Aleppo and world conscience The need of the hour is for the Ummah to relearn Islam`s message and
of the hour is for the Ummah to relearn Islam`s message and practise it
| 1/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
ONE is left aghast (astounded) at the world`s attitude toward the massacres in
Aleppo. The bloodletting in that hapless land continued for months and years and
the city was reduced to rubble and the world watched and did nothing.
More than 1,000 people were killed in the months of November and December in
the Syrian government`s campaign in Aleppo. Thousands of civilians were
without food, water or medicine in the perpetual artillery barrages and airstrikes
conducted round the clock. Innocent unarmed civilians found themselves mere
lambs and pawns in a geopolitical struggle.
There is no way the world can avoid responsibility for Aleppo. The UN Security
Council and governments across the globe have done nothing while thousands
have been slaughtered and families shattered.
An investigation by the International Criminal Court may not be possible
immediately but evidence must be preserved to ensure that those responsible for
these crimes are prosecuted.
Otherwise, we could face more Aleppos in the future.
Islam and sectarianism
| 1/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
THERE is no connection between Islam and sectarianism. Islam is the only
religion that uplifts the status of humanity irrespective of caste, colour, ethnicity
or social status. It says all human beings are equal before Allah.
Islam demands that respect be given to all other religions and strictly forbids the
use of derogatory comments against them.
It teaches tolerance, patience and forgiveness to its followers and discourages
them from irrational and negative thinking.
Islam has always promoted peace, prosperity, unification, harmony,
enlightenment and progress among all sections of society and emphasized on its
message of universal brotherhood.
Allah clearly rebuffs (snub) divisions among the Muslims in the Holy Quran,
stating: `strongly hold fast on to the rope of Allah, and be not ye divided
among sects.
Unfortunately, the Muslim ummah has forgotten all about the real spirit of Islam.
stringently.
The central principle of all Muslims should be the following verse of the Holy
Quran in which Allah says: `a person who saves the life of one, saves the life
of all, and one who kills an innocent person, kills all human kind.
The sun must set on military courts
| 12/18/2016 12:00:00 AM
AS the fallout/ outcome from Justice Qazi Faez Isa`s report continues and
governments, federal and provincial, struggle to explain their inaction, there has
been yet another manifestation of the collective failure of the state. On Friday,
newly installed army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa signed off on what may be one of
the final orders upholding death sentences for terrorism offences handed down
by military courts set up under the 21st Amendment. The 13 latest confirmed
death sentences means that over 150 individuals have been condemned to die by
military courts since their creation in January 2014. With the sunset clause of
the 21st Amendment set to take effect early next month, a stark choice awaits the
country`s elected representatives: contemplate/ anticipate an extension to the life
of the military courts and in doing so further perpetuate the gross distortions to
the Constitution and justice system in the country, or, at long last and however
belatedly/ late, take up the issue of criminal justice reform.
The preferred option for parliament may well be the option utilised in the case of
extreme detention powers and special courts created under the Protection of
Pakistan Act, 2014: when that law expired in July, parliament simply opted to do
nothing. Pending cases in the special courts have been transferred to anti-
terrorism courts and there appears to be no appetite in parliament to give security
forces further special powers to detain individuals for prolonged periods.
The do-nothing option may seem palatable in a distorted system; after all, when
controversial laws expire and their controversial powers no longer exist, the state
cannot rely on them to perpetrate/ perform unjustness.
So, if military courts under the 21st Amendment cease to exist on Jan 7, an
opaque and indefensible system of so-called justice will stand dismantled and
army chiefs will no longer have the authority to confirm death sentences handed
down by those courts. But the donothing option is, in fact, deeply problematic. It
is the lack of justice system reforms that makes possible the creation of
abominations/ disgrace such as military courts in the first place. If no reforms are
attempted, the demand for ad hoc systems of justice will invariably be mooted/
proposed.
Justice system reforms are not easy, but neither are they as hard as they are made
out to be. Under its chairman Raza Rabbani, the Senate is trying to nudge/ push
parliament to take up the matter of terrorism-related legal reforms. Two bills
covering anti-terrorism and protection of witnesses passed by the Senate should
be taken up by the National Assembly and the sooner it is done, the better. As Mr
Rabbani has warned, a legal vacuum may appear on Jan 7. And if history is any
guide, dealing hastily with vacuums or emergencies tends to create further
problems. Judicial reforms must be undertaken in a determined, but measured
way.
Judiciary`s challenge
| 12/27/2016 12:00:00 AM
THE incoming chief justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar (25th, 31 dec. 2016), has
asserted that the superior judiciary will not yield to outside pressure in making its
decisions and that his tenure as chief justice will be marked by
scrupulous(trustworthy, meticulous) adherence to the letter and spirit of the law
and rules governing the judiciary. While there are expectations that Justice
Nisar`s track record as a judge so far may indeed lead to a rededicating of the
superior judiciary to the cause of genuine and efficient justice, two other factors
ought to be kept in mind. First, the very fact that Justice Nisar felt compelled to
make such statements to a gathering of lawyers suggests that the recent track
record of the superior judiciary has been below the high standards it must set
itself. Be it the Panama hearings, widely hailed at first and then quickly bogged
down in multiple hearings without end, or the validation of military courts or
dismissal of petitions against death sentences handed down by those courts or a
sense that the superior judiciary has not initiated substantial reforms regarding a
vast backlog of pending cases, there is a real sense of a judiciary adrift.
If Justice Nisar was suggesting that his tenure will be marked by an awareness
of problems and a resolve to address them, then the incoming chief justice should
also be aware of another issue: each one of his predecessors made similar
promises at the outset of and during his tenure as chief justice but to seemingly
no avail.
If anything, the problems have mounted to the point that attacks against the
judiciary and senior judges have become explicitly open an unfortunate state of
affairs and a trend that accelerated under the latter part of Chief Justice Anwar
Jamali`s tenure. Indeed, the first challenge for Justice Nisar after he takes the
oath of chief justice will be to address the public criticism against the judiciary.
This newspaper is a consistent defender of free speech and the right to robustly
criticise institutions of the state and public officials. Yet, making the superior
judiciary controversial for political ends as has sadly happened in recent days
risl(s tarnishing the entire court and the full array of its power and
responsibilities.
Ultimately, Justice Nisar`s tenure will be shaped by basic judicial reference
points. How much of the backlog will be cleared? What is the quality of the
judgements handed down? How will the court navigate the inevitable forays at
the intersection of law and politics? Immediately, Justice Nisar will have an
important task: with the activation of the sunset clause in the 21st Amendment,
military courts created under the law will stand disbanded. The critical challenge
for the criminal justice system will be to demonstrate that the civilian sphere is
capable of both drafting sensible reforms and improving the existing system.
Hopefully, the next chief justice knows the challenges well.
A new bench for Panama hearings
| 1/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
NEW year, new chief justice of Pakistan, new-look bench, but the same old
Panama Papers issue. Moving quickly, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has formed a
five-judge bench to restart the Panama hearings and the changes to the bench`s
composition are worth noting. By excluding himself from the bench, Chief
Justice Nisar has allowed the hearings to be held in a less charged environment.
Courtroom No 1, where the chief justice holds hearings, brings with it the most
intense of media scrutiny and public interest and all too often litigants in
politically charged matters resort to grandstanding before the court. With three of
the original five justices still part of the bench, the fresh hearings can now be
undertaken in a pragmatic and efficient manner. The second change, dropping a
judge who is to retire in March, suggests that Chief Justice Nisar has an eye on
continuity rather than disruption if the hearings stretch out once again.
Politically, it is welcome that all sides have publicly resolved to continue
participating in the hearings. While the PTI has vacillated a great deal in recent
weeks, sanity has prevailed for now. By accepting the new bench and
announcing that the PTI is looking forward to pressing its case against Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, the party has avoided creating fresh controversy at the
start of the new year. While it remains to be seen if it will abide by its
commitment for the duration of the hearings, perhaps what the PTI, and other
political parties, should consider is that ongoing and regular hearings of the
Panama issue gives the opposition a political advantage in that it is the
government and the Sharif family that will be on the defensive for the most part.
Beyond that, there is the matter of a commitment to a democratic and
constitutional order by the combined political opposition: to boycott or
downgrade Supreme Court hearings would be to show disregard for the rule of
law and the finality of the court as a judicial forum.
Finally, there are the lessons to be learned from the earlier set of hearings.
Widespread public interest, intense media scrutiny and informed commentary
are democracy-enhancing and should be encouraged when it comes to all state
institutions. Over the decades, an excessively deferential approach to the
Supreme Court has at times done a disservice to both democracy and the court
itself.
However, some of the public conduct surrounding the previous hearings spilled
into the unacceptable; the new hearings ought to be covered and commented on
in a more serious, sober manner.
Media freedom
| 1/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
IF on the face of it the news appears positive, the underlying implications are
undoubtedly stark. In its special report launched last week, the Committee to
Protect Journalists an independent organisation that works to promote press
freedom worldwide said that over the year past, it `did not identify anyone
singled out for murder in Pakistan because of journalistic work` This may be
encouraging, but the fact that this is the first time the committee has made such
an assessment concerning Pakistan since 2001 amounts to an indictment of the
impunity with which media personnel have for years been targeted, of the lack of
the state`s willingness to prosecute the transgressors, and of the fact that at times,
it has been agencies of the state itself that have been suspected of harassing (or
worse) journalists.
No media worker may have been singled out and killed for his or her work in
2016, but that does not mean that there have been no violent deaths at all in the
community. In August, DawnNews cameraman Mehmood Khan and AajTV
cameraman Shehzad Ahmed were killed in the line of duty in a bomb blast at the
Quetta Civil Hospital as they took footage of lawyers mourning the murder of
the president of the Balochistan Bar Association. And it is not just tragedies
such as this that continue to illustrate how media freedoms in Pakistan, and
therefore the right of the citizenry to public interest information, stand
compromised. As the CPJ report notes, journalists and media organisations here
have, under threat, had to resort to self-censorship in some cases, and several
individuals have had to leave the profession, particularly in confiict areas, as a
result of coming under pressure from either non-state or state actors. Certainly,
Pakistan desperately needs to protect its hard-won media freedoms and ensure
safety for media personnel. Yet beyond that there is much more work to be done.
Consider the manner in which citizens` right to information laws have proved
helpful across the world in nurturing an environment where public-interest
information is able to see the light of day. This country, however, has a sketchy
track record; the laws are there but, regardless of their varying levels of
robustness, requests made for information tend to be stonewalled (rebuffed) by
bureaucracy. Perhaps what is needed is a change in optics: information, whether
through the media or otherwise, is a public right that the state apparatus cannot
withhold.
Mercury poisoning
| 1/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
ONE of the most iconic black-and-white photographs of the last century shows a
woman cradling her severely disabled daughter in her bath, the minimal light
illuminating a hauntingly tender composition. The portrait is from Minamata, the
Japanese fishing village where 900 were killed and thousands badly affected
including some in utero by methylmercury poisoning in 1956. On Thursday,
experts at a workshop in Karachi on the Minamata Convention on Mercury, to
which Pakistan is a signatory, called for implementing the provisions of the
international agreement and creating awareness about the importance of
regulating the management and disposal of this toxic chemical element. The
workshop was organised by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency in
collaboration with other organisations including the United Nations Environment
Programme. It was part of an initial assessment project that aims to develop
baselines on mercury management and develop national mercury inventories, in
other words the preparatory work to ensure that public health and the
environment are protected from mercury poisoning, known as Minamata disease.
As history has shown us, the consequences of such a disaster can be horrific. A
neurological disorder, Minamata disease can cause a range of chronic disorders
of varying severity, including anxiety, loss of appetite, damage to hearing,
speech and vision, loss of coordination of muscle movement, and in extreme
cases, paralysis, coma and death.
As environmental concerns become prioritised across the world, particularly in
the wake of climate change, there are increasing efforts to control the use and
emission of mercury. In Pakistan, the major sources of mercury include certain
industrial and hospital equipment such as thermometers and manometers, dental
fillings, jewellery, skin-whitening creams, electric batteries, paints and various
species of fish. In fact, the diversity of sources and their place in our daily lives
makes the issue one of grave concern. It is therefore vital that the government
and health and environmental experts coordinate on a sustained basis with
industry leaders to reduce and, where other alternatives are available, phase out
the use of mercury.
Quality healthcare
| 1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE success met by PTI chief Imran Khan in politics can be considered mixed,
but there is no argument that in his altruistic/ humane venture, he has shone.
Since 1994, when the first iteration of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer
Hospital and Research Centre started being accessed by the public, thousands of
patients -many of them the poorest of the poor -have benefited.
Commendably, the institution has been established in Peshawar too, with the
ground-breaking ceremony of the third iteration taking place in Karachi on
Thursday in DHA City. On the occasion, Mr Khan spoke about the need for all
patients to be treated equally. He added that 75 per cent of the patients coming
to the Lahore facility are treated for free, and underscored/ highlighted the
paucity of quality healthcare in the country.
