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National News

Court drops attempted murder case against toddler

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

LAHORE: A sessions court threw out on Saturday a case of attempted murder registered against a toddler and issued show-cause notice to a police officer for including the boy’s name in the case which also carried charges of attacking policemen.

At the outset of the hearing, investigation officer of the Muslim Town police station submitted a ‘discharge report’ to the court, seeking cancellation of the FIR “to the extent” of nine-month-old Mohammad Musa.

The counsel representing Musa’s family withdrew a petition for bail and the court dropped the case against the boy.

Musa, his father and other members of his family

were booked under section 324 of the PPC after they allegedly pelted with stones a team comprising police personnel and staff of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL).

The team was visiting the family’s house on a complaint of gas theft.

The matter came under spotlight when Musa’s grandfather Yasin produced the boy in the court of an additional district and sessions judge for grant of pre-arrest bail.

After the issue was highlighted by the media, the government and police authorities took notice of the matter and an ASI was suspended.

Blackmail alleged

After an inquiry into the issue by a senior officer, the police authorities ordered that the boy’s name be removed from the FIR.

They claimed that Musa’s family had misled the court because even though Musa’s name was in the FIR the charges of attacking the raiding party pertained to some other members of the family.

Police said the family produced Musa in the court to “blackmail the authorities”.

Agencies add: The case drew international attention and sparked criticism of the country’s criminal justice system, after the toddler was photographed crying desperately while being fingerprinted in court. His grandfather was later seen trying to comfort him with a milk bottle.

The charges were in direct violation of the country’s minimum age of criminal responsibility, which was raised from seven to 12 years in 2013, except in terrorism cases.

Musa’s grandfather accused police of fabricating the charges because, according to him, they were colluding with a rival party who wanted to see his family evicted from their land and had obtained an order to remove their gas connections.

Yasin and four others, including his son Imran, are on bail in the case and the charges against them remain.

Legislators defaming army can be disqualified, says Shujaat

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

LAHORE: PML-Q chief Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Husain has said that those clamouring about Article 6 of the Constitution should also read Article 63(g), which states that any parliamentarian who tries to defame the armed forces or the judiciary will be disqualified.

Referring to some PML-N ministers’ statements, Chaudhry Shujaat said there was resentment in the army over an alleged campaign against it.

“The first requirement of law and justice is that all should be seen as equal without any prejudice,” he said in a speech at a lawyers’ convention on Saturday. Article 63(g) was applicable to ministers who were “maligning the army”, he said and asked the government why it was not taking any action against those ministers.

Chaudhry Shujaat also said: “We will not allow the Protection of Pakistan Bill to be passed in this form in the Senate.”

He said PML-Q had not been defeated in the last elections by votes but by the returning officers. “We would have no regrets if we had lost the elections through votes. If a judicial commission is set up or inquiry held, the rigging in the May 2013 elections would be proved.”

He said PML-Q was very much present at the grassroots and it should be made more active.

He said he expected the party’s lawyers’ wing to play its role where the government failed to ensure supremacy of the constitution and law. He said a legal cell had been set up in the Muslim League House to provide assistance to the poor.

He expressed the hope that the chief justice would take steps, including setting up a special cell, to save the overseas Pakistanis’ property from the land mafia.

The lawyers passed resolutions rejecting the Protection of Pakistan Bill and condemning murders of lawyers in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

Official held for illegal release of inmates

Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD: The disclosure of illegal release of three prisoners from a Karachi prison in 2010 has shaken up the interior ministry and prompted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest the central character of the scam — an official of the ministry.

Informed sources told Dawn that the prisoners had separately been convicted in the United Kingdom — two of them of murder and the third of a drugs-related crime. They were supposed to serve part of their sentences in Pakistan under an agreement with the UK.

The three were from Punjab and should have been kept in a prison in that province. But a section officer of the interior ministry, Ali Mohammad — now under arrest — managed to send them to the Karachi Central Jail.

In his communication with the prison authorities, he distorted facts about the length of sentences they had served in the UK and asked them to calculate remission thus paving way for their instant release. The Director of FIA’s Islamabad zone, Inam Ghani, said the remission was not applicable in these cases, but was illegally calculated and granted to the prisoners.

When the UK High Commission in Islamabad expressed a desire to see the prisoners, a drama was staged in collusion with a sub-inspector of Punjab police. He booked the three in a case showing that liquor had been recovered from their possession.

Ali Mohammad arranged a meeting of the HC’s representatives with the prisoners in a Punjab prison, giving the impression that they were completing their sentences there. After satisfying the British officials, the FIR registered against the three was quashed.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has directed the FIA to also investigate some officials of the Karachi prison and his ministry suspected of having played a role in the episode. The FIA is currently interrogating four officials of the jail.

Wall being erected around Musharraf’s farmhouse

Munawer Azeem

ISLAMABAD: Millions of rupees are being spent on building a security wall around the farmhouse of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in Chak Shahzad to ensure his safety.

According to sources, the interior ministry had sought recommendations from various departments concerned about the security arrangements around the farmhouse.

Officials of police, the interior ministry and the Capital Development Authority said it had been suggested that the wall should be built around the farmhouse, as had been done for the embassies and foreign missions.

The officials said the step had been taken after a number of influential people, including legislators and bureaucrats living in Chak Shahzad complained of inconvenience because of the security arrangements.

A police officer said the legislators and bureaucrats disliked search of their vehicles and saw it as a breach of privilege.

In the last week of February, the ministry approved construction of the wall ‘as soon as possible’ and issued directives to the CDA, the officials said.

In reply, the CDA approached the inspector general of Islamabad police and asked him to issue a recommendation for building the wall.

The CDA started erecting the wall after bringing in about a dozen concrete blocks that were 12-foot high, five-foot wide and six-inch thick. Cranes and other machinery were also brought in to place the blocks around the farmhouse in the form of a wall.

A CDA official said the wall would be erected at the front and on both sides of the premises within two weeks. “It will be a concrete wall with steel rods that can absorb shock of more than 50kg of explosives.” The police officer said the wall would help avoid human error in the security arrangements and also reduce the manpower required at the place. “It will help avert penetration into the farmhouse by scaling its walls, besides explosive attacks from the sides, especially after sunset.”

He said 198 police personnel were posted around the farmhouse and the Park Road, along with 105 personnel of Rangers. Seven police pickets and eight vehicles patrol the area round the clock.

“The number of security personnel and pickets is likely to come down by about 50 per cent after completion of the wall,” he added.

On March 10, the interior ministry issued an alert that Mr Musharraf might be assassinated by militants from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Al Qaeda. It warned that the militants might succeed in penetrating the security of the former president.

“It seems that terrorists have sympathisers in the security detail of General (R) Pervez Musharraf,” the alert said, adding that “the plan may materialise either en route, using IED and VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device), or inside/outside the courts,” similar to the assassination plot for former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.

Keeping in view the threat, it was suspected that guards of the former ruler or security personnel deployed with him might assassinate him, as a guard of the governor had done.

Islamabad police, Rangers and former army officers were providing security to Mr Musharraf and personnel from the armed forces also had a role, a police officer said.

The officials said the police personnel were not allowed near Mr Musharraf and his personal guards — retired army officers who had been performing the duty with him since he was the chief of army staff and president.

Only senior officers like a senior superintendent of police or SP interact with him.

The police were deputed at an outer cordon, the officials said, adding that personnel of the armed forces and Rangers were placed in the middle cordon.

Retirees’ reappointment goes against SC orders

Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD: In defiance of the Supreme Court’s instructions regarding restrictions on reappointment of retired government officials, the PML-N government is filling top positions in various institutions by appointing retirees on lucrative salaries, Dawn has learnt.

Recently, the government appointed some retired officials on a contract basis or extended the terms of some who had reached superannuation.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who retired in December, had taken a firm stance against reappointment of government officers who had completed service after reaching the age of 60. However, the government is violating the instructions of the apex court. The former chief justice had given these orders while hearing the Haj corruption case in 2012.

During the tenure of the PPP government, while deciding on a petition of PML-N leader Khwaja Asif, the apex court struck down many such appointments that had been made by the caretaker government on a contract basis.

Information Minister Pervez Rashid said the government was not violating any rules while appointing officials to important posts. “Those who are being appointed by the prime minister are neither our relatives nor are they the favourites of any leader of the ruling party,” he said.

The minister said the government was appointing officials purely on merit. “The government is in search of dedicated and committed professionals to fill top vacant positions and the prime minister is considering nothing but merit and eligibility.”

On Monday, the government appointed a retired bureaucrat, aged over 65, Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad Khan, as managing director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in the MP-II scale, on a contract basis for a period of two years, according to the notification issued by the Establishment Division.

Chaudhry Kabir started his career as a first class magistrate and worked in Sheikhupura and Lahore from 1974 to 1983, serving different positions. He was appointed legal consultant in the National Accountability Bureau and served from September 2006 to 2008 in Peshawar and Lahore. In Dec 2008, he was appointed consultant/adviser administration at the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab, Lahore.

Similarly, last week, the prime minister extended the term of the chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Aftab Sultan, who was to retire after reaching the retirement age. He was reportedly asked by the prime minister to continue until the ‘reforms’ being introduced in the spy agency were implemented.

The government also reappointed retired official Zafarullah Siddiqui in the PTDC, which is presently working under the ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination since the ministry of tourism devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Earlier, he had been made the managing director of the Malam Jabba resort. The resort was destroyed in a terrorist attack and he is presently serving as a consultant on a hefty package.

Two government organisations published advertisements in national dailies last Sunday inviting applications for some posts for which people aged even between 60 and 65 years can also apply.

A source in the Establishment Division said that usually government organisations advertise in such a way that they would benefit only the blue-eyed boys whom the government wanted to appoint on specific positions.

The Ministry of Planning, Development & Reforms published an advertisement for its Pak-China Economic Corridor Support Project and out of 31 posts, three (MP-I posts) are those in which people of 65 years of age can apply. They are project director, business process specialist and the head of the cell in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Another advertisement published by a government-run organisation required a senior communications specialist and editor newsletter, magazines, press releases, reports and documents, having a maximum age of 60 years, at the monthly salary of Rs200,000 and Rs150,000 respectively.

Decision to give peace another chance

Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD: Undeterred by Taliban announcement of not extending the ‘ceasefire’, the country’s civil and military leadership decided on Thursday to continue seeking opportunities for peace with the militants.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on National Security, which as per official statements appeared to have been sometime back secretly renamed as National Security Committee.

The session, presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was attended by ministers for defence, finance, interior and information, the adviser on national security & foreign affairs, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and chiefs of Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence.

The meeting, originally convened to dispel a perception of a civil-military discord, was dominated by discussions on a decision of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan of not extending the 40-day ceasefire, which had expired on April 10.

Following intense discussions, it was decided to give peace another chance.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was assigned to contact Maulana Samiul Haq and other members of the Taliban negotiating committee for exploring the possibility of a further extension in the ceasefire.

Mr Khan is set to meet the Taliban committee on Saturday to decide the future strategy.

Prime Minister Sharif asked the interior minister to address the Taliban grievances that could have caused them to abandon ceasefire.

Insiders claim that the military side’s position on the Taliban issue was that non-extension of ceasefire had put the militants’ sincerity about peace in question.

It was, therefore, agreed to offer continuation of peace efforts in somewhat firm way so that it is not taken as a sign of weakness.

“It was resolved that all policy options will be explored and all available resources will be utilised to ensure peace and security,” the statement said.

Chaudhry Nisar too, in a post-meeting statement, tried to sound tough: “I don’t think meaningful discussions can take place if the ceasefire is ended.”

The official statement on the meeting said: “The committee endorsed the vision to put Pakistan on the crossroads of opportunity rather than conflict to spur growth for prosperity of the people.”

CIVIL-MILITARY TIFF: There was hardly a direct mention of the recent civil-military tensions, but Mr Sharif indirectly referred to the matter by asking all state institutions to resort to available dispute resolution mechanisms, instead of washing dirty linen in public.

“The National Security Committee is an apex forum where every state institution gets an opportunity to provide inputs so that all national security-related decisions are taken through collective thinking,” the prime minister was quoted as having said.

Former secretary to head Wapda

Khalid Hasnain

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The government has decided to bring in a new chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) with the hope of effectively managing loadshedding in summer.

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The government has decided to bring in a new chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) with the hope of effectively managing loadshedding in summer.

A former secretary of commerce and water and power, Zafar Mehmood, who was heading the Punjab Public Service Commission, will now handle the most difficult and challenging task facing the government — to bring down power cuts to a bearable level.

A district management group (DMG) official of third common, Mr Mehmood carries an unblemished service record.

Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, the outgoing Wapda chairman, told Dawn that he had resigned because of personal reasons, including his ailing wife who needed constant care at home.

A civil engineer by profession from Sindh who joined Wapda in 1974 as junior

engineer, Mr Shah rose to the top in Sept 2012. Former PPP prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf sanctioned his appointment. According to one account, he was appointed to the position on the recommendation of Faryal Talpur, sister of former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

The resignation by Mr Shah, who held a tenured position of five years, didn’t surprise many in the power sector. Since electricity is at the top of the PML-N government’s agenda, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wasn’t happy with his performance from day one.

More than once he was reprimanded by the government over his performance. Having worked at a powerful position of member Wapda with his predecessor Shakil Durrani, Mr Shah is blamed for an inordinate delay in the completion of important projects such as Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project and Diamer-Bhasha dam. Other charges against him include diversion of funds from one project to another at personal whim and indulging in nepotism.

A government official privy to Mr Shah’s resignation told Dawn that the government was in possession of complaints against him by a foreign government involved in one of the mega projects. “Mr Shah himself knew his days were numbered within Wapda. He has been lucky to complete nearly one year with the present government. I think it’s a win-win situation for both the government and Mr Shah; otherwise, for his removal the government will formally have to charge-sheet him,” the official said.

However, Mr Shah insisted he had resigned of his own accord and was under no compulsion. He refused to comment on the allegations against him.

On the other hand, Zafar Mehmood, the incoming Wapda chairman, had worked as commerce secretary during 2011-12. He was a strong supporter of offering the most favoured nation status to India. He also worked as water and power secretary from June to October 2012, but didn’t go along well with then prime minister Raja Ashraf. Mr Mehmood was then sent to the establishment division as official on special duty (OSD).

Although summer is yet to arrive with its full fury, already six to eight hours of loadshedding has become common across the country.

Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif has already warned people to get ready for another sweltering summer with limited electricity, holding out a hope the situation will improve after three years.

Meanwhile, Raghib Abbas Shah confirmed on Thursday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had accepted his resignation.

Asked if he had tendered the resignation under pressure by the government, Mr Shah said: “There was no pressure at all. I have taken the decision because of some personal problems.”

He claimed that during his 19-month tenure a number of projects, including Satpara, Gomal Zam, Sabakzai dams and Jinnah Hydropower project, had been completed. A major technical work/consultation on Dasu and Diamier-Bahsa dams was also accomplished, he added.

Mr Shah had replaced Shakil Durrani, who relinquished the charge in September 2012 after completing the five-year tenure as chairman.

Army to provide security to polio teams

Ikram Junaidi

ISLAMABAD: In view of violent attacks on polio vaccinators across the country, the army has been asked to assist the civilian authorities in making the anti-polio campaign successful, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Since July 2012, about 40 health workers and law-enforcement personnel engaged either in vaccinating children or providing security to the vaccinators have been killed and 25 others injured in 28 targeted attacks in the country.

According to the ISPR, a meeting was held on Thursday at the army headquarters to “coordinate details of the campaign with particular emphasis on security and access to affected areas”.

Representatives of the WHO, officials of the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments, and those of the Fata Secretariat attended the meeting. The meeting underlined the need for undertaking all the measures necessary for turning Pakistan into a polio-free country.

Four bidders for 3G, 4G licences

Jamal Shahid

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has unveiled the names of the four cellular service providers who will bid for 3G and 4G licences on April 23.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has unveiled the names of the four cellular service providers who will bid for 3G and 4G licences on April 23.

According to an announcement on Thursday, China Mobile (Zong), Mobilink, Ufone and Telenor Pakistan had submitted sealed bids to PTA by the stipulated deadline on Monday. Warid Telecom, the fifth major player, chose to stay away from the bidding process.

Thursday’s announcement was made in accordance with the timelines stipulated in the information memorandum for the spectrum auction of next generation mobile services in Pakistan.

The base price for a 3G licence and 4G licence is $295 million and $210 million, respectively. Companies can bid for one 10MHz bandwidth or the entire spectrum consisting of three 10MHz bandwidths (a total of 30MHz).

Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman explained why two foreign companies — Turkcell and Saudi Telecom — that initially appeared interested in obtaining 3G and 4G licences, chose not to enter the bidding process. “They wanted exclusive rights to the next generation technology for at least a year before local operators got it. However, in the interests of fairness to all operators, the government did not accept their terms,” she said.

The introduction of 3G and 4G in the telecom sector is expected to revolutionise the way subscribers stay connected. The only fly in the ointment, according to the Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK), is that smartphone usage in the country is still less than 5 per cent. Nonetheless, says Wahaj-us-Siraj of ISPAK, the introduction of 3G/4G technology will catalyse the development of new and advanced applications for those who rely heavily on mobile phones and smartphones during the course of their daily routine.

“Improved voice quality is the first thing subscribers will notice. The current 2G or second generation technology offers a limited spectrum. There are far too many subscribers and networks are congested. This is why voice quality is poor and calls are often disconnected,” he said.

4G provides even faster speeds and ultra-broadband services, putting data-intensive services such as online gaming, high definition mobile TV and video conferencing within the reach of the average consumer.

But Siraj cautions that it could be a while before 4G services become widely available. “4G-compatible handsets are still quite expensive and out of reach for most subscribers,” he said, adding that he expected 4G to take off about two years down the line.

Head of public relations, Mobilink, Omar Manzur, told Dawn that all cellular service providers looked to the regulators to create a level-playing field to ensure healthy competition. “It will be interesting to see who bids for a 4G licence,” he said.

Telenor Corporate Communications Director Atifa Asghar said her organisation was also looking forward to a fair and transparent auction.

A spokesperson for Ufone said the company was satisfied with the process so far. “It’s about time the people of Pakistan get to experience the latest that mobile technology has to offer,” he said.

“It’s high time that the under-connected masses experience better technology. Both the public and private sectors should be working to come up with useful services, content and applications to fully utilise the potential of high-speed internet connectivity,” PTA Member Mudassir Hussain told Dawn.

SC takes up issue of deserted children’s adoption

Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has enlisted the assistance of keen legal minds as it seeks to answer key questions about the rights and modalities of adoption for parentless or deserted children in Islam.

“The answers to these questions could have far-reaching consequences and it is necessary to seek assistance before an order is passed,” Chief Justice (CJ) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani observed on Thursday.

The court took up the matter nearly 27 months after the last hearing on August 22, 2011. The matter was first brought to the notice of former CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry by philanthropist and social worker Abdus Sattar Edhi. In a letter to the then-CJ, Edhi complained that the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) was not issuing ‘Form B’ to children whose parentage was unknown or those who had been abandoned by their parents and were now living in Edhi shelters.

The three-member bench appointed former Balochistan High Court judge Tariq Mehmood and Karachi-based legal expert Makhdoom Ali Khan, as amici curiae to assist the court in deciding this complex matter.

Under Section 9(1) of the Nadra Ordinance 2000, the authority is bound to register every citizen, residing in or outside Pakistan, who has attained 18 years of age, as well as registering the birth of every child no later than one month after their birth.

In 2011, Chief Justice of Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi had asked four questions of public importance regarding the status of children without parents or legal guardians.

The questions were drafted in response to a Nadra application, calling the court’s attention to the trend of foreigners claiming guardianship of a large number of minors belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan.

In Pakistan, adoption is formalised only when a guardian court issues a decree or a guardianship certificate to an individual under the Guardian and Wards Act, 1890. Without a court decree, no-one can claim guardianship of any minor because the child must ultimately be registered with Nadra to obtain a computerised national identity card upon attaining 18 years of age.

The following questions were devised by the appellate court and are the subject of the court’s current deliberations.

— What is the concept of adoption in Islam and what are the rights of an adopted child and whether adoption of a Muslim child without the consent of his parents is permissible under the law.

— Whether a Muslim child can be adopted by a non-Muslim and guardian judge in special jurisdiction is authorised to grant guardianship certificate to a Muslim or non-Muslim to take the child out of its territorial jurisdiction.

— In case of parentless/deserted child, whether a Muslim state is not responsible for welfare of the child and permission is not required for adoption of such a child by any state authority.

— What are the aims and objectives of welfare organisations registered under the Volunteer Social Welfare Organisation Act 1961 and whether the custody of a child can be given by such an organisation to the Muslim or non-Muslim nationals or non-nationals.

In its order, the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan had also mentioned the advice it had sought from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a constitutional body with an advisory position in matters relating to the Islamic nature of laws. After a meeting in 2011, the CII had recommended that the words ‘unclaimed’ or ‘abandoned’ should not be written on a CNIC, because this would stigmatise these child. Instead, the CII suggested, their CNICs should carry the names of their legally adopted parents or guardian.

On Thursday, the court ordered its staff to provide all relevant documents to the amicus curiae so that they would be prepared when the matter is next taken up in the last week of May.

Pemra chief ‘sacked’

Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday removed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Chairman Chaudhry Abdul Rashid after a four-month confrontation with him.

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday removed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Chairman Chaudhry Abdul Rashid after a four-month confrontation with him.

According to an order, President Mamnoon Hussain dismissed Chaudhry Rashid and the government claimed that it had followed the modus operandi ‘prescribed’ by the court to remove him.

However, Chaudhry Rashid has decided to challenge his dismissal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which is already hearing a case against him.

Sources told Dawn that the government was trying to lodge an FIR against Chaudhry Rashid to arrest him so that he could not move the court against his removal.

“The government removed the Pemra chairman in disregard of the fact that his case is being heard in the high court,” Mr Rashid’s lawyer Hafiz Arafat Ahmed said.

Lawyer Wasim Sajjad will file a petition in the high court on Friday against the removal.

A tug of war between the government and Chaudhry Rashid surfaced soon after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power and started removing top officials of many organisations who were appointed by the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government. The chief of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) was one of them.

Apparently, the government wanted to appoint its ‘own’ man as Pemra chairman and therefore decided to dismiss Chaudhry Rashid on Dec 15 last year. It appointed another official of Pemra, Rao Tehsin, as its acting chairman.

The following day Chaudhry Rashid went to the Islamabad High Court, which nullified the appointment of Rao Tehsin as acting chairman and granted stay against the removal. It observed that due procedure had not been adopted, including issuance of a show cause notice and a charge-sheet citing reasons for the termination..

A source in Pemra said soon after the court’s order, the government issued a show cause notice and charge-sheet “to follow the instructions of the high court”.

Chaudhry Rashid was appointed Pemra chairman on Jan 26 last year by the PPP government.

The source said after the government failed to throw out Rashid from the office through administrative order, it used different tactics to force him to leave. Meanwhile, the government formed a three-member committee comprising members from the Pemra board. The Pemra chairman was rendered powerless as all his powers were transferred to the committee.

“An interesting situation arose when the committee struck down orders of Chaudhry Rashid and the latter cancelled the committee’s decisions,” the source said.

The lawyers of Chaudhry Rashid again filed a petition in the IHC informing the court that his all powers had been withdrawn and he was illegally stopped from performing his duties. The court is yet to announce its decision on the petition.

In the charge-sheet issued to Chaudhry Rashid, he was accused of giving landing rights to some private TV channels and indulging in corrupt practices. He refuted the allegations.

PPO to be softened, PM assures Zardari

Khawar Ghumman

ISLAMABAD: With an important Senate session under way, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met former president Asif Ali Zardari here on Wednesday and agreed to review the controversial Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) along with other anti-terrorism laws after taking the parties in parliament on board.

The law, which has generated much debate and attracted considerable criticism, has been passed by the National Assembly and presented in the upper house, where it does not stand much chance because the PML-N does not have a majority in the Senate.

The opposition parties in the Senate, including the PPP, ANP and PML-Q, have made it clear they will not let the bill pass in its current form.

Dawn has learnt that the issue took up a major part of the meeting that was held when Mr Zardari flew in from Karachi in the morning on a private jet provided by a well-known real-estate tycoon.

After the government agreed to address the reservations raised by the PPP, Mr Sharif tasked Zahid Hamid to start a consultation process to finalise the changes needed to make the draft bill palatable.

Although Mr Hamid holds the portfolio of science and technology, he handles legal and legislative matters for the government.

That the issue was discussed in the meeting was confirmed by the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office – albeit in a bland and matter-of-fact manner.

“Issues regarding various legislations, including the PPO, amendments in anti-terrorism act and future legislative agenda, were discussed in the meeting. It was agreed that all political forces should develop a consensus on legislations for their effective implementation,” it said.

“The meeting was primarily called to address the concerns of the PPP over the PPO. The presence of Senator Raza Rabbani, a constitutional expert from the PPP, and Zahid Hamid lends credence to this,” a government official told Dawn. Among the clauses that the PPP is said to have objected to include the provision to detain suspects for up to 90 days and the powers given to civil armed forces to shoot suspects at sight.

Unwittingly or not, the press statement also made a passing reference to the perceived tension in the civil-military relationship which has made headlines and dominated talk show discussions over the past week.

By adding that “They (two leaders) expressed their commitment to respect and to strengthen all institutions in order to address the many challenges faced by Pakistan…,” the statement may end up providing fodder to those who had speculated that Mr Sharif was meeting Mr Zardari because he needed to ensure that the political parties would stand by the PML-N in case there was any threat to the democratic system.

This ‘democracy is under threat’ storm in a teacup was triggered because Army Chief General Raheel Sharif had in a press statement on April 7 emphasised the need for mutual respect among all state institutions.

This was seen as a veiled warning to PML-N ministers, some of whom had spoken critically of retired General Pervez Musharraf after his indictment in the high treason case.

When asked if the civil-military relations figured in the meeting, the government official said, “The meeting focused on legislation and on the security situation in Karachi. But they may have discussed other issues during their one-to-one meeting” which continued for about half an hour.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Senator Raza Rabbani said the government had agreed to review the PPO and, in response, the PPP had assured its support to the ruling party provided it took all political parties on board on important issues. This, however, is not to say that other issues were not discussed.

The prime minister briefed the PPP team, which included Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah and Murad Ali Shah, an adviser to the Sindh chief minister, on federal projects in Sindh, in particular the Thar coal project.

Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and additional secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad also attended the meeting.

Other issues which were discussed included that of Etisalat which owes $800 million to Pakistan but refuses to pay till it is handed over certain properties owned by PTCL. A number of these properties are in Karachi and till the Sindh government transfers them Etisalat will not make the payment.

Later in the evening in the Senate, the deputy chairman Senate described the meeting as a positive tradition.

Senator Farhatullah Babar said in his speech that the discussions indicated the growing realisation of the need to strengthen parliament.

TTP ends ceasefire, says talks option open

The Newspaper's Correspondent

MIRAMSHAH: The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan announced on Wednesday that it was not extending its ‘ceasefire’, but said it would keep the dialogue option open provided the government took steps indicating ‘clear progress’ on its two key demands.

“The TTP central shura has unanimously decided not to extend the ceasefire”, its spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said in a statement, adding that the government had not demonstrated seriousness about Taliban’s demands for creation of a demilitarised peace zone and release of non-combatants.

The announcement was made after two days of deliberations by the central shura, which media reports had earlier claimed focused on clashes between two factions of the TTP in South Waziristan.

The government responded to “a gift of 40 days of ceasefire by the TTP”, the spokesman said, by launching an “operation root out” killing more than 50 Taliban fighters, arresting over 200 people for their alleged links with the TTP, carrying out raids and more than 25 search operations and torturing prisoners.

He accused the government of not bothering to consider what he called Taliban’s ‘reasonable and concrete suggestions’ about a peace zone and release of non-combatants.

He said the TTP had kept the negotiating committee abreast of the situation from time to time and made it clear that ‘violations by the government’ adversely affect peace talks.

Officials said the government had decided to release 12 militants as a confidence-building measure to keep the talks with Taliban going.

However, there is no indication that the government will agree to announce a peace zone in tribal areas to facilitate militants’ movement.

“The mysterious silence from state institutions on the fate of peace talks six days after the expiry of the extended ceasefire makes it abundantly clear that the real powers have become active and they want to impose their own decisions on the nation,” Shahidullah said.

MQM protests in Senate against ‘victimisation’

Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) staged a walkout from the Senate on Wednesday in protest against the alleged victimisation of party workers by law-enforcement agencies in Karachi.

Before announcing the walkout, retired Col Tahir Mashhadi called for a judicial probe into the alleged killings and disappearances of MQM workers.

The house witnessed another walkout, this one by all opposition members, over the government’s failure to provide a complete list of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) being privatised.

“The ongoing operation in Karachi is targeted against political workers and not against criminals,” said Senator Mashhadi of the MQM while speaking during the Zero Hour, alleging that 45 party workers had recently gone missing.

He said 13 bodies of the party workers had been found in different parts of Karachi and 20 more MQM activists had been picked up by security agencies.

During the question-hour session, opposition members protested over an incomplete reply offered by the ministry of finance about the proposed privatisation.

PPP’s Raza Rabbani said that through a written reply to a question asked by his party member Sughra Imam the finance ministry had stated that the government wanted to privatise 32 SOEs on a priority basis whereas the reply had mentioned the list of only 11 SOEs.

Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman, who was responding to questions on behalf of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, said that he had the list of all 32 SOEs and then started reading the names. However, the opposition members refused to hear him, saying the list should be presented before the house in a written form.

Deputy Chairman Sabir Baloch deferred the question for the next sitting after the opposition members staged a token walkout.

Meanwhile, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar regretted that there had been “a systematic erosion of parliament” due to some controversial decisions of the courts during the past five years when his party was ruling the country. He then listed a number of Supreme Court’s decisions which, according to him, had amounted to erosion of the authority of parliament.He called for revisiting the rule restricting debate on sub judice matters. Article 68 of the Constitution, he said, restricted such discussions only to the extent of personal conduct of a judge in the discharge of his duties and there should be no bar on discussing other issues without commenting on merits or demerits of any particular argument in a court.

He stressed the need for a parliamentary debate on the exercise of suo motu powers by judges.

The government introduced in the Senate the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2014, that had already been passed by the National Assembly. The bill was referred to the committee concerned.

Main accused will be court-martialled, govt tells SC

Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The case of 35 persons, who went missing from an army detention facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reared its head again in the Supreme Court on Wednesday when the federal government submitted a statement suggesting that the main accused — a junior army officer — would be court-martialled under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952.

At the last hearing, the court was told that an FIR had been registered against Naib Subedar Amanullah Baig and others — who were posted at the army’s internment centre in Malakand Fort — for removing 35 individuals from the detention facility. The case was registered under Section 346 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which deals with wrongful confinement in a secret place.

Subsequently the court ordered the federal and provincial governments to ensure diligent and transparent investigation, instructing them to add charges under whichever sections of the PPC they deemed necessary to be included in the case.

But when the case was taken up again by a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, Deputy Attorney General Waqas Dar submitted a one-page statement on behalf of the defence ministry, informing the court that the main accused was a serving member of the armed forces and subject to punishment under the PAA.

The court had taken up this matter to ensure compliance with its verdict of Dec 10 in the case of missing person Yasin Shah, initiated on the application of his brother Muhabbat Shah. In the verdict, the court held the army responsible for removing 35 persons from the Malakand internment centre.

In accordance with the court’s directions, the statement explained, the Malakand DCO was approached to settle the criminal case against the soldier, registered at the Malakand Levy Post. Jurisdiction over the accused was then shifted to army authorities for investigation and trial under the army act.

This revelation seemed to come as a bolt out of the blue for the bench, prompting Justice Khawaja to observe, “This amounts to closing the case”.

“Could Amanullah move the missing persons from the internment centre without approval,” he asked, adding that the court had heard a similar case of one Tasif Ali alias Danish. There, the judge said, it was held that civilian authorities have a right to investigate the matter once an FIR is registered.

Justice Khawaja said the court would seek assistance from Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt in deciding the matter and adjourned the case to next week.

In a statement, which was sent to the AG office, the defence ministry said: “The competent military authority under Section 94 of the PAA, Section 549 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Rule 373 of the Army Regulations read with Pakistan Army Act (Rule) 168 has taken due cognizance of the case and has decided that the accused be dealt with under PAA.”

An inquiry had already been ordered, the statement said, on March 10. The outcome of investigation and any action taken in the case against the accused would be communicated, for police record, in due course in the light of Rule 374 of army regulations, the communiqué explained.

Govt ‘unwilling’ to widen treason trial

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Indicating the federal government’s unwillingness to widen the scope of the treason case against retired general Pervez Musharraf, lead prosecutor Akram Sheikh said on Wednesday that it was not feasible to implicate the civilian and military officials who were alleged to have abetted the dictator in his proclamation of emergency in 2007.

Responding to arguments made by defence counsel Farogh Nasim a day earlier, Sheikh denied the existence of any record proving that Musharraf had consulted civil or military leaders prior to taking the unconstitutional steps of November 3, 2007.

“There is no record available with the Prime Minister Secretariat regarding any summary or advice issued for imposing the emergency,” Sheikh said. In normal circumstances, whenever the president is ‘advised’ by the prime minister on any matter, a summary is sent via the PM Secretariat to the president’s secretary general. In this particular case, Sheikh claims, no such communiqué exists.

It is important to remember that the order signed by Musharraf — who was also chief of army staff at the time — explicitly states that a state of emergency was declared in the country following a consultative meeting, which was attended by the prime minister, governors of all the four provinces, the vice chief, joint chiefs, corps commanders and the heads of the navy and air force, at the time.

Laying the burden of proof on Musharraf’s legal team, Sheikh argued that it was up to the accused to field evidence against those they were accusing. “It will be unconstitutional for the federal government to initiate proceedings against anyone merely based on allegations, without any tangible evidence,” he added.

