DWS, Sunday 6th October to Saturday 12th October 2013

	DWS, Sunday 6th October to Saturday 12th October 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
Balochistan proof shared with India By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: Pakistan has shared proof of foreign involvement in Balochistan with the country concerned, the foreign secretary disclosed on Saturday.. “We have shared the information with the relevant people,” Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters after a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Although he did not name any country, officials have quite often accused India of fomenting violence in Balochistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his recent meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh in New York, had also raised the allegations of Indian involvement in Balochistan unrest. The meeting, which took place days after Dr Singh termed Pakistan an epicentre of terrorism in his speech to the UN General Assembly, was the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders since the PML-N government took office in June. The Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz, had said on Thursday that the matter came up during the meeting of the two prime ministers and Dr Singh had sought evidence. “We will share the proof,” Mr Aziz added. Foreign Secretary Jilani said that while terrorism was a serious concern for both countries, hurling allegations and pointing fingers was not a wise course. The government has often accused foreign elements of promoting strife in Balochistan but has been reluctant to make the evidence public. The disinclination to make the proof public has led to doubts about it being watertight. It is said that the PPP-led government had placed some of the evidence of Indian hand in Balochistan before the Senate last year. A senior official claimed that Pakistan had been sharing proofs of Indian involvement with Delhi since 2006 under the anti-terror mechanism.Prime Minister Singh had in 2009 at the Sharm El Sheikh summit with then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani agreed to discuss the allegations with Pakistan. The Balochistan issue was also reflected in the joint statement issued after that meeting. APP adds: Foreign Secretary Jilani said that Pakistan wanted negotiated settlement of all outstanding issues with India, including Kashmir. He urged India to come to the negotiating table instead of levelling allegations against Pakistan. About drone strikes, he said Prime Minister Sharif would take up the issue during his meeting with President Barack Obama this month and at all other forums. In reply to a question about the release of Mullah Baradar, he said it was part of the Afghan reconciliation process, denying that he was being handed over to any country.
Diversion of gas supply opposed By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: The national economy is likely to face a loss of Rs19.6 billion for every 100 mmcfd (million cubic feet per day) if the entire supply of natural gas is diverted from fertiliser units to power plants, a senior lawyer told the Supreme Court on Friday.. Reacting to suggestions put forth by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) requesting the court to order the government to divert 100 per cent supply of natural gas to electricity generation units, Advocate Khalid Anwar cautioned that any such decision would adversely affect not only fertiliser companies and the government but also end users – the farming community. The court had taken up a case relating to loadshedding during the hearing of which the government had to withdraw the Sept 30 notification of jacking up electricity tariff by 30pc for domestic consumers. Nepra chairman Khawaja Naeem had suggested that diverting gas to power plants would help reduce the cost of electricity by 35pc. The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also emphasised that instead of independent power projects (IPPs), which mainly run on RFO (residual fuel oil, commonly known as finance oil) or HSD (high speed diesel), the government should rely more on hydel and divert more natural gas to the power sector instead of fertiliser units, the finished product of which usually smuggled to Iran and Afghanistan forcing peasants in Pakistan to buy fertiliser at higher prices. The existing installed capacity of gas-run power plants in the country is 4,730MW whereas it is 6,900MW for the hydel power. After loadshedding proceedings were over, Khalid Anwar invited the attention of the court towards hazards of diverting gas to power plants from fertiliser units. Talking to Dawn, Khalid Anwar cited a 2011 policy analysis report on the Pakistan Integrated Energy Model prepared by the International Resources Group for the Asian Development Bank and the ministry of petroleum and development. He recalled that the report concluded that the supply of gas had a higher economic value for fertiliser production compared to the power sector. The system level economic valuation indicates that reducing gas to the fertiliser sector costs the economy Rs196 million per mmcfd whereas increasing gas to the power sector costs the economy Rs98m per mmcfd. “The plant level comparison shows that using 100 mmcfd for fertiliser saves Rs29.4bn compared to fertiliser imports, while replacing 100 mmcfd for power saves Rs6.4bn compared to heavy fuel oil imports,” the report said.Thus using natural gas for fertiliser units has higher savings than using it for power generation by Rs23bn since for every 100 mmcfd in the fertiliser sector gives a net benefit of Rs19.6bn. Khalid Anwar recalled that the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet had directed the petroleum ministry on Oct 3 to ensure gas supply to fertiliser plants during Rabi season in line with their quota to enable them achieve production costs. The ECC also decided to import 500,000 tons of urea for Rabi season. On the other hand a top government officer, who is involved in managing affairs of the overall electricity situation, told Dawn that running existing power plants on furnace oil or HSD cost the government Rs440m a day or Rs13.2bn a month. Whereas the cost will be drastically cut to Rs102m per day or Rs3bn a month if gas is supplied to power plants unhindered. Thus the eventual beneficiary will be poor consumers because their electricity bills would be cut drastically.
2,000 blue passports to be cancelled By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: The government has finally decided to cancel over 2,000 blue passports allegedly issued to unauthorised persons in violation of rules during the five years of the PPP-led government.. The order of cancellation of these passports was passed by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan during a meeting on Saturday. Most of these blue passports which had allegedly been sold out to private individuals by an organised network were issued between July 2010 and February this year. Most holders of these passports have already proceeded abroad because blue passports allow entry into a number of countries without a visa. Even after disclosure of the scam through which many of those at the helm of affairs were believed to have made billions of rupees, the business continued till February. Early this year, three individuals possessing blue passports had been detained at Lahore airport when on demand of a no objection certificate from their department for proceeding abroad, they disclosed that they were not government servants and that they had paid Rs2 million each to obtain the travel document meant only for government employees. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was subsequently asked to conduct a thorough inquiry into the scam, but no meaningful probe took place. Soon after assuming charge as Director General of Immigration and Passports in March this year, Zulfikar Cheema (now serving as Inspector General of Motorway Police) had sent a number of summaries to the Interior Ministry — one of which recommended immediate cancellation of 2,002 official passports issued to unauthorised individuals. He had also suspended a number of officials of his department for their alleged involvement in the scam. During a meeting on Saturday, Director General of Immigrations and Passports Sultan Sikandar Raja briefed the interior minister about the performance and initiatives launched by his directorate. The minister issued directives that blue passports be issued only to entitled persons and there would be no relaxation in rules in this regards. Mr Raja said a computerised check had been placed on the process of issuing blue passports to curb its misuse in future. He said facilitation desks had been established at regional offices to register complaints of the general public.
Two held in Nanga Parbat attack case By Our Correspondent GILGIT, Oct 5: Security forces claimed to have caught two alleged high-profile terrorists who, according to police, have links with the attack on foreign mountaineers near Nanga Parbat. The suspects were caught in the remote northern town of Chilas.. A police officer told Dawn that the arrests were made during a massive search operation in the town after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of the two alleged terrorists. He claimed that the arrested men were directly involved in the Nanga Parbat incident of June 23 in which 10 foreign mountaineers were killed. He said a door-to-door search lasted 30 hours and that further raids were expected. The arrested men were hiding in a house. They were disguised in women’s clothing and were trying to escape at the time of the arrest. He said police found the hideout of the two men after intercepting some phone calls. The entire area had been cordoned off for launching the operation, he added. The Shaheen Coat, Takia and Jalil points of Chilas had been sealed and no one was allowed to enter or leave the town. The SSP of Diamer, Mohammad Naveed, confirmed the arrest and said a joint team of police and other security forces launched the operation. He did not disclose identities of the arrested men and said there were chances of a breakthrough after interrogation. He said a huge quantity of weapons had been seized during the operation. The SSP said 15 other suspects had also been taken into custody, but police released them later because they had no criminal record. Earlier, the SSP told media personnel about threats of terrorism in the town. He said security had been beefed up in the town and that security forces were prepared to cope with any untoward situation.
US won’t default, Obama assures world By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, Oct 5: US President Barack Obama assured a jittery world on Saturday that America would not default on its foreign obligations despite almost a weeklong government shutdown. . The US Department of Treasury warned earlier this week that America could default if Congress did not raise the country’s debt ceiling by Oct 17. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr Obama said he believed the House and Senate would approve a bill that would enable the US to meet its obligations. And Mr Obama’s chief diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, assured US allies that the government shutdown would not affect America’s foreign engagements. But US foreign policy experts pointed out that the dispute had already hurt the US image, presenting it as a nation where political parties could go to any length to score points. “It affects our credibility because we are, in many ways, the irreplaceable country in the world because of our power, and countries expect us to be fully engaged on a day-by-day basis,” said former Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. “You can’t take weekends off. You can’t take holidays,” he told the NPR radio network. Similarly, more than a dozen economists told CNN that taking America too close to the Oct 17 deadline would have unsettling effects on the international market. Addressing such concerns, Mr Obama said: “And I’m pretty willing to bet that there are enough votes in the House of Representatives right now to make sure that the United States doesn’t end up being a deadbeat.” His rival Republicans, who control the House, also have sent similar signals, telling reporters that they are working quietly on a bill to prevent the default. Moderate Republicans hope that they will be able to get this resolution adopted with support from the Democrats who back President Obama, also a Democrat, in this dispute. The Republicans, however, were still adamant to de-fund the president’s health package which seeks to provide insurance coverage to millions of uninsured, working class Americans. Mr Obama said that these working class Americans “definitely shouldn’t give up” on the healthcare programme, which, he promised, would survive the Republican onslaught. Also on Saturday, the House unanimously passed a piece of legislation to retroactively pay 800,000 furloughed federal employees once the government reopened. But Republican and Democratic members of the House remained divided over ending the shutdown, which was in its fifth day on Saturday.
Five shot dead in Karachi By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 5: Five people were killed in suspected sectarian and targeted attacks in the city on Saturday, police said.. Shabbir Hussain, 40, and Shahid Raza, 37, were attacked by armed men on the Nazimabad bridge near Rizvia Society when they were going home on a motorbike. “Shabbir Hussain was a resident of Soldier Bazaar and ran a general store in Nazimabad,” said an official at Nazimabad police station. “Shahid Raza lived in Rizvia Society and worked as a salesman at Shabbir’s store. After pulling down his shutters, Shabbir was going to drop Shahid at his home when they were targeted.” He said the bodies were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. He said police suspected sectarian motive behind the killings. In Orangi Town, a 40-year-old man was killed in an attack on his shop. Police suspected extortion threat as one of the reasons for the attack. “Ameer Ali, was targeted when he was sitting at his cosmetics shop near Chishti Nagar,” said an official at the Iqbal Market police station. Two unidentified men were found shot dead in Lyari, police said.
PM’s style of governance irks party members By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: Some in the ruling party openly, and some discreetly, have begun expressing concerns over concentration of powers in the Prime Minister Office. . Sources in the PML-N have told Dawn that there’s considerable resentment in the party against what they call the prime minister’s over-reliance on bureaucracy. The sources said that even some ministers had protested over lack of control of their ministries. According to them, the PM Office not only keeps close tabs on all ministries but also intervenes in their routine affairs. “The federal cabinet exists only on paper; on the ground every government department is being micro-managed through bureaucrats, both serving and retired,” said a senior PML-N leader. Ministers are not even allowed to hire personal secretaries of their choice. A minister had a ‘shouting match’ with a senior cabinet colleague over the matter and threatened to quit the portfolio if demand for a secretary of choice wasn’t accepted. Similarly, ministers have been barred from appointing and transferring staff in their departments without prior approval of the PM Office. The prime minister recently turned down requests from two ministers for transfer of their secretaries. “By all means, it’s a highly centralised government and the PM Office is at the centre of all powers. The concept of decentralisation of power and collective responsibility, which forms the core of the parliamentary form of government, doesn’t exist here,” said another PML-N leader. He confirmed that ministers were not allowed to run their ministries independently. During cabinet meetings, he said, the ministers dared not ask any question, what to talk of offering views that differed from those of the premier. According to him, this is the sole reason why ministers don’t take interest in attending the proceedings of parliament and answering questions. During the last National Assembly session, the treasury benches were assailed by the opposition for ministers’ absence from the house. “Why should ministers go to the house and set themselves up for tough questions when they can hardly do anything worthwhile in their ministries,” argued the party leader. At the moment, the prime minister is holding portfolios of important ministries like foreign affairs, defence, communications and law. Meanwhile, the PML-N leadership is known for running highly centralised governments. From 2008 to 2013, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif single-handedly ran the provincial government. However, this time he has shared some of his powers with his son Hamza Shahbaz. On the other hand, the chief minister is sharing the burden of his elder brother at the centre. He regularly attends meetings of the water and power ministry and the planning division. Besides the PM Office, Shahbaz Sharif also keeps tabs on the federal departments. A federal government official confirmed that bureaucrats had been instructed to regularly send progress reports on federal government departments to the chief minister. The prime minister’s tendency to prefer bureaucrats over politicians is also evident in the appointment of his advisers and special assistants. Three of his four advisers and special assistants — Tariq Fatemi, Sartaj Aziz and Khawaja Zaheer — are former bureaucrats. Only Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, who has been appointed as special assistant to the prime minister and enjoys the status of a federal minister, is a politician. However, Mr Zehri’s is a totally different story. Mr Zehri was a strong candidate for the post of chief minister of Balochistan, which eventually went to Dr Abdul Malik Baloch of the National Party. The prime minister rewarded Mr Zehri with the status of federal minister only to placate him, according to the sources. Since the general elections, many senior party members have been sidelined. PML-N’s Secretary General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra is still waiting for some important assignment. Initially, there were reports that he would be made governor of his home province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. If a senior member of the PML-N is to be believed, Mr Jhagra even finds difficulty in holding a meeting with the prime minister, who is the party’s president. “What message are we sending to the party’s rank and file who remained loyal to the party leadership during Gen [Pervez] Musharraf’s rule,” a party leader said. He criticised the present lot of prime minister’s advisers who were deliberately not allowing genuine party workers to go near the PM Office. The PML-N leader also recalled how the party loyalists were ignored when the prime minister picked former British lawmaker Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar as the Punjab governor. Earlier, Rana Iqbal was tipped as governor, but he was made speaker of the Punjab assembly instead. Former Sindh chief minister Syed Ghous Ali Shah, who went through difficult times during the Musharraf regime, met a similar fate. Mr Shah resigned as president of the party’s Sindh chapter in August, after the party refused to accommodate him in the federal government. “Once in power, the party workers expect respect from their leadership, both in terms of reward and recognition. But that’s missing from our government,” said the party source. Worse still, no sincere effort was made to address Mr Shah’s grievances, he added.
Zardari urges govt to review offences carrying death penalty By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has urged the government to thoroughly review the offences in which death penalty is awarded in the light of religious obligations and conditions prevailing in the country.. “The proponents of death penalty often argue that Islam ordains it. According to a large number of eminent religious scholars, Islam provides for death punishment only for murder and fasad fil arz (mischief on Earth) but in Pakistan over two dozen offences carry death penalty. This makes it necessary that the list of offences carrying death penalty is reviewed,” Mr Zardari said in a statement released by his spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar. He said the PPP would support the government in carrying out a review of the list of offences. The former president said Pakistan had also signed and ratified a number of international agreements that obligated it to accept the international human rights mechanisms. “The second protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed by Pakistan, calls for abolition of the death penalty and cannot be ignored for too long,” he added. Mr Zardari said capital punishment was irreversible and no remedy was available if it’s established later that the executed person was innocent. “The nation has still not recovered from the after effects of the execution of Pakistan’s first directly elected prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto through dubious and politically motivated proceedings,” he said. Mr Zardari said that even in countries with strong and efficient justice systems, death penalty had been abolished on the ground of possibility of wrong conviction.
Kayani decides to call it a day By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had one less worry by Sunday evening. . Unexpectedly, a press release from the Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of the armed forces in general and the army in particular, landed in various media houses and inboxes without any fanfare. The short statement was of great significance as it contained a message from Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani that he would retire in November when his second three-year tenure ended. This short and simple press release made it clear that now Prime Minister Sharif would have to choose from new contenders, instead of weighing the pros and cons of experience versus fresh blood. He had taken over as the COAS in 2007 — when then COAS and president Pervez Musharraf was compelled to give up his army post in the face of great political opposition and turmoil. And though Kayani’s tenure ended in 2010, then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gave him a three-year extension, a decision that had even then attracted controversy and criticism. The ISPR statement made no bones about the fact that it was prompted by the speculation that had engulfed the country for days. “For quite some time, my current responsibilities and likely future plans have been debated in the media with all sorts of rumours and speculations doing the rounds. The subject of being entrusted with new duties has also come up in several reports. I am grateful to the political leadership and the nation for reposing their trust in me and Pakistan Army at this important juncture of our national history. However, I share the general opinion that institutions and traditions are stronger than individuals and must take precedence.” And having acknowledged the importance of institutions, he ended by saying, “My tenure ends on 29th November 2013. On that day I will retire.” It was an unusual announcement as rarely do army chiefs in Pakistan announce their intention to hang up their uniform weeks before d-day. But clearly the COAS had realised the harm the random speculation was causing. SPECULATIONS: It is noteworthy that the announcement came from the COAS himself and not the government. The latter simply reacted to the news on television channels when its members were asked to comment on the development. For days now, Islamabad had been witness to speculations that like the PPP government that came earlier Sharif too had succumbed to pressure (be it military or American) and agreed to give Kayani an extension. The rationale for this was no different from the one presented in 2010 — continuation of policies and a stable environment which was needed as the Americans withdrew from Afghanistan and Pakistan battled militancy. The speculations became feverish after news stories by two international media outlets — one reported that Kayani was going to be elevated to the position of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee at the end of his tenure. A second story in Wall Street Journal appeared to be even more damaging - citing unnamed military and civilian officials, it had claimed that Kayani was lobbying to keep a defence role. It said he had pressed for a further one or two years in the same position but that this was difficult for the government to accept. The story further reported that he was prepared to accept a revamped Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee job or to become an adviser to the government. “He could also be placated with the job of ambassador to the US,” the report said. At the same time, the news channels too were discussing the issue. Many a talk show in recent days had discussed the possibility of an extension and the possible replacement. And many retired military officers who were not averse to appearing in the shows and discussing the issue pointed out time and again that such discussions about the appointment of the army chief were not appropriate. Though Prime Minister Sharif had not responded to the speculation, he had not helped matters when he refused to rule out an extension during an interview to the Wall Street Journal in New York in September. This refusal along with the speculation had led to allegations that Sharif too yielded to the fears of a ‘devil he did not know’ as well as American pressure. In fact, for longer there had also been speculation that the PML-N government was keeping the post of ambassador to the US vacant because it wanted Kayani to fill the post. A senior military official when contacted said there was no veracity in the reports that the army chief, after his retirement, would either become national security adviser or be appointed as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. “He will not accept any office,” he said. However, despite the speculations that focused on his extension, there were also signs that another extension would perhaps not be palatable. Those who had criticised the earlier extension were more vocal this time around. In addition there was the fact that Kayani’s second term had not been as smooth as his first. Having taken over after Musharraf, the first three years had been seen as rather successful — under the new COAS who was seen to be focused on his professional duties, the chain smoking and ‘thinking’ general had been praised for military operations that checked militancy and reducing the military footprint in politics. However, the next three years brought a reversal of fortunes so to say. The military’s reluctance to take the battle to North Waziristan; the ‘discovery’ of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad; ‘memogate’ affair and rumours of corruption with regards to family members, all led to allegations that Kayani too was interfering in politics and that the army was still maintaining its links with Afghan Taliban and hence reluctant to eliminate their Pakistani counterparts who were attacking Pakistan. The most damaging was the US raid in May 2011 that took out Bin Laden. It led to allegations that ranged from the one that the military was complicit in keeping the world’s most wanted man hidden in Pakistan to the most gracious one that called the army so incompetent that it failed to notice that he was hiding in a cantonment town. In addition, the two extensions given to DG ISI Shuja Pasha and Kayani’s own extension were reported to have caused resentment within the rank and file — after 10 years of having Musharraf blocked the promotions to the top, Kayani was now seen as guilty of the same charge. This is one reason, critics allege, Pasha was retired earlier this year instead of being given another extension. Kayani came to the limelight in October 2007 when he was promoted as a four-star General and appointed as Vice Chief of the Army Staff. On Nov 28, he became the Army Chief. He is the only COAS to have held the position of Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) before climbing to the top most position.
Focus shifts to PM’s office ISLAMABAD: Now that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has made it clear that he will go home in the end of November, all the focus will shift to the prime minister’s office which is expected to announce the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the new COAS. The speculations will continue and the rumour mills will keep working for the time being.. Already there have been reports that a summary listing the top choices has been sent to the prime minister; however, this has not been confirmed by the government. But some clarity may emerge once the new CJCSC is announced in the coming days as General Khalid Shamim Wynne, the current CJCSC, retires on Oct 8. If the principle of seniority is applied and the army continues its domination over this post, Chief of Logistics Staff Lt General Haroon Aslam is the senior most after General Kayani and will be elevated to this post. His name has been mentioned by some as the next CJCSC. But there have also been discussions about introducing more fairness to the issue and rotating this post among the three services. There are also reports that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keen to do this — if this is the case then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Asif Sandila is reported to be sitting pretty. But if the position is retained by the army, the convention demands that the three senior most names are sent to the prime minister for him to make a choice. If this convention is adhered to, the three names Mr Sharif will be considering are: Lt General Rashad Mehmood, Chief of General Staff; Lt General Raheel Sharif, Inspector General Training and Evaluation; and Lt General Tariq Khan, Corps Commander Mangla.—Staff Reporter
Opposition leader welcomes general’s decision By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah has welcomed Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s decision to retire by the end of next month. . In a statement issued here on Sunday, he said the decision would set a good example for military leaders. He said: “Gen Kayani’s decision not to stay on as army chief any longer would go a long way in establishing a remarkable example in armed forces institutions.” Mr Shah said that after the landmark democratic transition of power, it was another meritorious step to set good values and strengthen the institutions in the country. “This has not only brought the speculations to an end on the matter of extension, but also made it easy for decision-makers to take a right step as per laid down criteria and that is none other than preferring merit,” he said. Mr Shah praised Gen Kayani’s services both for the country and democracy at a very critical juncture. “His measures to distance military from politics and play his role remaining within the dictates of constitution are very laudable,” he added. “Gen Kayani’s honesty of purpose reflects in his statement and we hope that the coming chief of army staff will follow the steps Gen Kiani has taken to safeguard the country and strengthen the democratic institutions in Pakistan because the future of the country is in respecting the will of the people and that is democracy,” the opposition leader said.
PIA plane catches fire in air, lands back safely By Hasan Mansoor KARACHI, Oct 6: A Pakistan International Airlines’ plane safely landed back at the Karachi airport, 15 minutes after having taken off for Dubai when the pilot spotted a flame in the engine, officials said on Sunday night.. Pakistan International Airlines’ flight PK-213, an Airbus A-310, had departed from the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport at about 10:10pm. “After 15 minutes in the air, the pilot found a flame in an engine of the plane. The pilot kept his nerves and turned the plane around to land back at Karachi airport,” PIA spokesman Mashhood Tajwar told Dawn. He said the pilot got the plane safely landed and all 54 passengers and 10 crew members, including two pilots, remained unhurt. The airport management ordered an alert after receiving information about the plane’s returning towards the strip from where it had taken off. Residents in some eastern parts of the city spotted the plane flying extraordinarily low with a flame blinking. The frantic calls to TV stations got alarming headlines flashed on television screens. Some witnesses reported having heard an explosion before the plane caught fire. “Our family was in the Pakistan Air Force Museum when we heard a big explosion in the air. We looked upwards and saw a plane with a huge yellowish flame,” said Ayaz Ansari, a marketing manager with a local firm. “We followed the plane going over the sea, then its speed slowed and it turned around. The sight was foreboding for many families in the museum,” he added. Officials, however, said the incident caused no change in the schedule of the remaining domestic and international flights. They said experts concerned were inspecting the plane to identify the reason behind the fault.
Govt to back Ulema’s efforts for peace By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said here on Sunday that the government would fully support Ulema’s efforts for peace through talks with militants.. “The PML-N government highly values recent efforts made by renowned religious scholars to find a comprehensive and long-lasting solution to the issue (of terrorism),” he said in a “policy statement” issued by the Ministry of Interior. He noted with satisfaction that the Ulema had themselves taken the initiative and said: “…We want to see their efforts for peace succeeding.” The statement was apparently issued in response to a declaration issued by a meeting of Ulema and representatives of religious seminaries functioning under Wafaqul Madaris welcoming the government’s initiative to hold peace talks with Taliban. In the “consultative meeting” held on Sept 30 in Islamabad the Ulema expressed concern over “civil war-like situation” in the country and appealed to both the government and Taliban to observe a ceasefire till completion of peace process. A spokesman for the Wafaqul Madaris Abdul Quddoos had told Dawn that the organisation was willing to play mediator’s role in peace process, but at the same time, he said he worried that in the past the establishment “used our shoulders but did what it had already decided.” He said the Wafaqul Madaris had played a mediatory role during the Lal Masjid fiasco in 2007 and later in Swat, but on both occasions its efforts were thwarted by use of military force at the end. “This time we do not want to put our reputation at stake”, he said. Claiming that his organisation had no links with Taliban, he said that it would try to establish contacts with the three stakeholders -- the government, army and Taliban -- for the sake of peace. Expressing grief over the loss of innocent lives in recent incidents of terrorism, the Ulema said the government and Taliban had agreed to talk which was a satisfactory development. The minister claimed that the government enjoyed support of the armed forces which wanted the government’s efforts for peace to succeed. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had repeatedly stated that use of force should be avoided in quest for peace. He said that the government had a clear stance on drone strikes and Mr Sharif was the first head of the government over the past nine years to have opposed the attacks in the UN General Assembly.
Delay in talks to create complications, warns Fazl Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Oct 6: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the government and the Taliban have established contacts, but an agenda for formal talks is yet to be worked out. . Talking to journalists after addressing a seminar on Sunday, he said implementation of the resolution adopted by an all-party conference last month would help restore peace in the country because both the political and military leadership had authorised the government to hold talks with the Taliban. He urged the government to initiate formal dialogue with the Taliban to end militancy. “Delay in talks will create complications,” he warned. When asked about his planned visit to Kabul, Maulana Fazl said he would meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai because he could not meet him during his recent visit to Islamabad. The Afghan president, he added, had formally invited him to visit Kabul. “People-to-people contacts between the two countries are good for peace in the region,” he said. At the seminar, the Maulana said Islam was a religion of moderation and could not be enforced at gunpoint. “Islam teaches moderation and Sharia cannot be implemented by force.” He alleged that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had been handed over to non-governmental organisations for making policies and running its affairs. “The forces which handed over the KP government to ‘immature people’ are ignorant of sensitivities in the province.” About the KP government, he said it had become a provincial NGO. He also alleged that JUI-F’s mandate had been stolen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and his party did not accept the election results. He accused ‘some elements’ of trying to undermine religious sentiments of the people of the province. Seminaries, he said, were also NGOs but they did not follow foreign agenda, but worked to promote Islamic thoughts and culture. Maulana Fazl said he criticised the PTI because of its policies and not because of any personal grudge. “The constitution says the government will promote Islamic teachings, but what is happening in the country is quite contrary to what the constitution says,” he added.
PTI accuses Aziz of favouring private varsity colony By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: A senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has accused Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz of using his ‘clout’ with the Punjab government to get a dual carriageway constructed at a cost of Rs70 million for the benefit of a private university’s housing colony. . “Sartaj Aziz, former vice-chancellor of the Beaconhouse University (BHU), after his appointment as the adviser, is using his clout to persuade the Punjab government to acquire land of small farmers to construct a 60-foot road for the BHU Housing Colony on Raiwind Road in Lahore,” PTI leader Ishaq Khakwani alleged in a statement. But Mr Aziz refuted the allegation and said he was only making efforts for the completion of a project approved some six years ago. “The cost of the project of a two-kilometre road is a huge amount of over Rs70 million and it will come from public kitty,” Mr Khakwani alleged. “This case of acquisition of land on government expense is a glaring example of misuse of authority and nepotism.” Mr Aziz said the project had been approved in 2007 by the then chief minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, to facilitate not only more than 2,000 students but the people living in villages near the campus. He clarified that no new road was being constructed and the project envisaged dualisation and carpeting of the existing 25-foot single road. Denying that he was using any clout, Mr Aziz said it was the responsibility of the local authorities to upgrade facilities for students and teachers of the campus and people living in suburbs. He claimed the road would be beneficial for some 10,000 villagers. Responding to the allegation about the Rs70m cost, the adviser said it included price of the land being acquired for the road. He said almost all the people concerned, except for a few, had given their consent for the acquisition of their land for the project. Mr Khakwani alleged that the housing project located near the campus was a commercial enterprise and added that there was no reason why the cost should be borne by the government. “There is no public interest in the land acquisition as the proposed carriageway starts from the gate of the BHU and connects it to Raiwind Road and offers no benefit to the population of Tarogil village, located at a distance of a kilometre,” the PTI leader and a former minister in the Musharraf regime said. Moreover, he alleged, the proposed road violated rules of the Planning and Design Directorate and the Punjab Highway Department. There was not a single village in Punjab which was connected to main road through a 60-foot road, he added. Mr Khakwani said: “I have documentary proof. The cost estimate of Rs70 million is five-year-old and now with revision, the cost must have considerably increased.”
US seizes suspect in Abbottabad-style Libya raid WASHINGTON, Oct 6: Two US raids in Africa show the United States is pressuring Al Qaeda, officials said on Sunday, though a failure in Somalia and an angry response in Libya also highlighted Washington’s problems.. In Tripoli, US forces snatched a Libyan wanted over the bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi 15 years ago and whisked him out of the country, prompting Secretary of State John Kerry to declare that Al Qaeda leaders “can run but they can’t hide”. But the capture of Nazih al Ragye, better known as Abu Anas al-Libi, also provoked a complaint about the “kidnap” from the Western-backed prime minister; he faces a backlash from armed Islamists who have carved out a share of power since the West helped Libyan rebels oust Muammar Qadhafi two years ago. In Somalia, Navy SEALs stormed ashore into the Al Shabaab stronghold of Barawe in response to the attack last month on a Kenyan mall but, a US official said, they failed to capture or kill the unnamed target among the Somali allies of Al Qaeda. Mr Kerry, on a visit to Indonesia, said President Barack Obama’s administration was “pleased with the results” of the combined assaults early on Saturday: “We hope this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror,” he said. Two years after Navy SEALs finally tracked down and killed Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, a decade after 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001, the twin operation demonstrated the reach of US military forces in Africa, where militancy has been in the ascendant. The forays also threw a spotlight on Somalia’s status as a fragmented haven for Al Qaeda allies more than 20 years after Washington intervened in vain in its civil war and Libya’s descent into an anarchic battleground between rival bands on the Mediterranean that stretches deep south into the Sahara. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said they showed Washington would “spare no effort to hold terrorists accountable”. Yet disrupting its most aggressive enemy, in an oil-rich state that is awash with arms and sits on Europe’s doorstep, may have been more the priority in the Libya raid than putting on trial a little known suspect in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Clearly aware of the risks to his government of complicity in the snatching of Libi as he returned to his suburban home from dawn prayers, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said: “The Libyan government is following the news of the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by US authorities. The Libyan government has contacted US authorities to ask them to provide an explanation.”—Agencies
Envoy assails ‘Pakistan bashing’ by Indian media HYDERABAD (Deccan), Oct 6: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir on Sunday took a swipe at Indian media, saying ‘Pakistan bashing’ had become its ‘favourite pastime’.. “Fortunately, in Pakistan this is not the case. Our media doesn’t extensively report negative about India. But, in India some of them (media channels) made a good business out of it. It certainly does not help our relationship,” Mr Bashir told reporters here while debunking reports about Pakistani infiltration in Keran sector of India-held Kashmir. “Friendship (between India and Pakistan) can only flourish if it is cultivated and nurtured in the hearts and the minds of people. So by poisoning their hearts and minds, you are killing the soil on which it is sought to be based,” he said. “Twisted reports (by media) prove to be a big disservice not only to our friendship, peace and future of peoples but they also hold us back from friendship and realising our potential as nation states. “True friendship comes from hearts. This is where this sort of negativity dampens it. Hope the (Indian) media doesn’t just go by sensational reporting but also try to take the essence and the spirit of good things that both countries have,” he added. The envoy said he would endorse a proposal for setting up a Pakistani visa facilitation centre in Hyderabad. “We need the government of India’s approval for that,” he said. Rahnuma-e-Deccan editor-in-chief Syed Vicaruddin, who hosted lunch in honour of the high commissioner, said he would take up the issue with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. Mr Vicaruddin also requested the Pakistani envoy to take steps towards introducing at least a weekly direct flight between Hyderabad and Karachi. By arrangement with the Times of India
JWP-A man shot dead in Khuzdar By Our Staff Correspondent QUETTA, Oct 6: A leader of Aali faction of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP-A) was shot dead on Sunday in Koshak area of Khuzdar district. . Police sources said that unknown armed men opened fire on Dad Ali Bugti, killing him on the spot. The attackers fled from scene of the attack. “The JWP-A leader, Dad Ali Bugti, was going to Karachi in a passenger coach when some armed men got the vehicle stopped in Koshak area of Khuzdar district, forced Mr Bugti to come out and shot him dead,” a district management official said. The police rushed to the site and took the body to a morgue. According to doctors, Mr Bugti suffered multiple bullet wounds on his body, causing his instant death. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the murder. The JWP-A leaders condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of killers.