This is a good time to raise the question with greater force: why has Pakistan
allowed the public-sector healthcare system to fall into such a shambles? Does
the lack of concern stem from the dismissive attitude evident amongst
governmental ranks about the bulk of the populace that struggles every day
against poverty, hunger and ill health? Specialised healthcare and technical
expertise is of course available; the problem is that there is not enough of it, and
it can be accessed by only a tiny minority. Where privileged members of society,
even government officials, waste no time in flying abroad for treatment, ordinary
citizens must make do with the scarce resources of the state-run health
infrastructure. That the issue hinges on effort rather than incapacity is obvious
from the example of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, which
was carved out of the government-run Civil Hospital and turned into a
resounding success. While it largely runs on charity and donations, there is no
reason the government cannot shoulder the burden. The only thing keeping the
state from raising such facilities throughout the country, with the required funds
at their disposal, is the sincerity of purpose.
It must stop abdicating responsibility.
Deradicalisation efforts
| 1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM
DEALING with the scourge (plague) of militancy requires multipronged efforts.
One way is to fight militants on the battlefield and uproot the infrastructure of
terror, as has been done, to an extent, in the tribal areas as well as in our cities
through Zarb-i-Azb and `intelligence-based operations`, respectively.
However, efforts must also be made to prevent young minds from falling into the
trap of extremism, and to help them find a way back into the mainstream once
they forsake the way of the gun. Pakistan has experimented with deradicalisation
programmes, most notably in Swat, where the army-led effort has produced
mixed results. Now, as reported in this paper yesterday, Sindh also wants to
initiate a deradicalisation project. Officials of the provincial Counter
Terrorism Department have said that they plan on deradicalising and
rehabilitating around 300 militants lodged in Sindh`s prisons.
Help would be sought from professional psychologists to understand the factors
that drew these individuals towards militancy. The officials went on to say that
two youngsters who were on their way to Syria to fight for the militant Islamic
State group renounced militancy through the efforts of the Sindh CTD.
It is well known that militant masterminds prey upon the weak and the poor,
luring (decoy, enticing) them towards extremist violence with a mix of religious
rhetoric and worldly enticements. Certainly, youngsters who had been
brainwashed and who now renounce militancy deserve a second chance.
However, we must approach deradicalisation efforts with caution. For example,
with the aforementioned programme in Swat, there is little transparency and it is
not known quite how successful the effort really has been, with rumours that
some of the programme`s graduates have returned to militancy. Even with
militancy reform programmes in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, there is a
considerable number of supposedly `reformed` militants that return to violence
once reintegrated into society. Perhaps the state with the help of law enforcers
and psychologists should investigate which militants have been drawn towards
extremism due to financial and socio-economic reasons, and which fighters are
hard-core ideological supporters of militant causes. In the case of the latter,
deradicalisation efforts would have little, if any, effect. Coming back to Sindh`s
efforts, while the deradicalisation plan may seem like a good idea, the provincial
authorities must also pay attention to more basic efforts, such as building high-
security prisons for `hard-core` militants, as that has yet to get off the drawing
board.
Pain in the heartland
| 1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM
CALL put out by three medium-sized chambers of commerce deserves careful
consideration. Business leaders from Sialkot, Gujrat and Gujranwala recently
met to issue a call urging greater disclosure on future plans for expansion of
Chinese industry in the country, as well as the treatment they are receiving from
tax authorities, especially in the matter of refunds. The community in these
towns, that lie in the Punjab heartland so vital for electoral prospects of the PML-
N in 2018, voiced apprehension about what future Chinese industry is being
admitted into the country, and asked whether there are any reciprocal plans for
Pakistani businessmen to be able to enter the Chinese market on equally
favourable terms.
All three towns are home to large industrial clusters, and at least one of them
Sialkot is an export powerhouse. Most industry in these areas is small and
medium enterprises, and labour is highly skilled. Once the business leaders from
these towns start voicing apprehension about the direction in which domestic
industry is moving, it is worth Islamabad`s while to listen.
The apprehensions are shared by many others in the business community, who
are increasingly feeling that the government is largely unresponsive to their voice
while making every effort to accommodate Chinese investors. It may be a
positive sign for Pakistan that investors from China are willing to acquire long-
term stakes over here, but it is necessary to determine what impact this is having
on local industry. The chambers of these three towns feel that they have been left
out of any planning for the induction of Chinese industry in Pakistan, and they
are not alone in this. Would it not be better, they ask, if local industry leaders
were consulted to see where better synergies could be formed, through
technology transfer for instance that helps boost the productivity of domestic
industry? Have they been consulted to see what opportunities they may find in
China`s western regions that are in the process of industrialising? Does
investment into Pakistan really have to be such a one-way affair? The voice from
the triangle of industrial clusters in Punjab`s heartland is part of a growing
chorus of voices that are increasingly apprehensive about the attitude of the
government towards domestic industry. Sialkot has been badly hit by the decline
in exports, and any opportunities its business community can identify in China,
with supportive deals that the Chinese are getting in Pakistan, could potentially
lift its prospects. Much of the output of Sialkot, Gujrat and Gujranwala could
realistically find a market in China`s western regions, which are geographically
closer to Pakistan than they are to the industrial heart of coastal China. Perhaps
the government should heed these voices, and see if it is possible for CPEC to be
a two-way road.
Accountability in name alone
| 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE National Accountability Bureau is a patently (self evidently) flawed there is clearly no real urgency on the part of either. Creating an independent,
organisation, both in terms of its design and discretionary powers and the empowered and properly resourced accountability organisation will not be
workings of the institution. It is for that very reason there is a political easy, but neither is it impossible. The experience the world over suggests that
consensus that NAB should be replaced with a new, better designed and better zealous prosecutors armed with good laws can make a great deal of a difference.
resourced organisation. It is time for some real accountability and a true strengthening of the
institutional and democratic order in the country.
However, for obvious reasons, the political class has been slow to move on the State Bank report
accountability agenda public pressure and the misdeeds of many a politician
could rock the country`s foundations if an empowered and independent
| 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM
accountability body were to be unleashed on the political landscape. But flawed
HE first quarterly report issued by the State Bank of Pakistan contains a few
as the existing NAB is, it need not be the national embarrassment that it has
alarm bells. Thus far the SBP has been mostly optimistic of the country`s
become and seems determined to continue being.
economic performance. In previous reports it has lauded the fiscal measures of
the government, papered over the growing declines in exports, and celebrated the
On Monday, before the SC, NAB defended its practice of ,PLEA BARGAIN,a
`record high reserves`. But the latest quarterly report, for the first time, sounds a
so-called voluntary return of ill-gotten wealth and, shockingly, appeared
few alarm bells that suggest that the government`s narrative of continuous
blithely (carelessly) unaware of the moral, political and legal dimensions of the
strengthening of the economy may be running out of steam. The fiscal deficit
case involving disgraced former Balochistan financial secretary Mushtaq
during the first quarter reached `the highest first quarter level since FY12`. This
Raisani. Even by the tawdry (sordid, unpleasant) scale of corruption in the
happened `despite an exceptional growth in provincial surpluses`. Even on the
province, the discovery of, quite literally, cartons full of cash in the possession of
expenditure side, current spending was restrained and increase in development
Mr Raisani was an obvious financial crime that demands severe civil and
spending `was led by the provinces, as federal development spending posted a
criminal penalties. If a case can be made at all for voluntary return, it is in
YoY decline of 7.6pc in Q1-FY17`. Taken together, these numbers show that the
situations where either the sums involved are small and involve petty corruption
revenue effort of the government is unable to keep pace with its ambitious plans
thereby preventing the legal system from further clogging or where immense
for the year, and increasingly the burden is being shifted onto the provinces. The
corruption monies are returned for a minimal reduction in sentencing, once
SBP goes so far as to say that `achieving the annual fiscal deficit target of 3.8pc
again with a view to preventing the legal system from suffering further
of GDP would be challenging. It will require additional fiscal consolidation
overloading. In Mr Raisani`s case the opposite is true severe penalties for him
efforts on the part of the government`.
and a determined effort to unearth the full scale of the corruption network that he
was a part of. It is impossible for Mr Raisani, a bureaucrat, to have acted alone.
On the external front, things are considerably less cheery. Exports continue their
downward journey, but more worryingly, for the first time in four years,
To be sure, the history of accountability in the country suggests witch-hunts and
remittances have also registered a decline. Foreign direct investment too fell by
politically tainted proceedings. What has been attempted under the guise of anti-
38pc. A more troubling sign is the overwhelming presence of China as the source
corruption efforts in the past should not be allowed to be done again. Yet it is
of all FDI while other countries largely remained passive spectators. Taken
possible for the pendulum to swing too far in the other direction of total inaction
together, these are signs that `the FX comfort available to finance a persistently
and almost fostering a corruption-friendly environment for public officials.
high trade deficit, is now weakening`, says the SBP in the most direct words it
Arguably, that is the situation the country and the accountability process finds
has used to describe the external sector thus far. Even though the report tries to
itself in today. While the government and opposition in parliament are making a
attribute much of this to external factors beyond the government`s control, such
show of once again kickstarting a review of the country`s accountability laws,
as fiscal tightening in GCC countries with persistently low oil prices and a
`softening of demand` in traditional export destination countries, the fact of the
matter is that many of our neighbouring countries saw a revival of their exports
in the same months covered by the report. Given these deteriorating indicators,
the SBP is right to warn that `underlying structural issues are still there`, even if
the choice of words is somewhat stilted.
Hepatitis drug prices
| 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM
HEPATITIS C patients in Punjab and KP covered under the PM`s programme
may have to pay between Rs1,350 and Rs1,370 for a one-month course of 28
tablets. Any difference in price is on account of a slightly higher rate at which a
provincial government might have purchased Sofosbuvir 400mg tablets. But this
difference is insignificant if you compare these numbers with the open market
price of the same medicine. A report in this paper on Tuesday said a patient must
spend Rs5,800 to get the same drug for a month-long course on the open market.
This huge gap defies logic. It is a painful reminder of just how slow the health
authorities are in dealing with a disease that is advancing in the country at a
frightful pace. With 35pc Pakistanis possibly infected with hepatitis C by 2030,
it cannot get any more alarming than this.
There have been efforts at controlling it, the most visible of them in recent times
is the expanded campaign to create awareness about the agents that spread the
disease. Sadly, the work towards providing the people in the country with
efficient, affordable cure has not displayed the same level of intensity. This is
despite the noise created by patients, doctors and concerned pharmacists.
Apart from protests about disparity in prices, one of the demands is for the
government to take control of the supply of the hepatitis drug via public
hospitals. Given the size of the problem, a proposed programme for hepatitis
control follows the pattern of the one in place against tuberculosis under which
patients are provided medicines free of cost. Lack of resources is a hurdle but it
is also about fixing your priorities. It is recognised that the fight against TB has
been made possible with the guidance and support of international agencies. It is
said Pakistan cannot do without aid in this case too. Let`s cry out loud for help
until the voice reaches whoever can lend us a hand.
New civil-military combination
| 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM
WITH a new military leadership in place, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is
resuming the business of civil-military consultations on national security and
foreign policy matters. After a rocky military transition late last year, it is
important that the civilian leadership establish a stable but frank dialogue with
the incoming military leadership the absence of dialogue having potentially
profound consequences for internal political stability and external policy
challenges. On Tuesday, the PM articulated a familiar message for the region:
peaceful coexistence and economic integration. Little, as usual, is known about
the specifics discussed or indeed if there is a policy-level rethink taking place.
What is clear is that a reset in relations with Afghanistan and India is needed and
the new civil-military combination must find ways to first stabilise and then
improve ties with the countries.
To be sure, both the Afghan and Indian governments have veered from
unhelpfulness to outright hostility towards Pakistan in recent times. The virtual
freeze in Pakistan`s ties with those countries owes a great deal to the apparent
belief in India and Afghanistan`s leaderships that not only is Pakistan part of the
regional problem but that it cannot be part of cooperative solutions. With
unreasonableness dominating in Kabul and New Delhi when it comes to
Pakistan, the leadership here has had few opportunities of late to try and reset
ties.
But neither should policymakers here be in denial about Pakistan`s contribution
to the regional impasse. Before Afghan President Ashraf Ghani turned hawkish
on Pakistan, he had virtually staked his presidency on reaching out to Pakistan.
And while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a long record of hawkish
pronouncements on national security and foreign policy issues, it was the same
Mr Modi who made a surprise stopover in Lahore on Christmas Day a little over
a year ago. In comparison, a known would-be peacemaker such as prime minister
Manmohan Singh was unable to visit Pakistan during his ten years in office. The
positive risk-taking by the leadership of those two countries has not been
reciprocated by Pakistan even if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has an apparent
desire to do so.
While it is possible to overstate the value of grand gestures or bold statements,
perhaps now is the time for the Pakistani leadership to test the regional appetite
for a cooperative approach to security problems and economic opportunities.
