East. I used the information to venture that the KP economy was anchored in the Middle East and that this was not due to the flow of investment into KP but the export of manpower from it. A reader commented that what I had mentioned for Peshawar was true of every big city in Pakistan. This may well be established and, if so, it would suggest that Pakistan as a whole is a manpower exporting economy — statistics indicate that almost the only positive number in recent years has been remittances from workers overseas. Still, it is my guess that Peshawar is an outlier amongst cities in Pakistan and that extending the comparison to every city is not warranted. I make my point by referring to the curious case of Hyderabad which in terms of population size is of the same order as Peshawar. In extending the research to Hyderabad, I was, much to my annoyance, surprised again. I had not expected to find that Hyderabad airport had actually remained inoperative for 10 years till 2008 and just this year has been closed to commercial traffic again. My memory of earlier years recalls flights to Hyderabad from Lahore and Islamabad via Nawabshah but clearly something had changed. This warrants investigation given that in the normal course one would expect more economic integration, not less, over time. A number of scenarios could be postulated. First, Hyderabad might really have declined economically over the years and is not anymore a viable destination for air traffic. I would be sceptical of this explanation given that there are still flights into smaller cities like Sukkur. Second, it could be the case that there is real economic demand for service which is not being met for reasons we are unaware of. If so, it would signal a failure of the political process through which the needs of a community are articulated and met. Third, it could be that Hyderabad can do without air service because of its proximity to Karachi. I am not convinced of this argument which could be made just as plausibly for Peshawar. One could ask why Islamabad airport does not serve the same purpose for Peshawar. The answer to the last question should be obvious: Enough passengers wish to fly directly to Peshawar which makes the supply of air service a viable proposition. There is clearly not the same magnitude of passenger demand for Hyderabad. This brings me back to the study of relative labour flows from and to Pakistan that was mentioned in the op-ed on Peshawar. The district-level study mentioned in that piece summarised its findings as follows: “The general pattern seems to suggest that the less developed districts have high out-migration and low return-migration, whereas the more developed districts … have low out-migration and high return-migration.” It then highlighted the exceptions: “The only districts that do not fit into this pattern are the less developed districts of Sindh and lower Punjab, which are characterised by both low out- and return-migration.” The puzzle was that while both the erstwhile NWFP and Sindh were characterised by similar indices of rural poverty, the relative out-migration of labour from the former was much higher than from the latter. One of the joys of research is stumbling upon the unexpected — I realised for myself the importance of the dog that does not bark. While we were focused on studying the causes of migration, the lack of migration from some areas was an equally important phenomenon to explore and explain. It was my inference at that time that the explanation of the puzzle pertaining to the very different individual responses to rural poverty resided in the nature of the land tenure systems in the two provinces — one tied its labour to the land in much more coercive ways than the other. The why and how of it are fascinating topics to explore but I leave them here to the imagination of the reader. It was natural to extend this insight to the movement of labour from rural Sindh within Pakistan. The immobility hypothesis explains why, for example, Karachi is the largest Pakhtun and not Sindhi city in the world despite the fact it is located in Sindh and over 1,000 kilometres from Peshawar. The internal movement of labour in Sindh also threw up an interesting contrast with Punjab. The ethnic homogeneity in the latter meant that both labour and capital circulated freely between rural and urban locations in the province. The ethnic heterogeneity in Sindh, with rural and urban areas dominated by different groups growing increasingly alienated from each other, meant that the corresponding circulation of labour and capital was much more restricted if not severed altogether. The deprivation of modernising capital investments from urban areas had obvious negative implications for the prospects of rural development in Sindh. For our limited hypothesis related to demand for air service, it meant that both international and national flows of labour from rural Sindh were severely constrained. To some extent, this provides a partial explanation for the curious case of Hyderabad whose airport has remained barely functional over the years. Of course, it highlights a number of larger questions about local variations in political economy and their implications for the nature of economic change that would bear more careful analysis. The writer is dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Time to free Mandela once more By Mahir Ali WHEN leading members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), including President Jacob Zuma, gathered around the ailing Nelson Mandela at his residence for a photo op back in April, some of the latter’s family members were scathing in their criticism of the opportunistic politicians.. Their anger seemed justified. Visual evidence of the encounter suggests South Africa’s first post-apartheid leader was barely aware of his starring role in the propaganda footage. More recently, Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe, lashed out even more strongly at the international media maintaining a morbid death watch around the hospital in Pretoria where her father has been ensconced since early June. “It’s like truly vultures waiting when a lion has devoured a buffalo, waiting there for the last of the carcass,” she fumed. The anger is understandable. But if blame must be apportioned for self-seeking efforts to strip Mandela of his dignity, the family itself can hardly be exonerated. The sordid feud over the burial place of his deceased children — and, by implication, that of Mandela himself — that was resolved in court earlier this month, after having pitted Mandela’s eldest grandson, Mandla, against Makaziwe and other family members, is only the latest episode in a saga that essentially revolves around pecuniary interests. Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop and Nobel peace laureate who served as a linchpin in the struggle against apartheid, recently pleaded with Mandela’s family: “Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves. It’s almost like spitting in Madiba’s face”, using the clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known. In a limited sense, the squabbling over his assets could be construed as a microcosm of the broader tussle over Mandela’s legacy. Ever since he resurfaced in 1990 after 27 years of incarceration, displaying a remarkable lack of rancour, politicians of various stripes in many parts of the world have been keen to bask in his aura. This included those who not long before were inclined to dismiss him as nothing more than a terrorist. Well into the 1980s, Mandela was hardly a mainstream cause célèbre in the West. Even organisations such Amnesty International were reluctant to adopt him as a prisoner of conscience, given his tactical support for armed struggle. After all, Mandela had been instrumental in the emergence, at the cusp of the 1960s, of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation, or MK), as a wing of the liberation struggle distinct from the ANC, which was committed to non-violent means. MK was explicitly a response to a situation whereby peaceful protests invariably attracted violence by the state. There was some international interest when Mandela and some of his closest comrades faced the Rivonia trial nearly 50 years ago on charges of sabotage, and it may have helped prevent death sentences. But in the two decades that followed, publicity for their cause was largely restricted to the efforts of dedicated anti-apartheid activists. There was Third World solidarity and support from the socialist bloc, but Margaret Thatcher resisted as long as she could a near-consensus in favour of sanctions among Commonwealth nations, and the United States Congress had to override Ronald Reagan’s veto in its effort to outlaw economic dealings