Eidul Azha on 16th KARACHI, Oct 6: The moon of Zilhaj 1434 was sighted on Sunday and Eidul Azha will be celebrated in the country on Oct 16, Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee chairman Mufti Munibur Rehman announced after a meeting of the committee.—APP .
Nawaz to name COAS, CJCSC simultaneously By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sought on Monday more time for making key military appointments and said he would name both the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and the Chief of Army Staff together. . In a statement issued after consultations with his senior aides, the prime minister did not specify when he would make the announcement. However, it appeared that he would make the appointments in the run-up to Nov 29 when Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani would retire. “Announcement of successor to outgoing CJCSC before 8th October and retirement of army chief on 29th November are reasonably important issues which need comprehensive considerations,” the statement said. A subtext of the media note from the Prime Minister’s Office on the day CJCSC Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne retired from service carried a candid admission that the government had not done its homework for choosing his successor till Gen Kayani in a surprise move announced that he would retire from military service next month on completion of his extended tenure. With the government not immediately appointing Gen Wynne’s successor, the position will, as per convention, now remain with the most senior service chief in the committee — Gen Kayani in this case — till the appointment of the next CJCSC. “The government has been outfoxed by Gen Kayani’s announcement. It is clear the government was not prepared for the contingency … options were not ready,” defence analyst retired Gen Athar Abbas said. Another senior serving officer also shared this perception but did not want to be named. Gen Kayani’s statement, issued on Sunday in response to speculations in the media that he was being assigned new responsibilities, did not either explicitly deny that a future role had been offered to him. “I am grateful to the political leadership and the nation …. However, I share the general opinion that institutions and traditions are stronger than individuals and must take precedence,” Gen Kayani said. Analysts believe that the government had gone so deep into the option of Gen Kayani continuing in uniform that his announcement about retiring on schedule caught the government off guard and it now needed more time for deliberations on the appointments. Before May 11 elections, Mr Sharif had categorically ruled out an extension for Gen Kayani. But he appeared undecided in an interview with Wall Street Journal last month and in response to a question about extending the army chief’s tenure, he said: “I’m not saying yes or no.” Mr Sharif now says his government is aware of “its constitutional obligations” and a decision on army chief’s appointment will keep the country’s interest supreme. CJCSC: A special ceremony was held at the Joint Staff Headquarters to bid farewell to retiring CJCSC General Wynne. It was attended by Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Naval Chief Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt. In his parting words, Gen Wynne said: “Defence of the country is impregnable and gallant soldiers, sailors and airmen will not hesitate in making it even more formidable.” Punjab CM, governor consulted: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held on Monday a consultative meeting with Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammd Sarwar and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to discuss appointments on the important military posts of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Chief of Army Staff, Amjad Mahmood adds from Lahore. According to sources, the meeting decided to delay the nomination of next CJCSC till the time they made up their mind about the new army chief.
‘Over 57,600 bogus votes cast in a constituency’ By Tahir Siddiqui KARACHI, Oct 7: Another report of the National Database and Registration Authority has put a question mark on the transparency of May 11 general elections as verification of thumb impressions and other election material have confirmed allegations of rigging on a National Assembly seat in Karachi. . Nadra had carried out the examination of 84,748 votes in NA-256 on an application of the runner-up, Muhammad Zubair Khan of the PTI. Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan of the MQM had won the seat. According to the report submitted to the Karachi Election Tribunal on Monday, only 6,815 thumb impressions on ballots could be authenticated while those on 57,642 ballots could not be compared or matched by the Nadra system.
Polio team attacked near Peshawar; 2 dead By Ali Hazrat Bacha and Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Oct 7: A police official and a volunteer of an anti-militancy committee were killed and 13 people were injured when a bomb blew up a police van deployed outside a healthcare centre at Badbher to escort a team of polio vaccinators on Monday. . The attack coincided with detection of three fresh polio cases in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The bomb blast caused suspension of the anti-polio campaign in Shaikh Mohammadi Union Council in the suburbs of Peshawar, for an indefinite period. Peshawar SSP (operations) Najeebur Rehman told reporters that another large bomb placed near a dispensary in the same area had been defused. He said police were taking extra care in the prevailing situation and the bomb disposal unit was working to clear the area of mines. Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Syed Zaheerul Islam said the campaign had been suspended only in one union council and not other areas of Peshawar. A member of the Police Qaumi Razakar (PQR), Hameedullah Khan, told Dawn that he was in another van when the police vehicle was hit by the explosion. “The people in the van started crying for help. There was a thick cover of dust. We managed to transport the injured in our vehicle to the Lady Reading Hospital,” he said. Meanwhile, alerted about the presence of another bomb, police found a grenade in the area. He said many volunteers had stopped reporting for anti-polio duty. “We are doing this work to protect our young brothers and sisters from the disease but the government should protect the volunteers and absorb them in regular police,” Mr Khan said. An injured volunteer, Zewar Khan of Akhunabad, said that his 15 colleagues and a police official were going to the Sulemankhel Dispensary near Khyber Agency to escort an anti-polio teams but they could not reach there. “I am associated with the police as a volunteer and we escaped an attack by suspected militants in Shaikhan village about a week ago. Four of us had only one gun when we came under attack,” he said. He said the volunteers were not given weapons and those having their own arms were allowed to carry them. He said that the polio duty had become very dangerous and the government should arm the volunteers and pay them reasonable remuneration. An official of the bomb disposal unit said that about 4kg of explosives had been used in the explosion while the defused explosives weighed 8kg. According to Syed Jamil Shah, a spokesman of the hospital, ASI Sajid Hussain of Charsadda was brought dead and Niaz Gul of Badbher, a special police officer (SPO), died in the hospital. The detection of three more cases took the nationwide tally of polio cases reported this year to 39. Two of the new cases tested positive for polio at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad belong to Khyber Agency and the third to North Waziristan. The two children of Khyber Agency are 13-month-old Husna Bibi of Spin Kabar area and Uzair (about the same age) of Qambarkhel area of Bara tehsil. The number of polio cases reported in Khyber Agency is now 12. In North Waziristan, 10-month-old Nasirullah of Shameri village of Mir Ali tehsil brought the number of polio victims in the tribal agency to 11. Non-vaccination of children because of a ‘ban’ in North Waziristan announced by the Taliban in June last year has put more than 150,000 children at risk.
Malala supports talks with Taliban LONDON, Oct 7: Malala Yousufzai said on Monday she hoped to become a politician to “change the future of my country”.. The 16-year-old, whose continued fight for all children to go to school has made her a favourite for the Nobel peace prize this week, also backed dialogue with the Taliban, although she said this was an issue for the government. “I will be a politician in my future. I want to change the future of my country and I want to make education compulsory,” she said in a BBC interview. She added: “The best way to solve problem and to fight against war is through dialogue, and…through peaceful way. “But for me the best way to fight against terrorism and extremism is a simple thing — educate the next generation.” She said that issues of terrorism were “not an issue for me, that’s the job of the government…and that’s also the job of America”. Malala dismissed the continued threats against her life and repeated her desire to return to Pakistan from Britain, where she was flown for treatment after the attack last year and where she now goes to school. “The bad thing in our society and in our country is that you always wait for someone else to come,” she said. “If I’m saying that there is no-one who is doing anything for education, if I say there is no electricity, there is no natural gas, the schools are being blasted, and I’m saying no-one is doing this, why don’t I go for it, why don’t I do this? I believe that I will achieve this goal because Allah is with me, God is with me and he saved my life.” She admitted Britain had been a culture shock, “especially for my mother because we had never seen that women would be that much free — they would go to any market, they would be going alone with no men, no brothers and fathers”. She said: “I’m not becoming Western, I’m still following the Pashtun culture.”—AFP
Ecnec approves Rs42bn projects in different sectors By Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved on Monday nine projects of Rs42.9 billion in energy, education, health, transport and communications, irrigation and water sectors. These include two hydropower projects for Punjab to be completed at a cost of Rs24.8 billion.. A meeting of Ecnec was informed that the Punjab government had started work on the two projects and work on another project of 84 megawatts was recently launched in the private sector. Besides, Punjab will soon undertake the Taunsa Hydropower Project of 125 megawatts. The meeting presided over by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar approved Rs8.70 billion for three projects in Balochistan, Rs2.08 billion for a project in Sindh and Rs4.4 billion for two project s in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The committee also approved a Rs2.9 billion national scholarship programme. Approving upgradation of girls primary schools in 12 districts of Sindh, Ecnec directed the Sindh government to earmark Rs100 million as its contribution so that work could be completed in time. In order to make these schemes successful, teachers would have to be recruited on merit, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said at the meeting. The committee appreciated the lead taken by the KP government in initiating a social health insurance programme to provide health cover to 21 per cent poor households of seven people on an average. Mr Dar said this was a good approach and if it succeeded it could be replicated in other provinces. Ecnec also approved Rs3 billion for the Gomal Zam Dam Command Area Development and On-Farm Water Management for High Value and High Efficiency Agriculture Projects. The meeting directed the Planning and Development Division to rationalize the cost, period and area of cultivation and report to Ecnec at its next meeting. About 73 per cent cost of the project would be borne by USAID with a local contribution of Rs800 million in kind. The meeting approved construction of a flyover at the Sariab railway crossing to connect Zarghoon Road with Sariab Road. The committee approved construction of 100 ‘delay action’ dams in Balochsitan under Package-I and II to increase the level of groundwater. The projects are expected to bring 24,000 acres of land under cultivation and protect downstream areas from flash floods. The Punjab Irrigation System Improvement Project (PISIP) PK-P59 which will cover the irrigation zones of Bahawalpur, DG Khan and Faisalabad, was also approved. The meeting was attended by Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Mohammad Asif, Information Minister Senator Pervez Rashid, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications Anusha Rehman and representatives of all provinces and senior officials of the federal and provincial governments.
International aid agencies barred from Awaran By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The government is not allowing international humanitarian aid agencies to go into earthquake-affected districts of Balochistan.. In a press statement posted on its website on Oct 4, France-based Doctors Without Boarders has resented the government’s reluctance to allow its medical care providers to enter Awaran, the area which suffered the most when the earthquake struck the province on Sept 24. It said: “Despite daily discussions with the government of Pakistan, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has not yet been granted permission to work in the affected area.” MSF’s spokesperson in Pakistan said as of today (Monday) there was no headway in negotiations between the government and MSF officials. She said: “Our teams of doctors are ready to go to the affected areas, but we are yet to get a formal authorisation from the government.” But National Disaster Management Authority’s spokesman Adrees Mehsood said no such assistance was required because the NDMA had already provided food, shelter, medical care and other goods to the entire population of 125,000 in the area. He said international aid agencies were not allowed to carry out relief work because the government had not sought their help. Mr Mehsood said an international call by the host government was mandatory to let foreign NGOs in the disaster-hit areas. He said the government also did not want to have foreigners doing relief work as the law and order situation was bad in the area. But MSF claims that still there are areas where the government aid has not reached. Balochistan, where MSF is already working, is the most impoverished province, which has some of the worst health indicators in the country, the MSF said. Ahmar Bilal Soofi, a former caretaker law minister and international lawyer, said aid agencies could directly approach the host country and offer assistance. This is how they work all over the world, he added. But a nationalist Baloch leader, who didn’t want to come on record, said there was a tacit agreement between the government and Baloch insurgents that foreigners should not be allowed to operate in the area. “Baloch militants don’t want foreigners reaching their hideouts in the garb of humanitarian aid workers,” he said. Experts believe that the government, particularly the security establishment, which over the years had been in effective control of the province, doesn’t want to let the international community in the affected areas and learn about the situation on the ground. Despite repeated attempts, nobody from the Balochistan government was available for comment. The Minister for States and Frontier Regions, retired Lt General Abdul Qadir Baloch, told Dawn that the authorities concerned must have genuine reasons for not allowing international NGOs to get into quake-affected areas. “But I personally believe that fragile law and order conditions must have forced the authorities to deny NGOs access to the affected people,” he said.
Malala ‘hijacked’ by anti-Islam forces: Sami By Suhail Kakakhel NOWSHERA, Oct 7: The chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and chairman of the Pakistan Defence Council, Maulana Samiul Haq, has alleged that Western and anti-Islam powers have ‘hijacked’ Malala Yousufzai to use her for their nefarious designs against the Ummah.. Talking to foreign and local reporters at his office in Darul Ulum-i-Haqqania at Akora Khattak, he said: “They are rubbing salt on the wounds of Muslims by using Malala Yousufzai against her Muslim brothers.” Later in a press release, the Maulana urged Malala Yousafzai to come out of the “influence of western powers, stop becoming a part of their conspiracies” and serve Islam and the nation. “Islam is not against girls’ education as thousands of other girls are getting modern education but none of them has been attacked,” Maulana Sami said. The Maulana said that he considered Malala Yousafzai as a respected daughter of Muslim Ummat, but her actions should reflect the real essence of Islam. The JUI-S chief called upon her to set herself free from the clutches of anti-Islam states and stop playing in hands of enemies of Islam and Pakistan. The right to education was an integral part of Islamic philosophy, Maulana Sami said, adding that about 200,000 girls were getting education in his seminary. Answering a question, he said that European countries had ignored the plight of Dr Aaifa Siddiqui while promoting Malala Yousafzai for their own vested interests. Praising Afghan Taliban’s supreme leader Mulla Omar, he said that they were waging jihad against aggressors and foreign occupiers under his leadership. “Afghans struggle is a jihad in its real sense because they are fighting against invaders on their sacred land,” he said, adding that it was the basic right of every nation to stand up to aggressors by launching an armed resistance. In reply to another question, the Maulana supported negotiations with Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. He said that US-led Nato forces and even Pakistani troops had used force to defeat what he called Mujahideen but to no avail. He urged Nato forces to withdraw from Afghanistan as soon as possible and advised Islamabad to make efforts to stop drone attacks. The Maulana said that he supported sincere and serious endeavours for lasting peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan. To another question, he rejected US allegation that madressahs were fomenting militancy and terrorism and said that they were citadel of peace and had been preaching religious harmony over the past 200 years in the Sub-continent. Maulana Sami said that none of the people wanted by the United States had acquired education at a seminary and most of them had been educated at modern educational institutions.
Scholar, writer Daud Rahbar passes away in US By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 7: Eminent scholar, writer, poet, musician and thinker Daud Rahbar passed away at a nursing home in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the United States, on Saturday. He was 86. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.. Born in 1926, Mr Rahbar spent his early days in Lahore where he showed fondness for writing poetry at the age of eight. His father Mohammad Iqbal, who was named after Allama Iqbal, was also a scholar and taught Persian and Arabic literature. Mr Rahbar obtained his master’s degree in Arabic literature from Government College Lahore and taught Arabic literature at Oriental College Lahore. In 1949, he left Pakistan for Cambridge University where he got his PhD. He served as teacher at reputable universities in Canada and Turkey. His love for poetry and music never subsided, which led him to study Indian classical music. In 1968, he became a member of the faculty of Boston University where he taught comparative religions for 23 years. He retired in 1991 and settled in Florida. Mr Rahbar wrote several books on a variety of subjects. They include Salam-o-Payam (letters), Paragandah Taba Loag, Kulliyat (a collection of his poems) and Memories and Meanings. In 1958, he participated in an international conference in Lahore where he read out a paper entitled ‘The Challenges of Muslim Ideas and Social Values to Muslim Society’. It didn’t go down well with some of the participants. They created a hue and cry about the paper. Mr Rahbar was not given a chance to explain his position. Talking to Dawn, eminent theatre person and writer Zia Mohyeddin said: “He was my guru. He was the son of my father’s younger brother. You may not have seen such an underrated scholar (aalim). He was professor of comparative religions for more than 20 years. “Rahbar was the author of many books. He translated Ghalib’s letters into English and then wrote a comprehensive book on the subject. No less significant were his memoirs. He was a humanist. He himself penned many letters, published in the form of a book. After Ghalib’s khutoot, in my view, his are the ones that I rate very highly. They include the letters that he wrote to Maulana Abdul Haq, his teacher and friend. “Rahbar was the one who opened my eyes towards literature, philosophy and the wonders of life. Although he was my cousin, I considered him my friend. What we missed was gained by an American university.”
Musharraf’s plea dismissed ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The Supreme Court dismissed on Monday a plea of former president retired General Pervez Musharraf seeking transfer of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder case from Quetta to Islamabad for security reasons. . A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk said in its order that it was the authority of the federal government to transfer a case from one city to another, adding the Balochistan High Court had also on Aug 24 rejected a similar request of Gen Musharraf. Nawab Bugti, who led a campaign for provincial autonomy and greater share in profit earned from Balochistan’s natural resources, was killed in an Aug 26, 2006, military operation allegedly ordered by Gen Musharraf who was president and army chief at the time. The death had triggered angry protests across the country. An FIR under sections 302 and 304 of the Pakistan Penal Code was lodged in 2009 against Gen Musharraf and others for their alleged involvement in the murder. The former military ruler is also facing charges in other cases, including the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. Gen Musharraf, who returned to the country in March after four-year self-exile, has been under house arrest here since April 19.—Staff Reporter
NAB pleads for reopening references against Sharifs By Malik Asad ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family are likely to face proceedings in corruption references as an Accountability Court of Rawalpindi again took up on Tuesday an application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for re-opening of references against the Sharif family. . In October 2011 the NAB initiated the process for resuming the trial of the Sharif family in three corruption references and filed an application before the court. But the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi bench on Oct 18 of that year restrained the court from proceeding against the Sharif family after Nawaz Sharif and his relatives filed a petition seeking quashment of the references. The restraining order is still effective and the court on a number of occasions has adjourned the hearing in response to the NAB application. On Tuesday, the court again adjourned the proceedings till November 6 after NAB’s prosecutor Khurram Ijaz told it that the LHC had yet to vacate the stay order. After the Supreme Court judgment of Dec 16, 2009, which declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) void ab initio and ordered the NAB to revive corruption references, the bureau’s prosecution in 2010 filed the application in an accountability court. But the court deferred hearing on the application because it was not signed by the NAB chairman due to his unavailability. On Dec 3 last year, the LHC bench reserved judgment on petitions of the Sharif family requesting it to quash the corruption references pertaining to Ittefaq Foundries, the Raiwind assets of the family and Hudaibia Paper Mills. The references have been pending in the court since 2000.
Interior secretary Zaman named as NAB chairman By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: The government and the PPP agreed on Tuesday to appoint a PML-N ‘loyalist’, federal interior secretary retired Major Chaudhry Qamar Zaman, as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau.. But the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League-Q and Jamaat-i-Islami rejected the decision and called it a ‘shifty deal’ between the N-League and the PPP. The PTI also hinted that it was considering challenging the decision in the Supreme Court. The name of Chaudhry Zaman was proposed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari, who is in Dubai, endorsed it. Earlier, names of some retired judges were under consideration, but the two parties agreed to appoint a bureaucrat as NAB chairman when Prime Minister Sharif called Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Khurshid Shah, who was in his hometown, Sukkur. The post has been lying vacant since May 28 when the Supreme Court declared illegal the appointment of retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari as NAB chairman. “Today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Leader of Opposition, Khurshid Shah, decided to appoint Chaudhry Qamar Zaman as NAB chairman,” Information Minister Pervez Rashid told Dawn. He said Mr Zaman would formally be appointed as NAB chairman in the next 24 hours. Against the backdrop of scheduled retirement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in December, many circles believed that with the appointment of Mr Zaman, the NAB will not open cases pending against leaders of the PML-N and PPP because he had served under governments of the two parties in 90s. The information minister dispelled a perception that a bureaucrat has been chosen out of the box for the top NAB post, instead of a retired judge of superior judiciary. “Many new names, including that of Chaudhry Qamar Zaman, came under consideration during the last meeting between the prime minister and the leader of opposition,” he said. “We were not against the appointment of a retired judge to the post because we ourselves had proposed the names of some retired judges and there was a consensus on the name of retired Justice Bhagwandas, but it was realised later that technically he cannot be appointed on any government position,” he added. The minister said it was not a decision taken by two individuals, but the name of Chaudhry Zaman was discussed thoroughly within the PML-N as well as opposition parties. Chaudhry Qamar Zaman had severed on many key posts right from Gen Zia’s era. He served in the Pakistan Army for 10 years and retired as a major. After working as ADC to Gen Ziaul Haq, he worked as home secretary in the PPP government. He was also in the good books of the Musharraf regime, which appointed his as interior secretary. He is said to be very close to Prime Minister Sharif, as soon after formation of the present PML-N government his name was being considered for the post of principal secretary to the PM. In the government of PML-N in late 90s, Mr Zaman was given charge of three grade 20 posts (chief commissioner of Islamabad, chief commissioner of Rawalpindi and chairman of the Capital Development Authority). He was called an official of ‘grade-66’ because of the three jobs.He also served as chief commissioner of Lahore and Rawalpindi, the housing secretary in the Sindh government, the federal education secretary and chief secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan. He was again appointed as interior secretary by the last caretaker government. During the last PPP government, Mr Zaman served as interior secretary for three years, but later he was transferred to the education ministry after his relations with then interior minister Rehman Malik reportedly turned ‘sour’. He served under federal ministers Riaz Pirzada and Sheikh Waqas Akram and minister of state Shahjahan Yousuf of the PML-Q as education secretary. Later, Riaz Pirzada, Sheikh Waqas and Shahjahan Yousuf joined the PML-N and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had reportedly blamed Chaudhry Zaman for helping them change their loyalty.Information Minister Pervez Rashid rejected a perception that Chaudhry Zaman will dump cases against Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari. “If he does so, anyone can knock the doors of the Supreme Court.” Leader of Opposition, Khurshid Shah, expressed the hope that the decision would prove to be right in the future. He said it was not true that the appointment of NAB chairman was delayed till the retirement of the chief justice. Asked why the PTI was not taken into confidence on the name of Chaudhry Zaman, Mr Shah said he had conveyed it to PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi several times, but he did not respond. PTI spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari said the government and the leader of opposition had not met the spirit of ‘meaningful’ consultation on the appointment of NAB chairman because the PTI and other opposition parties had not been consulted. “It is totally wrong that the PTI had been consulted on the issue,” she said. The PTI, she said, reserved its right to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. PML-Q spokesman Kamil Ali Agha said Chaudhry Qamar Zaman was a good officer, but his appointment had raised many questions. “The decision gives an impression that both parties do not want real accountability in the country.” According to the NAB Ordinance, the NAB chairman has to be appointed through ‘meaningful consultation’ with the leader of opposition. The Supreme Court has already ordered ‘meaningful’ consultation between the government and the opposition. On Sept 13, the apex court took a serious note that major operations of the NAB have come to a halt due to the absence of its chairman and gave a final warning to the government to appoint the NAB chief or be ready to face the consequences.
15 firms face LPG quota cases By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he had instructed the petroleum ministry and the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited to refer to an investigation agency cases relating to 15 marketing companies which had been given LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) quota in a non-transparent manner in 2004. . “I have written a letter to the petroleum ministry as well as the OGDCL to initiate cases against these companies,” said Mr Asif who as an opposition member had challenged in the apex court the grant of LPG extraction plant licence to Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) in a non-transparent manner in 2003. “There is no need to pursue the cases of these companies in the Supreme Court when the OGDCL has been asked to refer the matter to the investigation agency,” the minister explained before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Explaining the government’s stance, he said that if the apex court held the JJVL contract illegal these companies would automatically lose the quota. The companies which will face the inquiry possibly by the FIA are: Aftab Traders, Agha Gas, Balochistan Minerals, Bolan Gas, Cress LPG, Gas Man, Links International, Muhammadi Gas, Noor LPG, Petroleum Gas, Petrosin Gas, Power Gas, Pro Gas, Ravi Gas and Synergy Gas. The court said it would provide an opportunity to 28 other companies also mentioned in Khawaja Asif’s petition to present their points of view. They were given LPG quota between 2004 and 2008. According to the petition, the biggest beneficiary of the quota is Iqbal Z. Ahmad, a businessman who owns Lub Gas and Mehran Gas. Similarly, Awami Gas and Wyne Gas are believed to be owned by former NAB chairmen retired Lt Gen Khalid Maqbool and retired Lt Gen Munir Hafeez. The list includes Power Gas owned by family members of former Sindh governor retired Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider and Sam Gas owned by Bushra Aitzaz Ahsan. Khawaja Asif alleged in his petition that the LPG extraction contract had been awarded to the JJVL at the behest of former president Pervez Musharraf in 2003. It caused huge losses to the national exchequer. The petition alleged that the allocation of LPG quotas had been misused by successive governments for 30 years only to oblige certain individuals or companies, instead of auctioning them in a transparent manner. It requested the court to review the award of the contract given to the JJVL, take action against individuals and officers responsible for the wrongful exercise of granting licences and order recovery of the amount. The petition also requested the court to review the perpetual policy of awarding LPG quota without open bidding.
Malala to return ‘as soon as possible’ By Zarrar Khuhro WE all know Malala the victim, Malala the activist, and Malala the icon. What we only get glimpses of, however, is Malala the 16-year old girl. Despite being catapulted into the world stage, she’s still a young lady who, like many her age, enjoys a good joke, fights with her younger brothers and is also a fan of the Twilight series of movies predominantly enjoyed by teenage girls the world over.. “I like Edward the vampire, more than Jacob the werewolf because vampires live forever,” she says as she refers to the central characters of Twilight, between whom the leading lady of the series has to choose. “It’s fun to get away from the real world and enter a new world where you can take your mind away from your daily life. I think that’s really important,” she says in an interview with Dawn newspaper and CityFM 89. But the real world just won’t be denied. It’s been a busy week for this child activist. There have been dozens of interviews, a book launch, meetings with global leaders and celebrities alike, an invitation to Buckingham Palace and — last but never least — talk of a Nobel prize. Is that a fair burden to place on these shoulders? Will the prize, as some have argued, prevent her from enjoying a ‘normal’ life? “I do want to enjoy my life,” she says after a moment of consideration. “But if I have to give up a few minutes of playing cricket, or fighting with my brothers, then that’s what I’ll do. What’s important to me is the cause of education and I want to fight for those millions of children who are out of school, who are suffering from terrorism, or are forced to labour, who do not even have food to eat or who are homeless. If I have to give up a little normality for that, then that’s what I’ll do.” But does she feel she deserves the prize itself? “In my opinion I haven’t done enough to deserve the prize,” she replies candidly. “There are a lot of people who deserve the prize and I think I still have a lot of work to do.” From there the conversation turns to her family. We’ve heard a great deal about her father, who has clearly been a major influence on her life but what about her mother? What has her role been through these trying times? “People only know about my father, but my mother loves me and has always supported me and encouraged me. She’s a great woman! She never stopped me or my father from continuing our campaign and always told me I was doing the right thing.” The attack, the coma and the very fact of moving away from home has, however, been hard on Malala’s mother. “It was hard for her when she saw I could not smile, that the left side of my face was paralysed. Even my voice changed and it was very tough on her. I lost hearing in one ear and that too was hard for her because she’s a mother and she wants her daughter to be perfect. Even today she prays constantly that I should be the same Malala I was then, before the attack. I think God is listening to her prayers because I’m recovering every day,” she says. Adjusting to life in the UK has been difficult for Malala as well. “At home I was just Malala, but here they treat me differently. I think my personality of being ‘only Malala’ or being a normal child…that’s gone now.” There’s a note of sadness in her voice as she says this, but then she perks up the very next instant. “I think it will get better with time,” she says. “There’s no sun here in Birmingham,” she sighs as she recalls the valley of Swat where she was born and grew up. It is clear that, despite the global platform she now occupies, she misses her home. That begs the question: Will she ever come home? “Yes,” she replies without hesitation. “I love my home and I miss it and I now realise how beautiful Swat is and how precious Pakistan is. I’ll come home as soon as possible but first I have to empower myself with knowledge, I need to study hard and equip myself with the weapons of education. So yes, I’ll be back as soon as possible and I’ll continue my campaign for education.”
