Dna issue 57

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015 i issue 57 i pages 16 i rs 25

HELP THYSELF AND GOD WILL HELP YOU THE BEST A MAN CAN DO IS TO WAGE THE JIHAD OF THE PEN IN A STATE THAT POMPOUSLY CALLS ITSELF ISLAMIC OpiniOn: Humayun Gauhar

page 06

GreAt eXpeCtAtiOnS ANNUS HORRIBILLIS IS 2015 GOING TO BE ANY BETTER? COver StOrY: Arif Nizami

page 03

‘THE JUDICIARY HAS ALSO FAILED’ THIS IS A TEST OF THE LEADERSHIP interview: Senator S M Zafar

page 10

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

edItorIAl

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Shahab Jafry

Joint Editor

Associate Editor

\

A bad habit

Asher John

Sajid Khan Lodhy

Chief News Editor

Senior Editor

Pick and choose continues

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2818125 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Subletting important matters to the army

I

T is important for the government to understand that gaining ground on the matter of military courts will only go so far in the larger battle against terrorism. The aPC might have ironed out differences with regard to amending the constitution, but the growing perception, especially in official circles, that this route will prove a major deterrent might be premature. The enemy is obviously well prepared for a fight to the finish. But the traditional system had compromised justice delivery to an unbearable extent. and, as the aPC unanimity showed, there was simply no alternative to tie this end, at least.

The legal aspect is, of course, only one part of the overall COin effort. History is replete with lessons that such trying times demand courageous and inspiring leadership. and on this front nawaz might have more hurdles to cross than he realises. True, the dharna pressure has disappeared and all political parties stand behind him in this existential war. But so far the leadership has done precious little to inspire the kind of confidence that the country needs. nawaz has made one strong statement after another since Dec16, but he has

The legal aspect is, of course, only one part of the overall COIN effort. History is replete with lessons that such trying times demand courageous and inspiring leadership. And on this front Nawaz might have more hurdles to cross than he realises. True, the dharna pressure has disappeared and all political parties stand behind him in this existential war. But so far the leadership has done precious little to inspire the kind of confidence that the country needs. Nawaz has made one strong statement after another since Dec16, but he has offered little except military courts being the most urgent need of the hour, and he is for “elimination of terrorists” and “a safer Pakistan”.

offered little except military courts being the most urgent need of the hour, and he is for “elimination of terrorists” and “a safer Pakistan”.

But once the dust settles and these courts go about their business, there is the danger that the prime minister might emerge even weaker than before. already, he seems living up to his reputation of quietly subletting the most important matters to the military as long as he is comfortable in the prime minister house. and the military courts are just one example of this trend. With the gHQ already completely controlling Zarb-e-azb, and

now set to take up the legal fallout, there is not much for the political leadership to do except issue periodic statements, which does not exactly fit the definition of bold or courageous leadership.

Traditional courts have failed because the state could neither streamline procedural irregularities nor provide safety to the legal community. Simply switching to the military option might see the immediate storm through, but it will do the government no favours in the long run. The government must bolster civilian institutions or take responsibility for the failure of the state. g

Petroleum levy Senate wakes up

D

ealing with terrorism is clearly proving difficult for the sitting government, but the economy, it seems, is not its cup of tea either. The decision of charging five percent additional gST on petroleum products rightly came under severe criticism in the Senate the other day. and Dar sahib, as usual, was found wriggling from one argument to the other to defend his position. Things will not get much easier with the new week, when he will have to justify the increase that bypassed parliament, especially, as PPP Senator Raza Rabbani pointed out, the Supreme Court has already declared that it was not the role of the executive to levy taxes, but rather the domain of the parliament. interestingly, even in the Senate Dar wanted appreciation for reducing petrol prices repeatedly over the last year. The fact that the downward revision would not have been possible without the global collapse in Brent crude, not to mention the intense pressure of PTi’s dharna, still seems lost on the government. Then there was the embarrassing admission that without the additional levy the FBR would be compromised and development funds diverted to debt relief, as usual. The finance minister did not mention, of

02 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

The government has developed a habit of taking credit for good news, even when it has no control over exogenous factors. It continues to take credit for the fuel price reduction, even though it had not link with it. course, that the FBR falling short of its target reflects poorly on the government, which should then foot the bill, instead of burdening the people.