with the apartheid state. It also took considerable effort on the part of the organisers to put together a landmark London concert for Mandela on his 70th birthday in 1988 — which, with an estimated worldwide TV audience of 600 million, was instrumental in creating a popular swell against his continued imprisonment. The Fox network, which had broadcasting rights in the US, went to considerable lengths to censor explicit political content. Facing international isolation and dogged domestic resistance, the apartheid regime eventually had few options other than to cave in — but its Western friends help-ed to ensure that the transition to a more inclusive democracy was deftly managed. There is little evidence that the ANC’s leadership indulged in too much soul-searching before effectively jettisoning the organisation’s longstanding commitment to a socialistic economic order. It was broadly agreed that the status quo would be maintained, with a bit of tinkering on the periphery. The emergence of a black bourgeoisie was facilitated, with privatisation as the catchword. If the number of millionaires has doubled, so has the vastly larger number of those living on less than $1 a day. The class divide no longer coincides with the race divide, but disparities of wealth have increased. Lucrative contracts have gone to firms that previously underpinned apartheid. And the 34 striking mineworkers massacred by police last year were employed by a firm that boasts former union leader and ANC stalwart Cyril Ramaphosa as a board member. There are a great many factors in Mandela’s past that redound unequivocally to his credit, but today’s neoliberal South Africa, its fortunes still guided by the ANC, is also a part of his legacy. A couple of months ago the ever outspoken Tutu felt obliged to declare that he could no longer bring himself to vote for the ANC, given its role in sustaining “the most unequal society in the world”. Notwithstanding the popular perception of his moral stature, Mandela has always shrugged away the mantle of sainthood. Chances are that history, even when written from a distance, will judge him kindly — both as a firebrand and as a conciliator, although it is possible to argue that in the latter capacity he went a little too far. His inevitable departure from the mortal world will be a monumental loss. But he’s done what he could. He turns 95 tomorrow. If the remaining signs of life in his frail frame are being maintained chiefly by artificial means, surely it’s time to set him free once more. mahir.dawn@gmail.com
Uncertainty prevails By Najmuddin A. Shaikh PREDICTABLY, an article in the New York Times stating that President Barack Obama was now seriously considering the option of retaining no troops in Afghanistan after 2014 has provoked reaction in both Kabul and Washington.. At the Washington end, the White House spokesman confirmed that the ‘zero option’ was still on the table but added that there was no decision yet on troop levels, and that no such decision was imminent. Ambassador James Dobbins reinforced this in his Senate testimony of July 11 when he said, “Without an agreement on our presence in Afghanistan we would not remain. But we do not believe that that’s the likely outcome of these negotiations.” Few analysts who form part of the security establishment in the US have supported the zero option but all are clear that maintaining a “residual presence” will depend on President Hamid Karzai’s agreement to grant immunity from Afghan law to American troops and being prepared to let the political transition move towards electing a new president in April 2014. In the words of Mr Dobbins, “our main priority for the coming year is neither the military transition, nor the reconciliation process, but rather the political transition that will occur when the Afghan people choose a new president and a new president takes office next year”. Only marginally less important is the failure of the Afghan administration to live up to the promises it made in Tokyo to control corruption and undertake structural reforms. At a meeting of senior officials from the donor countries held in Kabul, it was said that Afghanistan had met only three of the 17 benchmarks agreed upon in Tokyo as the condition for the fulfilment of the pledge of $4 billion in annual economic assistance — the so-called Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework. Norway, one of the 10 top donors, threatened to stop assistance because “Afghanistan was not living up to its commitments to prepare for credible elections, to improve women’s rights and to fight corruption”. This one can assume was not done without coordination with other Western donors. Karzai’s spokesman dismissed the NYT’s story as an attempt to pressure Afghanistan and said the zero option had never been raised in US-Afghan negotiations. Other Afghans, however, were critical of Karzai for having brought relations with the US to this sorry pass. On July 14, the Afghan parliament finally passed the law regulating the structure and responsibilities of the electoral management bodies. The other law, which would define the legal framework of the electoral process, has yet to be passed. Equally important, both laws would need presidential approval that may be problematic since Karzai would much prefer that the elections were held under the same sort of presidential decrees in place when the controversial 2009 elections were held. There is a strong belief in Kabul’s political circles that Karzai will create a situation where he can invoke the emergency clause in the Afghan constitution to postpone the election and thus extend his term, or failing that, manipulate the poll to have his chosen successor elected. These apprehensions were reinforced by the convening of tribal meetings in Helmand and Kandahar, allegedly prompted by the president, at which it was proposed that elections be postponed until the security situation improved. People also suspect that the consultative loya jirga Karzai proposes to call to discuss the US-Afghan security agreement would also be used to push through a constitutional amendment to allow Karzai a third term. On the other hand, in Karz, the president’s hometown, a gathering of elders led by Hashmat Karzai, Karzai’s cousin, castigated him for his many failures and made it clear that they want him ousted. Partly, of course, this discord within the family is owed to quarrels about the control of the various profitable enterprises that the deceased brother Ahmad Wali Karzai had set up while ruling Kandahar with an iron hand. I suspect such discord is, in part, being promoted by the intelligence services of the Nato governments. In the meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban have turned down suggestions for a Ramazan ceasefire made by Karzai and the UN and have insisted they will fight harder during the month since they will then receive greater rewards. They have temporarily closed the office in Doha and by some accounts have said they will not reopen it until they are permitted to use their flag and the plaque designating the office as that of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — an unjustified demand that will not be met even by a sympathetic Qatar. In short, Karzai remains at odds with his Nato partners and is apparently doing little to assuage their concerns or to fulfil the commitments made in Tokyo. Rightly or wrongly, his political opponents fear that he has no intention of permitting free and fair presidential elections in April next year. Reconciliation seems to have no priority in his present plans and the Taliban posture makes it possible for him to maintain this stance. What does this mean for a beleaguered Pakistan? Our home-grown Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has apparently decided to send volunteers to Syria as part of their commitment to Al Qaeda. This will serve to confirm the prevailing belief in the West that the TTP and affiliated parties have an international Islamist agenda and must be targeted by whatever means are available if Pakistan itself cannot or will not do so. The TTP has thrown out its spokesman because he cast doubts on the group’s loyalty to Afghan leader Mullah Omar. None of our leaders past or present have publicly stated what the presence of insurgents on our soil owing loyalty to a foreigner could mean for the territorial integrity of Pakistan. As and when the postponed all-parties conference is convened to develop a consensus on tackling internal security problems, it will probably reach the conclusion that we can successfully tackle our Taliban only after the Afghan Taliban have left, and that this will happen only after there is reconciliation in Afghanistan. The writer is a former foreign secretary.