Pakistan wants $2bn from Iran for gas pipeline ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Pakistan has asked Iran for $2 billion in financing to build its side of a gas pipeline that has drawn threats of US sanctions, according to petroleum minister. . The Iranian side of the $7.5-billion project is almost complete, but Pakistan has run into problems paying for the 780km section to be built on its side of the border. Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Tuesday the preparatory work was complete, but the government had asked Iran to provide $2 billion for the construction work. “All these issues will be discussed in a meeting which we have requested, but so far there is no reply from the Iranian side,” Mr Abbasi said. “They were busy in cabinet formation and I hope that this meeting will take place within this month.” It is the latest setback to hit the long-delayed section of the pipeline that would link the two neighbours and help ease Pakistan’s chronic gas shortages. US officials have warned that the project would risk triggering sanctions aimed at Iran. But Mr Abbasi denied coming under pressure from Washington since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power in the May general elections. “Americans have not so far talked about this pipeline with us at any level,” he said. Asked if Pakistan was hoping to complete the project before the December 2014 deadline, the minister replied: “Anything is possible, if we have the resources. “It depends on the financing and availability of the machinery,” he added. Iran has the second largest gas reserves in the world but has been strangled by a western embargo that has seen its crude exports halved in the past year. It currently produces around 600 million cubic metres of gas per day, almost all of which is consumed domestically due to lack of exports. Its only foreign client is Turkey, which buys about 30 million cubic metres of gas per day. Mr Abbasi said the government had sought bids from Pakistani and Iranian companies for pricing of the construction cost of the pipeline. He said that due to shortage of gas in winter, all compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in Punjab would be shut down from November to January. Many Pakistanis have converted their cars to run on CNG, depending on it as a cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel. “Our first priority are domestic consumers during the winters, so there will be no gas for motor transport in Punjab,” Mr Abbasi said.—AFP
Provinces keep powers to remove mayors & nazims By Iftikhar A. Khan and Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Although stark dissimilarities characterise the legal frameworks governing rules for holding local government elections in the four provinces, they have one thing in common -- provisions to keep the local bodies under the thumb of the provincial governments. . Powers to suspend mayors, nazims and chairmen of local bodies and their deputies, the procedures for funds distribution among them and the authority to bifurcate or merge them are some of the factors that may be used by the provincial governments in this regard. Under Section 93 of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, if the provincial government ‘after such inquiry as may be necessary’ is of the opinion that a council is persistently failing in discharging its duties or is unable to administer its affairs or meet its financial obligations despite directives, or is otherwise abusing its powers, it may declare the council to be superseded for up to six months. The mayor, deputy mayor, chairman, vice chairman or member shall cease to hold the office on publication of the notification and the functions of the council during the period will be performed by a person or authority appointed by the government. All the funds and property of the council during the period will vest in the government. By the expiry of the period, the council will be reconstituted. The law is silent on the procedure for inquiry as well as the manner in which the reconstitution of the council is to take place. Under another section, the government, on its own motion or on an application made to it by any person, may appoint an officer or authority to hold an inquiry into the affairs of a council generally, or into any particular matter, and take remedial measures. The officer appointed for the purpose will have the powers of a civil court to gather evidence and ensure attendance of witnesses and submission of documents. On the basis of such an inquiry, if the government is satisfied that a council is unable to run a department or institution, it may suspend the authority of the council over the department or institution. During the suspension the government would be empowered to take over the management of such an institution or make other arrangements. The government will determine the expenses of management which will be borne by the council. Under Section 9 of the act, the provincial government also enjoys the powers to divide a council into two or more councils, reconstitute two or more councils as one council or alter the limits of a council. PUNJAB: Under the Punjab Local Government Act, a provincial local government commission, headed by the Minister for Local Government and comprising three members of the provincial assembly, two technocrats and the secretary concerned, will be appointed to conduct annual and special inspections of the local governments and submit reports to the provincial government. The commission will have the powers to conduct performance audit of the local governments and its decision will be binding on the local governments. On recommendation of the commission, the government may suspend a mayor or chairman for up to 90 days to prevent him from continuing with any unlawful activity during an inquiry. On the basis of an inquiry, the government has the powers to remove a mayor, deputy mayor, chairman or deputy chairman. A provincial finance commission will be set up to recommend a formula for resources’ distribution among the local governments. The finance minister will be its chairman while the local government minister will serve as co-chairman. The commission will take into account the principles of population, backwardness, need and performance of the local governments. The provincial government has retained the right to give grant in aid to any local government. BALOCHISTAN: The Balochistan government, under Section 31 of the Local Government Act of 2010, can remove a mayor, deputy mayor, chairman, deputy chairman or member of a local government on the charge of misconduct. The removals will be preceded by an opportunity of hearing, but the procedure and authority in this regard has not been mentioned. Those removed may file review petitions with the provincial government within 30 days. KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: The draft Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act appears to have copied the Punjab model for setting up a local government commission, with a minor change in its composition. The commission, on its own initiative or on directives of the chief minister, will conduct an inquiry either itself or through the district government into any matter concerning a local government, the act says. If, in the opinion of the chief minister, a nazim is deliberately avoiding directives given to him in the public interest, he may, for reasons to be recorded and conveyed in writing, suspend him for up to 30 days and refer the matter to the commission for inquiry. The commission will give an opportunity of personal hearing to the nazim and submit its report and recommendation, which may include removal of the nazim, to the chief minister. In case no decision is taken within 30 days, the nazim shall stand re-instated.
Govt deports French Al Qaeda suspect ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Pakistan on Tuesday deported a Frenchman accused of links to Al Qaeda and suspected of recruiting militants, diplomatic sources said. . Intelligence officials believe the man, Naamen Meziche, was once connected to Al Qaeda’s so-called “Hamburg cell”, which planned the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Meziche has been in Pakistani custody since being arrested in May 2012 in the southwest of the country along with three other suspected French militants, who were sent back to France in April. He was escorted onto a flight from Islamabad and arrived in Paris on Tuesday afternoon French time, a diplomatic source said. French police are expected to question him about links to extremist networks. At the time of his arrest, French intelligence officials described Meziche, who also holds an Algerian passport, as “an important Al Qaeda cadre linked to the Hamburg cell”, but his genuine significance in jihahi circles is unclear. The case is likely to spark strong interest in France, where memories are still fresh of the murderous rampage by Mohammed Merah in March last year. Merah shot dead seven people in southwest France after returning from spending several months in Pakistan, saying he was acting on behalf of Al Qaeda. The three others arrested along with Meziche in southwest Pakistan were detained on their return to France for “associating with wrongdoers with a view to committing terrorist acts”.—AFP
Just and modern societies cannot be founded on killing: abolish the death penalty! By Florence Bellivier, Karim Lahidji, and Robert Badinter “Long live death!” is how Franco’s militias sometimes celebrated their victories during the 1930s Spanish civil war. Yes, there have always been – and remain – those states that champion death over life, barbarism over reason. And what better symbol of this outmoded ideology than the death penalty? As you read this, 58 states around the globe – both developed and developing, democracies and dictatorships – continue to legally condemn their citizens to death. In 2012, twenty one of these states acted out this power to kill. Just as the highest contempt that is held for a murderer is based on their taking from their victim that which is most precious, these states violate the most fundamental and cherished right held by their subjects: the right to life. . That some individuals do not respect this right is unacceptable: States must condemn murderers and prevent criminality. But in doing so, they must not reproduce the killing, must not submit to bloodlust – as the killer did. Indeed, just and modern societies cannot be founded on death ideology: the dispensation of justice as an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. This point is crucial. It lies at the core of abolitionist arguments, which are philosophical as well as legal. Our societies must look up and distance themselves from the bitter cruelty of vengeance. An eye for an eye, as the old saying goes, makes the whole world go blind – and this, at a time when justice demands sight. What message does a state send its people when its judges sanction by killing, when prisons become places to die, when those who can don’t grant clemency? What more violence, what clearer sign of weakness is there, than an authority compelled to kill its own subjects? Indeed, the act of execution is always violent and inhumane. Hanged in Japan and Iran, death-sentence prisoners in the United States and China are lethally injected. Far from being a mere clinical act, this latter modus operandi can often lead to a cruel and painful death. In fact, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has included executions in his mandate. And alongside these compelling points lies the fact that death sentencing is overwhelmingly unfair and ineffective. No justice system on the globe is spared the possibility of judicial error or iniquitous trials, and not all death-sentence prisoners can afford a proper defence. Moreover, there is no evidence to support that the death penalty reduces the number of murders or violent acts perpetrated in a given society. But let us take it for granted that a murderer acknowledges his or her crime; let us assume that official investigations prove their guilt beyond all possible doubt: is death really their “just deserts”? We would suggest that the answer can only be no. Our societies already have, and must show, a creative capacity to develop penal sanctions beyond execution. In 1981, when France abolished the death penalty, over 150 countries maintained such sentencing and carried it out. Today, only 21 such states remain. In the past five years, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Burundi, Togo, Gabon and Latvia have rid themselves of capital punishment. Civil society mobilisation is bearing fruit. Abolition will soon be universal. Florence Bellivier is President of the World Coalition Against Death Penalty; Karim Lahidji is FIDH President; and Robert Badinter is former French Justice Minister
Musharraf gets bail in Bugti murder case By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: After over six months of being in detention, former president and army chief retired Gen Pervez Musharraf could now be a free man. The Supreme Court granted him bail on Wednesday after accepting his appeal against rejection of a similar plea by the Balochistan High Court in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case. . A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk granted bail to Gen Musharraf in return for two surety bonds of Rs1 million each to be submitted to the SC registrar. The killing of the Bugti tribe chief was the last case under which the former military ruler was detained in his Islamabad farmhouse which had been declared a sub-jail. On May 20, an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi granted him bail in the murder case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and on June 11 the Islamabad High Court ordered his release in a case relating to detention of superior court judges during the Nov 2007 emergency. “He (Gen Musharraf) can move around freely and even leave for Dubai or London where he commands great respect because his name is not on the exit control list (ECL),” said Advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri who had represented Gen Musharraf in the Supreme Court against petitions seeking initiation of treason case against him. But he hastened to add that the political base of Gen Musharraf would be Islamabad. He told Dawn that Mr Musharraf’s name had been put in the ECL on the Supreme Court’s order, but after the July 3 verdict of closing the treason case the order had lost its legal value. “When both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Zardari facing allegations of corruption in a number of cases can go abroad and return, why not Mr Musharraf,” he asked. Mr Kasuri said the sub-jail status of Mr Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad residence would automatically revert to an ordinary private house after the grant of bail and the Adiyala jail staff would leave the house unless assigned for security reasons. Advocate Qamar Afzal, who had also represented Gen Musharraf in the Supreme Court, said that after the bail the house would no more be a sub-jail. An FIR was registered under sections 302 and 304 of the Pakistan Penal Code against Gen Musharraf and others in 2009 for their alleged involvement in the Aug 25, 2006, murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. Advocate Raja Mohammad Ibrahim Satti, representing Gen Musharraf, informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that his client had challenged the July 30 BHC order because it had rejected the bail plea on the ground that the applicant (Gen Musharraf) had not been produced before the trial court or within its territorial jurisdiction in Balochistan. The counsel argued that his client could not appear before the BHC because of security threat. He said the chief commissioners of Lahore and Islamabad had acknowledged in their reports that Gen Musharraf faced at least 43 death threats. Besides, he added, Balochistan police had suggested to the provincial government that Gen Musharraf should be kept in Islamabad for security reasons. Additional Prosecutor of Balochistan Tahir Khattak insisted that the former military ruler was involved in the conspiracy to kill Akbar Bugti. Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Muslim League of Gen Musharraf welcomed the SC verdict. Its Secretary General Dr Mohammad Amjad said it was good news for the people that their most sincere, true and capable leader was now among them and he would be able to lead the nation.
To be set free after submitting Rs4.5m bonds By Munawer Azeem ISLAMABAD: Former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf is required to submit five surety bonds in the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court, Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court to get himself freed on bail.. The ATC had granted Mr Musharraf bail in May against two surety bonds of Rs1 million each and the IHC followed suit in June in the judges’ detention case, ordering him to deposit Rs500,000 bond. But, according to sources, the bonds are yet to be submitted for issuance of bail orders. On Wednesday, the SC granted Gen Musharraf bail in the Akbar Bugti murder case against two surety bonds of Rs1m each. The former military ruler has to submit five surety bonds worth Rs4.5m in the three courts to gain his freedom. When asked why the surety bonds in the Benazir murder case and judges’ detention case had not been submitted yet, Gen Musharraf’s lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri said: “The important thing is to obtain bail and Musharraf has got it in all the three cases in which he was arrested.” He said submission of bonds had been delayed in order to do it in one go. However, police said surety bonds might not be submitted until it was clear that Gen Musharraf’s name had been removed from the exit control list.
Mehsud rejects talks ‘through media’ KARACHI, Oct 9: Alleging that the government has not taken any substantial step for holding peace talks, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s notorious chief Hakimullah Mehsud said on Wednesday that his outfit would not hold dialogue (with the government) through the media. . Speaking in a rare interview with the BBC, he said that the Pakistani government should have officially announced initiation of peace talks and sent a tribal Jirga to them for that purpose. “We don’t wish to negotiate through the media… neither do we wish to hear the government’s preconditions through the media nor do we want to put our precondition in front of it,” Mehsud said. He said the TTP was ready for serious talks and would welcome such an effort from the government. He vowed to provide complete security to a government-sponsored Jirga if sent for talks. Mehsud said the scheduled withdrawal of US-led Nato forces from Afghanistan would not change anything in Pakistan and the Taliban would continue their ‘activities’. “We are engaged in a war with Pakistan for two reasons: firstly Pakistan is a friend of America and Ulema were killed and madressahs destroyed in the country at the behest of the US. Another reason for waging a Jihad here is the ‘Kafirana’ (heretical) system prevailing in Pakistan,” he said. Mehsud said that the Taliban would continue to demand implementation of Shariah laws in the country even after the 2014 withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Drone attacks The militant also said that if the US agreed to stop drone strikes, the Taliban would also stop their attacks. He said that the Taliban were aware of the appeals made by Ulema who wanted the war to be stopped. “But in the case of us ending the war, we also want a stop to drone strikes. If drone strikes are stopped we will be ready to stop our Jihad.” Mehsud, who carries a $5 million bounty on his head, disowned recent blasts in public places including a Peshawar church. “Other agencies are involved in that.” “The purpose of the blasts is to misguide the people against Taliban, so that the people who support us can stop doing so.” Mehsud said that the TTP had distanced themselves from such blasts earlier and would do so again. But he vowed to carry on attacking friends and supporters of the US. He blamed the government for the failure of previous peace initiatives. “The government of Pakistan bombs innocent tribal people because of the pressure of America... Drone strikes conducted by Americans were (backed) by Pakistan. Then the Americans pressed Pakistan to start ground operations in these areas and Pakistan complied,” he Mehsud. “So the government is responsible for past failures,” he added.—Dawn Monitor
Basit made foreign secretary, Jilani ambassador to US By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Finally shedding its indecision on filling key positions, the government chose on Wednesday a new foreign secretary and ambassador to the US, in addition to making a number of other important foreign postings.. The new foreign secretary will be Abdul Basit, currently Ambassador to Germany. Mr Basit would replace Jalil Abbas Jilani, who has been named as ambassador to the United States — a post that had been lying vacant for nearly five months. The former ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, had resigned soon after the PPP government suffered defeat in the May 11 elections. Mr Jilani’s nomination comes close to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington from Oct 23. Under normal circumstances, diplomatic procedures for appointment of a new ambassador cannot be completed in such a short time, but a senior US official told Dawn that the American government was ready to complete the formalities in the shortest possible time, allowing Mr Jilani to assume his new responsibilities before the prime minister’s trip. No announcement has been officially made yet because ambassadorial appointments are made public once ‘agreement’ (consent) from the host government is received. An important aspect of Mr Jilani’s appointment is that after a long time a career diplomat will be leading the mission in the United States, which governments usually assigned to political appointees because of the sensitivity of the relationship. Mr Sharif had initially planned to send a political ambassador to the US and in the first week of September turned down a proposal to appoint Mr Jilani. He had then told his aides that he would like to keep the position for political appointees, but for reasons unknown changed his mind. Government’s shift from political appointees to career diplomats is also evident from its decision to appoint Asif Durrani as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Ibne Abbas as High Commissioner to India. Before his stint as foreign secretary Mr Jilani served as Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, and High Commissioner to Australia. Foreign secretary-designate Abdul Basit was specially called back from Berlin and informed about his new assignment. In another important posting, Ambassador to Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq has been made secretary to the newly constituted Cabinet Committee on National Security. Syed Abrar Hussain is likely to be appointed ambassador to Afghanistan.
Baloch militant attacks affecting quake relief By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Oct 9: Baloch militants continued their attacks on Wednesday against security forces and government officials engaged in relief operation, badly affecting relief activities in earthquake-stricken areas of Awaran and Kech districts. . Official sources said that Army and Levies personnel were attacked by militants in Mashkay and Awaran areas. The attack in Mashkay area left one man dead and two others injured. Sources said the armed men opened indiscriminate fire on a vehicle carrying Levies personnel in Jhaljaho area of Mashkay tehsil. They intercepted the vehicle in the area, badly beat up Levies personnel after snatching their weapons and then escaped. In another attack in Mashkay, militants fired rockets and bullets on army personnel distributing relief goods among earthquake-hit people. Balochistan Assembly Deputy Speaker Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo said that militants fired two rockets at an army relief camp in Mashkay, but one of the rockets exploded in a house. As a result of the rocket explosion, one man was killed and two others were seriously injured. Another rocket exploded away from the camp. No casualty was reported in the second attack. In some areas, sources said, militants set relief goods, including tents and food items, on fire. These were distributed among earthquake-stricken people. Mr Bizenjo, who was elected from Awaran district to the Balochistan Assembly in the May 11 elections, expressed concern over the attacks on security forces and urged militant groups to stop attacks on security forces and extend their cooperation in relief and rehabilitation activities. “The earthquake-affected people, especially women, children and the elderly, are facing hardship due to hurdles in distribution of relief goods and rehabilitation work,” he said at a press conference here on Wednesday. Provincial Disaster Management Authority Director General Hafiz Abdul Basit was also present at the press conference. He said the provincial government, Army and FC were sending and distributing relief goods among the people of Awaran and Mashkay. But, he said, attacks on security forces and government officials had been badly affecting the relief operation. He confirmed incidents of burning of relief goods, including food items and tents, in some areas of Awaran and Mashkay. “There should be a ceasefire from armed militant groups to enable us to complete the relief operation and start rehabilitation work in earthquake-hit areas,” Mr Bizenjo said. Otherwise, he added, the situation could result in more suffering of earthquake-hit people and even starvation among them. Despite deadly attacks and serious law and order situation in affected areas, he said, the government, the Army and Frontier Corps had not abandoned the relief work and they were providing all help to affected people. He said that even in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch, militants fired rockets where he had been staying in Awaran to monitor the relief work. He said that two army soldiers and four FC personnel had been killed in Mashkay and Prom area of Panjgur district recently. He said that even today Army and Levies Force personnel had been attacked in earthquake-affected areas. “I appeal to my disgruntled brothers to let the government help earthquake-hit people for the sake of our women and children who are badly suffering because of insecurity in earthquake-affected areas. “We will continue our efforts to mitigate suffering of the people of Awaran district who have experienced a big tragedy and lost their near and dear ones,” Mr Bizenjo said PDMA Balochistan Director General Hafiz Abdul Basit said that 620 trucks carrying foods, tents and other stuff had reached affected areas and these had been distributed among earthquake-affected people.
SC lays stress on timely framing of fair and just Haj policy By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: The Supreme Court emphasised on Wednesday the need for framing Haj policy well in time in a fair and just manner that must inspire confidence and evoke minimum criticism.. It is also imperative that the Haj policy for next year be announced at the earliest after the conclusion of Haj this year, said a verdict authored by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and issued on Wednesday. In a short order on August 27, the apex court had held that the Lahore High Court had no role to interfere in the policy-making domain of the executive while exercising jurisdiction under Article 199 of the constitution because it violates the principle of trichotomy of powers, which is one of the foundational principles of the constitution. The short order had come while accepting a number of appeals moved by Haj group organisers (HGOs) — Dossani Travels, City Travels, Super Travels, Usman Air Travels and Golden Travel Services. The petitioners had assailed the high court’s judgment in which the ministry of religious affairs was directed to allocate the Haj quota through auction to 18, out of the top 60 HGOs, while deciding challenges against the process of quota allocation by the ministry. In the detailed judgment, Justice Jillani directed the ministry to frame the Haj policy and place it on its website, preferably within six weeks of arrival of the last Haj flight from Saudi Arabia, under intimation to the SC registrar. This of course would be subject to any policy decision of the Saudi government regarding allocation of Haj quota for Pakistan. The Haj policy should be framed by a committee headed by the secretary of the ministry, a nominee of the Competition Commission of Pakistan, a nominee of the secretary, ministry of foreign affairs, a nominee of the law secretary and a nominee of the Attorney General. The credentials of each applicant/HGO should be examined and decision taken on merit and while framing the Haj policy, the ministry should be guided by the recommendations made by the CCP on the subject. The ministry should constantly monitor the working and performance of each HGO during Haj and this assessment should form the basis for further improvements in the Haj policy for next year’s Haj, the detailed verdict said. The performance of Haj is a sacred duty, but the quota allocated to Pakistan by the Saudi government is limited and within that quota, it allocates a certain portion to private HGOs, observed Justice Jillani. Since several hundred HGOs apply for allocation of quota from the Private Haj Scheme share as worked out by the ministry, all applicant HGOs cannot be accommodated and the dismay of those who are left out is understandable. “We are conscious that the ministry has to take several steps to ensure that travel, accommodation and other arrangements are made to the satisfaction of Hujjaj. It requires a couple of weeks to complete the exercise. However, since Haj operation is a time-bound exercise, arrangements have to be made within that limited time,” the verdict said. The verdict explained that the principles of trichotomy of powers between the legislature, executive and the judiciary underpins the rationale that framing of a government policy was to be undertaken by the executive which was in a better position to decide on account of its mandate, experience, wisdom and sagacity acquired through diverse skills. The legislature, which represents the people, enacts the law and the law so enacted acquires legitimacy. The judiciary, on the other hand, is entrusted with the task of interpreting the law and to play the role of an arbiter in disputes between the individuals inter se and between individual and the state. “We may remind ourselves that judiciary neither has sword nor purse. The legitimacy and respect of its judgments is dependent on people’s confidence in its strict adherence to the constitution, its integrity, impartiality and independence,” the verdict said. In changing times and ‘judicialisation’ of political issues, a certain degree of judicial activism by fearless and impartial judiciary is also essential for maintaining its integrity and people’s trust. In most of the modern democracies, judiciaries have been called upon to provide wider meanings to various provisions of the constitution so as to meet the challenges of modern times and to fill the gap between the law and the requirements of substantive justice, it said. Every institution has to play its role in enforcing the constitution and the law. It is a multi-disciplinary exercise. However, implementation of rule of law is the primary function of judiciary. This role is multi-dimensional and the most challenging facet of this role is to keep various institutions and the judiciary itself within the limits of their respective powers laid down in the constitution and the law, the judgment said. The legitimacy of its judgments does not arise from the beauty of the language or the use of populist rhetoric. Rather it radiates from the dynamism reflected in interpreting the constitution and in particular its fundamental rights provisions, in judicial restraint displayed in deference to the principle of trichotomy of powers, and in an impersonal and impartial application of law, the verdict said.
Baradar not freed: Taliban Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Oct 9: The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday refuted an announcement by Pakistan that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been set free, saying he was still under detention with worrisome health conditions.. The spokesman for the Afghan Taliban urged the Pakistani government to release Mullah Baradar. A statement posted on the Afghan Taliban’s website said: “He is still spending days and nights...behind bars in worrisome health conditions which are deteriorating by the day.” “The Islamic Emirate and his family believe it to be his legitimate right to be freed…[on] humanitarian [ground] and [under] Islamic sympathy from his wrongful imprisonment and due to his deteriorating health condition and…call for his immediate release,” the statement added. The spokesman said since high-ranking Pakistani officials had repeatedly made statements about Mullah Baradar’s release despite the fact that he continued to be under detention, “we earnestly ask the Pakistani government and officials to issue clarification and just as they have announced, he should be released and the subject cleared up.” Attempts to obtain comments from Pakistan’s Foreign Office remained fruitless. Pakistan on Sept 21 announced the release of Mullah Baradar, who was taken into custody in Karachi in February 2010. The Afghan government wanted his release so as to encourage peace talks with the Afghan Taliban. Agencies add: A senior Taliban member told AFP that Baradar was being held at a house in Karachi by ISI. “He doesn’t have any freedom, and his family can’t even visit him,” he said. “The Pakistan government says he has health problems which are being treated, and then his family will be able to visit.” Another Taliban source alleged that the ISI was trying to “soften up” Baradar so that he could play a role in the Afghan peace process that may benefit Pakistan. A security source in Pakistan said. “He [Baradar] is in protective custody in an ISI house in Karachi, he cannot meet anybody or move anywhere on his own, he needs permission of security officials.” “He has the freedom of having the food of his own choice, but he is restricted to the safe house.”
Decision about Punjab CNG stations shutdown not final By Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Wednesday that neither the federal cabinet nor the prime minister had taken a final decision about shutdown of CNG stations in Punjab for three winter months. . During a meeting with a delegation of the All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) in his office, the minister informed it about the gas shortage in winter and said the CNG sector would have to face shortfalls during the season. The delegation was told that the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) were expected to face a shortfall of more than 1.5 billion cubic feet gas daily (BCFD) in the coming winter. The shortfall last year was 1.1BCFD. The massive shortfall of about 1.45BCFD will be faced by the SNGPL which suggested to the government to close all CNG stations in Punjab in November, December and January. “There is a massive increase in gas consumption due to heating requirements in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during winters,” the SNGPL said in its proposal. “Priority has to be given to domestic consumers and the power sector.” Compared to other provinces, Punjab is the largest consumer of gas but has negligible production of its own and gas is supplied to it from 34 sources. About 80 per cent of the gas consumed in Punjab comes from Sindh and Balochistan and the rest from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. APCNGA’s supreme council chairman Ghyas Paracha who had led the delegation said the government’s move would badly affect the middle class, which was the main beneficiary of CNG, as well as the general public. Talking to reporters after the meeting, he said: “There are 3.7 million vehicles running on CNG in the country and 2.1 million of them are in Punjab. Of the 3,400 CNG stations across the country, 2,300 are in Punjab.” About the gas shortage, he said the government should take action against corrupt officials who were involved in stealing gas for industrial units. Currently, CNG stations in Punjab are closed for four consecutive days in a week. The SSGC has, however, decided to continue its policy of providing gas to CNG stations in Sindh for four days a week. But gas supply to fertiliser plants and KESC and Wapda will remained suspended during winter months. Details of the gas supply and demand situation provided by the SSGC to the petroleum ministry stated that Sindh, being a gas-producing province, had the first right over the natural resource. Gas shortfall in the province is less than that of Punjab, but is estimated to increase by 50 per cent from last year. “Gas shortfall in the SSGC system last year was about 300MMCFD, but this year it is estimated to be more than 450MMCFD,” a spokesman for the company told Dawn. “This is because of the rising demand by domestic and industrial consumers, but the most serious issue is gas depletion in the Zamzama field which will be zero by December.” A final decision about CNG shutdown will be taken by the ECC and if it does so it will increase the demand for petrol in the country. “The monthly petrol consumption currently stands at 300,000 tons which is likely to increase to 400,000 tons in case of CNG shutdown in Punjab,” said an official of petroleum ministry. “This will also have an impact on L/C lines of oil companies.” In such a case, the official said, the companies would have to keep an eye on their financial arrangements to import furnace and petrol in the coming months. “This will have a load on foreign exchange reserves too as the import bill will reach $100 million from $50 million per month to meet the high petrol demand.” The local petrol production is about 110,000 tons and the remaining demand is met though imports.
Last-minute case blocks Musharraf’s release By Munawer Azeem and Malik Asad ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: Former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, who had been granted bail in all three under trial cases, was put under arrest by police in connection with the Lal Masjid operation case on Thursday. . Amid rumours that the former military ruler might fly out of the country after getting bail in the murder cases of Benazir Bhutto and Akbar Bugti as well as the judges’ detention case, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court on Thursday seeking placement of his name on the exit control list (ECL). According to sources, police will produce Gen Musharraf before a magistrate’s court on Friday to seek his judicial remand. The former president was booked by the Aabpara police on Sept 2 on the directive of the IHC on a complaint filed by Haroon Rasheed, son of Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, deputy Khateeb of Lal Masjid, who was killed in the 2007 operation at the mosque. Mr Haroon alleged that Gen Musharraf had issued the order for the operation in which his father and grandmother Sabiha Khatoon were killed. The petition for putting the former president’s name on the ECL was filed by Haroon Rasheed from the platform of his recently established Shuhda Foundation of Pakistan Trust. Initially, police were reluctant to arrest Gen Musharraf, who is under house arrest at his luxurious Chak Shahzad farmhouse which had been declared a sub-jail, but acted all of a sudden and made the arrest shortly after he submitted surety bonds of Rs4 million in the Supreme Court and the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi in connection with bail in the murder cases of Akbar Bugti and Benazir Bhutto. Gen Musharraf has yet to submit a surety bond of Rs500,000 million in the judges’ detention case. After examining the bonds, the apex court and the ATC issued Robkar (release order) for Gen Musharraf. A four-officer team, headed by SSP Dr Rizwan, came to the former president’s farmhouse and informed him about the arrest in the Lal Masjid operation case. Sources privy to the development said the police team also interrogated Gen Musharraf and asked various questions relating to the operation. The former president, according to the sources, categorically denied his involvement in the operation. A source quoted him as saying: “I did not give orders for the operation.” Gen Musharraf told the police officers that the army had been called in at the request of the district administration, which reported the presence of terrorists inside the mosque. The army faced resistance during the action which led to the killings, he added. Asked about the delay of over a month in his arrest, an officer said: “It was laxity of police that he was not arrested earlier.” He denied any other reason behind the delay. According to the sources, the delay was because two joint investigation teams constituted to look into the case could not start working. The first JIT was disbanded after the complainant expressed reservation over its two members -- SP Mohammad Ilyas and SP Mustanzar Feroz -- because they were former army officers and might have sympathy for Gen Musharraf. Later another JIT was constituted, but its two members -- DIG Khalid Khattak and SP Jamil Hashmi -- requested IG Sikandar Hayat to exclude them from the team. Their request was turned down. The IHC had on July 12 ordered the Aabpara police to register a murder case while hearing a petition filed by Haroon Rasheed. But instead of complying with the court’s order, police sought opinion of the law ministry. Police sought guidance on three issues. First, could a case be registered against Gen Musharraf who as president enjoyed immunity when the Lal Masjid operation was carried out? Second, during the operation some army officers were also killed and a case was registered against Lal Masjid clerics, including Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi. Third, under these circumstances, could a case be registered for the murder of Maulana Ghazi? Finally on Sept 2, the high court summoned Aabpara police station SHO Inspector Qasim Niazi and ordered him to register the murder case in the courtroom and submit its copy, which he did. In his petition seeking the name of Gen Musharraf on the ECL, Haroon Rasheed said that during the July 3-10, 2007, operation, about 1,500 innocent children including those orphaned because of earthquake, students, teachers of Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid and other people who came to the mosque for prayers had been killed on the orders of Gen Musharraf. He cited a report of the commission appointed by the SC under a judge of the Federal Shariat Court, Justice Shahzado Sheikh, to probe the incident. He said the commission had examined more than 400 witnesses and held Gen Musharraf responsible for the operation. Mr Haroon said Gen Musharraf might leave the country before Eidul Azha. “If he leaves Pakistan it will not be possible to bring him back and consequently, not only the report of the commission will become ineffective, but he will also be able to escape trial.” The petitioner requested the court to direct the Ministry of Interior to place Gen Musharraf’s name on the ECL.
Shoot-at-sight power given to LEAs By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated on Thursday an anti-terrorism ordinance giving shoot-at-sight powers to civil armed forces for maintaining peace. . Called the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013, it amended the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which permitted civil armed forces to shoot only when fired upon. The ordinance, which was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office instead of the Presidency, allowed a three-month detention of accused, believed to be ‘insufficient’ time to submit challan (preliminary investigation report) before a court. Some of the salient features of the new ordinance are that it permits filing of challans by a joint investigation team if the investigation officer fails to do so, swift trial of seven days, witness protection programme, making electronic evidence admissible, trial through video link, transfer of terrorists’ cases to other places and blocking the access to mobile phones in jails. The new ordinance amended the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, in the light of the federal cabinet’s decision on Sept 20 that focused on law and order, particularly in Karachi. According to a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office, the ordinance covers all the decisions taken at the cabinet meeting. “The president promulgated the ordinance when the National Assembly and the Senate are not in session and the president is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action,” the ordinance said. An amendment of section 5, of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which gives shoot-at-sight orders said: “In the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), hereinafter referred to as the said Act, in section 5, in sub-section (2), in paragraph (i), for the words “when fired upon” the words and comma “after forming reasonable apprehension that death, grievous hurt or destruction of property may be caused by such act shall be substituted.” Ahmer Bilal Sufi, a lawyer and former law minister, told Dawn that section 102 of Pakistan Penal Code already ensured a right to all citizens to shoot any person in self defence. However, he added, “security forces, which have to protect life and property of people, have no right to kill attackers, criminals or terrorists unless they are fired upon. I believe that it was imperative to give shoot on sight powers to security forces.” The ordinance allowed civil armed forces to keep terrorists in custody for three months and submit challans (initial investigation report) before courts within that period. However, it is believed impossible for security forces to do so within that period and that would benefit the accused or terrorists. The section of the ordinance which permits three-month time for detention and investigation said: “The government or, where the provisions of section 4 have been invoked, the armed forces or civil armed forces, as the case may be, subject to the specific or general order of the government in this regard, for period not exceeding three months and after recording reasons thereof, issue order for the preventive detention of any person who has been concerned in any offence under this Act relating to the security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, or public order relating to target killing, kidnapping for ransom, and extortion / bhatta, or the maintenance of supplies or services, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned, for purpose of inquiry: provided that further detention of such person, if necessary, shall be subject to provisions of Article 10 of the Constitution.” Elaborating the provision of Article 10 of constitution, Mr Sufi said the law allowed review of the case for extension of detention by Review Board after expiry of three-month detention period. But, he added, “even in that case the investigation report would have to be complete in three months and be placed before the board”. “In Karachi it has been reported that more than 4,500 terrorists have been arrested during current operation and it is impossible for investigators to submit such a big number of challans in three months,” Mr Sufi said. “In this way the security forces will lose the battle they would have won in the field,” he added. The lawyer suggested that the three-month time provided for detention and investigation should be extended, otherwise the whole exercise would be back to square one.