In a written reply submitted to the Special Court, the prosecution maintained that the defendant’s application – asking to widen the scope of the treason case – had been filed prematurely, as formal proceedings against him had not been initiated and no witnesses had testified to the involvement of other individuals in the actions of Nov 3, 2007.

Sheikh insisted that the application was simply a delaying tactic and had not been filed “in good faith”. He also asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of the trial of Pervez Musharraf.

Meanwhile, Musharraf’s counsel Farogh Nasim sought an adjournment, citing other professional commitments. At his request, the court adjourned the matter until April 24. However, Justice Faisal Arab reminded the counsel that from that day the court would take up the matter on a daily basis.

The bench also fixed April 18 for an announcement on an application challenging the appointment of Akram Sheikh as lead prosecutor.

Security committee meets today

Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD: The government has called a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) for Thursday.

ISLAMABAD: The government has called a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) for Thursday.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has convened a meeting on National Security on April 17 (Thursday) at his official residence,” Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The news about the previously undisclosed meeting coincided with the Taliban announcement of not extending the 40-day `ceasefire’.

Formed last August, CCNS is the highest civil-military coordination forum on matters of national security and defence.

The top security body is headed by the prime minister and has foreign, defence, interior and finance ministers; Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff and the three services chiefs as its members. The official statement said information minister and heads of spy outfits – ISI and IB – would also be attending the meeting.

Apart from TTP decision on ending its version of ‘ceasefire’, recent civil-military tensions would form the background of the discussions at the second meeting of CCNS – the first this year.

While the agenda of the meeting is not known publicly, a source familiar with preparations said the agenda was quite expansive, but discussions on internal security and elections in Afghanistan would dominate the proceedings.

The civil-military tiff that made headlines and dominated the electrifying TV talk show circuit since Army Chief Gen Raheel’s public vow last week at the SSG Base near Tarbela of protecting “dignity and institutional pride” is unlikely to be discussed at the forum, but would definitely shape the atmospherics of the session.

Observers believe that much of the tensions between political and military leadership have already subsided as they point towards Army’s invitation for Prime Minister Sharif to be the chief guest at the passing out parade at Pakistan Military Kakul on Saturday (April 19).

Sharif would be accompanied by his defence minister Khawaja Asif, whose comments caused the army-government unease to go public. Moreover, the prime minister is planning a bit longer stay at the academy to show his ‘deference’ for the Army.

TALIBAN: Although the Taliban statement on calling off their ceasefire came almost at the same time as the announcement of the National Security meeting, the government knew about what was coming up. Intelligence agencies had already tipped about the militant designs.

Prime Minister Sharif’s national security aides would, therefore, be sharing their ideas about responding to the TTP move, the source said.

The meeting would take a stock of the Karachi Operation that is now into seventh month.

Six die, 280 missing as ferry sinks off S. Korea

AFP

JINDO (South Korea): South Korean rescuers and dive teams worked frantically under floodlights as fears rose for nearly 280 people missing after a ferry sank on Wednesday with 462 on board, mostly high school students bound for a holiday island.

National disaster agency officials said 179 people had been rescued, leaving about 280 “unaccounted for”. There were six confirmed deaths, including a female crewmember and a student.

There are concerns the death toll could rise sharply. The 6,825-ton Sewol listed violently, capsized and finally sank – all within two hours of sending a distress signal at 9am.

“I’m afraid there’s little chance for those trapped inside still to be alive,” one senior rescue team official, Cho Yang-Bok, told YTN television as divers struggled to access the submerged multi-deck ferry.

Dramatic television footage showed terrified passengers wearing life jackets clambering into inflatable boats with water lapping over the rails of the vessel as it sank 20km off the southern island of Byungpoong.

Some slid down the steeply inclined side of the ferry and into the water as rescuers, including the crew of what appeared to be a small fishing boat, pulled them to safety.

As night fell the coastguard said the rescue operation was continuing using floodlights and underwater flares.

“We won’t give up, although the situation is extremely worrying,” a coastguard spokesman said.

Several rescued passengers said they had initially been told to remain in their cabins and seats, but then the ferry listed hard to one side, triggering panic.

“The crew kept telling us not to move,” one male survivor told the YTN news channel. “Then it suddenly shifted over and people slid to one side and it became very difficult to get out,” he added.—AFP

PPP to be with govt against any ‘adventure’

Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: Expressing concern over the ongoing civil-military tiff, a key senator from the main opposition PPP extended on Tuesday his party’s support to the PML-N government against any “undemocratic adventurism”.

“In the event of any threat to the civil and democratic dispensation at the hands of undemocratic forces, civil society and democratic political parties must join hands to support democratic forces against any undemocratic adventurism,” Farhatullah Babar said in the Senate during the “Zero Hour”, which allows a member to raise and speak on any issue that is not on the agenda.

Expressing regret over “publicly expressed disagreements” between the civilian and military leaderships, Senator Babar, who is also official spokesman for former president Asif Zardari, said he feared that the ongoing row could threaten the civil dispensation.

Perhaps realising the sensitivity of the issue, no other member from the treasury or opposition benches spoke on the matter during otherwise dull proceedings of the house.

“For quite some time, there have been reports of a tiff between the civilian government and security establishment, highlighted by the army chief’s speech at the SSG Headquarters, followed by leaked reports about the displeasure expressed at the subsequent corps commanders meeting over recent statements of some ministers,” Mr Babar said, adding that the army’s reaction to the statements of federal ministers was “uncalled for” and “inappropriate.”

“Such kind of public posturing by the security establishment is uncalled for and disturbing,” he said, adding that he had reports that posters of the army chief, like those of politicians, had been put on display along a roadside in Nowshera.

Mr Babar asked the civil and political forces to join hands against “adventurism or threat of adventurism by any coalition of undemocratic forces”.

The house witnessed two walkouts – one by the combined opposition in protest against the government’s move to lay the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 and the second by Awami National Party (ANP) senators over the alleged kidnappings of the party’s workers in Karachi.

The first walkout was led by PPP’s parliamentary leader Raza Rabbani, who said the PMDC ordinance was “unconstitutional” in the light of the 18th Amendment. Under the amendment, the subject fell under the jurisdiction of the Council of Common Interests (CCI). His viewpoint was later supported by a number of other opposition senators.

The ANP members staged the token walkout after Shahi Syed alleged that his party’s workers were being kidnapped for ransom in Karachi in the presence of law enforcement personnel. He said intelligence agencies were tapping phone calls of politicians, but were unable to trace calls made by kidnappers.

Following the directives of Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari, the government also tabled a draft of the national security policy in the house.

Opposition senators had been protesting over non-presentation of the document, which had been introduced by the interior minister in the National Assembly a couple of months ago.

Earlier during the question hour, the government informed the house that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had so far disposed of or decided 6,532 corruption cases.

In reply to a question raised by PPP’s Sughra Imam, Law Minister Pervez Rasheed said the number of cases decided through courts, voluntary return, plea bargain and transfer to other departments stood at 3,518 whereas NAB had disposed of or closed 3,014 cases. He said 1,770 people had been convicted through courts or plea bargain. A present 1,467 cases are at various stages in NAB. The bureau has recovered Rs258.39 billion from offenders.

Militants attacked after soldier hurt in blast

Dawn Report

MIRAMSHAH/LADHA: Helicopter gunships attacked militant hideouts in North Waziristan on Tuesday after a security man was injured in a roadside explosion.

Local people and security officials said an improvised explosive device went off in the morning on Ghulam Khan Road near Saidgee checkpost along the Afghan border, 5km north of Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.

Four to five security personnel were carrying water from a nearby spring when the blast took place. One of them was injured.

Security personnel cordoned off the area and started looking for the suspects. The search continued for about 30 minutes during which suspected militant hideouts were attacked. There was no report of any casualty.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast which took place at a time when the shura of the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan is meeting to decide the future of peace talks and the TTP ceasefire which expired on April 10.

A Taliban leader said it appeared that some unscrupulous elements were trying to create a misunderstanding between security forces and the Taliban to derail the peace process.

Sources said the issue of infighting between two militant groups had affected the Taliban shura meeting.

They said the shura did not take any decision about the ceasefire, but asked all militant groups to abide by its previous decision.

Haji Dawood, an important leader who is a member of the political shura of the TTP’s Karachi circle, told Dawn by phone that a delegation of senior Taliban commanders would soon visit Afghanistan to meet TTP chief Maulana Fazlullah to seek his directive about the infighting between Mehsud Taliban groups.

He said the Shura took the decision after three days of deliberations.

He said the infighting between the groups of Sheryar Mehsud and Khan Said alias Sajna was an urgent issue for the shura which decided to refer the matter to Maulana Fazlullah.

He said the delegation would put forward opinions of both groups and the decision of the TTP chief would be acceptable to them.

He said most of Taliban seniors had reservations about extension of truce. They wanted some explanations from the government.

New governor suggests amnesty for militants

Zulfiqar Ali

PESHAWAR: Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi, who took oath as the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, has said there is no harm in granting amnesty to militants if they submit to the Constitution.

Talking to journalists at the Governor’s House, Sardar Mehtab said people involved in militancy had become hostage to the situation and their families were facing severe hardship. Many of them might be fed up with the situations, but were not able to find a way out, he added.

“I think the government should grant a general pardon,” the governor said.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel administered the oath to Sardar Mehtab who is politically affiliated with the PML-N.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, judges of the high court, federal and provincial ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats and civil and military officers.

A large number of PML-N workers converged at the Governor’s House for the occasion.

Answering a question, Sardar Mehtab said the ongoing peace process between the government and the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan was complicated. The process of such dialogues has its own dynamics and issues related to militancy cannot be resolved by TV talk shows.

He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was supervising the talks and the people of Fata should trust him.

When asked about the issue of missing persons who were allegedly in the custody of security forces, Sardar Mehtab said all innocent people would be released soon. But, he added, people involved in criminal activities would not be set free.

The new governor said that restoration of peace, good governance, reconstruction and rehabilitation of people of tribal areas affected by militancy were his priorities. “The return of internally displaced persons to their areas and their rehabilitation is a big task and this is my priority,” he said when asked about the main points on his list of work to be done in tribal areas.

He said a large number of people had suffered because of militancy in Fata and they needed immediate rehabilitation. The government should ensure its presence and restore the confidence of people in those areas of Fata where peace had been restored. He said he would review administration in the Civil Secretariat Fata.

“Tribal areas need very pro-active administration and people there should trust the government,” he said, regretting that successive governments over the past 65 years had ignored Fata.

He said Fata was a gateway to Central Asia and rich in mineral deposits and that there was a need to explore its potential. He said Fata would be brought to the mainstream and lasting peace would be established there.

“Violence and bloodshed are not our destiny. Time has come for us to resolve our issues,” he said, pledging that lawlessness would be eradicated from tribal areas at all cost.

Sardar Mehtab said over three decades of wars and conflicts in Afghanistan had badly damaged the social fabric of the society. He said a peaceful Fata was prerequisite for a prosperous Pakistan.

Musharraf treason trial still on hold

Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD: Despite his indictment, the Special Court constituted to try retired general Pervez Musharraf for high treason could not commence formal trial proceedings thanks to his erstwhile legal team’s delaying tactics.

On Tuesday, Musharraf’s new counsel, Barrister Farogh Nasim wrapped up arguments on a petition filed by the former president’s legal team, led by legal wizard Sharifuddin Pirzada. Nasim joined Musharraf’s defence after the previous team boycotted proceedings of the Special Court.

As per the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), once an accused party is indicted, a formal trial, with evidence and witnesses, should begin.

Advocate Ikram Chaudhry, a senior prosecutor in the trial, said two petitions were currently pending and, consequently, holding up Musharraf’s trial. The first seeks to make all those who helped Musharraf impose emergency on Nov 3, 2007 respondents in the treason case. The other petition relates to amendments in the Special Court Act 1976. However, Chaudhry was hopeful that once the petitions were dealt with, the Special Court would initiate formal legal proceedings against the former military ruler by next week.

On Tuesday, Nasim accused the prosecution of deliberately keeping an inquiry report from the defence counsel.

“Under Article 19 of the Constitution, every citizen of Pakistan has the right to access information in the public domain. In this particular case, a man is being prosecuted on the basis of evidence that has been kept deliberately hidden,” he said, adding that if the prosecution was reluctant to share the inquiry report – which was the basis for the high treason case – then the court could quash the entire process.

Referring to a newspaper report published on March 9, Nasim maintained that FIA Director Hussain Asghar, who was one of the four members of the team charged with investigating the treason case, opposed the singling out of Musharraf and recommended that the scope of the trial be widened to include those who abetted him when he declared a state of emergency in the country in November 2007.

Citing the proclamation that bought the emergency into effect, Nasim argued that the measure was taken after a meeting which was attended by “the prime minister, governors of all four provinces, corps commanders, the joint chiefs and the heads of all three armed forces”. Referring to the newspaper report, he said those mentioned in the proclamation should have been named as co-accused or abettors in the complaint filed by the government before the Special Court.

Even the federal secretaries who endorsed and executed the illegal orders of the military ruler have not been implicated, he maintained.

The counsel said the federal government had not denied or rebutted the news story. It is legal convention that if a news report is not rebutted or denied, it becomes undisputed evidence.

He asked the court to call for the inquiry report, as well as Hussain Asghar, the alleged author of a dissenting note that opposed only trying Musharraf for the events of November 2007.

Prosecuting attorney Akram Sheikh contended that Nasim, like his predecessors, was merely delaying the inevitable on the basis of conjecture. When he argued that the former military ruler was not entitled to examine the inquiry report, Justice Faisal Arab reminded him that it was up to the court to adjudicate on such matters. Sheikh conceded and agreed to produce the report before the court, but not for the benefit of the accused.

The bench had already dismissed an identical application seeking the trial of Musharraf’s aides and abettors, he said, adding that a detailed reply to petitions seeking to widen the scope of the treason trial would be filed by Wednesday.

Sharif, Zardari meet today

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari will hold a crucial meeting on Wednesday against the backdrop of the tensions between the civilian and military leaderships.

Although leaders of the PML-N and PPP confirmed the meeting between the two arch rivals of the past, they did not specify the agenda and only said they would review the political situation.

The meeting is taking place a day after PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar extended his party’s support to the PML-N government against any “undemocratic adventurism”.

“The two leaders will review the prevailing political situation in the country,” said Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Khursheed Ahmed Shah of the PPP. Asked if the controversial Protection of Pakistan Bill was a part of the agenda, he replied in the negative and said the meeting was being held to discuss some other issues of national importance.

Mr Shah said the meeting was taking place on the invitation of Prime Minister Sharif and Mr Zardari would specially fly to Islamabad from Karachi.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar advised the media to avoid speculations and wait till the meeting was over. “I will hold a news conference on Wednesday on issues relating to my ministry. Since the press conference will be held after the meeting between the two leaders, I will also respond to questions about it,” he said.

Sources in the PPP told Dawn that after receiving a request from Mr Sharif for a meeting last week, Mr Zardari held consultations with some of his close aides and agreed to meet the prime minister after getting a green signal from the party.

The two leaders had previously met at the ground-breaking of Thar coal power project in January.

Political experts believe that the meeting would have a far-reaching impact on the future political scenario as the two leaders are expected to jointly express their resolve to defend the democratic set-up against any potential threats.

Sources said some senior members of the two parties would also attend the meeting. The two leaders would formulate a strategy to unite all democratic forces on one platform, they added.

Tensions are high between the civil and military leaderships over the trial of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf under Article 6, particularly after the recent statements by some federal ministers criticising the army’s political role in the past and response to those by the army chief in his speech during the visit to the SSG Headquarters last week and later by the corps commanders at their meeting.

ECP let banned outfit contest 2013 polls

Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD: Taking advantage of loopholes in the electoral system of the country, an alliance of five politico-religious parties, including a banned outfit, managed to be recognised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and contest the general elections last year without any legal hitch or challenge.

The Muttahida Deeni Mahaz, formed in Dec 2012 under the leadership of Maulana Samiul Haq, the head of his own faction of JUI, also comprised Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, an organisation banned by the government in Feb 2012.

But a document available with Dawn shows that the fact had been concealed from the ECP to allow the outlawed ASWJ chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi to contest polls under the alliance’s umbrella.

Instead of the ASWJ, the Pakistan Rah-i-Haq Party, led by former Vice President of ASWJ Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Qasmi, was shown as a component of the alliance when a request was made for allotment of an election symbol. Informed sources told Dawn that Pakistan Rah-i-Haq Party was in fact the political wing of the ASWJ.

The ASWJ’s Punjab Information Secretary, Ghulam Mustafa Baloch, confirmed that the party was a component of the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz. He, however, did not reply to a question as to why the fact was concealed from the ECP when the alliance applied for the election symbol before 2013.

“I am in a meeting right now and will get back to you,” he said, but never returned a call.

The chief of ASWJ, formerly known as the Sipah-i-Sihaba Pakistan (SSP), Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, contested elections from NA-89, Jhang, but was defeated by Sheikh Akram of PML-N by around 3,000 votes. He challenged the eligibility of the winning candidate alleging that he was a loan defaulter.

On the basis of his petition, an election tribunal in Faisalabad disqualified Sheikh Akram and declared Ludhianvi as the winning candidate, a decision which surprised many legal experts who believe that the tribunal has overstepped its powers. An expert said that under Section 67 (C) of the Representation of People Act, 1976, the tribunal had powers to declare the election of the returned candidate void.

He, however, said it was not a discretionary power and applied only if some apparent error in vote count was discovered or some manipulation in the result was proved.

“In such circumstances, normally the election is declared to be void and a re-poll is ordered,” he said.

An ECP official confirmed that the ECP had received a copy of the tribunal’s order, which would soon be placed before the commission for appropriate orders. Another ECP official said that under the law, the ECP had no powers to set aside a judgment of the tribunal appointed by it. The Supreme Court was the only forum to challenge the decision.

The disqualified MNA of PML-N, Sheikh Muhammad Akram, said he would challenge the tribunal’s decision in the Supreme Court.

In the 2002 general elections, head of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Maulana Azam Tariq contested the polls as an independent candidate from NA-89, Jhang, from jail and won the seat.

He contested against two political stalwarts, Dr Tahirul Qadri of Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Sheikh Waqas Akram. Maulana Tariq secured 41,425 votes while Sheikh Waqas Akram bagged 31,959 votes, followed by Dr Tahirul Qadri who clinched 31,483 votes. Maulana Azam Tariq’s vote gave majority to the PML-Q government led by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who went to see him to muster his support.

Maulana Tariq was killed in Islamabad and Sheikh Waqas Akram won his seat in by-elections by defeating Maulana Alam Tariq, the brother of Maulana Azam Tariq.

In the 2008 general elections, the contest in NA-89, Jhang, was mainly between Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi of SSP (as an independent candidate) and Sheikh Waqas Akram of the PML-Q. Mr Akram defeated Maulana Ludhianvi by securing 51,976 votes while Maulana Ludhianvi bagged 45,216 votes.

In 2013 elections, Mr Akram was to contest polls on a ticket awarded to him by the PML-N, but he was disqualified for possessing a fake degree and the ticket was awarded to his father Sheikh Mohammad Akram, who won the polls. He has now been disqualified by the election tribunal and is set to fight a legal battle against Ludhianvi in the Supreme Court as the latter has been declared winner by the tribunal.

Senators bind PM to attend session

Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: The government faced humiliation on the opening day of the Senate’s new parliamentary year on Monday when the house approved amendments to bind the prime minister to attend a session of the upper house at least once a week.

Besides, the government received a warning from Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari over its failure to present the National Security Policy before the house despite his directive during the last session.

The chairman directed Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq to lay the policy before the Senate for a debate on Tuesday (today) and warned that otherwise he would refer the matter to the privileges committee.

A motion proposing the amendment to the Senate rules making it mandatory for the prime minister to attend “Zero Hour” at least once in a week was tabled by Tahir Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) after a walkout by opposition members over continued absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the upper house.

The opposition members complained about an “unannounced boycott” of the Senate by the prime minister, recalling that he had not turned up in the house during the entire parliamentary year, making a new record in parliamentary history.

The house witnessed a rumpus before the opposition walkout when the PML-N’s Jaffar Iqbal said the prime minister was busy dealing with national challenges and, therefore, had no time to come to the Senate.

The opposition members staged a walkout over Mr Iqbal’s remarks after PPP’s Raza Rabbani termed them an “insult” to the house.

Raja Zafarul Haq, Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal and Syed Zafar Ali Shah of the ruling PML-N, which is in minority in the 104-member upper house, made futile attempts to block the passage of the amendment by demanding time for consultation and a debate on the matter. But the opposition forced Deputy Chairman Sabir Baloch to put the motion to a vote.

Interestingly, despite a hint by the deputy chairman to the ruling party, no one from the treasury members moved an amendment or demanded that the amendment be referred to the committee concerned for discussion.

At one stage, Zafar Ali Shah desperately launched a personal attack on MQM chief Altaf Hussain in an apparent move to provoke the party’s Senators to stage a walkout instead of moving the amendment, but the deputy chairman expunged the remarks to calm tempers.

The speakers and deputy speakers of the provincial assemblies watched the ruckus from the visitors’ gallery. They are in the capital to participate in the three-day Speakers’ Conference.

The new rule seeks to rename “Zero Hour” as “Prime Minister’s Zero Hour”. Zero Hour represents a free hour in which the members can ask any question of national importance without prior notice.

“The prime minister shall, whenever possible, personally respond to points raised by members when he is present in the house. However, the prime minister shall attend the ‘Prime Minister’s Zero Hour’ at least once in each week when the Senate is in session,” says sub-section 2A inserted in Rule 61 of the Rules of Business and Conduct of Procedure in the Senate 2012.

Under the new arrangement, it would be a joint responsibility of the leader of the house and the chief whip to invite the prime minister to attend the Zero Hour and to inform members about his attendance one day in advance.

“If the prime minister is not available, the minister concerned shall respond. If both the prime minister and the minister are not present, the chairman Senate, if deemed necessary, may require the minister to respond to the point raised by the members on a date to be fixed by him,” says the new rule.

It further says: “There shall be no debate or voting on a statement made by the prime minister during the Zero Hour. The member in whose name the item stands shall make a brief statement and the minister concerned shall make a statement on the subject. The statement by the member shall not exceed 10 minutes and the statement by the minister shall not normally exceed 15 minutes.”

Also on Monday, two private members’ bills -- the National Cyber Security Council Bill 2014 and the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) (Amendment) Bill 2014 -- were tabled in the Senate by Mushahid Hussain and Raza Rabbani respectively. Both the bills were referred to standing committees.

The house unanimously passed three resolutions. Through the first resolution moved by Farhatullah Babar of the PPP and Afrasiab Khattak of the ANP, the house called upon the government to work out a plan to cleanse Fata of militant networks, provide compensation to the victims of militancy and relief to displaced people, rehabilitate them and launch a programme for socio-economic uplift of the tribal people.

Through the two other resolutions, the house called for transparency in the award of the contract of Reko Diq Mines Project and asked the government to provide clean drinking water to Islamabad villages.

Trade tops agenda of talks with S. Korean PM

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Trade was high on the agenda when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif played host to his South Korean counterpart Chung Hongwon on Monday.

ISLAMABAD: Trade was high on the agenda when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif played host to his South Korean counterpart Chung Hongwon on Monday.

Mr Hongwon’s trip was described by Pakistan government as ‘historic’ for being the first by a Korean premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations 31 years ago.

The Korean premier is in Pakistan on a four-day trip accompanied by his Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Cho Taeyul and Vice Minister for Trade and Energy Han Jinhyun.

While the agenda of the visit predominantly pertained to trade and investment, the two sides nevertheless had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral relations and regional and international matters of mutual interest.

Diplomatic observers did not expect major decisions during PM Hongwon’s trip as executive power in Republic of Korea lies with their president.

Mr Sharif, however, used the occasion to convey Pakistan government’s intentions of strengthening relations with Korea and listed the steps he saw as important for bringing the two countries closer.

“Traditional cordial relationship between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea needs to be transformed into a substantive partnership in trade, investment, energy and infrastructure,” Mr Sharif told Mr Hongwon during a one-to-one meeting before the delegation level talks.

Mr Sharif’s blueprint for stronger Pakistan-Korea ties included a free trade agreement also covering investment and services.

Man held in Bhakkar for cannibalism

The Newspaper's Correspondent

BHAKKAR: A villager was arrested on Monday on suspicion of cannibalism after the heads of two babies were found at his house. His brother managed to escape, prompting police to launch a hunt for him.

BHAKKAR: A villager was arrested on Monday on suspicion of cannibalism after the heads of two babies were found at his house. His brother managed to escape, prompting police to launch a hunt for him.

Mohammad Arif and Farman had been found guilty of the same crime in March 2011 and jailed. They were released in May last year after serving a two-year sentence.

On Monday police raided their house in Kahawar Kalan village, near Darya Khan town in Bhakkar district, after neighbours complained of an overpowering stench.

A grisly scene awaited them – the heads of the two babies.

Arif admitted having eaten the child after his brother had stolen the body from a graveyard.

“Arif has been arrested and he has admitted that his brother brought the body of the baby from the nearby graveyard,” Ameer Abdullah, police chief of Bhakkar district, told reporters.

“Arif said the two of them cooked the body and ate it.”

Another police official said the men’s wives and other family members had left them several years ago and now they had the whole house to themselves.

Since there is no law against cannibalism in the penal code, Arif has been charged with dishonouring a body and public order offences.

The same charges were made three years ago. On that occasion police had found the body of a 24-year-old woman who had died of cancer at the two men’s house. A leg was missing since they had eaten it.

Talking to Dawn, Najeebullah Khan, MPA of PML-N from Darya Khan, called upon the government to consider making a law to discourage cannibalism.

The shocking discovery sent a wave of panic through the village, forcing many people to check the graves of their relatives.

According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has called for a report from the Bhakkar DPO about the episode.

Can people survive on minimum wage, SC asks

Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the federal and provincial governments for data to prove that they were doing enough to ensure that the citizens could survive on the minimum wage and had access to essential food items, as envisioned in Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution.

The directions came after Dr Shakeel Ahmed Khan, wheat commissioner for the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, told the court the government’s standard minimum daily intake requirement was 2,350 calories per adult.

The court also asked Dr Shakeel to submit data showing how a family of two adults and two minors could survive with dignity as per Article 14 of the Constitution on the minimum wage of an unskilled worker — Rs7,000 to Rs9,000.

The court said the data should be ready when the bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, convenes on April 22.

The directions came on Monday, as the two-member bench was hearing an application filed by Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, on the plight of hapless citizens who are being forced to buy flour at exorbitant prices despite the fact that Pakistan is proclaimed to be “an agricultural country”.

Liaquat Baloch’s counsel Advocate Taufiq Asif told the court that it was essential to conduct spot checks to determine the actual situation, because wheat flour is usually sold at either higher-than-sanctioned rates or is not as readily available in the market as the government claims it is. Accepting the suggestion, the court ordered that four committees, one each for the provinces, be constituted to carry out spot checks. Each committee would also include the law officer of that province.

Liaquat Baloch moved the application last year, after receiving a letter from Chakwal-resident Malik Mohammad Nazeer. In the letter, Nazeer complained that a kilogram of flour was sold in the open market for Rs42/kg, as opposed to Rs13/kg just five years ago.

The petitioner argued that a steep rise in the cost of living was taxing the meagre resources they had, making it hard to make ends meet and put food on the table for their families.

This minimum standard, the court observed, would ensure that the fundamental rights mentioned in Articles 9 and 14 and the principles of policy set out in Article 38 of the Constitution were upheld.

Senator Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana, appearing as amicus curiae, asked the court to order the federal government to convene a meeting of all stakeholders to devise a plan to ensure citizens’ fundamental rights were being protected.

The senator revealed that Afghan businessmen were illegally buying wheat directly from growers and smuggling it out of Pakistan. Here, Justice Khawaja added that he had personally seen a large convoy of wheat-laden trucks go through a border crossing between Balochistan and Afghanistan.

Additional Attorney General Atiq Shah told the court that all told, Rs40.1 billion was given out as a subsidy to the country’s farmers every year, but admitted that the people looked to the Supreme Court to deliver them from government inaction.Senator Rajwana also criticised hoarders, ‘middlemen’ and flour mill-owners that hold back essential food items such as wheat -- especially during the month of Ramazan -- just to drive up the price. Referring to a recent visit to Ormara and Gwadar in Balochistan, he remarked that he was deeply moved by the abject poverty that seemed to prevail there. “It is regrettable that while the land holds immense underground wealth, the residents of the province were starving,” he said.

He called for a revival of price control mechanisms, strengthening the magistrates and holding the Federal Board of Revenue and the Customs department accountable for allowing essential food items to be smuggled out of the country under their noses.

Music cheers Jaswant Singh to fight on

The Newspaper's Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Most people who remember how the Agra summit came tantalisingly close to rare breakthrough between India and Pakistan in July 2001 can hardly forget the odd man out on the occasion.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh stood alone in the pack of hardliners in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who collectively torpedoed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s peace initiative with Pakistan’s military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Singh appeared heartbroken and even helpless before the hawks even if he had to carry on stoically by berating Pakistan for the turn of events.

Mr Singh is not as lonely though after his humiliation and eviction from the BJP.

Sweta Dutta of Indian Express went to his Barmer constituency on the border with Pakistan to discover a musical soiree passing as election campaign.

“Over the past few weeks, the emotional Malani populace has taken on itself the task of avenging the “humiliation” of “Daata”, as Jaswant Singh is fondly called in Barmer,” Ms Dutta wrote.

“The Manganiyars sing to him folk songs that once eulogised Maharana Pratap, calling him “Malani ro sapoot” (son of the soil), and dedicate to him couplets that once praised local deity Maa Bhatiyani.”

At 76 and on his 10th and final campaign, says Ms Dutta, Mr Singh hops onto a camel, makes a bumpy ride from one meeting to another in the desert, and braves the blistering summer sun without a grimace on his face.

In a constituency that he notes “is larger than a country like Israel”, his family has once again fanned out to seek votes, as it has done for decades, the women in their veils and the men with their route maps.

Earlier they had hailed the BJP but this election they tell listeners that Daata has been wronged and with him the people of Barmer too have been cheated. Daata (father or eldest male member in Rajput families) and his honour must be protected after “Vasundhara has wronged him like a bandit”.

“Wife Sheetal Kanwar holds fort in Jaisalmer, daughter-in-law Chitra Singh travels to the farthest villages on the peripheries, and younger son Bhupendra Singh chauffeurs Jaswant around protectively,” goes Ms Dutta’s narrative.

“Ticket kati hai, haath nahi,” Chitra tells a gathering in Beri village. “It is a matter of honour. Daata laid the foundation of the party and now this is what they do to him.” The gathering nods in agreement.

Elder son Manvendra, held back by his duties to the BJP even after being suspended, stays off canvassing for his father but as a sitting legislator he cannot avoid social functions.

Here they look expectantly at him, hoping he would come out in open support, but Manvendra leaves it at, “May the best candidate win.”

Hundreds of kilometres away, Jaswant himself narrates his story, village after village, meeting after meeting, how he had proposed Raje’s name for chief minister in 2003, how he had guided her, and how she has now denied him his last wish.

Jaswant has a plan in place, a core team comprising investment bankers, public relations experts and professionals who have taken a sabbatical to offer support to Jaswant, whose 15 Teen Murti Lane residence they had once unabashedly partied in.

“It is time to pay him back,” says one of them. But it is no mean task to impress this perfectionist.

“He makes you dot your t’s and cross your t’s. Not a word can be out of place. And with an elephant’s memory, he pulls us up if we miss out anything,” says Abinash Choudhary, a member of his support team.

Jaswant calls press conferences to preempt media speculation. He hands out carefully worded statements, invites questions, stays until the last one is asked.

He starts out with a presentation on him, his days as defence, external affairs and finance minister, his contribution in opening up the rail link with Pakistan. The visuals whip up emotions not only among the audience, but for Jaswant too; his eyes brim up.

“The biggest challenge is communicating his election symbol, a battery-operated torch,” observes the scribe. “The campaigners hand out pamphlets that highlight it at number 7. For Jaswant it had begun with a star and is ending with another source of light, the lotus he had flaunted now withered.”

No deadlock in talks: Nisar

Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Sunday that there was no deadlock in the talks with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Sunday that there was no deadlock in the talks with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

He said at a press conference that the talks could not take place last week because some members of the government committee had gone abroad.

“There is no deadlock. It was agreed in the previous meeting of the government and Taliban committees that the next round of talks would begin any time after Sunday.”

The minister said the government would release another 13 ‘non-combatant’ Taliban prisoners ahead of the fresh and ‘crucial’ round of talks to be held in a couple of days.

He claimed that the government was only releasing ‘non-combatants’ and ruled out the possibility of releasing any combatant. “Neither the Taliban have made any such demand nor we intend to release any militant.”

Chaudhry Nisar said that 19 prisoners released earlier were non-combatants.

He dispelled a perception that the government and armed forces were not on the same page on the issue of release of Taliban prisoners. “Most of the prisoners are in the internment centres of the army. So, how it is possible that we can announce release of prisoners without taking them (army) into confidence?”

The minister said the government and army were jointly taking the dialogue process forward. “There can be some difference of opinion but there is no difference of policy.”

He, however, parried a question about laws under which the army had detained the prisoners and now the government was releasing them.

He did not give the number of Taliban prisoners at present in custody of the armed forces or security agencies, declaring it a sensitive matter.

In reply to a question, Chaudhry Nisar claimed that people who had been kept at the army’s internment centres had been counted but the number of other ‘missing persons’ was not known. Even the Supreme Court was unable to get the exact number of the missing persons, he added.

“These people have been under detention for 10 years.” This question, he added, should be addressed to those who had put them under detention.

The minister said the government had also asked the TTP to release ‘non-combatant abducted captives’ in return for the release of more than 30 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. The TTP had already been asked to release sons of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer and all those who had been kidnapped for ransom, he said.