Beyond Malala By Rafia Zakaria IT was a moment of hope for a country starved of it. When the teenage heroine who so valiantly stood up against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took the podium at the United Nations, Pakistan glowed with pride. . Her voice was clear and confident and her message simple: Pakistanis are tired of war, Pakistani women are brave and resilient, and Pakistani girls want more than anything to educate themselves. Malala Yousafzai spoke for a nation, and she did it well. There were many moist eyes among the delegates present at the youth assembly last Friday, and when she was done she was given a standing ovation. Moments such as Malala’s speech are rare and riveting for many reasons. To a country cowed by the Taliban and baffled by an avalanche of bombs, her survival represents possibility. To the larger world that does not share her faith or nationality, it represents the inimitable power of the human spirit to overcome the forces of nihilism and darkness. There is so little on which Pakistanis can agree, on which the world can agree, that finding a moment, a person, about whose goodness there are no qualms, is to be treasured indeed. The questions come after the passing of the moment and after the applause. The first of them is what the world, represented by the UN and her country, owe to the girl who represents such hope. The question, of course, is where the complications lie. While many were touched and moved by her words on Malala Day, few UN members would be willing to allow them to transcend or even touch the dictates of strategy that determine their support. Hands can be put together for the brave girl from Pakistan, but votes cannot be cast for her. Votes are not determined by emotions or even empathy; they are determined by politics and strategy. Strategy dictates that the very men who attacked Malala will become partners in peace, and the countries of many of those representatives present will support them. When it comes to the UN, its fervent fawning and clapping for female icons from Burma to Pakistan, while actively undermining the role of women within its own bureaucracy, is well known. Not only has the UN failed to elect a female secretary general throughout its history, a 2010 report issued by the world body itself showed that its own efforts in gender mainstreaming had been sweeping and costly failures. The newly formed UN women’s body has in recent months repeatedly called attention to the increase in sexual violence in countries facing political unrest, like Egypt and Syria. No one in the Security Council or the General Assembly has bothered to pay much attention. In the flurry of conferences and working groups and committees that the UN regularly funds, little of actual import is ever achieved on behalf of women. In addition to Malala Yousafzai, who was honoured last week for standing up to the Taliban, the UN also handed out an award to Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman for her work on human rights. In the world of glitzy galas and pointless conferences that is the United Nations of today, perhaps the contributions of both are similar or even equal. Thus goes the story of how the UN, bureaucratic, decrepit, and superficial, fails the potential of girls like Malala. The other half of the saga is the local and particularly Pakistani duplicities that will ensure that she is seen and heard but ultimately ignored. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province where she once lived, an insufficient amount from the budget has been put aside for education. In the coming days, many will sing paeans to education, stress its necessity, and ensure that Malala’s speech at the UN is a blockbuster hit on social media. Some of the same people, all educated, will continue to beat their wives, harass their female co-workers, and generally believe that women outside the home are worthy of taunts and teasing and any misfortune that befalls them. For men in Pakistan, education has not led to enlightenment or freedom from misogyny. The men at the Council of Islamic Ideology, which recently deemed DNA evidence impermissible in rape cases, were also all educated men. The politicians who struck a deal with the TTP a bare two months ago, that no women would be allowed to vote, were also all educated men. Education has not eliminated hatred for women in Pakistan; it has not eliminated bigotry; it has not defeated the premise that returning women to the confines of their homes will produce a pure and truly Islamic society. When it has been proffered, the commitment to girls’ education has always been a limited plan — attempting to create better mothers for the next generation, or at best more companionable wives. Malala Yousafzai may not have been considered a heroine if she had been attacked by the Taliban on her way to work. A schoolgirl is respected in Pakistan only if she never becomes a working girl. These realities cast large shadows, and are a reminder of the fact that the young girl for whom so many Pakistanis prayed and clapped is unable to return to her country. In this sense, Malala is not simply the representative of possibility but also of the banishment of possibility, away from Pakistan to places where it will be allowed to exist. It’s a happy ending in the individual case, for if she returned, Malala Yousafzai, like other Pakistani heroines before her, would have to deal with the crude judgments of a society where lip service to education is permitted, but the freedom owed to educated women is denied. The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy. rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
Pet hate versus pet love By Jawed Naqvi WHEN Hindutva"s virulent mascot Narendra Modi was cajoled by a journalist into describing the plight of Muslims on his watch with some sympathy he ended up likening them to an unlucky dog that came under his car"s wheels.. The pogrom of 2002, the state-sponsored massacre of Muslims, was thus turned into an accident. Muslims were mere ‘puppies" that got in his way. He regretted that. That Modi hates Muslims, particularly the Indian variety, should never be doubted. The only people he possibly loathes a little more are Hindus who have sympathy for Indian Muslims. To him they are the men and women who threaten to stand between India"s hopes for the survival of its secular democracy and a full-blown corporate fascism, masquerading as Hindu nationalism, of which Modi is the current usher. Since fascism inevitably has an economic worldview Modi"s culture of invectives hurled at perceived foes has to be seen minus the garble of sneers and bad blood. Communal Muslims too sneer at Hindus, as we have seen the Owaisi family doing in Hyderabad. But neither their political prowess nor their economic clout, if any, enables the Muslims to even dream of capturing power in India, which is the first condition of unleashing fascist rule. We all know that Modi has boundless support from leading business houses to stake a claim as India"s prime minister next year. What is equally relevant to understand his dog analogy for Muslims, however, is a less discussed fact that flows from India"s pro-market economy — a market-driven love of pets. The old-fashioned animal lovers that Indians always were — worshipping cows, monkeys, snakes, scorpions, rodents, deer, certain birds — have been swamped by a new class of urban animal lovers. Unlike the Englishman though who walks his dog with affection and passion the Indian upstart gets his servants to jog the dogs. Their minions look after other pets too. Anyone who has read or heard Zia Mohyeddin recite Ratan Nath Sarshar"s beautifully hilarious story of the Saf Shikan Batair, the nawab"s pet quail that fled the coop, would grasp the deep, even extreme, emotions that pets kindle in their owners. The nawab"s courtiers were trained to praise Saf Shikan to the skies. Yet, there was marked ambivalence in the way India"s British rulers loved their dogs, for example. Indians and dogs not allowed was a notice that did justice to neither. Mark how the British would often give the pets names after vanquished Indian heroes. The anti-colonial icon Tipu Sultan was so reviled by them that Tipu became the preferred name for their canine pets. Indians continued the tradition, mostly unthinkingly. The ambivalence towards pets is equally vivid in the new urban classes who form Modi"s mass base. There will be valid exceptions to my saying so, but by and large the new pet-owning classes in India would seem to agree with Modi"s top-down economic worldview, his neo-liberal promise. The means to get to the objective are of secondary importance though the urban classes would preferably want to get there without unnecessary bloodshed. They don"t want stray puppies to be crushed by speeding cars. But if dogs and cats have to be sacrificed to widen the reach of automobiles on newly asphalted roads then so be it. Modi"s remarks of feigned sympathy for the bruised and battered Muslims were aimed at this mass base. It may not be an unintended irony in India"s current political trajectory that a mother and child team of politicians who support Modi"s drive to capture power comprises former minister Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights advocate, and her son Varun Gandhi who is best known for his hateful speeches targeting Indian Muslims. There is thus at least one clear nexus between the fading stars of India"s Muslims (as per the Sachar Committee"s report) and the rise of the pet care industry in India. According to a research conducted by a consultancy firm in Ghaziabad there are about 2.2 million dogs in the Indian household with the population increasing by 26pc every year. “Pets seem like perfect companions providing unconditional love and not expecting anything in return. Pets are also considered as fashion accessories in celebrity culture.” The cost of pedigreed dogs varies widely, from Rs5,000 to Rs75,000 and beyond, while winning a dog show increases their value manifold. Such dogs and their offspring are also much in demand for stud or mating services, for which they are paid between Rs20,000 to Rs50,000. You could give Prime Minister Manmohan Singh credit for the fact that pet insurance too is “slowly but surely catching up in India”. A report observes that pet insurance schemes essentially pay for the veterinary costs in case one"s pet falls sick or suffers an accident or injury. Some pet plan insurance products also make payments for loss or death of the insured pet. “Pet medical insurance is essentially a risk mitigation strategy for guarding against significant medical expenditure for treatment of sick or injured pets,” says a report. “With the recent developments in the field of veterinary medicine the life expectancy of pets has increased, so did the cost of medical treatment. This has widened the market for pet insurance. Nowadays customised pet plan insurance programs are available for animals like cats and dogs.” With so much being done for canines and other pets in India ( if you can take your mind off the more numerous and mistreated stray counterparts) Muslims should feel hopeful that perhaps a tiny corner in Narendra Modi"s heart may be opening up for them. All they need to do is mind his speeding car. The writer is Dawn"s correspondent in Delhi.