Peace Nobel front-runner Malala wins EU prize NEW YORK, Oct 10: Malala Yousufzai, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize among others, was in New York on Thursday, the eve of this year’s prize announcement, to promote her memoir of her campaign for girls’ education and surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban. . Malala was in the city for an interview, just hours after the announcement she won the $65,000 Sakharov Award, Europe’s top human rights award. The accolade and buzz for Malala came almost exactly a year after she was shot in the head for her outspoken support for girls’ education. The Nobel Peace Prize committee will say only that a record 259 candidates, including 50 organisations, have been nominated this year. Besides Malala, others getting attention are Congolese surgeon Dr Denis Mukwege, an advocate for women’s rights; Svetlana Gannushkina and the Memorial human rights group she heads in Russia; Egyptian computer scientist Maggie Gobran, who chucked her academic career to become a nun and run a charity; and Chelsea Manning, the US soldier convicted of giving classified documents to WikiLeaks.—Agencies
Eight die near Quetta police station By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Oct 10: Eight people, a policeman and a child among them, were killed and over 60 injured when a powerful bomb exploded near a police station here on Thursday. . Eight policemen and three women were among the injured. Five of the injured are said to be in serious condition. The banned United Baloch Army (UBA) claimed responsibility for the blast. The police station is located in Liaquat Bazaar, a commercial hub in the heart of the city. Thousands of people, including women and children, were busy in Eid shopping when the explosion took place at about at 4.55pm. It was heard far and wide. “It was a time bomb planted in a bicycle parked near the main gate of the City Police Station,” Home Secretary Asad Gilani told Dawn. A truck of the Balochistan Constabulary parked near the police station was damaged by the blast. “One constable was killed and eight policemen were wounded,” DIG (operations) Jaffar Khan said. Frontier Corps and police personnel and rescue teams rushed to the site and took the bodies and the injured to the Civil Hospital. Most of the injured were later referred to the Combined Military Hospital because of their serious condition and a strike by Civil Hospital doctors in protest against the abduction of a senior doctor. The body of the child and three injured women were brought to the Civil Hospital. Doctors said the child’s body bore multiple injuries. He had come to Liaquat Bazaar with his mother who was injured. Quetta Division Commissioner retired Captain Usman Gul said the police station was the target of the attack. “I was near the police station along with my children when the bomb went off,” said Muhammad Yousuf, one of the injured. “Thanks God, my children who were with me for Eid shopping are safe.” A number of shops near the police station and windows of dozens of nearby shopping plazas and buildings were damaged. Over 12 vehicles, two motorcycles, three bicycles and a rickshaw were destroyed. Citing preliminary investigation reports, police said the blast appeared to have been caused by a timed device planted in a bicycle. They did not rule out the possibility of the device having been detonated by remote control. Calling reporters by a satellite phone from an unspecified place, UBA spokesman Murid Baloch said the attack had been carried out by his organisation. Balochistan Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the blast and expressed grief over the loss of innocent lives. They directed the police authorities to arrest the suspects and bring them to justice. The chief minister directed the officials concerned to provide all necessary medical facilities to the injured. He also ordered tightening of security in markets.
Lahore food street explosion leaves man dead By Muhammad Faisal Ali LAHORE, Oct 10: A man was killed and 17 people were injured when an explosive device placed in a bag on the ground floor of a food outlet in the Old Anarkali Food Street went off on Thursday. . A powerful bomb blast in the same street in July had left five people dead and 50 injured. The food street is one of the most popular public spots, frequented by people especially in the morning for breakfast and on weekends. A number of key official buildings, including the IG’s office, are in the neighbourhood. The loud explosion shook the locality, damaged the three-storey building and shattered windowpanes and door glass of adjacent restaurants. Witnesses and rescuers and police personnel said the bag of explosives left under a pillar exploded at around 11.35am. Civil Lines SP (Investigation) Imtiaz Sarwar told Dawn that it was a time device that had created a crater. An elderly man died on the spot. A son of the owner of Sindhi Biryani suffered critical injuries, while 16 other people, including a woman beggar and employees of the restaurant, were under treatment for light to moderate injuries in the Mayo and Sir Ganga Ram hospitals. The official said police had received a tip-off but the closed circuit television cameras were not operating because of a power outage at the time.
Terrorists killed by own bomb in Karachi By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 10: Three suspected suicide bombers were killed in Manghopir area of the city on Thursday when explosives they were purportedly carrying went off ‘accidentally’.. According to police, the men on two motorcycles were carrying an improvised explosive device when it went off on a road in the MPR Colony near a ground where a religious congregation was to be held. West Karachi SSP Irfan Baloch said that three bodies, one of them mutilated, had been found. Both the bikes were destroyed. The official said police believed that the device had been set off accidentally by a remote control. He said two of the deceased had been identified from their CNICs found in their pockets as Rafiullah and Asmatullah of Qila Abdullah.
Blasts terrorise provincial capitals FOUR provincial capitals and four explosions which claimed 12 lives and injured upwards of 75 people — that’s what transpired on Thursday as militants spent a rather busy day. They dealt the heaviest blow in Quetta where they snuffed out eight lives. More than 60 people were injured when a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded in a market and near a police station. In Karachi, three suspected militants lost their own lives when they mishandled an explosive device they were carrying on a motorbike. Lahore, which has lately been spared terrorist attacks, provided the setting for the third blast. One man was killed there when an explosive device placed in a food outlet in Anarkali bazaar went off. Some 17 people were injured. Peshawar — which for long has been in the crosshairs of the militants and has frequently been buffeted by attacks — witnessed another explosion. This time, thankfully, no one was killed. But three law-enforcement personnel were injured when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device. .
Three Levies men hurt in Peshawar PESHAWAR, Oct 10: Three Levies Force personnel were injured when their vehicle was hit by a blast here on Thursday. . According to police, the Levies men were going to the office of the political agent of Khyber Agency when an improvised explosive device went off. They had returned from the tribal area where they had been deployed to guard polio vaccinators.
Massive austerity By Khurram Husain in Washington HE’S talking about new beginnings, but the story he’s telling is an old one. . Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has been in Washington DC for the better part of the week, attending the IMF/World Bank annual meetings, and is telling everyone that Pakistan may have its fair share of problems, but work is being done to help fix things. In the course of building his story, he lays blame on the previous government “for their neglect of the economy, and their misgovernance” and says his government “inherited a bankrupt treasury”. “Difficult decisions will have to be made,” he argued in his talk at the Atlantic Council before listing some of the steps his government is committed to taking. “The path forward is one of massive austerity,” he said, adding that his government intends to bring down the fiscal deficit from its last year’s closing of 8.8 per cent to 4 per cent. But this austerity will not harm growth. The story continues, because from the axe of adjustment will fall on current expenditures, he says, like subsidies, but other growth inducing expenditures will continue. Fair enough, this is not the first time we are hearing the “depleted treasury” and the “tough decisions” speech. These have been the opening lines of every new government for the past 25 years at least. What reasons are there to believe this time things will work out differently, that the government will be able to hold on to the rope of reform through the political storms that are inevitably coming its way? The IMF finds solace in the fact that the government began its tenure by taking a number of very difficult decisions — called “prior actions” in the parlance of the fund. These included a hike in the GST rate, in the power tariffs and allowing the rupee to fall. But in each case, less than half a year following their enactment, the government’s resolve has faltered. The power tariff hikes on business and industry remain in place, but the ones on domestic consumers were quickly and shambolically withdrawn in the face of a growing political backlash. The documentation measures contained in the budget have all been withdrawn via an SRO, an instrument that the government has promised it will abolish by December next year, but apparently intends to use to the hilt in the meantime. The State Bank has indeed scaled back its interventions in the money markets to shore up the rupee, actions that consumed $3.5 billion of the country’s precious foreign exchange reserves last fiscal year. The result has been a large and continuing slide in the value of the rupee. But others have argued that the drop in the value of the rupee has been fuelled as much by the large government borrowing from the State Bank – which amounts to printing of currency to pay the government’s bills. In the closing days of the first quarter of this fiscal year, when the drop in the value of the rupee peaked, government borrowing from the State Bank also hit a peak beyond 800 billion rupees, although it has since been brought down to 523 billion in line with targets laid out in the IMF programme. Referring to some of these reversals, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at the Atlantic Council talk acknowledged the political difficulties involved, but said the government remains committed to the reform process even if the pace of the reforms has to accommodate political sensitivities. “We are here to rule for five years,” he said. “There is no need to act in haste.” But in Washington DC, misgivings about Pakistan’s economy and its stability are everywhere. Even the IMF, in its own assessment of the programme, says “implementation risk is high” due to political factors and security reasons. One indicator of the depth of the misgivings might be in the meeting schedule for the minister. In a four-day period, he is scheduled to hold 49 meetings, including long one on ones with two officials at the US treasury, and one on ones with the MD, Deputy MD and division head of the IMF. But there was only one public appearance, no opportunities to sit on any of the ubiquitous panels that will be discussing all sorts of issues like poverty alleviation or risks to growth in emerging markets from the difficulties of the advanced economies. It seems the meeting organisers would prefer that the government of Pakistan restrict its focus to its domestic worries, and leave international concerns to others. In a telling contrast, Pakistan’s public face at the gatherings will instead be Malala Yousufzai, who received special mention in the President’s opening address, and will be a guest at a session on Friday.
India ties, Afghanistan peace top priorities: PM By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says normalising ties with India and facilitating peace in Afghanistan are his foreign policy priorities. . Prime Minister Sharif, according to a source, shared his priorities with Foreign Secretary-designate Abdul Basit in a meeting on Wednesday. Mr Sharif further told Mr Basit to work for aligning foreign policy with the economic development agenda of the country and to purse the ‘region first’ approach. Mr Basit was chosen on Wednesday to replace incumbent Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, who has been appointed as ambassador to the United States. A source said Mr Jilani is expected to move to the United States for assuming his new assignment by the end of this month, while Mr Basit would take charge of the foreign ministry in the first week of November. Mr Basit enjoys a personal rapport with his Indian counterpart Sujata Singh, who too before being posted as foreign secretary served as her country’s ambassador to Germany. This rapport, analysts believe, would help Mr Basit in achieving the goal of normalisation of ties with India. The FS designate, the source said, assured the prime minister that he would develop a clear strategy for achievement of the foreign policy objectives of peace and prosperity in light of his guidelines. Meanwhile, in a surprising move the government on Thursday picked columnist Kamran Shafi, an army critic, as high commissioner to the United Kingdom. Mr Shafi would replace Mr Wajid Shamsul Hassan in London. Mr Hassan had resigned from the position in June after the new government came into office, but was asked to continue till the appointment of his successor. Mr Shafi, a former army officer, remained a close associate of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. However, his relations with the PPP remained lukewarm during its last tenure in office. He is not known for having a strong affiliation with PML-N. Mr Shafi has previously served as press minister in the Pakistan High Commission in UK.
Will the real power minister stand up? By Mubarak Zeb Khan ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: Electricity is a federal subject and Khawaja Asif is the minister-in-charge. But is he?. Behind the scenes, the power sector is being managed and controlled by a small group that answers not to the Khawaja but to the ‘talented brother’, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif. This was brought home recently. Mian Shahbaz Sharif presided over meetings where briefings were held before the recent tariff increase. Most decisions made in these meetings were leaked to the public through his nephew Abid Sher Ali, who is the state minister to Khawaja Asif. An official in the water and power ministry told Dawn that special presentations were arranged for the Punjab chief minister in June and July. The objective behind these sessions was to provide the younger Sharif with an in-depth account of the power sector and its problems so that some solutions could be found for improving the heavy loadshedding schedule. A second reason was that at the time the federal government had approached the IMF for a bailout package, with the clear understanding that the fund’s conditions would include a hike in the tariff. The Punjab chief minister and adviser to prime minister on water and energy Dr Mussadaq Malik were tasked to suggest changes in the tariffs to comply with these conditions. The third person, who contributed to the energy policy of the government and was part of these briefings, was former finance minister Shaukat Tareen. It was this select group, Dawn has learnt, that decided the tariff increases. Most briefings were held at the chief minister house in Lahore. The minister in change, Khawaja Asif, was not present in these briefings, claimed one official. In recent days, it has also been noticed that Abid Ali convened several meetings on policy issues which ideally should have been headed by Khawaja Asif. On Oct 3, a briefing was given to Abid Ali at the National Power Construction Company (NPCC) where Mr Ali passed an order that not a single megawatt more than 650MW was to be supplied to KESC. He further directed authorities to conduct an audit of KESC as well as NPCC. Mr Ali held another meeting on Oct 8, in which he gave directions for the implementation of the power purchase agreement between KESC and National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC). He also ordered that the dispute on billing between KESC and NTDC be resolved. This is why many observers feel that Khawaja Asif, the federal minister for water and power, is merely the public face and not much else. The water and power ministry is actually being run by the Punjab chief minister, one official said, adding that some of the work is monitored and executed by Mr Ali, the state minister, while the technical issues are handled by the adviser. Some people close to the government go as far as to say that Khawaja Asif has approached the prime minister and asked for a change in his portfolio. They claim that he is not happy with the manner in which the affairs are being managed and he would like a different portfolio. He is said to be interested in the privatisation ministry, which is bound to see considerable action in the future now that the government has announced its decision to privatise more than 31 state-owned enterprises. In the Nawaz Sharif cabinet of 1997-1999, Khawaja Asif held the portfolio of chairman privatisation commission. At the moment, the department is not headed by a minister. Soon after the government was formed, it appointed Eng Khurrum Dastagir Khan as state minister for privatisation. He was later also given the additional portfolio of state minister for commerce. It is said that Mr Dastagir is also more interested in commerce than privatisation.
Situation improving inBalochistan: Achakzai By Rashid Khattak ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: The provincial cabinet of Balochistan will be sworn in on Monday (Oct 14), Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai said here on Thursday.. Talking to journalists, he said the cabinet could not be formed earlier because partners in the provincial government wanted to induct clean people. Mr Achakzai said the only thing the Baloch people wanted was their rights and advised the media not to describe the situation in Balochistan as insurgency. He said the situation had improved in the province over the past two months. About two months ago, he said, no one could travel to Chaman from Quetta at night because of the poor law and order situation, but now roads are safe and people could go anywhere even at night without any fear. Mr Achakzai said that for the first time a political government had assumed power in Balochistan and it had performed well since its foundation. In the past people of the Hazara community were being attacked but now they were safe. Mr Achakzai claimed there was no dispute between Pakhtun and Baloch people in the province. They have been living with each other in harmony for centuries. Mr. Achakzai confirmed that convoys taking relief goods for earthquake survivors were being attacked. But without naming any group of people, he said those seeking to turn Balochistan into a separate country would not succeed. “They are a small force,” he added. About the law and order situation in the province, the governor said that the old tribal system had collapsed over the past 30 years but no new system had emerged and that had led to a disturbing situation. He said people hired services of private guards even in the federal capital and streets were blocked for security reasons and the situation is almost the same all over the country because previous governments didn’t fulfill their responsibilities. “It is a by-product of policies of the previous governments. Extortionists are arrested even in Sabzi Mandi area of Islamabad,” he said. About the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti, he said that retired Gen Pervez Musharraf had left a serious problem (for his successors) during a sensitive time. The incident (Bugti’s murder) tarnished the image of the country in the world. About the issue of missing people, he said the aggrieved parties hesitated to lodge complaints with law-enforcement agencies. He said he himself had advised relatives of an alleged missing man to submit a written application with relevant officials or at the Governor’s House so that a case could be initiated but they refused to do so. “There is a law about it even in occupied Kashmir but not in Balochistan,” he said.
Taliban warn shops against selling Malala’s book By Pazir Gul MIRAMSHAH, Oct 10: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has warned that those found selling “I am Malala” — the book authored by Malala Yousufzai — will face serious action as she had not performed any act of bravery but swapped her religion Islam with secularism for which she is being rewarded.. Talking to this correspondent on phone on Thursday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said they knew that Malala would get awards from the enemies of Islam. “Malala abandoned Islam for secularism for which she is being given awards,” he said, adding that the media and the international community should keep in mind that students of Jamia Hafsa, Islamabad, were never given any award despite their immense bravery. “The Taliban will not lose an opportunity to kill Malala Yousufzai and those who were found selling her book will be targeted.” He denied that Swat TTP commander Maulana Fazlullah had been killed in an ambush as reported by the media from the Kunar province of Afghanistan. He also said the government was not serious about talks with the Taliban. “We are not killing innocent people. A third force is targeting common people to malign the Taliban,” he said.
3-day holiday for Eidul Azha ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: The federal government has announced holidays for Eidul Azha falling on Oct 16. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on Thursday, the federal government offices will remain closed from Oct 15 to 17 for Eid holidays.—APP .
COAS assails Indian statements about LoC violations By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has dismissed as provocative, unfounded and unfortunate the recent statements by the Indian military leadership, particularly its army chief, accusing the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence of supporting terrorism. . “Rather than hurling such baseless accusations, India would be well advised to respond positively to Pakistan’s suggestion for holding joint or impartial investigation into the LoC incidents, preferably by the United Nations,” he said on Friday. Gen Kayani said Pakistan was also concerned about the continued violations of the Line of Control. The ceasefire was proposed by Pakistan and agreed to by the two countries in 2003. He said the Pakistan Army was exercising restraint but it should in no way be used as a pretext for levelling such baseless allegations which vitiated the prospects of regional peace. In an interview with Times of India published on Thursday, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh said the Pakistan Army and the ISI needed to be made “accountable” and forced to rein in their continuing agenda of supporting “Jihadi factories”, churning out terrorists to wage a covert war against India. “For peace to return to this region, which is imperative, the Pakistan Army has to be made accountable. “They must desist from supporting terrorists who are double-edged weapons and could well inflict serious injuries on them,” he said. A Pakistani military official told Dawn that India had committed 308 LoC violations since January, but Pakistan deliberately avoided playing it up in the interest of peace. Gen Kayani also rejected a perception that there was a difference of approach between the civilian government and the military over talks with the Taliban and said the army fully supported the peace process initiated by the government.
Chemical arms monitor gets Nobel Peace prize OSLO, Oct 11: The watchdog now overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to rid the world of the devastating weapons.. In a surprise choice, the Nobel committee honoured the UN-backed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for “its extensive efforts” in banishing the scourge of chemical arms. “Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons,” the Norwegian jury said in its statement. Around 30 OPCW arms experts and UN logistics and security personnel are on the ground in Syria and have started to destroy weapons production facilities. The jury criticised the United States and Russia for failing to destroy their chemical weapons by April 2012, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention. “Certain states have not observed the deadline,” the jury said. “This applies especially to the USA and Russia.” OPCW chief Ahmet Uzumcu told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK the prize would be a major boost for his group’s efforts. “I know that the Nobel Peace Prize will help us…promote the universality of the Convention” in the coming months, he said. The OPCW was not considered among the front-runners for the $1.2 million prize until the eve of the announcement. Malala Yousufzai and Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege had been among the favourites. “She is an outstanding woman and I think she has a bright future and she will probably be a nominee next year or the year after that,” Thorbjoern Jagland, the committee chairman, told The Associated Press.Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman, a 2011 Nobel Peace laureate, was among many who had been rooting for Malala to take the prize. But Karman congratulated the OPCW and said she expected Malala to some day win the award. “I was hoping that Malala Yousufzai would win it. But I expect that she will win this important prize in the coming years,” Karman told AFP in Paris. This marks the second consecutive year an organisation has won the prestigious award. Last year’s award went to the European Union. The Hague-based OPCW was founded in 1997 to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention signed on Jan 13, 1993. Until recently operating in relative obscurity, the OPCW has suddenly been catapulted into the global spotlight because of its role in supervising the dismantling of Syria’s chemical arsenal and facilities. “I’m proud of him and the organisation,” said the wife of one of the OPCW inspectors currently in Damascus. “I guess it’s a time for celebration but he’s in Damascus so it’s not easy to celebrate,” she told AFP in The Hague, asking not to be named. The OPCW said on Tuesday it was sending a second group of inspectors to bolster the disarmament mission in the war-ravaged nation. Since the OPCW came into existence 16 years ago, it has destroyed 57,000 tons of chemical weapons, the majority of them leftovers from the Cold War between the United States and Russia. “It’s the slow steady laying down of bricks over the weeks, months and years, people sitting in control rooms watching this stuff going into the chutes,” OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said recently. The OPCW’s work was the “subject of years and years of patient diplomacy in which we’ve demonstrated that we do diplomacy very, very well. We’ve kept everybody aboard, we keep adding states.” To date, the OPCW has 189 members representing more than 98 per cent of the world population, with Syria due to become a full-fledged member of the convention on Monday. Israel and Myanmar signed in 1993 but have not yet ratified, according to the OPCW website. Four states – North Korea, Angola, Egypt and South Sudan – have neither signed nor ratified the Convention. The OPCW spokesman said the prize would not distract the organisation from its work. “We’re in the process of trying to achieve something in Syria,” he said. “If we achieve the objectives of this mission, then there’ll be something to celebrate.”
Malala asks world to make education top priority By Our Correspondent WASHINGTON, Oct 11: Malala Yousufzai urged governments and international financial institutions on Friday to make education their top priority.. The education activist, who earlier in the day failed to win Nobel Peace Prize, shared the stage with World Bank president Jim Young Kim in a one-to-one presentation at the bank’s headquarters. “I think all those organisations must make education their top priority,” she said when Kim asked her to advise his organisation on how best to use its funds. Malala noted that organisations like the World Bank spent much of their money on health, AIDS and other programmes, but said that making education a priority would help other causes as well. Focusing on education, she said, would also prevent other social ills like child labour, child trafficking and poverty. Malala impressed a select audience of the world’s top financial experts with her poised, articulate and impassioned plea for children’s education. When the World Bank president announced that his organisation was donating $200 million to the Malala Fund, she reminded him that she had launched the fund to do “work on the ground” to promote education for all children. Asked by a girl in the audience how she lived a normal teenage life as a celebrity, Malala said: “I have accepted this busy life for a reason. I want to promote education of every child. “I am proud to be a girl, and I know that girls can change the world,” she said to a burst of applause from hundreds of bank employees and local schoolgirls invited to attend the event. “If a terrorist can change someone’s mind and convince them to become a suicide bomber, we can also change their minds and tell them education is the only way to bring humanity and peace.” Dressed in a black head scarf and brightly coloured shalwar-kameez, she joked with Kim, a medical doctor, telling him she would rather become a politician because “a doctor can only help someone who has been shot. If I become a politician, I can help make a tomorrow where there are no more cases of people being shot”. Malala reminded the audience that this week she launched a book, “I am Malala”, adding that “this book not only tells my story, but it tells the story of every girl who has been suffering from terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is about girls’ rights.” Addressing about 50 schoolgirls in the audience, she asked: “So are girls with me?” and the girls responded with a loud “yes.”
Electricity tariff hike from Nov By Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The Ministry of Water and Power has issued a notification announcing the revised tariff of electricity to be effective from November. . The new tariff would not apply to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of a stay order issued by the Peshawar High Court against the tariff hike in the province. The tariff revision has been made on a directive issued by the Supreme Court earlier this month against the government’s decision about a massive increase in electricity charges. While Nepra fixed Rs4 per unit for consumers using 1-50 units, the government has decided to reduce it through subsidy and will now charge Rs2 per unit for this slab. For consumers using between 51 and 100 units, Nepra has recommended Rs11 per unit, but the government fixed Rs5.79/unit and the difference will be paid by the government in the form of subsidy. For consumption of between 101 and 200 units, Nepra has recommended the rate of Rs14/unit, but the government has decided to charge Rs8.11/unit and the difference will taken care of by subsidy. For consumers using between 201-300 units, the tariff would be Rs12.9 per unit. For people using 301-700 units a month, Nepra set Rs16/unit tariff and the same will be charged from consumers. For consumption beyond 700 units the rate will be Rs18/unit. The government has estimated that the total power subsidy during 2013-14 will be Rs168 billion. However, officials said that the amount of subsidy could go up by the end of the fiscal year.
New NAB chief takes charge; court reopens Zardari cases By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), retired Major Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, assumed charge of his office on Friday, and coincidentally, an accountability court reopened six cases against former president Asif Zardari. . The cases had remained dormant because of immunity enjoyed by Mr Zardari during his presidential tenure. With the appointment of Mr Chaudhry, some politicians have said, cases against top leaders of the PML-N and the PPP will remain dormant because they will not be pursued by NAB. Former presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar claimed there was no case pending against Mr Zardari because he had been acquitted in all cases. But if the NAB reopened any case against him, the PPP would face it, he added. The new chairman will also have to decide about pending references, including Rs22 billion Rental Power Projects scam and Rs82 billion Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority scandal. The references are against former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.
SC issues contempt notice to defence secretary By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Defence Secretary retired Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik has landed himself in trouble by attracting a contempt of court notice for not honouring his undertaking of holding the local government elections in all 43 cantonment boards. . “Prima facie the undertaking and the commitment earlier made has been disobeyed as a result whereof civil contempt within the definition of section 2 clause-a (ii) of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003, read with Article 204 (3) of the constitution has been committed. Therefore, notice of contempt of court be issued to Asif Yasin Malik, the incumbent secretary defence, to proceed against him according to the procedure,” an order dictated by a three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said on Friday. Notice has also been issued to Attorney General Muneer A. Malik who will act as prosecutor in the contempt case, but he tried his best to rescue the secretary by stating that Mr Yasin had expressed complete remorse. The court asked the secretary to put up his defence in 10 days. He is also required to explain in writing whether any variation (extension) has been given in the Cantonment Board Act 1924 after the last extension in tenure of cantonment boards expired on May 5 and, if not, under which authority the boards are still functioning. “Cantonment boards are not unit of the army,” the chief justice observed. The last elections were held in 1998 and the cantonment boards have been without public representation for 14 years in violation of article 140A(2) of the constitution. On May 5 last year the former prime minister had granted a one-year extension to the cantonment boards. The period expired on May 5 this year. The apex court extended the deadline for holding the elections to Sept 15 after it received a commitment by the defence secretary on July 2. The court had taken up a petition filed in 2009 by former vice-president of the Quetta cantonment board Raja Rab Nawaz challenging the absence of local bodies in cantonment areas for 14 years. “You don’t want to hold the elections only to keep the authority with you,” the chief justice regretted. But the defence secretary, who was present in the court, explained that he had given the earlier commitment believing that the prime minister would approve the summary sent to him for holding the elections. “It is beyond my control,” he said. On Sept 23, the attorney general informed the court that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was of the opinion that the elections would be meaningless in the presence of 50 per cent nominated members and wanted a new regime. The matter had been referred to a special 12-member cabinet committee headed by Science and Technology Minister Zahid Hamid on Sept 10. The committee was asked to submit its recommendations in 10 days.
Money and reserves By Khurram Husain in Washington Speaking at an event in Washington DC, both the finance minister and the State Bank governor went to extraordinary lengths to deny that the programme with the IMF contains any preconditions related to the value of the currency, or the future direction of interest rates. . Finance Minister Ishaq Dar described himself as “allergic” to talk of forced devaluations. “The market determines the value of the currency,” he insisted and emphasised repeatedly that he would never negotiate over the value of the rupee. SBP Governor Yasin Anwar echoed these sentiments on interest rates. “There is no dictation on interest rates,” he emphasised, describing himself as the head of an autonomous policy body that makes its own decisions. But the minister did not rule out any intervention required to shore up the rupee against “speculative moves”, saying that in his opinion the rupee remains excessively devalued. “In my opinion it should be at 100 to a dollar right now,” he said. Sitting next to him, the State Bank governor nodded. Talk of an IMF-driven devaluation and interest rate hike has been encouraged by some language in the Fund’s own report accompanying the programme. Fund staff note that amongst other things, the programme aims to “reverse…accommodative monetary policy, and low reserve coverage which provides few buffers to absorb shocks”. In fact, accumulating reserves is the biggest priority of the Fund programme, and the World Bank also described it as the “most pressing short-term economic challenge” for Pakistan, in its South Asia Economic Focus report released at the Annual Meetings, noting that in September, foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan had dropped to cover less than 1.2 months of imports. Measuring reserves can be a complex business. Typically the Fund calculates a net position by taking the total dollars in the country and subtracting the portion that is borrowed from abroad or otherwise pledged away domestically in complex financial instruments known as swaps and forwards. The Fund programme targets a rise in reserves by almost $2 billion in the first year of the programme, a target that will constrain the ability of the State Bank to spend dollars to support the rupee. The reserves target laid out in the programme presents other challenges as well. The programme assumes that $1.2 billion will come from a 3G auction in the telecom sector, and another $800 million from privatisation proceeds, targets that the government has struggled with in the past. The relationship between reserves and the exchange rate can be thought of as a choice between building your house with straw or with bricks. Straw is easier to build with, but one gust of wind will bring the house down. Bricks will withstand stronger gusts of wind, but it will take a lot of hard work and time -- in short, sacrifice -- to build that house. Similarly, Pakistan can choose how it wants to use the dollars that flow into the country. We can squirrel them away as reserves in preparation for a windy day in the future, or we can pour these dollars into the money markets to shore up the value of the rupee in the present. Since the rupee tends to fall in the market when dollars are scarce, ensuring a large supply of dollars would ensure the local currency keeps its strength, but it would drain the reserves, leaving us vulnerable and exposed to the slightest gust of wind. This is a delicate game to play. Letting the currency fall carries a political cost, and fuels inflation and raises the price of oil, our largest import. But letting reserves fall carries us towards a large scale economic crisis instead. A middle ground can be extremely difficult to find. Last year, for example, the State Bank spent more than $3.5 billion holding up the rupee as dollars drained out of the economy due to a large current account deficit and huge debt repayments. Eventually, the reserves ran so low that we had to go back to borrow from the IMF. Salim Raza, former State Bank governor, says that if reserves are inadequate the State Bank is powerless to even check the trend of a declining rupee, let along reverse it. Lacking reserves, the only instrument left to support the currency is interest rates. “The choice is ours, much higher interest rates or a weaker rupee?” he says, pointing out that higher interest rates will mean higher debt-servicing costs for the government, almost Rs100 billion additional for every percentage point hike. This is the tightrope that the finance minister and the State Bank find themselves on in the first year of the new government. But the key to holding one’s balance on this tightrope might well lie on the fiscal side of the equation, where the challenges are no less delicate.