The minister termed the next phase of talks ‘crucial and difficult’. In the next meeting, he said, both sides would come up with a comprehensive agenda that would take the peace process forward.

He once again warned the nation against internal and foreign elements who wanted to sabotage the peace process.

He said he desired that the talks should be held in Peshawar or in another settled area and he had already suggested some places to the TTP. Moreover, he said, there had been reports of fighting between the militant groups in the tribal areas and the government wanted to hold dialogue in a peaceful environment.

Chaudhry Nisar welcomed the TTP statement declaring that attacks on innocent people and market places were un-Islamic and inhuman and said this was the outcome of the peace process.

He lashed out at political parties which had been criticising the government policy of holding talks with the TTP and praised the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf for demonstrating ‘patriotism’ and not doing point-scoring on security issues.

He also lauded the Jamaat-i-Islami and Aftab Sherpao for not politicising security matters.

The minister said the war against terror could not be fought and won by security forces alone and the whole nation would have to unite to win it.

He said cessation of hostilities and violence was still in place and the other side was willing to continue it.

Separatist movement funded by India: Zehri

The Newspaper's Staff Correspondent

QUETTA: Senior Minister and Balochistan PML-N chief Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri has alleged that India has been financing a separatist movement in the province and expressed fear that a ‘superpower’ and some other neighbouring countries may also extend financial support to it if the Gwadar port is made operational.

Talking to reporters at his official residence here, he said the Gwadar port had great geo-political importance and making it operational might affect the business of some other ports in the region.

“India is involved in financing separatists’ movement in Balochistan and a superpower and some neighbouring countries may contribute in efforts to destabilise Pakistan by creating more unrest in the province if the deep-sea port of Gwadar is made operational,” he said.

However, the new port would greatly boost the economy of the region by increasing trade activities through an economic corridor for China, Central Asian states, Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said.

“Gwadar port will boost our national economy and create job opportunities for thousands of youths in Balochistan.”

He said he would fully back Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch in measures to be taken for restoration of peace. “Progress and prosperity cannot be achieved until peace is restored in Balochistan,” he said.

He said the PML-N would observe a ‘martyrs’ day’ at Anjira, Khuzdar, on April 17 and hold a condolence reference for his son Mir Sikandar Jan Zehri and other members of his family who had died in various attacks.

Govt-AGP tussle deepens

Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government has quietly sidelined the Auditor General of Pakistan to strengthen its control over officers auditing accounts of billions of rupees, but the AGP appears not willing to take the government actions lying down and reportedly plans to strike back.

A native of Multan, AGP Buland Akhtar Rana has been facing opposition from the PML-N leadership since his appointment in August 2011 by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Then leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and now Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had resigned as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in November 2011 and appointment of Rana was one of the reasons for his decision.

In February, the government took away AGP’s power to appoint accountants general and assigned it to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) working under the finance division.

Sources in the AGP told Dawn that the tussle between the PML-N government and AGP Rana started last year after the government released about Rs500 billion to independent power producers (IPPs) directly from the State Bank to ease power crisis. The AGP opposed the move and the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR), Tahir Mehmood, a subordinate of the former, issued instructions to the SBP not to release funds directly to the government.

Consequently, the government suspended Mr Mehmood for allegedly violating discipline. He obtained a stay order against the decision, but the court’s ruling could not bring him back to the office till his retirement on April 5. Because of the litigation, the AGPR had to spend last months of his 34-year service on benches outside the courtroom. The court decided the matter a couple of days after his retirement, but it was too late.

At a time when the court was examining the suspension and sidelining of Mr Mehmood, the government curtailed the powers of the AGP and placed the office of AGPR under the control of the finance ministry. The government assigned the responsibility of appointing AGPR to the CGA.

The amendment made to the rules of 1974 in this regard was communicated to the AGP on Feb 17. It reads: “The Auditor General shall not make lateral interventions and transfers/postings in the offices under the control of Controller General of Accounts.”

Soon after the amendment, CGA Farrah Ayub Tareen appointed on Feb 24 Arif Hussain as additional AGPR. Mr Hussain assumed charge on March 11.

But AGP Rana suspended Mr Hussain on April 1. Before suspending the officer, Mr Rana in a March 19 letter questioned the CGA’s authority to transfer Mr Hussain without consulting the AGP office.

In a reply the following day, the CGA said in a letter that under the office memorandum of Feb 17, “posting/transfer within the CGA organisation requires no consultation/endorsement from the AGP office”.

According to the sources, Mr Rana wanted to challenge the memorandum but for certain reason refrained from doing so.

However, a director general at the AGPR Punjab challenged the Feb 17 memorandum in the Islamabad High Court.

In his petition, DG Zahid Rasheed contended that the finance division recently tried to undermine the authority of officers of the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Services by claiming their indirect control. “The motive of the finance division is no secret. During the tenure of the last prime minister (Raja Pervez Ashraf) the AGPR stopped disbursement of development funds for his constituency by way of pre-audit methodology prescribed by the AGP.”

He said the federal budget was of around Rs3,400 billion and that of the provinces was also more or less the same. Hence thousands of billions of rupees passed through the mechanism of pre- and post-audit which was exclusively to be supervised by the AGP.

“The impugned office memorandum is an attempt to take away the basic mechanism of pre-audit from the control of AGP and give it to the finance ministry/executive. It is an attempt to put audit machinery under the administrative control of the executive to manoeuvre and create pores in the grants and disbursement of public money,” the petition said.

Economists are of the opinion that executive oversight of the regulatory body will weaken the audit mechanism.

Renowned economist Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan told Dawn that the AGP had been given the constitutional cover in order to ensure an independent audit mechanism. “Under the Constitution, an AGP cannot be removed or sacked from the post before completing three years in the office.”

In order to carry out fair and transparent audit of the national exchequer, the audit department must be independent and free from government influence, he added.

Despite repeated attempts, Rana Asad Amin, spokesman for the finance ministry, could not be contacted.

Irritant in civil-military relations ‘to be overcome’

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan admitted on Sunday that remarks made recently by some federal ministers about the army and the response from the latter had caused an ‘irritant’ in the otherwise excellent civil-military relationship.

“Yes, there is an irritant but we will overcome it,” he said when asked to comment on the situation after the scathing criticism of the army by Khawaja Asif and Khawaja Saad Rafiq and the reported response from the army chief and other generals at the recent corps commanders conference.

He said there had been ‘100 per cent understanding’ between the army and the government on all issues. The civil-military relationship had never been as positive in the past as they were today, he said, adding that the government had no problem in working with the former army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the present army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif.

According to the minister, the present civil-military relationship is “frank, innocent and Pakistan-focussed”. He said they had successfully ‘ironed out’ differences of opinion in the past.

Edicts issued by Indian maulanas leave Muslim voters confused

The Newspaper's Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Even before the parliamentary races began, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced its electoral strategy of uniting the Hindus and dividing the Muslims to win seats.

Now The Hindustan Times Correspondent in Lucknow Sunita Aaron says in an analysis published on Sunday that the maulanas have had their share of spreading confusion among the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, and this will inevitably help the BJP in the elections. Have the religious clerics bargained a quid pro quo?

In 2008, says Aaron, one of the world’s biggest and influential Islamic seminaries, Darul Uloom Deoband, which doesn’t entertain politicians, issued a fatwa that said India is a democratic and secular country, whose electoral politics can’t be assessed on the basis of Islamic scriptures.

“This method would bring nothing except disturbance and confusion. However, one should vote for parties and leaders best suited for both Muslims and the country,” the fatwa said, in reply to questions ranging from whether one should vote for a criminal politician to whether a Muslim loses his faith if he votes for BJP.

Clerics at Lucknow’s Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, another internationally renowned centre of Islamic studies which receives politicians of all hues without rallying behind them, has also resisted voicing partisan opinions about elections.

Compared to the seemingly neutral position of these seminaries, Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari recently urged Muslims to vote for the Congress, saying it will “strengthen secularism”. He also expressed support for Mamata Banerjee and Congress’ ally Lalu Prasad.

Syed’s brother Yahya Bukhari, on the other hand, described Congress as a “hidden enemy” under whose rule Muslims had to suffer several riots. Influential Shia cleric Kalbe Jawad declared a vote for the Congress meant “betraying Islam”.

Many Muslims feel that by endorsing parties, often invoking religion, mullahs are not only dividing the community but helping the politicians they intend to fight.

Prof Rizwan Husain, an academic based in Aligarh, after casting his vote posted on his Facebook account: “As theologians, mullahs should not become political educators. We urge them not to confuse Muslim masses with their political fatwas. Auctioning, bartering and selling Muslim vote for personal gain is not an act of piety.”

The academic’s remarks that such fatwas end up confusing voters appear apt, as reports coming out of communally polarised west UP confirm the divergent statements by Muslim clerics ahead of the polls divided Muslim voters sharply, rather than uniting them as a bloc that votes tactically.

“Najma and I have just returned after casting our votes. It feels as if it is a referendum vote on ‘Modi sarkar'. The Muslim vote, however, seems divided because of varying endorsements of candidates by Shia and Sunni clerics,” said another Facebook post.

Dr Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, head of the department of law at Shia College in Lucknow, too blames maulanas for the division of Muslim votes in the first phase of Lok Sabha election in UP.

He said many of his Hindu friends had told him BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rise had been helped by “unwarranted reactions of maulanas”.

Although Muslims have a strong presence only in 46 of 545 seats in Parliament, they can influence the outcome of elections in more seats. They have often been derided by right wing political formations as a vote bank used by Congress and other secular parties.

Much has changed since the 1990s when both Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh Yadav publicly snubbed the senior Shahi Imam, Abdullah Bukhari, telling him not to meddle in politics. Thereafter, both enjoyed love and hate relationship with his son Ahmed Bukhari. Most political parties have been seen cosying up to Muslim religious personalities.

Senior lawyer and Uttar Pradesh additional advocate general Zafaryab Jilani believes there is no harm in maulanas guiding Muslim voters.

“This is not the first time they have supported a particular party. They have been doing it in every election,” he said.

In fact, Jilani said that till 2004, Milli Council, a Muslim organisation, used to conduct a survey of constituencies to assess the winning candidate and guide voters accordingly. The exercise was stopped after BJP’s decline, he added.

Release of 12 Taliban prisoners likely

Bureau Report

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved release of 12 people from detention as part of the so-called confidence-building measures to resume peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), credible sources told Dawn.

They said the 12 “low profile suspected militants” held by security agencies could be released in next couple of days to meet a key demand of the Taliban.

The TTP leadership had handed over a list of combatants to the government negotiating team.

“None of those to be released are important,” the sources said.

They said the talks could resume soon after the prime minister’s return from China. Fawad Hassan, additional secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, who is accompanying the premier during his visit to China, is part of the government’s team holding dialogue with the Taliban.

The government, however, has not agreed to the TTP’s demand of declaring a peace zone in South Waziristan to facilitate their movement.

According to the TTP, the peace zone could serve as a possible rendezvous for talks between the two sides.

The sources said the talks would again be held at Bulandkhel in Thal district on the border with North Waziristan.

Jamaat-i-Islami leader and member of the TTP’s negotiating team Prof Mohammad Ibrahim has said that talks are near-deadlocked and appealed to both sides to show flexibility.

A month-long ceasefire that was extended by the TTP for 10 days expired on April 10. The TTP said it would review the situation at its Shura meeting.

The outlawed group has accused the government of violating what it called terms of ceasefire and said that during the truce its men were arrested, tortured and killed by government forces.

The peace process faces uncertainty also because of clashes between rival groups of militants in South Waziristan.

The clashes between groups led by Khan Said alias Sajna and Sheryar Mehsud have left scores dead from both sides.

The fighting between the groups loyal to the late Waliur Rehman and Hakeemullah Mehsud prompted senior militants and the influential Haqqani Network to intervene and broker a ceasefire deal.

The two group are reportedly fighting for the control of highland in Mehsud part of South Waziristan.

Army has no concern with Musharraf case: minister

Zulqernain Tahir

LAHORE: Another federal minister has joined the debate about trial of retired General Pervez Musharraf for high treason and declared that the former army chief is a politician now and the army has nothing to do with his case.

“Retired Gen Pervez Musharraf is the head of a political party. He is a politician and he is being tried in the treason case as a politician,” Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said to reporters here on Saturday.

“The army has nothing to do with the Musharraf case. This case is unnecessarily being linked with the army.

“Those conspiring against the political system are the enemies of Pakistan. Such elements are trying to create political crisis in the country and we cannot compromise on this,” he remarked.

Since Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq made some hard-hitting comments about Mr Musharraf, their colleagues in the cabinet have been clarifying that they had not uttered “a word against the army”.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid also dismissed the reports about any differences between the Nawaz government and the army. As the All Pakistan Muslim League demanded resignation of Khawaja Asif for his diatribe against Mr Musharraf, the information minister said there was no demand from the army to send the defence minister packing.

PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has called for action under the Constitution against the PML-N ministers for what he called defaming the army.

Answering a question, Mr Iqbal said the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance had been framed keeping in view the extraordinary law and order situation in the country.

He said the government had started talks with the Taliban for peace. “Operation (against militants) can also be started, but then it will be very difficult to backtrack,” he said.

Altaf calls for trial of ‘abettors’

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has criticised trial only of retired General Pervez Musharraf on high treason charges and said all army officers who helped the former army chief topple the-then government should be put in the dock along with their ex-boss.

Speaking on Saturday from London by phone at the inauguration ceremony of the Nazeer Hussain University (NHU), he asked why Mr Musharraf was singled out for trial and the ‘aiders and abettors’, as mentioned in Article 6 of the Constitution, were not even touched.

Mr Musharraf was in a plane when the army took over on Oct 12, 1999, he said.

“Hang Musharraf but also hang those who seized power and arrested Nawaz Sharif before the landing of Musharraf’s plane,” Mr Hussain remarked.

Some television anchors had blamed the army for what they called ruining the country and some had even said the armymen were responsible for the fall of Dhaka in 1971, the MQM chief pointed out. “Those who are engaging in mud-slinging are not the friends of Pakistan and the army.”

Mr Hussain claimed that his party did not want the division of Sindh. And the MQM was not responsible for the urban-rural divide, which was introduced by the PPP in the 1970s.

He said he had applied for Pakistani passport and identity card and he could return to his homeland ‘at any time’.

He asked his followers to lodge “peaceful protests” in case his travel documents were not issued.

Mr Hussain, who is living in self-imposed exile for the past 22 years in the United Kingdom, said that he had applied for the passport and identity card at the Pakistan High Commission in London on April 4 and was waiting for an official reply.

Footprints: the Chinese Pakistan

Mirza KhurramShahzad

IT’S 9:30am. Professionals and businessmen hasten to clinch their first targets of the day. In one multi-storey building at the thriving Blue Area, Islamabad’s hub of commercial activity, elevators carry customers to a front desk on the first floor. A petite Chinese woman with a pleasant smile is seated beside a cabinet loaded with files.

Zhang Feimin, 27, stares at some papers she’s carrying, trying to learn the rules of business and prepare for her meetings. She is the bank’s latest employee and one of the estimated 12,000 Chinese people working on various projects in Pakistan. The bank has created the position for her to capture the growing business from trade worth over $12 billion and an expected investment of around $18bn for the establishment of the Pak-China economic corridor. The newly carved-out China Business Wing at this bank came as a window of opportunity for Zhang; she uses her Chinese roots to further the interests of this establishment.

During the first few weeks of her banking career, she visited various Chinese companies in Islamabad to attract the maximum number of clients. Zhang arrived in Pakistan in 2004 to accomplish her dream of working in a foreign country. She started out helping her uncle in his Chinese restaurant in the plush F-8 residential sector.

She also got a bachelor’s degree in business administration from a Pakistani institute affiliated with a leading Australian university. Still overseeing the management of the restaurant, too, she often leaves her post to wait at tables. In a room in front of her, people enjoy their meals; she looks after the service, prepares the bills and settles the cheques.

“Working in a foreign country was my passion,” she says. “There are so many Chinese people here in Pakistan, so I chose to come here.”

The managers at the bank where she works believe that she will prove helpful in attracting big accounts. “We have established the China Business Wing to get maximum business from the upcoming investment by Chinese companies in planned projects in the region. We have employed Chinese people in all the regional offices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad,” said one of Zhang’s colleagues without giving his name because his bank’s management is unwilling to reveal details about their operations.

Official estimates suggest that Chinese companies and engineers are working on more than a hundred major projects in energy and infrastructure development (roads and bridges) from Karachi, right up to Khunjrab Pass.

A few kilometres from Zhang’s restaurant, a Chinese couple stroll in a leafy F-7/2 street. Thirty-year-old Liu Jia and her husband Ma Ginadu run a beauty parlor here. Liu came to Pakistan in 2003 to learn English in Islamabad’s National University of Modern Languages. After completing her course in 2006, she sensed a business opportunity.

She went back to China for a three-month beauty course and returned with an investment of $100,000. Now, she employs some 50 people, including seven Chinese beauty experts. Her husband has started a separate business of importing Chinese renovation materials and selling them to Pakistani and Chinese contractors working in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is good for business,” Liu says. “You earn profits if you work hard. I’m used to living here and wouldn’t like to leave this country now.”

Over in Rawalpindi’s Saddar Bazaar, some Chinese faces appear in the midst of hundreds of pairs of shoes. They speak Urdu more fluently than many Pakistanis can. The China Boot House is one of the city’s favorite shoe shops.

But the owners of the shop don’t like to be identified as Chinese. “We’ve been here for more than five decades now,” says the middle-aged Wang Zu. “Why should we consider ourselves Chinese?”

“The Chinese have a better business and work environment in Pakistan as compared to other neighboring countries,” says Mushahid Hussain, chairman of the Pakistan China Institute, a regional think tank in Islamabad. “We expect there will be around 20,000 Chinese workers in Pakistan in five years. There will be more investment by small and medium Chinese companies.”

For Ahmed Rashid Malik, senior researcher and director of the China and Asia Pacific wing of Islamabad’s Institute of Strategic Studies, close relations between the governments and the people of China and Pakistan are encouraging more and more Chinese to come here for work. “They get better opportunities and a welcoming attitude in Pakistan,” he says.

“Other countries of the region like Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines are hostile towards Chinese businessmen. They think China will take over their markets.”

But then, there are other realities, too. As Zhang says, “The Pakistani people are very pleasant and friendly. But bomb attacks and killings scare me and are forcing me to think about going back to China.”

Russia, West reach surprise deal on Ukraine

AFP

GENEVA: Russia, Ukraine, the US and EU reached a surprise deal on Thursday on de-escalating the worsening Ukrainian crisis, in a ray of hope for the former Soviet republic that has plunged into chaos.

GENEVA: Russia, Ukraine, the US and EU reached a surprise deal on Thursday on de-escalating the worsening Ukrainian crisis, in a ray of hope for the former Soviet republic that has plunged into chaos.

The agreement reached in Geneva comes as a strong contrast to earlier hawkish comments made by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who left the door open for intervention in Ukraine.

A ban by Kiev on all Russian men aged 16 to 60 from entering Ukrainian territory had also ratcheted up the tensions, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling the measure “disgusting”.

But after half a day of talks, the four parties agreed on steps to “restore security for all citizens”, including a call to disband armed groups who have taken over buildings in Ukraine “illegally”.

While not spelt out in the agreement, these groups could refer to pro-Kremlin separatists who have seized control of government buildings and taken over parts of Ukraine’s southeast, destabilising the country.

“All illegal armed groups must be disarmed, illegally seized buildings returned to their rightful owners,” Lavrov said as he briefed reporters about the deal reached with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Ukraine’s Andriy Deshchytsya and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Washington and Kiev have accused Russia of supporting the militants who have occupied buildings such as police stations and government bases, but Moscow has always categorically denied this.

Lavrov also said Russia had “no desire” to send troops into Ukraine, toning down earlier comments by Putin.

Warning that Ukraine was plunging into the “abyss” just hours after three separatists were killed in a gunbattle with troops in eastern Ukraine, Putin had stressed he hoped not to have to use his “right” to send Russian troops into its western neighbour.

“I very much hope that I am not obliged to use this right and that through political and diplomatic means we can solve all the acute problems in Ukraine,” he said in his annual televised phone-in with the nation, in a signal the option was on the table.

The upper house of parliament on March 1 authorised the Russian leader to send troops into Ukraine after pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, and Moscow later went on to annex Ukraine’s Russian-speaking Crimean peninsula.

Russia has now massed tens of thousands of troops at the border and has warned Kiev’s untested new leaders — whom it does not recognise as legitimate — not to unleash force in Ukraine.

Accordingly, Kerry warned Russia that if there was no progress on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine, “there will be additional sanctions, additional costs”.

The United States and European Union have already imposed punitive sanctions on key Russian and Ukrainian political and business officials, including members of Putin’s inner circle.

And the European Parliament on Thursday said the European Union should act “against Russian firms and their subsidiaries, especially in the energy sector, and Russia’s EU assets”.

So far, though, any further sanctions appear to have been put on hold.—AFP

Taliban negotiator under house arrest in UAE

Reuters

KABUL: An Afghan Taliban peace negotiator has been placed under house arrest in the United Arab Emirates, officials said on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Hamid Karzai’s efforts to jumpstart a nascent peace process before leaving office.

Agha Jan Mutassim, a finance minister during Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, has been missing for over a week, according to the Afghan government.

He went missing after arranging a meeting in Dubai between Afghan officials and Taliban figures in February.

“Mutassim..., one of the key Taliban leaders and who supported Afghan peace initiative, was put under house arrest in the UAE where he lived,” the Afghan High Peace Council, a body formed by Karzai to engage in peace talks with the Taliban, said on Thursday.

“The Afghan government has made requests to the UAE authorities to lift all the restrictions,” it said in a statement.

A Western security source in Kabul confirmed Mutassim had been put under house arrest, and that the UAE was considering deporting him to Afghanistan.

It was not immediately clear why Mutassim was confined to his home, or who was behind his arrest.

Authorities in the UAE declined to comment.

The Karzai administration, in its final months of power, has been trying to rekindle dialogue with important members of the Afghan insurgency that has lasted for more than 12 years.

The Taliban leadership’s willingness to hold talks only with Western or Arab officials has angered Karzai.

In March, Mutassim, once a powerful figure in the Taliban political committee but whose links to the group are now unclear, brought 16 high-ranking former and current Taliban figures and Afghan peace council members together in Dubai, Afghan officials said.

Few details have emerged about the talks, and little progress is believed to have been made.

The Taliban central leadership council disavowed Mutassim’s peace overtures in a statement and said it did not authorise any peace talks with Afghan government representatives. It said he did not represent the movement.

Afghan and Western officials, however, say Mutassim remains an influential figure and could lure senior members of the group to the peace process.

The Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces from the country. For years, their reclusive leadership under the leadership of Mullah Mohammed Omar has refused to negotiate directly with the Karzai government.

The Karzai government has held informal talks with Taliban figures since 2001, and has renewed peace efforts in recent months, perhaps to ensure Karzai leaves a good legacy as he readies to hand over the leadership before the end of the year.

This month, Afghans went to the polls to elect a new president to replace Karzai who is constitutionally bound to step down after serving two terms.—Reuters

PPP seeks explanation on KP governor’s amnesty remarks

Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: The main opposition PPP has sought an explanation from the federal government over a statement by the newly appointed governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa calling for granting general amnesty to the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“The federal government must come out clean on the reported statement of the governor. Either it should distance itself from it or take the nation into confidence over this shift in policy,” said Farhatullah Babar while speaking during Zero Hour in the Senate on Thursday.

Soon after taking oath of the office on Wednesday, KP Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan said there was no harm in granting amnesty to militants if they submitted to the Constitution and “the government should grant a general pardon”.

“It is inconceivable that such a statement could have been made by the governor in his personal capacity and without the knowledge and direction of the federal government,” Mr Babar said. “Has the new governor been appointed to prepare ground and implement this new policy towards militants?”

The PPP senator said that such statements would demoralise security forces and lend strength to militants to push the country further down the slippery road to a dark abyss.

According to him, an across-the-board general amnesty would mean release of not only criminals in government custody but also of those who had been arrested, tried and convicted.

Later, the government came under attack from the opposition for not providing details of the militants who had been released on TTP’s demand.

Former interior minister Rehman Malik of the PPP warned of more terrorist attacks in coming days and said the Taliban had gone into the dialogue process as part of their plan to gain time to regroup.

“They required six-month time to regroup. They have achieved the purpose and even received fresh supplies,” Mr Malik said.

He alleged that Afghan intelligence agencies were fully behind the banned organisation which was evident from the fact that TTP chief Maulvi Fazlullah was moving freely in Afghanistan.

Mr Malik said the TTP had termed the recent attacks in Sabzi Mandi and Islamabad district courts “unlawful and un-Islamic”, but now refused to extend its ceasefire to carry out more such attacks.

PPP’s Raza Rabbani regretted that the government had released the Taliban prisoners even before announcing amnesty and was not providing the particulars of those released on TTP’s demand.

He rejected the government claim that the released men did not belong to the TTP. “What were the charges against them? If they were not from the TTP why it demanded their release?” he asked.

“It seems the dialogue process has come to a standstill,” he said and asked the government to end its “dithering”.

No-one from the treasury benches responded to the opposition’s outburst.

Nobel Laureate Garcia Marquez dies at 87

Agencies

MEXICO CITY: Colombia’s Nobel-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez died on Thursday in Mexico City at the age of 87, Mexican and Colombian media reported.

MEXICO CITY: Colombia’s Nobel-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez died on Thursday in Mexico City at the age of 87, Mexican and Colombian media reported.

Garcia Marquez, the author of “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, passed away at his home with his wife and two sons by his side, Mexico’s Televisa anchor Joaquin Lopez-Doriga said on Twitter, echoing reports in Mexican and Colombian newspapers.

Garcia Marquez crafted intoxicating fiction from the fatalism, fantasy, cruelty and heroics of the world that set his mind churning as a child growing up on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

One of the most revered and influential writers of his generation, he brought Latin America’s charm and maddening contradictions to life in the minds of millions and became the best-known practitioner of “magical realism”, a blending of fantastic elements into portrayals of daily life that made the extraordinary seem almost routine.

Known to millions simply as “Gabo,” Garcia Marquez was widely seen as the Spanish language’s most popular writer since Miguel de Cervantes in the 17th century.

His extraordinary literary celebrity spawned comparisons with Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.—Agencies

Anger boils over in search for ferry passengers

AFP

JINDO (South Korea): Emotions boiled over on Thursday in the frantic search for almost 280 people — mostly schoolchildren — missing from a capsized South Korean ferry, with angry parents confronting President Park Geun-Hye as prospects dwindled of finding survivors.

Worsening weather fuelled the sombre mood, with persistent rain and choppy seas hindering dive teams already struggling with low visibility and strong currents.

Twenty-five people were confirmed dead, the coastguard said on Thursday night, as rescuers battled high waves and recovered more bodies.

But with every hour that passed fears mounted for the 271 still unaccounted for after the multi-deck vessel with 475 on board suddenly listed, capsized and then sank within the space of 90 minutes on Wednesday morning.

“Honestly, I think the chances of finding anyone alive are close to zero,” a coastguard official told a journalist on one of the boats at the site.

The coastguard said more than 500 divers, 169 vessels and 29 aircraft were now involved in the rescue operation.

But distraught relatives gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island insisted more should be done, and vented their frustration when President Park came to inspect the rescue effort.

“What are you doing when people are dying? Time is running out!” one woman screamed as Park tried to address the volatile crowd with her security detail standing by nervously.

A total of 375 high school students were on board, travelling with their teachers to the popular island resort of Jeju.

When Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won visited the gymnasium earlier in the day, he was jostled and shouted at, and water bottles were thrown.

“Don’t run away, Mr Prime Minister,” one mother said, blocking Chung as he tried to leave. “Please tell us what you’re planning to do.”

The coastguard said 179 people had been rescued.

The tragedy has stunned a country whose rapid modernisation was thought to have consigned such large-scale accidents to the past.

If the missing are confirmed dead it would become one of South Korea’s worst peacetime disasters — all the more traumatic for the number of children involved.

It was still unclear what caused the 6,825-ton Sewol to sink.

Numerous passengers spoke of a loud thud and the vessel coming to an abrupt, shuddering halt — suggesting it had run aground or hit a submerged object.

But the captain, Lee Joon-Seok, who survived and was being questioned by investigators, insisted it had not hit any rocks.

Pulling a hood over his head and face as he was surrounded by camera crews in the coastguard offices, Lee mumbled an apology.

“I feel really sorry for the passengers, victims and families,” he said.

Other experts suggested the ferry cargo, which included 150 cars, might have suddenly shifted, irretrievably destabilising the vessel.

Distressing mobile phone footage taken by one survivor showed the panic on board with one woman desperately screaming “The water’s coming, the water’s coming!”—AFP

Abidi resigns Senate seat

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Following directives of the party leadership, firebrand PPP Senator Faisal Raza Abidi submitted his resignation on Thursday after delivering an emotional speech.

ISLAMABAD: Following directives of the party leadership, firebrand PPP Senator Faisal Raza Abidi submitted his resignation on Thursday after delivering an emotional speech.

“My party has asked me to quit and I am returning this seat to my leadership,” Mr Abidi said, showing the copy of his resignation to members while speaking during Zero Hour in the Senate.

The PPP leader did not talk about the reasons for the extreme step taken by the party leadership against him and refrained from criticising it. Instead, he praised and thanked the party leadership for giving him a ticket despite “my middle and lower class background”.

Mr Abidi, who is known for his open criticism of the judiciary, did not spare former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry even in his last speech.

His party colleague and Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Baloch asked Mr Abidi to at least spare the former chief justice since he had already resigned.

“What is the use of sitting in the house which cannot provide justice to its members?” said Mr Abidi, saying that no action had been taken on his written complaint about the alleged corruption by the former chief justice and his son, which he had submitted to the house two years ago.

The PPP senator had actually prepared for submission before the Supreme Judicial Council for which he got no support from the party which was in the government at that time.

“I was assured by all of you that the report will be presented before the house. Where is the report? This house owes it to me,” he said.

3G and 4G auction to yield $1.3bn, says Dar

Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD: The auction of next generation 3G and 4G licences is expected to fetch the national exchequer $1.3 billion and create employment opportunities for about 100,000 people, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday.

“We are satisfied by the response from cellular service providers,” the finance minister said a press briefing convened to discuss his visit to Washington DC and the successful launch of Eurobond.

In the budget for financial year 2013-14, Dar said the government had expected to raise $1.2bn from the auction.

Three 10 MHz 3G licences and two 10 MHz 4G licences will be auctioned on April 23. There was no bidding for the unused licence of the now-defunct Instaphone. “We may offer this for bidding at a later stage,” the minister said.

He said the base price of the five licences was expected to be over $1.3bn, as opposed to the previous government’s attempts to auction them at a base price of $750 million to $800m.

In addition, Dar claimed, the licence fee would also be recovered from successful bidders far more quickly. Each licence will be valid for 15 years, but the licensing fee will have to be paid by successful bidders within five years.

Moreover, a minimum upfront payment of 50 per cent is mandatory for each licensee, while the rest will be paid in five equal instalments, spread over five years with interest rate at KIBOR plus.

The base price for 3G licences is set at $295m and that for a 4G licence is $210m. The minister explained that 3G licensees could also acquire 4G licences in the future after paying an add-on fee, since 4G is more state-of-the-art.

The finance minister heads the Spectrum Auction Advisory committee constituted to carry out groundwork for the auction. “I have written to the prime minister asking for the dissolution of the committee”, the minister said, adding that it had nothing to do with the auction anymore.

“It is now the responsibility of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to hold the auction in a transparent manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, a sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology will meet on Thursday to report on the ruling of the main committee, which had already recommended the government to halt the auction of 3G and 4G licences until all PTA members had been appointed.

Last week, the committee chairman, Mohammad Idrees Khan Safi, asked the information technology ministry to appoint a Member Compliance and Enforcement. He believed that any action/activity carried out without filling the post first would be ‘illegal’. However, the recommendations of this sub-committee are non-binding for the government.

PPP asks Faisal Abidi to quit Senate

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party has asked Syed Faisal Raza Abidi, a senator from Sindh, to quit his seat.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party has asked Syed Faisal Raza Abidi, a senator from Sindh, to quit his seat.

In a letter addressed to Senator Abidi, PPP Secretary General Raja Pervez Ashraf asked him to submit his resignation within a week at the party office in Islamabad.

Mr Abidi, once among the most trusted lieutenants of former president Asif Zardari, was accused of violating party discipline and repeatedly issuing statements in favour of martial law.

A media release of the PPP said that the decision was taken on the directives of top leadership of the party.

The PPP has a majority in the 168-member Sindh Assembly and unlike any other parliamen-tary group, it could easily secure the senate seat to be vacated by Mr Abidi in a by-election.

Mr Abidi was not available for comment.

Separatists humiliate Ukraine govt, take control of APCs

Reuters

KRAMATORSK / SLAVIANSK (Ukraine): Separatists flew the Russian flag on armoured vehicles taken from the Ukrainian army on Wednesday, humiliating a Kiev government operation to recapture eastern towns controlled by pro-Moscow partisans.

Six armoured personnel carriers were driven into the rebel-held town of Slaviansk to waves and shouts of “Russia! Russia!”. It was not immediately clear whether they had been captured by rebels or handed over to them by Ukrainian deserters.

Another 15 armoured troop carriers full of paratroops were surrounded and halted by a pro-Russia crowd at a town near an airbase. They were allowed to retreat only after the soldiers handed the firing pins from their rifles to a rebel commander.

The military setback leaves Kiev looking weak on the eve of a peace conference on Thursday, when its foreign minister will meet his Russian, US and European counterparts in Geneva.