Border and boundary tensions are unacceptably high on all sides and endless
trading of accusations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and India and Pakistan
on cross-border militancy needs to be meaningfully addressed. Political
pessimists and security hawks in all three countries notwithstanding, the oldest of
realities still applies: if political and security cooperation is not sought between
the three neighbours, spoilers find ways to drag the relationships even further
into darkness. A new-look national security team in Pakistan should attempt a
new-look approach.
Return of the DC
| 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE Punjab government has taken an entirely unnecessary step by resurrecting
(revivifying) the district commissioner as part of the governance apparatus,
even if he is not quite the officer that the colonisers installed for our benefit. The
original DC acted as the revenue collector, looked after the administration and
exercised considerable authority as district magistrate. The arrangement
continued, with varied efficiency, until the theory that sought separation of the
judiciary from the executive could no longer be denied. There was an SC order in
the mid-1990s backing the separation and finally in 2001, retired Gen Pervez
Musharraf came up with his devolution plan. He effectively created a third tier
of the government, whereas the Constitution provided for two levels: the centre
and provinces. The requisite amendment to the Constitution was never carried
out amid action aimed at taking powers from the local governments and placing
them again with the provincial governments. Stories about how weak this
Musharraf favourite had turned out to be were still in circulation when the
democratic governments returned.
Since then, elected governments all over the country have concentrated on
finding methods to control the local government representatives. Worse, they
delayed local government elections for years because they didn`t want partners in
power. Punjab, with even greater fanfare than other provinces, introduced
companies, task forces and other such organisations under various names to run
some of the basic affairs, leaving local government with little to do. With the
latest move, Shahbaz Sharif`s government has done away with the post of
district coordination officer. It is as though the office of the DCO could not be
modified but had to be eliminated in its entirety for being a relic (artifact) of the
Musharraf era. As originally envisaged, the DCO was to work under the mayor
on the model of how a chief secretary works with a chief minister. Together the
two symbolised at least a wish for transfer of power or a respectful sharing of it
at the grass-roots. The born-again DC`s office does not have the powers that its
predecessor enjoyed. For instance, under the new Punjab law which has restored
the post, a DC will now have to consult the district police officer in handling
emergency law and order issues.
Nevertheless, the reinvented DC, a throwback (relic) to a bygone (former) era,
for the moment looks poised (composed) to be working more for the power-
sensitive government than the people who need to be empowered.
Reduction in violence
| 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM
NEW report shows that the number of fatalities and injuries from violence in
2016 declined sharply from the previous year. The report, prepared by the Centre
for Research and Security Studies, shows there was a 45pc reduction in
fatalities last year due to violence, though the decrease in injuries from violence
was a more modest 11pc. There are grounds for some cheer in this report, and
taken as a whole, the figures at the national level point towards an improvement
in the security situation in the country. But a closer look reveals a few disturbing
patterns.
For one, violent incidents of a sectarian nature appear to have spread to areas
that were previously unaffected, particularly towns in Sindh. Second, the
terrorists appear to have adapted to the tougher security measures around the
country by resorting to more attacks using improvised (makeshift) explosive
devices, landmines and suicide attackers, which killed almost twice as many
people in 2016 as in the previous year. These attacks have also become more
indiscriminate, killing women and children as well as members of all
communities who happen to be in the vicinity (locality). The attack in Gulshan-i-
Iqbal Park in Lahore is a prime example. Supposedly an instance of communal
(public) violence, the suicide bombing claimed the lives of those belonging to
many faiths, including 29 children in the playground. The reduction in the
overall level of violence is to be welcomed, but the patterns of violence in 2016
suggest that the terrorism threat in the country is adapting in deadly ways and
much work remains to be done to turn the corner in this battle. An emphasis on
civil law enforcement is crucial to carry the battle forward into the new era of
terrorism threats that appears to be opening up before us. It will be vital to
reform the police and enhance judicial capacities to meet the new challenges, as
well as work harder to de-legitimise terrorist and extremist narratives in order
to drain this swamp.
Mistreatment of child maid
| 1/6/2017 12:00:00 AM
LITTLE Tayyaba`s story illustrates some of the worst aspects of Pakistani
society. In fact, the grim tale ticks all the boxes: the grinding poverty among
swathes of the population, the smug sense of entitlement among the elite, and a
system that perpetuates the status quo through incompetence or complicity. The
10-year-old had been working as a domestic for a serving additional judge and
his wife in Islamabad when she was recovered by police 24 hours after a
neighbour complained that Tayyaba was being severely mistreated by the couple.
Pictures that emerged of her in the media showed a battered (injured), bruised
and bloodied little girl, pathetic in her helplessness. Although Tayyaba told the
assistant commissioner she had been tortured by her employers, the law, instead
of protecting the minor, has so far worked to the advantage of the alleged
perpetrators. Pre-arrest bail was granted to the judge`s wife on charges filed by
the police; Tayyaba`s parents came forward to claim that their daughter`s
allegations were `baseless` and they were `forgiving [the couple j
unconditionally` a curious contradiction after reaching a `settlement` with them.
Society fails Tayyaba, and millions like her, on multiple fronts every single day.
Firstly, there is the casual acceptance of child labour, at least in a `non-
hazardous` capacity. There is simply no moral justification for employing
minors, not even as a `favour` to their indigent (impoverished) families.
Secondly, while there are a number of laws pertaining to child labour in different
sectors, many of them have loopholes that can be exploited. Moreover, there is
no law specific to domestic workers in the country. Third, the child protection
laws in their present form also often end up putting abused children once again
in harm`s way by returning them to their parents. For, difficult as this may be to
accept, given it goes against our cultural ethos, parents do not always act in the
best interests of their child.
Sometimes dire circumstances compel them to put them in harm`s way in return
for monetary gain. The state must create mechanisms empowered to intervene
and rescue children from negligent or abusive legal guardians.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu notice of the case, given
the egregious (outstandingly bad) injustice manifest in it even more so with the
alleged perpetrator being an individual responsible for dispensing justice. A
medical board has also been constituted to re-examine the child, who the police
have yet to locate after she was handed over to her parents. One hopes that
justice will be done, despite the influential status of the suspects and their
connections within law enforcement. Otherwise, Tayyaba will be just another
little girl who has learnt a valuable life lesson that, not having been born among
the privileged classes, her voice will never be heard in a system that serves the
powerful and not the weak.
Stalled privatisation
| 1/6/2017 12:00:00 AM
PERHAPS if Minister of State for Privatisation Muhammad Zubair could free
up some time from his TV appearances where he is regularly seen defending the
government on all sorts of issues, the debate on our state-owned enterprises and
the privatisation process could be a little more meaningful. In a testy series of
exchanges, both houses of parliament saw exactly where the taxpayers` money is
going in the accumulating losses of entities like Pakistan Steel (Ever since the
Supreme Court killed the privatisation of the mill in its famously controversial
judgement of 2005, the mill has been struggling. Today, it has accumulated
losses close to Rs166 billion, as well as untold billions invested in the myriad
`rescue packages` that have been necessary over the years to meet its running
expenses and `replacement imports`) and PIA. In one case, the minister was
asked what became of the privatisation plans for the steel mill, and his response
was that the Cabinet Committee is set to decide on the matter on Jan 18,
following which expressions of interest can be invited. He says two parties have
already expressed an interest, one from Iran and the other from China. Even if
things work out as the minister describes, the fact that more than Rs50bn have
been sunk into the enterprise since 2008 with no result other than accumulated
losses beyond Rs120bn means that the government`s numerous attempts to turn
the entity around and then put it up for sale have turned out to be little more than
words. In the final year of the government`s tenure, the minister should know
nobody is holding their breath.
In the case of PIA, the story is even more dismal. Although the airline remains
operational, unlike the mill on most days, its accumulated losses have crossed
Rs300bn according to figures given during a Senate hearing. Once again we are
entitled to ask: what happened to all the grand plans the government had for the
ailing carrier? Of course, we all know the answer: a clumsy (awkward/ inept)
attempt to move towards privatisation led to a strike, which turned violent
resulting in fatalities, from which point the government quickly climbed down.
Then came the news that the power sector`s privatisation plans have also been
rolled back, and now we see a determined push to expand bureaucracy`s sway
(power) over entities in this sector also sagging under the weight of the
accumulated circular debt. Perhaps outright privatisation is not the answer to
every ailing enterprise, but the minister could command a little more credibility
if his government had a clear direction on the state owned companies, and if he
wasn`t so caught up in leading its public relations campaign.
if privatisation has become too controversial due to the politics of our time,
perhaps the proposal just floated by the Privatisation commission board is
worthy of consideration. The conditions attached to the proposal are stringent.
The interested party would not be allowed to sell the mill, its assets or its land.
They will have to invest their own money for plant up-gradation. The
accumulated losses will have to be cleared by the government.
`Model` child labour policy to be introduced soon
By Our Staff Reporter | 1/9/2017 12:00:00 AM
LAHORE: The Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) plans to introduce
a model child labour policy to eliminate poverty and enhance literacy.
According to this policy, children aged between 13 and 18 years will be allowed
to do `soft jobs` during their formal and technical education in alignment with
international labour laws.
The PSPA will provide opportunities of free education, skill development
training, jobs or business to more than 30,000 children working at workshops,
petrol pumps and hotels so they did not have to permanently depend on stipends;
this aims at enabling them to earn a living, a press release stated without
elaborating what the soft jobs were.
Punjab Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha congratulated the PSPA on
framing the first provincial social protection policy.
The authority`s chief executive officer, Dr Sohail Anwer, briefed the minister
that the PSPA was providing education, professional training and interest-free
loans to the vulnerable in collaboration with the Special Education Department,
Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority, Punjab Small Industries
Corporation and Lahore Businessmen Association for Rehabilitation of the
Disabled.
The authority also managed school admissions for children of 1,288 beneficiaries
of the Khidmat Card Programme to special education institutes with a monthly
stipend of Rs800 to each enrolled student, free books and uniform, the release
quoted Anwer as saying.
The authority is also about to distribute Rs1,00 to each of the 450,000 schoolgirls
from class VI to X in 16 less-developed districts through the Khidmat Card
Programme, subject to their attendance in schools. It is also planning to allocate
funds for victims of acid attacks.
Raheel Sharif`s new job
| 1/8/2017 12:00:00 AM
QUIET retirement it has not been. In the weeks since former army chief Gen
Raheel Sharif retired from the military, barely a day has gone by without Gen
Sharif or events connected to him being in the news. Now has come perhaps the
biggest surprise: the recently retired army chief is rumoured to have been
selected to lead a so-called Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism created
by the ambitious, young Saudi Defence Minister Mohammad bin Salman. To
the extent that the IMAFT is a large bloc of Muslim-majority countries 39 at the
latest count, according to Saudi authorities focused on combating international
terrorists, the retired general with his vast counter-insurgency and
counterterrorism leadership skills could be an excellent choice as leader. The
Muslim world, wracked by terrorism across great swathes, needs a coherent and
coordinated approach to fight the great threats that stalk its lands. And yet, there
is remarkably little known about the Saudi initiative that he has reportedly signed
up for.

Two sets of questions are of urgent importance. The first concerns the IMAFT
generally. While Saudi officials have touted the broad membership of the
alliance, little is known about the role each country is to play. More importantly,
with several countries still outside the fold, what are the ultimate intentions of
the Saudi royal family? Is there a realistic scenario for the participation of all
Muslim-majority countries or will a sectarian colour be imposed on the
alliance? Specifically, with Iran and Saudi Arabia at odds over a number of
issues in the Middle East, will Riyadh permit the involvement of Tehran and its
allies in the IMAFT? If not, how will it work towards its self-professed goal of
fighting terrorism irrespective of sect and wherever the threat is to be found? It
could be a fresh disaster for the Muslim world if the Saudi-Iranian rivalry fuels
the creation of a new military alliance in the name of fighting terrorism.
For Pakistan, the challenges are specific. In April 2015, after the Saudi regime
had demanded Pakistan contribute to a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen
against the Houthis, parliament here took the historic and correct decision of
declining to authorise the government to send troops to Yemen. While Gen
Sharif is no longer a serving army chief and his decision to join the IMAFT is
somewhat independent of the Pakistani state, the fact remains that his highprofile
leadership of the alliance will be associated with Pakistan.
The government and current military leadership, therefore, must publicly restate
or clarify important foreign policy and national security parameters.
Specifically, it must be publicly assured that the April 2015 decision taken by
parliament will not be contravened and that any Pakistani contribution to the
IMAFT will be for specific and clearly identifiable reasons. Clarity and honesty
are needed if the alliance is to succeed.
Meddling in US polls
| 1/9/2017 12:00:00 AM
AN unprecedented election in the US has given way to an acrimonious (hostile)
and tendentious (biased) presidential transition process.