Committee set up to monitor restoration of Quaid residency By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Oct 11: A three-member committee headed by a former chief secretary, Mirza Qamar Baig, has been constituted to oversee the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Quaid-i-Azam Residency in Ziarat, an official told media personnel on Friday. . Sibi division’s Commissioner Shaharyar Sultan and Abdul Jabbar Kasi, technical focal person of the provincial communications department, are the other two members of the committee. The project will cost Rs45 million to Rs50m which will be provided by the provincial government. Balochistan’s Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad will also supervise the project. According to technical adviser and member of the project committee Abdul Jabbar, construction work on the destroyed residency had started and it would be completed at the earliest. He said a reputed architect of the country, Maher Ali Dadabhoy, would be providing his expertise for the project. “Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch is taking keen interest in the rehabilitation of the building where Quaid-i-Azam spent the last days of his life,” he said. Material from the building, he said, would be used again for its reconstruction such as stone bricks and iron bars which remained safe in the inferno caused by bomb blasts at the residency. “The residency would be restored to its original shape,” Mr Kasi said, adding that drawing of the building had been completed keeping in view the original shape of the structure. He said many items which were in the personal use of the Quaid-i-Azam remained safe, which were kept at the Arts Gallery for exhibition. However, furniture and other things belonging to the Father of the Nation which had perished would be made again and fixed at the same place where they had been before the incident.
Boy dies in Indian shelling along LoC By Tariq Naqash MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 11: A boy was killed and at least four others, including two women, were injured in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in unprovoked shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) on Friday, officials said. . A Pakistan Army officer told Dawn that Indian troops shelled villages in Nakial and Tatta Pani sectors in Kotli district. “They started shelling at about 11am without any provocation but their guns fell silent in the afternoon after we responded to them befittingly,” he added. Kotli Deputy Commissioner Masoodur Rehman said that Kashi, 11-year-old son of Ghulam Mustafa, was killed and Sher Mohammad alias Sain, 90, was critically injured in Red Kathaar village of Tatta Pani sector. Ejaz Ahmed, 35, son of Noor Mohammad; Nazir Begum, 50, wife of Ali Mohammad, and Nahid Akhtar, 25, daughter of Sharif, were injured in Dheri Dabsi village of Nakial sector. The injured persons were hospitalised. On Oct 4, an infant was killed and five others were injured in Red Kathaar village while on Oct 8 a woman was injured in Lanjot village of Nakial sector in similar incidents.
College girl abducted, assaulted in Karachi By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 11: A college girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped in the city on Friday, according to police and hospital officials.. The 15-year-old student had left for her college in the morning by a rickshaw in the limits of Taimuria police of District Central. However, she was allegedly intoxicated and taken away by the rickshaw driver. The sources said she was found in an unconscious condition at a place in Phase-I of DHA at night. She was shifted to Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre where doctors said she had been raped. The girl was admitted for treatment. A Defence police official said the girl was taken to the hospital by her uncle, adding that the case had been reported to police by the hospital administration. Senior Superintendent of Police Central Amir Farooqi said the case had not been reported to the police station concerned.
Editorial NEWS
Little to celebrate: Tariff notification withdrawn THE government has revoked the Sept 30 notification that increased the domestic electricity prices after the Supreme Court found it lacking in ‘legal backing’. The government should be feeling relieved to find that at issue is not the rise in tariffs but the procedure that must be followed for increasing the rates. On the other hand, there may be little in the move for consumers to rejoice over. This will only delay the inevitable. The power sector regulator — the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority — will now be asked to determine the prices afresh, for the government to notify. It has been made clear that, whenever they are notified, the new prices for domestic connections will apply from Oct 1 to fulfil a requirement of the $6.6bn loan from the International Monetary Fund. Also, the new tariffs will not include a subsidy of more than Rs150bn for the consumers, which the regulator will have to take into account while it works out the prices.. It is now up to Nepra to decide who to ‘subsidise’ and who not to subsidise. Nepra could re-notify the same prices as determined by the government in the revoked notification or there may be minor changes. The process of fresh determination of domestic power prices is expected to take two to three weeks. Nevertheless, it is not clear if the regulator will hold fresh public hearings with the objective of hearing the consumers’ viewpoint or decide on the basis of previous hearings. It is also not clear if Nepra will share its analysis of the real cost of generation and other factors that it takes into account while evaluating new tariffs with the consumers who are to bear the brunt of the precipitous rise in power bills. We hope the regulator will ensure that it does its job in a more open and transparent manner to gain confidence of those who are directly affected by its decisions. After all, it is part of the regulator’s job to protect the interests of the consumers. Or is this not the case? It is also time for the government to reassess its strategy of unloading the entire burden of its bud-get deficit on fixed-income households through indirect taxation or hikes in energy prices. While this policy may take care of the government’s financial difficulties for the moment, it is not a durable solution to its financial troubles. It is not a good idea, politically or otherwise, to test the patience of the people beyond a certain limit.
True face of TTP: Spokesman’s remarks WITH the country’s political leadership failing to provide clarity on who the TTP is and what it represents, perhaps it is a good thing that the TTP speaks for itself so frequently. Because each time a TTP leader speaks, he underlines exactly why the state cannot afford to compromise with militancy and terrorism. Shahidullah Shahid — the latest in a line of TTP spokespersons who seem to have extraordinary freedom to ring up and talk to whoever they want, whenever they want — has told the BBC that the Peshawar church bombing was in accordance with the Sharia. Quite how this is possible or what is the logic behind this claim remains a mystery, and perhaps mercifully so. Pakistan has had more than enough of demagogues using the media soapbox to spread their twisted, hate-filled ideas.. What Shahidullah Shahid’s claim does under-line though is a central fact: the TTP believes that violence against ordinary civilians, innocent men, women and children, is not only acceptable, but religiously ordained. Where, exactly, does that leave the possibility of compromise with the TTP? To the proponents of dialogue, how are so-called misguided souls to be brought back to the path of responsible citizenship if their beliefs are fundamentally rooted in violence and a twisted version of religion? In their desperation to negotiate with militants, the political leadership has ended up obscuring the ugly and unacceptable nature of militancy and terrorism here. Unwise as dialogue may have been as the preferred option at this stage, the political leadership has compoun-ded the error by downplaying before the public the threat that the TTP poses and its true face. If a bombing like the one at the Peshawar church can be justified by a TTP leader, why should the country allow such men to continue to spread their poison under the garb of peace talks and a deal? The political leadership has demonstrated clarity — on talks — without any real understanding till now. It’s time some understanding of the real facts was shown.
A law, finally: Right to information THANK YOU, Punjab, for finally coming up with a right to information law, but it would be nice to know why it couldn’t be routed as a bill through the provincial assembly. In any case, it is a good beginning that promises to give the affairs of the public a transparency that had been missing. The provincial information secretary said he has already asked for comprehensive training of representatives from all departments to familiarise them with the requirements of the right to information law. Just as these departments must ready themselves to entertain requests, what is needed is a campaign to make people aware of their right and how to go about securing it.. The draft of an information law had been pending with the Punjab government for some time amid ever louder voices for its introduction. This was most urgently sought, especially after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa passed its right to information law. The Punjab government has finally given in to these demands and now it needs to quickly set up the requisite commission comprising three members. The commission’s role will be to resolve “any inconsistencies” in the application of the principles and rules of the law which provides for the designation of public information officers in all departments. These officers will be bound to provide the desired information within 14 days, except in certain areas that are out of bounds for the public. These areas relate to defence and security, public order, international relations, “legitimate privacy interests” and where information is legally privileged. This does appear to allow quite a lot of room for denial of information. Exemptions are always there and the law’s benefit to the people at large will be subject to a liberal interpretation of its provisions and improvements in it.
A vicious circle: Allegations against India IT’S a decades-old tit-for-tat: India trots out allegations against Pakistan about violence in Kashmir; Pakistan returns the favour with allegations about Indian involvement in violence in Balochistan. This time round, there was the added antagonism of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh labelling Pakistan the epicentre of terrorism, that too before an audience no less global than the UN General Assembly itself. So perhaps inevitably, Pakistan officialdom has struck back with Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani claiming that information about foreign interference in Balochistan has been shared with an unnamed country — though for all intents and purposes, it was clear the foreign secretary was referring to India.. Two issues are important here. First, there may well be some truth to the allegations and counter-allegations by both sides; at least that’s what the old pattern suggests. Through the difficult 1980s and the even more difficult 1990s, Pakistan and India often traded allegations similar to the present-day back and forth – in fact, the allegations concerned regions far beyond just Balochistan or Kashmir. The second point, however, may be more important in the present-day context: verbal escalations have deleterious consequences of their own. When civilian officials who are supposed to be furthering the objective of peace start speaking in strident tones, the overall relationship between the two countries quickly goes backwards. In late 2013, there is arguably little space left to go backwards in India-Pakistan relations without coming up against the war drums that are beat all too enthusiastically, and recklessly, in certain quarters on both sides. It is an unhappy situation in which the Indian polity, preparing for an election, is all too easily whipped up against Pakistan. But Pakistan has gone through its own election cycle very recently and has emerged with a government that has made improving relations with India one of its priorities. So perhaps the foreign secretary should have remained cognisant of his political bosses’ priorities while speaking to the media. More generally, both sides have enough channels open to the other to eschew using the media as a conduit for messages. All that does, as Mr Jilani no doubt knows, is trigger a media circus and squeeze the space for the governments on both sides in which to try and keep things on an even keel. The bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s should be avoided at all cost.
The thought police: Internet surveillance BY its very nature, democracy carries within it a promise of openness, a celebration of diversity. But democratic Pakistan, on the contrary, is becoming more Orwellian by the day. A report on internet surveillance called Freedom on the Net 2013, conducted by the Digital Rights Foundation Pakistan and Freedom House, assessed cyberspace freedom in 60 countries. Scoring 67 out of 100, Pakistan received a status of ‘not free’, while Iceland topped the table with a score of six.. The violation of the right to information by limiting content has been under way for some time with scores of websites seen as anti-military, anti-state or anti-Islam getting blocked. There has also been, it seems, an expansion in surveillance activities by government authorities, particularly intelligence agencies. However, the uploading of the anti-Islam movie trailer on YouTube last year and the Fair Trial Act passed earlier this year to aid terrorism investigations seem to have engendered a perfect storm of censorship and moral policing by government authorities. Not only has the ban on YouTube not been lifted, and more sites been blocked on grounds of ‘immorality’, PTA is in the process of acquiring more advanced surveillance software than it possesses at present that will make it possible, among other things, to track internet traffic on websites of interest, and trawl through personal chats and email accounts more thoroughly. Although this invasive category of software is ostensibly for the purpose of aiding terrorism investigations, the loose phrasing of the Fair Trial Act 2012 could allow a much broader application of this technology to curb views on politics, religion, morality, etc that may be deemed unacceptable. The right to freedom of speech is already much circumscribed in Pakistan through a combination of society’s vigilantism and draconian laws such as those dealing with blasphemy. Given the myriad problems that we are beset with, many of which can be traced to intolerance and bigotry, the last thing the government should be doing is playing Big Brother.
Height of brazenness: Bus hold-up WHILE Karachi is confronted with a veritable epidemic of street crime, some incidents stand out simply because of the audacity of the perpetrators. Friday’s armed hold-up of a point bus belonging to the NED University, in which students of the varsity were robbed, certainly falls in this category. The hold-up occurred in the middle of a much-trumpeted law enforcement operation in Karachi, making a mockery of the authorities’ claims of success. This is the second incident of its kind as last month around a dozen criminals stormed into a Karachi University bus and proceeded to rob the students on board of their valuables and even documents. No headway has been made in that case, though police officials suspect the same gang may have been involved in both incidents. Both robberies took place in broad daylight in congested localities of the city.. While terrorism and militancy are major law and order problems of Karachi, the menace of street crime in the city cannot be understated. People are mugged on a daily basis across the metropolis, and resistance to criminals is sometimes fatal. In fact, the city’s already notorious traffic jams have become an additional source of dread for Karachi’s citizens as criminals consider motorists stuck in the gridlock easy pickings. Hence while meaningful action against terrorism and militancy is essential, the authorities need to pay equal attention to bringing down the rate of street crime. The administrations of varsities that run point buses in the city need to implement proposals such as locking doors when passing through spots considered risky. Also, police officers in uniform as well as plainclothesmen need to be stationed at spots where criminals are known to strike, so that they can crack down on muggers and armed culprits preying on hapless citizens.
The new names? COAS, CJCSC retirement IT is an unusual end to an unusual career, Gen Kayani himself choosing to announce his retirement next month through the military’s PR wing. That the army chief is to be replaced after an unprecedented double stint at the top is welcome news. The transition to democracy that has gained in strength over the past five years has now crossed yet another milestone. In that alone, there is much to celebrate. Consider how far Pakistan has come in the few years since the tumultuous exit of Gen Musharraf and the uncertain early years of the last government. For the first time in the country’s history, not only are major changes taking place in line with democratic principles and the Constitution, but there is a clear sense that future changes will also follow the rules. The change in the military high command has been dragged into controversy in recent days and Gen Kayani’s extended service has seen a great deal of debate, but on balance the army chief has proved a supporter of the democratic order.. If anything, much of the blame for the mismanagement of the present military transition must be laid at the government’s doorstep. How, for example, was it possible for the defence ministry, headed by the prime minister himself, to be bypassed in the official announcement of Gen Kayani’s retirement? Even now, rather than announcing the next CJCSC and COAS, all the prime minister’s office said yesterday was that a decision will be taken later after consultations. Why the delay? Why was it not possible to be done with the necessary consultations long before the retirement of CJCSC Gen Wyne yesterday? The problem with the prime minister’s seeming indecision and inability to get ahead of the curve on the matter is evident: it could lead to an unseemly scramble with intense lobbying on behalf of the several candidates. Prime Minister Sharif is clearly aware of the basic principles and conventions of such appointments: he has already said on the record that seniority will be adhered to. For the CJCSC slot, that means one of the three most senior leaders of the three services. While the army has dominated the CJCSC list over the decades, the naval chief is technically the senior-most candidate this time. Is there any reason to choose from the army again? The prime minister should tell the country if there is. As for the COAS position, any of the three senior-most generals would be an acceptable choice in line with tradition and principle. So why the delay?
A losing battle: New polio target IF further proof were needed that the hostility to the polio vaccination campaign is intensifying, it can be found in the attack on the outskirts of Peshawar on Monday. A small medical centre from where vaccination-related goods were being distributed was targeted with two remote-controlled bombs. While the larger explosive mercifully failed to detonate, two people — one of them a policeman — were killed and many more injured in the blast caused by the other bomb. This is perhaps the first time a health centre working on the issue has been targeted, and constitutes a worrying new dimension to the resistance to anti-polio efforts that has taken root in the country. Earlier, polio teams and workers have been attacked — sometimes killed — and in many cases their security escorts have also suffered. The net result: not only are unvaccinated children being increasingly exposed to a crippling, life-threatening disease, the herd immunity of the citizenry at large is also threatened with the resurgence of the poliovirus. . It is appalling that the issue has not received more attention from political quarters. The state’s response to this growing problem has on the whole been passive. True, security for polio workers has been provided where possible, but this is a defensive manoeuvre that falls far short of what is needed: for the government and political representatives, at both the provincial and the federal levels, to assertively take charge of the narrative and fight back against the obscurantists by owning and supporting the campaign. The silence, instead, has allowed regressive thinking to become so entrenched that a health centre is viewed as a target. A rollback can occur only if a counter-narrative is articulated and then aggressively promoted. In KP, for example, the involvement of the PTI’s Tabdeeli Razakars would send out a strong signal. A campaign that was kicked off with the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, administering the vaccine to her child is now in need of strong political support.
Tragedy averted Mid-air engine fire IT was a close call for a Dubai-bound PIA flight on Sunday night as the airliner turned back to Karachi following take-off after one of its engines caught fire. The pilot deserves kudos for coolly managing an episode that could have ended in tragedy. The incident is only the latest in a series of unfortunate occurrences that have affected the flag carrier. In the recent past, numerous incidents involving PIA aircraft have been reported, including unscheduled stops and emergency landings. The fact is that PIA has an ageing fleet of fuel-guzzling aircraft. For example, the A310 — the type of jetliner involved in Sunday’s incident — is a seasoned warhorse of the PIA fleet. This type of Airbus-made airliner first took to the skies in the early ’80s while the last one rolled off the assembly line in the late ’90s. The airline also suffers from a shortage of aircraft as a significant number of planes remains grounded for ‘routine maintenance’ at any given time. Experts believe that even if an aircraft has been in service for a long period, its lifespan can be extended through scheduled maintenance. But clearly, many of the aircraft in the flag carrier’s fleet have reached the end of the line.. The incident should serve as a reminder to the Civil Aviation Authority to be vigilant where aviation safety checks are concerned. PIA must also take a long, hard look at its internal maintenance system. Questions about fleet modernisation will be answered once the flight path towards privatisation is clearer. However, it is essential that PIA does not slacken where its maintaining aircraft is concerned. Or else, it will only strengthen the belief that maintenance is being ignored to bring down PIA’s price before privatisation in order to sell the family silver at a throwaway price.
Malala and the TTP: A staggering contrast IT is a year today since Malala Yousafzai was shot, and it is the country’s good fortune that she not just survived but is doubly determined to continue to campaign for education. Given all that she has been through, it would not have been surprising perhaps had she displayed revanchist sentiments against the TTP which launched grievous harm on her person and under whose thrall she earlier spent time in Swat. But Ms Yousafzai is being quoted across the world’s media for the best of reasons, saying that she wants to change Pakistan’s future through political activity and compulsory education. And while some consider unexpected her remarks on Monday about talking to the Taliban, is that really the case? “The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue and … through peaceful ways,” she commented. Even in the context of people who almost killed her, there is recognition that hatred can produce no future.. All of this throws into even starker relief the ugliness of those who consider her a target. Even as Ms Yousafzai spoke of peace, the TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid denounced her courageousness and said that his group would try to kill her again. The young girl’s steadfastness of purpose and the ambassadorial role that has settled upon her has no doubt irked the TTP, but nothing can be more shameful than the contrast between the victim that wants peace and the perpetrators of violence that desire to peddle death. At the other end of this opprobrious spectrum, Maulana Samiul Haq, chairman of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, accused Ms Yousafzai of having been “hijacked” by Western and anti-Islam powers, even though the logic — given that the West wants the TTP eliminated — is tenuous at best. This is far from the first time the TTP has taken a position that bodes ill for long-term success in the dialogue option. On Oct 5, its spokesperson shocked the nation by saying the TTP approved of the bombing of Peshawar’s All Saints Church since it was in keeping with the Sharia. The Sept 10 resolution of the all parties’ conference that offered talks to the TTP could have paved the way for the group to renounce violence, pledge loyalty to the Constitution and begin to integrate itself in the mainstream by joining the political process. But Shahidullah Shahid’s statement appears to be a reaffirmation of the TTP leadership’s hubris, and peace could be a long time coming.
Privatisation target: Clarity needed THE privatisation of state-owned businesses is regaining momentum under the watch of the International Monetary Fund. Only last week, the government had declared its intention of putting 31 enterprises on the block in the first phase of privatisation of 65 entities. On Monday, the Board of Investment boss said that the government planned to offload its shareholdings in some of these enterprises and restructure the others (with the help and involvement of the private sector) over the next 18 months. Prompt follow-up action on the announcement is attributed to the government’s desperation to cut the Rs500bn losses incurred by the state-owned companies every year, as well as its desire to create an environment conducive to boosting investor confidence in its economic policies. A majority of the enterprises that are to be put on sale are in dire financial condition. Their ‘revival’ in the public sector is considered near impossible because the government doesn’t have the kind of money required to infuse new life into them, nor does it have the expertise to run them profitably.. What makes this ‘resumption’ of privatisation process interesting and different from the earlier exercises is that the government has also decided to ‘disinvest’ regulatory bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority and the Karachi Port Trust to the private sector. This will be a first in Pakistan. It is so far not clear as to how the government plans to go about this de-investment business. Will these regulatory functions be completely sold off? Or does the government intend to hand over only the management of these enterprises to independent, more powerful boards comprising people from the private sector? It could be that the government would transfer the business operations of the ports, for instance, to private investors and keep the regulatory functions to itself. Simply not enough information has been given out. The sooner the details are shared with the people, the better. There is great need to allay the apprehensions the plan has spawned.
Massive vote fraud: Rigging in Karachi constituency FOLLOWING confirmation of bogus voting in a Karachi National Assembly constituency last month, a Nadra probe has found that a massive number of votes cast in another city constituency, NA-256, was unverifiable. Results for the seat, won by an MQM candidate, were challenged by a PTI contender, which led an election tribunal to ask Nadra to investigate the rigging allegations by examining the election material. What emerged should make all those interested in making the electoral process in Pakistan more transparent take notice. Only 6,815 thumb impressions could be verified (over 84,000 votes were cast) while a number of anomalies were found concerning the rest of the ballots. These include the fact that over 57,000 thumbprints could not be authenticated because they were of poor quality, while more serious questions swirl around the fact that over 11,000 counterfoils featured CNIC numbers that do not exist, while hundreds of people not registered in the constituency managed to cast their vote here. Near identical concerns were raised by Nadra’s report investigating rigging allegations in NA-258.. Considering the shocking numbers involved, a wider investigation is needed to see just what the extent of manipulation in the May polls was. What is clear at this point is that ballot boxes in Karachi and possibly elsewhere were stuffed. These two cases have also proved Nadra’s ability to home in on bogus votes. Now, wherever candidates have filed genuine rigging complaints, without upsetting the apple cart the election tribunals should task Nadra with investigating the extent of fraud and proceed with re-elections where deemed fit. This is important so that manipulation of the electoral process is not tolerated further. If candidates are named and shamed for tinkering with votes, perhaps political parties will refrain from indulging in such shenanigans in future.
Provincial control: Local governance IN the beginning, all powers rested with the centre. Then came delegation which empowered the provinces. But now the provinces wanted to deny the transfer of authority to the local level. This is how it has been with the local government system in the country and this is how it will remain if the provincial set-ups have it their way. From Balochistan to Sindh to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports say every provincial government is eager to have in place a system that allows a chief minister to suspend and eventually show the door to a nazim or mayor. . A few years ago, the local government system was launched with a lot of fanfare. Soon afterwards the chief ministers corrupted it because they wanted to hold sway over the local councils. Pakistan’s return to ‘true’ democracy in 2008 was supposed to restore governance by the people, for the people, at the grassroots; but to the contrary, provincial governments over the last five years spent more time finding ways to prevent a local system from emerging than in taking any real steps towards reinventing it. Only the naïve hoped that when the experts advised restoring the LG system with necessary modifications, this entailed the removal of the provincial government’s sword over the heads of the mayors. It has turned out exactly the opposite. The difference from province to province here is procedural. The mumbo-jumbo of words is an ill-conceived façade that reveals more than it conceals. It is simple. The Pakistani provinces, which had earlier been engaged in the fight to secure their rights within the federation, are, in their turn, out in force to control proceedings at the lower tier of governance. They want not a partner but a subordinate and that too because, under the courts’ gaze, it has become impossible to not have a local government. Local governments have this reputation of throwing up future provincial and national players and they are thought to be best smothered at the roots, right at the beginning. What the provincial power-keepers tend to forget is that as per the usual equation, their insistence on control inevitably leads to feelings of deprivation among local government representatives and finally even to a confrontation. Even if the democratic principles of delegation and decentra-lisation are ignored, the desire for absolute command will create new power players. It could lead to louder demands for rezoning and new provinces.
Squandered chance: Bail for Musharraf With the SC granting bail to Pervez Musharraf in the Akbar Bugti case, the legal thicket that the former president and army chief found himself in upon his return to Pakistan continues to clear, presumably opening a path to his exit from Pakistan for a second time. Unhappily, though perhaps predictably, the legal thicket Mr Musharraf had been dragged into had little to do with the central problem of his rule: that it was illegitimate from the very beginning. Instead, the former military strongman has been pursued on other fronts: the dismissal of judges in November 2007; the assassination of Benazir Bhutto; the Lal Masjid episode; and the Akbar Bugti death. To be sure, each of those episodes was deeply troublesome and created a host of political and security problems from which the country is still struggling to recover. But legal liability and culpability is a separate matter from disastrous decisions with devastating consequences.. Seen from the perspective of what best strengthens the democratic and constitutional system in Pakistan, it was Mr Musharraf’s overthrow of an elected government in 1999 for which he most obviously ought to stand trial. Of course, while the former army chief may have been the face of the new regime in 1999, there were many others who both abetted his takeover and validated his rule. Those other individuals too have much to answer for. So why has Mr Musharraf so far escaped having to answer the most obvious of charges? The answer appears to lie in a combination of the old order still having much influence and the new, democratic order being unable to muster the courage or conviction to take up the past that truly matters. Since Mr Musharraf’s exit in 2008, the country has gone some way in shutting the door on extra-constitutional takeovers. But whatever the practice of continuity and the cleaned-up text of the Constitution may offer, it would send a powerful message to have the protagonists of a military takeover held to account in a court of law. Sadly, that chance appears to have been squandered.
Unnecessary refusal: Aid for earthquake victims THE fact that the state is not allowing international aid agencies into the earthquake-affected areas of Balochistan is complicating an already difficult relief effort. While the region in question — Awaran and Kech districts — is severely underdeveloped and already lacked infrastructure before last month’s quake struck, it is also a hotbed of the Baloch separatist insurgency. Because of this the government, likely moved by concerns of the security establishment, is wary about letting foreign organisations into the area. Reputable international aid bodies such as the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Doctors Without Borders have been denied permission to participate in the relief effort. It is argued that foreigners would be at risk. However, while the military and the National Disaster Management Authority have done commendable work, published accounts of the earthquake survivors reveal that there are many areas where aid has not yet reached, and medical help is not close at hand.. When the state refuses international help, the message sent across is that there is something to hide. The agencies that have offered assistance already have a presence in Pakistan; they have served in war zones and their personnel have the training to carry out humanitarian work under the most difficult of circumstances. International NGOs actively participated in the relief efforts following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and floods in 2010. The argument that allowing foreign aid workers will highlight Balochistan’s insurgency issue is not strong enough to prevent help from getting to those who badly need it. The victims are being denied quality help, while an impression is being created that ‘no-go’ areas exist in the country where only the army can operate. The government needs to reconsider its decision and allow help for Balochistan’s earthquake victims.
Ominous signs: Interview with Mehsud ANOTHER day, another set of statements by a TTP leader making it crystal clear — as though it were not already clear enough — just what the militants’ agenda is. This time it was the kingpin himself, Hakeemullah Mehsud, emir of the TTP, who told the BBC that one of the principal reasons he and his fellow militants fight is because they regard the configuration of the Pakistani state to be un-Islamic. Consider the implications of that claim. The TTP is not fighting a government or an institution or a political party or a group of people; the TTP is fighting the idea of Pakistan itself. Overthrow the system, reject democracy, scrap the Constitution and replace it all with an austere version of Islam that is alien to most Pakistanis and is based on what the Taliban say is or isn’t true Islam. That this is unacceptable is obvious enough. That there still remains confusion in society about what the TTP really stands for is a truly depressing reality, one perpetuated by a political leadership that seems equal parts confused and spineless.. Dialogue with the Taliban is the first option, the APC resolution has told the country. But by its very definition dialogue is about finding some middle ground. What exactly can be ceded to the TTP that it wants and which the state can accept? Not a single politician who is pushing for talks as the first option has fleshed out which of the Taliban demands are legitimate and can be countenanced. Is democracy negotiable? The Constitution, perhaps? Or can the principle of the state having a monopoly over violence be watered down a bit, allowing for the official, not just de facto, co-existence of private militias and the state security apparatus? Perhaps the pro-talks lobby believes that laying out conditions or red lines before the formal start of talks will cause the TTP to baulk. But by avoiding articulating even a minimum agenda, it has ended up emboldening the TTP. It is surely no coincidence that the organisation has spoken in increasingly tough terms since the APC resolution. And why should it not? The political leadership seems more desperate to cut a deal than to defend the core tenets of the Pakistani state. How weak and indecisive does the political leadership look at the moment? Having decided on dialogue as the first option, it has been unable to even initiate that process or propose a framework. It will hardly be a surprise if the TTP grows even more unyielding in the days and weeks ahead.
Decisions, at last: New postings AFTER months of conjecture, the PML-N government has moved on the international relations front and made public its choices for a handful of key ambassadorial posts. Among these were the critical post of the Pakistan ambassador to Washington which has gone to Jalil Abbas Jilani followed by other important ones such as foreign secretary (Abdul Basit), and ambassadors to New Delhi (Ibne Abbas), Kabul (Syed Abrar Hussain), and the UAE (Asif Durrani). The choices have generally been appreciated as the people named are known for their competence. They have served well at important posts in the past. For instance, Mr Jilani and Mr Basit have, at different times, served as Foreign Office spokesmen in Islamabad. Mr Jilani is known for his professionalism and has already served in New Delhi and at Brussels. . However, the new choices have also earned applause because they have in the main been made from amongst the ranks of career diplomats; except for one post, no political appointment has been made and neither have retired diplomats been picked. This is especially relevant in terms of Washington which will get its first ambassador from the FO service cadres after nearly a decade. Of course political appointments have on occasion been successful, but successive political appointments in key posts unsurprisingly tend to lower the morale of the cadres who feel that they are denied the best postings. Against this backdrop, the new appointments should be welcomed within the FO and by others; if the bureaucracy, and the FO in particular, has to attract the best brains and talent — which would only go to the benefit of the country as a whole — it will only do so if professionals in its ranks can aspire to reach the top of the service ladder. This is why the PML-N’s latest appointments should and are being welcomed.
Passport blues: Official booklets misused IN this day and age, getting a visa for nearly any country for law-abiding Pakistanis is a cumbersome experience, thanks to the stigma attached to the green passport. And if one is lucky enough to get one’s booklet stamped with a foreign visa, Pakistanis tend to receive a less than warm welcome at immigration counters overseas, often singled out for extra scrutiny while holders of most other nationalities glide through. However, if someone has the right connections and ample amounts of cash, a solution was found in securing an official ‘blue’ Pakistani passport without being entitled to it — only government employees and lawmakers are authorised to carry the passports that facilitate visa-free travel or allow for quicker processing. Thankfully, the government has at last decided to cancel around 2,000 blue passports issued to unauthorised persons between 2010 and February of this year. It seems that some network with access in the right quarters sold the valuable booklets to interested parties and most of the recipients have already reportedly left the country.. Among other reasons, it is because of such brazen corruption within the official machinery that Pakistanis face problems while travelling abroad. If the number of official passports issued to unauthorised persons is so high, what would the number of regular green passports issued through dubious means come to? A proper investigation is required so that those involved in this racket are brought to justice. Such loopholes make advances like machine-readable passports worth little, given the system can so easily be manipulated. The issuance of official passports to unauthorised individuals also raises questions about the possibility of those involved in criminal activities securing the booklets simply by greasing the right palms in the directorate general of immigration and passports.
Still a winner: Malala’s voice SHE didn’t win the Nobel peace prize — this year — but she has won the world’s admiration and respect. The gracefulness, poise and compassion of a 16-year-old girl who would rather campaign for every child’s right to education than against the Taliban who shot her in the face have been something truly remarkable to behold. That Malala was never your average schoolgirl has been evident for years; what the world has discovered in recent days is that she has grown into a truly extraordinary young woman. There is much sadness and despair in the reality of the circumstances that forced Malala into campaigning for the right to education and that have carried her to global fame. But Pakistan’s most famous young citizen has also demonstrated the kinder though no less resolute side of her country: Malala is focused on improving the human condition rather than lamenting its inadequacies.. To truly honour Malala and the millions of other schoolchildren she speaks for, Pakistan can attempt to translate her dream of universal education into reality. Whether it is school enrolment or the quality of education or infrastructure of the public school system, Pakistan consistently ranks near the bottom internationally — and even by regional standards, performs poorly. Fixing the broken education system here is not just about throwing more money at the problem — though surely the federal and provincial governments need to create the fiscal space to spend more on education and health. Every government comes in promising to improve the education sector, but none has left a significantly improved one as its legacy. The twin, and very familiar, problems of capacity and will appear to be the greatest impediments: the expertise to draft a realistic revival plan at the provincial level is missing as is the political and administrative will to stay focused on the issue of education. Of course, there is also the very real problem of the radical mindset that opposes modernity and what the majority of the population would regard as the basic tenets of a good education. Malala’s mature and convincing voice has largely drowned out the howls of anger from the Taliban fringe in recent days, but for a still-too-large number of Pakistani children, especially girls, extreme conservatism and violent radicalism are crucial factors in denying them an education. Malala has shown what a single — though powerful and unique — voice can do to help change perceptions. Many more will have to add their voices to hers if the constitutional right to education is to become meaningful for all children.