Moscow has responded to the overthrow of its ally Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich in February by announcing its right to intervene militarily to protect Russian-speaking people across the former Soviet Union, a new doctrine that has overturned decades of post-Cold War diplomacy.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula last month, and its armed supporters have now taken control over swathes of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

It has massed thousands of troops on or near the Ukrainian frontier. A reporting team that visited the border area late last week and again on Wednesday said Russian military activity had increased markedly over the past few days, with more troops and vehicles on the roads. At one site in an open field in Russia’s Belgorod region about 20km from the frontier there were now 10 large army tents and about 20 military trucks, far more than last week, although a squadron of attack helicopters had left.

So far, the United States and European Union have imposed only targeted sanctions against a list of Russian and Ukrainian individuals and firms, which Moscow has openly mocked. Washington and Brussels say they are working on far tougher measures.

The EU took a step towards imposing harsher sanctions on Wednesday by informing its member states of the likely impact of proposed measures on each of them. Countries have a week to respond before the European Commission starts drawing up plans.

The Ukrainian government confirmed that six of its armoured vehicles were now in the hands of separatists. Photos of their number markings showed they were among vehicles deployed earlier in the government’s attempted “anti-terrorist” operation. Kiev had sent the convoy of paratroops to capture an airfield, the start of an operation to reclaim towns held by separatists who have declared an independent “People’s Republic” in the industrial Donbass region.

The Ukrainian government and its Western allies believe Russian agents are coordinating the uprising. Moscow denies it is involved and says Kiev is precipitating civil war by sending troops to put down the revolt.—Reuters

Two injured in landmine explosion

The Newspaper's Correspondent

QUETTA: Two people were wounded in a landmine blast in Marjanzai area of Loralai district on Wednesday, Levies sources said.

QUETTA: Two people were wounded in a landmine blast in Marjanzai area of Loralai district on Wednesday, Levies sources said.

They said the landmine was planted along a roadside and went off when a motorcycle carrying two people hit it.

The injured were identified as Mohammad Salem and Mohammad Nazar.

Malala portrait up for auction in New York

AFP

NEW YORK: A portrait of Malala Yousafzai is expected to fetch up to $80,000 for her charity when it is auctioned in New York next month.

NEW YORK: A portrait of Malala Yousafzai is expected to fetch up to $80,000 for her charity when it is auctioned in New York next month.

By Jonathan Yeo, one of Britain’s leading portrait painters, the oil on canvas has been on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London since September.

The picture, which measures nearly one metre by one metre, goes under the hammer at Christie’s on May 14.

The auction house estimates the value at $60,000 to $80,000.

“The funds raised will support the work of the Malala Fund, including helping young Syrian refugees in Jordan and girls freed from child labour now attending school in Pakistan,” said Malala.

“I hope that whoever buys the painting knows that their generosity will directly help children in some of the most challenging environments in the world.”

Yeo, who donated the painting, met Malala in April 2013 when she was recovering from the severe head injury inflicted by a Taliban gunman as she sat on a school bus in Swat. —AFP

Navy officer escapes attack

Behram Baloch

GWADAR: A senior officer of Pakistan Navy escaped an attack in Talar area of Kech district on Wednesday.

GWADAR: A senior officer of Pakistan Navy escaped an attack in Talar area of Kech district on Wednesday.

According to sources, Commander Naghman Chaudhry was returning to Gwadar from Turbat when some men opened fire on his vehicle. Security personnel escorting him returned fire and injured an attacker. According to security sources, the officer remained unhurt.

Security forces launched a search operation in the area after the incident and took a number of suspects into custody for interrogation.

Highways in Balochistan blocked on PML-N call

Amanullah Kasi

QUETTA: The Balochistan chapter of the PML-N backed by different political and religious parties observed on Wednesday first death anniversary of the Zehris who were killed in an attack on their convoy last year.

The parties held protests to mark the occasion and the PML-N gave a strike call for Friday in protest against the authorities’ failure to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.

Activists blocked national highways at Kuchlak, Lakpass, Kolpur and Khuzdar because of which traffic remained suspended from 8am to 3pm.

PML-N leaders Rahim Kakar, Liaquat Lehri, Younus Baloch and Alauddin Kakar later addressed a press conference and thanked political leaders, transporters, traders and common people for supporting the protest call.

They pointed out that a son, a brother and a nephew of the party’s provincial chief and Senior Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri had been killed in the attack to incite clashes between different tribes in Khuzdar.

They said that Balochistan was a tribal society with each tribe having its own area of influence. No tribe could dominate the other by way of violence. Mutual respect was necessary to maintain peace in the province, they added.

US Air Force pilots carry out drone strikes

The Newspaper's Correspondent

WASHINGTON: US Air Force pilots, and not CIA operatives, carry out drone strikes in Pakistan, says a new documentary.

The documentary – “Drone” – confirms the claim made in an earlier documentary on the subject that despite all technological and human assets, there’s a lot of room for error in the strikes.

Thousands of people have been killed in the drone strikes, including many children.

“This calls into question the credibility of the kill-list methodology” as the vast majority of strikes in Pakistan were “against people whose identities the government doesn’t know”, the documentary revealed.

The US media pointed out that “the revelation that US Air Force pilots were carrying out targeted drone strikes in Pakistan at the behest of the CIA, once again brought into question the legality of the largest targeted killing programme in history”.

The documentary takes a critical look at the five-year drone programme and through interviews with drone operators, it reveals that US Air Force pilots at Creech air force base, around 75km from Las Vegas, are carrying out drone attacks for the CIA.

“The CIA might be the customer but the air force has always flown it,” Brandon Bryant, one of the pilots who appears in “Drone”, told British newspaper, The Guardian.

He identified the pilots of the drones as the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron.

Another former drone operator from the documentary film said the squadron is “obsessively secretive” and its members are treated like “crown jewels” at the base.

“They don’t hang out with anyone else. Once they got into the 17th and got upgraded operationally, they pretty much stopped talking to us. They would only hang out among themselves like a high school clique, a gang or something.”

The squadron itself is believed to have 300 pilots flying 35 Predator drones and is set apart from rest of the base.

The participation of the military in a targeted killing programme raises significant legality issues. Mr Bryant told the documentary’s makers the “CIA label” was merely an excuse “not to have to give up any information.”

“There is a lie hidden within that truth. And the lie is that it’s always been the air force that has flown those missions,” he said.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project told The Guardian the CIA should be focusing its resources on analysing intelligence rather than drone attacks.

“It will come as a surprise to most Americans if the CIA is directing the military to carry out warlike activities. The agency should be collecting and analysing foreign intelligence, not presiding over a massive killing apparatus,” she said.

The documentary points out that the civilian deaths from drone attacks in Pakistan have become a significant stumbling block in bilateral relations.

Sadequain’s work fetches high price at auction

Taymour Soomro

LONDON: Paintings by some leading Pakistani artists fetched about 600,000 pounds with one of Sadequain’s having been sold for £60,000 at a recent auction of a collection of ‘Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern and South Asian Art’ at Bonhams’ Bond Street headquarters.

At the preview, the well-heeled clustered by geography were corresponding pretty much to the arrangement of the works. The buzz reflected the growing interest in art from the region; a collection from the Caucasus, Central Asia, Turkey and Iran went up for exhibition at Sotheby’s a week earlier.

In the basement gallery, the walls were plastered with works of art. Here there was a huddle of the Arab rich in one corner, around paintings from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and the Gulf states.

Iranians were in the centre of the room, their country represented by a large body of work including a couple of pleasant Abbas Kiarostami photographs and Afshin Pirhashemi’s provocative woman in pardah eating a banana in front of a censored Jesus on the Cross.

On the other side of the room, there was a gaggle of Indian and Pakistani bankers.

For the Indians, the highlights of the collection were presumably the two Maqbool Fida Husain paintings – with one of them estimated at £150,000-250,000, the highest for any piece at the auction.

For Pakistanis, the highlights were several of Sadequain’s paintings, the majority of which travelled here from his French and German collections which he painted in the mid-60s while living in Paris. The Pakistani collection also included paintings by Ismail Gulgee, Jamil Naqsh, Bashir Mirza, Ahmed Parvez.

Waseem Ahmed and Adeela Suleman were the two contemporary Pakistani artists represented.

The M.F. Husain with the higher estimate failed to make its reserve. From the Middle Eastern collections, an oil painting by Iraqi Jewad Selim of the classical Indian dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai fetched the highest price at £170,500 (well over the estimate of £50,000-70,000).

From the South Asian collections, the second M.F. Husain piece was the highest earner at close to £70,000. Sadequain’s painting ‘Imagination’ was sold for £60,000, ‘Mehr and enfant’ fetched £11,250 and ‘Untitled’ went for £27,500.

Ismail Gulgee’s ‘Polo players’ was sold for £21,875. With his work selling for a fraction of the price in the ’90s, the appreciation in the value of his work and the demand that it reflects is remarkable.

Bids for 3G, 4G licences surpass expectations: PTA

Jamal Shahid

ISLAMABAD: Following receipt of initial bids for 3G and 4G licences from mobile phone companies, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) said on Tuesday it had received offers that surpassed its expectations.

According to a PTA official, the regulator received four initial bids. The licences would go under the hammer next week.

“It is refreshing to see telecom service providers showing keen interest in bidding for 3G and 4G licences,” he said.

“There is no question of the offers being of lower than expected values.” In a statement, he said had there been bids of lower-than-anticipated amounts, there would have been no need for an auction.

The base price for a 3G licence is $295 million and for a 4G licence it’s $210m. Mobile phone companies can bid for one 10MHz bandwidth licence or the entire spectrum, comprising three 10MHz licences (a total bandwidth of 30MHz).

Four of the five major companies – Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Zong – have submitted their bids, while Warid Telecom has distanced itself from the process.

Warid’s Public Relations Manager Saud Omar Khan said: “We are exploring better and more advanced technologies than 3G.”

Two foreign service providers, Turkcell and Saudi Telecom, had earlier shown interest in the process. However, they did not enter the competition which was given final shape on Tuesday.

The auction, scheduled for April 23, is expected to raise over $1.6 billion, which will bolster the country’s foreign reserves.

To ensure transparency, PTA has signed a contract with the Value Management Consulting Limited, which will provide consultancy services for the auction, according to a PTA statement.

A source privy to the bidding process said that Mobilink and Zong were pursuing both the 3G and 4G licences aggressively, while Ufone and Telenor were believed to have made modest offers.

However, these claims could not be verified independently. The PTA officials did not reveal details of the bids because they believed this could affect fairness.

“The auction on April 23 will be computerised.

“The design is such that cellular operators will not know who is bidding for what or how many spectrums,” said PTA’s media director Khurram A. Mehran.

Neo-Nazis sentenced for killing Pakistani

AFP

ATHENS: Two suspected members of Greece’s neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn received life sentences on Tuesday over the fatal stabbing of a Pakistani immigrant last year, a judicial source said.

ATHENS: Two suspected members of Greece’s neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn received life sentences on Tuesday over the fatal stabbing of a Pakistani immigrant last year, a judicial source said.

However, the Athens court judging the case threw out the prosecution’s argument that the murder of 27-year-old Shehzad Luqman was racially motivated.

Dionyssis Liakopoulos, 25, and Christos Steriopoulos, 29, were arrested a few hours after Luqman’s murder when a taxi driver who witnessed the attack reported their motorbike numberplate to police.

According to the driver, the pair drove up behind the victim and assaulted him as he was cycling in the Petralona neighbourhood near the Acropolis.—AFP

Continuity likely in India’s post-poll China ties

The Newspaper's Correspondent

NEW DELHI: India on Monday assured China that there was “broad consensus” across the political spectrum on engaging with Beijing, as both sides held talks laying the groundwork for a series of high-level engagements set to take place in an election year, The Hindu reported on Tuesday from Beijing.

The paper quoted Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh conveying to the Chinese leadership that there was “broad continuity in India’s China policy going back to Rajiv Gandhi’s historical visit of 1988”.

“It has always been a forward trajectory. We expect that to continue regardless of what the new dispensation is,” she said following the sixth round of the annual strategic dialogue held with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. “The business of government does not really stop especially at the level of the civil service,” she said. “We like to provide that continuity and I think the Chinese appreciate the fact that we are doing that.”

Mr Liu told Indian reporters before Monday’s sixth round of the strategic dialogue that China was “confident that to promote China-India friendship is a shared consensus of all political parties in India”.

“So I am confident that whichever party comes to power in India, it will stay committed to friendship and cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

Ms Singh said the dialogue had discussed “the length and breadth of the relationship”, from cooperation in Afghanistan, where both countries recognised shared interests, to pushing Indian pharmaceuticals and other exports to bridge the widening $31 billion trade imbalance.

The talks firmed up what officials described as “a packed calendar” of bilateral visits in the coming year, which is being marked as “a year of friendly exchanges”. A highlight could be the first visit by Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping to India.

Mr Xi has expressed his desire to visit India later this year on what would be his first trip to the country after taking over as president in March 2013, as The Hindu first reported last month. The proposed visit is being seen as reflecting the new Chinese leadership’s intent to take ties forward with the new government in New Delhi that will be in place after the Lok Sabha elections.

Ms Singh said she also raised India’s long-expressed concerns on Chinese investments in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which the Chinese leadership has made clear will continue despite Indian opposition. China has devoted increasing attention and resources to pushing a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which runs through parts of Kashmir.

She said liberalising the visa regime was also “on the cards”. An agreement to loosen business and tourist visas for Chinese was set to be confirmed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Beijing last year, but was shelved temporarily after China issued stapled visas to applicants from Arunachal Pradesh. Ms Singh said liberalising visas was “certainly required given the kind of partnership we have with China to enable people-to-people contact”.

Militants abduct 100 girls from Nigerian school

AFP

MAIDUGURI: Heavily armed Boko Haram Islamists kidnapped more than 100 girls from a school in northeast Nigeria, sparking a search by soldiers to track down the attackers, a security source and witnesses said on Tuesday.

The unprecedented mass abduction in Borno state came hours after a bomb blast ripped through a crowded bus station on the outskirts of Abuja, killing 75 people, the deadliest attack ever in Nigeria’s capital.

The violence underscored the serious threat the militants pose to Africa’s most populous country, with the group capable of carrying out large-scale attacks in remote areas and massive bombings in major urban centres.

Gunmen stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in the Chibok area of Borno after sundown on Monday, torching several buildings before opening fire on soldiers and police who were guarding the school, witnesses said.

They ultimately overpowered the guards and entered the school, said Emmanuel Sam, an education officer based in Chibok who fled to the state capital Maiduguri after the attack.

The girls were then forced onto trucks and driven away by the attackers, several witnesses said.

A security source who requested anonymity said more than 100 girls were taken away and blamed the attack on Boko Haram, a radical group whose name means “Western education is forbidden”.

“We were able to follow the path of the truck and we found it broke down deep in the bush,” the source said.

“We are now trying to locate the whereabouts of the abducted girls,” he added.

Some of the schoolgirls narrowly escaped their kidnappers by jumping off a truck in the middle of the night before running back to Chibok.

One of those who escaped said their opportunity to flee came when some of the gunmen became distracted after one of the vehicles in the convoy broke down.

“They tried to fix it,” she said by phone from Chibok on condition of anonymity.

“It was at this moment that some of us jumped out of the vehicles and ran into the bush.”

Boko Haram is blamed for killing thousands of people across north and central Nigeria since 2009 in an uprising aimed at creating an Islamic state in the north.—AFP

Footprints: rising from the ashes

Aurangzaib Khan

SPRING comes reluctantly to Ziarat. In the silence of winter, the valley’s juniper forests stand frozen against a grey sky. But when the warmth does come, it does so with the swagger of an exhibitionist. Trees burst into blossom and life crawls out of hibernation; the shutters go up on tea stalls, schools and offices open and proprietors air out hotel rooms.

Tourists, upon arrival, turn right to take the winding path up the hill to see the magnificent building whose image has become synonymous with this tourist town in Balochistan, indeed the province itself.

Spring is the season of ladybirds in Ziarat. But this year, in the verdant lawns of Jinnah’s residency, they are being trampled under the feet of not tourists but carpenters, masons, architects and engineers. At the moment, nothing awaits visitors here but the shock of a national monument gone.

They will have to wait until Aug 14, Independence Day, when the Balochistan government will unveil a restored building where the nation’s founder spent the last days of his life. It is of significance, the date. It was the night of Aug 14 last year when Balochistan Liberation Army insurgents burned down the building, leaving behind a melted hull of the grand Raj-era monument.

“The decision to reopen the residency to the public on Aug 14 is meant to convey our determination to the insurgents,” says the provincial chief secretary, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad, who leads the executive committee tasked with the rehabilitation of the Ziarat Residency. “We want to show the will of the people of Balochistan,” he says. “The federal government or the army could have rebuilt the monument. The army wanted to rebuild it on a war footing, but we said no. The provincial government will do it to show our sense of ownership.”

The process of reconstruction started late in March; the monument had to be torn down in order to rebuild. The damage caused by the fire was extensive and the workers — driven by the desire to raise the building in its original shape — had to salvage not just reusable material but rebuild in a manner that places every stone and girder in its original location.

“What took us so long was the inventory process,” says engineer Abdul Jabbar Khan, technical adviser to the Ziarat Residency Executive Committee. “We are not developing something new but rebuilding the residency in its original shape. It has to be same material, the same elements, the same design replicated to a tee, with great attention to detail on even locks, hinges and bolts.”

The residency building, originally built as a sanatorium for British soldiers in 1892 before becoming the governor general’s residence, was made of limestone blocks. When firefighters sprayed the structure with water, it cracked the masonry that had heated up intensely after hours of being on fire. Several explosions took place that night as the flames raged, shattering a structure already damaged by the 2008 earthquake. More than 60 per cent of the original building had been hewn out of wood.

Through the months after the attack, architects and engineers recreated the monument in building plans. Even as workers tore down the building, rocks were ferried in from the Domaira quarry where the original stones came from.

“The rebuilding of the residency will cost about Rs62 million,” says Sher Khan Bazai, commissioner of the Sibi division whose office oversees development and security related to the residency. “The major cost is of imported wood — Burma teak. The lime plaster available in Quetta is of inferior quality. We are importing it from Iran.”

Activity at the heavily guarded location is frenzied, the air abuzz with the cacophony of electric saws, concrete mixtures and stone breakers. As engineers and labourers work on the structure, a number of emaciated masons sit breaking rocks near a flowerbed where the season’s first narcissi have raised their proud yellow heads.

“People from all over came to see the residency,” says Manan, 56, the master mason from Ziarat who has helped with the restoration here twice before. “They came from Karachi, Lahore and London. It was our asset.”

While the authorities are caught up by the fever to reconstruct, the possibility that the residency may be targeted again is the undertow that tugs at their buoyant resolve. There are plans to put in place scanners, watch towers, metal detectors, firefighters and a bomb disposal unit on the premises. Already, major entry and exit points to the valley are manned by FC, Levies and police personnel.

Ziarat, a Pakhtun-dominated district, was never a security flashpoint — which is why perhaps the district administration had let its guard down. “There are no Baloch insurgents,” says Jan Mohammad Buledi, spokesperson for the provincial government. “However, we will be making robust security arrangements so that nothing of the sort happens again.”

A constant stream of top officials continue visiting the residency site to monitor progress; the structure, bit by bit, is being raised meticulously, a phoenix rising out of its ashes. With the deadline approaching fast, workers will be required to work the night shift. And the strain shows.

Watercolourist Najmul Hassan passes away

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

LAHORE: Renowned watercolourist Pirzada Najmul Hassan passed away here on Monday. He was 64.

LAHORE: Renowned watercolourist Pirzada Najmul Hassan passed away here on Monday. He was 64.

A painter of nature who had his own style when it came to painting trees, clouds and skies, he met an unexpected tragic death.

Fifteen days ago, he sat in a rickshaw. The moment the driver turned the ignition key an LPG cylinder fitted in the vehicle caught fire and exploded.

The rickshaw driver died after five days of the accident.

Mr Hassan, who received about 10 per cent burn injuries on his face and right side, was admitted to Mayo Hospital where he was recovering fast.

On Sunday night he insisted on going home at Walton Road where he was living with his sister. He passed away around 11 am on Monday.

His nephew Abdullah told Dawn that he was recovering fast at the hospital, but he was feeling uncomfortable there.

Mr Hassan was born in Lahore on March 16, 1951.

Known watercolourist Dr Ajaz Anwar, Nayyer Ali Dada, cartoonist Javed Iqbal, Hamial Art Gallery owner Jamil, Coopera Art Gallery Director Mohammad Javed were among prominent people who attended Mr Hassan’s funeral at Walton Road.

His qul will be held near his residence after Zuhr prayers on Wednesday.

Dr Ajaz Anwar said Mr Hassan basically belonged to Karachi. He got his education in art from Karachi School of Arts. In 1981 he shifted to Lahore for good.

He said Mr Hassan had his own particular style. His forte was trees, clouds and skies.

He never used white highlights watercolourists use to hide the weak portions of the painting, such an accurate hand was he, Mr Anwar added.

He said Mr Hassan was a dervish type artist who managed his bread and butter by selling his paintings. He never did a job.

Dr Anwar said the incident which resulted in the artist’s death should be seen as a threat to people who travelled in rickshaws and vans and urged the government to ban the use of faulty cylinders in vehicles.

Renowned architect Nayyer Ali Dada said Mr Hassan had a major role in the Lahore’s history of fine arts where he had a great contribution as a watercolourist in the visual art scene.

Mr Dada said Mr Hassan was a dervish who had full commitment to his work. He was among top watercolourists of the country.

Cartoonist Javed Iqbal, a close friend of the late artist, told Dawn that Mr Hassan was a very down-to-earth person. He was a regular feature of all exhibitions of artworks in the city. He would always meet with a smile on his face. His death was an extreme loss for the artist fraternity, he added.

Police manipulated probe into murder of philanthropist

Abdul Shakoor Khan

ISLAMABAD: A judicial inquiry into the investigation of the murder of renowned philanthropist Parveen Rehman appears to have uncovered manipulation by police investigators and has recommended that the whole case be reinvestigated by “efficient, independent and honest police officer(s)”.

The report, prepared by a district and sessions judge in Karachi on the orders of the Supreme Court, is expected to be presented in the court of Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk when he hears a constitutional petition filed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

According to an executive summary obtained by Dawn, police officials “did not hesitate to manipulate key aspects of the investigation”. Qari Bilal, the man blamed for Parveen’s murder, was allegedly killed in a shootout with police on Sultanabad Road in Karachi on March 14.

“The story of the mysterious encounter and recovery of the pistol does not inspire confidence as the police officer, namely Ashfaq Hussain Baloch, station house office at Manghopir police station – who claims to have killed Qari Bilal in an encounter and recovered (the) pistol from him – has stated that Qari Bilal had sustained multiple firearm injuries but he did not know on what parts of the body. No one was injured from the police side,” the report said.

Casting further doubts on the police account, the inquiry officer maintains, “Before making their escape… the three companions of Qari Bilal… set on fire the car they were traveling in. After encountering a huge police party in which their companion was killed, they could not afford to waste time in setting the car on fire. Such conduct on their part is unnatural. The artificiality of the story is apparent”, it said.

The report also casts doubts on the veracity of the ballistic evidence that allowed police to connect Qari Bilal to Parveen’s murder. “The evidence regarding the matching of (casings) recovered from the (crime scene) with the pistol allegedly recovered from Qari Bilal is also not free from manipulation. Police had no clue about the involvement of Qari Bilal in the murder of Parveen Rahman and there was no occasion for sending the (casings) and the pistol to ballistic experts for matching. In order to minimise the chances of manipulation, (casings) are required to be sealed and sent immediately to the Forensic Laboratory without waiting for the recovery of the weapon. This was not done in this case. The casings were recovered on March 13, 2013. Even though the next day was a working day, the (casings) were sent to the laboratory on March 15, after the recovery of the alleged murder weapon. There is no explanation for the delay, except that police wanted to manipulate things,” the report said.

In addition to these revelations, the report calls for extending police protection to staff of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), reopening of the investigation into the murder of OPP workers as well as the death of Qari Bilal and his alleged connection to Parveen’s murder.

Parveen Rehman was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle on Manghopir Road on March 13 last year. According to her sister, Parveen regularly campaigned against land and water-tanker mafias, investigating and documenting their activities. According to the report, the mafias were making an annual Rs500 million from this racket and they could not afford a voice being raised against them.

Two killed in Srinagar clash

SRINAGAR: A nearly 20-hour gunbattle in India-held Kashmir ended on Monday after government troops killed two suspected militants in Srinagar, a senior police official said.

SRINAGAR: A nearly 20-hour gunbattle in India-held Kashmir ended on Monday after government troops killed two suspected militants in Srinagar, a senior police official said.

The fighting began on Sunday evening when troops cordoned off a neighbourhood in Srinagar following a tip that militants were in a house there, said police officer Afadul Mujtaba. Two policemen were wounded in the fighting, he said.—AP

China eyes major role in Afghanistan

Reuters

KABUL / BEIJING: China is quietly preparing for a more robust role in the future of Afghanistan, concerned that the withdrawal of Nato troops will leave a hotbed of militancy on its doorstep.

KABUL / BEIJING: China is quietly preparing for a more robust role in the future of Afghanistan, concerned that the withdrawal of Nato troops will leave a hotbed of militancy on its doorstep.

The two countries are connected by a narrow mountainous corridor and Beijing could focus on mining and mineral deals in Afghanistan as Western forces battled Taliban. But officials say that China is emerging as a key strategic player.

In August it will host a “Heart of Asia” conference on Afghanistan, which may have a newly elected president by then, inviting leaders from regional nations, including India and Pakistan. A diplomat said China has already held discreet trilateral talks with Afghanistan and other countries.—Reuters

Ukraine accuses Russia of waging war in east

AFP

SLAVYANSK (Ukraine): Ukraine’s acting president accused Russia on Sunday of waging war in his country’s eastern rust belt and declared the launch of a “full-scale anti-terrorism operation” that left at least two dead.

The clashes broke out a day after masked gunmen stormed a series of police and security service buildings in coordinated raids that Washington’s UN envoy Samantha Power said bore “tell-tale signs of Moscow’s involvement”.

The heavily Russified region has been riven by unrest since a team of Western-backed leaders rose to power in February on the back of bloody protests against the old regime’s decision to reject an EU alliance and look for future assistance from the Kremlin.

Russia has since massed around 40,000 soldiers along Ukraine’s eastern frontier and threatened to halt its neighbour’s gas supplies over unpaid bills – a move that would impact at least 18 EU nations and potentially lead to further retaliation against the Kremlin.

Saturday’s attacks were especially unsettling for both Kiev and Western leaders because of their remarkable similarity to events leading up to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

The balaclava-clad gunmen were armed with special-issue assault rifles and scopes most often used by crack security troops.

Many wore unmarked camouflage uniforms similar to those seen on the highly trained units that seized the Black Sea peninsula in early March. They also moved with military precision and cohesion.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told the nation in a televised address that “we will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in the east of Ukraine”.

“Blood has been spilt in a war that is being waged against Ukraine by Russia,” said Turchynov.

“The national security and defence council has decided to launch a full-scale anti-terrorism operation involving the armed forces of Ukraine.”

The Russian foreign ministry immediately responded by accusing Ukraine’s leaders of “waging war against their own people” and demanding that the UN Security Council immediately address Kiev’s use of force.

Moscow has denied playing a role in the latest wave of violence and previously told Kiev that its armed response could ruin the chances of the two sides sitting down for US-EU mediated talks in Geneva on Thursday.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced the launch of a counterstrike against the armed separatists in the eastern Donetsk region early on Sunday morning.

He said crack units from Ukraine’s SBU security service moved first into the city of Slavyansk to regain control of a police station that had been seized by about 20 militants on Saturday.

But Avakov admitted that his troops had to “regroup” after meeting stiff resistance and suffering casualties.

“There are dead and wounded on both sides. On our side — an SBU officer. The head of the SBU’s anti-terrorist centre has been wounded, as have four others,” Avakov wrote on his Facebook page.

“On side of the separatists – an unidentified number. The separatists have started to protect themselves using human shields.”

Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited one local protester as saying that a civilian had also been killed and two others injured.

The local administration separately reported a series of heavy clashes on a highway linking Slavyansk with the region’s capital Donetsk to the south.

The Donetsk administration said one person was killed and four wounded in an “ongoing armed standoff” on a stretch of the road connecting Slavyansk and the town of Artemivsk.

The statement added that authorities were still checking to see “whose side the casualties were on”.—AFP

Two militants, 2 policemen killed in Kashmir

AFP

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants killed on Sunday two policemen guarding the home of a politician in India-held Kashmir in the first such attack in the region since general elections got underway, police said.

Two militants sprayed bullets towards the home of the pro-India politician who was inside, meeting party workers in the town of Khrew, 25km south of Srinagar, an officer and a party official said.

“The two policemen died before reaching hospital,” the officer at the scene said.

The attack sparked a gunbattle with security forces on patrol in the area that left both of the militants dead, the officer said.

Yawar Masoodi, a youth leader of the National Conference which rules at state level in the disputed Himalayan region, and the party workers were unharmed.

The militants fled into nearby mustard fields after snatching the police officers’ weapons. Security forces chased them, sparking the gunbattle as reinforcements from a nearby army camp moved in, the officer said.

“Both the attackers were later neutralised and the snatched weapons also recovered,” Inspector General Nalin Prabhat from the federal Central Reserve Police Force said.

At the time of the attack, Masoodi was in a “closed door meeting” with party workers discussing election campaign plans, said National Conference spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu.

“These two individuals arrived at the gate. On being stopped for frisking by the police guards, they suddenly took out weapons from under their ferans (traditional Kashmiri tunic),” Mattu said.

It is unclear why Masoodi, who is not an elected member of parliament nor standing in the polls, was singled out for attack. Militants have long fought for independence or for merger of the territory with Pakistan.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, also from the National Conference party, said the attack highlighted security concerns for all politicians in the region. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead in the past 25 years.

“The attack on Yawar’s residence is evidence of the continued risk associated with being a mainstream politician in Kashmir,” Abdullah said on Twitter.

The district in the Kashmir Valley where the attack took place will go to polls on April 24 as part of the mammoth elections that are staggered over six weeks.—AFP

Libyan premier quits after ‘traitorous attack’

AFP

TRIPOLI: Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani stepped down on Sunday, saying he and his family had been the victims of a “traitorous” armed attack the previous day.

Thani quit less than a week after parliament tasked him with forming a new cabinet and a month after it ousted his predecessor for failing to rein in the lawlessness gripping the North African country.

He said in a statement that he would not accept the premiership after a “traitorous attack” on himself and his family, but he would stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is appointed.

Amid controversy over his appointment, Thani, who was defence minister under ousted premier Ali Zeidan, was named as premier on Tuesday.

“I will not accept Libyans killing each other over this post,” Thani said in his statement addressed to the General National Congress (GNC).

Thani said the attack on Saturday had terrorised inhabitants of a residential district and “put the lives of some of them at risk”, without giving specific details.

A source close to Thani said the incident took place on the road from the capital to its airport and caused no casualties.

As premier, Thani was faced with the daunting task of bringing former rebel brigades to heel following the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that ended Muammar Qadhafi’s four-decade rule.

Libya has seen near daily attacks, particularly in the restive east, as well as a challenge from rebels who blockaded vital oil terminals for nine months, and a growing political crisis stemming from the interim parliament’s decision to extend its mandate.

Omar Hmidan, a spokesman for the GNC, the country’s highest political authority, said Thani was chosen after legislators failed to reach a consensus on other candidates.

He was given one week to form a new government.

The decision to confirm Thani was rejected as illegal by some legislators, who said it had not received the required number of votes.

MP Suad Ganur said the decision, which was approved by 42 votes out of 76 members present, was “null and void” because it required 120 votes out of the 200-member assembly.

But some analysts said the larger margin of votes was not necessary because Thani had already been appointed acting prime minister by 124 votes.

The GNC on March 11 ousted Zeidan after the military failed to prevent rebels from sending a tanker loaded with oil out from a blockaded port. After his ouster, Zeidan was replaced by the 60-year-old Thani, an army colonel who retired in 1997, initially on a temporary basis.

GNC spokesman Hmidan said Thani would remain in office until the election of a new parliament, the date for which has not been set.—AFP

UN panel urges world to change fuel use patterns

Masood Haider

UNITED NATIONS: A UN panel issued on Sunday another warning to policymakers and stressed that countries must make dramatic changes in their fuel consumption patterns, use of technology and even lifestyles to avert catastrophic effects of climate change.

The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that nations might have to make attempts to remove carbon pollution from the atmosphere, not just limit how much of it comes out of smokestacks and tailpipes.

Speaking at the Climate Leaders’ Summit in Washington, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged governments to reach an ambitious but achievable agreement to limit temperature rise within two degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels, which “the international community has agreed is the upper limit of safety”.

“Climate impacts are already affecting agriculture and food security, human health, water supplies and ecosystems on land and sea,” said Mr Ban.

According to the IPCC report, global greenhouse-gas emissions have risen more rapidly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades.

The IPCC called for international coordination to address the challenges of climate change, for instance by setting up carbon-pricing institutions, promoting CO2 taxes and ramping up investment in renewable energy.

Delaying action now would increase costs later and the desired results would not be achieved if companies and governments advanced “their own interests independently”, warned Ottmar Edenhofer, co-chair of the IPCC’s working group.

He added that taking action “doesn’t mean world community has to sacrifice growth... Climate policy isn’t a free lunch but could be lunch [that’s] worthwhile to buy”.

Studies have shown that the planet has warmed by about 0.8 degree Celsius since 1900. In 2010, about 200 governments agreed to reduce emissions to ensure that temperatures didn’t rise by more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Fact-checking gains momentum

AFP

WASHINGTON: The facts are the focus as part of a trend in journalism spreading from the United States to many places around the world.

WASHINGTON: The facts are the focus as part of a trend in journalism spreading from the United States to many places around the world.

Journalists have always faced up to facts, but a new wave of fact-checking journalism has gained prominence in the past decade to counter misleading or outrageous claims of political figures.