Governance is the issue By I.A. Rehman APART from providing grist to the mills of sensationalism the Abbottabad Commission report offers its principal beneficiary, the present federal government, a novel opportunity to reduce the scale of misgovernance, which is the root cause of all crises in Pakistan.. After noting that the country’s record was poor where taking action on the findings and recommendations of past inquiry commission reports is concerned, the Commission “insists that in the national interest” the government should make its report public in both English and Urdu. The government may score a point by officially releasing the Commission’s report. It has nothing to lose by making public the Commission’s strictures on the previous regime and it can earn goodwill by dissociating itself with whatever criticism of the military and its intelligence agencies this report offers. The Commission is quite frank in indicting the various state departments, from the Abbottabad Cantonment Board to the Prime Minister’s Office, for dereliction of duty and rank incompetence. It accepts the finding about the state having become dysfunctional. Among the many instances of the state’s decline that the Commission’s report is laced with, a typical example is furnished by the plight of the former defence minister. The minister “admitted he was not completely in the picture” (concerning the search for Osama bin Laden) and that he was telling the Commission what he had read in the Ministry of Defence files. He was reminded by the Commission that “under the Rules of Business of 1973, the defence of Pakistan’s frontiers fell within the domain of MoD and that the ministry had ample powers to discharge its responsibilities”. When asked about the arrest of an Indonesian from the Hazara region, the minister said the secretary of defence should be asked to respond to this question. “On being reminded that he was the key person involved and responsible for the policy of the MoD and not the secretary, the minister said that in reality information travelled up to the secretary level, and the minister himself was not kept in the loop all the time. The secretary was the principal officer in the ministry and files were moved up to his level only, after which they were returned to the army. He said that it would take some time for the Rules of Business to be implemented in letter and spirit.” Here lies the crux of the problem — the existence of a state within the state. The Nawaz Sharif government seems to have the capacity to cure Pakistan of this malady. Nothing will please the people more than its success in establishing a chain of legitimate constitutional authority. Equally important is the need to refurbish and strengthen the civilian oversight agencies whose failures and deficiencies are said to oblige the ISI to undertake what lies outside its domain. The former ISI chief told the Commission “the government of Pakistan never asked the ISI to deal with counterterrorism. The ISI had assumed this responsibility in response to dysfunctionality of the prevailing system and the ineffectiveness of other state organs”. That was the reason “that the ISI appeared to be doing things that were formally beyond its mandate”. The fact that civilian state institutions were highly politicised had “led to the ISI being overburdened with responsibilities that did not fall within its charter”. The government will do itself, the ISI and the people a lot of good by ending the politicisation of state institutions and thus relieving the intelligence agency of its unwanted burden. The report is full of references to the failure of the police force to control disorder and crime, and especially its incapacity to contribute to counterterrorism measures. The Commission grilled at length the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officials, from the Abbottabad station house officer concerned to the provincial police chief, about their failure to perform their duties. This included the filing of an FIR immediately after the US raid on the Osama hideout. Rejecting their excuses about leaving matters in the hands of the military intelligence authorities as unacceptable, the Commission implied that the police could not surrender its responsibilities to anyone. It declared that “they (the police) should have the courage to insist on discharging their responsibilities. If at even senior levels there was an easy abdication of responsibility a chaotic situation would eventually ensue as it did”. After listening to the KP home secretary’s explanation the Commission relented somewhat and found a mitigating circumstance for the police conduct: “while there can be no excuse for this acceptance of realities by senior officials, it has to be noted that they functioned in a very perverse political and administrative environment in which insistence on the correct performance of duty was often rewarded with severe punishment.” The former ISI chief went a step further and accused the Punjab police of colluding with terrorists. According to him, “in Lahore the police protected those who attacked the Qadianis last year (2010) and even directed them to the hospital where the wounded were being treated. The provincial government had been informed of the situation but it took no heed of the advice and information provided by the ISI. No guards were assigned to the hospital as venal political influence intervened everywhere”. (Emphasis added) This is a serious allegation in definite terms, in the sense that those protecting the killers of Ahmadis and the “venal political influence” can easily be identified. Regardless of the belief that a party accused of favouring anti-Ahmadi elements stands to gain politically in Punjab, the provincial government should not fail to seize this opportunity to probe the matter thoroughly and vindicate its position. Opportunities are seldom without risks. The government cannot afford to sleep over the Abbottabad Commission’s report.
Professionals wanted By Amber Darr ANYONE scouring the newspapers in search of job opportunities is bound to have noticed the rather colourful advertisements placed by the government in recent weeks. . They seek applications from “dynamic and qualified fulltime professionals” for high-ranking posts across a range of sectors. And should this person feel disheartened because he does not meet the criteria specified for these positions, he may be comforted by the thought that the frequency of such advertisements is likely to increase in the coming months. This is not because the new government is necessarily keen on creating jobs but because the superior courts, by removing the heads of several regulatory institutions, have left it with little choice with respect not only to new but also existing appointments. Judicial scrutiny of government appointments started more than two years ago, when the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the reappointment of Syed Ali Raza as the president of the National Bank of Pakistan. Whilst several more removals from key posts followed over the next two years — Ayaz Khan Niazi, chairman National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL), Adnan A. Khawaja, managing director OGDCL, the national oil and gas company, Tauqir Sadiq, chairman, Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) — this drive gained particular momentum earlier this year. Between them, the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court, removed six officials in less than eight weeks: chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), chairman Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), managing director PTV, chairman Utility Stores Corporation, chairman Pakistan Cricket Board and chairman National Accountability Bureau. In his recent judgment, issued in the case of Khwaja Muhammad Asif vs The Federation of Pakistan and others, it was the honourable chief justice himself who perhaps best articulated the reasons behind the vigilance and zeal of the judiciary in this regard. According to him, government appointments, especially to positions in regulatory authorities, inasmuch as they were made without advertising the vacancies and often by converting ad hoc appointments into regular ones, were unconstitutional. Persons “having connections with higher functionaries of the state” were preferred, “despite presence and availability of renowned, knowledgeable and reputable personalities”; the essential principles of due process and transparency were ignored and “favourites were appointed despite lacking merits to hold such posts/positions”. The PPP government had certainly given the judiciary cause for grave concern. Three of its appointees had flagrantly dubious credentials: Ayaz Khan Niazi (NICL) had reportedly been the manager of a night club in Dubai; Adnan Khawaja (OGDCL) was an NRO beneficiary and therefore corrupt by definition, and Tauqir Sadiq (Ogra) was a holder of a fake degree. What made matters worse is that each of them boasted connections with and protection of persons in the highest echelons of the government. It is perhaps unfortunate, however, that in validly reversing these excesses of the PPP government, the judiciary also removed from office, bureaucrats and professionals who were otherwise qualified for their positions. Two examples that immediately come to mind and in fact bear surprising similarity to each other are those of Ali Arshad Hakeem, former chairman FBR and Muhammad Ali, former chairman SECP. Both Hakeem and Ali were fit and proper for the positions to which they were appointed. Hakeem was a seasoned bureaucrat who had previously served as