Relying on remittances: Reserves situation AT a time when the rupee is under constant pressure because of rapidly falling foreign exchange reserves, the increase in the amount of money sent home by overseas Pakistanis is good news. Remittances have grown 9pc in the first quarter of the present fiscal to $3.9bn — equal to the liquid reserves of the central bank. Although foreign currency earnings of overseas Pakistanis have been feeding the country’s reserves and propping up the rupee for some time now, the importance of remittances has increased recently as exports stagnate and foreign official and private flows dry up. Even an IMF loan has failed to shore up the reserves or revive public confidence in the rupee. In recent days, the latter was hit hard by a weakening exchange rate and capital flight. Most people like to park their savings in dollars rather than in rupees as indicated by the rising volume of foreign currency accounts of commercial banks to $5.17bn — an amount that is substantially higher than that of the official liquid reserves. . Remittances feeding reserves isn’t a Pakistan-specific phenomenon. A new World Bank report says remittances are now nearly three times the size of official development assistance and larger than private debt and portfolio equity flows to developing countries. They exceed foreign exchange reserves in at least 15 developing countries, and are equivalent to at least half of the level of reserves in over 50 developing countries. Flows to developing countries are expected to reach $540bn by 2016 and are expected to remain strong or even increase in several countries affected by weakening balance of payments, such as Pakistan which is one of the large recipients of remittances. While remittances are important for Pakistan, the latter cannot hope to improve its balance of payments position and to strengthen the rupee without boosting exports. The government must put in place policies that unlock the true export potential of the country. Even the slightest decrease in remittances for any reason will make matters worse for the government and the people.
Unbeatable Tendulkar: Batsman to retire LEGENDARY Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to retire from international cricket next month after playing his 200th Test match marks the approaching end of a truly memorable career that spanned nearly a quarter of a century. Rated by critics and contemporaries as arguably the greatest postwar batsman to have played the game, Tendulkar continued to rewrite the record books with his brilliant batting skills since making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi way back in 1989. His 100 international centuries and over 15,000 Test runs are records that are unlikely to be surpassed for many years. Tendulkar, now 40, enjoys the status of a demigod in India. It is to his credit that he never allowed success to go to his head at any point during his illustrious career, staying away from needless controversies. His image remains impeccable, both on and off the field, a rare feat in an age when the game of cricket has been dogged by scandals. Tendulkar’s success has inspired a generation of talented players including Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. . It is true that his cricketing skills did not quite translate into leadership qualities and that he enjoyed only moderate success as team captain of India. Moreover, he struggled for form in recent years, which led to calls for his retirement so that new players could be inducted. These shortcomings notwithstanding, Tendulkar has always attempted to give his best to the Indian team each time he walked onto the field — this fact alone speaks volumes for both his playing skills and his integrity. His best moments have included his contribution to India’s 2011 World Cup triumph. The game of cricket will surely be the poorer without Sachin Tendulkar.
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Taliban: separate strands By Jon Boone FOR those in favour of talking to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), there are few debating points more useful than the fact that the US and its allies support exactly such a strategy in Afghanistan.. But while the argument sounds persuasive, it’s wrong. Wrong, because the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban may share a name but they are very different beasts. And they have given out very different signals about what they are prepared to concede in any negotiation. We know this because for the last few years senior representatives of the Afghan Taliban in the Gulf charged by the movement’s political commission to conduct back channel talks have told foreign diplomats some quite surprising things. Contrary to the bravado of the Taliban’s public propaganda, they say they know that an outright military victory is impossible and compromise essential. We are told they are desperate not to be responsible for triggering a renewed civil war. For the most part these conversations have been confidential. But in 2012 they outlined their thinking to some academics, including Anatol Lieven and Michael Semple. According to their report, the Taliban officials said the movement has made peace with democracy and is prepared to renounce Al Qaeda and prevent its return to Afghanistan. The most amazing concession for a movement supposedly waging jihad against foreign occupation is their willingness to accept the long-term presence of US military bases, which they recognise will be necessary to help sustain the Afghan National Army. Many Pakistanis falsely interpret US enthusiasm for talks as a sign of a desperate search for a face-saving exit from the region. Actually the US is exploring what looks like the makings of an acceptable deal. If they can pull it off then post-2014 Afghanistan will be a far less difficult and expensive problem to manage. But if nothing comes of it, Plan B is already being put into effect: a foreign-financed Afghan security force strong enough to hold the Taliban-led insurgencies at bay. Despite the encouraging words from the Taliban’s interlocutors in the Gulf, the West is not putting all of its chips on a negotiated settlement in the near term. That’s sensible because this side of 2014 it is going to be very difficult for Taliban pragmatists to persuade fighters on the ground that the time has come to compromise on cherished goals. Unlike their leadership, most foot soldiers are convinced they are on the cusp of victory, largely because they have come to believe the movement’s own propaganda. All of this starkly contrasts with the situation in Pakistan where PTI chairman Imran Khan has loudly signalled the political class’s desperation by repeatedly saying there is “no other option” except talks. Professing such weakness immediately undermines Pakistan’s negotiating position. While agreement on a Doha political office came about after years of debate in Kabul and Western capitals, the idea for a TTP office in Pakistan has been described by one senior PTI figure as simply Khan “thinking out loud”. And is there anyone that can truly speak for the TTP, a group made up of a bewildering multitude of groups? The Afghan Taliban are not completely solid either — they are the leading partners in a coalition which includes the Haqqani Network and Hizb-i-Islami. But it is nothing like the constellation of jihadi groups in Pakistan. A single man, Mullah Omar, continues to exert strong control over the Afghan movement. The Lieven report argues that his support could be enough to make a deal stick. There are many other differences. Islamabad’s pleas for talks are met with appalling acts of savagery and no one knows who exactly is responsible. At least the Afghan Taliban officially claim not to target civilians (even though they do). Unlike the Quetta Shura, there is no indication that the TTP, or any other of the terror grouplets attacking Pakistan, has any serious political thinkers among its ranks who accept the futility of continued fighting. Kabul and its foreign partners have also been clear and consistent about what is expected of the Taliban if there is to be a deal. In particular, they insist the constitution has to be respected. By contrast Pakistani leaders have been all over the shop. The final statement of the all-party conference said nothing of red lines or preconditions. Political leaders only asserted the primacy of the country’s Constitution after a torrent of media criticism triggered by the killing of senior army officers and the bombing of All Saints Church. Strong narratives matter. In the 1980s Britains security services may have been in secret contact with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), but publicly the prime minister was adamant she would never talk to terrorists. That the British government did finally open formal talks is another point often made by those in favour of something similar in Pakistan. But the differences between the two conflicts are more striking than the similarities. Before talks began pragmatists within the IRA had to realise they were in a stalemate and then persuade enough of their comrades that they could never win the armed conflict. Stalemates, as peace building experts argue, are ripe conditions for negotiations. It’s a truism that nearly all insurgencies end in talks, including the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, which is regarded as a textbook example of how counterinsurgency should be done. But the timing and conditions have to be right. They can’t be wished into being by desperate politicians. Most of the time creating the right conditions for talks requires long and expensive military struggles. According to a 2008 study the average length of a successful post-1945 counter-insurgency campaign is 14 years. There is a flicker of hope that Afghanistan might be approaching the right conditions for a peaceful outcome. But Pakistan is not Afghanistan, and the TTP is not the Afghan Taliban. The writer is the Guardian’s Pakistan correspondent. Twitter:@Jon_Boone
Militants’ media front By Muhammad Amir Rana MILITANCY poses a serious threat to the security and stability of Pakistan. While the government and various state institutions are trying to respond in their own way and according to their own capacity, persistent ideological, political and operational ambiguities about the nature and level of militancy not only compound the problem but also add to its intensity.. One critical aspect of this threat, which is largely ignored by the Pakistani state and society, is the militants’ media that is thriving right under the nose of the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan. A wide range of radical and militants’ publications are easily available at news stalls across the country. The militants also use other means of communications, especially the internet, FM radios, CDs and DVDs to reach a wider audience. These communication tools might be more effective in some areas than the print media given the poor literacy rate and other contributing factors. However, the emphasis of the militants is still on the print media. Militant groups which regularly issue their publications include the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, Balochistan’s separatists, Pakistani and Kashmir-based jihadi groups and violent sectarian organisations. Their ‘editorial’ policy moves around certain militarily motivated ideological objectives. A research study titled Militants’ print media in Pakistan: impact and outreach, published by the Islamabad-based research group Pak Institute for Peace Studies, provides a window to the militants’ media in Pakistan. It is very large and has extensive outreach. According to the study, the number of militants’ publications in Pakistan has crossed 50 and most of these publications have a minimum circulation of 2,000 to 6,000 per week. Apart from issuing their own regular publications, the militants’ media also influences the mainstream media and is gradually expanding its reach and influence, posing significant competition to the mainstream media. At the same time, there are publications which have no direct link to militant groups but they largely share a common view and goal. They openly support the cause of the militant organisations by disseminating likeminded ideologies and sentiments. One could classify them as part of a larger movement but not belonging to a specific group. The publications of a few madressahs and religious welfare trusts would easily fit into this category. Although the militants’ media in Pakistan had flourished during the Afghan-Soviet war (1979-88), it did not happen in isolation. It grew as a natural phenomenon parallel to the socio-political and ideological transition that the country was passing through. Although many media experts are still not prepared to acknowledge it as a form of media, one has to accept the fact that the militants’ media has close bonds with the media landscape of Pakistan at large. It cannot be denied that media shapes public opinion and influences the state’s policy decisions. The study also sheds light on non-militant, Islamic media publications, which is also not a new phenomenon in Pakistan. The sphere of Islamic publications, despite their sectarian and political affiliations, was wide — spanning intellectual debates on religious reforms, dialogue with other faiths and socio-political issues — but the readership was limited. The contributions were from religious scholars, intellectuals, journalists, writers and students of the relevant subject. In contrast, the new version of Islamic publications, including those issued by religious organisations, madressahs and sectarian groups, is narrow in vision and the audience is not specific. This has not only damaged the image of ‘serious religious publications’ by playing a critical role in propagating militant ideologies in Pakistan but also dealt a fatal blow to the professional ethics of the Urdu mainstream media to a greater extent. Depending on the country’s political, ideological, economic and socio-cultural realities and circumstances these Islamist and militant elements attempt different methodologies in conveying their messages to the public. If the country’s media landscape is not properly regulated or monitored according to best practices, the interested groups/movements can adopt two possible strategies. First, they can attempt to penetrate the mainstream media by ‘planting’ likeminded individuals in media houses in order to deliver their ideological, intellectual and political messages to the public. The Jamaat-i-Islami — though in mainstream politics — followed this strategy during the 1960s and 1970s. Second, they could try to develop an alternative media platform of their own. However, both strategies have one goal in common: to influence public opinion and also the mainstream media. The militants are following in the JI’s footsteps and targeting future generations. Apart from the background and media strategies, these media publications challenge the writ of the state, want to change the state or the structure of the state system according to their own ideology, aspire to bring the state under specific sectarian, religious or ideological influences, and seek separation from the state by suggesting the way of violence. As far as legal action against such publications is concerned, these publications follow the tactics employed by banned militant groups, which resurface with different names after the ban. On March 6, 2002, the federal and provincial governments banned 22 magazines, the propaganda tools of various religious and militant organisations, but these publications are still available in the market under different names. The challenge is the resurfacing of these publications under different names following repeated proscriptions, making it an extremely tough task to curb them. The challenges for the law enforcement agencies are three-fold. First, they have no legal mechanism to ban these publications permanently. When a banned publication reappears, the process to ban it again takes more than eight months. Second, the banned organisations have ostensibly transformed into charities and, under the existing law, their publications cannot be banned until these charities are declared defunct or as being against the law. Third, Al Qaeda and Taliban publications such as Al Hateen and Nawa-i-Afghan Jihad etc, are more critical as these publications are spreading takfiri tendencies among vulnerable segments of the youth. These publications are easily available in certain parts of the country. Tracing the dissemination sources of these publications can also help trace the networks of terrorist organisations. The writer is a security analyst.
Don’t do it, Prime Minister By Cyril Almeida KAYANI must go. No extensions, no sinecure, no new job with old powers, no old job with new powers. Home. And Sharif must be the man to do it.. When it comes to all things army, everything gets complicated deliberately. Who runs the army today and how the military is organised today makes not an iota of difference to the fight against militancy at home or a post-2014 settlement in Afghanistan. Zero. Zilch. None. Everything gets deliberately complicated when it comes to all things army because that’s how the army spins it. Well, you see, if you move this around to there and shuffle that around to here, then things will be better because better is better and this is a better way to do things and it’s all very complicated and difficult because civilians don’t really understand this stuff. Nonsense. There are no indispensables. Never have been, never will be. There are legends, there are heroes, there are the right leaders at the right time, there are leaders forged in the crucible of circumstance — but there are no indispensables. Institutions need continuity, not continuous individuals. Fresh blood, new ideas, leadership anew. Erode that principle and everyone loses. Descend into the argument of circumstance and happenstance, and everyone loses. The military may need reorganising, the army may need a different set-up at the top, but necessary or desirable restructuring must never be tied to the fate of a single man. Throw open the debate, constitute a commission, convene a series of meetings, debate what needs to be done and then do it — when the fate of a single man is not hanging over the entire process. Do it now, do it this way — an extension or a newfangled position — and the game is up. For Nawaz. And for the rest of us, who live in the forlorn hope that one day a better Pakistan may be possible. Nawaz has a choice, a very real one. Sandila for CJCSC; one, two or three in seniority as COAS. It would send a simple, powerful, double-pronged message. The army has claimed the CJCSC slot for itself because of the nukes: the argument being that the country’s nuclear programme cannot be overseen by one of the smaller forces. It is only an argument, never debated, never questioned, never explained — and there’s absolutely no reason to accept it. Just because the army says so, doesn’t automatically make it so. Maybe once that was true, but Sandila, the naval chief, to CJCSC would send a powerful message to the boys: new rules, fair rules, rules decided by the civilians. Gens 1, 2 or 3 in seniority — Aslam, Mahmood or Sharif — to COAS would also send a message. No games, no favourites, no second-guessing, no politicking. If they’re good enough to make it to the top three, one of them is good enough to be No 1. That’s the system, that’s how it’s meant to work. Go lower down the rungs in search of a chief and folk will inevitably start to question why. Is the DGI the favourite because he kept out of the election in Punjab, earning himself the ultimate reward? Is Tariq Khan a favourite because the Americans like his gung-ho approach to fighting militancy? Pick from the top three and Nawaz would be signalling to the boys that he’s not playing games, not working the angles, not trying to get some kind of an edge from the only office that could pose a threat to him. Simple. Clean. A rules-based appointment to put the army at ease. That’s the good option: Sandila to CJCSC, one, two or three for COAS. There is a terrible option, the one that just won’t die: Kayani to be adjusted somewhere, in uniform, with power. It’s spun as the apologetic necessary, the unwanted inevitable: Afghanistan has to be figured out, and there’s only one guy to do it — the guy who has been around since forever. But however it’s spun, there is one, only one, single, solitary, singular reason Kayani could be accommodated: Nawaz is afraid of a coup. Splitting the COAS’s powers, divesting the office of its power to make or break generals’ careers, or keeping Kayani where he is would betray the most depressing of all Pakistani realities: a three-term PM, elected with a solid mandate, the lion of Punjab, he of the will to change Pakistan is afraid of a coup. Were he to do it, were Nawaz to keep the general around, his prime ministership would be over. Dead. Finished. Done in less than six months. For Nawaz could complete his term, spend five years in power, but nothing would erase the spectacular capitulation, the grovelling and pleading, the prostrateness of giving a two-term chief another lease of life. Fear a coup so openly, so desperately, so early on, and nothing you do subsequently will erase the stain or hide the fear. There is no good reason on God’s green earth for Nawaz to give Kayani another lease of life. No — good — reason. None whatsoever. Nawaz has, in fact, actually, truly, really, been handed a godsend. Through no doing of his own, four months into his term, fate has given him the chance to choose his own, and Pakistan’s, destiny. Nawaz has the notification already: Sandila as CJCSC; general one, two or three waiting to be pencilled in as COAS. All Nawaz has to do is say no. No, Gen K, no more. The show will go on, without you. Saying no is sometimes the hardest thing to do. But say yes, and Nawaz will become the new Zardari: the man who elevated survival over everything else. The writer is a member of staff. cyril.a@gmail.com Twitter: @cyalm
Law? What law? By Hajrah Mumtaz THE photograph published on this newspaper’s Southern Region pages on Wednesday showed a scene of pathos. . You would have thought that the tortoises with their legs tucked underneath them and heads withdrawn into their shells were asleep. And then the focus of the eye shifted and took in the meat spread out nearby on a piece of old sacking. Last Tuesday, the Sindh wildlife department caught three suspected tortoise poachers in a raid carried out near the embankment of the Nara canal near Sanghar. Six live tortoises, which are an endangered species, were rescued and released into a nearby water reservoir. Four of the others had already been killed, and their meat was burnt by the authorities. According to the news report, tortoise meat sells for around Rs5,000 per kilogramme in Karachi, and the raid had been carried out after the game warden of Sanghar district received information that a gang of about 15 poachers was active in the area. On the face of it, this counts as one of Pakistan’s too-few successes against the hunting of species that are endangered or on ‘at risk’ lists. The Sindh wildlife department can be allowed a slight smile of satisfaction. But there is another side to the picture, too. In the photograph, squatting alongside the rescued tortoises and the meat of the not-so-fortunate ones, are also the three men booked for suspected poaching. All are dressed in ragged, mismatched clothing; an older man, a middle-aged man and a youngish man, all three belonging to, if not the lowest economic tier of rural society, then certainly amongst the most depressed. All look worried, aware that they have been caught up in a machine of justice which is so much larger and more powerful than them that their processing — and perhaps their financial ruination — will hardly register. The suspects have been booked under provisions of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1972, that relates to hunting protected animals and allows for imprisonment for up to one year. They have also been fined Rs20,000 each. But the men, talking to this newspaper’s reporter, said that they had caught the tortoises for food. Their guilt or otherwise, and whether or not the suspicions of their connections to a gang of poachers are true, will in due course be decided by the courts. But their predicament highlights how the unaware can fall foul of conservation laws while undertaking what are, to them, activities their communities have been indulging in for generations. There are laws, formulated and passed in faraway cities. And then there is life on the ground, often on the margins, where people do what their forefathers did and have no reason to see any harm in it. Especially with activities that have to do with the environment, wood-cutting on a village level or hunting, for example, people often do not know that what they are doing is illegal and punishable. When such people are apprehended, there is reason to find in oneself a measure of sympathy. Obviously, a lack of knowledge cannot be used as an excuse; one of the most basic tenets of the justice system is that ignorance of the law is not a defence. But when those who live on the margins of society are under discussion in these sorts of contexts, the argument can go both ways. This case is about the hunting of endangered species. But other examples can be found across Pakistan. In the rugged north and northwest, where pine forests grace the mountain slopes, a traditional village occupation is ‘milking’ pine trees for their resin. This involves hewing out a chunk of the trunk near the base of the tree, while it’s still standing, and attaching containers to catch the resin. The lazy sometimes light a small fire at this cut to expose the inner core of the tree and speed up the pace at which the resin drips. But fire or no fire, this often results in the withering and then death of the tree. In many areas, this is now a forbidden practice, given not just the country’s depleting forest cover but also the fact that the timber mafia uses the method on a large scale to kill trees, pretending that the villagers did it, the plant would have died anyway. In more mainstream areas such as Murree, there have been awareness drives to ensure that the area’s inhabitants know that the practice can incur censure and intervention. But spare a thought for the man in a more remote area who does not know. The same can be said of laws to protect animals. In some of the country’s most inaccessible areas, beasts such as snow leopards or bears will be killed immediately upon being spotted. They are understood to present a danger to human populations, but that is not necessarily the reason they are killed; it is also because that’s what people watched their fathers and grandfathers being feted for, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is a never-heard-of concept. This is not in any way to suggest that there should be any toning down of conservation laws. In fact, the bind in which the state finds itself is illustrated by the example of the ‘milking’ of trees used by the timber mafia to mask their ill-intent. But perhaps greater efforts need to be made to raise the awareness levels of isolated communities. Where flora and fauna are concerned, there are several points at which traditional practices and the law come into conflict. This is a little-visited aspect of conservation that needs to be addressed. The writer is a member of staff. hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com
The foreign hand By Babar Sattar FISHING in troubled waters is the unfortunate rule and not the exception in strategic thinking. Add to that the concept that an enemy of an enemy is a friend. And that in a nutshell explains our foreign hand problem. . Pakistan is in the eye of the storm. To not think that shadowy outfits of all hues from around the world are stirring trouble in our midst to pursue their own strategic interests would be naïve. Are CIA and RAW creating assets within our terror syndicate and funding them? Probably yes. Are they the only ones? Probably not. Steve Coll’s Ghost Wars was a riveting read for it narrated how complex, entwined and self-conflicted the business of proxy wars is, wherein there are layers within layers of alliance of interests between adversaries and layers within layers of conflicts between allies. To assert that because the US might secretly be funding terror groups in Pakistan, critics of the pro-talks policy are foreign agents interested in forestalling peace reflects the denial, paranoia and utter foolishness of our political class honing a flawed national security narrative. Since the OBL operation is there any doubt that the US has a well-entrenched intelligence network within Pakistan? Doesn’t the success of the US drones programme depend not just on superior technology but also human intelligence? Maybe the US relies on ISI’s intelligence when it comes to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). But would it not seek to double-check such information apart from gathering intelligence on the Afghan Taliban and the ISI itself? It would be remarkable if the world’s sole superpower didn’t fund clandestine activities in a war it has a direct stake in and not the other way round. The fishing-in-troubled-waters part is easy to understand. All countries with ambitious national security interests and the ability or desire to pursue them do so. Is Pakistan an exception? Do we have an interest in other countries — whether India, Bangladesh or Afghanistan — pursuing certain policies? We do. Do we fund groups within these countries to realise our goals? We probably do. Remember Ghulam Nabi Fai who was charged and convicted in the US for concealing funds received from the ISI for trying to influence the US position on Kashmir? Acknowledging evil is not the same as endorsing it. The point is that states fund clandestine activities in other states. It is the efficacy of the national security policy of a state that determines whether or not the subversive acts of other states succeed. In that regard there are three sets of problems with the foreign hand argument in our terror debate: its use is selective; it projects facilitation as cause; and it is a product of (and further entrenches) a sense of disempowerment rooted in denial of human agency within Pakistanis. India and the US have an interest in funding clandestine acts within Pakistan, but so do Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Arab friends. That our Arab friends funded jihad factories in Pakistan is a historical fact. There is no evidence that such funding has dried up or that we have acquired control over funding channels. That Saudi Arabia was a key driver instigating US-led armed action in Syria is before us. Thus, to present the foreign hand as a subset of the Western imperialist design against Pakistan is intellectually dishonest. Whether funding of suicide attacks is a manifestation of US designs to pre-empt government-TTP talks, Indian desire to sow confusion and discord, Saudis paying us back for our position on Syria or difference of opinion between pro and anti-talk factions within the TTP, we’ll never know with certainty. What we must understand, however, is that the designs or plans of foreign states would never succeed if it were not for the presence of an armed and motivated militia that sees the state and fellow citizens as legitimate targets of terrorism. What we have in the form of the TTP-led terror syndicate is a loaded weapon. Now whether the weapon is being guided exclusively by indigenous merchants of terror or occasionally also by our foreign enemies (or allies) is a moot point. To the extent that the loaded weapon exists and is lying around, it will remain susceptible to abuse. And such use or abuse might not be the inadvertent outcome of poor simple Taliban being misled by the conniving US-Euro-Zino-Hindu-imperialist nexus. It could be by design: the enemy of the enemy is a friend. So to stop those pillaging our state and society, is the best strategy to start with the world-at-large casting an evil eye on us, or with the means being used to carry out the evil designs? Should acquiring control over flow of money that funds terror be a part of our anti-terrorism policy? It must. Should tweaking our foreign policy to deter states funding terrorism within Pakistan be part of our national security policy? It must. But should we do so without disassembling the terror infrastructure being greased by the foreign funding we’re complaining about? The most devastating aspect of the pro-talks argument that justifies terrorism as a foreign conspiracy or a reaction to acts of foreign states (drones or US war in Afghanistan) is that it conceives citizen as devoid of human and moral agency. Can an abettor be more guilty than the perpetrator himself? The foreign hand argument has hidden within it a dehumanising aspect: as enemy states are funding acts of terror, the militants themselves are not cognisant of the choices they make in killing fellow citizens and thus not liable for the consequences of such choices. No human society or justice system is conceivable without the basic organising principle that able-minded adults ought to be responsible for the choices they make. The pro-talks argument is morally flawed for it places the responsibility for loss of innocent Pakistani lives not on those citizens willingly carrying our terrorist attacks will full comprehension of their consequences, but on foreign actors whose actions are projected to have angered these terrorists into believing that fellow citizens are legitimate proxy targets. The writer is a lawyer. sattar@post.harvard.edu Twitter: @ babar_sattar
‘When fired upon…’ By Muhammad Oves Anwar THERE has been significant debate recently over the proposed ‘shoot to kill’ power being granted to the Rangers for operations in Karachi. . Rhetoric-filled arguments have been put forth but little discussion has taken place regarding the law and its implications. What is more troubling is the misunderstanding promoted by the term, ‘shoot to kill’. The term implies a James Bond-esque freedom to kill at will. This cannot be the case. Police powers in relation to the use of lethal force are circumscribed by statutory and judicial limits in all legal systems. In Pakistan, unfortunately, a paradox exists. On the one hand, we have a well-entrenched principle of private defence (self-defence) under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), available to all persons. This permits the use of force, even lethal force, to defend one’s person, family, even a stranger. On the other hand, we have Section 5(2)(i) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which only allows the law enforcement entities to fire upon a suspected terrorist, “when fired upon”, first. While the proposal to enhance the powers of law enforcement bodies is still being debated, it may be prudent to explore the contours of the so-called ‘shoot to kill’ powers and assess the limits we need to impose on such powers. Section 5(2)(i), as it originally stood in 1997, allowed an officer of the police to shoot, after giving due warning, an individual committing a terrorist act, or who in all probability was likely to commit such an act. These powers were wide and the Supreme Court, in the Mehram Ali case rightly declared this section as such. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the subsection was amended but did not go far enough, indeed did not seem a genuine attempt to adhere to the court’s decision. Constitutional petitions No. 22 and 25 of 1999 reiterated the judiciary’s concerns and declared the amended section invalid as well. Subsequently, Section 5(2)(i) was amended by the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001 to its present form. Unfortunately, this exercise in legislative engineering had some unintended consequences. What the legislature took from the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mehram Ali and the constitutional petitions was myopic. Instead of redrafting the entire sub-section to place well-crafted limits on the discretion of law enforcement bodies to employ deadly force, the legislature made the use of force contingent upon being fired upon first, copying almost verbatim the court’s language in Mehram Ali. The insertion of the words, “when fired upon”, changed the very nature of the section from a provision empowering preventive action to one providing authorisation to engage in self-defence. The latter already existed as the ‘Right of Private Defence’ under the PPC. The phrasing, “when fired upon” is significantly more limited than the right of private defence under the PPC. The ATA, being a special law with overriding effect, would displace the right of private defence under the PPC with the more stringent requirements of Section 5(2)(i). The consequences of such an approach are catastrophic and, in essence, render members of our law enforcement bodies mere human shields. The Supreme Court’s intentions in Mehram Ali cannot be doubted. They aimed to limit the discretion available to law enforcement bodies to use force arbitrarily. Unfortunately, the vehicle employed to translate these intentions into law was most inadequate — those three simple words. The ATA’s terminology, “when fired upon”, only limits when the police may use force, ie when fired upon, but Section 5(2)(i) does not limit the extent of the force used. Arguably, this is more worrisome and opens the door to arbitrariness and abuse. If Section 5(2)(i) is to be equated with self-defence then the link ought to be strengthened. The provisions of the ATA need to be brought in consonance with the requirements of the PPC in relation to the right of private defence. Through such an approach, the question of when the right to use force commences is answered by Section 102 of the PPC which reads: “The right of private defence of the body commences as soon as a reasonable apprehension of danger to the body arises from an attempt or threat to commit the offence though the offence may not have been committed; and it continues as long as such apprehension of danger to the body continues.” Section 102 and the case law derived from it are unambiguous — any individual, including members of the police, need not wait to be attacked or sustain injuries to take measures to defend themselves. Furthermore, this right is not limited to defending one’s own person but extends to the protection of family and even strangers. As to the extent of force that may be used, the right of private defence allows the use of lethal force only as a last resort, when there is no other course of action open to the individual. According to Section 99 of the PPC “the right of private defence in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence”. The final arbiter of what is lawful force in the circumstances remains the court. Yet even then, it is settled law that the individual, in the heat of the moment, is not required to weigh his action in ‘golden scales’. The right of private defence is where the discussion on police powers should begin. The ATA, as amended, has effectively undermined this. Mehram Ali should not be read as displacing the right of private defence under Section 96-106 of the PPC. When the armed forces or civil armed forces are called in aid of civil power under Section 4 of the ATA, there is an underlying assumption that a serious law and order threat already exists. It is in this context that, at the very least, self-defence should be available to them. The writer is a research associate at the Research Society of International Law, Pakistan. This article is based on research conducted for RSIL’s upcoming report on the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. ovesanwar@rsilpak.org
The cricket challenge By Chaudhry Faisal Hussain CRICKET in South Asia is nothing less than euphoria, zeal and bliss. Owing to the huge public involvement in the game, issues related to the sport get immediate attention from the masses and media.. Courts too consider cases involving cricket as matters of great public interest. Being an enthusiastic fan of the game, like many others, I would love to see the game flourishing in Pakistan and to watch live matches in the stadiums again. For this, it would be desirable to have an efficient and vibrant body consisting of thorough professionals who could help and assist Pakistan cricket by ensuring the up-to-the mark management of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Unfortunately, in contrast to such a wish, the painful sight is that of a PCB working in absolutely peculiar conditions. The game was already suffering after the attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team some years ago. Pakistan had become an outcast of sorts. The government, keen to bring international cricket back to Pakistan, was trying to bring in a new management to handle PCB affairs when recent judicial intervention in the administrative affairs of the cricket board, left the latter, in my opinion, virtually paralysed. Without going into the merits of a pending appeal against the judgement rendered by a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court, it is more appropriate to discuss the practical implications of the verdict on the affairs of the cricket board. It may not be wrong to suggest that after the verdict, the entire working of the PCB is being carried out in a vacuum. The board is without a fully fledged chairman who could be held accountable for any misdeed. An individual who should have been in the post of an acting chairman has been given the status of a ‘caretaker chairman’ for 90 days to look after the routine affairs of the board. But, at the same time, he has been restricted from making or terminating any appointments or taking any major decisions. The appointment of the caretaker chairman of the PCB does not find mention under any relevant law. In this case, the endeavour of the honourable court seems somewhat contrary to the conservative judicial approach where the judiciary spells out the criteria and standards for appointments, postings etc but always exercises restraint. That is, the courts leave these affairs to the executive and allow appointments following the principles laid down in the judgement. To further add to the existing state of affairs, in the absence of the details in the judgement it might become very difficult to determine the difference between the nature of major and minor decisions. The judgement directs the caretaker chairman to hold fair and transparent elections to the post of the chairman of the PCB within 90 days which cannot be extended under any circumstances. While some in sporting circles laud the action, it is nevertheless interesting to observe that it has been deemed appropriate to nullify the part of the PCB’s constitution dealing with the appointment of the chairman through an elected board of governors consisting of five members who are elected regional presidents. They are elected by presidents (also elected) of district cricket associations. On its part, the court has deemed it suitable to order the holding of the election to the post of chairman and it has defined an electoral college consisting of regional presidents, presidents of district associations and nominees of the department playing first-class cricket. The law itself is silent on the election of the chairman through the manner prescribed by the honourable court. Under the circumstances, it appears that, after the nullification of the sections related to the elections of the chairman, the patron-in-chief of PCB (the president of Pakistan) has been given complete powers to nominate the PCB chairman on the advice of the prime minister of Pakistan. Seen in this light, the International Cricket Council may not approve of this act and consider it the government’s interference in the affairs of the game. According to the judgement, the cricket regions are a vital component of the election process as they have to elect their presidents to elect the chairman. But the practical impediments in holding elections are those challenges that have been thrown to the elections of these sports bodies in the courts. Reportedly, almost 20 district associations have challenged their internal elections on different grounds and the cases are still pending adjudication before different courts, and the elections of two main regions, Lahore and Karachi, to elect their respective presidents, are yet to take place. Whether or not the elections of the PCB chairman can take place with an incomplete electoral college is a separate legal question that may find its answer if the election of chairman is challenged as being contrary to the law. The court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold the first ever election of the chairman PCB. The ECP is an independent constitutional body which derives its mandate from the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. Under the Constitution, the ECP has the mandate to hold elections of the constitutional offices including the national and provincial assemblies, the Senate, the president of Pakistan etc but not to conduct polls of any sports body. The ECP reportedly has shown its inability to hold elections as these are outside its constitutional mandate. I believe that this intervention clashes with what is the domain of the legislature. The courts have all the power and right to provide guidelines and to lay down the principles to harmonise the process of legislation in accordance with the Constitution and the law. But the right to legislate rests entirely with the legislature. The government must bring an immediate and effective piece of legislation to bring about a vibrant management in the PCB in accordance with the requirements of the International Cricket Council and to save the game from further deterioration. The writer is a lawyer. Twitter: @faisal_fareed