While the world may have become accustomed to American politicians warring
(belligerent)over issues big and small, the extraordinary spectacle of
Republicans, Democrats, the Obama administration, and president-elect Donald
Trump and his supporters arguing over the so-called Russian hacking of the
November presidential poll is almost incomprehensible. The world`s only
superpower is at war with itself politically over the collective assessment of its
intelligence apparatus that the Russian state tried to influence US public opinion
in favour of president-elect Trump and against his opponent, Hillary Clinton, by
hacking Democrats` emails and passing the stolen information on to the
whistleblower website WikiLeaks. Befuddling (puzzling) as events may be for
US citizens and the undeniable schadenfreude of many non-Americans the world
over, there is a deep irony to these events: the US is suffering, at the hands of a
rival, what it itself has long inflicted on countries around the world, friend and
foe alike.
Take just the recent, regional experience here. Despite vowing (swearing) to
build the nation of Afghanistan, or perhaps because of that pledge, since 2001,
Afghanistan has had a government whose leadership has effectively been
decided by the US. Installing Hamid Karzai in 2001, trying to oust him in 2009,
then forcing a so-called National Unity Government on the country in 2014, the
dominant role of the US in the Afghan political process has run counter to its
own avowed goals there. Or consider the Pakistani example: a decade ago, as
then-president Gen Pervez Musharraf was considering how to cling on to power,
the US, along with its usual ally in such matters, the UK, helped broker the
infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance to create a power-sharing scheme
between Gen Musharraf and the PPP. The PML-N, which has swept elections in
Punjab since 2008, was nowhere in the scheme and only a catastrophic
breakdown in the relationship between Gen Musharraf and the PPP opened the
door to legitimate elections in 2008.
Elsewhere, in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, the experience of US
interference in domestic political processes and directly manipulating elections
has been so ubiquitous over the decades that it scarcely qualifies as a scandal in
the US today.
Clearly, the Russian interference in the US election, if true, would herald a new
era of global tensions and possibly instability. But if America can acknowledge
its own murky interference in elections and political processes internationally,
perhaps new rules can be drawn up for an integrated, digitally connected era.
Extremism unchecked

| 1/7/2017 12:00:00 AM
IF ever an image was emblematic of Pakistan`s progress in the war against
extremism and indeed of the fissures in its society it is that of the viciously
defaced Karachi Press Club walls. Last October, a group of artists had painted
them with portraits of women who have made significant contributions to the
country in various fields, including Fatima Surraiya Bajiya, Zubeida Mustafa,
Yasmeen Lari, Perween Rahman and Sabeen Mahmud. To celebrate them in this
manner was to celebrate the progressive ideas they embodied, the last two even
having paid with their lives for their efforts towards a more inclusive and
egalitarian society. On Wednesday night, those ideas came up against another
side of Pakistani society bigoted, fanatical and misogynistic. In what was clearly
a premeditated act, members of ultra right-wing groups demonstrating outside
the press club, one of several such protests to counter commemorations of
Salmaan Taseer`s death anniversary in the country, spray-painted the walls with
profanities and calls to murder.
This is the ugly reality of the state`s much-vaunted `fight against extremism`, a
fight that it vowed to take on with unwavering commitment after the APS
Peshawar attack in December 2014. Two years on, with kinetic operations to
dismantle the terrorist network in the northern areas virtually over, the other
aspect of the fight the long, laborious work to stamp out extremism from society
has barely begun. It is not that the state is incapable of asserting its writ: we
have seen it do so comprehensively when Mr Taseer`s killer was tried and
convicted. The problem is that it chooses to do so selectively instead of sending a
consistent, resolute message.
How else can one explain the impunity with which certain rightwing elements
continue to menace anyone who rejects their noxious worldview?
Notwithstanding ad hoc measures such as the arrest in Lahore of over 100 people
who will undoubtedly soon be released without charge for attempting to hold a
rally to `celebrate` the former Punjab governor`s assassination, where is the
concerted drive against hate speech and incitement to violence that should be the
cornerstone of the civilian aspect of NAP? Why does the government not
robustly demonstrate that it values progressive voices rather than appeasing those
who would build a shrine to an assassin? Instead, the state goes through motions
such as the Punjab apex committee meeting on Thursday where it resolved to
choke terror funding and launch an indiscriminate crackdown against those
providing financial support to terrorists. Yet the province has not seen action
commensurate with the fact of it being the heartland of jihadist organisations. On
the contrary, well-known centres of radical thought continue to operate
unimpeded here while members of right-wing groups are being `mainstreamed`
into charitable work.
Only when `zero-tolerance` is more than just a meaningless buzzword will there
be any hope of us turning the corner.
Missing activists
| 1/10/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE sanitised language `missing persons`, `the disappeared`, etc cannot hide
an ugly truth: the state of Pakistan continues to be suspected of involvement in
the disappearance and illegal detentions of a range of private citizens. Now, with
the disappearance of Salman Haider and at least three other activists, a dark new
chapter in the state`s murky, illegal war against civil society appears to have
been opened. It is simply not enough for government and police officials to claim
that the disappearances are being investigated. Mr Haider and the other recently
missing activists need to be returned to their families immediately it is surely
impossible that several individuals can simply vanish and the state lack the
resources to track them down and have them released on an emergency basis.
The state, because it is the enforcer of the law, cannot be above the law. If Mr
Haider and the other recent additions to the long list of missing persons have
something to answer for, if they need to be investigated, there are laws in place
to do that though it would be remarkably confounding/ confusing if individuals
who have built a public profile based on their human rights and democratic
activism are to be investigated and charged with crime by the state.
The recent disappearances are also sure to contribute to a worsening climate of
fear and intimidation in the country among activists working for a tolerant,
progressive and inclusive Pakistan.
Where once missing persons belonged to the remote areas of the country, to Fata,
Balochistan and far-flung parts of KP, and mostly involved those accused of
waging war against the Pakistani state, the tactic has now clearly been broadened
to encompass anyone who is deemed an irritant to state policy or the policies of a
state within the state. Meanwhile, the vast infrastructure of jihad and the mosque-
madressah-social welfare network of extremism continues to thrive. That
contrast, of peaceful citizens practising democratic dissent versus armed militias
preaching hate and intolerance, is one that the state and society should encourage
in favour of the former, and it is indeed official state policy enshrined in the
National Action Plan. But the on-ground reality appears to be the reverse, of a
state lashing out against the ostensibly weak and cowering before the purportedly
strong. Why is that the case? And why are so many in government and across the
political spectrum silent in the face of state repression?
Yet another amnesty scheme
| 1/10/2017 12:00:00 AM
NEW AMNESTY SCHEME is being considered to allow those who hold
wealth abroad to bring it back into the country without facing a penalty other
than paying a nominal amount of tax on the value of the declared asset. If
approved, this would be the fourth or fifth amnesty offered by this government,
depending on how one defines the term. This time the step is made necessary by
the arrival of a new tax convention (agreement) created by the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development which mandates the sharing of tax
information with other countries. Once the convention is in force, the state here
will be able to directly access records of bank accounts, registered companies
and other assets maintained by Pakistanis abroad, and, in turn, will be compelled
to share such information with foreign governments. This exchange is tied to
bilateral agreements at the moment, but come 2018 Pakistan could be part of a
global regime to automatically share tax-related data with signatory countries.
The government has already begun searching for ways to motivate people to start
thinking of declaring their foreign assets against a nominal tax.
Not many people are afraid of the bilateral sharing mechanisms in place today,
but once automatic sharing kicks in there will be genuine grounds for concern for
those who hold undeclared wealth in offshore locations. For now though, it
appears the impending (appoaching) amnesty scheme for foreign assets will be
nothing more than what its predecessors have been: thinly veiled revenue
measures. The long list of such revenue measures disguised/ camouflaged as
amnesty schemes and documentation exercises now give the government the
appearance of pleading for cooperation with racketeers (fraudster) and tax
evaders. The total lack of will and capacity to pursue any meaningful reform
and expand the tax base has driven the government into this corner.
Now a new challenge is beginning to open up in the form of global regimes for
the sharing of tax information, as well as closing the financial system to
abuse by illicit and tax-evaded wealth.
The OECD convention is only the latest example. Before this we had an Anti-
Money Laundering Act, which had to be amended to include tax evasion as
well. That too was prompted (stimulated) by a tightening of the regimes that seek
to choke off access to the financial system for illicit players. Failure to properly
move on that front is complicating corresponding banking relationships for many
Pakistani banks. The State Bank has recently cautioned that these complications
could raise transactions costs for banks, which could impact remittances (transfer
of funds).
Being a nursery of rackets is becoming more and more difficult for Pakistan
given how global financial and tax regimes are evolving. If the will and capacity
to drain the swamp (marsh) of black money cannot be found, costs in the future
could be severe.
Boost to KP healthcare
| 1/11/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is trying to overcome the
difficulties posed by many doctors and other medical professionals who are
otherwise vital to the public healthcare system in the province. There are several
concerns regarding all the work that needs to be done in order to improve the
system; however, there is certainly some good news as well. That most powerful
incentive money seems to be working. A number of doctors have opted for
carrying out their professional duties in their home districts away from the appeal
of the big city. The arrangement offered by the provincial government pays the
doctors working in the rural areas much more handsomely than what they would
have earned while competing with their colleagues who have private practices in
addition to their government jobs in the larger towns. It is not easy to end the
allure of the combination of private and public practice, and that is why it will
take some time before everyone gets the confidence to truly hail the KP
experiment which covers nurses as well. The situation has to be monitored
closely to see not only how big the initiative is in size and outreach. There will
also have to be special emphasis on the quality of care being provided deep in the
countryside where people are often forced to seek medical treatment in far-off
cities.
KP which is under the microscope as a `PTI province` could well provide an
example of a job well done at least one well attempted in this case. However, at
the same time, it is very much an example of how many resources are needed to
make some basic change in the way Pakistanis all across the country are being
treated in hospitals and clinics. This brings home the old point about getting
one`s priorities right. Healthcare is always in need of cash injections. The right
allocation and the right focus in the health sector can see the benefits being
transferred to the people directly and quickly.
Revival of military courts?
| 1/11/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE silence at the time was disquieting (alarming) and now the nation knows
why: the federal government was not committed to allowing the sun to set on
military courts and was, in fact, secretly planning to try and revive the courts in
the new year. If the first time, in 2015, was a terrible mistake by the civilian
leadership made in the highly charged post-APS Peshawar attack environment,
the second time round the extension of military courts to try civilian terrorism
suspects would be a catastrophic indictment (impeachment) of the government,
parliament and the entire civilian leadership of the country. Simply, there is no
place for military courts for civilians in a democratic and constitutional order
and to forcibly create that space once again would inflict lasting damage on the
polity and the country itself. Sadly, the country is once again being put in the
position of needing to understand why military courts for civilian suspects, even
if only for those accused of the very worst acts of terrorism, have no place in a
lawful, moral and modern society.
The second time round, there is the benefit of precedent to appeal to and a
sample of 274, the number of individuals convicted by military courts. In not a
single instance, in not one trial, has either the evidence or the trial process
approached anything that can rationally be considered acceptable in a modern
justice system. True, the death penalties handed down by the court have been
appealed in the superior judiciary as a matter of near routine and not a single
conviction has been overturned as yet but that has much to do with how the
superior judiciary itself has approached the issue of military courts. Ever since
the Supreme Court validated the existence of military courts for civilians by
accepting the constitutionality of the 21st Amendment, the courts have had a
largely hands-off approach rooted in the exceptionality and temporariness of
military courts. Accepting that the creation of military courts reflected the will of
the people`s representatives, the superior judiciary has not applied the rigorous
approach demanded by the regular criminal justice system. And therein lies the
problem: the exceptional results produced by military courts are based on the
exceptional treatment that the courts themselves have received and the
exceptionally poor treatment that suspects tried in those courts have received.
The experience with military courts has also laid bare the adjustments needed in
the regular criminal justice system to make it more capable of handling so-called
hard-core terrorism and militancy suspects. Shielding judges, prosecutors and
witnesses appears to be the key innovation and is a system that not only can but
should be replicated in the criminal justice system where necessary. Military
courts may be a balm for sections of public opinion and the state, but they are
poison for the system.
Soft-pedalling sectarian groups
| 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM
CHAUDHRY Nisar Ali Khan`s remarks in the Senate on Tuesday about
sectarianism in Pakistan beggar belief.
Not only are they out of touch with reality, they are deeply offensive, and given
he is interior minister of a country involved in a battle against violent religious
extremism cause for extreme concern. Responding to the senators` objections
about his meeting last October with the head of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat,
Ahmed Ludhianvi, who had arrived as part of a Difa-i-Pakistan Council
delegation, Chaudhry Nisar said that banned sectarian organisations could not
be equated with banned terrorist groups. The Shia-Sunni conflict, he added, went
back 1,300 years. His words outraged members of the Senate, triggering a
walkout by the opposition.