chairman Nadra and Ali was a gold medalist from IBA and had nearly 20 years’ international experience of capital markets. The statutes under which they were appointed did not prescribe a specific procedure, and both were appointed in accordance with the government’s established practice for such appointments; both were working to revitalise their institutions and cases against both were brought by disgruntled employees. The courts, however, chose to ignore these factors and removed these men for what they viewed to be failure on the part of the government to follow due process in making their respective selection. The decisions, however, have an interesting corollary. In entertaining petitions by dissatisfied employees, rather than simply dismissing these as being non-maintainable as they would have done in the past, the courts actively encouraged public-sector employees to bring cases against their management. Some argue that this is likely to offer the employees greater job security. The danger, however, lies in the fact that this security will stem not from the employees’ ability to work but rather from their ability to hold the management hostage to their demands, who will in turn, be rendered virtually impotent against them. It is important to emphasise that the aim of this discussion is neither to argue against the importance of due process nor to suggest that the ilk of Hakeem and Ali should be exempt from it. The point here is merely to propose that given that the impact of these judgements extends to new as well as existing appointments, the requirement of due process be introduced in a staggered, more nuanced manner, which allows for regularisation of otherwise qualified personnel rather than merely mandating their removal. Not only would this allow the government to distinguish between incumbents on the basis of merit and thereby to compensate for the dearth of merit and professionalism in the country, but would also protect institutions against those employees bent upon bringing an institution to its knees on the basis of their political clout or, indeed, rancour. At any rate it is not yet clear whether the courts have succeeded in transforming the manner in which the government operates. The Supreme Court in its decision in the Asif Khwaja case has mandated that all appointments to regulatory bodies be made upon the recommendation of an independent commission. Rather than announcing such a commission, however, the government seems content with merely marking its advertisements with a bold red stamp which reads, “100pc Transparency”. Perhaps the government needs reminding that it cannot use these advertisements as an eyewash to bring in its favourites. Anything short of an objective appointment process, in accordance with the mandate of the superior courts, would merely create new, even subtler opportunities for corruption whilst the fate of professionals and the country’s institutions, remains hanging in the balance. The writer is a barrister. amber.darr@gmail.com
At a crossroads By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar IT is a virtual truism these days to assert that Muslim societies are at a crossroads. . For the disciples of Maulana Maudoodi and Syed Qutb — the globally acknowledged fathers of modern Islamist thought — Muslim societies have been struggling against ‘jahiliya’ for decades. ‘Secular’ Muslims, on the other hand, have become conscious much more recently of the decisive battle unfolding in Muslim societies between those like themselves and anti-civilisation ‘extremists’. On both sides of this impermeable ideological divide is a conviction in the absolute righteousness of the cause. Notwithstanding casual references made to historical events, each antagonist clings to an almost timeless perception both of oneself and the proverbial ‘other’. In fact, the history of Muslim-majority societies is not all that different from all others; conflicts of various kinds have come to the fore but their nature, the protagonists involved, and their outcomes have all changed with time. In the current period the range and scope of conflicts within Muslim-majority societies is quite staggering. It is not possible to view all of these myriad conflicts through predisposed lenses. If we do so we risk compromising political principles that we otherwise claim to be immutable. We need look no further than the so-called Arab Spring to recognise the complexity of contemporary political developments. In Egypt, 30 months after the euphoric scenes that culminated in (secular) Hosni Mubarak abdicating his throne, we have just witnessed the spectacle of popular forces demanding and then celebrating a military coup against an elected government. That the government overthrown was led by the Muslim Brotherhood presumably lends legitimacy to the generals. But where does that leave us? In Syria, where the (secular) dictator everyone loves to hate has not even been overthrown yet, the so-called ‘Free Syria’ rebel army has been paraded as a beacon of hope. In fact it is an unholy concoction of imperialist powers and includes a healthy dose of radical Islamists. It was even reported recently in this country that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was considering sending some of its men to join the fight against Bashar al-Assad. A simple case of ‘good’ versus ‘evil’? Libya is not even in the news anymore, despite the fact that a low-intensity civil war continues to rage there. Why did being repulsed by Qadhafi and his antics translate into support for an incredibly short-sighted ‘humanitarian intervention’ led by yet another group of despicable characters fronted by Italy and other Western governments? In all of these cases, and others, we take political positions on the basis of caricatures of society proffered by the corporate media. While there are exceptions, the press within Muslim and Western countries both tells us nothing about the real social conflicts unfolding in Egypt, Syria or Libya. Ethnicity, sect, class, gender and caste do not merit even a mention. There is only ‘them’ and ‘us’, defined civilisationally by the respective media outlets according to their political preferences. Not that there is a great deal more meaningful interrogation taking place in the much more decentralised world of social media. Without exception, on Facebook and Twitter one also observes a ready urge to oversimplify matters; materialist analyses — including Marxian ones — are conspicuous by their absence. Of course no analysis of contemporary Muslim societies would be complete without mention of the elephant in the room — Pakistan. Here too we insist on making all social conflicts primarily ideological ones at our own peril. Yes, it is true that — given the genesis of the state and its subsequent evolution, particularly since the Zia period — we have to vociferously challenge the statist version of Islam that threatens to shred us to pieces. But it is just as true that class, gender, ethnic and other contradictions run as deep as ever in Pakistani society, and that forcing all such fault lines to conform to the ‘secular’ imperative is a self-defeating exercise. Indeed, the Islamists have done a much better job of adapting their politics to the real material demands of ordinary people in society than the ‘secularists’. Every militant movement of the right that has made inroads into Pakistani society over the past couple of decades has engaged with class, caste and even gender issues. The instrumental and cynical nature of this engagement does eventually become clear for those initially taken in by the rhetoric. But the strategy has nevertheless paid dividends. It matters not a jot that we are crying bloody murder at the intolerance and violence that are ravaging society. Until we recognise that the rise of Islamist organisations is explained at least in part by the lack of meaningful political alternatives to the status quo, we will continue to simply bark up the wrong tree. Thirty years ago, while many of today’s most committed ‘secularists’ were sitting in the comfort of their homes thanking their lucky stars that the military had rid Pakistan of left-wing populism, the irreplaceable Eqbal Ahmad noted: “From Morocco through Syria and Iraq to Pakistan and Indonesia, Muslims are ruled by armed minorities. Nearly all Muslim governments are composed of corrupt and callous elites more adept at repressing the populace than protecting natural resources or national sovereignty. They are more closely linked to foreign patrons than to the domestic polity. “The recent rise of fundamentalist, neototalitarian Muslim movements is an aberration, not a norm in Muslim history. However, it is predicated upon the failure of the current regimes and the absence of visible, viable alternatives.” In the period since Eqbal Ahmad wrote these words, we seem to have taken further steps backward. Rather than taking on the challenge of building visible, viable alternatives, most ‘enlightened’ Muslims have retreated entirely. This is evident even in the realm of knowledge production, where once detailed investigations of class, caste and other conflicts that rage in society have given way to the apolitical and ahistorical language of ‘development’. Muslim societies are at a crossroads indeed. Just not the one everyone is talking about. The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