A hostage nation By Zahid Hussain ONE wonders how many more deaths and how much more destruction will it take to arouse our national leadership from its slumber. Neither the mutilated bodies of 18 members of a family killed in the recent Peshawar market bombing nor the carnage of Christian worshippers at the All Saints Church has shaken them yet. . More than 200 people were killed in terrorist strikes in one week in Peshawar alone, but no one stirred beyond issuing routine messages of condolence. Instead, the prime minister appreciated the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan for not claiming responsibility for those attacks and blamed a ‘foreign hand’ for subverting peace talks. Ironically, days later a spokesman for the TTP justified the church attack saying it was in accordance with the Sharia, and was carried out by one of its subsidiaries. While militants continue with their macabre game of death, a spineless and frightened leadership keeps begging for Taliban mercy. Such a meek and apologetic response from the prime minister is in marked contrast to the tough resolve shown by leaders of other nations when confronted with terrorist threats. Take, for example, the comments of Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta after the four-day bloody siege at a shopping mall in Nairobi last month. “These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are,” vowed Mr Kenyatta who himself oversaw the operation against the attackers. “I promise that we shall have full accountability for the mindless destruction, death, pain, loss and suffering we all have undergone as a national family,” he declared. Meanwhile, David Cameron, the British prime minister, rushed back home cutting short his official foreign visit because there were several British nationals among the hostages in the Nairobi mall. But the blood of poor Pakistanis comes cheap. It certainly does not matter to our rulers even when hundreds of Pakistanis are slaughtered. As the death toll of the church attacks was being calculated, Imran Khan went one step further in placating the militants by suggesting that the TTP be allowed to open an office. He ignored the fact that the militant network is outlawed and allowing it to operate openly would legitimise terrorism. When a bus full of provincial government employees was blown up, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief was calling for taking confidence-building measures to create a “conducive environment” for peace talks with the Taliban. His defence of the TTP has become more vociferous with each bloodbath. In an article published recently in a national daily, Imran Khan equated the presence of the troops in KP and Fata to military action in former East Pakistan and the TTP to the Viet Cong who fought against the US forces in Vietnam. Such assertions cannot be dismissed as mere naivety; they are a reflection of a twisted mindset. While our leaders were commending the TTP for distancing itself from the last two major terrorist strikes in Peshawar, the group released a gruesome videotape of the explosion in Dir that killed Maj-Gen Sanaullah Niazi along with two others. It declared the killing of the officers as a great victory in the war against Pakistani forces. Even that blatant claim by the TTP of the attack on Pakistani forces did not move the federal and KP governments. Nothing can derail peace efforts was the response of the PTI and PML-N leaders. It has been a month since the all-party conference mandated the federal government to initiate peace negotiations with the Taliban. But there has not been any success yet in getting the militants to the negotiating table. The reason is obvious. The three preconditions set by the TTP — the release of detained militants, withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas and a halt to US drone attacks — are hard to comply with. The prevailing ambivalence has already begun to cost the nation dearly. It is apparent that the peace talks with the militants are a non- starter. But the government is still stuck to the mantra that talks are the only option. This dithering has already given a new lifeline to the Taliban who were on the retreat from most of the tribal agencies and Malakand, which they once controlled. The TTP lost many of its senior commanders like Waliur Rehman and the network was fragmented into various factions. But now, the militants have found a new stridency, taking advantage of the weakness of the state. So fearful is the government that it has put on hold the execution of three convicted militants including the mastermind of the 2009 GHQ attack after threats from the Taliban. Not only has the state failed to protect the lives of its citizens, it has also conceded to the extremist ideology on many policy issues. It is a disturbing reality that radical Islamic elements have as much if not more power over Pakistani society than the state. While the state has failed to develop a national narrative against militancy, an obscurantist ideology holds sway. With the growing violence against religious minorities, vigilantism seems to have become an acceptable norm. The country has now become hostage to non-state actors forcing their way in through the barrel of the gun. The authority of the state seems to have all but collapsed. It is not surprising that the courts free more than 90pc of militants allegedly involved in terrorism due to ‘lack of evidence’. It is mainly because the judges and witnesses are threatened and do not want to put their own and their family’s lives at risk when they know the state cannot protect them. A culture of fear grips the nation as the state has abdicated all responsibility, leaving the people at the mercy of the terrorists. It gives the people little faith when their political leaders surrender to the militant narrative. The writer is an author and journalist. zhussain100@yahoo.com Twitter: @hidhussain
Nairobi drama and a lesson By Muhammad Ali Siddiqi THE Nairobi drama holds a lesson or two for Pakistan, especially when we see the differences between Al Shabab and the Pakistani Taliban. . The duration of Al Shabab’s control of the Westgate mall and the planning that went into the attack show in unmistakable terms the extent of Al Shabab’s military prowess, the unimpaired existence of its command and control structure and its ability to recruit more people to its cause despite the heavy military reverses of 2011. A truer grasp of Al Shabab’s military capability and political resilience will be available if we examine it against the far larger assets the Pakistani Taliban have. Many of the factors which have enabled the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate with impunity and treat the armed forces and the state of Pakistan with contempt are missing in the case of Al Shabab. The biggest of these differences lies in the terrain. The TTP’s headquarters and training centres are in some of the world’s most forbidden mountain ranges. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border is about 2,400km long, and a greater portion of it is in varying degrees of their military control, though social and political sway in many areas stems from the fear that has been sown The Taliban live, nestle, operate, fight and die in this mountainous fastness, where hundreds of thousands of caves, caverns and wadis — on freezing heights in winter — are inaccessible to non-tribesmen and provide an excellent sanctuary to the Taliban and to a variety of other militant groups, drug runners and mercenary criminals. This large ‘kingdom’ is not economically self-sufficient. But decades of war and war conditions on both sides of the Durand Line have enabled the Taliban to live off ground and smuggle all things necessary for life and war from Afghanistan and mainstream Pakistan. Saturation bombing of the Taliban-ruled ‘havens’ will merely mean a waste of ammunition, for it would do little to disrupt the Taliban way of life in war and peace. More important, weapons of all types are no problems for the TTP. They not only get as much as they want from Afghanistan, they have arms-manufacturing factories on their territory. This uninterrupted and copious supply of arms is one of the TTP’s major assets. If, armed with these assets, the TTP is thinking in terms of taking over the state of Pakistan, one shouldn’t be surprised. Contrast all this with Al Shabab’s meagre resources, and we will marvel — regrettably of course — at Al Shabab’s ability to make mischief and drive terror into the heart of the capital city of a big neighbouring country. Unlike the mountains which are the Taliban’s battleground as well as habitat, Somalia is a plain, with some hills in the north, and those are in the area which has seceded. This way, Al Shabab militants lack the kind of secure and naturally fortified safe havens the Pakistani Taliban have. Similarly, there is no tradition in Somalia of a given community having the kind of small arms-manufacturing industry Pakistani tribesmen have. A blow to Al Shabab last year was the loss of the southern port of Kismayo. This deprived the organisation of a major source of arms supply by sea, making Al Shabab rely on weapons smuggled, bought or obtained by various means from other militant networks in the sub-Saharan region. Also, the Pakistani Taliban have never really been beaten or driven out of their power base, except marginally, as in Bajaur and Swat. Al Shabab, on the other hand, lost capital Mogadishu and other major cities in 2011. Beaten though they were, they were not vanquished. At present, they still have a minimum of 7,000 well-trained and highly motivated fighters. However, a factor in Al Shabab’s favour and which mercifully is lacking in the TTP’s case is their country’s disintegration. The north has seceded, and the central region has been without a central government in the real sense of the term for nearly two decades. The purpose behind narrating the differences between the two militant groups is to point out the vital role which intelligence can and should play in destroying the international scourge that is terrorism. If, in the Westgate case, Kenyan intelligence failed, we can understand. After all, Kenya is not a war zone as two-thirds of Pakistan is, and it has not suffered the 50,000 casualties it has been our misfortune to be a mute spectator to. In our case, intelligence failure is unforgivable — just think of GHQ, Mehran, Bannu. But, then, to serve as a stunning contrast, think also how America took out OBL, Waliur Rehman and many other Taliban warlords. The question is: if a far weaker Al Shabab can survive and fight back, what chances does Pakistan have of destroying a far stronger Taliban militia — unless Pakistan’s counterterrorism apparatus develops the kind of sophisticated intelligence systems America and many Western nations have. Note, for instance, the enviable peace in which Britain held last year’s Olympics. Not that there was no terrorist threat — Britain does have native and migrant terrorists waiting in the wings to strike. But superb intelligence, constant surveillance and a security system based on both human intelligence and cyber technology pre-empted all mischief. The Taliban and ‘secular’ terrorists are everywhere — not just in the mountains. Their tactical advantage, which they exploit criminally, is to use civilians as a shield by living among them. No security force is going to wipe out a village or an urban slum because 10 militants live in a population of 50,000. For destroying the Taliban enemy, we need less firepower and better intelligence. Next we meet donors, ask them not for money but for primary lessons in intelligence. Postscript: My apologies for failing to point out one major difference between the two: Al Shabab doesn’t have a charismatic apologist and spokesman the Taliban have in Imran Khan. The writer is a member of staff. mas@dawn.com
The general who never gave up By Mahir Ali THE demise last Friday of General Vo Nguyen Giap at the ripe old age of 102 closes a chapter in history that not only determined the fate of Vietnam but resonated in many other parts of the world.. Giap was the strategist behind the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu that not only dealt a fatal blow to French colonialist aspirations in Vietnam but gave succour to anti-imperialist forces across the Third World. A number of historians consider it to have sounded the death knell for Western colonialism worldwide. Some two decades later, Giap added another feather to his cap by becoming the first commander to have overseen the defeat of the American military behemoth. The feat arguably remains unprecedented, and in his heyday Giap’s recognisability as a symbol of Vietnam’s resolve was second only to that of Ho Chi Minh. Back in 1967, for instance, he was the only visitor recognised by a recuperating US airman, who had been shot down and then rescued from a lake by Vietnamese civilians. “He stayed only a few moments, staring at me, then left without saying a word,” John McCain recalls in an article this week in The Wall Street Journal. As a US senator some 30 years later, he requested a meeting with Giap. “Both of us clasped each other’s shoulders as if we were reunited comrades rather than former enemies,” he recalls. By McCain’s account, Giap was considerably keener to dwell on improving US-Vietnam relations than on revisiting his past military triumphs. “You were an honourable enemy,” were his parting words to the future US presidential contender. “Whatever his meaning, I appreciated the sentiment,” McCain recalls. Giap, born in French-ruled Vietnam in 1911, grew up in an anti-colonialist milieu and earned his first stripes as an imprisoned teenager. He emerged from jail to take a degree in law and political economy, and worked as a journalist and a schoolteacher — enthralling his students with comprehensive accounts of Napoleon’s military strategies and Robespierre’s political tactics — before visiting China, where he met Ho for the first time. By the early 1940s he was in charge of Viet Minh, initially a minuscule ragtag force that sought to liberate Vietnam from both the Japanese and the French, which by 1945 was strong enough to take power in Hanoi after the Japanese surrender. The French recognised Ho’s republic yet sought to retain a foothold in Indochina. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt, the US had striven to commit its World War II allies to colonial liberation — and it is ironic that the only formal military training Giap received, however brief, was under the auspices of the OSS, a precursor to the CIA. By August 1945, however, Roosevelt was dead and for his successor, Harry Truman, anti-communism trumped all other considerations. Hence the effective recolonisation of Vietnam by the French was bankrolled by Washington, pushing the broadly nationalist Viet Minh towards a tighter embrace with Mao Zedong’s forces in China and Joseph Stalin’s regime in Moscow. It is instructive to recall in this context that, although Ho was well-versed in Marxism-Leninism, his inaugural presidential speech in Hanoi in 1945 paraphrased the American Declaration of Independence rather than the Communist Manifesto. A year later, Ho told the French: “If we have to fight, we will fight. You will kill 10 of our men and we will kill one of yours. In the end it will be you who tire of it.” This attitude was equally relevant, if not even more so, during the resistance to US military aggression. Giap is frequently excoriated by detractors for his willingness to sacrifice lives on a scale that would have been untenable for his adversaries. They often tend to overlook the fact, though, that the Vietnamese were striving — unlike the French or the Americans — to liberate their country. They were also contending with almost unbelievably superior firepower. A substantial proportion of the more than three million Vietnamese who perished during what Vietnamese recall as the American War were the victims of carpet-bombing and chemical warfare. In Volcano Under Fire, a bitterly biased account of Giap’s military exploits, former British diplomat John Colvin suggests that France and the US failed in part because they were democracies that had to contend with domestic public opinion, unlike Giap and his comrades. This is only a half-truth. There can be little doubt, for instance, that the Tet offensive of 1968 was a military disaster for North Vietnam and the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front, yet by breaching the US embassy and the presidential palace in Saigon, the communist forces helped to convince American public opinion that their political leaders were prolonging the conflict on the basis of a bald-faced lie. Not only was victory not within their grasp, but it was an unwinnable war. Giap was constantly cognisant of the effect his military feats could have on public opinion abroad, but he was equally convinced of the vitality of popular support at home. The likes of Colvin are inclined to ignore the fact that Vietnam’s struggle could not possibly have succeeded without grassroots commitment across the North and the South. Once the war against the US had been won, Giap became something of a peacemonger, and his attitude did not always sit well with the power brokers in Hanoi, so he was progressively sidelined. But he never completely faded away, and is due for a very public funeral next weekend. Even his detractors admit that Giap was quick to learn from his errors and never repeated his mistakes. If only the same could be said about the Americans. mahir.dawn@gmail.com
Deweaponisation tactics By Jameel Yusuf THE nation has earlier gone through the deweaponisation exercise three times in the past two decades.. Each time it proved to be merely eyewash, to fool the masses into thinking that the issue was of concern to the government and that a serious effort was being initiated to tackle it. The current exercise under way in Karachi should be seen as a simple plan to launch an aggressive operation against all illegal weapons, their possession and proliferation by upholding the rule of law and not a concerted ‘deweaponisation drive’. Just as we should not require a political mandate to go after extortionists, bhatta and land mafias, murderers and target killers, etc (which we sadly do), similarly, possession of unlicensed weapons is in the very first place illegal, hence we should not need any special drives or mandate to cleanse the city of illicit weapons. It distresses me to see the sort of legislators we have elected over the years and the sort of criminal justice system we have woven together in our young history. Sadly, there does not exist any effective national policy regarding the licensing of arms dealers and the issuance of arms licences under stringent and well-defined criteria, detailing who should qualify to possess arms. The Sindh Arms Act, 2013, also fails to address or restrict this growing menace and needs to be revisited and made tougher. On the contrary, an uncontrolled licensing policy is being used as a political tool by allowing politicians to sanction arms licences for a price. I fully agree with the editorial published in this newspaper on Sept 28, in which it was suggested that there is also need for an effort to find out and crack down on the sources of arms supply and to arrest those involved in gunrunning. As a member of the Ministry of Interior’s focal group in 2000, I had fully endorsed this as one of the main issues needing resolution for any effective deweaponisation strategy. Despite the 2001 campaign being one of the most successful of all the earlier campaigns, when issuance, sale and also carrying of all weapons was banned for nearly two years, only a total of 124,000 weapons, mostly old, obsolete and discarded arms, were surrendered from the entire country while it was under way. The process of re-registration of weapons with the deputy commissioners and police stations was mandatory and widely publicised. Computerised records were to be developed, including that of the arms dealers, the weapons and ammunition sold and in stock. This is essential for forensics matching as even licensed weapons, which go unchecked, can be used for commission of crimes. Unfortunately, despite my suggestions such as offering a buy-back scheme of surrendered weapons perhaps through the issuance of government interest-bearing bonds instead of cash, withdrawal of cases in petty crimes or disputes for those surrendering weapons, while offering rewards to informers to infuse fear amongst possessors of illegal weapons of being exposed, these proposals were not considered. The weapons so bought could be used by the law enforcement agencies subsequently. The result then (as it is now) was clear; no one would be foolish enough to identify himself to the police as a possessor of an illegal weapon. He would rather dump it in the sea if scared or hide it somewhere in the wilderness. Also, to ensure that those involved in the weapons manufacture trade continue to earn a livelihood, they should be given incentives for the manufacture of high-class handmade weapons under the supervision of the army at Wah. This would encourage business opportunities and earn foreign exchange, while discouraging the illegal trade. Unfortunately even now, after over a decade, we are once again talking of deweaponisation in Sindh and the computerisation of merely five years’ record of arms sold. Besides the above, as a first step in Sindh we also need to initiate the following proposals at the provincial level, some of which could also be replicated at the national level. There should be a submission of reports on previous plans, the steps taken and results of earlier deweaponisation drives from provincial governments, including the response and the number of surrendered weapons in each scheme, to help prepare an effective plan. Re-registration and verification of all arms licences should be followed by the issuance of new arms licence cards with tamper-proof security features issued only by Nadra and dispatched directly to the original CNIC holder. There needs to be a total ban on the display of arms by civilians other than by guards of licensed security companies. There must be a reclassification of weapons to prohibited bore category in line with manufacturers of new types of equally lethal weapons. There should be a stringent policy to restrict the jurisdiction of licensed weapons ie from one province to another, as well as for carrying outside the areas other than the district of issuance. The provincial home departments must check the names of persons tried for criminal offences and those convicted, to cancel the arms licences of all such individuals. The cancellation process of arms licences and criminal proceedings should be clearly defined, publicised and displayed, and unwarranted use of arms in marriages and festivities needs to be checked. Nadra should be tasked with the maintaining and sharing of the national computerised data on all future issuance of arms licences and sales. The recommendations of the feasibility report on the arms manufacturing industries of Darra Adam Khel and the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Wah Cantonment, of Sept 1999 must be implemented. So, let us not get fooled once again. By seeking the assistance and cooperation of the judiciary we must review the laws/prosecution/trial process of arms cases, in order to have a deterrent effect on displaying and carrying weapons. Extended night-time hearings of anti-terrorism courts must also be initiated for speedy convictions of those arrested in the ongoing operations for possessing illegal weapons, if we seriously want to successfully deweaponise society. The writer is former chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee.
Revenge and compensation By Rafia Zakaria IN the beginning it was a tale of unrequited love. The year was 2004 and Ameneh Bahrami was a beautiful 24-year-old working at a laboratory in Tehran and also taking classes at university. . In pictures from the time, she smiles widely, beaming at the camera with youthful confidence. She received many marriage proposals, some even from teachers at the university. One such proposal came from a man called Majid Mohavedi, whom Bahrami had never met. Mohavedi’s mother called the Bahrami house and asked for her hand in marriage. The young woman refused the proposal and this was conveyed to the Mohavedi family. The next day, Mohavedi tracked down Bahrami at the university, where they were both students. The two got into a heated argument, and Bahrami insists that at that point she still did not even know her stalker’s name. Subsequently, Mohavedi’s mother continued to call the Bahrami home with a series of escalating threats. In one phone call she told Ms. Bahrami that “her son was a man and if he wanted to have her, he would have her.” Soon Mohavedi himself began to call the Bahrami house with his own threats. In his first call he threatened to kill her. Then his threats became more pronounced. “I am going to do something to destroy your life so that no one will marry you,” he said. Two days passed. As Bahrami was leaving her workplace on the third, she sensed that someone was following her. She stopped in the lane so that her pursuer would pass by. By the time she realised it was Mohavedi, it was too late to save herself. She felt a liquid splash against her face; it felt like hot water. When the burning started she knew it was acid. She was afraid to touch her face because she could feel her flesh dissolving. By the time Bahrami was taken to the hospital, she had lost sight in her left eye. A week later, she lost sight in her other eye as well. Her mother would not let her look in the mirror. She knew her daughter would not be able to bear the grotesque image that would confront her. Soon after the attack, then Iranian president Khatami sent Bahrami abroad for treatment. This support was withdrawn in 2005, when president Ahmadinejad came to power. Bahrami, who had been able to regain sight in one eye, was forced to return to Iran and live in a shelter. There she developed an eye infection and once again lost her sight. In 2007, she went to the court and asked for revenge under the Qisas and Diyat law. She said she wanted to do to Mohavedi the same thing that he had done to her. The court told her to just ask for a hanging, saying that it would be much easier for them to do. Bahrami refused. In 2008, the Iranian court rendered its judgment. It ruled that the then-27-year-old Majid Mohavedi should also be blinded with acid, forced to pay compensation, and also serve a jail term. After the judgment, however, the Iranian authorities delayed enactment of the punishment, using various administrative delays to avoid the blinding by acid that the court had ordered. Finally, the date of punishment was set for May 14, 2011. On this day, Bahrami went to the hospital where the punishment would be carried out. However, at the last minute the procedure was postponed again when hospital officials said they could not find a doctor to administer the procedure. Under Iranian law, Bahrami had been given the right to carry out the punishment on her perpetrator, the man who had disfigured her for life and left her blind and struggling. On July 31, 2011, however, hours before the punishment was again to be carried out, Bahrami forgave the man who had changed her life forever. In the words quoted by the Iranian news agency, “For seven years I’ve been trying to pursue retribution and to prove that the punishment for an acid attack is retribution but today I decided to pardon him. This was my right but in future the next victim might not do the same.” The prosecutor general of Tehran declared that her act of forgiveness was “a courageous act.” In the weeks to come, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is set to reconsider the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance of 1990. As Bahrami’s case illustrates, a number of complex and vexing issues are implicated in determining the breadth of the law’s application and enforcement. In the case of Bahrami, the Iranian court found a way to allow the wronged victim to enact what would undoubtedly have been a cruel punishment. Bahrami’s insistence on bringing the case, and her refusal to settle for monetary compensation for years as the case languished, could also be interpreted as a feminist subversion. Here was a woman insisting that a man who had wronged her be made to suffer just as she had, using Islamic injunctions to make her case. On the other side, sceptics could similarly allege the possibility of yet another woman cornered into ‘forgiving’ her assailant. In this last sense then, it is not the issue of revenge or even justice that is the most complex aspect of enforcing Qisas and Diyat laws, but the issue of forgiveness. While compensation amounts can be debated and tabulated into forms of equity, other aspects of inequality cannot. Women have less power than men, and the poor less than the rich. Given these details of reality, can the forgiveness of the weak be given as freely as those of the strong? In the case of Bahrami, her words were all that was available to make that judgment; she said that she was “happy” to have pardoned him. The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy. rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
India’s self-seeking missiles By Jawed Naqvi YET again, India has been struggling to become a mere non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC).. The country aspires to join the Big 5 as a nuclear equal, but it is unable to muster the votes to be in the top 15 for a two-year term, or so the reports say. The flip side is perhaps just as untenable for a country that once strove to fight for the poor and the subjugated. With 70 pc people living on food subsidies, India is developing a complex range of more destructive MIRV missiles, more than it needs for nuclear deterrence. Perhaps these two strange trajectories are rooted in a badly advised foreign policy. Let’s see. It is generally believed the 1983 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Delhi was Indira Gandhi’s swansong on the global stage. It may have been Indian foreign policy’s high point too. True, her son took the limelight briefly with Mikhail Gorbachev in a valiant attempt to cleanse the world of nuclear weapons, but he would be the first to admit he missed his mother’s gravitas. At home, potentially fatal trouble was brewing, most notably with Sikh separatism. On the communal front, Mrs Gandhi personally removed copies of India Today from the media centre adjacent to the NAM summit venue. It carried on its cover Raghu Rai’s telling pictures of the horrific massacre of babies and mothers in Nellie in Assam. Evidently the prime minister did not want to expose her Third World guests to the vivid details of the anti-Muslim carnage, which was credited to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the future moderate leader. Narendra Modi was still in diapers. Be that as it may, the Delhi summit saw Fidel Castro handing the gavel to Indira Gandhi as the chosen leader of the developing world. There is a lovely picture of her trying to dodge the burly Cuban’s bear hug. The issues at the conference were lofty and by today’s standards utterly idealistic. From the corner of her eye Mrs Gandhi would have relished the sight of Gen Ziaul Haq sitting largely ignored in the august audience as she dispatched landmark resolutions and waded into global disputes with alacrity and purpose. Her close aide, the late Romesh Bhandari, was marched off to what became an endless tour of Iraq and Iran to allay their fratricidal misgivings towards each other. Eventually, the Iran-Iraq war ended when the USS Vincennes accidentally shot down a civilian Iranian plane with hundreds of casualties. But India had the kind of credit with both warring sides that they both welcomed its proposals, and some of them were followed up on, too. The brief point is: India was taken seriously. Whether it was South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle or the Palestinian quest for self-determination, the morally sound call to vacate Diego Garcia or to keep nuclear weapons away from the Indian Ocean, there was principled politics all round and its leader at that particular moment was India. By about 1991 that moral worldview was taking a hard knock. India’s free market initiative, prompted partly by the fall of the Soviet Union, triggered an amazing surge of energy. It gave a segment of Indians the power to drive new brands of motorcars though it didn’t do much to improve the sub-Saharan fate of millions. On the foreign policy front too, the Nehruvian Brahmin was elbowed out by the upstart baniya. A rain-fed economy began to lean on the lure of the open markets to woo foreign friends. It bartered its principles for deals that were flaunted euphemistically as pragmatic. It looked the other way when its only steady and secular ally in Iraq was overrun by foreign military might. It connived with the new friends when Iran was collared to comply with an unequal distribution of nuclear power. And it remains silent as Syria, the only pluralist Arab country that remains, is being torn asunder. Foreign policy has been commandeered instead by a generation of home-grown carpetbaggers. They exploit India’s diplomatic capital abroad to ply convenient tax havens. Indian companies venturing abroad should be an indicator of India’s newfound economic status. But little is known about how these companies are flexing their political muscle in poorer countries, grabbing the land of impoverished people. India had once accused the West of doing this. Is there a moral compass that could be harnessed to pragmatic pursuit, a convenient word for opportunism? It’s a tall order. So what do Indians get out of this self-inflicted pragmatism? To begin with there is very little credit with the neighbours. From the Maldives to Nepal, from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka, there is fear laced with contempt. In West and Central Asia you would still find people who adore the memory of India, but it is a tribute to Raj Kapoor and Awara and ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’, not respect for the motorcars India makes or the nuclear missiles it flaunts. Yes, there is some space for Delhi in Afghanistan but that is more out of a rejection for religious fanaticism that Pakistan is alleged to have bred there, not for India’s fabled camaraderie. Yet there are analysts and lobbyists who seek to push the country towards more missiles, never mind the cost they impose in the realm of real, quantifiable influence the country once had. Take one example: India is developing a navy and an accompanying battery of missiles that should be welcomed by Vietnam as an anti-Chinese gesture. And it is Vietnam that will impede India’s membership of the UNSC. The other country in the fray for the UN post is Afghanistan. Should India try to displace it? Can it? Too many missiles, very few friends. The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi. jawednaqvi@gmail.com
Curtailing due process By I.A. Rehman EVEN after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s signal for the speedy enactment of the amendments proposed in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, it should be possible to ponder the consequences of nibbling away at the due process of law.. Accounts of the prime minister’s meeting last Thursday with the team responsible for giving the final touches to the Anti-Terrorism (Third Amendment) Bill, 2013, are not clear about his advice. The statement attributed to him, that the revised law should ensure a level playing field for both the prosecution and the defence, can only be welcomed. This is indeed the basic criterion each penal statute must necessarily satisfy. But references to plugging the loopholes in the law gave the impression that only the prosecution’s concerns were being addressed. The high-level meeting had probably been convened, and this after the federal cabinet had approved the proposed changes, to take into account the heavy criticism the amendments attracted. It is doubtful if the misgivings expressed in the media by experts and laymen both have been satisfactorily removed because at issue are citizens’ most basic rights. For instance, the move to increase a suspect’s period of preventive detention from 30 days — which is bad enough — to 90 days without judicial sanction hits the fundamental right to liberty. Likewise, the proposal to allow law-enforcing agencies the power to open fire on anyone presumed to be a terrorist, or expected to commit a terrorist act, without being fired upon should be treated as an attack on the crucial right to life. Not much has been said about the proposal to decide cases on the basis of electronically generated evidence alone or the measures proposed ostensibly to protect judges and witnesses. It can be argued that electronically gathered evidence can be tampered with, and the country may not have the capacity to ensure the authenticity of information and messages. Similarly, holding trials in jails or via video link, which may be unavoidable in rare cases, cannot be accepted as a rule as they negate the right to open and public trial. The issues raised by the latest crop of amendments have figured prominently in public debate on anti-terrorism laws and speedy-trial courts for more than 20 years, and more if we go back to the Rowlatt Act of 1919 or the Punjab Murderous Outrages Act of 1867, as revisited in 1956. The search for an effective response to terrorism has led us, over the last two decades, to the establishment of military courts to try civilians, a move the judiciary had to quash. At one stage mixed judicial-military tribunals too were proposed. And the expression, “use of force to the extent of causing death”, has frequently been in and out of laws. The point is that whenever more effective ways to deal with terrorism are discussed the agenda is limited to curtailing due process; the other requirements of a proper anti-terrorism regime are largely ignored. After the 9/11 disaster the example of advanced states’ haste in devising laws and procedures derogatory to fundamental rights and guarantees of fair trial are often quoted as justification for similar deviations from civilised law in less developed countries. It is conveniently forgotten that countries such as Pakistan do not possess trained investigators and prosecutors of the calibre the United States or Britain should have. Further, if special anti-terrorism measures can be misused in these advanced countries, the risks of their abuse in Pakistan are much greater. The force behind the new amendments was identified by the Minister for Law, Science and Technology at last week’s meeting. He is reported to have said that the security establishment had strongly recommended the clause that allows its functionaries to fire at their quarries “because they were engaged in a battle with hardened, trigger-happy criminals in Karachi’’. Such arguments have been heard before. The ‘security establishment’ has always blamed courts for letting off the criminals it captures alive and the administration, especially the politicians, for protecting lawbreakers. The courts have consistently rebutted the charge against them by saying that they cannot convict anyone or deny him bail without adequate evidence. The complaint against administration and political authorities cannot be dismissed altogether because cases have come to light when detainees have benefited from the prosecution’s reluctance to reveal all facts in the courts. In any case, the shortcomings of courts and political authorities cannot justify granting freedom to trigger-happy gendarmes to have duels with trigger-happy criminals. That is a prescription for anarchy. It is thus important that lawmakers should not listen only to the ‘security establishment’. Practical experience has shown quite a few serious flaws in the existing legal framework. A large number of murder cases go to anti-terrorism courts while they should be heard by sessions judges. The arbitrary marking of cases to the anti-terrorism courts leads to discrimination, corruption and the miscarriage of justice. Attempts to have cases decided in 14 or 30 days have mostly failed. One of the main justifications for the anti-terrorism law was the need to eliminate sectarian strife and hate-preaching but these crimes have never been seriously tackled. The need to update the anti-terrorism law cannot be denied but the effort should not be confined to encroaching on the requisites of fair trial. Some attention must also be paid to ending inefficiency and corruption in the investigating and prosecution services. Besides, the teams formed to work out reform ideas should include sociologists, criminologists, psychologists, and public representatives besides experts on the state’s payroll. And if it is impossible to tackle terrorism without compromising citizens’ fundamental rights, the safeguards against abuse must be spelt out fairly and clearly and the deviations from due process must be for a specified — and brief — period only.