First, some basic facts. The ASWJ is a sectarian organisation that has been
banned earlier, initially when it was called Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and later
when it re-emerged as Millat-i-Islamia. Then, as now, it was banned because it
was actively involved in spreading hate against the Shia community, of ten
resulting in violence and death. It is also a fact that Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, which
openly claims sectarian killings, is an offshoot (sprout) of the SSP, its very name
inspired by one of the group`s founders. Also, the interior minister should know
that the multifaceted religious extremism we are battling today first manifested
itself in the form of sectarian violence when Pakistan in the `80s, helped by Gen
Zia`s `Islamisation` campaign, became a proxy battlefield for the ideological
war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The hardening of positions by organisations
representing Shias and Sunnis, and the spewing of poisonous, takfiri rhetoric by
some of the more rabid among them, led to further fracturing, including between
Deobandis and Barelvis. Inevitably, the infusion of funds by individuals and
foreign governments -into extremist organisations, and, regrettably, at one point
the latter`s patronage by Pakistan`s security establishment in the name of `jihad`,
raised the stakes even higher. The minorities were also swept up in this tidal
wave of bigotry, paying the price in terms of their lives and their right to practise
their religion freely.
So to suggest that sectarian violence is some lesser form of terrorism, which is
what the interior minister`s words imply, is wrong: it is the very bedrock upon
which terrorism of the kind we see in Pakistan is based. However, appeasement
of sectarian organisations has a long history here. It is rooted in the expediency
of post-Zia governments, which allowed these groups to further weave
themselves into the warp and weft (Warp is the lengthwise or longitudinal
thread in a roll, while weft is the transverse thread) of the political landscape
even while some of them were banned from time to time to mollify (pacify)
international opinion. It was not only military governments that kept religious
extremists onside, civilian dispensations (indulgence) too did the same, courting
their support in the electoral field and in parliament. That approach was always
indefensible. Now, turning our back on it is imperative for this country`s
survival.
Export incentives
| 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE prime minister`s announcement of a package of incentives for textile
exporters is perhaps generating more optimism than is warranted (necessary).
The size of the package, as calculated against the foregone (predetermined)
revenue for the government, is large indeed, but it would be a mistake to think
that this is money being pumped into the ailing sector. In fact, on closer
examination, the package appears to be designed in haste. For one, the textile
sector remains internally divided between the spinners and the so-called `value
added` sector, comprising garments and other segments, and the impact of the
package will be different on each. An export incentive in the form of a 4pc
rebate (allowance) given to spinners, for example, could end up raising the cost
of yarn for the value added sector by the same amount, which could inhibit value
added exports correspondingly.
As in previous such meetings, the spinners` lobby appears to have carried the
day (be victorious or successful.) simply by virtue of being the largest. The duty
drawback reduction also appears to be built in such a way that the eventual
payout, should an exporter meet the target of raising export orders by 10pc from
last year, will come in July 2018, by when there is likely to be a caretaker
government in power which may or may not honour the terms of the package.
In so many ways, the package betrays a near total absence of thought. Pakistan`s
exports have been dropping for 10 consecutive quarters now and if this package
is the best thinking the government can come up with to tackle the problem,
which is a broad based one and not specific to industry, then it shows the lack of
depth in their thinking. All that has happened is that the government has
postponed dealing with the core issue raised by exporters: the expedited
processing of tax refunds stuck up by granting all other demands that don`t carry
a cash payout but have an impact on future revenues. If the thinking going into
this package is at all serious, we should see a corresponding set of revenue
measures designed to offset the revenue impact of the package, given that the
fiscal framework is already coming under serious stress. But simply agreeing to
everyone`s demands, so long as the demands involve no cash payout, smacks of
expediency more than serious policy thinking.
Mentally ill on death row
| 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM
HANGING a prisoner, and that too one diagnosed as mentally ill, is inhumane
and does not serve the objectives of criminal justice. Black warrants being
repeatedly issued for mentally ill prisoners expose serious anomalies in the
justice system. Served with his third black warrant after 14 years on death row
for killing a policeman, Khizer Hayat is scheduled to be hanged on Jan 17.
Disturbingly, despite his counsel filing an application in the Lahore High Court
to stay the execution, the prison authorities approached the sessions court for the
warrant. Because Hayat`s case is under review at the National Commission for
Human Rights, issuing a black warrant demonstrates negligence and perverts
(distort) the course of justice.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008, his medical reports were never presented
as evidence to the Supreme Court by jail authorities in 2009.
Again when he was examined by a court-appointed medical board in May 2016,
it was concluded he suffered from delusions and psychosis.
This lack of coordination between jail authorities, lawyers and the judicial
system demonstrated on several occasions is unpardonable.
Given the irrevocable nature of the death penalty a punishment this newspaper
does not endorse there is a critical need for the judiciary to comprehend the
nature of mental illness. In Imdad Ali`s case, the Supreme Court`s controversial
verdict ruled schizophrenia is a `recoverable` disease in contrast to universal
medical evidence stating it is incurable. That said, why have the jail authorities
failed to approach the home department to hospitalise Hayat for treatment?
Because the system is rigged against the poorer mentally ill prisoners, the latter`s
cases hinge on inept state prosecutors and jail authorities. Given that the Ghulam
brothers were wrongfully hanged executed before their appeals were decided
the state must review capital punishment keeping in mind that there is no place
for it in a society that upholds human rights as a supreme value.
PM on minorities
| 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM
IN grim and troubled times, it is both welcome and necessary for the political
leadership of the country to articulate a message of inter-communal peace and
coexistence and to preach a message of tolerance and inclusivity. On
Wednesday, on a visit to a Hindu temple complex in Chakwal, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif struck a sensible note in speaking about the equal status of non-
Muslim citizens and the need to ensure progress for all religious communities in
the country. Indeed, in a week in which controversial remarks have been made
about what ought to be properly considered as militancy and with social activists
still missing, the prime minister`s comments may help tilt the PML-N`s
rhetorical balance at least towards what a democratic, constitutional order ought
to represent.
Yet, words alone cannot and will not be enough. While the federal government
and at least two provincial governments, Sindh and Punjab, have taken up
progressive legislation to protect and enhance the rights of non-Muslims, women
and disadvantaged groups, there is still an immeasurably long way to go before
Pakistan can truly be regarded as a country of equal rights and protections for
everyone and where all communities can progress together, free of fear and
intimidation. Indeed, among the many areas in which the political leadership of
the country has come up short in the nearly decade-old transition to democracy,
it is the intersection (connection)of the law and social interventions that
continues to be deeply problematic. Consider the example of the PPP in Sindh:
while the party continues to take steps on occasion that hew to a secular political
ethos, the terrible state of administration in the province has allowed a law and
order breakdown to become a threat to entire communities. The spread of
extremist networks in the province is increasingly documented and a dire threat
to the well-being and safety of non-Muslim communities.
Meanwhile, the PML-N, which rules at the centre and in Punjab, appears almost
determined to prevent the state from a root-and branch attack (entirely, from
bottom to top) on extremism in Punjab and the country generally.
Surely, while it is well and good for the prime minister to garner (gather) praise
for himself with his progressive pronouncements (statement), the tolerance that
the PML-N has for sympathisers of extremism within the party`s own ranks is
part of a national, political problem. The recent religiously tainted
(infected)unrest in Chakwal was an important example: when faced with actual
violence by extremists, the state prefers to hush matters up (shut up) and seeks to
deter the affected communities from seeking justice and the true protection of
their rights. If Pakistan is to become the country that Mr Sharif has now
repeatedly said he wants to see, then the political leadership needs to be both
bold and determined. Political rhetoric will never mask real inaction.
Our population growth rate| 1/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
Apropos the report `Pakistan is lagging behind the region in controlling
population growth` (Dec 29). Dr. Hassan Mohtashami, the UNPF (Population
Fund) Representative in Pakistan addressed a ceremony last month and uttered
some critical words that there is `a sort of urgency in Pakistan pertaining to this
Issue`. He observed that `India, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Iran and other countries,
have fared much better in o reducing the rate of population growth, and these
states realise that economic sustainability and progress demands a limited and
stable populace to empower and manage in each state.
One cannot agree more with this proposition. A stable population leads to better
planning and resource mobilization, and, resultantly, ensures even better resource
application and service delivery for the targeted population.
Our country seems totally bereft of any strategy or vision to control and guide
the population growth rate in a healthy direction. First and foremost, this country
has to reduce the fertility rate from 3.8 births per woman at present to around
2.1 births per woman by 2030 or 2035 as per the commitments made by
Pakistan with national and international donor organisations.
Prominent countries of the modern world are already witnessing declining
populations and there is greater use of robots and artificial intelligence devices
in such societies, including complete automation of some industrial plants
(such as in Japan or Germany) and machine-run bank branches, which barely
require any human resource. Pakistan should follow this direction as we live in a
global village and nation-states have to learn from each other. All efforts should
be mobilised to address this issue on a war-footing.
Undoubtedly, a `stable population` is one of the fundamental building blocks if
Pakistan is to embrace modernity which has already arrived in the Greater
Asiatic region and now extending towards South Asia. Do any of our leaders
have a sound strategy to bring this about (force into a specified state, cond.).
Balochistan budget
| 6/21/2016 12:00:00 AM
GIVEN the circumstances it has been drawn up under, it is difficult to gauge
(measure) the targets and intentions of the Balochistan budget. The finance
secretary is languishing (suffering) in jail so it is not clear who exactly worked
on drawing up the projections and targets in the document. The announcement
was also chaotic, suffering from a delay, and the documents have not been
prepared beyond a budget in brief and the Annual Development Programme. At
the time of writing, neither has been uploaded to the website as is standard
practice. Beyond the circumstances of its drafting, the budget suffers from large
unaccounted allocations, such as 27pc of the ADP being allocated under a head
titled `other`.
Any attempt to discuss the budget and its targets seriously is hampered by these
limitations. Balochistan is the one province in the country in the most dire need
of governance, given the magnitude of the challenges it is facing. Although there
is no shortage of talented and well-meaning individuals in the province, the trick
is to find a way to put them in a position where they can make a difference.
Without this, we will have a continuation of the status quo, where funds
disappear into disbursement heads with little to no monitoring or oversight. The
funds found in the house of the finance secretary, for which he was arrested,
were supposedly from local government allocations. In addition, security-related
allocations also disappear into a black hole, never to be heard of again. The ADP
contains massive throw forwards that are the result of poor monitoring of
development funds, and schemes run by members of the provincial assembly
also eat up large amounts of money with no oversight. Mired in multiple
conflicts, Balochistan is controlled by a self-serving tribal elite, where the
security forces call most of the shots. This creates a serious problem of what, in
financial circles, is termed `moral hazard` a situation in which the consequences
of one person`s actions are borne by another, thereby warping the incentive
structure in a way to prevent any self-correction. In that sense, the provincial
budget and its myriad dysfunctions reflect all that ails Balochistan. For matters in
the province to improve, the self-correction of democracy must be allowed to
function since there is no force more powerful than this in the sphere of politics.
Only after that can we talk of fixing economic issues.
PTI demand and PID
| 4/11/2016 12:00:00 AM
FOR all the challenges in the way, it is heartening to know that endeavours to
strengthen democracy have not stalled.
For example, last week, the Press Information Department in Islamabad made
modest history by allowing the PTI to hold a news conference on its premises. It
had so far functioned almost exclusively as the propaganda arm of the
government of the day, giving the party in power a slight edge in terms of being
able to disseminate its own version of events and widely, since PID events are
usually telecast live by PTV. That the floor was given over to a party in the
opposition is a healthy sign that PID and its sisters PTV and Radio Pakistan
which have similarly been used by the ruling party of the day to further its own
agenda are institutions of the state, and not of the government.
If this is a step forward, the fact that PTV did not cover this particular press
conference is a step back. Pakistan needs to break from its legacy of
authoritarian governance, and opening up PID, PTV and Radio Pakistan is one
way of doing this. Parties in the opposition are as much part of the structure of
governance as those in power, which requires that the institutions under
discussion here function ideally as extensions of parliament. That said, though, it
must be acknowledged that there are privileges a party is entitled to after winning
elections and forming a government that are not available to the other parties
which is why the demand made by the PTI on Friday, that party chairman Imran
Khan be allocated airtime on PTV to `address the nation`, borders on the
ridiculous. PTV and Radio Pakistan should certainly convey the pronouncements
of all those in parliament in an even-handed manner at the moment, they are
guilty of coverage skewed towards the ruling party, and this needs to change. But
addresses to the nation cannot be made by simply anyone, and certainly not with
the weight of a state institution behind it.
REVENUE:
Properties with a rental income of at least Rs. 2 million will be taxed at 20%
Corporate tax to be fixed at 31% by during FY 2016/17
Property tax: 10% capital gains tax to be imposed on property sales within the
next 5 years
Expenditure
The Defence budget for FY 2016/17 is Rs. 959.5 billion.
HEALTH
In the budget for FY 2016/17, Rs. 22.4 billion have been set aside for Health,
compared to Rs. 11 billion allocated for health sector expenditures in the
previous fiscal year.