Notable among the organisations involved are FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009. Fact-checking news organisations have sprung up on every continent, gaining attention in places ranging from Egypt to Australia, Chile and France, according to a Duke University study.

The study led by Bill Adair, a Duke faculty member who was a founder of PolitiFact at the Tampa Bay Times, identified 59 fact-checking groups globally, of which more than 15 are in the United States.

“It really surprised me how much fact-checking is going on around the world,” Adair said. “I had no idea there was this much, particularly in places such as Eastern Europe. These sites are using fact-checking and are holding politicians accountable for their promises. It’s really become a strong movement in journalism.”

Recognising the growth, the Poynter Institute journalism school has organised the first global fact-checking summit, to be held in June in London.—AFP

Abdullah leads in first results of Afghan vote

AFP

KABUL: Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah is leading his closest rival Ashraf Ghani in early results from the Afghan presidential election, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) said on Sunday, but figures indicate a likely run-off vote.

In a positive sign for supporters of democracy, ex-World Bank economist Ghani told reporters he welcomed the announcement, adding that he was still confident of victory when final results would be released.

The eventual winner will have to lead the fight against a resurgent Taliban as US-led combat troops prepare to leave at year-end, and strengthen an economy reliant on declining aid money.

“Today we announce the partial results of 26 provinces with 10 per cent of votes counted, these include (provinces) in the north, south, east, west and Kabul,” said Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, the IEC chief.

“With 500,000 votes from 26 provinces Dr Abdullah is leading with 41.9 per cent; Dr Ashraf Ghani has 37.6 per cent and is in second; and Zalmai Rassoul has 9.8 per cent in third position.”

Nuristani stressed the figure was only partial and could change drastically in coming days, when more partial results would be announced.

A run-off election between the two leading candidates will be triggered if no single candidate gains more than 50 per cent of the vote when the final results are announced in late May.

But Nuristani cautioned against reading too much into the early results. “These results are changeable... today one candidate might be leading but when we announce more results another candidate might be leading,” he said.

At an evening press conference, Ghani told reporters: “We welcome the commission’s announcement because it created an environment of more certainty,” and praised the state’s security forces for remaining neutral “with some small exceptions”.

But he said he was still confident of victory. “We are in a 100 minute game and we have just completed the first 10 minutes,” he said.

Of the eight provinces for which results have not been announced, two are in the north (Badakhshan and Baghlan) and two in the east (Nuristan and Paktika). The others are Daykundi in the centre, southern Ghazni and Wardak and the western province of Ghor.

Abdullah, who was born to an ethnic Pakhtun father and a Tajik mother, is more associated with the northern Tajiks.

More than seven million people defied bad weather and Taliban threats of violence to vote in the April 5 first round of the election, earning praise from world leaders.

Ahead of the vote there were fears that a repeat of the massive fraud which blighted Hamid Karzai’s re-election in 2009 would undermine the winner’s legitimacy at a testing time for the war-torn country.

But the Election Complaints Commission announced on Sunday there had been “less fraud” in the current poll.

“We have received 1,892 complaints with evidence, (including) 1,382 through phone,” said spokesman Nader Mohseni, adding that 870 of the complaints fell into the most serious category.

“We will review all the complaints. Based on the reviews and numbers provided by the observers there has been less fraud in this election compared to the previous one,” he said.

Ghani stressed that the results could change when the complaints had been investigated, urging officials to not include suspect ballots in the next round of results until they had been cleared.

“The votes have not been differentiated. Votes fraudulently cast have not yet been sifted. So the overall result will come after fraudulent votes have been taken out,” he said.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan meanwhile welcomed the announcement as a “first snapshot that will regularly be updated by the IEC”.

“I urge presidential candidates and their supporters to display patience while vote tallying is completed,” said Jan Kubis, UN Special Representative to Afghanistan, in a statement.

Abdullah, an ophthalmologist by training, came second in the 2009 election to the current president, in a vote that was internationally denounced as fraudulent.

He was a resistance fighter against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and was a close friend and adviser to Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Ghani is a former World Bank economist and globally renowned intellectual, who has shed some of his wonkish image during his current campaign and is more favoured by the country’s majority Pakhtuns.—AFP

Footprints: Text message of death

Mina Sohail

Thirty miles from Faisalabad, in Gojra, a city of Toba Tek Singh district, is a small rundown house, with white paint peeling off. The door has been locked since July 2013. The house belongs to Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, a Christian couple languishing in jail for nine months now. Their alleged crime? Sending a profane text to a local mosque cleric on his mobile phone. Their punishment? Death.

“She can’t read or write. One of her main duties was to take kids to the restroom,” said Kaleem Akhter, principal at St John’s Cathedral Girls High School, where Shagufta worked as a helper, earning Rs3,500 a month. Looking around at the back of the school, where the Christian couple had been given free accommodation by Bishop John Samuel, the principal said that Shagufta lived with her husband, a handicapped man who had his own mobile phone repair shop. Her four children studied at the same school free of cost.

Gesticulating eagerly, Mariam Faiz, a middle-aged neighbour of the couple, emerged from her house, keen to narrate, in a piercing tone, the dramatic scene in July last year when late afternoon six to seven vehicles with around 40 policemen and policewomen came to their neighbourhood.

“Police barged into my house and inquired about Shagufta,” she said. “They took away our mobile phones and told us to go outside.” Mariam recalled that when she went outside she heard Shagufta’s four children wailing loudly. Soon, the police, after identifying the couple, took the entire family away.

The death sentence handed down by the court on April 4 jolted Alphonse John Sahutra, former nazim of Faisalabad’s Christian community. “Most people in my community are illiterate and don’t know how to read or write, let alone send texts,” he said. “This SMS situation has become really dangerous: people can steal mobiles and use them to send profane texts, framing others in the process.”

He added there were no protests in the neighbourhood because people were already scared owing to Gojra’s history of attacks on Christians.

Having a Christian population of about 100,000, Gojra is no stranger to allegations of blasphemy. In 2009, Christians in Gojra were mobbed after a rumour was floated that a copy of the holy Quran had been desecrated. The rumour spread like wildfire — literally. Mobs burnt down nearly 40 houses, a nearby church and killed eight Christians.

“I don’t think a text message can be admissible as evidence in court — it is bound to get thrown out at the high court level, as has happened to all such fabricated evidence in the past in such cases,” said Beena Sarwar, a human rights activist and vocal critic of the blasphemy law. Referring to the case as both “ridiculous and sad”, she added: “It was a continuation of the kind of persecution we’ve been seeing particularly since Section 295-C [of the Pakistan Penal Code] came into effect and the option of life imprisonment was removed.”

This section of the blasphemy law was a subject of discussion earlier in the day between Qari Mohammad Afzal, chairman of the Pakistan Aman Council, and former nazim Sahutra when they came to the Faisalabad Press Club and sat together for what was a first dialogue regarding the Christian couple case.

“[Section] 295-C itself should not end but certain hurdles in the legal system should be addressed to prevent innocents from being accused,” said Afzal. Speaking of the camaraderie of Muslims and Christians in the community, Afzal said: “We go to their churches, they come to our mosques. The bishop sends us cake on our festivities and we take part in their Christmas celebrations.”

According to him, a blasphemy case of this nature is a first for him. Many incidents come to his notice that don’t even make it to the media, he claimed, but he had never come across a case where profanity was committed through a text message. Sahutra nodded in agreement but dismissed the notion that any Christian would send a profane message deliberately, knowing the repercussions.

The outcome that Sahutra alluded to was evident in the Gojra graveyard we had passed by earlier, redolent of the tragedy of 2009. It was broad daylight but eeriness engulfed the air. The car kept moving, the location blurring but still serving as a chilling reminder of the disastrous implications of blasphemy accusations.

Editorial News

For economic stability

Editorial

GIVE the minister credit where it’s due: Ishaq Dar had promised economic stabilisation to set the stage for a take-off and, thus far, the minister has delivered on his stabilisation promises at least. The string of successes in recent months for the all-powerful and micro-managing finance czar of the country is already long and, to his obvious pleasure, looks set to grow further in the immediate future. Be it the sentiment in the private sector or the much-needed approval from the IFIs led by the IMF or just generally a feel-good sentiment among the consumers, the mood on the economy has picked up. Animal spirits are flying high again, as it were. As ever, the medium- and long-term outlooks are a little more complicated than the government would want the public and investors to believe.

First, with many one-time or irregular inflows filling up the state’s coffers, what is the plan to consolidate and entrench these gains? Yes, the fiscal deficit may eventually clock in at an acceptable level this financial year, but is there any serious debate on or serious concern given to the next budget that will go into effect on July 1? Last year’s budget was a disappointment in terms of reforms on the revenue or expenditure side, a disappointment that the government has tried to cover up and compensate for by arranging special inflows and working on macro stabilisation. But surely another year of ad hoc financing of gaping holes in the budget, such as by accelerating the privatisation process perhaps, will do little to address the underlying structural problems. Simply put, spending twice as much as it earns in tax revenue is not a sustainable model for any government — not least if it comes on the back of years of massive borrowing. Are Mr Dar and his team willing to address the massive leakages on the revenue side and the gross wastage on the expenditure side? In any case, after defence, debt servicing and current expenditure of the federal government is met, there is hardly anything left in the budget for development priorities. Is that a concern for the PML-N?

Second, as the government rushes the economy into take-off mode, who is it really who stands to gain? Crony capitalism looks good in the beginning as investment grows and jobs are created, but soon enough, going by the international experience, the flaws become more and more apparent. In a weakly regulated economy, the big get bigger — and little ever trickles down to the rest. It appears the PML-N is all too willing to accept the creation of a class of super-wealthy individuals and families if it means eye-catching overall growth numbers. But those numbers could be meaningless if the vast majority are excluded from its bountiful effects.

Ulema’s call

Editorial

WITH Pakistan being sucked into a vortex of militancy since the past decade or so, the fallout is all too evident: tens of thousands of lives lost, massive damage to infrastructure and a state administration left wobbling. But these are far from the only disservices that the amorphous groupings of militants, terrorists and religious extremists have done us. Of arguably greater significance, though perhaps less apparent, are other unpleasant realities such as an emotionally battered populace, and a societal narrative that has been twisted so grotesquely that it is easy to spot and identify apologists for those who kill and maim. It is with reference to this last evil that a convention convened by the Pakistan Ulema Council deserves strong appreciation. In Karachi on Wednesday, representatives of more than 30 political and religious parties joined hands with citizens to denounce violence unleashed in the name of religion, and called upon the government to deal with the terrorists with an iron hand. A joint communiqué read out by Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, the head of the PUC, appealed to all political and religious parties, and people belonging to all religions and sects, to respect each others’ views. It sought to remind the public that all citizens have equal rights, and any kind of injustice in the name of religion was against the Constitution. We can add that the greatest victim of this particular tactic is religion itself, which has been grossly misused.

It is a sad reflection on Pakistani society that something which is self-evident in more mature societies — ie the use of faith to justify violence increases divisions — needs to be spelt out here. Sadder is the fact that voices that say this are all too few and far between. A battle over ideologies is under way, and Pakistan is at the heart of it. If the side that desires tolerance, plurality and peace is to win, we need more people — particularly those affiliated with religious parties and organisations — to take a stand against violence masqueraded as part of religious belief. The militants’ success lies in having turned what is actually a power struggle into a religious debate. This needs to be urgently countered.

Who’ll drive out the pests?

Editorial

“ONLY three out of 20 aircraft owned by the plant protection department are operational, a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Food Security and Research was informed on Wednesday … the remaining 17 aircraft, which were used for conducting aerial spray to control locust attacks on crops, were not operational due to shortage of funds.” Trust these rural folks to play the spoiler every now and then. We travel on the solid roads that have been built, the flyovers that have come up in urban Pakistan, we imagine the airports that are in the making and the chimneys which are about to billow smoke, and then we suddenly veer in the opposite direction. Just when everyone in the visibility zone is busy chasing their urban dream there is a 200-word news item from somewhere deep inside the country brutally updating us about who we actually are and where our roots are. We are reminded of the budget speech the last year, the year before that, in fact, during all these years.

This is an agricultural country that we are living in and off. There are fields — and ‘hands’ that work these fields — which lie mostly concealed thanks to the urban model of development and urban concerns which are but to be protected. If the news item about the absence of aircraft — only three available where 20 were previously assigned — for aerial spray is taken as a barometer, the country is meeting only 15pc of the commitment it made to rural Pakistan. The standing committee on food security and research ‘recommended’ to the government that required funding should be provided for the upgrading and maintenance of the spray planes. A close watch has to be kept for signs of the government’s will to actually intervene on behalf of rural Pakistan wherever it is necessary. Let’s see if the committee has some real purpose or is just another forum to create the impression that the government cares.

Too much for too little

Editorial

THERE is no deadlock, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan had told the country regarding talks with the outlawed TTP. There is a deadlock, the TTP emissaries and a member of its negotiating committee had claimed. Now, the TTP leadership has cancelled its month-old ceasefire and the future of the government-TTP dialogue has been plunged into chaos and uncertainty. Immediately, the TTP negotiating committee has talked of trying to keep the talks alive and restoring the ceasefire, but it appears difficult that the two can be attempted at the same time because talks amidst violence had previously been ruled out by the government, and rightly so. The government has already conceded far too much in return for far too little, the latest case in point being the statement made by new KP governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan on Tuesday.

Swearing-in ceremonies and initial comments to the media are supposed to be fairly innocuous affairs. But KP’s newest governor, Mehtab Khan, chose to wade straight into controversy by mooting the idea of a general amnesty for the Taliban. According to Governor Khan, many militants would apparently prefer to return to mainstream society and lead peaceful lives, but could not do so because the path to their return is blocked. Quite how Mr Khan arrived at that conclusion is problematic enough. But it is what the KP governor went on to recommend that is truly extraordinary: a general amnesty for militants. The questions that Mr Khan’s suggestion raise are many, and grave. For one, as the senior-most representative of the federation in KP, was the governor speaking in his personal capacity or inadvertently stating the government’s eventual policy? Surely, it could not have been uttered in his personal capacity, but then ought the federal government not to distance itself from the governor’s recommendation or censure the governor or clarify the government’s position on the matter?

The troubling part of an amnesty is that it flows logically from the prisoner releases — not even swaps, just unilateral releases — that the government has engineered in recent weeks. If militancy suspects in state custody can be handed back to the TTP, then why not an amnesty for the individuals who are already roaming free? It also works in the other direction: if those already free can get an amnesty, then even the most hardline of militants convicted by the court and serving their sentences in prison could also be set free. Follow through the logic of Mr Khan’s amnesty suggestion and it would appear that there is no one really whose capture the state ought to seek for perpetrating or planning violence against state and society. Is that really what the PML-N had in mind when it opted to give dialogue one last chance? Is the TTP ceasefire withdrawal a way to put yet more pressure on a wilting government?

The name of the game

Editorial

WHAT’S in a name? A lot, it turns out, at least in the case of a proscribed organisation that wants to participate in the elections. It seems that one such organisation, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, which was banned by the government in February 2012, contested the polls last year under the name of Pakistan Rah-i-Haq Party as part of an alliance of five religio-political parties called the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz. A report in this newspaper cites an office-bearer of the ASWJ confirming that the party did indeed contest the elections; when asked why this fact was concealed from the ECP, the individual avoided giving an answer. Although the alliance had not won any seat in the polls, an election tribunal recently declared ASWJ leader, Maulana Ludhianvi, the winner from Jhang after disqualifying the original victor. While this result looks set to be contested in the courts, it is worth considering the ease with which banned organisations evade state action against them by changing their names and in the process make a mockery of the law.

There are a number of organisations today — those with political ambitions that is — that have gone through several iterations in their history. The ASWJ itself is better known by its earlier name, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. After the SSP was banned in 2002, it briefly re-emerged as Millat-i-Islamia until that too was banned in 2003. It has since been known as ASWJ. Similarly, the Tehreek-i-Jafria after being banned in 2002 reinvented itself as Tehreek-i-Islami, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s post-ban reincarnation as Jamaatud Dawa is well known. While it may be tempting to hold the ECP responsible for allowing a proscribed organisation such as the ASWJ to participate in the elections through the latter’s onomastic jugglery, it is the loopholes in the law itself that need to be addressed. It is not enough to merely ban an organisation while leaving those at its helm free to further its agenda in another capacity, sometimes by participating in elections as independents or under a ‘new’ party name. The expediency of the political elite in Pakistan also bears mention here, for it is only with their tacit complicity that extremist elements make it into mainstream politics through the back door.

Roles reversed

Editorial

THE story has been repeated ad nauseam over the decades, but is still a favourite with many Pakistanis who bemoan their country’s failure to join the ranks of the Asian Tigers. During the Ayub Khan days, it is said, and not without basis, that a South Korean delegation came to Pakistan to study this country’s economic progress and find out why its Five-Year Plan had been such a success. Ayub was development-oriented — and lucky, because in those days when communism was anathema to the US, the American criterion for economic and military support depended on whether one was with the ‘free world’ or with the Reds. For the Americans, human rights and democracy were non-issues. If a country chose the ‘free world’, Western coffers were open for it, even if its ruler was a tyrant. Ayub can be categorised as one. His era saw democracy being stifled and political opposition being suppressed. Moreover, the unequal economic focus on the two wings of the country during his time paved the way for the secession of the east wing. Nevertheless, he did lay the foundations of Pakistan’s industrialisation. Foreign investment flowed in, and tourists came in droves. Pakistan had some symbols of progress to show the world — for instance, PIA became the first ‘free world’ airline to begin flights to China.

Since the end of that era, uninterrupted periods of economic growth have been scarce. While democracy has taken sturdy strides overcoming one military dictator after another, terrorism and poor governance have left their mark. Many countries that were once backward have become ‘tigers’. South Korea’s progress has been impressive. American money and technology flooded South Korea, and the Koreans utilised it well. Today, with the South Korean prime minister in Pakistan, the two countries cannot be compared in terms of economic growth. South Korea is the world’s 12th biggest economy with a per capita GDP of $33,200, and 98pc literacy. Pakistan’s per capita GDP is $3,100 and it has a despicably low 55pc literacy rate.

Life without dignity

Editorial

CAN a family survive with dignity on the minimum wage of an unskilled worker, asked the Supreme Court on Monday in the context of an application regarding the price of wheat flour.

CAN a family survive with dignity on the minimum wage of an unskilled worker, asked the Supreme Court on Monday in the context of an application regarding the price of wheat flour.

It is high time, indeed, that the question was asked. Pakistan’s most open secret is also its most shameful: vast swathes of the population, whether rural or urban, live in near or abject poverty; rising prices of everyday essentials — from food to schooling to electricity and fuel — mean that more and more families continue to quietly slip under the poverty line; in a country that refers to itself as an agriculture-based economy, people struggle with hunger and malnutrition as their constant companions.

There is no doubt about this. Study after study, survey after survey, has shown that every year, the ranks of the poor keep swelling in Pakistan, and that even amongst the relatively better-off sections of society living standards are plummeting.

Dignity is the key word here. The court identified the average family as comprised of two adults and two children, but family sizes are generally much larger than that in Pakistan.

The minimum wage is officially set at Rs10,000 per month, as announced by the finance minister last June; the standard that is actually in existence is even lower, ranging between Rs7,000 and Rs9,000, as noted by the court.

When these figures are put in the context of a price tag that comes with all the other ‘benefits’ — many would call them compulsions — of being Pakistani, where is there room for people to lead lives with even basic dignity or honour, let alone dream of a better future for their children?

The state fails its most populous sections of society every day, and this can be traced to two broad reasons.

First, the more fortunate sections of society, including the political and policymaking elites, display an utter lack of concern and compassion for the majority of the population. Were this not the case, public outrage at the levels of poverty would have forced change already — change that did not limit itself to piecemeal interventions to better the lot of some, but that was sustained and aimed at reducing general poverty.

Second, the state seems unable to bestir itself and implement even those rules and laws that have been formulated. Concerning the minimum wage, there are clear arguments that it must be raised.

But, as some will argue, what is the point, given that the state does so little to ensure that even existing standards are followed? Then, there are armies of workers who aren’t protected by the minimum wage standard at all, and haven’t even heard of it, for example daily-wage and domestic workers. Between the ailing unions and an unconcerned state, millions of Pakistanis are left in an unenviable situation.

One-way ‘talks’

Editorial

IN the ebb and flow of negotiations between the federal government and the outlawed TTP, the government appears to have lost its way of late.

IN the ebb and flow of negotiations between the federal government and the outlawed TTP, the government appears to have lost its way of late.

Everything seems to be taking place on the TTP’s timeline and to the TTP’s liking, be it the extension of the ceasefire or the release of prisoners or when and how to engage the government in the next round of talks.

Meanwhile, the government seems reduced to, if not quite grovelling, waiting around for the TTP to decide if it still wants to talk and which further concessions it will demand from the government.

Sadly, even the most forceful public criticism of the government’s negotiations strategy is also proving to be myopic with the PPP seemingly focused on just the release of two scions of party members instead of a broader criticism of a process that is turning out to be lopsided.

If there is anything that can be discerned about the government’s approach to negotiating with the TTP it is this: keep the ceasefire going as long as possible.

Beyond that there is little that can be said about what the government has demanded so far of the TTP. Abiding by the Constitution and keeping any deal confined to a geographical area where the TTP is in the ascendant were the baselines set by the government.

But what do those mean in practice? Where, for example, are the demands to hand over militants who are caught violating the ceasefire? And if even that small demand has not been made, then what of the more significant, and important ones, such as renouncing violence, expelling foreign militants and allowing the state apparatus to function freely again in Fata and parts of KP? Unhappily, the show being run by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan with the explicit backing of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is drifting towards farce with the government making many promises while the TTP merrily goes along their way.

In fact, so lopsided has the process become that the TTP has turned to deal with internal schisms and fighting first while essentially telling the government to wait until the TTP leadership is ready to focus on talks again. Surely, this is not what dialogue was meant to be?

Parveen Rehman case

Editorial

MANIPULATION has been found written all over the Karachi police’s tackling of the murder of Parveen Rehman, the late director of Karachi’s well-known Orangi Pilot Project.

MANIPULATION has been found written all over the Karachi police’s tackling of the murder of Parveen Rehman, the late director of Karachi’s well-known Orangi Pilot Project.

A judicial inquiry report prepared for the Supreme Court more or less dismisses the evidence collected to pin Ms Rehman’s killing on a man named Qari Bilal, and casts serious doubts on the version that the killer was himself shot dead in an encounter with the police.

A reinvestigation, the inquiry says, would be in order, by policemen who can be trusted. This is painful but something which was being feared. All sane voices coming together with the aim of having Ms Rehman’s killers arrested failed to make much of an impact on the investigation.

In fact, the police wasted crucial time — more than a year — on preparing a case that turned out not to be based on facts and hard evidence. It is feared that some of the evidence may already be irretrievably lost, resulting in a huge challenge for those who will now investigate the case.

This is material for not just criticising the police but also taking to task those officers responsible for apparently distorting the facts. This is reflective, once more, of the deep malaise that exists within the police force.

Manipulation is more than simple ignorance or oversight or incompetence. Manipulation is deliberate. It requires will and ability and is resorted to when there is a firm conviction that the truth will never come out. If a number of policemen believe they can conceal facts about such a high-profile crime, the fate of less-publicised, routine investigations can only be imagined.

Ms Rehman’s case also shows the extent to which a corrupt system allows officials to operate with impunity and to encroach on the rights and space of people. The court may intervene from time to time but ultimately, the system will have to be reformed so that no one is able to use it to hide the truth.

Conspiracy theories

Editorial

NOTHING ever changes in Balochistan it seems. On Sunday, Sanaullah Zehri, senior provincial minister, expanded on what he believes to be the real causes of violence and unrest in Balochistan: India. Furthermore, if the port in Gwadar were to become a regional trading hub, an unnamed superpower — how many of them are left anyway? — and sundry unnamed regional countries would do their best to destabilise the entire country simply to cause the port to fail. There was nothing new in what Mr Zehri said. Theories and conspiracies along the same lines have been peddled for years now. Nevertheless, the minister’s words are cause for dismay — because the provincial government he is a part of and the prime minister whose party he is a member of both have long assessed the problems in Balochistan very differently, and correctly: the long-running, low-level insurgency in the province that has all but cut off the Baloch areas from the rest of the country for years now is the result of alienation felt by the Baloch and a security-centric policy towards the province by the security establishment.

The problem with Mr Zehri’s analysis is that it misses the point altogether. For years now, Pakistani authorities have routinely complained of Indian interference in Balochistan — and yet never once publicly produced evidence of the so-called interference. But even if the euphemistically referred to interference is real, is that really a symptom or cause of the real problem in Balochistan? While India is hardly to be taken lightly or its intentions always assumed to be the best, tarring the security crisis in Balochistan with the India brush makes the resolution of the real problem that much more difficult. If “progress and prosperity cannot be achieved until peace is restored in Balochistan” in Mr Zehri’s own words, then how is that peace to be achieved if a peripheral issue is given centre stage and little is said about why Balochistan is still in a world of trouble?

Yet, the conspiratorial worldview does not stop at India. The senior minister from Balochistan decided to roll out the conspiracy theorists’ other favourite game, ie the phantom war between China and the US over the Gwadar port. Somehow, despite bilateral trade between the US and China growing to more than half a trillion US dollars last year and the US policy towards Pakistan focused on expanding trade opportunities regionally and globally, the port in Gwadar — one of many in the region — is seen to be crossing some strategic red line that is all too obvious to the chosen few. Gwadar has not taken off for many reasons, not least opposition in some Baloch quarters itself. Surely, the problems of Balochistan will never be resolved if its leadership keeps getting the diagnosis wrong.

Harmful SRO culture

Editorial

THE culture of the Statutory Regulatory Order has over time deeply entrenched itself in the country’s tax administration because of the excessive misuse of legislative powers delegated by parliament — through laws — to the tax authorities. By definition, the use of SROs should be restricted to framing rules and procedures for implementing a tax law or laws. Or it can be used to remove ‘hardships’ and ambiguities — without involving new levies, exemptions, concessions, waivers, etc — that taxpayers may encounter during the enforcement of a tax law or laws passed by the legislature. In Pakistan’s context, however, the FBR has also been given statutory powers to give unlimited tax concessions, waivers and exemptions without parliamentary approval. That is why experts find the excessive misuse of delegated legislative powers favouring powerful interest groups at the cost of honest taxpayers to be at the root of our tax woes. The practice of handing out massive financial favours in the name of tax exemptions, concessions and waivers is not restricted to one particular government or the other. If, for example, the previous government gave away Rs1tr to different powerful lobbies in five years through SROs, the incumbent rulers have already doled out Rs104bn in the first half of the present fiscal, according to a report in this newspaper.

It was with a view to putting an end to the misuse of SROs that the IMF had made the government agree to withdraw tax exemptions to the tune of Rs350bn in three years in exchange for a bailout. It, nevertheless, is surprising that the government is still continuing to offer tax favours, notwithstanding its plans to revoke some tax exemptions in its next budget. FBR officials say notifications issued by the board to give exemptions and concessions are ordered by the political authorities. While it is largely true, the board has overstepped its delegated legislative powers in many cases at its own discretion. The practice of helping favourites through SROs cannot be ended without drastically limiting the taxman’s authority to make rules and remove the ‘hardships’ of taxpayers through notifications. The powers of giving tax exemptions, concessions and waivers should rest entirely with parliament as ruled by the Supreme Court a few times in the past.

Destruction of mangroves

Editorial

IT is the kind of inexplicability that can perhaps be recognised only in the context of Pakistan. As a report published in this newspaper yesterday highlighted, bulldozers are in the process of destroying dozens of mature mangrove trees in Karachi’s Port Qasim area, clearing the land ahead of a private company’s plans to establish a power project. Why does this leave us scratching our heads? Because these mangrove forests have enjoyed protected status since the 1950s, and their cutting down in this manner is illegal — as pointed out by several officials contacted by Dawn. The private company has not obtained the forest department’s approval for uprooting the trees, the environment impact assessment report required by the law is yet to be submitted, and the chief conservator of the Sindh forests department says that the federal government has not contacted its provincial counterpart in this regard. Indeed, he emphasised that damaging mangrove forests without taking the government on board was illegal. Be that as it may, the work is under way at a rapid pace. Reportedly, the foundation-laying ceremony is to be performed by the prime minister.

There is never any shortage in this country of examples where the lure of short-term gains trumps a holistic vision for the future, and the case of the diminishing mangroves must be one such instance. Do the conservators and managers of the province’s natural resources need reminding of the tremendous pace at which forest cover is being lost, and of their duty to put on the brakes? In terms of mangroves, the density has decreased by an appalling 60pc since the 1950s. Clearly, they have also forgotten how important a part mangrove forests play in the coastal and marine ecosystems, which are already suffering from considerable and accelerating deterioration. It is true that the energy crisis that has the country in its grip means power generation is a priority. But surely not at the expense of the law being flouted and long-term ecological damage.

Questionable appointments

Editorial

AS the federal government belatedly turns to filling a range of senior appointments in various government and semi-governmental organisations, it appears to have forgotten its own advice and promises. As reported in this newspaper yesterday, a pattern is emerging of the government selecting individuals for top posts who are past the age of retirement and whose services are either retained or hired on a contractual basis. That very practice was so fiercely criticised and opposed by the PML-N during the last PPP government that a senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif moved the Supreme Court to help stop it. Now, the government is lamely defending its U-turn by claiming that while the PPP’s appointments were done on the basis of nepotism, cronyism and corruption, the PML-N is making its selections on merit and within the laid down criteria. Of course, since the eligibility criteria for certain posts have been specifically relaxed to allow individuals over the age of 60 to apply, the PML-N’s defence is weak at best.

What all of this unseemly manoeuvring comes down to is two things. One, governing through favourites. What exactly does the new Pakistan Tourism and Development Corporation head bring at the age of 65 that someone below the age of retirement cannot bring to the job? If the new managing director really does possess a unique skill set to manage some extraordinary challenge at the PTDC, why not tell the public what those are? Even where an attempt is made at giving some kind of explanation, it is scarcely credible. For example, perhaps the DG, Intelligence Bureau does have a reform agenda that only he can see through and which necessitated an extension in service — but what does that say about reforms themselves if they can only be pushed through by one individual? Surely, little of lasting effect can be achieved. Those are but two recent examples of a list that is growing worryingly long.

Two, the PML-N’s utter lack of interest in institutional and structural reforms. While the government denies that is true, it also claims that what is needed are quick results, which is another way of saying that the slow and painstaking work of nuts-and-bolts institutional reform can wait until the economic and security situation of the country is stabilised. All of this the country has heard before — and seen the results too. A growth spurt is engineered, the veneer of security is created and then, three to five years later, the game of illusions ends and the country has to bear the cost of the focus on short-term gains. It is not as if politicians as a group, including the present government, are unaware of the risks, but there is little pressure on them to choose the more responsible, and difficult, path.

Prime minister’s absence

Editorial

THE prime minister must have taken note of the moves to amend the Senate’s rules of procedure to make the chief executive’s presence in the upper house compulsory at least once a week. The need for such a move would not have arisen if Nawaz Sharif had attended parliamentary sessions regularly. As of now, Mr Sharif is upholding a rather unsavoury tradition: most Pakistani prime ministers have never been habitués of parliament. Obviously, they failed to realise that one of their duties is to strengthen democratic traditions by being a regular participant of parliamentary sessions. Mr Sharif’s record is among the worst of any Pakistani prime minister — he didn’t attend a single session of the upper house during the parliamentary year ending last month. And unlike Yousuf Raza Gilani, who regularly participated in debates, Mr Sharif’s record of presence in the lower house is even worse. He attended a National Assembly session on Jan 29 after a gap of seven months, and then was last seen in the people’s house on Feb 26. Since then, he has not been visible in parliament. No one should be surprised if his ministers take their cue from him, for his interior minister has been accused by senators of having resorted to an undeclared boycott of the upper house since those November days when opposition members in the Senate held sessions outside the parliament building, and the senators wanted Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to apologise for allegedly giving faulty information.

Granted, Mr Sharif is a busy person but then so are prime ministers of other parliamentary democracies. In Britain, the prime minister himself answers MPs’ questions and stands the booing and heckling that is an intrinsic part of a parliamentarian’s life. That Mr Sharif should absent himself from a house where his party has a majority is astonishing and demands an explanation. By appearing in parliament only rarely Mr Sharif is doing no service to himself or to democracy in a country that needs strong parliamentary traditions. ‘A clash of institutions’ is often talked about and feared in Pakistan. The best way to pre-empt such a malignant event is to strengthen parliament and make it a truly sovereign body that commands the respect of unelected institutions.

Security guards’ plight

Editorial

GLANCE through any news report of a bank heist or robbery at some other commercial establishment. Chances are that among those who got injured or shot dead is the security guard employed at the premises. We only get to hear of him again if he’s found to have had some culpability in the break-in. A recent report in this paper gave an insight into the back story of private security guards whose dire work conditions have a direct bearing on their morale and, by extension, on the security of those they are employed to protect. Although it focused on security guards and agencies in Punjab, there is enough anecdotal evidence to indicate that similar conditions prevail throughout the country.

The plight of the majority is pathetic by any standard: less than minimum wage for 12-hour shifts seven days a week, lack of training, no overtime, sick leave, or medical cover. Moreover, despite their high-risk job, they have no social security cover, which means their families are not entitled to compensation if they lose their lives in the line of duty. The security agencies that employ them on such terms are not only flouting norms of humane behaviour by exploiting the desperation of those in need of an income, howsoever humiliating the circumstances in which it is earned, but also breaking the law in some respects. Aside from refresher training for the guards, the provincial government also stipulates that agencies insure their guards with respect to death or serious injury amounting to disability in the discharge of duty. Action has indeed been taken against some 70 agencies for operating counter to the requirements of the law and human decency, but a lot more remains to be done. Potential customers of security agencies would do well to consider how effective guards are when they are malnourished, demoralised and insecure about their future. If they were discriminating about which agency to do business with, it may prompt unethical establishments to review their practices.