Cradle of power By Khurram Husain IT’S a good thing that the government has been forced to change its stance on the recent power tariff increases. . The constant hikes in tariffs with no meaningful reforms have had a pernicious effect on the power sector. Allow me to explain, but first a little context. Take the case of Hubco, the largest independent power producer, which began as an experiment in mobilising private-sector investment to meet the growing demand for power generation in Pakistan in the early 1990s. But building confidence amongst private investors to acquire stakes in the power sector in Pakistan was no small feat. The power sector presented unique challenges for any private investor. In the case of Hubco, for instance, the new plant was going to feed something like a billion watts of electricity into the national grid every hour, give or take, and needed to do this for something like 300 days in a year for the proposition to be meaningful. To accomplish this, the plant would need a continuous supply of fuel — furnace oil — totalling something like 5,000 tons every day. And in order to keep that fuel supply running, it needed to be paid promptly. An interruption in any one of these vital flows meant the whole system inside the plant could grind to a halt. Since all three flows — fuel supply, power purchase, payment — were controlled by the government, the infant investment would be surrounded on all sides by the towering and imperious power of the state, with its political storms, unpredictable moods, unaccountable officialdom and constant thirst for revenue. A formidable apparatus of protection was assembled to safeguard the infant investor from the vagaries of this rugged landscape. A large suite of binding agreements governed the relationship between the investor and his sole customer. Each of the vital flows involved in the operation of a plant had its own mortar: Fuel Supply Agreements and Power Purchase Agreements and Implementation Agreements, all underlain by a sovereign guarantee. The price at which the electricity would be sold was similarly subjected to heavy legal control, with various segments such as a capacity payment, a tariff indexation and a fuel adjustment mechanism, and a regulator had to be created by special legislation and empowered as an autonomous entity to operate this pricing mechanism. The strength of this framework is the reason why the power sector has attracted so much investment, and why after almost two decades of its operation, today more power generation capacity sits in private hands than in government. But no sooner had the new policy framework been launched, with 19 investors who between them put down almost $5billion inside the protected space, that the first challenge came from the state. In 1998, Nawaz Sharif accused 11 members of the group of having used corrupt means to acquire favourable terms for themselves, and launched police actions and litigation against them all. It took three years to unwind the resultant disputes from this impetuous and ill-advised action, but the framework survived and all players emerged from the episode slightly bruised but with their investments intact. From that time onwards, the state has worked within the framework established by the private power policy, issuing updated versions along the way but never trying to step outside of it. Nevertheless, the initial attack of 1998 had a deeper impact on the power sector’s subsequent evolution: it focused all debate and scrutiny of the framework around questions of pricing and malpractice in the award of contracts. Either the tariffs were too high, or capacity charges were an unfair imposition, or project sponsors had engaged in underhanded deals to gain advantageous terms. Behind this misplaced emphasis in the public debate, an important evolution went unnoticed: the broader power sector reforms, of which the private power policy was only a part, ground to a halt. All further additions to our power generation system came exclusively from privately contracted thermal power plants. Thermal power plants are not meant to be the mainstay of a country’s power generation system. They are best seen only as a stopgap measure. Take the example of Japan. After Fukushima, a furious debate over the growing use of nuclear power to generate electricity engulfed that country. The government decided to break the country’s growing dependence on nuclear power by moving towards more renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. A new policy was announced to encourage investment in these fields, and in the last two years Japan has added more than 3,500 megawatts of generation capacity from solar and wind alone. In the meanwhile they set up natural gas plants, and tendered so massively for LNG in global markets that they caused the international price to skyrocket. But their use of thermal power generation using liquefied natural gas is only temporary. Similarly, the use of thermal power in the private power policy was only meant as a temporary measure. But in our case, as soon as the electricity materialised, we forgot all about the problem and set about bickering over its price and who got what out of the whole deal. The net result was that we got stuck in a high-cost option, and today cannot afford the electricity in our own system. How did this happen? Part of the reason is the lack of attention to how we might use the interlude provided by the abundant thermal power of the late 1990s, to leapfrog into a more sustainable and affordable option. But another — equally important — reason is that the protected space created by the policy framework gave birth to vested interests of its own. What was meant to be a protective cradle for infant investors back in the 1990s morphed into a fortress for exorbitant privilege. Nothing illustrates this better than a close look at what happened to Hubco in the era of the circular debt. More on that next week. The writer is a business journalist and 2013-2014 Pakistan Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington D.C. khurram.husain@gmail.com Twitter: @khurramhusain
In the service of ideology By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar FOR a change, the rest of the world gets to laugh at the United States for having a good-for-nothing government.. Of course a government shutdown is not necessarily the same thing as a government not actually having the capacity or will to perform. Yet, the fact that US government offices remain closed more than a week after they first shut confirms that American politics can be just as dysfunctional as politics anywhere else in the world. It is instructive, I believe, to analyse exactly how the impasse in Washington has come to pass, and not only because we stand to learn something about the American political system but also about the contemporary state of politics, economics and ideology around the world. In a nutshell, the Republican party-controlled elected lower house has been demanding a cut in government spending, and more specifically for a repeal of the (modest) healthcare legislation — the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — that is President Barack Obama’s political baby. Obama’s original healthcare plan was far more ambitious and wide-ranging than the quite limited bill that he eventually signed into law. The ACA does nevertheless call to account the previously all-powerful health insurance companies that have run riot in the US for almost 50 years (the incumbent health care system — Medicaid — was instituted in 1965). It is the fact that the president and his Democratic party colleagues have legislated to extend healthcare coverage and make it less dependent on the ability to pay that has led to Republican sloganeering — spearheaded by the so-called Tea Party faction of the party — that ‘Obamacare’ is the first step in a full-fledged conspiracy to push the US towards socialism. Yes, that’s correct. The Republican party actually claims that Obama has socialist leanings, which is as preposterous a proposition as any. This was a refrain that first reared its head during Obama’s first presidential campaign, and is amazingly still doing the rounds, even though six years of Obama in power have proved just how ridiculous the hypothesis is. The Republicans have been raising a hue and cry about state welfare provisions ever since Ronald Reagan came to power in 1980 and initiated a ‘rollback of the state’ that had worldwide ramifications. Even before Reaganism, however, the American right has consistently rallied against ‘big government’. More generally, the Republican party has championed conservative ideas in all spheres of social life. Perhaps most infamously, Republican senator John McCarthy triggered a political witch-hunt in the early 1950s against any and all individuals and groups that were considered ‘national security threats’. All such suspects were labelled ‘communists’ and subjected to intense political repression. Almost all countries benefiting from Washington’s largesse adopted McCarthyism with a vengeance. The Cold War was arguably as much a propaganda battle as anything else, and the effects of anti-communist propaganda remain evident to this very day. While ‘terrorism’ has replaced ‘communism’ as the greatest threat to ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ everywhere, entire generations of people in America and elsewhere still cling to their caricatures of ‘communists’. In Pakistan a communist is simply a kafir. In the US a black president who legislates healthcare reform is a closet socialist. Even in Venezuela and Bolivia, where leftist leaders have secured electoral majorities, the media and intelligentsia decry the handing over of government to Castro’s spies (in reference to the Castro brothers that have been at the forefront of Cuban politics for more than 60 years). When name-calling becomes an end in itself, we lose sight of what government is actually doing. There is a design to this paradox; it would indeed be greatly problematic for the powers-that-be if ordinary people actually started to hold their governments to account instead of being caught up in paranoia about the conspiracies of so-called ‘enemies of the people’. By all objective accounts, ordinary Americans are disgusted with the government shutdown, and the Republican party itself is suffering from intense internal discord. This suggests that working people in the US can easily distinguish between truth and fiction. The tragedy, as ever, is that the alternative to the fictional world of the Republicans is the slightly less fictional world of the Democrats. It is the same in this country. We have a government in power that has on the one hand attempted to depict itself as no-nonsense and unburdened by ideological hang-ups. Cue an emphasis on long-term rehabilitation of the economy, replete with the signing of a plethora of development cooperation agreements with anyone and everyone that is willing. But this same government has started to resort to the same tired slogans about the ‘foreign hand’ and Pakistan as the impregnable fortress of Islam. Even its supposed developmental priorities are guided by an intense ideological commitment to neo-liberal orthodoxy, justified through the standard refrain of the ‘greater national interest’. I believe that working people in this country are just as able to distinguish between truth and fiction as in the US, but that they are stumped by the lack of real choice. In countries such as the US this results in extreme alienation from politics, whereas in contexts such as ours ordinary people turn to options outside the mainstream. And these options are of many different shades and colours, even if governments criminalise them in all too familiar ways. In India, for instance, large numbers of so-called ‘tribal’ communities have thrown in their lot with the Naxalites which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the single greatest national security threat facing the state. In Sri Lanka it was the Tamil Tigers, in the Philippines and Nepal it is Maoist guerrillas. Even when ordinary people are devastated by natural calamities, the imperatives of ‘national security’ determine the government’s response, as is the case in Balochistan at present. When economics, politics and just about everything else is at the service of ideology, the actions of governments are anathema to the interests of the people in whose name they rule. The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Examination woes By Faisal Bari THE child of a colleague appeared for the Grade IX board examinations this year. He was shocked when he got his marks.. He thought his papers had gone much better than what the marks indicated. In at least three papers he was sure he deserved at least 10 more marks. Thirty marks in matriculation examinations, given the competition for admissions in colleges, can make all the difference. The child was distraught and depressed after he got his results. His previous academic record, consisting largely of internal school examinations, did indicate a much higher level of achievement. He was top of his class and had been doing very well in almost every subject. Even in the mock examinations his school conducted, he had done very well. Since schools have become very good at teaching with an eye on examinations and prepping students on exam-taking techniques, he and his teachers expected much more from him. He was disconcerted enough to get his father to agree to allow him to appeal for a review of his grades. Apart from a basic fee, you have to pay Rs700 per paper to get a look. And there is an upper limit: you can only have up to three papers reviewed. For a middle-income person, paying up Rs2,200-2,300 just to get a look at exam sheets is a serious financial decision. The father thought there was a chance the marks might go up, but more importantly, that this would be the best way to address the child’s anxiety. But this is where things got weird. They filed for review, paid the money and eventually got a date when the boy could look at his papers. The father took a day off from work to file the application for review and then took another day off to accompany the child to the office of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education; since the boy is only 14 or so, he could not go alone. But, at the Board office, the father was told that only the child could go into the building and only he would be able to have a look at his papers. He went in and came back 30 minutes later, but even more depressed than before. He said that the person showing him his papers did not know anything about any of the subjects. When the boy would point out where he thought his answer was correct but he had been given low marks, where something had been marked incorrect when it was correct, or even where something had not been given credit for that should have been marked, the person showing him the paper kept saying “You cannot contest that. There is a High Court ruling that precludes your contesting this.” The child looked at all three of his papers, found that his suspicion that he had been marked wrongly was correct, but also found that the Board employee was not willing to do anything about any of the things he had pointed out. He was then shown the door. Does it make sense for papers to be seen only by a 14/15-year-old and not an accompanying adult in case we need to have a review process? Does it make any sense for the review process to be there even if no subject expert is available to give the student feedback on his or her concerns? And how does quoting High Court rulings to teenagers make for a good review process? After this experience the father has been berating the child for having made him waste two days of leave and over Rs2,000 on the whole process. Secondly, the father and son are even more convinced of the fact that the grading process is unfair and that even the reviews are only for the rich and powerful. Then, the father has been drilling into the son that he should accept that the poor are children of a lesser god in Pakistan and he should take that as a given and forget about good colleges and adjust his aspirations accordingly. All this after the father and son have gone through a lot to keep the son in the best possible private schools that the father could afford. Can something be more heartbreaking than to see a child’s spirit being broken? The father subsequently emailed the chairperson of the Board, detailing what had happened. It has been three weeks and at least two reminders; my colleague has not even had an acknowledgement from the chairperson’s office. My colleague is not the only one who has had such an experience. A number of parents tell similar tales of woe. In one instance when parents filed for a review, again for three subjects, on behalf of their daughter, they were told they could have the papers reviewed one month after when they filed the application. It has already been three or four months since the examinations. If the review doesn’t happen for six months, the intention is clearly to not have a quick review process and/or let the children go on with the second year of their matriculation process. Are the Boards just making money off the review processes, and is the process just eyewash to give the impression of responsiveness to parents and society? The review processes, as experienced by these parents, appear to be just that. How good are the grading processes of the Boards? What is the margin of error? Maybe the Boards should have independent assessments done of the grading processes, improve them if needed, and then have review processes tailored accordingly. A more systematic approach to the issue, given its importance, seems warranted. The writer is senior adviser, Pakistan, at Open Society Foundations, associate professor of economics, LUMS, and a visiting fellow at IDEAS, Lahore.
Politics local, impact national By Asha’ar Rehman FOR the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), the victory in a by-election in Faisalabad earlier this week was a nice little achievement that blended well with the background.. Just about then the news of huge irregularities on a Karachi seat where PTI was the runner-up in May was being flashed. This was a follow-up on Imran Khan’s demands for a scientific probe into the election results. The findings of the probe strengthened the impression that the voting machinery had yielded to pressure. The smudge forwarded the PTI’s cause and gave it a positive at a time when its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was being taken to task for its lack of initiative to solve people’s issues. This was the first sign of the vindication of a stand initially only the PTI was willing to take — after it, too, appeared to have wasted so much time in pressing for an investigation. Other losers, the PPP prominent among them, were slow to protest and slow to celebrate when the first findings of the tests that required the examination of the voters’ thumbprints were made public some time ago. These first results, from a seat in Karachi where the PML-N had scored a surprise win over the PPP, presented a good enough case for a deeper look at the conduct of the polls. Many thousand votes now stood discredited, pending a clean chit from the law. The response to this discovery by the PPP did not suggest the party was ready to go into protest mode in Sindh which it rules and where it won a large number of national seats as well. Its focus was on Punjab. In Punjab also the PPP took a long time warming to the idea of campaigning against the incidence of rigging in the general election. In Lahore, Aitzaz Ahsan finally seemed like leading an effort to review, narrowing in on a Kasur constituency that offers some puzzling election-related details of its own. But the PPP’s reaction to the evidence from Karachi did not indicate a willingness to pursue the matter on a national level. This was in contrast to the message the PTI managed to convey to the public and its defeat of the PML-N in Faisalabad helped prop up its politics at a crucial stage, even if a variety of local factors had played their part in securing this outcome. This was a Faisalabad seat the PML-N ‘could never lose’. In the general election, this was a walk in the park for its candidate from here, with the PTI trailing way behind and the PPP reduced to a shadow. The elected PML-N man was later disqualified and in the run-up to the by-election, dozens of aspirants were pitted against each other for a PML-N nomination. The PML-N ticket this time went to the brother of the candidate who had won it in May. Like his brother, this nominee was considered to be a close ally of Rana Sanaullah, the all-too-visible Punjab law minister whose rise in the party has earned him many detractors within as it has helped him build a close coterie of local allies. Serious objections were raised from inside the party over the nomination for the by-election and even a casual onlooker could see that all was not well with the ‘unbeatable’ PML-N here this time around. The party was complacent at a time when its huge victory in Punjab had created so much room for groups within to take each other on for supremacy. It had presumed that even if it loses some support, the margin in May was big enough to guarantee that it would succeed now, too. Apart from the selection of a candidate, this was a second serious lapse that contributed to its shocking showing in the by-polls. The PML-N vote tally dropped drastically and the party handed an easy win to the PTI. What’s more, whereas the knowledgeable in the city could come up with whatever assessment of the local factors leading to the result, on the national level it synced well with the PTI’s image as the threat to the PML-N just when a local government election was on the mind of every political party. Already, with its indecision on when to hold the local government election and its insistence on having it on a ‘non-party’ basis, the PML-N has given vent to fears whose source is easily traced to the PTI. For whatever little impact the loss in a single Faisalabad constituency may have on numbers inside the Punjab Assembly, it will be received as a possible clue to the local government competition and, hence, it is a development the PTI can build upon. There is no shortage of causes that can be assigned to the Faisalabad result to make it tough for the PML-N: an industrial town struggling to cope with electricity shortages just as the PML-N gropes in the dark to find remedies to the country’s energy woes; a town that is striving to sustain an urban lifestyle and which has reacted angrily to the rising costs of living; and above all, an urban population losing patience with the old faces and willing to take a chance with the new emerging party. Those who had thought that the Nawaz League’s overwhelming victory in the general election will allow it to crush the challenge mounted by the PTI have to watch out for a while longer before they can declare their verdict. The fight is far from over and the sporadic successes in by-elections apart, the PTI has been boosted by the inquiries that vindicate its allegations of rigging in the general polls. Even if the status of the national seats under the clouds remains unchanged, the doubts cast on the process of the May voting will strengthen calls for a stricter order for the conduct of the local government elections. That’s not too bad an ideal to aim for. The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
Senior moments By Irfan Husain HAVE you ever walked into a room to get something, and then wondered what you were looking for? If you have experienced such a senior moment, welcome to the club.. The sad reality is that after our 20s, we lose brain cells faster than they are produced. And a youth spent on sowing wild oats doesn’t help: over-indulgence of the good things of life accelerates entropy. And it’s not just the brain functions that suffer with age. Various organs go on strike to protest years of neglect and abuse. Gradually, the number of pills you pop in the morning and at night increase until you are swallowing a veritable cocktail of drugs to keep you going. Now, when friends get together, chances are that much of the discussion over a drink and dinner is about sundry ailments and their treatment. We are more likely to exchange information about the skills of our various medical specialists than to talk about politics, books or films. A younger person listening in is likely to drift away, bemused and bored. Old age, as people of my generation are aware, is a cruel thing. When I look at the elderly here in Devizes, making their way with the help of Zimmer-frame walking supports, I remind myself that in a few years, I’m going to need one of those. Thus far, touch wood, I can still take Puffin, our Jack Russell terrier, on long walks. Or does he drag me out of the house? Whatever the dynamics, I do walk an hour a day. Exercise does not come naturally to me. I have operated on the basis of the advice given by an ancient Chinese philosopher: “If you can walk, don’t run; if you can stand, don’t walk; and if you can lie, don’t stand.” Whenever my wife has urged me to get some exercise, I have argued that I am conserving my energy. And when she asks me why, I say you never know when you’ll need it. Not very convincingly, I maintain that we are all born with a certain number of heartbeats and breaths allocated to us. So if we waste any on exercise, we are reducing our lifespan. This argument does not let me out of doing routine household chores, however. While brain cells diminish at an alarming rate with age, the grim reality is that fat cells multiply just as rapidly. In my case, my love of good food and drink has made it impossible to fit into trousers I bought a few years ago. Although I have managed to lose a few pounds over the last six months, I seem to have hit a barrier, and the needle on the bathroom scales seems stuck, refusing to go any lower. I know that losing more weight will involve pain: the other night, a friend told us how she had lost 30 pounds in just three months, and the process sounded pretty brutal. I know I should eat less meat, for instance, and more vegetables. But each time I resolve to follow this sound medical advice, I am reminded of this sign outside my local butcher’s: vegetables are interesting, but lack a sense of purpose without a good steak. And things like good Italian risotto just cannot be made without butter. In her quest to keep me alive for as long as she can, my wife keeps emailing me news about medical developments, alternative treatments and advice about fitness and exercise. Luckily for me, they often contradict each other. For instance, the internet is full of chat about how bad cholesterol-reducing statins are for us. But when I ask my cardiac consultant if I can go off them, he says grimly that he would not advise it if I want to stay alive. I am also informed that I can shake off my type-2 diabetes by starving myself for a few weeks. “Just try it,” urges my wife earnestly. Easier said than done. The thought of missing out on good food and drink for weeks on end sends a shudder through me. The fewer heartbeats left to me, the more I would like to savour the good things of life. Many of us are reminded of our mortality after we hit 50. Reading glasses make sure we don’t forget that our faculties are in terminal decline. Now, even with glasses, my eyes get tired after reading for a bit, so I flick on the TV for some mindless viewing. And thank goodness for Google: without this crucial memory aid, I would be getting many dates and facts wrong in my articles. Unfortunately, it is not available at parties when all too often, I bump into somebody I know, but whose name escapes me at the time. There’s a moment of panic when another friend walks up, expecting to be introduced. Aaagh! When we are younger, we take our health for granted, looking pityingly at our elders as they complain of their various aches and pains. But before we know it, we are the ones doing the complaining. Soon, our medical appointments and tests outnumber our social engagements. Increasingly, retired people are becoming more and more hooked to the internet. Various chat groups include names I recognise as they hold forth on everything under the sun. Indeed, cyberspace has given many of my generation a lifeline, making a public forum available to them. When I contemplate an impending old age, I am sustained by some new research. According to one team of researchers, stroking a pet animal adds a few years to your life. So our Puffin is earning his keep as he spends hours on my lap. Then, dark chocolate is a life-enhancing food, much as red wine extends the average life span by two or three years. I just may live forever. irfan.husain@gmail.com
Kashmir’s tragic divide By A.G. Noorani IF the prospects of success at the inter-governmental level seem none too promising, the omens within Jammu & Kashmir are none too bright either. In fact, the situation is worse than ever before. . The people yearn for guidance from their leaders. But their leaders are hopelessly at loggerheads with one another. A debate on their unity commenced recently. Judging by past form, it is most unlikely that it will yield any results. The unionists, the National Conference in power in coalition with the Congress, and the main opposition group, the People’s Democratic Party, are preparing to fight it out in the elections to the assembly in Srinagar and to parliament in 2014. The separatist leaders are barely on speaking terms with each other. The debate was initiated on Sept 17 in Srinagar by none other than Ashraf Sehrai, secretary general of the Tehreek-i-Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, at a function to launch a book. He was provoked by a speech by a former general secretary of the bar association, G.N. Shaheen. He castigated the separatist leadership of Kashmir for lack of unity. Shaheen suggested that all separatists should unite on one single platform to “carry forward the movement” to its logical conclusion. He did not define what that logical conclusion should be. His plea for unity stung Sehrai to the quick: “I, too, have many things to say on unity. A lot of secrets are buried in my heart. The occasion does not warrant that I should expose those secrets or use them against someone.” He proposed: “Let some one organise a mehfil-i-mubahisa (a meeting for debate) where we can discuss all these issues.” A meeting of this kind has some meaning if the leading participants have the desire and will to unite. Of this, there is not the faintest sign. Far from coming closer in the multiple crises that have played havoc with the lives of the people, ever since the feckless Omar Abdullah was planted as chief minister by New Delhi, they have drifted further apart. An informed correspondent, Shah Abbas, noted in the excellent Srinagar weekly Kashmir Life on Sept 22: “Separatist camp is now divided to the extent that even the 2010 uprising and the hanging of Afzal Guru could not reunite it.” The accord on unity and coordination between Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq in July 2008 came unstuck as did the coordination committee and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Mushawarat (united forum for consultation) in 2013. There is no real ideological divide between the two top leaders. On May 17, 2013 the Mirwaiz said that Kashmir was a natural part of Pakistan. Last month, Geelani declared that Kashmir was a “natural part of Pakistan”. In this they are being more royal than the king. Both swear by the UN resolutions. Irresponsible demagogy has debased political discourse in Kashmir; and not among the politicians alone. To begin with, Pakistan has never claimed that the territory of Indian Jammu & Kashmir as its “natural part”. Its demand rests on the people’s right to self-determination as agreed upon between India and Pakistan in 1947 well before the UN was seized of the matter and before it yielded its many resolutions — none of which is enforceable by it. In 2013, not one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have endorsed any of the plebiscite resolutions of the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (1948-49). The ceasefire resolution of Sept 20, 1965 sought to address the “political problem underlying the present conflict”. The Security Council’s resolution of 1998 after the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan also did not refer to the resolution of old. Prof John W. Garver made a careful survey of the evolution of the Chinese position with regard to the Kashmir question during the 1989-1990 crisis when militancy was at its peak. The last time that the Chinese leaders mentioned “the relevant decisions of the United Nations” was in February 1990 during the visit of the distinguished diplomat Iqbal Akhund to Beijing. He was national security adviser to Benazir Bhutto. Subsequently, Beijing was content to urge a ‘dialogue’ or ‘negotiations’ between Pakistan and India. Does this shift or the one by the United Nations weaken Kashmir’s inalienable right to decide its future? Certainly not. In the last two decades, Pakistan’s diplomacy on Kashmir has been realistic. But Geelani issued on Sept 16 a “protest calendar” avowedly to “keep the struggle alive”. It comprised a march to the offices of the UN observers in Srinagar and a memorandum to Ban Ki-moon — the secretary general. It is not the movement but the leaders who need to keep themselves politically “alive” before an increasingly sceptical people. As Shah Abbas points out “the larger fact on ground is that people now do not pay any heed to the protest calls of separatist leaders. Even the security authorities do not impose any restrictions on the movement of common people whenever the separatists call for any ‘challo’ or protest”. An oppressed, downtrodden people do not deserve leaders with monumental egos each of whom tries to become the sole spokesman of Kashmir. They will not agree even on a simple programme to demand unitedly respect for the lives of the people and for civil liberties through an agreed minimum common programme for a united front. New Delhi profits by the divides among Kashmir’s politicians and rivets its control over the area with greater ease. In all the years, the Kashmiri separatists have signally failed to evolve any constructive, viable strategy. Implicit in their strategy is the foolish assumption that they can force India to quit Kashmir. It is an assumption which Pakistan’s leaders do not share. Hence, their constructive approach in contrast to the separatist leaders’ all or nothing policy. The writer is an author and a lawyer.
Spinning a story By Abbas Nasir HAS the media evolved its rules of covering dicey stories and unconventional conflicts as it keeps pace with a rapidly changing world? . There isn’t an easy, let alone correct, answer. The current debate in the Western media centres on the coverage of disclosures, made by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, about intrusive electronic eavesdropping — not just on individual terror suspects/groups but even on ‘friendly’ governments. Were governments justified in eavesdropping and was the media correct in reporting on it? Of course, snooping on terrorism suspects with the aim of being alerted to the threat of bombing or other planned mass murder may be justifiable but, as Snowden’s disclosures demonstrated, governments have also used their electronic ears to better prepare for trade talks, for example. Issues such as the level of privacy an individual is entitled to expect despite the threat scenario more or less gets a uniform response at least in public because this right is linked to the cherished freedom of expression. But many security experts, conservative commentators and sections of the media believe the newspapers that carried stories based on Snowden’s disclosures did harm their nation’s security, setting it back because the adversaries may have been alerted to the extent and means of surveillance used. This is poppycock. How does the US secure itself better against a terrorist threat by eavesdropping on a democratically elected Brazilian president’s conversation with her Mexican counterpart? To the contrary one could argue the exercise was unethical and an infringement of the right of privacy of two leaders of two sovereign nations. The Guardian talked to 20 editors/former editors of leading newspapers in different parts of the world all of whom disagreed that the Guardian was ‘irresponsible’ in publishing the Snowden disclosures in the manner it did. Yes, the Guardian editors spent hundreds of hours sifting through the material they had and only used what was demonstrably in the public interest and didn’t jeopardise any country’s or individual’s safety. Top world editors have endorsed this view and upheld the paper’s right to inform its readers about what the government is doing on ‘the citizens’ behalf’. This debate will continue for weeks, perhaps even months, and acquire greater vigour with the disclosures of the next whistleblower. The question that media commentators say remains at the centre of the whole saga is one of accountability. It is not what a state does or doesn’t do but whether it is accountable for its actions, especially to its own people. We can say in Pakistan from our own experience there is no accountability, no oversight once the intelligence services invoke ‘national interest and security’. One can look at what is happening in the name of national interest in Balochistan or our disastrous support to radical militant groups because ‘it enhances our national security’. You question any activity which can be classified as such and your patriotism and commitment become suspect. In addition, you are often maligned in public even though you are almost never brought to court because you actually have no case to answer. When I joined the BBC in 1994, the coverage of the Northern Ireland conflict took some getting used to. The Irish Republican Army was a ‘terrorist’ group but even the statements of leaders of the Sinn Fein, its political wing, such as Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness, were voiced over by actors. Other restrictions ensured the quantum of exposure granted to ‘terrorist’ entities was justifiable. The foremost guiding principle being that the terrorist, or as the BBC World Service which avoided the value judgement term and chose to say ‘the militant’, was not given a platform to propagate his/her views and thoughts, specially without a robust challenge. Having left the Beeb seven years ago, some of the editorial debates from my time there were refreshed in my mind as I watched BBC Urdu’s recent scoop, its interview with Tehreek-i-Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud in which he gave his first public response to the all-party conference and military-backed talks offer to the TTP. I would have liked tough follow-up questions on some of the assertions of “emir sahib” such as “we never kill Muslims” and “never attack mosques” when the TTP has claimed responsibility for most such attacks in the past. Or would have left out the question of where the TTP “would stand in case of conflict with India”? But also it was clearly a very difficult situation where the reporter’s safety could have been jeopardised. I can say from experience I am equally relieved it was someone else who had to brief the reporter, then edit the interview and provide the second pair of eyes and ears for oversight. It must have been a trying task to balance the desire to air a scoop — the TTP leader’s first reaction to the government’s talks offer — with the demand of not providing a platform to a man responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent people in the country when tough questions could have endangered a colleague. Media informs, educates and entertains. The more formal media’s monopoly is being challenged by social media. One must also be honest about how effective a role the media actually plays whatever the rules. For example, the issue of whether or not the BBC reporter’s questions were robust enough pales into insignificance when viewed against what the TTP chief, who seemed to have been amenable to the talks offer in the interview, said about his fight against the country. His views remained hardline. The TTP was not just fighting Pakistan because of the latter’s proximity to the US. The jihad would continue even after the exit of foreign troops from Afghanistan, he said, and only end with the enforcement of Sharia and an end to the ‘kufri nizam’ (infidel system) in the country. As for the Snowden disclosures, in the longer term they may well be no more than a minor embarrassment and it may soon be business as usual. For everyone. The writer is a former editor of Dawn. abbas.nasir@hotmail.com
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