No capacity to deliver By Faisal Bari A BUS full of schoolchildren has an accident in Kallar Kahar in September 2011. Later we get to know that the vehicle was not roadworthy as the body was not up to specified standards and the brakes had not been properly checked.. A van, again full of schoolchildren, blows up in Gujrat in May 2013. We find out that faulty CNG installation was responsible. There was a can of diesel lying in the van, the pipe connecting the can and the CNG cylinder was not up to the mark and had not been properly secured. A factory fire kills and injures hundreds of people in Karachi in September 2012. We find that the factory did not have enough functioning exits and the safety precautions that factories are supposed to take had been ignored. There was a factory fire the same day in Lahore, where the casualties were fewer, but reports pointed out similar problems and lacunae. Most recently there was a fire in a chemicals warehouse in Lahore. The warehouse was located in a residential area of the city. One of the first things that was pointed out was that the chemicals had been stored at this location illegally and such chemicals should not have been stored in a warehouse in a residential locality. The newspaper report had gone on to say that there were a number of warehouses in the vicinity of the one that had caught fire that were also storing chemicals illegally. But again, the revelations came after the incident. These incidents, costing precious lives and the loss of millions of rupees, raise a number of issues. We seem to have lots of rules, regulations and laws but they do not seem to be observed by people, while mechanisms for enforcing these seem to be flawed. We do arrest the bus or van driver and the factory owner, if they survive, and some of them may go to jail, but that clearly does not go to the heart of the problem. The rules and regulations we have are too onerous and people cannot reasonably observe them, the detection systems are so weak and corrupt that there is incentive to save on expenditure by not fulfilling the requirements or improving the implementation mechanisms, including the flawed system of checks and balances. In this scenario, most people must be flouting the rules — we only get to know of a few when accidents occur. The rot must be a lot deeper and wider. We need to institutionalize a thorough reform process to look at safety codes and other issues. We need to look at the rules and regulations to figure out if they are suited to current conditions and are optimised. Then we need to redesign mechanisms to ensure their implementation: we need mechanisms for regular inspections and checks to ensure compliance and appropriate fines or other punishment for infringements of the law. This is easier said than done. Why has government after government failed to take action? Every time an incident occurs, the government promises action, but nothing much happens in the end. The problem is deeper and more entrenched. The concept of ‘isomorphic mimicry’ and ‘capability traps’, developed by economist Lant Pritchett, may be helpful if we wish to reflect. Pritchett believes that a lot of institutions and organisations in the developing countries, in the public sector in particular, have the outer form or structure of comparable institutions and organisations in the developed world. But they do not have the capability to deliver the basic and core functions of such institutions and organisations. They mimic actions by managing visible and easy-to-monitor variables, but where core functions are concerned, they do not have the capability to deliver. And these organisations are trapped in these mimicry structures. We might have schools that look like schools anywhere. We might even have teachers and students in classes, and uniforms and books. But when it comes to delivering on learning outcomes, we fail. And the trap has to do with the fact that when we talk of reforms, we talk of infrastructure (boundary walls, bathrooms) as the main issue and do not focus on learning outcomes. But parents send their children to schools to learn. Should these learning outcomes not be our main measure of output or success? Instead reforms usually focus on everything other than these outcomes and indicators. Our schools mimic what other schools do, outwardly, but do not deliver on variables of interest. The same seems to be true of officials like building and motor vehicle inspectors as well as a number of governmental departments. They have the outer form of these departments but are incapable of delivering the services they are required to provide. Making laws is the easy and most visible part. That the government keeps doing. But when it comes to implementing them, the government lacks delivery mechanisms and the requisite capability and competence. Government departments give salaries to bureaucrats and clerks; they produce much noise and a lot of paperwork. When disaster strikes, the incompetence of the departments is highlighted, but even catastrophes fail to induce change as incompetence is entrenched because of the poor abilities of bureaucrats, clerks and the system surrounding them. It is a hard equilibrium to break. Capability traps can be broken but that requires long-term and intensive work focusing on redesigning organisations, institutions and systems. Political governments do not seem to be interested in doing that. It is easier to make underpasses, motorways and bus systems. But if we want sustainable and sustained growth we have to change gears and work on longer-term governance reform plans. The writer is senior adviser, Pakistan, at Open Society Foundations, associate professor of economics, LUMS, and a visiting fellow at IDEAS, Lahore.
Fruit of democracy By Asha’ar Rehman ONLY a general survey of eateries in Lahore can reveal the potential impact of a blundering remark made by the Punjab food minister last week. . The cooks’ partiality for tomatoes in this city borders on obsession. If you must stick with the propounded Lahori image of a gobbler who is shown to be especially hurt by a bomb explosion in Food Street, then the tomato is the soul of the fare that attracts people here in large droves. Without tomatoes life is incomplete. And once you get your tomato formula right, you can use it as a standard guide to understanding why things do not change in Pakistan even when the menu and the chefs, apparently, do. They do not change because the gravy, the juice remains the same. The fruit (I learnt in class II that the tomato was a fruit, long before it could actually rival the price of mango) precedes the other ingredients that go into making an acceptable meal here. The tomato curry is readymade and available and all that is needed to be added is the meat of your choice, or a vegetable under some compulsion, and that is about all the skill a chef requires to reach out to his clientele’s heart. The base, the basic, the foundation doesn’t change even if the name of the dish varies from chicken handi to brain masala. It was this regular, this omnipresent being that the minister had the cheek to take on during one of his soulful outings to a Ramazan bazaar in the city. The reaction was an outpouring of quite genuine emotion that has raised serious questions about the taste of a man who happens to belong to a family of wrestlers and has been chosen for the singularly important portfolio of food. The gentleman’s suggestion to look for substitutes — curd, lemon juice — has been met with vociferous ‘nays’ by mothers forever grappling with recipes to please the young Turks under their watch. Children only eat chicken and potato chips. To this ‘must’ list has now been added tomatoes. The honourable minister appears to be a determined soul. He has taken the incident in his stride and has since been spotted inspecting other such markets set up to ensure affordability in the holy month — limiting his reform for the moment to the mandatory reprimanding of hapless officials. And as he is confined to Lahore city, ruling-family names with greater outreach have been pressed into going that much deeper in pursuance of the people’s cause. The media on Wednesday reported one such noble excursion by Hamza Shahbaz Sharif to a bazaar in nearby Sheikhupura. Evidently, such public service does entail unavoidable costs of its own: helicopter, motorcade, etc. The channel ended up showing a Hamza entourage that could in its size and grandeur have rivalled Prince Saleem’s paraphernalia during his hunting trips to the same area in Emperor Akbar’s time. Things have changed even if reliance on dear ones to deliver cheap goods continues due, obviously, to the outsiders’ inability to win the ruling family’s confidence. The dynasty today demands of princes and other royal kin to come out of their traditional habits where they actually appear to be working to improve the people’s lot. This is not to say this would have been any less desirable in the days of the kings, but visibility certainly has to increase in proportion to the people’s ability to see and perceive. The food minister was only trying to make himself useful after he was reduced to the status of a provincial lawmaker in the May general elections. He was earlier a National Assembly member from the same locality, but had to this time make way for his relative, Mian Nawaz Sharif. But another 2008 MNA related to the ruling family was not so lucky. Not only was he denied a re-run even when so many from among the relatives were given power roles, he could not be, or was not, accommodated even in the provincial house. It was speculated this particular MNA had not been found up to the mark when it came to addressing public calls in his area. His example is a reminder why some others wouldn’t want to waste an opportunity of a meaningful public appearance during Ramazan. The problem with the food minister’s appearance was