EDUCATION:
Total Education Affairs and Services Outlay (FY 2016/17): Rs. 79.5 bn
Investment
China Pakistan Economic Corridor outlay: Rs. 46 billion
(projects include: Railways, Roads, Telecommunications, Energy and
Connectivity)
Agriculture:
Revised unit price for electricity (rural rate): Rs. 5.33
Revised fertilizer price (per bag): Rs. 1400 for Urea; Rs. 2500 for DAP
Minimum wage FY 2016/17: Rs. 14,000 per month
Hounding/ harassing refugees
| 1/17/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE grim scapegoating of Afghan refugees by both the state and its law
enforcers has long been assailed/ attacked by right-minded sections of the public
and the media. But the relentless propaganda against this vulnerable section has
continued to the point where public opinion appears to have been irreversibly
poisoned against the continued presence of Afghan refugees on Pakistani soil. In
building a narrative of hostility, one particular accusation has played a central
role that Afghan refugees have driven up the crime rate in Pakistan, and KP in
particular, to unacceptable levels.
But, going by a report in this newspaper on Sunday, that myth has been
exploded by official crime statistics themselves. According to documents
obtained under the provincial Right to Information Act, of the major crimes in
which cases were registered, the involvement of Afghan refugees was about 1pc
of the total. The stark figures bear some repeating because they are obtained
from the Directorate of Prosecution and Department of Police. From 2014 to
September 2016, of the 10,549 cases put up in court, a negligible 134 cases
involved Afghan refugees. And of the more than 23,007 individuals accused in
the cases, only 300 consisted of Afghan refugees.
That the Afghan refugee involvement in major crimes in the province, as
catalogued by the police itself, is so low is unsurprising few major crimes have
ever been specifically blamed on or proved to be the doing of Afghan refugees.
What is shocking, however, is the degree to which public officials have distorted
the truth in recent times. The vilification/ denigration of Afghan refugees as a
prelude to forcing them out of the country is an ongoing process and one of the
more shameful chapters in this country`s history. While officially denied, Afghan
refugees have become a pawn/ puppet in a policy tug-of-war between the Afghan
and Pakistani states: Kabul`s reluctance to cooperate on border management,
its seeming unwillingness to clamp down on anti-Pakistan militant sanctuaries
in eastern Afghanistan, and its aggressive denunciation of this country for a
failed peace process have contributed to an environment where Pakistan may be
seeking to punish Afghanistan by forcing it to take in a mass of population that it
cannot sustain. True, Pakistan has a legitimate right to encourage the humane
and voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees, but that right must not be abused
for political purposes.
The harassment of Afghan refugees must cease.
SBP on external sector
| 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM
HE latest monetary policy statement released by the State Bank of Pakistan
contains a short discussion on the external sector outlook that merits close
attention. It points out that the current account deficit has more than doubled in
the first half of the fiscal year compared to the same period last year. It has now
touched $3.6bn in six months, 40pc more than what it was for the entire fiscal
last year. There are a number of reasons for this. The statement cites CPEC-
related imports, falling exports and remittances and a halt to the Coalition
Support Funds as the primary reasons. Despite this, the overall balance of
payments showed a surplus of $0.2bn, meaning that gap was made up through
an uptick in foreign investment and foreign borrowing from bilateral and
multilateral lenders. Even in the foreign investment position, almost half of the
inflows have come into debt securities, meaning it is money that has to be
repaid with a return. In its characteristically diplomatic language, the bank is
warning that if matters don`t change, `the need of financial inflows would grow
further`.
This is as direct as the State Bank has been in recent times about the deteriorating
health of the external sector. Overall, reserves remain at a high level, but the
direction is troubling, and if matters don`t change quickly on the exports front, or
if remittances don`t halt their recent declines, the high level of reserves could
deplete very fast. At the moment, the government appears to be counting on its
export package and CPEC-related growth to help change the situation, but this
could easily turn out to be a misplaced hope.
Export packages of the sort just announced have historically never done much to
turn a years-long structural trend around. And CPEC is a far longer-term
proposition (scheme, plan) than what the government is telling us. If this trend
keeps up, Pakistan could well find itself approaching the IMF within two years.
Trump`s travel ban
| 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE decision to temporarily curb (restraint, restrain) all manner of entry
into the United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries has
evoked/ aroused a fierce/ severe backlash in many countries though, ironically,
not in the Muslim world. In the UK, a petition against a visit by President
Donald Trump has garnered (gathered) more than a million signatures, while
American airports and airwaves are full of protesters against the move. A civil
rights group has obtained a temporary stay on some parts of the executive order
through which the travel curbs have been applied, while lawyers working pro
bono (unsalaried) are providing legal assistance to those stranded at various
American airports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has schooled the
president on the obligations that fall upon his country under the Geneva
Conventions. France and Canada have both criticised the move, and leading
lawmakers in America are also in open opposition to it.
Conspicuous by their absence, and silence, through all this are the countries of
the ummah; Iran has ordered tit-for-tat curbs, but it is not clear if responding in
kind is a good way to counter the step taken by the new American president. Iraq
has denounced the measures, for good reason considering it is an ally of the US
in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. The leaders of Saudi Arabia
and Egypt have both held telephonic conversations with Mr Trump since the
order was signed, but there is no indication that they even discussed the travel
curbs, let alone opposed them.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is mute on the matter, as are the Gulf
Cooperation Council and the Arab League. Nothing exemplifies the pathetic
state of the Muslim world better than this silence. With their own policies, and
shortsighted pursuit of power, Muslim rulers govern countries where dissent is
prohibited, and where elections, if they are ever held, often yield controversial
mandates, where minorities live in fear, and where hunger and poverty grip
their populace. Foreign meddling and the play of imperialism (domination)
have contributed to weakening the capacity of Muslim majority states and
Muslim rulers to provide true leadership at the international level. But the
extremely shortsighted approach to statecraft and their preoccupation with
narrow divisive politics have been instrumental in turning rulers of Muslim
countries into mute spectators at this crucial juncture, leaving the fight to large
sections of the Western public that are rising to challenge the unjust decrees
(diktats, verdicts) of their own rulers.
Statement on IHK
| 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE names are as eye-catching as their message is sobering.
On the death anniversary of Gandhi, prominent Indians describing themselves as
`thinking citizens of the world`s foremost democracy` issued a statement
condemning the repression in India-held Kashmir and have called for a more
humane approach to the disputed region. The unprecedented joint statement by
a number of highly regarded retired government officials, security officials,
diplomats, journalists and rights activists is a welcome reminder that violence,
repression and unjust policies of the state are resisted the world over by right-
thinking individuals. And while the Indian government will undoubtedly try and
dismiss the latest appeal by many of its own citizens as a partisan and political
attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government will be unable to
easily shake off (evade or outmanoeuvre) the central claim in the joint statement:
that the violence in IHK since the killing of Burhan Wani last summer is
squarely the responsibility of the Indian state.
At the root of the current crisis in IHK are two disturbing realities of the Modi-
led government: a total denial that the Kashmir dispute is in fact an
internationally recognised dispute between India and Pakistan; and an
unwillingness to approach the people of IHK in any way other than through a
hard security prism. Consider that on the recent Indian Republic Day (26 jan
2017), the central government announced gallantry awards for the security forces
involved in the killing of Burhan Wani. It was that very killing that sparked a
wave of protests across IHK, but the Modi government appears unmoved and,
worse, unwilling to even recognise the failure of its violent, repressive tactics in
the disputed region. Moreover, the BJP central government seems unwilling to
give its partner in the IHK government the space to try and reduce tensions by
initiating dialogue with the restive (agitated, fidgety) sections of the people. In
effect, the BJP appears to believe that the unrest will eventually be quelled
(quashed, suppressed) by tough security measures and that the repression will
not be questioned by the outside world, or indeed anywhere in India.
The Modi government is wrong. The joint statement this week is a clear sign that
disquiet/ unrest at home is growing. The legitimacy of the grievances of the
people of IHK is too established and too widely known for a new regime, no
matter how determined, to simply wipe the past and present away. There is only
one sensible approach: dialogue inside IHK and dialogue with Pakistan.
Anything else and the BJP is likely to be as surprised as it was by the Kashmiris`
reaction to the Wani killing, a killing that the Modi government fundamentally
erred (get wrong) in considering a great success. As the signatories to the joint
statement have rightly warned, not only is the Indian state on the wrong track
in terms of policy, it is also morally on the wrong side in IHK.
SBP on external sector
| 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE latest monetary policy statement released by the State Bank of Pakistan
contains a short discussion on the external sector outlook that merits close
attention. It points out that the current account deficit has more than doubled in
the first half of the fiscal year-[compared to the same period last year. It has now
touched $3.6bn in six months, 40pc more than what it was for the entire fiscal
last year. There are a number of reasons for this. The statement cites CPEC-
related imports, falling exports and remittances and a halt to the Coalition
Support Funds as the primary reasons. Despite this, the overall balance of
payments showed a surplus of $0.2bn, meaning that gap was made up through
an uptick (slight upward trend) in foreign investment and foreign borrowing from
bilateral and multilateral lenders. Even in the foreign investment position, almost
half of the inflows have come into debt securities, meaning it is money that has
to be repaid with a return. In its characteristically diplomatic language, the bank
is warning that if matters don`t change, `the need of financial inflows would grow
further`.
This is as direct as the State Bank has been in recent times about the deteriorating
health of the external sector. Overall, reserves remain at a high level, but the
direction is troubling, and if matters don`t change quickly on the exports front, or
if remittances don`t halt their recent declines, the high level of reserves could
deplete very fast. At the moment, the government appears to be counting on its
export package and CPEC-related growth to help change the situation, but this
could easily turn out to be a misplaced hope.
Export packages of the sort just announced have historically never done much to
turn a years-long structural trend around. And CPEC is a far longer-term
proposition (scheme, plan) than what the government is telling us. If this trend
keeps up, Pakistan could well find itself approaching the IMF within two years.
Yemeni tragedy
| 2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
THE nearly two-year-old Saudi-led assault on Yemen has been an
unmitigated disaster. Riyadh has roundly failed in its objective of ejecting the
Houthi rebels from areas under their control and restoring the president Hadi-
led government. Moreover, as a UN report recently observed, a number of air
attacks carried out by the Saudi coalition may amount to war crimes. The UN has
zeroed in (To aim precisely at a target) on 10 air strikes in particular, saying that
`in eight of the 10 investigations, the panel found no evidence that the air strikes
had targeted legitimate military objectives`. The attacks killed nearly 300
civilians, including women and children. The UN also criticised the Houthis for
ill treatment of detainees. Indeed, the Yemeni war has been an unrelenting
(inexorable, relentless) catastrophe (cataclysm, upheaval) for the people of this
impoverished nation. Around 10,000 civilians have died. In another report, the
UN`s humanitarian chief told the Security Council that Yemen sits on the cusp
(tip) of a `full-blown famine`, with 63pc of children in the country malnourished.
While all parties to this conflict must shoulder the blame for this pathetic
situation, the Saudis in particular should reflect on what their destructive
campaign has achieved so far. Also, those in the West backing Riyadh`s effort
the US and the UK in particular must answer for their role in providing the
logistical support base for the Saudi campaign.
To end the Yemeni people`s nightmare, a negotiated settlement must be reached
through which the bombing is stopped immediately, relief is brought to the
population and the belligerents (hostile) agree to settle their differences
peacefully. With an air of uncertainty clouding the West, especially Washington
D.C., it is futile (pointless) to look in that direction for a solution. Instead, it is
the nations of the region that must take the initiative to end the Yemeni war. For
example, while the Syrian imbroglio (mess) is far from solved, the situation has
undoubtedly improved through Turkish, Iranian and Russian cooperation. In this
case also, Turkey can act as a bridge between the Saudis and Iranians, as the
latter are believed to have influence over the Houthis. The good offices of Oman
can also be used; not only does the country border Yemen, Muscat also enjoys
cordial ties with both Riyadh and Tehran. While political negotiations may well
be protracted (long dawn out) and difficult, at least all belligerents can be asked
to immediately silence their guns and stop raining death from the skies upon
Yemen`s people.
Crackdown on JuD
| 2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
IN a move that will be closely watched both inside Pakistan and abroad,
the federal government has put Hafiz Saeed and four of his colleagues under
house arrest, and placed the Jamaatud Dawa and the Falah-i-Insaniyat
Foundation on further terror watch lists. The arrests in Punjab, the statements
attributed to federal officials and the supportive comments by DG ISPR Gen
Asif Ghafoor indicate that the actions against Mr Saeed and the organisations he
leads have been taken after inter-institutional, federal-provincial discussions -
increasing the likelihood that the clampdown/ crackdown will be sustained and
meaningful. Clearly, Pakistan cannot win the fight against militancy and
extremism until it adopts a zero-tolerance approach against all manifestations
of the problem. And just as clearly, notwithstanding the protestations of
innocence by the JuD/FiF/LeT and the angry denunciations by their cadres of the
government`s action, Hafiz Saeed and his associates have a great deal to answer
for.
There are at least two issues that must be quickly addressed.