The government has developed a habit of taking credit for good news, even when it has no control over exogenous factors. it continues to take credit for the fuel price reduction, even though it had not link with it. not long ago, Dar claimed stabilising the rupee, even though the stability came from an external injection, with conditions, which was little more than Saudi money parked in our central bank vaults. Dar did not explain how it reflected improved economic performance. Perhaps he should explain the indulgence in indirect taxation, despite promising not to during the election campaign. it would be wiser to rollback this option and work on raising revenue in the right manner. g

Uneasy questions

D

eSPiTe all the noise about a crack down on unauthorised weapons, the chosen people sill move around escorted by armed followers. not long ago a young man was shot dead in lahore by one of the guards of a celebrity’s son for no other reason than overtaking the cavalcade. With the country highly sensitive about these matters in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Peshawar, the police too is becoming somewhat careful. it was therefore understandable on the part of the islamabad police to take into custody the local leader of aSWJ and his bodyguards for carrying arms. Such is the threat of the terrorists that after discovering the identity of the arrested persons the officer concerned let them go with a lighter charge. The prime minister, who is keen to make anyone shirking his duties an example for others, immediately ordered the suspension of SSP islamabad and another officer for showing leniency to the leader.

With the police maintaining that the accused were not displaying their weapons when intercepted, they could therefore not be booked on that charge, it seems to be a case of shoot first, ask question later for no other reason than grandstanding.

What one fails to understand is why the chief cleric of lal Masjid has not been arrested by police a week after his arrest warrants were issued. if the fault lies with the

whiteLies Apollo

What one fails to understand is why the chief cleric of Lal Masjid has not been arrested by police a week after his arrest warrants were issued. If the fault lies with the police officers for not pursuing the case in accordance with law, why no action was taken against them? The man continues to cock a snook at the state by maintaining that he would neither apply for bail nor offer arrest.

police officers for not pursuing the case in accordance with law, why no action was taken against them?

The man continues to cock a snook at the state by maintaining that he would neither apply for bail nor offer arrest. This is yet another example of cherry-picking, which makes government claims of acting even-handedly look like a hoax.

The fight against terrorism has suffered a lot from this approach.

What is more it has raised questions about the genuineness of the government’s claims. That continuation of the dual approach at a time when everyone expects the establishment to act with firmness raises uneasy questions. g

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

Now Rana Sanaullah may be reviled by PTI and PAT, for Model Town and Red Zone of course, but he’s still ‘the man’ when it comes to the Sharifs.

A straight shooter, you know, a kind of doer. And he’s also the fittest of all of N’s stalwarts. He’s a busy man, of course, but you’ll never find him missing his active workout at a local gym. who knows, maybe he’s conditioning for a big fight. g

********** You won’t find too many people finding too many faults with the way oil has collapsed, will you? Especially High octane and Diesel. But economics is a strange science. And it’s funny how good news for consumers can be bad news for others – environmentalists, for example. Now those fuelefficient, environment-friendly cars are parked safely, and the gas guzzlers and SuVs are out on the road again. And since the big powers that control Black Gold are looking to keep fighting for the foreseeable future, there seems a protracted driving season ahead. what’s some extra smoke in the lungs when you have this precious financial cushion, eh? g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

cover story: GreAt eXPectAtioNs

Annus horribillis

Is 2015 going to be any better?

set up without amending the Constitution.

Like some of the insidious clauses inserted in the Constitution by late dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in the name of Islam, an amendment to set up military courts would be difficult to scrap in the future.

Opponents of military courts through an amendment to the Constitution contend that it would distort the democratic bedrock of the Constitution.

Of course the universal demand for setting up military courts is a strong denouement of our deeply flawed legal system of which judiciary is a major component. Unfortunately former CJP The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.

Iftikhar Chaudhry unshackled the judiciary thanks to unflinching support from lawyers, human rights activists and a wide political spectrum. f 2014 was annus horribillis for But apart from massaging his own ego Pakistan, is 2015 going to be any and of some of his fellow judges, Chaudhry better? 2014 was a bad year ending did not lift a finger to reform the judiciary. As on a very sombre note, but in the according to the oft-repeated idiom: justice process waking the nation from its delayed is justice denied, the judges felt they deep slumber. The realisation that it can no were free. But perhaps not the judiciary. longer be business as usual finally hit home.