that it came with unnecessary audio effects that led to some rather unfair comparisons. The minister under the current democratic dispensation did sound as if he was giving the same economic advice to people as once ventured by a dictator. But that was where the likeness between the two men propagating alternatives to expensive tomatoes should have ended. Our food minister has not been involved in any Kargil misadventure or in pushing the country into someone else’s war. He has not been guilty of overthrowing an elected set-up or detaining respectable judges or, if the first coup could somehow be ignored, of imposing a second martial law under an emergency order. By not indulging in any of these bad acts the minister retains the sincerity which distinguishes sound advice doled out to the needy by a democrat from the arrogant commands of someone who had imposed himself on the people. This difference, in a nutshell, is the difference between then and now. And even if the search for similarities between now and retired Gen Pervez Musharraf’s rule must be undertaken, tomatoes is not the way to go about it. There are many other more solid examples available. Remember the recipe. The elected politicians are your choice of the meat to be added to the pre-existing, constant mix made of permanent, inescapable political and economic policies. Thus, there are so many instances to choose from where the rulers of today will be found persevering with Musharraf’s remnants and policies. Staying against Musharraf’s policies would require staying, forever, in the opposition. The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
Bangladesh to Balochistan By Irfan Husain THE recent sentences handed down to the Jamaat-i-Islami leaders by Bangladesh’s War Crimes Tribunal have heightened the simmering tensions between secular and conservative elements.. Even though widely considered as flawed, the proceedings underlined the deep divide in Bangladeshi society. Although the tribunal has sentenced 91-year old Ghulam Azam to life imprisonment, tens of thousands rioted against what they called the leniency of the sentence. Ali Ahsan Mohamed, secretary-general of the Jamaat, was sentenced to be hanged. These two are members of the party that, during Bangladesh’s bloody civil war in 1971, sided with the Pakistan Army, and stands accused of rape and murder on a monstrous scale. All these years later, the events of that conflict still arouse powerful emotions in Bangladesh. However, in Pakistan, the only reason 1971 is remembered is because that’s when we lost our eastern wing. For most of us, it’s about the land, not the people. Our war criminals have yet to be brought to account. Thus, our narrative remains unchanged, despite the passage of more than four decades. Some of our textbooks and, presumably, the lectures at our military academies, continue to teach students that East Pakistan’s secession was the result of Indian plotting, and the treachery of Hindu citizens. A further element is the alleged role played by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the break-up of Pakistan. His motive is supposed to be his ambition to rule. By not signing up to Sheikh Mujeeb’s Six Points, Bhutto is accused of having paved the way for separation. Of course, this narrative suits the military as it absolves it of the responsibility for a humiliating surrender in Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971. With the benefit of hindsight, it is perfectly evident that once the people of Bangladesh had decided to go their own way, they simply could not be stopped when India decided to step in. Rather than precipitate a bloodbath, the military junta of the day could have saved countless lives by reaching a negotiated, honourable exit. In purely logistical terms, the military simply could not avoid defeat. This, however, is not true of Balochistan where a low-level insurgency has been simmering for years. Apart from the crucial advantage of geography, there is no country willing to fight for an independent Balochistan. Regional powers might be aiding nationalist groups, but unlike 1971, there is simply no threat of an invasion from a neighbouring country. Another reality Baloch fighters need to face up to is that the army and the state of Pakistan can sustain the current level of violence for a very long time. Just as the Indian army has outlasted the Kashmiri freedom struggle, so too does the Pakistan military have the means and the will to absorb the relatively low casualties the nationalists can inflict. In fact, it is innocent people on both sides who are bearing the brunt of the violence. It is usually thus in most insurgencies where organised armies, frustrated by the elusive nature of their adversaries, tend to lash out at the local population who they suspect of harbouring militants. Hence the underground war that has seen the disappearance of hundreds of young suspected militants, and the murder of non-Baloch civilians. Finally, we have a country that is already caught up in another vicious campaign being waged by the Taliban. Sympathy for the Baloch is marginal among the general public. Even in the more aware civil society, Baloch grievances figure very low on the radar. So all in all, the situation in Balochistan is very different from East Pakistan in 1971. This is not to detract from the Baloch narrative: there can be no doubt that the people of that wretched province have had a very raw deal dating back to the earliest days of Pakistan. But as we learn from nationalist movements around the world, modern states cling to every square inch of land with obsessional ferocity. For the Pakistani military and state — in the former’s mind, there is little difference between them — the options are limited as well. Given the nature of the terrain and the open borders surrounding the province, any outright military victory would be difficult to achieve. And with a volatile border with Afghanistan, the last thing the generals want is to be mired in an unending insurgency, especially with the departure of foreign troops from the region next year. Economically, ending the conflict is a very attractive proposition, given Balochistan’s natural resources, as well as the need to open up the route from Gwadar to China. But this is precisely what the nationalists fear. They don’t want their land to be exploited as it has been in the past. In conflict resolution theory, one path to peace calls for enough pain to be inflicted on both sides to bring them to the negotiation table. It is not clear that this point has yet been reached. The military clearly thinks time is on its side: there is no international pressure as it has effectively sealed off the conflict from the foreign media. And the local TV channels just aren’t very interested: things like the NRO and the latest Supreme Court verdict pull in far more viewers than a couple of dead nationalists. Another problem is the lack of any clear-cut leadership among the Baloch. Many tribal chiefs, tainted by their proximity to the government, have become irrelevant. Also, a significant population of the province is now non-Baloch, given the apparently steady migration of Pakhtuns from Afghanistan. Clearly, there are no easy answers. But the longer the conflict endures, the more difficult it will be to resolve. Nawaz Sharif needs to spend some serious political capital to sort it out as it is too serious a matter to be left to the generals forever. irfan.husain@gmail.com
RSS & Indian democracy By A.G. Noorani THE Bharatiya Jan Sangh is “the illegitimate child of the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh],” Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said on Jan 5, 1952. . The Jan Sangh was set up on Oct 21, 1951. It merged into the Janata Party along with other parties in 1977 to form a government but split in 1980 to re-emerge as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The cause of the split was the other parties’ strong objection to its association with the RSS. Its predecessor the JS was floated as the political arm of the RSS. The BJP retains that character to this day. Last month saw an obscene power play at the highest levels of its power structure. Lal Krishna Advani, former deputy prime minister, opposed the anointment of Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat as the BJP’s candidate for the prime minister’s office in the general elections due next year. Advani has never recovered from his successive defeats in 2004 and 2009. Now he sees a man he had helped to survive pip him to the post. After the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in February 2002 the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee contemplated asking Modi to resign. Advani came to his rescue. Last year Modi won his third victory in the state assembly elections and, to Advani’s discomfiture, the support of a demoralised BJP. The rest of the country is not impressed, either. The RSS has tightened its control over the BJP and that bodes ill for India’s democracy and its secularism. Advani’s stand on the RSS has varied with his fortunes. He proudly reminds one and all that he had joined that fascist body in 1942 in Karachi when he had just turned 14. He owed his rise in the party to the RSS’ support and endorsed its line when it ousted two presidents of the Jan Sangh in 1954 and 1973. He was its third victim. During his tour of Pakistan, he wrote a laudatory comment in the visitor’s book at the mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 2005. It was not designed to woo Pakistanis but to impress Indians that he was not the hardline character they had