CJ’s remarks

Editorial

ON Friday, in a speech to mark the retirement of a judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Tassaduq Jillani touched upon an important issue that has unhappily received far too little attention for far too long in the country. It is worth reproducing portions of the two paragraphs that CJ Jillani devoted to the tensions between security for the collective and the rights of the individual: “While fighting terrorism and protecting democracy, we need to strike a proper balance between the conflicting values and principles i.e. the value of security of the state and individual rights… The court in its endeavour to strike a balance between the conflicting values often attracts criticism from both sides.” What is remarkable about CJ Jillani’s comments is how, a decade since the state mobilised the army to fight militancy, so little has been said about this most fundamental of issues. And when the issue has appeared on the periphery of the national conversation, it has often been cast as a battle for national survival versus desirable, but ultimately negotiable, rights of the individual.

In that sense, that is a disservice to the Pakistani people. States that wage wars, even against internal threats, and states that have a profound and abiding respect for constitutionally guaranteed rights of the individual, are not mutually incompatible. Indeed, the overwhelming, fear-based focus on the security aspect of the equation — why, for example, should those accused of violence against state and society be afforded the same rights as everyone else? — tends to overshadow the very real and long-term effects it has on state institutions and their regard for the people and public they ostensibly serve. Neither is the debate a theoretical one. If the law-enforcement and judicial apparatus in Lahore can accuse a baby of attempted murder in this day and age, how much of a leap of the imagination does it take to understand what individuals can suffer in more remote areas with little media or public scrutiny?

The problem is not that there is no trade-off possible at all, but how best to achieve it from a rights perspective. While Chief Justice Jillani rightly spoke of the tensions between those two principles, what he did not elaborate on is how democratic and open societies wracked by organised, political or militant violence have met the challenge elsewhere. Surely, if the state’s answer to the militant threat is the Orwellian-named Protection of Pakistan Ordinance that seeks to indefinitely jail suspects as opposed to try them, then the state is on the wrong side of the rights equation. Why always blame human rights advocates for tying the state’s hands instead of focusing on what the state can do within the confines of the law and the Constitution? Surely, the foundation of the rule of law cannot be a do-whatever-it-takes approach.

JUI-F’s exit

Editorial

HE who can split up with everyone can unite with just about anyone. Maulana Fazlur Rehman possesses such a remarkable ability to fit in any governmental set-up that his watchers have run out of adjectives to hail his consistency. He was an ally of the PPP government which he walked away from, going on to secure a reasonable presence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in last year’s general election. Post-poll, his energies were focused on hitting out at the PTI, the new party he had to contend with. The maulana appeared keen to knock over the PTI and was aiming at forming a coalition in KP with the PML-N, the party in power at the centre and thus worthy of a partnership with the JUI-F. Until now Mian Nawaz Sharif has not shown any inclination to try out Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s option against the PTI. Nevertheless, it speaks volumes for Maulana Sahib’s skill that he managed to get two ministries — though without portfolios — from a government with many members in the house.

The JUI-F has now ‘decided’ to leave the government because of disagreement “on major national issues”. While the party doesn’t say what these important issues are, it has not been happy over the government’s habit of not even maintaining the pretence of consultation with allies. Other issues could be the non-assignment of portfolios to JUI-F ministers, the importance given to Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s rival, in the context of talks with the outlawed Taliban, and, of course, the centre’s tolerance of the PTI government in KP. Whatever the reasons, many will be hoping — perhaps against hope — that these differences will wean the JUI-F away from the treasury. The PML-N enjoys a big majority in the National Assembly and it has many of its own prominent names to flaunt. The JUI-F’s being in the opposition (though this appears unlikely) could somewhat correct the parliamentary balance. The maulana has tried the arrangement where he is in the government and yet is free to walk out of the house if and when he pleases. It’s time to attempt the opposite: be in the opposition and ready to support the government’s good steps. Who knows, in the process, the maulana might get rid of the reputation of being power-hungry.

Religious tourism

Editorial

GIVEN the violence being unleashed in Pakistan today in the name of religion, it may seem ironic that in many quarters the desire is to see the country’s environment improved so that followers of other faiths may visit places that hold religious significance for them. The location and history of the land that today constitutes Pakistan is such that it has important sites related to Islam and other world religions. There are Sufi shrines and mosques that merit a visit, not least of them Lahore’s architecturally remarkable Badshahi Mosque and the Wazir Khan Masjid. There are churches and places of worship that have been recognised for their beautiful design. While there are places of interest to Buddhists in primarily what now constitutes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab has several shrines central to Sikhism, including the Gurdwara Punja Sahib. A reminder of this came as recently as Wednesday, when some 3,000 Indian Sikh yatris crossed the Wagah border to participate in the Besakhi festival celebrations. Welcomed to the country by the president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbanthak Committee and its senior officials, during their 10-day stay the yatris will visit several places that are of relevance to Sikhism.

There is a great measure of cruel irony in the fact that a land that has been called home by people of so many of the world’s religions is now beset with the sort of problems that are today’s unpalatable reality. Could Pakistan sort out its security and other related issues, there would be plenty of potential to be mined. In the context of tourism, the most talked about avenue of attraction is perhaps the beauty of the country’s north, where until quite recently places such as Swat and Gilgit attracted large numbers of national and international tourists. In addition, there is potential in what has been called ‘religious tourism’, or offering to people access to places of pilgrimage, which, if exploited properly, could also attract students of history.

Columns and Articles

The world around us

Sakib Sherani

A LOT is happening around us, both in our immediate neighbourhood, as well as further afield, that has not just geopolitical, strategic or military underpinnings, but potentially far-reaching economic ramifications as well.

Beyond a small circle of policy wonks and IR specialists, most people in Pakistan view the region through the prism of current developments next door — such as the ongoing elections in India and Afghanistan — which makes it somewhat harder to appreciate the momentous and tectonic shifts occurring on the broader canvas of Asia.

Two recent events in China provide a flavour and a setting. The Boao Forum for Asia annual conference, which China has been hosting since its inception in 2001, had multiple sub-themes this year all feeding into a larger search for “new growth drivers” for Asia. The potential growth drivers are new markets, cheaper and more reliable sources of energy and other natural resources, innovation and technological collaboration, and deeper economic reforms.

Within the overall theme, one of the sessions was on “the vision of reviving the Maritime Silk Road”. The US views the maritime silk route as China’s re-branding of what has been dubbed by American commentators since 2005 as the latter’s so-called string of pearls strategy — the establishment of naval bases, refuelling and docking stations and surveillance facilities along China’s sea lines of communication, extending from the western Indian Ocean to the East China Sea.

At around the same time as the Boao Forum, the US defence secretary was being given a tour — at his request — of China’s first aircraft carrier, the ‘Liaoning (which is the retrofitted Soviet-era ‘Varyag’). Many commentators see Chinese naval developments in the light of a historic move from a ‘defensive’ orientation to one that will have the capability of power projection in the seas around China’s sea lines of communication (or, SLOCs). Not surprisingly, the most visible part of any Chinese naval deployment is likely to be around the Malacca Straits in the South China Sea — not just for reasons of territorial disputes with some of the littoral countries, but also because the Straits are considered a ‘choke point’ for ships bringing oil and other natural resources to the Chinese mainland.

The supposed outward expansion of China’s sphere of influence and protection of its sea lines of communication coincides with the US’s re-orientation of its strategic focus away from the Atlantic towards the Pacific, specifically towards Asia as part of its ‘Asia pivot’ strategy. That re-orientation has taken place in recognition of the emergence within Asia of a number of economic powerhouses with rising military capabilities. Hence, while Asia as a whole accounts for 63pc of the world population, it is home to 12 out of the top 30 biggest economies by purchasing power parity (PPP), including the second, third and fourth largest. Collectively, Asia accounts for 43pc of global GDP on a PPP basis.

(For a broad canvas of the seismic shifts under way, and an appreciation of why the “map of the Indian Ocean will be a map of the 21st century”, Robert Kaplan’s Monsoon: the Indian Ocean and the future of American power is highly recommended).

To be sure, Asia is witnessing competition and cooperation not just in the strategic and military spheres. Ambitious plans for regional as well as pan-Asian connectivity — ranging from economic and transportation corridors, grand mining projects, preferential trading arrangements to energy pipelines — are being laid out. The most ambitious of these are the Asian Development Bank-sponsored Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation corridors initiative, and the US move to create a mega free trade area via the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The Carec initiative involves six two-way ‘corridors’ linking, horizontally, East Asia to Europe, and vertically, Russia to South Asia and the Middle East. The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is meant to create a free trade agreement between initially nine Pacific-rim countries, with the US in the lead.

Myriad other regional initiatives are either on the drawing board, or are slowly but surely taking shape on the ground. These include the CASA-1000 project, designed to transmit Central Asia’s surplus electricity to South Asia; the moribund Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline; the equally dead Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline; Pakistan and India’s talks on the import of at least 500MW of electricity by the former; India’s energy agreements with Nepal and Bangladesh; and India’s push to create a highway to Myanmar through Mizoram.

The planned Pakistan-China economic corridor is also one among many regional connectivity initiatives that are being rolled out. India’s collaboration with Iran in building a port at Chahbahar, less than 100 miles west of Gwadar at the mouth of the Hormuz, is another initiative aimed at gaining access to Central Asia by bypassing Pakistan — while also acting as a counter to China’s development of Gwadar. Other regional cooperation frameworks include the free and preferential trading arrangements being put in place, such as India’s agreements with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and its Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan.

In virtually all the regional cooperation frameworks, barring the bilateral China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan is either at the periphery or completely bypassed. Where it does figure, its role is either that of a transit route or a partial buyer of energy, diminished by security-related concerns.

Unfortunately, prospects for greater regional cooperation involving Pakistan may have to wait a bit longer. The expected outcome of the Indian and Afghan elections appears to herald a more tense regional environment for the foreseeable future.

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

Loudness and clarity

Asha’ar Rehman

SOMETIME back in the 1990s, a visiting journalist from New Zealand climbed the stairs to a newspaper office in Lahore and volunteered service in return for the hospitality he had received in Pakistan.

SOMETIME back in the 1990s, a visiting journalist from New Zealand climbed the stairs to a newspaper office in Lahore and volunteered service in return for the hospitality he had received in Pakistan.

Invited to glance through a few pages that were in the making, he was a bit taken aback by one sentence in a news story where someone was complaining about the ‘step-motherly’ treatment meted out to him. “We do use the term frequently” he was told. He replied with a shrug of his shoulders that implied a mild suggestion for a rethink.

Mild gestures don’t get us there and all these years later, had he been around in Pakistan today, the subtle Kiwi might not have agreed to the reasons behind sundry objections to Khawaja Saad Rafique’s remarks about Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The mouthful has led many, rather prematurely if out of habit, to strain for the sounds of military boots on the march. There have been explanations and eventually Khawaja Saad, a vastly toned down politician today as compared to his earlier years in politics, has had to write a column explaining that he stands by his words and why.

But whereas he has been both wooed and booed over his outburst against a general if not against an entire army, no one anywhere in the country seems to have found fault with his choice of phrase.

‘Mard ka bacha bano’ (be the son of a man, be a man) must rank with ‘sauteli maan’ or stepmother among the derogatory phrases we Pakistanis cannot grow out of. Until last summer, the image of a sauteli maan with all her rage and fury would be officially invoked frequently by the chief minister of Punjab complaining about the raw deal he and his province were getting from the PPP government in Islamabad. It took this country a whole new general election which returned Mian Nawaz Sharif to relieve it of that chief ministerial refrain.

However, one can still hear the expression, and some equally shocking readymade lines voiced by a deprived group here and there, bringing out the need for some urgent work on developing political vocabulary which is effective without being potentially offensive to even those the remark is not intended for.

It was perhaps the timing which brought the manliness to the fore. In the period immediately before Khawaja Saad’s remarks an impression had been created as if the government was under immense pressure to let Gen Musharraf go and as if it was about to bow to that pressure. A strong statement of resolve was needed to remove this impression and Mr Rafique summoning some of the dormant exuberance at his command could well have served the purpose.

He was fully within his rights to question the logic which said it was in everyone’s interest that Gen Musharraf be let out and perhaps he and others in his party had some old verbal scores to settle with their Musharraf-era tormentors in uniform. All said and done his diction was still uncalled for and as propaganda wars go arguably unsuitable for the background it stood against. The ‘mard ka bacha bano’ phrase played against the plea by Gen Musharraf’s lawyers that he be allowed to leave the country to be with his ailing mother.

There is no flaw in the logic which says the general must face the cases against him, though separating him from the institution that he served and which nurtured him all through will take more than a few explanatory notes by the Khawajas of this country. The advisers have arrived, pointing to the dangers inherent in the tone and emotion it conveys but even if the sentiment has to be retained, in future, the statements need to be at least rephrased for their bad selection of words and images.

The PML-N is otherwise capable of delivering the message strongly without the unbearable loudness that we have been subjected to in this latest instance. The appointment of Khawaja Asif as defence minister after last year’s election was one such message.

It was not as if everyone had forgotten Khawaja Asif’s now eight-year-old speech in the National Assembly in which he had spoken about the role and needs of the army in comparison to its performance and impact on ordinary life in Pakistan, and it can be presumed he had spoken with greater intensity in his party meetings.

Primarily then, his appointment in 2013 as the defence minister signified that the civilian side wanted to carry on with this debate, which since Mr Asif’s speech in 2006 had been further informed by incidents where the civilian and military sides had engaged each other in exchanges in search of the right balance of power to suit the current realities.

In the wake of the growing tensions, Khawaja Asif has chosen to distinguish not only Gen Musharraf from the army, he has, impossibly, tried to make a distinction between the Khawaja Asif who was just one of the many members of the National Assembly in 2006 and the Khawaja Asif who is the defence minister in the year 2014.

Whatever the outcome of these ingenuous attempts by him the discussion about the balance of power is difficult to contain within its traditional format. If anything the vigour indicates progress towards solution.

The writer is Dawn’s resident in Lahore.

The Pakhtun question

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar

WITH the exception of Punjabis, ethno-national groups in Pakistan retain a perception of themselves as oppressed and excluded. Bengalis, Baloch, Kashmiris, Seraikis, and many other ethnic and linguistic communities have, at one time or the other, decried and resisted oppression by the Pakistani state. Yet arguably the most curious case of all is that of the Pakhtuns whose political, economic and cultural status in Pakistan has undergone more shifts than anyone cares to consider.

It is not emphasised enough in our history books that the dominant political sentiment amongst Pakhtuns to the east of the Durand Line in 1947 was anti-partition. Playing up their link to both India and Afghanistan, the newly born Pakistani state subjected Pakhtun nationalists — whose base was the populous and wealthy Peshawar Valley — to political victimisation. At the same time, the state patronised so-called ‘tribal’ Pakhtuns who were considered loyal and easy to mobilise in defence of the country. In short, from the early years the state adopted a carrot and stick policy vis-à-vis the Pakhtuns.

Over time the separatist strand within the Pakhtun nationalist movement has been tamed, largely through systematic cooption. Particular emphasis has been placed on inducting Pakhtuns into the civil and military services. Significantly, the intelligence agencies now feature a substantial Pakhtun component, with the greatest influx taking place during and after the Afghan War in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, there has also been a deliberate policy of keeping the ‘tribal’ areas a political backwater, so as to serve absurd ‘national security’ imperatives. It is a cruel fact of history that even as this policy has spectacularly — and unsurprisingly — imploded, it is ordinary Pakhtuns from across Fata who have to suffer the consequences. Thousands have been killed and maimed and millions driven from their homes by a brutal conflict which, until relatively recently, most had internalised as an epic battle being waged against the enemies of Islam.

Of course some Pakhtuns are still prone to believing this hackneyed narrative, and while it can be argued that the state is primarily responsible for mangling Pakhtun culture beyond recognition, critical introspection is required if Pakhtun society is to move beyond both the horrific outcomes of violent conflict and the myopia of state ideology.

Truth be told, in some parts of Pakistan, Pakhtuns are synonymous with the state, notwithstanding the fact that in the dominant ethno-national narrative Punjab is the only hegemon. The brutalisation of Baloch society in recent years has featured the Frontier Corps, comprised almost exclusively of Pakhtuns. More generally Pakhtuns are economically and professionally more advanced than the Baloch in virtually all fields of life.

It is not just in Balochistan that the entrepreneurial savvy of Pakhtuns is on show. In Karachi and in other cities, towns and hamlets across the country, Pakhtuns demonstrate mobility and economic dynamism on a daily basis. History suggests that this trend is not a recent one; Pakhtuns have travelled across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of years, often assimilating into the regions they have settled in.

Yet if Pakhtuns have found wealth and power on their travels, they have also found suffering and squalor. What we were not told about the recent carnage in Islamabad’s sabzi mandi is that most of the vendors and labourers there, and many who were killed in the blast, were Pakhtuns. The living conditions in the katchi abadis they occupy are precarious and demeaning. Worst of all it is this teeming mass of poor Pakhtuns who are subjected — in Islamabad, Lahore and other urban centres — to racial profiling and political victimisation.

It is thus that the Pakhtun national question is incredibly complex, a mosaic of unbridled capital accumulation, poverty, religious militancy, death, the lure of state power and utter disempowerment. Put differently, the story of the Pakhtun nation within Pakistan is one of extremes, a dialectic of unparalleled upward mobility and just as rapid ruin.

What the future holds is impossible to predict. I doubt there will ever be consensus within the Pakhtun nation on what is necessary and sufficient for it to progress. Indeed, popular perception aside, nationalism is never a truly representative force, especially when nations are so badly divided along class and other lines.

Nevertheless progressive segments within the Pakhtun nation necessarily have a crucial role to play, not least in linking up with other progressives across the ethnic divide. Progressive Pakhtuns must also denounce the complicity of affluent Pakhtuns with the state, imperialism and the religious right. It is the nexus of these three forces that keeps Pakhtun society in crisis, that precludes the possibility of all Pakhtuns living lives of dignity.

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

Missing trade unions

Arif Azad

NOTED sociologist, Göran Therborn, described the 20th century as the century of the working classes. It was in this century that the gains of the workers solidified under the Russian revolution, the European welfare state and the new deal in the US. Yet at the beginning of the 21st century those gains are in danger of being obliterated as evidenced in the eclipse of labour as a potent political force worldwide.

This is visible all across the Western world, spurred by the irresistible march of neo-liberalism, deregulation and the far right which is increasingly taking up cudgels on behalf of the working class against globalisation. Against this backdrop, the golden era of the trade union movement is also being showered with scholarly attention.

In the US, the life of legendary US trade union leader, Cesar Chavez, is being celebrated with a slew of books and films as a nostalgic nod to the past. In his time, Chavez was feted everywhere from Hollywood to the White House. The British political establishment has heaped praise on the role played by the recently deceased British trade union leader, Bob Crow for extracting a better deal for the labour movement in terms of better pay, better protection and better working conditions.

These developments should direct our gaze to our own once-radical trade union movements. Pakistan boasted an inspiring tradition of trade unionism in the country’s political and social life. In the immediate aftermath of independence, the trade union movement was very strong though the industrial sector was weaker and small compared to India.

By consensus the strongest trade union was in the Pakistan Railways. Mirza Ibrahim was the legendary trade union leader who ranks high in the trade union hall of fame. He commanded considerable clout in industrial disputes and the political mobilisation of his times.

In those times, the trade union movement not only attracted workers to its flourishing fold but also intellectuals and politicians from the left spectrum of politics in considerable numbers. The most notable among these was Faiz Ahmed Faiz, who was active in the Pakistani trade union movement. In fact, the trade union movement lent its mobilising muscle to the countrywide anti-Ayub protests. The PPP that emerged from the ruins of this countrywide agitation contained a substantial layer of trade unionists among its vocal ranks.

The result was the unprecedented influence of the trade union movement in the initial years of the PPP government in the 1970s. This was not to last long though, with the PPP turning on the labour movement soon afterwards to the dismay of diehard socialists within the party.

Gen Zia’s dictatorial regime oversaw damaging neutralisation of the labour movement with religio-political parties encouraged to float rival unions thereby blunting the edge of radical trade unionism in the country. Yet the trade union movement fought each step of the way. The way the journalists union (PFUJ) fought from its corner against the ideologically driven onslaught on the trade union movement furnishes one example.

But it has been a war of attrition, and the trade union movement is gradually losing that ideological coherence and élan that were once its hallmark. This can be observed in the trade union movement’s failure to throw up a leader like Mirza Ibrahim. Neither does it hold much allure for intellectuals or politicians, thereby pushing labour right issues to the political back burner.

One part of the explanation lies in the fact that the old notion of trade union movement built around class has disappeared and has been replaced by an array of tiny trade unions divided along ethnic, political affiliation lines and narrow interests of a blinkered leadership. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the reaction of the trade unions to the wave of privatisation since the 1980s and 1990s. This process has been going on without substantial input from the movement. Whatever input that has been injected is largely through seminars and press conferences.

The current juncture calls for a more coherent response by the working class movement to the changing dynamics. There has never been a more urgent need for trade unions to get their act together in the face of rising inequality, informalisation of the economy and the steady erosion of social and workplace protection.

These together can constitute important planks for the revival of the labour movement as a political force. As recent debates on the need to resurrect the legacy of Chavez and Crow demonstrate, the trade union has a place in shaping the current direction of politics towards a more humane and rights-protected one. In this context the example of Mirza Ibrahim should not be seen as a one-off experience.

The writer is an Islamabad-based development consultant and policy analyst.

drarifazad@gmail.com

A reign of fear

I.A. Rehman

AN environment of deepening fear across the country is not only making it hard for the people, especially the more vulnerable among them, to defend their rights, it is also preventing them from leading a normal life.

One of the greatest challenges human rights defenders today face in Pakistan is the near impossibility of guaranteeing those charged with blasphemy, or any other offence relating to religion, their right to adequate defence.

The difficulties in finding lawyers to appear in such cases have been reported for years. Resolutions passed by lawyers’ bodies against defending any blasphemy accused are no secret. The courts have often been besieged by mobs demanding death for the accused without trial. The latest instance of an attempt to deny defence to a blasphemy accused has been reported from Multan, which has quite a record in the annals of blasphemy trials.

A Supreme Court advocate, appearing for a teacher charged with blasphemy was arguing for quashing of the case when he was told by a lawyer and his companion to keep quiet otherwise he would be killed before the next hearing.

It should be noted that the case was being heard inside a central prison ostensibly to protect the judge, the lawyers and the witnesses from mob pressure and violence. But apparently trial in prison does not prevent troublemakers from interfering with the course of justice.

Several other factors have affected the fate of people in conflict with the law. The police, the prosecutors, the media and professional complainants all seem to have joined hands to create a climate of fear. Out of the many sub-sections in the Pakistan Penal Code chapter on offences relating to religion only one, 295-C, applies to blasphemy. Yet all accused booked under any of the other sub-sections are also branded blasphemers. This mischievous inflation of blasphemy cases suggests an enhanced threat to the majority community’s faith and the police and subordinate judiciary start panicking.

There are reports that extra efforts are made to secure the conviction of a person charged with an offence relating to belief. Bail applications are opposed with extraordinary vigour and there are reports that the lawyers who are somehow persuaded to accept briefs take their responsibility rather casually. In a recent case, the prosecution is alleged to have drafted a confession of blasphemy in terms that no person in his right senses could accept, without the victim becoming aware of the content.

While more Muslims than others are facing charges relating to religion, including blasphemy, as a community they are not haunted by the fear of suddenly falling into the pit as the religious minorities are. The Hindus and the Christians who have emigrated over recent months — and their number in either category runs into the tens of thousands — cite fear of being framed for blasphemy as one of the reasons for seeking asylum abroad.

The view that a person charged with an offence relating to religion, especially blasphemy, cannot have a fair trial must not be allowed to gain ground. Otherwise Islamabad will be guilty of confirming the finding of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that “the government of Pakistan continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief”.

The narrative about the way in which feelings of insecurity are causing despair among members of the Muslim majority community may be somewhat different but it also contains harrowing details. No end to targeted killing in Karachi is in sight. One day a doctor is killed and another day a lawyer is felled. More than a score of people perished in the Islamabad market blast. Sudden death has a different face in Quetta and Peshawar. And the notion that life is secure in Lahore is an illusion. There is hardly a place in the whole country where fear of death is not wrecking the people’s peace of mind.

The entire population is on tenterhooks because there is no guarantee that talks with the militant challengers will produce the results the people want. They are afraid the extremists may refuse to accept peace, and they are afraid that the government may buy respite for itself at the cost of what little freedom vulnerable groups at present enjoy. Since official moves are neither transparent nor intelligible to ordinary minds, the element of anxiety grows day by day.

As if the fear of the suicide bomber or sniper on the prowl were not enough, two developments have accentuated public despair. First, there are reports that provincial and local authorities plan to tell more and more communities to make their own security arrangements. Secondly, the government’s insistence on adopting laws like the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance sounds like a resolve to throw the people before the wolves. A regime that wishes to make laws that prima facie destroy the assumptions of justice cannot replace with hope, the fear gnawing at each citizen’s heart.

Anybody who thinks that the pervasive climate of fear does not disrupt the people’s normal pursuits or their mental capacity will only confirm having been afflicted. As old proverbs go, the fear of extinction is worse than death itself, and it is the foremost duty of those in charge of the people’s destiny to help them banish fear from their minds. This will need some doing but the first essential step will be a demonstration of the will to ensure governance in the interest of the people.

Auction mania

Khurram Husain

FINANCE Minister Ishaq Dar is soaking up the applause these days, rolling out his narrative of economic improvement since his government came to power wherever and whenever he gets a chance.

FINANCE Minister Ishaq Dar is soaking up the applause these days, rolling out his narrative of economic improvement since his government came to power wherever and whenever he gets a chance.

To be fair there is some truth to the overwhelming sense of optimism being created by the government. It is evident in the numbers, where the private sector is slowly starting to borrow again for investment and working capital needs, where the financial markets are reposing more confidence in government debt securities, nervously venturing into longer tenors, where exports appear to be growing in dollar terms.

And now we have a mega Eurobond auction, the largest in our history as a matter of fact. No small irony in the fact that the last PML-N government was forced to seek a rescheduling of the country’s Eurobonds as prior action by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1999.

The Fund was stung in those days by criticism that it had acted on behalf of Western creditors in the Asian financial crisis, and wanted to avoid a round two of that whole affair. Of course, it helped that Pakistans Eurobonds at the time were owned largely by Pakistani nationals, meaning few if any large Western creditors were being asked to take a hit.

Memories of those days have receded primarily because we are back on the superpower’s radar. An IMF programme, with two successful reviews and an optimistic outlook on the third one, helps reassure creditors. Backing from the Saudi royal family has a similar effect.

But it appears that the creditors have got a whiff of desperation from the government. The spread that they have demanded on the Eurobond are very large, just over 550 basis points on each tenor. The emerging market average is closer to 350 basis points, and Pakistans last Eurobond was floated at 200 basis points back in 2007.

Of course, Pakistan’s risk shot up sharply afterwards, and the spread crossed 600 basis points later in the same year as the country entered a difficult transition, to say the least, and uncertainty began to cloud the horizon.

Next up: the much-awaited 3G licence auction. The international news agency Reuters claims in a news story that the sealed bids received by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) a few days ago show a “dismal” response. Where the government hoped to raise $2 billion from the final auction set to commence on April 23, the wire service claims it has solid sources who say the amount will not be larger than $850 million.

If this is true it could have consequences for the balance of payments. The third review with the IMF is set for May, and proceeds from the 3G auction will play a key role in helping meet the target for reserves set for the end of the fiscal year, although in IMF documents the projected proceeds from the auction are in fact $1.2bn.

The PTA chairman has strongly denied the contents of the Reuters story, saying that in fact the auction is oversubscribed already. So which is it? Dismal showing or oversubscription? Given the large stakes the auction has for the country and its balance of payments, and relations with creditors, this cannot be considered a minor spat between a supposedly reputable news service and the government.

To me the Reuters story’s biggest weakness is that it has no named source. In fact, it appears that the story has only one source, with “industry executives” mentioned early on, but no indication on what exactly they have told the news organisation. This is very problematic.

Telecom executives that I spoke with routinely downplayed the 3G auction and its importance, with one of them even telling me that he wasn’t sure whether it was suitable technology for Pakistan. It was obvious they were trying to push down the anticipated price of the licence by talking dismissively about the technology, then about its commercial prospects in Pakistan, then about the government’s expectations of the amounts to be realised through the auction.

In the end they all submitted bids, except for the one player who is already looking to exit the field. That’s what makes me sceptical, and I’ve found plenty of reason over the years to be doubtful about what those with stakes in the game tell me ‘on background’. With a built-in incentive to demotivate all expectations surrounding the auction, telecom executives in fact make for a lousy source when running with a story with implications as large as this one.

But in any case, here’s hoping the government’s winning streak doesn’t end soon, because after all, we’ll all be better off with that technology rather than without.

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

Two sides of one coin

Mohammad Ali Babakhel

IN the post 9/11 scenario in countries coping with terrorism, the police can no longer remain restricted to traditional preventive and detection roles. They must also act as combatants and protectors of human rights. Every police service requires a counterterrorism and human rights apparatus. In the developing world, human rights and policing often find themselves in conflict but in the civilised world policing and human rights are two sides of the same coin.

Policing without observing human rights is incomplete policing. Good governance requires the transformation of a coercive model of policing into a humane service. All police actions are closely linked with basic human rights, and therefore the image of the police is directly proportionate to their respect for human rights.

Accountability ensures professional policing. In times of yore, Control Yuan in China, the Tribuni Plebis in Rome, the ombudsman in Sweden and parliamentary commissions in England monitored the police.

Apart from apolitical civilian oversight, accountability requires more transparency and openness in policing. Prior to the Police Order 2002, we were policing without an institutional public safety mechanism. The police order introduced public safety commissions and a complaint authority but these bodies have yet to flex their muscles.

Unfortunately, numerous amendments were made regarding the composition and functions of public safety commissions in Pakistan. If such bodies are to be filled with those who were responsible for the current policing model, inhuman though it is, then what is the need for cosmetic arrangements?

The autonomy of such bodies will protect human rights. Funding them requires special attention. The allocation of public safety funds will improve human rights indicators. These bodies must be vested with investigative powers. Further, before assuming the membership of civilian oversight, the capacity issue of the members must be catered for.

Owing to ineffective accountability mechanisms in the police, human rights violations persist. The internal accountability of the police enjoys low public trust. Article 114 of the Order requires that the IGP draft a code of conduct. Upon contravention, the police officer can be removed or suspended from service. But despite the lapse of a decade a code of conduct is yet to be drafted and implemented by all provincial police departments.

According to Article 3 of the Police Order, every police officer is bound to “behave with members of the public with due decorum and courtesy”. Respect for human rights enhances the effectiveness of the police. But this protective role can only be attained by improving the work station environment, training and accountability.

Last year, human rights officers were appointed in 13 police stations of Islamabad. Such initiatives always proved cosmetic as they had no dedicated individuals and were devoid of institutional and monitoring mechanisms. Such individual-driven initiatives are often closed down with the departure of its exponents. The protection mechanism provided for in the Police Order 2002 must be implemented in letter and spirit.

The police subculture often defeats accountability. Supervisory tiers need to understand that accountability is their prime responsibility .The majority of even good officers overlook this aspect as they do not want to lose popularity with their peers. Further reduction of the discretionary powers of police officers will also improve human rights indicators.

Chapter one of the Constitution, from Article 8 to 28, protects fundamental rights but these ideals need to be translated at the police station level. Article 14 (2), for example, prohibits torture: “No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence.”

Pakistan has signed the Convention against Torture (CAT) but there are still numerous complaints regarding torture in custody. It is employed to extract confessions or effect the recovery of stolen property. The police curriculum needs attention at the national level and synchronising with domestic laws and CAT.

Victims are often reluctant to report torture as the complaint also goes to the police. The disposal of human rights complaints must not be solely at the discretion of the police management. The complaint disposal mechanism should have a victim-centric approach and an apolitical composition.

True understanding of human rights requires a two-way dialogue. Society must also try to understand the pressures and limitations of the police. The leadership must decide whether they prefer a police that commands fear or is respected.

Society must also think about why the police violates human rights. In Pakistan, policing is an extremely hazardous profession. While policing, the majority of policemen experience danger, discomfort and anxiety. Since 2007, in KP alone, 751 policemen have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

To win the public trust it is vital that police powers and functions are regulated by human rights.

The writer is a deputy inspector general of the police.

alibabakhel@hotmail.com

New status for TTP?

Sikander Ahmed Shah

ON April 4, the prime minister ordered the release of 19 ‘non-combatant’ TTP prisoners. By recognising the non-combatant status of such prisoners the release implicitly recognised the presence of Taliban ‘combatants’ in Pakistan. Later, the National Assembly passed the Protection of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2014 (PPO). This time round, the law has explicitly recognised the category of ‘combatant enemy’.

While many in the media have lamented the PPO’s draconian nature, it is the resulting categorisation of TTP as ‘combatant enem[ies]’ which is problematic considering further that negotiations with organised armed groups of non-state actors (NSAs) moves them closer towards attaining the coveted status of belligerents under international law, especially when such militias exercise territorial control.

Under Article 1 of the Additional Protocol II (AP II) to the Geneva Conventions, a Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC) encapsulates a typical civil war situation. While Pakistan has not ratified AP II, most of its provisions have attained the status of customary international law and are binding upon Pakistan. Furthermore, AP II codifies Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions which binds every state to provide at all times certain minimum human rights protections and guarantees.

Historically, Pakistan has denied the presence of an NIAC, probably because such an admission would result in an international recognition of the conflict which, consequently, would result in certain privileges, guarantees and treatment required to be meted out to NSAs — such as endeavouring to grant amnesty.