Reforming the judicial and prosecution However, a lot of scepticism is being system is only one aspect of a multifaceted expressed by the commentarati about the conundrum facing Pakistan. There are other government’s sincerity and more so, its equally important steps that need to be taken capability to combat terrorism. consensually not only to remove anomalies In a rare show of camaraderie the but also to ameliorate the malaise itself. khakis and the muftis are working in unison for starters, a jaundiced worldview to devise a comprehensive counterterrorism across the board needs to be discarded. And strategy. Of course combating this hydra this is not confined to the civilian headed monster, partly created and leadership but the military as well. A nurtured by our successive rulers, both societal change including the media’s military and civilian, is now being viewed as narrative has to be changed as well. the existential challenge facing the country.

There is a lot of clamour about bringing in new laws – some of them draconian – to sort out the terrorists. But who will ‘Like some of the insidious clauses implement them? Even laws already on the inserted in the Constitution by statute books are not being implemented in late dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in letter and spirit.

Take the case of Pakistan Electronic the name of Islam, an amendment Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). It to set up military courts would be is a toothless body headed by a retired police officer. difficult to scrap in the future’ There are unlicensed Islamic television channels that continue to operate. Hate speech on many channels by anchors and In the backdrop of the PML-N their guests is the order of the day. Rules government’s lacklustre performance in the about showing foreign content are violated past one and a half years there is little room with impunity by powerful media houses. for optimism. But it is a stark reality that On the prosecution front the alternatives to the present civilian government does not have the gall to book dispensation are even less attractive. those who flout the law of the land without Critics contend that since the Peshawar any compunction. Warrants of arrest of incident there have been numerous highMaulana Abdul Aziz, the de facto cleric of level meetings and interaction between the Lal Masjid (ostensibly a government military leadership and the prime minister controlled mosque), have been issued. But without any results. A feeling that nothing nobody has the guts to nab him. is happening on the ground has become so Basically it boils down to governance, pervasive that Army Chief General Raheel the lack of which is a subject of much Sharif, after a corps commanders meeting, discussion in the media. Nevertheless had to say that the entire nation was without an uncluttered vision the goal of looking towards the civilian and military good governance will remain elusive. leadership to take bold and meaningful If the objective remains consolidating decision leading to stern action against power come what may, coupled with a terrorists and their sympathisers. flawed concept of economic development Unfortunately, the debate about the bereft of any social responsibility, terrorists modalities of setting up military courts has will have a field day recruiting converts to become so divisive that its supporters their cause in the name of religion. consider them as a sure shot panacea to The liberal elite cries hoarse about the root out terrorism. Ironically, opposition to so-called madrassah culture, warning amend the Constitution to set up these special that they are the training grounds for courts has mostly come from political parties homegrown terrorists. Successive and human rights groups who have also been governments, owing to political the prime victims of Taliban terrorism. expediencies, have however failed even to This is register them, let alone understandable, as they close them. are the ones who have ‘Already powerful religious Already powerful been in the forefront of religious lobbies including opposing military lobbies including the the Jamaat-e-Islami and dictatorships and the Jamaat-e-Islami and JUI-F JUI-f are up in arms struggle for restoration of are up in arms against against tinkering with democratic institutions. these retrogressive In this context PPP tinkering with these institutions. And why stalwart and legal activist retrogressive institutions. shouldn’t they be? It is Senator Aitzaz Ahsan gave a workable formula, And why shouldn’t they be? their bread and butter.

That the state is according to which It is their bread and butter’ unable to provide jobs or military courts could be

Arif NizAmi

i

free education remains the nub of the problem. Owing to misplaced priorities, our budgetary outlays on health, education and other social sectors stubbornly remain dismal. That is why by international standards Pakistan’s social indicators are at the bottom rung of the ladder.

Ironically Pakistan is a nuclear power, with a well-trained and reasonably wellequipped army. There is a yawning gap between a well-armed national security apparatus on the one hand and abject poverty on the other. The subsequent jahalat amongst most of the populace is a recipe for disaster.

It is already too late in some ways as the barbarians are not at the gates, they

are amongst us. With our present flawed security, economic and social priorities, it is extremely difficult if not virtually impossible to extricate the country from its present morass.

It is unfair just to blame Sharif for the mess we are in, he is only the symptom of a much deeper malaise afflicting us. If the year 2015 is to bring any hope, it should be a year of deep introspection as to how to set a fresh course.

Those who are expecting wonders from marathon meetings being held at the prime minister house should carefully ponder at what is eating us from within.

No quick fix answers will do. Welcome to another year of despair? g

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 03

C M YK

cover story: GreAt eXPectAtIoNs AzIzuD-DIN AHmAD

The writer is a political analyst and a former academic.

F

Ive major challenges face Pakistan in 2015.