First, the legal case against Mr Saeed and the organisations he leads must be
methodically assembled. The watch-listed JuD and FiF and the banned LeT have
sophisticated legal operations that have often, and easily, been able to People have the right to choose their leader, and well-informed people usually
outmanoeuvre investigators and state prosecutors. This time, the investigators choose one who will lead them to a brighter future. Tyrants are the norm in Third
must be of the highest calibre, the accumulation of evidence meticulous and the World countries. The world never thought it would see a totalitarian grab power
eventual framing of charges should meet the very highest standards of law through the ballot box in 21st century Washington.
enforcement and the criminal justice system. Anything short of that and the
state`s will to progressively eliminate all non-state actors operating on Pakistani Talking in the context of 1984, when the `ministry of truth`, and its minister of
soil will once again be called into question. propaganda, aka Kellyanne Conway, came up with the `alternative facts` quote,
she knew very well that she had pushed the planet in to the Winston Smith era.
The various groups in the LeT umbrella network will likely try and hide behind She was sending a message to the American people and the world`s population
ostensibly legal activities such as charitable operations and social welfare that the White House was occupied by `Big Brother` and not a president.
services. But if the strategic control of the various groups in the network and the
financial linkages between them are unearthed and made public, the dismantling Barely two weeks after Trump`s inauguration, the sales of Orwell`s novel has
(rip to shred) of the entire apparatus should become possible. surged. I wished people had read it earlier, but still, Conway and Trump need to
be told that 1984 was written to warn people and not serve as a guide for
Second, the state must start to move against all militant and extremist networks totalitarians.
in a methodical (systematic) manner, doing so on a timeline that suggests an
internal consensus and not external pressure. Winston Smith, the main character of the novel once said: `If all others accepted
the lie which the Party imposed if all records told the same tale then the lie
Already the JuD/FiF, like-minded groups and a sprawling (extensive, straggling) passed into history and became truth.
national network of supporters have tried to cast the crackdown as an external
agenda, of a government and state cravenly (cowardly) submitting to the diktat
(order) of outside powers, especially the US. But a sweeping set of actions
against all groups here those that the US, India and Afghanistan have long
demanded action against as well as other networks that are deeply problematic
but that may not necessarily have an external dimension and emphatic public
ownership of those actions by the military and political leadership would send a
strong signal. The fight against militancy is a fight for Pakistan by Pakistan for
Pakistani reasons that is the message that the state must send urgently.
1984 and US 2017

| 2/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
TRUMP adviser Kellyanne Conway`s quote of the week alternative facts gets
one thinking, about George Orwell`s famous novel, 1984. While writing this
novel, Orwell didn`t choose the US to be the hypothetical stage of a 20th century
totalitarian state. However, when you listen to Conway defending Trump`s
misinformation, you feel the novel should be renamed, US 2017.
`Alternative f acts` are nothing but lies because two plus two will always be four improved version of the right to information law has been circulating for
and never five except in the sick mind of racists and totalitarians. years, and was even made public last year, it has not yet gone through.

The world was hoping for a president to give the US a human face. It has ended What makes the situation even more dismal, though, is that even in Punjab
up with one that is fast removing the human mask that covered the US f ace for a and KP where the relevant laws are of an acceptable standard, they do not
long, long time. Remember Mossadegh and Iran, Vietnam, Chile and not least necessarily result in the disclosure of the requested information. The
Iraq and Afghanistan. bureaucracies cling/ adhere to secrecy on all counts, withholding
information even from those whom they represent. Politicians, on their part,
One feels saddened that the American people are being forced to drink the same are quick to see the political capital to be made in preparing legislation, but
poison that they forced the entire world to swill for decades? One prays that this prefer a fog to descend thereafter. All quarters need reminding that without
will not be the hallmark of Donald Trump`s era. effective right to information laws, Pakistan can claim to have neither press
Mohamed S Kamel Montreal, Canada.
freedom nor freedom of expression generally; from this one point flow
Right to information the channels leading to good governance. The denial of information is
merely the other side of the censorship coin.
| 10/10/2016 12:00:00 AM The real challenge is poverty
FROM a distance, it all looks as it should. In 2002, Pakistan became
the first country in South Asia to promulgate a freedom of information | 10/7/2016 12:00:00 AM
ordinance. Over subsequent years, all the provinces passed legislation AMIDST the clamour/ uproar of war this past week, the leadership of
aiming for the same thing, and citizens` ability to access information from India and Pakistan at least managed to point in the right direction when talking
public bodies was recognised as a fundamental right through the insertion of about the challenges their countries face. That direction is poverty. Between
Article 19A in the Constitution by the 18th Amendment. But like much them, India and Pakistan have the dubious honour of having the world`s largest
else in this country, a closer look betrays chaos lurking/ lie in wait under concentration of poor people. In both countries, close to 40pc of the population
the surface. As pointed out by experts and activists during a discussion lives in poverty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the conversation when
organised by the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad he asked the people of Pakistan to wage a war on poverty, illiteracy and infant
late last month, the matter is caught between `the political enthusiasm to mortality, `and let us see who wins`. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responded
enact laws and the political will to implement them`. This is evident not only saying that this challenge cannot be met with `blood and ammunition`. It is
in the patchy quality of the various sets of laws, but also from the accounts surprising how true and welcome both statements are, and how sharp a reminder
of a number of citizens who have tried to access information from the it is that the real challenges both leaders face are far bigger than what they see in
government, but found themselves being completely stonewalled/ rebuffed. each other.
The 2002 law was criticised on several counts, including being ineffectual
and having a needlessly long list of exemptions. Even so, Sindh and At the same time as this cross-border exchange of poignant (touching, emotional)
Balochistan went on to replicate their federal counterparts in 2005 and words was going on, another reminder came from the World Bank to both
2006 respectively. KP and Punjab have done better, with the former putting leaders that it will take more than words to realise this ambition. In two reports
in place the internationally accepted Right to Information Act, 2013, and released back to back, the bank painted a bleak picture of the state of poverty in
the latter promulgating the Punjab Transparency and Right to both countries. In one report, for instance, it pointed out that growth rates in
Information Act, 2013. At the federal level, although the draft of an South Asia are the highest in the world, making the region a `growth hotspot`,
and the future looks even brighter. But for India, the World Bank added `gains
have been uneven, with greater progress in states and social groups that were
already better off (in a more desirable or advantageous position, especially in
financial terms) `. On poverty, the bank slid into its customary diplomatic
language, saying `India faces the challenge of further accelerating the
responsiveness of poverty reduction to growth` meaning its 7.6pc growth rates
are not doing enough to help the poor.
Pakistan`s future growth is too reliant on CPEC-related spending, and poverty
reduction is heavily linked to remittances, which face an uncertain future.
In essence, the report is pointing out that South Asia will remain desperately
poor in spite of having the world`s highest growth rates.
The leaderships in both countries have a great deal to think about when it comes
to this plain fact. Both countries spend far too much on their military capabilities
and not enough on their citizenry, particularly the poor. And in large measure,
poverty alleviation is seen by both as a by-product of higher growth rates.
Meanwhile, the poor are left to the mercy of forces beyond their control, such as
droughts or uncertain remittances. The words exchanged between the prime
ministers of two of the poorest countries in the world last week made for rather
strange theatre. But if it is true that changing the subject is a good way to defuse
tensions, then poverty is certainly the right topic to bring up at a time like this.
Kashmir solution
| 2/5/2017 12:00:00 AM
IN this Kashmir Solidarity Day, with the people of India-held Kashmir
continuing to suffer from the latest bout (spell, attack) of violence and repression
by the Indian state, some long-standing realities need to be reiterated. First, India
will never be able to bury the Kashmir dispute not inside IHK and not in its
relationship with Pakistan. To the proud, defiant and infinitely courageous
people of IHK, a message of solidarity is important: whatever the rulers and
policymakers in the region choose to do or not do, oppressed people everywhere
share a common bond the quest for dignity, basic rights and self-
determination are fundamental to human existence. The state of India has long
been in denial of core human values in IHK, but its denial cannot go on forever
the rightful and intrinsically just demands of the people of IHK will ultimately
prevail.
Second, India`s stubborn refusal to engage with Pakistan on the Kashmir
dispute under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a policy doomed to failure. For
parochial (short sighted, conservative), domestic reasons, Mr Modi may be in
denial of the centrality of the Kashmir dispute to the normalisation of ties
between the two countries, but that cannot undo the legal and moral basis of
Pakistan`s demand for a fair and just solution to the Kashmir dispute. The
framework of an eventual settlement is readily available and the initiation of
publicly acknowledged or backchannel talks can build on the last pragmatic and
sensible approach to conflict resolution: the four-point agenda of the Pervez
Musharraf era. While the specifics can change, the four-point agenda was based
on the right principles: a phased, progressive, mutually acceptable military de-
escalation in the disputed region with a simultaneous, coordinated ramping up
(increase) of a people-centric governance structure. If war is not an option as it
can become in a nuclear-armed region then the honest pursuit of peace is the
only alternative.
Third, there are lessons for Pakistan in its thus far faulty strategy of keeping the
Kashmir dispute alive internally, inside the country, and externally, on the
global stage. Domestically, the reliance on the religious right and extremist
networks to keep the Kashmir dispute front and centre of the national
consciousness has been a historical mistake. Mainstream politics based on a
mainstream acceptance of human rights and self-determination and rooted in
mainstream sections of society is the only sensible approach. The more the
Kashmir dispute is allowed to become the exclusive remit (concern,
responsibility) of right-wing and violent groups, the more the inherent justness
of the Kashmir cause will be obscured (buried, masked). The external benefits
will be clear too if Pakistan can present to the world a rational and peaceful case
and if the powerful human dimension of the suffering in IHK is made central to
the message of why the Kashmir dispute needs the outside world`s attention.
Kashmir Solidarity Day can be the start of a much-needed diplomatic and
strategic rethink.
Schools in KP
| 2/5/2017 12:00:00 AM
IF the figure invites incredulity (scepticism, disbelief) it only goes to show how
low the general opinion is of the state of public-sector education in the country.
On Friday, PTI chief Imran Khan said that 34,000 students in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa had opted out of private schools and joined government schools;
he was implying, of course, that educational standards at public institutes had
seen some drastic improvements under his party that rules the province. Talking
about the PTI having initiated reforms in the health and education sectors in the
province, he also mentioned the Insaf Health Card programme. These remarks
were made at a conference arranged by the Gynaecology Association of
Pakistan`s KP chapter. But the rosy lens used by Mr Khan does not quite bring
out the full picture. The relevant survey was conducted last summer by the KP
Elementary and Secondary Education Department, with the assistance of a
non-profit organisation, and involving students who had transferred from private
to public-sector schools between September 2015 and March 2016. And while
some respondents did indeed refer to an improvement in standards, other reasons
cited for transferring children to government-run schools were the increasing
costs of education in private schools, long distances, as well as the dwindling
quality of education and inadequate learning material.
That said, the PTI must be appreciated for making a push for reform in the
education and healthcare sectors in a province where both these sectors have for
years been neglected and allowed to deteriorate. Indeed, across the country,
public facilities are accessed only by those who have very little choice. As a
result, health and education facilities in private hands have become a booming
business, fuelled by pecuniary (monetary) interests rather than concern for the
provision of an individual`s constitutional rights. Sadly enough, it is not as
though these sectors were never built up in the first place.
Until rot (corruption), lethargy and routine resource-starvation were allowed to
seep in, many of the country`s public-sector health and education institutes were
of exemplary standard. Happily, the KP government has set a positive example
in these sectors, one that should be emulated (imitated, matched) by other
provincial governments in the country. The day when a sitting MNA chooses a
government-run hospital for his and his family`s medical needs instead of
rushing to foreign countries for medical checkup, and a government-run
school or college for his children, instead of accessing private facilities, will be
the day when those in power can start congratulating themselves.
KP police powers
| 9/26/2016 12:00:00 AM
THE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly was witness to an unusual
spectacle on Friday a meeting of minds between the treasury and opposition
benches. Legislators across the aisle expressed their reservations about the
provincial police force that, according to them, was abusing the powers it has
recently acquired under an ordinance and committing excesses against `innocent`
people. The heated discussion came about after the deputy speaker referred two
privilege motions, one moved by a cabinet member and the other by an
opposition MPA, to the relevant committee of the house. A number of legislators
threatened they would not support the passage in the assembly of the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Police Ordinance 2016 which has further enhanced the powers of
the police.
Nothing rankles with `VVIPs` in our society quite as much as being reminded
they are not above the law. After all, what is power unless accompanied by the
privilege to bend the rules with impunity? One suspects that is largely the
sentiment that animated the outcry against the KP Police Ordinance 2016 in the
assembly. However, a more impartial view indicates that this legislation is a step
in the right direction. A professional police force is an independent entity that
upholds the law without fear or favour and serves the public rather than
functioning as a handmaiden/ maidservant of the powers that be/ authorities.