imagined. All hell broke loose in the ranks of the BJP. Immediately on his return to New Delhi the RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat told BJP workers that Advani had to go. Advani complied the very next day but secured a reprieve for a graceful exit. He formally resigned on Dec 31, 2005, but not before telling the party that “the BJP has taken the ideology of culture and nationalism from the RSS and the BJP is inseparable from the RSS”. Yet in a formal statement he had spoken of “an impression” that “no political or organisational decision can be taken without the consent of the RSS functionaries”. His successor Rajnath Singh instantly declared “we are all workers” of the RSS. It is unnecessary to trace the changes that followed except to note that in March 2009 Bhagwat became the RSS supremo and appointed a veritable Caligula, an obscure Mohan Gadkari, as BJP president. Gadkari later resigned under a cloud and Rajnath Singh took over. Bhagwat and Singh overrode Advani’s objections to make Modi the BJP’s campaign chief, its face in the poll campaign and favourite for the prime minister’s job if the BJP won the polls. Advani resigned from all the party posts on June 7, withdrew his resignation shortly thereafter and went to the RSS headquarters in New Delhi to call on its supremo on June 20. The statement issued thereafter said it all. “Bhagwatji gave Advaniji a patient hearing”. This is the language used for a superior according an audience to a supplicant. He had failed. The grim realities are that Modi is in the ascendant. His confidant Amit Shah is now a general secretary of the BJP’s UP chief and faces criminal charges. Mohan Bhagwat is all set to impose the RSS agenda even more firmly on the BJP. Sure enough on July 6, Amit Shah rushed to Ayodhya, to the makeshift temple set up illegally on the debris of the demolished Babri Masjid, and “prayed that we together build a Ram temple as soon as possible”. The RSS worldview, articulated by Mohan Bhagwat in a series of pronouncements, is disquieting. “India has to lead the world” he ambitiously proclaimed in October last year. The RSS organ Organiser reported an earlier speech in which “quoting the example of human body, he said that importance of any part of body is only as long as it remains with body and separation of it would pain both — body and part. Similarly, separation of countries like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Tibet, Pakistan, etc. has created problems for those countries and they in turn are creating problems for us. As a result of this, Indian borders are contracting and the day will come when there would be no place for Hindus to live in Hindustan”. Despite the moderating, if feeble, influence of the then prime minister, Vajpayee, the BJP pursued its own agenda, when it was in power at the centre (1996-2004) as do BJP-led state governments. Two eminent scholars Manjeet S. Pardesi and Jennifer L. Oetken record: “In spite of the constraints of a coalition government, the BJP was not restrained from implementing education policies that promoted a skewed interpretation of India’s history along their ideological lines.” They have conflated the Vedic period of India’s history (1500 BC – 600 BC approximately) with the Indus Valley civilisation (which flourished in the third millennium BC) to show that all of India’s Hindus are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the subcontinent.” Expect far worse from a BJP tightly controlled by the RSS, without any moderating checks, whatsoever. The writer is an author and a lawyer.
Getting the optics wrong By Abbas Nasir THE Sharif government may possibly get the substance right in the long run but its ‘optics’ for now are hardly confidence-inspiring.. In this day and age of 24/7 media, particularly the intrusive and relentless TV camera, optics aren’t without significance. Observe the PML-N silence in the face of questions about the watch on Nawaz Sharif’s wrist as he got up to address the Assembly on being elected prime minister last month. The party did not deny reports that the prime minister was wearing a Louis Moinet Meteoris said to cost more than $4.5 million. So, is it safe to assume he was in fact wearing one? The PML-N should be grateful it enjoys considerable media goodwill in its first months in office. Otherwise, the party and its leader could have become the subject of criticism just as former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar did when she was photographed carrying an expensive (though to be fair a fraction of the Meteoris’ price) Birkin handbag on an official visit to India. Then the Sharif family members have been observed enjoying a prominent role in running the government, even foreign policy. This was illustrated in the footage of younger brother Shahbaz getting Nawaz to repeat after him a message greeting the Chinese leadership. “Our friendship is higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the deepest ocean … ,” the somewhat shy prime minister may have struggled a bit with a hint of an embarrassed smile on his lips but in the end he acquitted himself well before the Chinese leaders across the table. That there was another elected chief minister, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch of Balochistan, as part of the entourage was hardly noticed, such was the predominance of the Sharif family members, elected and unelected; this, of course, despite Gwadar Port’s strategic importance to the Chinese. The presence of Husain Nawaz, the prime minister’s London-based son who is said to manage a hearty UK property portfolio, at energy meetings along with Khwaja Asif, the minister concerned, raised many a brow, prompting the latter to defend Husain Nawaz’s presence on the grounds of ‘tradition’. The PML-N had responded earlier to criticism of the prime minister’s fairly large entourage that included many family members by saying Mr Sharif had paid for their travel expenses out of his own pocket and that the state hadn’t been burdened. But it was a bit much that ‘tradition’ warranted the presence of some family members at critical official talks. This is particularly worrisome because some of the Sharif family are entrusted with running their sprawling business empire and shouldn’t be allowed close to government. Democracy demands, not least of an elected government that doesn’t tire of reminding us how it excels at governance, that all conflict of interest scenarios are properly anticipated and measures taken to work round them. Conflict of interest is a substantial issue which both the opposition and the judiciary can also bring to the fore if the governing party refuses to put in place safeguards. However, is the government’s attitude a hint of the course it’ll follow? Does it care how it is viewed by the public? Let’s look at this example to explore the point. Just a few days ago a TV channel was showing a report of Shahbaz Sharif’s son and a member of the National Assembly, Hamza Sharif, arriving at a ‘sasta’ (fair price) Ramazan bazar in, I think Sheikhupura; he came in a Punjab government helicopter. If this was all, one would say perhaps the MNA’s use of the helicopter could have been explained away by him. What followed was even grander. From the helipad to the bazaar, the Punjab chief minister’s heir apparent was driven in a convoy of 20, yes, 20 vehicles. In this ultra-volatile and precarious security environment one is not prone to passing judgements on anyone’s legitimate security arrangements but surely nearly two dozen vehicles was an example of excess rather than of anything legitimate. Thankfully, the days of military takeovers in Pakistan may well be a thing of the past. It should also be remembered that given the role the military still plays in internal security GHQ remains a major player. One need look no further than Balochistan where despite the installation of a nationalist-led government made possible, in the words of the prime minister, by the PML-N’s ‘sacrifice’, many Baloch on the ground say nothing has changed. Sectarian killings continue unabated and Baloch youth continue to disappear and their twisted, tormented bodies showing signs of extreme violence continue to be found dumped not just in the province but also in Karachi. The Balochistan chief minister seems to be a helpless bystander for now looking towards his benefactor, the prime minister, to put a leash on the seemingly out-of-control death squads that many Baloch allege are run by the services intelligence set-up. In the Abbottabad Commission report draft leaked to the media the contempt of the former ISI chief towards the civilian administration was palpable. His views were more likely his institution’s rather than merely personal. Unless the PML-N moves quickly to work on its optics as it claims to be working on the substance of all major issues staring Pakistan in the face, it can be sure it’ll end up both eroding the goodwill it enjoys today and diluting the stunning mandate it got in the May elections. It needs to understand that it isn’t a question of optics alone. Some of its decisions such as the recent one to release three most wanted Lashkar-i-Jhangvi militants in exchange for some policemen taken hostage by ‘outlaws’ in Rajanpur are hardly laudable. Neither is the party’s apparent dithering on working towards a comprehensive counterterrorism policy. The PML-N will need to address the substance and optics in tandem to have the right impact before the euphoria over its huge election win evaporates. The writer is a former editor of Dawn. abbas.nasir@hotmail.com
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