The foremost challenge is from terrorist organisations. The survival of the state depends on whether it can defeat the religious and sectarian outfits.

These include TTP (Fazlullah), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, al Qaeda, and several sectarian terrorist groups.

ISIS too might extend it activities to Pakistan this year. It is now being acknowledged, after a lot of sacrifices, that the war against terrorism is our on war. Finally national consensus on terrorism has taken shape.

Military operations will play an important role in the fight.

Their importance is illustrated by the fact that in 2008-2009 there were eighteen administrative units, districts, tribal agencies and FRs that were either completely or partially under the influence of the TTP. Over the years the terrorists have been dislodged from all these areas through the use of military force. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has deprived the terrorists of their last and the biggest sanctuary.

While the capacity of the terrorist groups has been considerably degraded by military operations it will take time before these are totally eradicated. What is worrisome is that they can still launch well-coordinated and devastating attacks like the one on Wagah border and the Army Public school Peshawar.

The two attacks expose

tough challenges in 2015 The new year will test the government, the opposition and the armed forces serious weaknesses in the working of the intelligence agencies, which are to play a central role in the war against terrorism. There is also need to weed out elements in them who are sympathetic to the terrorist networks.

Military operations need to be supplemented with actions by the government. Unless this is done, the resurgence of terrorist activity cannot be stopped. This is proved by the attacks in Swat, Bajaur and Khyber agencies, which had earlier been declared free of terrorists.

For this the police and civilian intelligence agencies need to be strengthened. What is equally important is to hold Local Government elections so that the elected bodies too can play their role in the war against terrorism.

So far there has been no realisation of the importance of strengthening the civilian institutions in Swat and tribal areas. It remains t be seen if there is an awareness of the importance of their role in 2015. even more alarming is the presence of terrorist leaders, hideouts and sleeper cells in the urban areas of Pakistan, particularly South Punjab which continues to serve as the breeding ground of the terrorists. There is a need to realise that extremist thinking promoted over the past three decades has permeated deep in Pakistani society. The madaris continue to play a major role in promoting sectarian and religious hatred. What is more they have turned into a powerful lobby which is averse to any government probe into their affairs. every state worth its name has regulatory bodies to regulate the

activities of different groups indulging in organised activities.

This is true not only about industrial and commercial companies but also seminaries and mosques. even highly conservative countries like Saudi Arabia have state regularity authorities for madaris and mosques. As the madaris provide the religious parties captive workers, JUI-F, JUI-S and JI have come out against the inclusion of the seminaries in the National Action Program. What remains to be seen is whether the government puts its foot down and goes for madaris reforms or bends to the pressure of the vested interest.

The propagation of extremist thinking is not confined to the seminaries alone. The courses of study in mainstream educational institutions, too, promote extremism. These need to be thoroughly revised to inculcate tolerance and promote democratic values. Militancy and extremism will not be defeated piecemeal.

Without a comprehensive policy and a serious action plan, we will continue to drift into a dangerously downward spiral.

What is required is a joint effort by the army, political parties, media and civil society to confront the highly motivated, resourceful and desperate enemy. everyone who is to play a role has to be brought on board. An attempt by any one of the players to dictate to others will create hurdles in the fulfilment of the mission.

The IDPs from NWA and a number of other agencies need to be sent back and rehabilitated in 2015. This is a necessary part of

the drive to win hearts and minds.

Any prolonged displacement is likely to provide the terrorists a new recruiting ground.

The second challenge is to harmonise civil-military relations.

Many had developed an unrealistic perception about the strength of the nascent democracy after the peaceful transfer of power from one elected government to another.

During the last year and a half, the PML-N government has simply managed to survive the jolts.

The PML-N’s tenure started with infantile attempts to regain the turf seized by the army over decades. hasty and unpremeditated moves in fact further strengthened the military establishment. The army continues to take key decisions while remaining in the background. What is required is to shun infantile steps and rein in the over-zealous ministers. equally important is to take the opposition on board before taking major decisions.

The third challenge which could derail democracy is maintaining working relations with the opposition. The government’s arrogance and disregard for the opposition led to the over three month long confrontation with Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri.

At one point during the standoff it was just touch and go for the government to fall. It survived by the skin of its teeth.

Unless the government displays flexibility, which the PML-N does not seem to have an aptitude for, the PTI could once again take to the streets and shut down the cities. This will further weaken the government while it could pave

way for military intervention.