Political interference in postings, procedures, etc is the main driver of corruption
and inefficiency in police across the country. The 2016 ordinance addresses this
problem by setting up transparent procedures of recruitment and promotion and,
crucially, by giving the powers to post/transfer senior police personnel to the
IGP, rather than to the chief minister as was the case earlier. The evolution of
the KP police can be seen in the fact that Sindh and Balochistan police are still
functioning under the colonial era Police Act 1861, while law-enforcement in
Punjab is governed by the Police Order 2002 which was in force in KP too until
the new ordinance. However, every law has room for improvement. Even though
the legislation stipulates enhanced punishments for police officers guilty of
various offences including unlawful entry and torture, there may well be
shortcomings in some aspects of oversight and accountability that will emerge
with time. These can be addressed without undermining the hard-won
independence of the KP police, and which should be emulated by other provinces
as well.
Outsourcing justice
| 2/6/2017 12:00:00 AM
BY passing a bill that gives legal and constitutional cover to the jirga and
panchayat system of dispute resolution, the National Assembly has only
highlighted its own weaknesses.
The non-serious approach to the matter must also be criticised: only 23
members of the house were present, and none of them pointed out the lack of
quorum, allowing the crucial responsibility of administering justice to be
outsourced to some of the most regressive (reverting, relapsing) elements in
society. It may be true that the jirga and panchayat system has existed in the
country for centuries, but that does not mean it should be handed the
responsibility to administer justice, even in supposedly minor cases. Over the
years, this system has given us heinous `judgements`, supposedly endorsed by
`tradition`, such as vani where young girls are forcibly married off in order to
settle disputes or enmities (hostilities, animosity). If the law minister, who
introduced the bill, thinks that the provision of attaching `neutral arbitrators` to
each case is sufficient to ensure that the verdicts pronounced will be in
accordance with the law and fundamental rights, and will protect the rights of
women, then it can reasonably be assumed that he is washing his hands of the
responsibility of providing justice to the common citizens of this land.
If the government wants to bring in Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms to
help reduce the caseloads in the courts, which is the language in which it is
justifying the passage of this controversial bill, then an option already exists in
the form of The Office Of The Federal And Provincial Ombudsman
(supervisory body, regulator). That office can be strengthened and expanded to
perform dispute resolution functions in the 23 different offences applicable in the
jirga and panchayat bill.
This way dispute resolution will remain the responsibility of the government
while minor issues can be settled quickly in accordance with the rules and
principles the state is obligated to uphold. If it can find `neutral arbitrators` for
jirgas and panchayats then surely it can find the personnel to staff the office of
the ombudsman at the union council level too.
No assurance given by the law minister regarding the protection of the rights of
women under a jirga and panchayat system should be entertained. The
lawmakers who were present in the Assembly on the day the bill was voted upon,
disgraced their oath of office by approving the bill with such little discussion.
The Senate should move to block its passage, and if that fails, the provincial
governments should steer clear of invoking (appealing) its provisions. Perhaps
the Supreme Court can examine its legality as well. The state should be working
on strengthening modern forms of dispute resolution, not reinforcing antiquated
(outdated, archaic) bodies that do more harm than good and giving them legal
cover.
Kashmir Solidarity Day
FEBRUARY 3, 2017 BY SULTAN M HALI
The Need Of The Hour
Various regimes in Pakistan, both military and civil have continued to express
solidarity with the inhabitants of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) from the tyranny of
India, with every trick in the book; war in 1947-48, when Indian troops illegally
occupied Kashmir; Operation Gibraltar the ill planned and poorly executed military
operation which became the precursor of the 1965 Pakistan-India War, the 1971 Pak-
India War and later the Kargil misadventure. Unfortunately none of these changed the
horror being meted out to the hapless Kashmiris at the hands of Indian security forces.
Various draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities (TADA), Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) were
introduced by the Indian government to give unbridled powers to Indian Army and
Police to murder, rape, loot and incarcerate innocent Kashmiris.
With Narendra Modis government in 2014, the fate of IOK became a foregone
conclusion to be amalgamated with India. The hardliner Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) operative and self confessed terror monger, Modi, assumed the mantle of Indias
Prime Minister with an agenda regarding Kashmir based on a multi-pronged strategy:
sweeping IOK polls, repealing Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that grants special
autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir and annexing it to India; changing the
demography; weakening and denigrating Pakistan so it can no longer provide even
diplomatic support to the Kashmiris.
Failing to secure the requisite seats in Jammu Kashmir elections, Modi launched
a fresh reign of terror in IOK. On July 8, 2016, popular young Kashmiri leader Burhan
Wani was brutally gunned down. When Kashmiri youth came out in the streets to mourn
their slain leader and protest against the politically motivated assassination, hundreds of
young boys have been martyred while thousands have been blinded because the India
law enforcing agencies have resorted to the use of pellet guns on their faces. To
browbeat Pakistan, India has tried to paint Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism and has
moved numerous motions in the UN and other international forums and has refused to
accept Pakistans numerous invitations for peace talks. To add insult to injury, India
boycotted the Commonwealth Speakers Summit, being hosted by Pakistan, on the plea
that the Speaker of the IOK Legislative Assembly was not extended an invitation.
Pakistan had taken a principled stand, since IOK is under illegal Indian occupation and
part of a disputed territory and unfinished agenda of the 1947 Partition of Indian
Subcontinent. Extending formal invitation to the Commonwealth Speakers Summit
would have been tantamount to recognising Indias false claims on IOK. India also
scuttled the SAARC Summit scheduled to be held at Islamabad and coerced some other
members like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka to stay away, in a bid to
isolate Pakistan.
To make matters worse, India has now staked claims on Azad Jammu Kashmir
(the portion liberated by Pakistan in 1947-48) and Gilgit Baltistan and is demanding
their return to India a contravention of the UN Resolutions on Kashmir, which
stipulate that a UN sponsored plebiscite be carried out to enable the Kashmiris to decide
whether they seek accession to India or Pakistan. India has prevented any plebiscite to
be held because it knows that the majority Muslim population of Kashmir will vote in
favour of Pakistan.
India has been violating the 2003 Ceasefire Agreement with Pakistan. It has
executed odious (loathsome, abhorring, revolting)plots of seditions (treason, agitation),
sabotage and insurgency in Balochistan, Jammu Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and even in Karachi to twist Pakistans arm and subjugate it into
withdrawing its support for the Kashmiris. To add impetus (energy, spur) to its
conspiracies, India has contemplated using its false flag operations as an excuse for
using brute force against Pakistan. Its development of the Cold Start Strategy, jacking
up its defence budget way beyond its genuine defence needs, acquiring weapons of mass
destruction but blackballing Pakistans nuclear programme are steps in the same
direction. Each time, India has contemplated surgical strikes against Pakistan; it has met
with stiff resistance or has been thwarted by Pakistans vigilance and state of
preparedness to defend its land, sea and aerial frontiers.
Barrack Obama was keen to nudge India into holding peace talks with Pakistan
but clearly leaned towards India since it is a big market for US defence goods and
services and is willing to act as a bulwark against the rise of China, which is perceived
as a threat by both US and India.
Modi has not shied away from issuing threats of rescinding the Indus Water
Treaty (IWT) of 1960, block Pakistans waters and desertify its lush green fields. It has
already planned and executed numerous dams and hydro power stations, which breach
the parameters laid down in the IWT. Unfortunately, owing to poor presentation of its
cases, Pakistan has failed so far to convince either international bodies like the
International Court of Justice or the World Bank, which was a guarantor of the IWT.
In this bleak backdrop, Pakistans policymakers have to seriously plan their
exterior maneuver and employ the tools of diplomacy effectively otherwise not only the
fates of the Kashmiris will be sealed to suffer forever the ignominy of oppressive Indian
rule but also Pakistan may become isolated and declared a pariah and failing state.
Modis fresh courtship (wooing) with the new US President Donald Trump and
his penchant (liking, proclivity) for shunning Muslims and wooing India is
understandable but Pakistan has to evolve a strategy to survive as well as support
Kashmir. So far it is only China, which has stood by Pakistan and saved it from virtual
isolation as well as adoption of anti-Pakistan verdicts in international organisations.
Pakistan needs to build its case more diligently to prove to the world that it is not a
sponsor of terrorism. Donald Trump is at the end of the day, a businessman, who bases
his decisions on balance sheets and profit loss statements. It should be made amply clear
to Trump that unless the flashpoint of the Kashmir issue is diffused and resolved
amicably, nuclear weapons equipped India and Pakistan face the clear and present
danger of a conflict which can endanger the entire region. All of US enterprises,
investments and ventures in India will come to naught in case of Indian belligerence and
adventurism against Pakistan. It is to Trumps advantage if the Kashmir issue is settled
and peace returns to the Indo-Pak Subcontinent.
Punjab DCs Naguib Ullah Malik Islamabad
| 2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM
UNDER the subject law, promulgated by the Punjab government, the office of the
deputy commissioner has been revived.
However, not in its original but a dif ferent shape with no linkage, whatsoever, with
police and local governments in a district.
The track record of administrative reforms in Pakistan does not augur well, given their
outcomes as well as impact on public service. Moreover, these reforms were never
meant to serve the public interest. Conversely, they were driven by personal whims ann
preferences of successive regimes to scuttle the bureaucratic powers and make public
servants subservient to their political masters.
As things progressed, some partnerships and coalitions of political elites and service
groups also emerged causing blowbacks to the overall structure of public service.
Of all the reforms, the Devolution of Power Plan 2001, under which Local Government
Ordinance 2001 and Police Order 2002 were promulgated, and need to be analysed from
such a perspective. The two legislations were the watershed of a power struggle among
the service/ occupational groups.
Under the Devolution plan, of fice of the deputy commissioner was disbanded and its
institutional power s re distribute d.
Besides, the police were made autonomous and conferred with unbridled powers
without providing ef fective checks and balances and building their capacity to meet the
new requirements. These reforms, carried out in a haste, caused administrative voids and
compounded the miseries of the common man.
Viewed against such a backdrop, the new law seems to be an attempt by the Punjab
government to define a focal person to assist the public to redress their grievances.
However, a powerless deputy commissioner having no back-up, legal or institutional,
may not prove effective in a field mired by turf issues and a scramble for power between
the of ficers of two service groups: DMG/PAS and PSP.
Therefore, it is time the government reviewed all reforms objectively and came out with
a comprehensive plan to address the issues of governance effectively so as to protectthe
publicinterest.
Killing Corruption And Pakistan
Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency. Corruption threatens our
national security, economic prosperity and international reputation. It is often the root
cause of international instability and conflict. Our society is facing a very grave problem
of corruption that has threatened basic foundations of society. This is one of the most
serious problems which are not natural calamity or disaster. Corruption is the cancer
that will gobble up all the socio-economic and political achievements.
Transparency International defines it as the abuse of entrusted power for private
gain. The World Bank defines a corrupt practice as the offering, giving, receiving or
soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the actions
of another party.
CAUSES: The major reasons of fast creeping (move stealthily, tiptoeing) corruption are
political instability, poverty, economic disparity/ discrepancy, unequal structure of
society, unemployment, lack of accountability, weak political institutions and absence of
rule of law. RESULTANT they are affecting political stability, equal distribution of
resources and power, confidence of local and foreign investors and political institutions.
Although corruption has wide-ranging deleterious effects on society and governance but
its most deadly impact is always on the poor. It undermines democracy (Democracy
index 2015, Pakistan ranks 112/ 167), hinders in good governance and weakens the
democratic institutions. It hampers the economic growth and sustainable developments.
Increase in corruption in any society is inversely proportional to good governance.
If these SUGGESTIONS AND PRACTICAL MEASURES are taken, the cancer of
corruption can be cured to reasonable extent.
1) Strengthen the integrity of the Institutions across the public and private sector.
2) Proper system of accountability and check and balance, and use of technology,
should be implemented.
3) Justice delayed is justice denied. Injustice is a mother of all crimes. Injustice is a
threat to justice everywhere. Reforming Pakistan judicial system. In time
dispensation of justice can minimize corruption practices.
4) Salaries and wages should be increased in order to decrease the chances of
corruption.
5) Education system must be revised and improved according to national needs.
6) Stable governments/ political stability are essential to prevail justice and to
uproot corruption.
7) Computerized system of data collection and record keeping. Punjab- land record
is computerized, KPK- all record is computerized.
8) Transparency in decision making. Improve transparency by making it open to
scrutiny both within the government and by civil society and the public, tackle
money laundering and return stolen assets.
9) Policy of zero tolerance for corruption.
10) Equip officials/ professionals in both the public and private sectors with the
knowledge and tools they require to prevent themselves either wittingly or
unwittingly becoming involved in corruption.
11) Raise awareness of the risks from corruption in both the public and private
sector. Public awareness is must to eliminate corruption. Publication of the
names of those involved in corruption.
12) Strengthening the protection for whistleblowers and those who report corruption
and encourage more to come forward. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Whistleblower
Protection and Vigilance Commission Bill, 2016.
CONCLUSION: It is multi-faceted problem so it should be countered on all possible
fronts with sincerity. We must reform ourselves. Only proper planning and strictly
implemented policies with public support can put halt to this growing menace.
Kennedy told Americans to ''Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You - Ask
What You Can Do For Your Country.''