Interestingly, even under AP II, NSAs fighting the state are classified as ‘persons’ rather than as ‘combatants’. This is because, at the time of the AP II’s promulgation, most nations held serious reservations over according NSAs combatant status, thus granting them combatant immunity. States felt that providing such status would be an infringement of their own sovereignty, as a fighter with combatant immunity is immune from prosecution under the domestic criminal justice system and can only be tried for crimes violating the international laws of war.

Therefore, if TTP forces are categorised as enemy combatants, and any violence on their part against Pakistani armed and paramilitary forces and objects or civilian persons and objects is compliant with international humanitarian law (IHL) when conducted in the pursuance of a military advantage and necessity respectively, then under IHL there is a strong argument that TTP forces are immune from criminal prosecution. This would mean that TTP cannot be tried for using lethal force so long as it is complying with IHL norms in the pursuance of a military advantage not just in Fata but also in major urban centres of Pakistan.

Many experts are now arguing that, under the principle of reciprocity, combatant status should be extended to NSAs such as in transnational conflict having a global significance so that such actors come under the ambit of IHL and are adequately pressured to provide protections and privileges to captured state forces and civilians once under their control in return for being extended the same immunities and privileges.

The alternate approach to discrediting NSAs is by extending them a differential form of combatant status. This is the US approach, which has argued that Al Qaeda and its close associates — including the Taliban — are ‘Unlawful Enemy Combatants’ (UEC). This categorisation finds little support in pre-existing international law which classifies persons only into two distinct categories: combatants and civilians.

This novel classification has since been normatively trotted out in order to deprive fighters of privileges and immunities extended under IHL such as PoW status. By classifying certain NSAs as UEC, the US manages to easily target certain categories of individuals in peacetime situations which it otherwise would find near impossible to justify under conventional IHL.While civilians — as aggressors — can only be targeted under IHL if they are ‘directly participating in hostilities’, combatants can be targeted even if they are ‘actively engaged in hostilities’, even if not using force at the time.

This standard for targeting combatants is much broader, not requiring an impending use of force on the part of the person targeted. The US sees itself embroiled in a transnational armed conflict against terrorists thousands of miles away and thus wants to cast as wide a net as possible over the people it wants to target without any jurisdictional limitations, in order to promote what it perceives as furthering its own national interest. Pakistan, however, is not in the same boat and our political establishment should realise this fact.

While Pakistan finds itself in a pivotal role in the formation of international law, we need to ask ourselves: are we willing as a society to accept the TTP as a genuine military force which is eligible to be accorded a status reserved for state military institutions?

The writer is an associate professor of public international law at Lums.

Afghan election and beyond

Zahid Hussain

IT will indeed be a rare feat for an Afghan ruler to leave office alive and hand over the charge to his elected successor. The historical presidential election in Afghanistan is over but the outcome is still far away with no clear winner in sight.

It is certainly heading towards a run-off. No candidate is likely to win 50pc of the votes cast last week. Partial results indicate that it would most probably be a run-off between the two candidates — Abdullah Abdullah, a suave former foreign minister and Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank senior executive — leading the race.

It’s a lengthy and messy process that may take months. It could, however, be avoided if the two front runners reach a deal. There’s no indication yet of this happening, but it certainly cannot be ruled out. A compromise is possible after the vote counting is over, providing a clear picture about the main contenders.

A legitimate outcome is critical for political stability in post-2014 Afghanistan. The historical importance of this election cannot be underestimated despite complaints of serious vote fraud in several parts of the country.

One can only hope that it would not be a repeat of the 2009 presidential election, which was tainted by allegations of massive rigging and vote-stuffing. Whether the process remains transparent and fair remains to be seen. Lack of credibility would have disastrous implications for a smooth political transition.

Afghans defied the Taliban threat of violence and came out in extraordinarily large numbers to cast their votes and participate in the historical transition.

Ironically, there was much less violence in the Afghan election than witnessed during last year’s parliamentary elections in Pakistan. The positive response of Afghans across the country including in insurgency-infested regions is seen as a rebuff to the Taliban call for boycott.

For sure, a credible election is a significant step forward. It will have a significant impact on the internal and regional dynamics affecting the political, security and economic transition in Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of foreign forces by the end of the year.

The democratic transformation and drawdown of foreign forces could open the door for some kind of intra-Afghan negotiations. But there’s still a long way to go towards achieving the elusive peace. The spectre of civil war continues to haunt the strife-torn country.

The election marks the end of the presidential term for Hamid Karzai, but not his relevance to Afghanistan’s future political landscape. The wily Afghan leader does not intend to go into oblivion, hoping to continue occupying the political centre stage beyond the withdrawal of the foreign forces. The Afghan constitution barred him from standing in the election for a third term, but there are other avenues through which he hopes to remain relevant.

Though Karzai didn’t formally endorse any candidate, his sympathies were clearly with Zalmai Rassoul, his former foreign minister, who seems to have fallen far behind in the race to make it to the run-off.

Karzai’s supporters are hopeful that regardless of who wins, the new leader will require his help to maintain political stability. He’s still very much in the driving seat as the prolonged election process is under way.

Karzai has reportedly built a new residence close to the presidential palace where he plans to live after the polls in order to remain close to his successor. His appeal to parliament last month for making unspecific changes to the constitution fuelled speculation about his ambition to somehow stay in the power game. Some reports suggest that he wants parliament to create a new post of prime minister that he’d like to acquire. But there’s no concrete proposal on the table yet.

It’s hard to determine the legacy of a complex leader propped up by foreign forces, but never trusted by his patrons. Being elected twice had earned Karzai a degree of legitimacy. But his success in 2009 was marred by widespread allegations of massive vote fraud.

His image was tainted by charges of corruption and the alleged involvement of his brothers in drug trafficking. But his political skills in building coalitions with powerbrokers and warlords helped him stay in power despite his falling out with Washington and other Western allies.

Karzai’s criticism of the US became more scathing as the deadline drew closer. He shocked the Obama administration last month, declaring that the US was conspiring with the Taliban to destabilise his government. He refused to sign a bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the US despite the approval of the Afghan parliament and the Loya Jirga.

It remains to be seen how Karzai’s exit will change the prevalent power matrix in Afghanistan. The new president is most likely to sign the BSA ensuring the presence of residual Western forces in Afghanistan after 2014. That may also help reduce tensions with Washington.

But there’s a big question mark over whether it would help stabilise the situation in the country. The new Afghan government would be confronted with several daunting challenges in this period of multiple transitions.

Security and economy would obviously be the top priorities, but maintaining Afghanistan’s political cohesiveness would be the most critical test for the new and certainly less experienced administration. Neither Mr Abdullah nor Mr Ghani has the charisma or skill of Mr Karzai to build a viable coalition and minimise ethnic divisions in the country that the polls seem to have sharpened.

The writer is an author and journalist. zhussain100@yahoo.com

Twitter: @hidhussain

Education guidelines

Rafia Zakaria

EDUCATION is the answer for Pakistan, everyone says, and indeed they may be right. At the same time, what counts as an education, which educational institutions deserve protection, and by whom, continue to be contested issues.

In recent years, every variety of institution has been attacked, misused, targeted, burned, or bombed. If education, any and all types of it, is indeed a solution for Pakistan’s conundrums, the areas where it is imparted are in great peril.

According to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, an attack on education consists of “any intentional threat or use of force — carried out for political, military, ideological, ethnic, religious or criminal reasons — and against educators, students or educational institutions.”

Last year, the coalition, which particularly focuses on attacks in areas of conflict, showed the number of attacks on education in several countries. Between 2009 and 2012, 838 schools were attacked in Pakistan, more than any other country in the world.

In the words of the report, “militants recruited children from schools and madressahs, some of them to be suicide bombers. There were also targeted killings of teachers and academics”.

None of this is news in Pakistan, where the long list of killings of all sorts grows to new lengths each day.

However, putting the concept of schools as killing fields in the context of other countries also experiencing conflict reveals the scale of the problem. In the same period, Somalia, long wracked by violence, experienced 79 attacks documented by the UN.

These included the abduction of children from schools, the abduction of girls for forced marriages, and the targeting of students by suicide bombings. Schools were often also used as military bases for fighting.

In neighbouring Afghanistan, the number of attacks was also very high. The culprits ranged from the Taliban to the Afghan National Army.

The UN secretary general reported that international military forces stationed in that country used schools on five occasions in 2010, and that in 2011 schools were taken over 20 times by armed groups and 11 times by pro-government forces, a total of 31 incidents of military use of schools.

In 2010, 10 schools were used for military purposes, three by anti-government forces and seven by pro-government forces. One incident from Kapisa province involved the takeover of a school by the Afghan National Army for four years.

As the data demonstrates, violations occur across the board. In the case of Pakistan (and undoubtedly in the local media of other countries in conflict), the data is disaggregated and presented instead as episodes in the sagas of other hatreds. Dead professors are attributed to sectarian identity, suicide attacks on madressahs to militant activity, and so on.

However, if the cumulative data on a number of countries is looked at, it appears that educational institutions — regardless of their affiliations — are not simply in the crossfire of the general chaos of conflict. Instead, educational institutions are the subject of particular attack. The pattern makes sense, for the simple reason that schools by definition and purpose are repositories of ideas and of the future; and what, after all, is war if not the effort to overtake and dominate both of these.

Furthermore, despite the fact that education is so regularly attacked and on such a global scale, there is no international covenant or treaty that particularly focuses on this. In his essay, ‘Military Use of Schools and Universities: Changing Behaviour’, scholar Steven Haines argues that the development of international guidelines on the issue is crucial to establishing educational institutions as venues that deserve protections during conflicts.

The ‘Draft Lucens Guidelines’ that were first published in July 2013 aim for just this purpose. Under their provisions, states would agree that “functioning schools and universities should not be used by the fighting forces of parties to armed conflict in any way in support of the military effort”, and also that “abandoned schools and universities should not be used by the fighting forces of parties in armed conflict for any purpose in support of the military effort except when, and only as long as, no such choice is possible”.

The intent of the guidelines is to aim for a voluntary adoption by all states so that they can then be a basis of legitimacy and accountability in situations when they are violated.

In Pakistan, advocacy surrounding the adoption of the guidelines may be a useful constructive step. As civilians of a country faced by both local and global threats, asking various actors to accept the guidelines as basis of future fighting may expose those who refuse to adopt them as openly hostile to preserving and protecting educational institutions.

In a country where everyone is eager to sing paeans to the importance of education, some public statements accepting the guidelines offers some concrete basis to otherwise empty claims.

Danger accompanies every Pakistani child who goes to school; threats lurk around teachers standing before dilapidated chalkboards, facing classrooms with broken furniture. Those who propagate ideas are gunned down and blown away, their deaths routinely mourned and then compartmentalised as unavoidable tragedies.

Tolerating the mayhem may be a compromise of those who live in the present, but for those who will one day have to construct the future, the re-establishment of the school as a safe place is not a choice but an imperative.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

The CAR is crashing

Mahir Ali

THE irony is hard to ignore. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, stopped over recently in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), on his way to a 20th-anniversary commemoration in Kigali of one of the 20th century’s most appalling atrocities, ie the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Nothing, he says in an article published on Monday in The Washington Post, could have prepared him for what he witnessed on his arrival. “More than 70,000 people are crammed in horrendous conditions on the airport grounds,” he writes. “The lucky ones are living under weather-beaten tarps just yards from the runway. Others sleep in the open … Women and men shared horrific accounts of gang rapes, extortion and brutality.”

To his credit, the UN chief appears to be shaken by the fact that there’s little his organisation can do in the short term. His plea for a 12,000-strong peacekeeping force has been accepted, but deployment will entail a six-month wait. It’s surely pertinent to recall that the massacres in Rwanda exacted a toll of up to a million a dead within 100 days.

Ban realises that the time lag is intolerable, but there is little he can do about it. The UN’s structure tends to facilitate temporary impotence in the event of emergencies. Rwanda is a case in point.

As Philip Gourevitch writes in The New Yorker, “The season of slaughter that decimated Rwanda 20 years ago is one of the defining outrages of humankind. At no other time in the history of our species were so many of us killed so fast or so intimately.” It’s not as if foreign forces were entirely disengaged, though.

France was not represented at the anniversary ceremonies in Kigali because Paris took umbrage at Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s suggestion that French troops were complicit in facilitating the escape of many of those responsible for organising the killing spree by Hutu militias against the Tutsi minority. The Tutsi forces led by Kagame that eventually assumed power, meanwhile, benefited from American support.

The forces pitted against each other in the Central African Republic do not bear comparison in this particular respect, although there are some parallels. The Tutsis in Rwanda comprised about 15pc of the population; CAR’s Muslims, who are bearing the brunt of the current violence, account for a similar proportion. The Tutsis were resented for being relatively privileged; the Muslims in CAR were deemed to be better off than the Christian majority.

The massacres are partly a response to the assumption of power in Bangui last year by the mainly Muslim Seleka militias, apparently sponsored to some extent by neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, which perpetrated atrocities against CAR’s Christians. Some of the local Muslims evidently participated in the outrages. Many did not. But the so-called ‘anti-balaka’ militias that have lately gained the upper hand are determined to exterminate or expel all Muslims from the country.

The massacres would no doubt have exacted a considerably larger toll but for the presence of some 6,000 African Union (AU) peacekeepers, supplemented by 2,000 or so troops from France — the former colonial power, whose military presence is prone to give rise to reservations.

The United Nations peacekeepers are meant to supplant the AU forces later this year — and that too will depend on whether enough nations volunteer to contribute troops. No country outside its immediate neighbourhood appears to have much of an interest in the Central African Republic, and many of the neighbours have their own axes to grind.

Routinely described as one of Africa’s poorest states, CAR has been pretty much dysfunctional since it gained independence in 1960. It is perhaps best remembered as the base of the grotesque ‘emperor’ Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Before and since, there have been numerous coups, as well as elections with predetermined results.

One of the few recent signs of hope has been a mission in which the nation’s archbishop and chief imam have requested assistance from European capitals and domestically have jointly preached a return to some semblance of sanity. It is also notable that Muslims have frequently found temporary refuge in churches.

A couple of months ago, CAR swore in its first female president, Catherine Samba-Panza, a seemingly well-intentioned former mayor of Bangui. She gives every impression of knowing what needs to be done in terms of reconciliation, but lacks the power to enforce her wishes.

The United Nations fiddled while Rwanda imploded 20 years ago, and has sporadically been wringing its hands ever since. The helpless Ban knows that, in the context of CAR, a six-month wait means leaving it much too late. Cue: another bout of vigorous hand-wringing.

mahir.dawn@gmail.com

An unequal battle

Zubeida Mustafa

WHILE going to the Karachi Press Club to attend a press conference called by the Citizens Trust Against Crime, I noticed heavy traffic moving in the wrong direction on a one-way street. When I asked Amjad, who was driving me, about this waywardness, he succinctly commented, “Bibi, aap ko pata naheen yeh Pakistan hai. Yahan koi poochnay wala naheen.” (This is Pakistan. No one checks).

A while later this was confirmed by the CTAC, a not-for-profit trust, when speaking of infringements of the law that are common in Karachi. What is worrying is the nexus between crime and the instruments of crime. The key facilitators are unlicensed weapons, illegal vehicles and untraceable SIMs.

According to the CTAC, these three often come together “to form a lethal arrangement that breeds and promotes crimes of all shades”.

After much research, the CTAC has collected data that underlines the staggering magnitude of the violation of the law with regard to illegally issued SIMs, unregistered vehicles and the proliferation of (unlawful) weapons in the country. These are found to be invariably involved in the crimes that are committed.

Had the figures not been so stupendous, one would have dismissed this as simply a case of misgovernance. Take the case of weapons, the most lethal of the three tools of crime. According to the CTAC, 70,000 arm licences have been issued to our parliamentarians alone, making the National Assembly the most militarised legislature in the world.

Many of these licences are for prohibited bores and are illegally used. Thus there are reportedly 2,300 private militias operating in the country, defying with impunity Article 256 of the Constitution that prohibits their formation.

Political and religious parties have armed wings not just for protection but also for their arm-twisting tactics. I am told that a hired assassin does not cost much. We can add to these private entrepreneurs in the world of crime who rob banks and snatch cars and mobile phones.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has allowed the unregulated issuance of SIMs that makes it impossible to trace the owners.

The CTAC quoted the figure of 40,000 for Afghan subscribers who have obtained SIMs in Pakistan and are untraceable. There have been cases of legally registered phone users discovering their personal details being used by phone companies to issue SIMs to strangers.

Similar are the wrongdoings in the context of motor vehicles. According to the CTAC thousands of “illegal, unregistered, smuggled, non-duty-paid, foreign and fake number plate vehicles” ply on our roads.

The government and police themselves have no knowledge of the number of transgressors. The CTAC estimates that 30pc of vehicles with green number plates (that only government vehicles can supposedly use) are fake. Other culprits are SUVs with foreign number plates.

One may well ask whether this phenomenon makes the police, the PTA and the excise department equal partners in crime.

Aren’t they conniving with the criminals by helping them cover up their tracks? Many targeted killings, bomb explosions, extortions and terrorist acts could have been prevented if investigations were thorough.

But how can they be when the owners of weapons, cars and mobile phones used for criminal activities cannot be traced in the absence of proper registration?

If this willingness to turn a blind eye to the violation of laws on a mass scale is simply rooted in corruption and apathy, it may still be possible to take corrective measures. The CTAC has made some sound recommendations which make sense.

A deweaponisation commission should be set up immediately which should have all firearm licences cancelled, to be issued again with proper biometrics. Similarly, the PTA should ensure the registration of SIMs and IMEIs which it can do if it does not submit to the bullying tactics of the powers that be and commercial interests. Some progress has been made in the registration of vehicles we have been told.

The problem begins when the government itself is more than corrupt — when it is criminalised and lacks the will to act. This has been demonstrated by its unwillingness to reform the police by depoliticising the force.

A member of the audience at the press conference pointed out that the CTAC was not addressing the root cause of crime — poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Admittedly, these lead to unrest but the real cause of crime is the breakdown of the policing system that allows criminals to go scot-free. It is the police challenge that needs to be addressed on a priority basis.

The most heinous crimes are committed by the rich and the powerful with the connivance of the police. With criminals armed to the hilt, the resistance staged by the concerned section of civil society turns it into an unequal battle.

www.zubeidamustafa.com

Fixing a battered society

Shahid Kardar

THE parlous state of official finances is the result of successive governments’ unfettered extravagance and failure to mobilise adequate tax revenues. They have lived it up by mortgaging the future, wilfully abdicating their responsibility to the nation on fiscal virtue. Donor and IMF rescue packages have merely been viewed as licences for fiscal and monetary profligacy rather than a message for exercising fiscal common sense. That is why increasingly more parliamentarians of donor countries and staff of multilateral donors label us a “rogue country”.

The patience of our traditional multilateral and bilateral donors is wearing thin because of our infirmity of purpose, continued display of political timidity and erratic implementation of reforms. There is little desire to restructure the economy and society. Official efforts are geared to simply winkle the next tranche out of the granted loans, especially when it comes to the IMF. Hence, they continue to be sceptical about the Pakistani state’s ability to contain budget deficits.

They are worried that no serious attempts have been made to a) either control spending or invest in projects that will generate high economic returns or b) to document the economy and put in place appropriate institutional arrangements to collect income and sales taxes in the face of tax amnesty schemes. The dance of one step forward, one step sideways and one step backwards has only succeeded in creating an illusion of forward movement where there is none.

But when donors and the IMF demand mobilisation of more tax revenues and a reduction in expenditures to reduce the fiscal deficit they are merely restating the problem. The only effective way of resolving this perennial issue lies in mechanisms and structures which will eventually enable a change in government and leadership behaviour. These donors do not have adequate knowledge or experience of what is required to put such institutional arrangements and processes in place. The solution lies in instruments like appropriate legislation supported by institutional frameworks and mindset changes for effective enforcement through instruments of sanctions that ensure remedial actions.

Unfortunately, there are no quick economic and political fixes to problems accumulated over decades, although the time period can be shortened through political commitment; a donor dilemma, whose support is typically for a duration much too short for implementing structural reforms resisted by a selfish elite.

Culture plays an important role in societies adapting to economic reform. A state under the influence of rent-seekers cannot be expected to suddenly change course and opt for fundamental adjustments. Why should individuals/groups controlling the state suddenly stop milking it for their own good? In such an environment, threats of strict tax enforcement cannot be taken seriously, particularly if evasion has been actively encouraged historically through prohibitions on awkward questions on sources of inflows/incomes and investments. So, only ‘misguided patriots’, ‘fools’ or the helpless who receive payments after tax deductions at source, end up paying taxes.

Our fiscal crisis has also been compounded by low expenditure efficiencies, partly because of weak accountability systems and heavy leakage of resources on account of corruption. Despite the low quality of services, for instance, the 38pc rate of literacy and the high dropout rate from the primary education stream (45pc children drop out before completing the primary education cycle), substantial amounts are being absorbed by the delivery system.

This is because of corruption, high levels of callousness, appointments of personnel on criteria other than merit, weak supervision, lack of accountability of service providers and the high degree of tolerance for poor quality services shown by service recipients.

With increasing polarisation, the fabric of civil society is being rent asunder, one fears irretrievably. The resentment of the poor is growing, as they compare the sub-human conditions in which they live with the increasingly fancy lifestyles of the more affluent members of society.

Anger is building up against those who are building fortunes but not paying their taxes. There is anger that whereas the incidence of increased taxation has been the heaviest for the least affluent, public expenditure on services used largely by them is being diluted rapidly in real terms.

The poor see the privileged loot and plunder and engage in conspicuous consumption, throwing all the burden of adjustment and re-deployment on the less affluent. While the well-to-do default merrily on tax obligations to society, the leadership winks and maintains a studied silence, resulting in a further loss of faith in established systems of government and business.

We cannot balance budgets by causing imbalance in human lives. People must move to the centre of the dialogue — urgently — since social tensions are mounting with the growth in absolute numbers of the poor, illiterate (with limited, if any, skills) and the jobless. Such conditions can hardly be conducive for political and social stability, without which substantial growth will remain a distant dream.

As the results of polarisation unfold before our eyes, their ferocity will shock most. It is not as though the warning signs are not already there for anybody who wants to see or is willing to look at them. The increasing empathy with the views of TTP-type forces and daylight dacoity only portend of what is still to come. A callous and uncaring society should not expect any better. Without an enlightened elite presiding over and implementing a better alternative of a fair and just society, providing adequate opportunities of social and economic mobility to those from less privileged backgrounds, it would be foolish to expect any other outcome.

The writer is the Vice Chancellor of Beaconhouse National University.

Does US really care?

Jawed Naqvi

US AMBASSADOR Nancy Powell recently resigned from her job as envoy to New Delhi. There is speculation and denial that her departure, scheduled for next month, is linked to the rise of Narendra Modi as the country’s prospective prime minister.

Mr Modi, who inspires hysterical adulation and serious apprehension among opposite sets of Indians, has so far been denied a US visa after right-wing Hindu mobs attacked minority Christians and Muslims under his watch in the communally polarised state of Gujarat.

Mr Modi’s election has been sponsored by the combination of a hate-mongering Hindu right and a clutch of business entrepreneurs who have been complicit by never condemning the violence. And some of them have enviable connections with the current and previous American presidents. Leading the pack of favourites are the Ambani siblings. Their father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, is said to have had personal bonding with the Clintons.

According to one version of his global interests, they straddled Pakistan too. Inaugurating scribe M.J. Akbar’s book in Marathi last year, former BJP president Nitin Gadkari claimed that Dhirubhai had a one-on-one meeting with president Clinton during his 2000 visit to India that was followed by a short halt in Pakistan.

The tycoon, according to Mr Gadkari, had pleaded with Mr Clinton to speak to Gen Pervez Musharraf to spare the life of the then ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Whatever the merits of the claim, suffice it to say that the late Mr. Ambani’s sons have been invitees at the Bush and Clinton presidential inaugurals.

If Ms Powell is indeed being moved to prepare the ground for Mr Modi’s coronation, she will be seen by an overwhelming majority of Indians as a friend who stood by the ground at a critical moment. Mr Modi’s minders in the Hindu neo-fascist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have gleefully claimed that Ms Powell was being sent home to clear the way for a Gujarati American successor.

The RSS journal, The Organiser, offered two explanations for Ms Powell’s premature departure: “The first reason being detention and humiliation of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on American soil, and the other being her delay in engaging with Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi well in time.”

The paper noted that though “other detractors, Britain, Canada and European countries” restored communication with Modi in good time, US engagement has been delayed as Powell was believed to be “going by the hostility of the Congress-led UPA government”.

The RSS spoke of the “possibility of Obama administration naming Indian-origin Rajiv Shah, who is a Gujarati, as a replacement of … Powell”. This, it said, was being seen as a diplomatic step to improve ties with India. If Shah’s appointment becomes a reality, the RSS says it would indicate “that the United States has finally begun taking affirmative steps to engage with the soon to be government in Delhi.

For a majority of Indians, Washington’s response regardless of who its next envoy is will be seen in the context of India’s existential challenge that Mr Modi poses. In other words, any dilution of the admonition of the prime ministerial hopeful will be seen by a majority of Indians as a policy laced with opportunism.

We have seen the humane side of president Clinton. Even after he had demitted office he came to visit the devastation caused by the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat. He even helped raise millions of dollars in aid for the victims.

“I have followed this earthquake on television, but when I came here I realised that this is something unimaginable, almost incomprehensible,” he had said. No such words on the slaughter.

The United States has a history of missing the point at crucial and potentially tragic moments. It missed the Iranian revolution. It missed the Rwanda massacre. It missed India’s nuclear explosion. And when it doesn’t miss an unfolding tragedy, it becomes complicit in its denouement.

It was the George W. Bush era in Washington when the pogroms took place in Gujarat. There was not a word of criticism. By sheer contrast, the enormity of the mass murder wreaked by Pakistan’s military in Bangladesh was far higher when Richard Nixon was firmly in power in Washington.

The Bangladesh documents were declassified ironically in the year of the Gujarat pogroms. They show how the policy directed by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger was on a trajectory that became known as ‘The Tilt’.

We are not privy to what Ms Powell has told her seniors in Washington about the prospects for India under Mr Modi. In the case of Bangladesh, one of the first ‘dissent cables’ questioned US policy and morality at a time when, as the consulate general in Dhaka Archer Blood wrote: “Unfortunately, the overworked term genocide is applicable.”

The role that Nixon’s friendship with Yahya Khan and the China initiative played in US policymaking leading to the tilt towards Pakistan is all too well known.

Discussing the martial law situation in East Pakistan during March of 1971, president Nixon, in his February 1972 State of the World report to Congress indicated that the “United States did not support or condone this military action”. Nevertheless, the US did nothing to help curtail the massacre and never made any public statements in opposition to the West Pakistani repression.

The question then arises in the liberal circles of India, just as it has been doing the rounds in Islamabad and Dhaka for years: does the US really care?

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi.

jawednaqvi@gmail.com

Contrary provisions

Basil Nabi Malik

NORMALLY, sizing up an employee is supposed to entail an objective assessment of the individual’s ability to perform satisfactorily at the workplace. The exercise takes into account factors such as the employee’s interest in the work assigned, his or her drive, work ethics and even demeanour.

However, if ability is determined mainly on the basis of gender, then the employers, knowingly or unknowingly, have entered the realm of sexual harassment. The question of legislative competence aside, Pakistan in recent years has attempted to arrest such forms of discrimination, as well as fulfil its international obligations, by enacting the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment Act, 2010, and amending Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The act deals with sexual harassment scenarios in formal workplaces and organisations, but does not appear to extend to informal work arrangements. However, in relation to such work arrangements, complainants may file a civil suit for damages, or initiate criminal proceedings under Section 509 of the PPC (which could also be used for harassment scenarios in formal workplaces).

In order to establish sexual harassment claims under the act, which requires organisations to adopt codes of conduct, victims must show the causal link between an ‘unwelcome’ sexual advance, and the resulting hostile environment or diminished performance.

Moreover, in order to show a hostile environment, a series of events are usually required to be shown, although a single, severe event may be sufficient to constitute a hostile environment.

Arguably, the act appears to only cater for individuals alleging sexual harassment in workplaces involving employers, employees or members of the management. Hence, if professors at a university take advantage of their status to make sexual advances towards female students, the case would appear to fall outside the act’s jurisdiction.

Another troubling aspect of the legislation is the lack of robust consequences for making false claims against an employer. So, although complainants may be encouraged to file complaints, the lack of adequate remedy for employers renders the latter vulnerable to malicious complaints.

Procedurally, an ‘employee’ may submit his or her complaint before the inquiry committee or directly to a federal or provincial ombudsman. It may be noted that the scheme of the statute also suggests that only an employee may submit such complaints. However, sporadic references to the empowerment of ‘complainants’, that is, any person aggrieved by an act of harassment, whether an employee or not, to file complaints before the inquiry committee has resulted in apparent contradictions in the statute itself.

The inquiry committee is to be constituted of three members, including one member from the senior management and a senior representative of the employees. And at least one member must be a woman.

This constitution of the inquiry committee itself raises certain issues in relation to functionality and effectiveness. For example, considering that such committees are to comprise senior officials susceptible to liability and censure in cases of sexual harassment in offices, there may remain an interest to discourage, disregard or discredit the filing of such complaints at the organisational level.

Even if claims are filed, senior officials may attempt to discourage victims from pursuing such claims in an effort to suppress the matter. And it cannot be discounted that the filing of such complaints may result in a backlash by way of defamatory or disparaging remarks from colleagues, social isolation or an increasingly unaccommodating work environment.

Alternatively, and without approaching the inquiry committee, the employee may directly approach the federal or provincial ombudsman, or the district court, as the case may be, for the filing of a complaint under the act.

However, although the option may allow greater transparency and accountability on account of the independent nature of the ombudsman, the designation of the president of Pakistan or the governor of the province in question as the appellate forum renders such recourse risky, cumbersome and difficult. This is a result of the political nature of the persons usually occupying such posts, as well as the inordinate delays which typically arise upon preferring representations to such authorities.

In a nutshell, although the legislative measures taken are a step in the right direction, there remain areas which require the immediate attention of the legislature. Some of the legislative provisions should have been better drafted for purposes of clarity, and practical aspects of the subject should have also been taken into account.

Sadly, the inability to address the above issues may ensure that legislative provisions remain mere tools for ‘handling’ sexual harassment in workplaces, as opposed to becoming a method of eliminating it from society.

The writer is an attorney-at-law.

basil.nabi@gmail.com

The gap is back

Arifa Noor

THE army, despite its Sharif chief, is not happy with the Sharif on Constitution Avenue. It is fuming about poor old Khawaja Asif who has spent the past week appearing on one television talk show after another to explain, mollify and laugh away the reports that he caused a brouhaha with his intemperate remarks.

But the problem is not just that poor old Khawaja can’t forget the bitter memories of how he was treated post October 1999 or that the military is not happy with the talks the government insists on holding with those who have killed soldiers and is in the grand old PML-N tradition not keeping anyone — including the military — in the loop.

Surely this is but a over-simplification.

Civil-military relations can be tense anywhere, but in Pakistan they are particularly fraught with friction because the reality jars rudely with what the system is theoretically.

Technically, the military should report to the civilian government. In reality it is a political stakeholder that until recently was the most dominant player on the stage. For multiple reasons, in 2007, it decided to abandon centre stage.

But despite this retreat (partly dictated and partly self-imposed), the military is not willing to give up entirely on the territory or influence it has carved out over decades.

At the same time, it is also not willing to take the government head on — and publicly. Remember Mirza Aslam Beg who as army chief publicly supported Saddam Hussein while the government had sided with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia?

But now neither side is willing to strike out like an Indian villain of yore.

This is where the media comes in as it now provides the battleground on which the military and political governments joust, post 2008.

Be it the Kerry Lugar bill or ‘memogate’ or even the latest fracas, it appears as if the military uses the media to pressure the government.

In memogate for instance, pressure was built up once the media published a spate of stories on the exchange between Mansoor Ijaz and then Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, which forced the government’s hand. The government called Haqqani back who then offered to resign.

Can one go so far as to say that had the military been in a position to demand an explanation from Haqqani behind closed doors, the story may not have been leaked to the press?

Who can tell? But the irony was not lost on many — a military, which could once send a government packing, had to wait three years for ‘memogate’ to happen before it could finally be rid of an ambassador to the US it didn’t like.

Similarly, this time around, if Gen Sharif could have simply told the PML-N government to stop his ministers from issuing anti-Musharraf statements or orchestrate the former general’s trip abroad, would there be the need for this elaborate charade? Consider.

The chief first visits the SSG commandos base, then an innocuous sounding press release is drafted and sent out. It is left to the intelligence and ingenuity of beat reporters and wire agencies to interpret the short statement and pick out the very last sentence about the dignity of the armed forces as the most important one to ‘miraculously’ reach the conclusion that the uniformed ones are unhappy with the elected lot’s treatment of Musharraf in the treason trial.

Only a Bollywood director would pick up this script, which requires so many ‘coincidences’, for the plot to move forward.

But assume that the chief is not able to make the prime minister heed him and the press release makes a little bit more sense.

However, there are three lessons to be drawn from this line of argument.

One, these public crises have and will continue to rock the polity as this is how the messaging from the relatively weaker military will be carried out and vice versa. (In the past, even the PPP was not averse to using this mode of communication — remember Gilani’s ‘state within a state’ speech in parliament?)

Second, none of these crises indicates a military intention to send the government home. The environment just isn’t suitable and the military realises this perhaps better than the civilians — and the anchors.

And last, the media will continue to be used as the battleground on which this tug of power will be played out. This is one case where the media is not a ‘stakeholder’ but simply a tool being used — for the agenda it is helping to further is not of its own making.

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Islamabad.