The government has to hold Local Government elections in all the four provinces. The schedule for the polls in KP is to be announced by the election Commission in April. Any foot dragging in Punjab and Sindh would generate new political tensions. What is more, the elections should not only be fair but also seem to be so.

The fourth challenge is related to Pakistan’s foreign relations. The improvement of ties with neighbouring India, Afghanistan and Iran is of utmost importance for Pakistan. There is a need to ponder over why all the three believe that the government continues to indulge in cherrypicking despite claiming that it does not differentiate between good and bad Taliban. It is in Pakistan’s best interest to have normal relations with all the three neighbours. This will promote trade and economic ties and improve the livelihood of the people. Normalisation of relations alone can bring down the defence expenditure. In the absence of good relations with the neighbours it may not be possible to eradicate terrorism fully.

The fifth challenge is the improvement of the economy.

This depends mainly on two factors. The wheels of industry will start moving only if the government is able to check power and gas shortages. Again, no major investment, local or foreign, is possible till there is security of life with an end to terrorist attacks and kidnappings for ransom. expectations of tons of foreign investment waiting to pour into Pakistan will remain unfulfilled unless the two conditions are fulfilled.

Pakistan faces rough challenges in 2015 which will test the mettle of the government, the opposition and the armed forces. g

A new year, a new plan: Will it be effective enough?

A confused nation takes a hard line against a long-time enemy posing as a friend

AHAD AWAN

The writer is a management student and has keen interest in politics. He may be contacted at ahadawan@gmail.com

T

he Pakistani nation in general and its leadership in particular has been extremely divided and confused, especially about who our enemies really are. If you are not sure who your enemies are how can you even come up with a plan to fight them.

Using the word ‘plan’ was a little exaggeration as this nation has always acted without a plan. You keep bleeding them, keep on killing their men, keep killing their women, keep killing their soldiers, and the best reaction they will give is call an All Parties Conference (APC) and agree on a single point agenda: Let’s bring the killers to the table and start a dialogue. That, at least, used to be standard practice.

Who will be leading the dialogue, who

04 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

will be assisting, who will be facilitating and even whom to have dialogue with and what will the dialogue be about, they did not know. All of a sudden you attack a school and brutally murder over 150 innocent citizens of which 133 are children below the age of 17, and they will react in an aggressive way.

Pakistan has lost more than 50,000 lives to the war against terror. Yet, surprisingly, even that number was not enough to build up the courage to fight the enemy that has been killing innocent people for years. They had to get their little flowers massacred to finally realise that the time to fight has come.

Now that they have decided to fight, they are still confused about the degree to which they will fight. Which areas, exactly, are to be cleaned? Just FATA or the whole country?

Whether to hang the killers or to keep feeding them till they die? Which courts will build up the courage to try and sentence them to death? Are military courts the only viable solution? These are the questions which they are finding hard to answer.

With the two Sharifs leading the nation in these times and the rest of the political leadership backing them, it’s time for them to take the hard line and start an intense crackdown. After PTI and PAT decided to launch a crusade against the Sharif government, the army proved it was not interested in taking over.

Same old ways of corruption by its senior

ministers, incompetent officials and the rigging allegations by opposition parties are a constant source of insecurity for the government. The ‘extraordinary’ circumstances created after the Peshawar tragedy have united the political leadership, but they still don’t have a clear vision of what to do. They seem to have asked the military to take the lead and promised it ‘unconditional support’. And by unanimously green-lighting the National Action Plan, they have given themselves the lollipop that they are the ones making decisions. In reality, though, the ‘force’ is deciding matters. They said yes to extending the scope of Operation Zarb-e-Azb to urban cities and took the bitter pill of setting up of military courts to try terrorists.

Military courts: blessing or curse?

‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ is the main thing feared when it comes to military courts. Giving a ‘free hand’ to such courts was termed a soft coup by some while others welcomed the decision as they believed that there was no other way out and were disappointed over the performance of the judiciary. The judiciary, led by then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, was a little too ‘afraid’ to take a hard line against terrorists, some say.

Though it is expected to decide cases without fear or favour, but in a country where no one’s life is safe, judges couldn’t deliver justice. This justification is enough to support the setting up of military courts that would ‘deliver’ justice the way it should be.

Few in uniform have a soft heart for militants At a time when the entire leadership has taken the decisive stance to deal with the terrorists the hard way, there are a few elements in the military and the political arena who still have a ‘soft heart’ for the militants. They still patronise them and consider them strategic assets to be used against the ‘real enemies’ of Pakistan. Though the national consensus is that the militants are our enemies, these elements still share cordial relations they built and nurtured since the Soviet war. Some, apparently, are still confused about their real friends and foes.

Will hangings do the job?

First post-Peshawar tragedy step Sharif took was to lift the moratorium on the death sentence, enforced by former President Asif Ali Zardari to please the europeans. This led to hanging of various high profile terrorist like Dr Usman, the mastermind of GhQ attack and attack on the Sri Lankan team. This was the first message sent to the terrorists, that their time was up. Though hangings are not the solution, but this is going to be a symbol for mess makers that days of mercy are over.

The APC has now given the go-ahead to make amendments to different clauses of the constitution to give military courts a constitutional cover. Will this cover be enough to keep a check on military courts and protect the government from another soft coup in the future? Time will tell. g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

Nawaz’s now-or-never moment The new year comes with rare political consensus, but does the PM have the will for the fight?

Zafar aZiZ Chaudhry

The writer is a former member of the provincial civil service and can be contacted at zafar.aziz.ch@gmail.com

I

n the crisis generated by the horrific tragedy of Peshawar, nawaz Sharif appears to have found a rebirth from near-collapse of his government. In the surge of agitation led by Imran Khan against his regime, and the incompetence of his government to handle the issues facing the nation, his reputation as a politician had touched the lowest ebb, and there was little hope that he would complete his full term.

His engaging the Taliban in a thoughtless and prolonged course of dialogues for too long much to their advantage, his inability good or for bad. A survey carried out by to take bold and timely decisions, and his 2014 Global Attitudes of Washington based failure to control prices of consumer goods, Pew Research Centre shows that 59 percent etc, were all negative indicators on the basis of those questioned in Pakistan rejected the of which most independent political surveys TTP but 33 percent were indifferent had already declared that his regime had towards the terrorist outfit. The result is lost credentials to remain in power. that a startling 60 million Pakistanis did not In June last, under the bold command have any problem with the extremist of the present army chief, a full scale worldview of the Taliban. military offensive was launched against the In this background the heart-wrenching Taliban, which is successfully gaining Peshawar tragedy shook the entire nation ground. But internally the government and proved a watershed in Pakistan’s appeared to be as complacent as it had history. It was no less than Pakistan’s 9/11, always been. For instance, on January 18, which brought in its wake some the Interior minister announced with much developments which are both unique and fanfare the establishment of national far-reaching. For the Counter-terrorism first time in its Authority (nACTA), history, it brought the with an ambitious ‘Steps like execution of convicted civil-military plan to create a joint leadership as a solid directorate of 26 terrorists, creation of military block on one table intelligence agencies courts, deployment of a special under one roof. The for enhancing law counter-terrorism force, presence of General enforcement, but Raheel Sharif proved nothing was ever formulation of a comprehensive a great cementing heard about it. Even policy to deal with Afghan bond. Without him after lapse of a full this unity was hard to one year, nACTA refugees and settlement of IDPs obtain, because some only exists on paper, with ban against glorification of of our pro-Taliban and is functionally terrorist organisations, etc, have religious parties dead. Besides, all could not muster terrorist been much debated in the press’ courage to articulate organisations earlier their traditional banned by the stands vis-à-vis government are still Taliban in view of the solemnity of the operating openly and with impunity with occasion. Resultantly, full unanimity was different names but under the same leaders, achieved on 20-point national Action Plan, which did not bother the government. a rare feat demonstrated in recent times.

In most cases the ruling party itself There is no doubt that this national freely gave party tickets to the leaders and Action Plan has been devised with great the activists of these outlawed organisations care after fully reviewing the prevalent and also ensured their success in the last realities. Steps like execution of convicted general election, some of whom adorn the terrorists, creation of military courts, benches of parliament. Thus it would not be deployment of a special counter-terrorism wrong to say that the government was force, formulation of a comprehensive following a policy of appeasement towards policy to deal with Afghan refugees and Taliban, bordering on hypocrisy. Publically settlement of IDPs with ban against they were debunked but inwardly they were glorification of terrorist organisations, etc, protected and even patronised. The policy have been much debated in the press. The against terrorism was also ambivalent. The public may be divided opinion on most of government patronised terrorist these points, but it is generally agreed that organisations with anti-Indian bias, but the plan must be implemented in the larger remained aloof and detached from those interest of the nation. now, the real test of responsible for insurrection in Fata areas. nawaz’s government would be in its will There, too, distinction between good and and seriousness to implement this plan. The bad Taliban existed for a long time till that past record of the government, however, distinction was done away with recently. does not bode well for the future.