Small men with big egos

Babar Sattar

WHAT will it take to slap our ruling civil and military elite out of its obsession with egotism, triviality and misplaced notions of honour? It can’t get more absurd. A nuclear-capable state with one of the largest standing armies in the world is held hostage by its home-bred terrorists. Now, on the one hand we have our ‘statesmen’ and generals bending over to appease those slaughtering soldiers and citizens. And, on the other, the same sages can’t stop frothing and preaching the pride and dignity of their respective institutions, parliament and the army.

Is parliament’s supremacy now entrenched with its members having proclaimed it in thundering speeches? Has the honour and dignity of the army been restored after the army chief fired warning shots amidst cheering commandos? We have lost more than 50,000 of us to violence. We have had heads of FC soldiers severed and used as footballs. Whether it is Fata, Karachi, Islamabad’s district courts or Rawalpindi’s sabzi mandi, the state’s writ is nowhere in sight. And yet our power wielders can’t stop their bickering to focus on our existential crisis?

There are no principles in question here. Our Constitution unequivocally provides for civilian control of the military. As a proponent of democracy or a student of our checkered history, one can take no exception to the suggestion that the military has no business interfering in politics. But that for the most part Pakistan has either been ruled directly by the military or with khakis pulling strings from behind the curtain is a matter of record. The question thus is not whether our historical civil-military imbalance needs fixing but what is the best way to go about doing so.

If putting the fear of Article 6 in the heart of every general was the surest way to block military coups, would we have seen one elected prime minister hanged and a second one expelled from the country post 1973? If Article 6 was the deterrent that could preserve and protect democracy, would we have had a serving army chief warn in unambiguous terms that the army “will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride” while reacting to the trial of a former army chief under the same Article 6?

It will take capable, confident and resolute civil and military leaders to fix our institutional imbalance, who possess the grit to make necessary compromises such readjustment will require of both sides. Transforming an army that perceives any challenge to its status as holy cow as a grave affront and a threat to its vital institutional interests, to one that has no saviour complex and willingly treats the law and the Constitution as binding legal instruments will not come easily. This will require instilling change in behaviour and mindset.

Such change will have to be led by generals who are convinced that prosperity and the future of Pakistan is contingent upon re-imagining failed notions of national security and national interest (and the military’s preponderant role in shaping them) that we have lived with for the last 67 years. But giving up power and privilege is not easy. And creating the overall socio-political environment conducive to fixing our civil-military imbalance is the responsibility of politicos and not generals. And that is where Nawaz Sharif and his coterie are failing miserably.

It is unfathomable that Musharraf, after three months of contriving every excuse under the sun to avoid indictment, would just show up in court with a new lawyer, get indicted, request to be taken off the ECL and make a farewell speech for public consumption, all without any assurance that he would be let loose after the indictment. If such assurance was indeed given on Nawaz Sharif’s behest and later dishonoured, and key members of his cabinet also elected to indulge in chest thumping after the event, the khaki leadership would obviously feel slighted.

If Nawaz Sharif was convinced that the Musharraf trial is the right thing to do and is key to fixing the civil-military imbalance, shouldn’t it have been conducted in the most solemn manner? The army chief could have been candidly advised that there would be no deal-making on the Musharraf issue. It could be ensured that the trial comes to be seen as one related exclusively to the rule of law, devoid of controversy and lacking manifestations of revenge — and is not used to engage in bravado or to draw political mileage.

The army chief’s posturing at Ghazi camp was essentially cathartic. Notwithstanding any sense within the military high command of being cheated by politicos post-indictment, the ISPR statement was essentially meant to vent the collective anger of the khakis. To respond by saying that khakis ought not feel angry over the Musharraf trial misses the point. In designing his policy and strategy vis-à-vis the Musharraf trial, the pressure it would bring to bear on the army chief from within his institution should have been a major consideration for Sharif.

Nawaz Sharif locked horns with an army chief in his first tenure as prime minister. He fired one in his second tenure and got ousted trying to fire a second. Has he still not learnt any lessons? And does he not realise that we are faced with barbarians already knocking down the gates? If there was ever a time when this country couldn’t afford a turf war between civvies and khakis, it is now.

The writer is a lawyer.

sattar@post.harvard.edu

Twitter: @babar_sattar

Middle class politics

Umair Javed

SINCE 2007, a growing middle class and its engagement with the political sphere has been the subject of much discussion in Pakistan. The impetus came firstly from the lawyers’ movement — initiated by middle-income professionals (bar association members and rights activists) — and then from the consolidation of PTI’s pop-politics stressing civic engagement and ‘reclaiming’ Pakistan from a corrupt political elite.

This discussion, whilst frequent and occasionally insightful, has rarely attempted to locate middle class activism in Pakistan as part of a broader trend of protest politics in the developing world.

For the better part of the last decade, protests and political mobilisations against government corruption, perceived authoritarianism, nepotism, and even environmental degradation have emerged in Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, India, Venezuela and Pakistan. A common theme in these otherwise disparate locations has been the participation and organisational input of relatively affluent activists, and the marginalisation of absolute inequality and redistribution as issues within their protesting agendas.

This is not to suggest that poor people have not been active in these movements, but rather the overarching itinerary has been couched in the language of meritocracy, anti-corruption, economic growth, or the recognition of ‘civic rights’.

The Indian general election is a fairly instructive case study in this regard. While the Aam Aadmi Party is heralded as the clean, pro-accountability option, the BJP’s campaign is also underscored by a distinctly ‘professional’ tilt.

Modi’s popularity lies in the constant, somewhat misleading, flaunting of his record as Gujarat’s administrator, and the party’s ability to present itself as the pro-growth, pro-reform option vs the inept and corrupt Congress-led UPA-II (2009-2014). Both these political preferences — ‘meritocracy and anti-corruption’ and ‘pro-growth and pro-business’ — are often explicitly held by members of the India’s aspirational middle class.

What makes it even more interesting is that a quick cross-border comparison (simplistic in some regards) shows how the same overarching categories — accountability and growth — were prevalent in the pre-election messaging of the PTI and PML-N respectively.

This rise of middle class dissatisfaction and its relative success in reshaping the vocabulary of mainstream politics poses two important questions: why has this dissatisfaction grown over the past decade, and how has it translated itself into a fairly successful political project?

Amongst the many explanations given for the 1979 Iranian revolution, an oft-cited one was Nikkie Keddie’s usage of the ‘J-curve/relative deprivation theory’. Her analysis was as follows: when periods of relatively high growth and modernisation are followed by economic stagnation, and political exclusion, segments of the population begin to find their heightened expectations unfulfilled. This induces anger, frustration, and eventually leads to political mobilisation against incumbent regimes.

While the theory was found to be an insufficient explanation for the Iranian case, it does provide us with analytical value in partially explaining middle class politics in South Asia.

Between 1988 and 2006, pro-market reforms in both India and Pakistan saw considerable growth in the size and relative affluence of the middle class. For Pakistan in particular, the Musharraf era was one of considerable consumption-based prosperity, as was the first UPA government (2004-09) for the same segment in India.

A global recession, mixed with general ruling ineptness, sparked discontentment in both countries. The good days of cheap credit and suburban dreams came to a grinding halt, and with it brought about a considerable degree of anger towards the parties or authority figures in power. The BJP, like the PTI and PML-N before it, is currently cashing in on this anti-incumbent sentiment

Now comes the all-important second question — how did middle class discontentment ensure the PML-N and PTI’s success in Pakistan, and the BJP’s status as the most popular party in India? The middle class may have grown in size, but it still remains an electoral minority. How did its aspirations and considerations become universally acceptable in both countries?

One possible explanation is that middle-income groups are adept at shaping the political discourse for all other groups in the country. Control over academic institutions and the media puts them at an advantage as far as mass messaging is concerned.

Anchors and television/radio pundits highlight government corruption, talk at length against quotas and redistributive projects, and implicitly (often explicitly as well) make their political preferences clear. This has an undeniable impact on how consumers from all classes process the political world around them.

The complementary explanation, and a more compelling one, is that low-income voters are organisationally weak compared to the middle class. In the growing absence of representative political parties, or functioning unions, low-income voters become recipients of token scraps handed out selectively as part of cruel electoral transactions. They do not possess the resources required to project an alternate political messaging, and neither do they have the reach to reform the existing language of politics and economics.

To put it somewhat crudely, the political game — ie mass-messaging, party leadership preferences and agendas of mobilisation — looks increasingly rigged in favour of the more affluent in society. This is the dilemma democracy essentially faces in many developing countries. In a couple of weeks, Modi will most likely become leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha, and like Nawaz Sharif, he will be entrusted to bring the good days of consumption and aspiration back to the country. Back for whom exactly, though, is a question that may very well go unasked.

The writer is a freelance columnist.

umairjaved87@gmail.com

Unsafe in a bank

Hajrah Mumtaz

IT referred more to secure investment than material goods, but the term used to be ‘safe as houses’. That hasn’t been the case for many years now in urban Pakistan. Forget people hiding away savings and jewellery under the mattress, more and more people are growing chary of keeping even valuable documents in the house for fear of being robbed.

Fortunately, the solution is easy: simply rent a locker from a bank.

Or, at least, that is what I’d thought. Until last weekend, when an eight-hour heist at a lockers facility associated with a private bank in Karachi left over 50 strongboxes stripped of their contents and, worse, the owners with no readily apparent avenue of recompense.

It is common practice for the contents of goods put in bank lockers to remain undeclared and unvalued. You can put whatever you like in there, and you don’t have to tell the bank what it is (although you may separately have bought insurance according to the item’s value).

For that reason, what banks offer against the contents of the lockers is generally flat rates of insurance, often related to the size of the box you have rented. This is the sum that the bank will pay to you in case the contents of your locker are damaged, destroyed or lost. While it may not reflect the value of the goods in question, that is the sum contracted between the bank and the individual renting out a locker facility.

The State Bank of Pakistan has laid-out rates of insurance against the contents of lockers that apply to all banks across the board.

So, at least in theory, those rules could have applied to the victims of Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar heist. Turns out, there was a technicality: the locker facility in question was apparently not being run directly by the bank but by an employees’ organisation subsidiary to it.

That meant, from the reports in the press, first that the police didn’t have to treat the case as a bank robbery at all but could register it as just an ordinary theft — which would put it lower down on the priority list. And, secondly, it meant that the SBP’s rules about insurance don’t apply.

And that means that the people whose possessions were looted have pretty much been left high and dry.

So far, the bank and the organisation that ran the lockers facility have expressed great regret and it has been announced that the victims will be compensated; but no clarity has emerged at all how compensation will be calculated. To my mind, this will be a difficult task since the only way of estimating the value of the contents of a particular locker will be to take the owner at his word.

Most likely, the victims will end up having to take whatever they’re eventually offered.

As one of the great numbers of people who have similarly rented a locker in a bank, this makes me feel very insecure. Was it made clear to the people who were renting strongboxes at this facility that it was not in fact run by the bank at all but its subsidiary, and the difference this would make in the case the worst happened?

These sorts of things usually end up being in very fine print, and while of course it was the renters’ responsibility to have ascertained the facts of the matter, certainly this particular question would never have occurred to me. Surely, the banking sector needs to better publicise these sorts of details given their relevance.

Secondly, don’t banks and their regulators start needing to take security much more seriously?

There have been 10 bank robberies in Karachi this year alone, and they seem to be getting more and more brazen. The money can be going anywhere from financing terrorism to plumping up the coffers of criminals.

In this locker facility’s case, there was only one guard on the premises and the CCTV system was out of order. Here again, there are set standard operating procedures and minimum security requirements. But many banks and branches slip up by failing to adhere to them stringently.

As was pointed out to me, why is it that one never hears of a foreign bank being looted? Because they follow protocol.

Several other loopholes in banks’ security can easily be discerned, not the least of them being under-trained or ill-equipped guards, or even the possible collusion of insiders. But surely, the growing numbers of bank heists bode ill. Why aren’t we seeing any movement on the issue, or any sign that someone in authority has even noticed?

The writer is a member of staff.

hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com

The dominant actor

Huma Yusuf

A TTP spokesman last week said that killing innocent people is ‘haram’. The statement may have been the most perverse act of hypocrisy ever witnessed in Pakistan, which is saying something. Perverse not only because the TTP has contributed to the massacre of 50,000 Pakistanis, but also because it issued the statement while deciding whether to extend a ceasefire — one that has been punctuated by horrific violence.

As Pakistan negotiates with the TTP, it’s important to consider what made the group think it could get away with such a public contradiction, and what it hopes to achieve by it. For weeks, the TTP has taken advantage of the ongoing peace talks to revamp its PR strategy, simply disowning acts of violence that echo its modus operandi and are traced back to it by intelligence agencies. Media-savvy spokesmen blame splinter groups, hidden hands, or foreign agents for the attacks, and we give them the benefit of the doubt even though it is known that militant groups are well networked and ready to collaborate.

The TTP has also tried to win the moral high ground through the negotiations process. It has made sure to come across as magnanimous in granting — and then extending — the ceasefire; it has also turned the tables on the army by demonising it for detaining non-combatants, including women and children (while their repeated slaughter of the same bears no mention).

By declaring terrorist violence to be ‘haram’, the TTP has taken another major step towards its own rehabilitation and legitimisation. Worse, it has robbed the government and liberal minority of the most accessible counter-narrative — one that those opposed to Talibanisation have floundered towards, but failed to articulate.

How has this happened? What can we do to stop it? Too often, discussions about the TTP’s growing audacity get bogged down in murky histories of our deep state, crises of national identity and questions about the role of religion in the public sphere. But there are concrete factors that have empowered the TTP to seize control of the dominant narrative about its own violent extremism. Identifying these is the first step towards course-correction, and making sure other violent actors do not capture the public imagination in the same way the TTP has done.

Shoddy, hysterical journalism is one of the main culprits. Our television channels are adept at pulling together montages to mock politicians, but make little effort to compile documentation that highlights the hypocrisy of militant groups and the scale of atrocities they have committed (and claimed). Some may say the media has been intimidated by attacks against journalists. But this excuse would hold only if media houses were busy bulking up security, providing safety training, and using their clout to pressurise the government to provide more protection for journalists. In the absence of that, we have to assume the decontextualised and extensive coverage of TTP statements is a result of ratings pressure, even ideological affinity with the Taliban.

The rot within our education institutes is also to blame. Even supposedly educated Pakistanis have little capacity for critical thinking and research. They are not empowered to sift through the white noise and make sense of the information about extremist groups available to them in rational and informed ways. It doesn’t help that youngsters capable of critical thought are recruited by extremist groups, which have made a concerted effort to infiltrate university campuses.

Pakistan’s inability to engage in public discourses about religion has also created more space for the TTP. This inability results from a long process starting with the Objectives Resolution, peaking with the passage of draconian blasphemy laws, and persisting through inanities such as the YouTube ban. Thanks to such developments, only the most right-wing fanatic can issue statements pertaining to Islam, confident that he cannot be challenged by anyone further to the right on the ideological spectrum — and certainly not by secular voices. Today, the TTP and its ilk occupy the position of right-most religious pontificators. I shudder to think what might come next.

Our state security policies have hardly helped. Despite tens of thousands of killings, old games are afoot: good Taliban vs bad Taliban; my strategic asset vs your terrorist. The idea that rogue militants can be brought back into the security establishment’s fold and used as foils against stubborn hardliners continues to be entertained. In this context, why wouldn’t groups like the TTP seek public rehabilitation?

The government took a good step in dismantling the TTP’s Umar Media website. The fact that it has not promptly resurfaced suggests the group considers an authorised online presence a low priority — it knows it already has the nation’s ear.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

huma.yusuf@gmail.com

Twitter: @humayusuf

The Asian challenge

Munir Akram

ALTHOUGH the world attention is focused today on a new ‘Cold War’ in Europe, it is in Asia that the prospects of global peace and prosperity will be determined. Asia is now the world’s most economically dynamic region.

Within two decades, most of the world’s largest economic and military powers will be in Asia. But, Asia also has vast poverty; it is geographically, ethnically and politically diverse; plagued by numerous territorial disputes; in the midst of multiple transitions — strategic, political, economic, social and cultural. It is thus a volatile and dangerous place.

Many powerful actors play a role in Asia. Yet, the central relationship which will affect Asia, for good or bad, is the one between the US and China.

The US and China are now deeply interdependent for economic growth, national security and global stability. During the past four decades, Sino-US relations have not been confrontational. This could change. There are growing differences on a series of issues: military, political, economic and social. Unless these are wisely addressed, Asia may become embroiled in a cold, or even a ‘hot’, war. Decisions and developments on a number of issues are likely to determine the future of Asia.

First, military postures and deployments. When China was invaded and divided by the European colonial powers, it was the world’s largest economy, as it will be again. China’s desire for military security is understandable. The US is a Pacific and global power. Its presence in Asia is natural. What matters is the nature of the US, Chinese and other military deployments in Asia. Are these threatening and adversarial in nature?

Thus, deployment of forces on borders and sensitive areas; or the deployment of inherently offensive and destabilising military systems, like anti-ballistic missiles, can be seen as threatening and invite responses that could spiral into military confrontation. A Sino-US military dialogue can help to avoid costly mistakes.

Second, military alliances. These are adversarial by definition. There is no need for rival military blocs in Asia. The creation of alliances, formal or informal, by the US with countries on China’s periphery, is likely to create the very outcome sought to be avoided. Asia should learn lessons from Europe’s bad and good experiences and build ‘cooperative’ security.

In this, several Asian powers — India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia — can play a positive role, primarily by eschewing incorporation in rival alliances and building security in Asia’s ‘sub-regions’. Russia too is an Asian power. Its positions will influence Asian events. Given memories of the past, Japan’s more muscular posture is likely to evoke a generally negative Asian response. Australia will need to balance its Anglo-Saxon ties with its economic interdependence with China.

Third, territorial disputes. Each of the numerous disputes afflicting Asia needs to be patiently and constructively addressed, principally by adherence to international law and mutual accommodation. The resolution of the maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea is essential. But it would be counterproductive to try and secure solutions by attempting to ‘isolate’ China.

South Asia also requires strategic attention. The festering dispute over Kashmir and the ongoing Indo-Pakistan conventional and nuclear arms race, in combination, have created the most dangerous nuclear flashpoint in the world today. The nuclear negotiations with Iran can produce a durable solution only if a broad strategic understanding is achieved involving Saudi Arabia and other West Asian powers.

North Korea’s erratic behaviour requires patient management and reassurance regarding regime survival. The six-power forum is also a good vehicle to stabilise the complex relationships in Northeast Asia.

Ironically, combating terrorism provides a promising basis for cooperation among almost all Asian powers. The Muslim world is particularly affected by this phenomenon. But, counterterrorism can succeed only if there is willingness to address the root causes of terrorism. These causes are different in each area; but they are all political in nature. Among these causes are the visible instances of the suppression of Muslim peoples, as in Palestine and Kashmir.

Fourth, trade and development. The recent global financial crisis has led to a visible reversal of globalisation and a revival of state mercantilism. The creation of trade blocs that attempt to exclude China or other major economies will retard progress and exacerbate political and military rivalries. It is vital to re-launch global efforts for trade, financial and services liberalisation through the World Trade Organisation and the UN. Technological progress now offers the possibility, including in the field of energy, to enhance production, consumption and growth on a universal and sustainable basis. Despite the recent slowdown, Asia will continue to be the world economy’s central dynamo.

Fifth, ideology. Now that capitalism has been universally embraced, it is the promotion of democracy and human rights that has become the rallying cry for the West. Democracy versus authoritarianism is the new ideological divide. Realising the common good will have to be achieved by each country and society according to its own circumstances. Attempts to impose Western concepts and practices will continue to be resisted by most Asian powers, promote instability and provoke confrontation.

Last, like other regions, Asia can benefit from effective institutions of cooperation. The institutions created after the Second World War — the UN Security Council, the IMF and World Bank — are now outdated and need to be restructured to reflect current realities, particularly those in Asia. Asia also needs to create its own region-wide economic and political organisations — such as Europe’s OECD and the OSCE — to build cooperative security and prosperity.

The writer is a former Pakistan ambassador to the UN.

Civ-mil, again

Cyril Almeida

WHEN the chief spoke this week, folk fell over themselves and each other trying to figure out whether the Mush trial was dead and if the Nawaz government was on life support.

WHEN the chief spoke this week, folk fell over themselves and each other trying to figure out whether the Mush trial was dead and if the Nawaz government was on life support.

That made sense. Those questions were a lot sexier than the probable, and eventual, answer: the chief was talking to his boys and when boys talk, chests are beaten and silly things are said.

It would’ve been amusing if it weren’t for all that silliness about the democratic project being derailed and the transition being in danger.

Because a couple of ministers spoke impoliticly? You can imagine a bunch of folk wishing it were so, or even that it were possible. But could it be true? ‘No’ was the answer and it became apparent quickly enough.

As the dust settled and folk wandered off to look for the next crisis, no one really wanted to sift through the detritus of the present one.

Everyone knew what it had meant at a minimum. The boys could not — would not — allow themselves to look weak in front of the rank and file and the public at large.

That is well known and unsurprising. Perception is power and much of the boys’ power lies in others’ perception of their — the boys’ — power.

That makes sense. But only up to a point.

Lost in the kerfuffle was that a statement meant to project the army’s power had inadvertently exposed the army’s vulnerability.

The civ-empty, mil-full version of the civ-mil glass had the boys always opposed to a trial and waiting for the right moment to strike. When Saad Rafique and Khwaja Asif sneered, that moment had seemingly arrived. The boys made their move.

Even though they failed, another moment will arrive soon enough. You can always count on a politician to mess up.

The important thing, in this view of the civ-mil tumbler, is that the boys’ unwillingness to countenance a trial and sentencing has been established. All that matters now is the timing of the intervention.

But there’s another view of the civ-mil glass, which has the civ side, if not quite half full, possibly getting there.

And that’s this: Musharraf has been indicted. That was supposed to have been impossible. And before that, the formation of a special court was supposed to have been impossible. Before that, it was assumed the matter would be killed at the FIA investigation stage.

And before that, it was assumed an investigation was a non-starter because the government would not be allowed to act on the Supreme Court’s directions to have a special FIA team investigate the possible charges.

But all of that is known. Leave that aside for a minute.

Imagine — and yes, it may take a leap of faith — that there’s a super politician with craftiness, guile and sophistication sitting somewhere, strategising this entire process. Let’s call him Nawaz (leap of faith, remember?).

Nawaz has figured out the boys’ vulnerability: they are obsessed with image and perception. Image/perception can be power, but it isn’t a substitute. The two are not interchangeable.

Nawaz has figured this out. He has figured out that the army veto on a Musharraf trial will only be invoked when the trial process crosses image/perception red lines.

So, to begin with, Nawaz let someone else start the process. CJ Iftikhar obliged and obliged gladly. While CJ Iftikhar was around and the SC was pushing for a trial, Nawaz looked like the good guy: it’s not me, it’s the courts.

Next, with CJ Iftikhar on his way out, Nawaz decided to switch gears. And how. With the country reeling from Muharram violence in Pindi, Nisar announced the government was going ahead with a Musharraf trial.

Oh, that’s just the government trying to change the topic, everyone said. And so the government got it in the neck for trying to change the topic, meaning Nawaz avoided raising the temperature on what he had planned for Musharraf.

Then, the next step in our crafty Nawaz’s plan: the endless court hearings. One, two, three, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, more — and no indictment.

An immediate indictment would have instantly upped civ-mil tensions — because the government would have been perceived as gunning for a former chief and running roughshod over the boys.

But the longer the indictment process wore on, the weaker the government looked — and instead of the government being attacked, it was mocked.

Nawaz our hypothetical crafty politician was OK with this: after all, politicians are used to being pummelled; it’s the army’s sensitivities that he had to worry about.

Then, Musharraf is indicted. Next step achieved. But the wheels of conspiracy start turning once more. Folk start yelling about vendettas and personal agendas.

Again, our hypothetical Nawaz had anticipated this and planned for it. So he unleashes two of his big guns: go hunting, boys. Take down the biggest one you can find, Nawaz orders.

Nawaz’s loyal lieutenants do what the boss ordered — and they get the biggest and baddest of the boys to roar back.

The media loves it, the public is riveted — and amidst the chaos, folk are also reminded of who the boys are and how their world revolves around themselves.

Realising this, the boys quieten down again.

Wouldn’t it be great if there really were a super politician with craftiness, guile and sophistication sitting somewhere strategising this entire process?

Call him Nawaz.

The writer is a member of staff.

cyril.a@gmail.com

Twitter: @cyalm

Opening minds

Khadim Hussain

WAS it a conscious politico-bureaucratic nuance or simplistic understanding? KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak recently said something about education that repudiates research of the last half a century in the field.

While launching an enrolment drive in the province, Mr Khattak talked about English as the medium of instruction that he felt would lead to a uniform education system in KP. He also talked against ‘political interference’ in the transfer of teachers. His most important statement pertained to the public education system being made a model one, so that parents would not choose to send their children to private schools. The chief minister failed to dilate on this.

In principle, the three major features of education — access, governance and quality — are to be dealt with in a coordinated manner. Increase in enrolment lies in the domain of access while transfer and promotions come under the purview of governance. To increase access to education for children, the government needs to enhance the annual budget as well as overall development.

The two million to 2.5 million out-of-school children in KP need 800 to 1,000 additional schools immediately. Where does the government plan to accommodate children who are enrolled if all out-of-school children are to be admitted? Similarly, the government needs at least 40,000 trained English-language teachers if all secondary schools are to have at least one English-language teacher after the promulgation of English as the medium of instruction. How does the government plan on accomplishing this?

Credible language teaching methods have been confused with the early introduction of English as the medium of instruction. Additionally, instead of providing a framework for eliminating class-based education, the chief minister maintained that the early introduction of English would automatically lead to uniform education. So, what about madressahs, elite schools system and cadet and garrison schools? How will they contribute to the goal of uniform education?

What is also missing in the discourse is the component of quality, which pertains to the curriculum, teaching methods and the academic environment at schools. At present, all three aspects tend to glorify war and war heroes, teaching students to hate whatever and whosoever is different on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion and language. Together, they inculcate isolation, segregation and fear of thinking and expression.

Elementary and secondary schools’ curriculum that is consistent with international standards should ideally concentrate on certain fundamental areas. It should encourage critical and analytical thinking, impart basic and advanced modern and traditional skills, promote civic responsibility and help develop an aesthetic sense and environmental consciousness among the students.

This would imply that students have a direct link with worldwide educational standards while being aware of their own history, culture and language.

For this to happen, indigenous languages, world civilisations, scientific and rational thought and an opportunity to satisfy curiosity must be the constituent parts of the curriculum. The curriculum needs to be designed in a manner that students learn how to observe, question, think, create and express.

The curriculum must therefore focus on human dignity and the accommodation of cultural, religious, sectarian, gender and ethnic diversity. Besides there’s a need to highlight the contributions of inventors, social reformers and scholars both within and outside the region. Mathematics and the sciences must focus on observation and analysis.

Developing a sense of aesthetics is another important aspect that comes under the academic environment. Literary and artistic taste and promoting sportsmanship might be effectively inculcated through holding exhibitions, sporting events, and literary competitions regularly. It is also important for students to have an opportunity to interact with artists, literati and craftspeople.

The academic environment is instrumental in bringing about environmental consciousness among students. Students need to be encouraged to observe and know their immediate environment, heritage and geographical peculiarities. Regular plantation campaigns and celebrations of international days of water and food, for example, might make students more aware of the environment’s importance.

Another necessary component of curriculum and quality is the method of teaching and the learning process inside classrooms. Teachers must be are provided with job training and refresher courses if child-friendly and activity-based learning is to be adopted. Dialogue, debate and inquiry must be established as basic values. Self-discipline, instead of imposed discipline, is to be emphasised.

The type of discipline expected from students at the moment results in a culture of silence which leads to emotional and intellectual dependence. On a collective level, this in turn leads to economic and political dependence.

The writer is author of Rethinking Education: Critical Discourse and Society.

khadimhussain565@gmail.com

An unused right

Natalia Tariq

VARIOUS international and domestic factors have led to the adoption of Right To Information (RTI) laws across the world over the last 25 years. More than 90 countries now have laws on access to information, up from 13 in 1990. There is now global recognition of the importance of transparency in promoting effective governance.

RTI is fundamental to enhancing citizen participation in decision-making, affecting public policy, and tipping the balance of power between states and citizens.

Internationally, momentum for reform has been created by intergovernmental bodies and aid agencies, working with local NGOs and policymakers that have pressurised governments to pass RTI laws. In many cases, this pressure has translated into reality at the national level as domestic political elites have realised they need to support RTI efforts to gain or maintain their political legitimacy domestically and internationally.

Two RTI laws have recently been enacted in Pakistan — the Punjab Transparency and RTI Act 2012 and the KP RTI Act 2013. Both are considered effective pieces of legislation, the KP act being ranked quite highly by the Centre for Law and Democracy, an independent group that ranks RTI laws worldwide.

But does an RTI law on its own guarantee improved transparency and accountability? What is the broader impact of these laws for strengthening social accountability? Do citizens make use of these laws to access information? And are their information requests entertained?

Pakistan has many laws that have been of little use to citizens due to ineffective implementation. It is imperative to ensure that RTI laws don’t follow the path of laws which have no impact on the ground and don’t feed into broader systemic governance reforms.

Formal institutional mechanisms need to be put in place in order to safeguard effective implementation of RTI laws and leverage their use for positive transparency and accountability outcomes. Experience has shown that in countries where specific agencies were designated for creating awareness and support for the law, and where capacity was built in the public sector to respond to RTI requests, the laws have worked well.

It is important to set up support institutions of two kinds: an independent oversight agency (such as information commissions — both the Punjab and KP laws make provisions for these) as well as oversight and capacity building nodal agencies within the government.

While information commissions are instrumental as redress mechanisms for appeals against non-compliance, the latter are needed for promoting and coordinating change management within government departments and for pushing them to comply with the law through training, capacity building, issuing detailed notifications, appointing public information officers and improving record management practices.

In India, for instance, the Department of Personnel and Training oversees implementation of the RTI law in the central government, whereas the Central Information Commission has given rulings against public offices that refused to comply with information requests. It is necessary to give these institutions adequate funding and political support if RTI laws are to contribute to good governance.

The implementation phase is often not as high-profile as the movement to enact laws. Political actors, and even civil society groups and citizens can lose momentum and enthusiasm by this stage. Public officials can resist implementation through strategies such as creating amendments and non-compliance with information requests. Passing laws is only half the effort the government must put in to allow citizens to use the law.

Civil society organisations can play an intermediary role by building the capacity of government departments to disclose information proactively and respond efficiently to information requests, and on the demand side by raising awareness of the citizenry on the benefits of using the law as well as helping them file information requests.

Finally, effectiveness of the new RTI laws will also depend on the political economy of governance structures in Pakistan. Whether or not the laws will feed into an anti-corruption movement and translate into increased state accountability whereby citizens are more directly involved in governance will depend on certain dimensions of governance. These include how effectively check and balance institutions such as commissions, the legislature and judiciary follow up on information disclosures and whether or not the media and civil society make effective use of information disclosed to sustain the RTI movement for concrete transparency and accountability outcomes.

This will only be possible if the RTI movement is tied to a broader movement for comprehensive reforms that seeks to address underlying governance challenges facing Pakistan today.

The writer manages the Transparency Programme at Open Society Foundation Pakistan.

Twitter: @NataliaTariq87

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Court drops attempted murder case against toddler

Legislators defaming army can be disqualified, says Shujaat

Official held for illegal release of inmates

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Retirees’ reappointment goes against SC orders

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Former secretary to head Wapda

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SC takes up issue of deserted children’s adoption

Pemra chief ‘sacked’

PPO to be softened, PM assures Zardari

TTP ends ceasefire, says talks option open

MQM protests in Senate against ‘victimisation’

Main accused will be court-martialled, govt tells SC

Govt ‘unwilling’ to widen treason trial

Security committee meets today

Six die, 280 missing as ferry sinks off S. Korea

PPP to be with govt against any ‘adventure’

Militants attacked after soldier hurt in blast

New governor suggests amnesty for militants

Musharraf treason trial still on hold

Sharif, Zardari meet today

ECP let banned outfit contest 2013 polls

Senators bind PM to attend session

Trade tops agenda of talks with S. Korean PM

Man held in Bhakkar for cannibalism

Can people survive on minimum wage, SC asks

Music cheers Jaswant Singh to fight on

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Separatist movement funded by India: Zehri

Govt-AGP tussle deepens

Irritant in civil-military relations ‘to be overcome’

Edicts issued by Indian maulanas leave Muslim voters confused

Release of 12 Taliban prisoners likely

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Altaf calls for trial of ‘abettors’

Footprints: the Chinese Pakistan

Russia, West reach surprise deal on Ukraine

Taliban negotiator under house arrest in UAE

PPP seeks explanation on KP governor’s amnesty remarks

Nobel Laureate Garcia Marquez dies at 87

Anger boils over in search for ferry passengers

Abidi resigns Senate seat

3G and 4G auction to yield $1.3bn, says Dar

PPP asks Faisal Abidi to quit Senate

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Two injured in landmine explosion

Malala portrait up for auction in New York

Navy officer escapes attack

Highways in Balochistan blocked on PML-N call

US Air Force pilots carry out drone strikes

Sadequain’s work fetches high price at auction

Bids for 3G, 4G licences surpass expectations: PTA

Neo-Nazis sentenced for killing Pakistani

Continuity likely in India’s post-poll China ties

Militants abduct 100 girls from Nigerian school

Footprints: rising from the ashes

Watercolourist Najmul Hassan passes away

Police manipulated probe into murder of philanthropist

Two killed in Srinagar clash

China eyes major role in Afghanistan

Ukraine accuses Russia of waging war in east

Two militants, 2 policemen killed in Kashmir

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UN panel urges world to change fuel use patterns

Fact-checking gains momentum

Abdullah leads in first results of Afghan vote

Footprints: Text message of death

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For economic stability

Ulema’s call

Who’ll drive out the pests?