The logic of keeping and later doing away Significantly, an even bigger challenge with that distinction is not yet clear. The awaits the nawaz regime as the new year pro-Taliban terrorists formed the major rolls on, one that will test his credibility as a bulk of our religious parties and sectarian leader to the hilt. For many months and organisations which mixed and mingled years, pledges were made to crack down on with our common people, who came to violent Islamists with Taliban leanings, but accept the Taliban cult as a way of life for

also set up to tender advice in religious nothing concrete was ever done. As said matters. If some section still wants to earlier, it had been a policy of appeasement impose its own brand of Islam with force to towards parties overtly or covertly siding disrupt the state structure, that section with Taliban ideology and the government must be crushed with the full might of the appeared to patronise them out of fear for state. the nuisance value they carried. Thus a Another good development is in the culture of fear and hatred had come to stalk improvement of Pak-Afghan relations and our streets and alleys. This culture even the new Afghan leadership’s unequivocal governed our print and electronic media, willingness to bolster security ties between not sparing even some of our public the two countries. Throughout the Karzai institutions. nobody could dare oppose era, such an understanding could not be Taliban ideology in public for fear of his or reached, which was why the menace of her life. Many distinguished personages Taliban could not be effectively controlled. were attacked and killed for expressing The US too has added its weight to this views contrary to their creed. Freedom of understanding. thought and speech nawaz Sharif would were stifled and do well to reciprocate nobody felt safe. the visit of the Afghan The real challenge ‘Significantly, an even bigger president as soon as before nawaz Sharif, challenge awaits the Nawaz he sets in motion his therefore, is not the regime as the new year rolls on, 20-Point Plan to creation of a counterone that will test his credibility as ensure that a terrorist force, or permanent accord is registration of a leader to the hilt. For many signed between the madaris, or even months and years, pledges were two countries to controlling procheck Taliban’s Taliban influence on made to crack down on intrusion from either the media. It violent Islamists with Taliban side, along with their concerns primarily leanings, but nothing concrete repatriation on with adopting ways mutual basis. and measures to put was ever done’ Point 12 on the an end to the culture Action Plan relates to of fear and hatred “the administrative and insecurity which and development reforms in Fata with has seeped into the vitals of this society, immediate focus on return of IDPs”. It is making it more susceptible to further not clear whether this would also include deleterious influences of the organisations bringing the tribal areas into the like ISIS. It is heartening to see that his 20mainstream of the ordinary laws of the land Point Action Plan also includes checking (of course with necessary and temporary re-emergence of proscribed organisations exceptions) so that when their areas are and blocking their funds, dismantling their cleansed of terrorist elements, their further networks and showing them zero tolerance, development could be possible alongside which indeed is a tall order. now the real the rest of the country. Without these test of nawaz Sharif is how far he succeeds measures the entire crusade against in achieving even half of these goals. terrorism would come to naught.

In this context, one cannot overlook the If fate has catapulted the nawaz regime question of religion which is the core issue from a near collapse to a state where the in our war against the Taliban, and which threat of agitation and ‘dharnas’ has has been made to instigate a mischief suddenly vanished, all political parties have against the state, dubbing it un-Islamic. In stood behind him like a solid rock, the new the first place, the founder of this nation Afghan leadership is keen to fight alongside never intended it to be a theocratic state, him against the forces of darkness, and the and wanted it to retain a secular image entire armed forces are at one with him, he where all citizens, irrespective of their has got the necessary carte blanche to faiths, should have equal rights and duties effectively execute his plan of action. Rarely toward the state (reference Quaid’s speech has a prime minister has had so much of 11thAugust 1948). If, however, Islam was later declared as the state religion, then power and such a congenial environment. proper safeguards were provided in the With the will and determination he has constitution and the apex court was given displayed during these last days, he can powers to strike down any law found decisively act now, or if he doesn’t, then the repugnant to the Quran and Sunnah. opportunity would be lost forever. For him, Besides, a Council of Islamic Ideology was it is now or never! g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 05

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

opinion

Help thyself and God will help you The best a man can do is to wage the jihad of the pen in a state that pompously calls itself Islamic Humayun GauHar

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at: humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com.

a

fter my last article about God giving honour or dishonour to whom He pleases I was asked why I was delivering ‘sermons’. When you see the existence of your homeland in jeopardy, a man like me gives ‘sermons’ as a last resort. You use Islam in a state that has the pomposity and temerity to call itself ‘Islamic’ when it is anything but, which in itself is a grave sin because it is hypocrisy of the highest order, for in so doing you try to fool God and his vicegerents. thus the best a man who is beyond his physical prime can do is wage ‘jihad of the pen’ which is also a ‘jihad of ideas’. It is the most powerful jihad. God taught man by the pen, which means methodologies of disseminating information. It is more powerful than any sword, bomb or missile. When Muslims lost the ‘pen’ some 800 years ago, they lost power. europe picked up the pen and achieved power.

I am writing both for people and world rulers many of whom come to believe in their alienated minds that they are god on earth, which is reflected in their conduct, actions, attitude, pomp and panoply. I talked of the caveat that God’s decision to bestow honour or dishonour on someone depends on that person’s intent behind his conduct and actions. Attracting God’s pleasure or displeasure, therefore, is in our own hands so the onus is on us. I also said that the only assets a man takes with him from this world to the next are his deeds, intentions and acquired knowledge. the rest is worldly, ephemeral, passing, just a knowledgeacquiring moment in cosmic time, a short learning stage that later seems like a brief dream in everlasting, infinite time.

It is said: “Own only that which you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag. the true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” In this world, sadly, the majority of us do something mostly for people who can do something for us in return. All you need really is that person’s goodwill and prayers and get God’s pleasure.

Alexander the Great understood this and instructed that

06 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

his hands should be outside his coffin so that people could see that he, a man who had conquered everywhere he could get to, was taking nothing of his worldly goods with him. the Pharaohs did the opposite: they entombed all the gold, silver, ornaments, concubines and servants with them in their pyramids to help them in the afterlife. Where are they now? the embalmed bodies of some Pharaohs and their ‘treasures’ lie in museums as objects of curiosity. Where are the Mughal kings whose earthly pomp and grandeur were without match, or the Nizam of Hyderabad for that matter, whose jewels could cover the whole of Piccadilly Circus?

What remains of the Mughal family is living on a Delhi railway platform. Yet today’s Pharaohs are blind to this. remember Shelly’s famous poem? “I met a traveller from an antique land?

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’

Nothing beside remains.

Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Our Pharaohs have possibly never heard this poem, leave alone contemplate it.

People – even those who regard themselves as educated – think that all that is required is for Nawaz Sharif to go and they will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that appears after a deluge.

Sharif has fallen twice before.

What

‘Sharif has fallen twice before. What difference did his earlier exits make except that we were back to square one? What difference did toppling President Ayub Khan make?’ difference did his earlier exits make except that we were back to square one? What difference did toppling President Ayub Khan make? We retrogressed to the old British parliamentary system, the country was rent asunder after national elections and most of Ayub’s reforms were twisted. We went back behind square one: having lost Jinnah’s “moth eaten” Pakistan we were left with Bhutto’s truncated “New Pakistan” that is now in danger of disappearing. So as a last resort I write to try and din some sense into our rulers, leaders and people. this is what happens with movements without a holistic plan. those few to whom God has given the inner eye to see beyond their emotions, likes and dislikes, attachment to alien constructs for lack of original thought and selfinterest, should understand.

When you divorce morality and fundamental universal principles from politics all that is left is tyranny camouflaged in the seductive dress of electoral ‘democracy’ in which they count people, not weigh them. So just toppling Nawaz Sharif would make no difference without toppling the system. Just holding unrigged elections after toppling him would make little difference because it would throw up a similar government of feudalindustrial barons with a smattering of the urban middle class with wanting education and little understanding of the global dynamic in which Pakistan must find its positive place. to renew Pakistan – and that is what is the imperative to save it – we must go back to the

beginning by making Mr Jinnah’s speech of August 11, 1947 our social contract and amend the constitution to make Pakistan a truly ‘Islamic Welfare State’ by implementing the rights of God’s Creation as its justification to exist. there is no other way.

Islamic politics is dynamic, not pro-status quo, which means that it keeps changing and improving with the times to meet new needs as they arise. Western politics is pro status quo and soon falls behind change, as witness the USA, france and the United Kingdom with their economies and societies in decline.

Comparing their condition with our condition is to fool oneself: our condition is so bad that anything would look good compared to us.

Man makes states by cobbling together many nations and countries because he believes that in the new dispensation his and his progeny’s condition will improve continuously and significantly. When the human condition stops improving or regressing the state loses the justification for its creation. In every instance where states have collapsed this was the reason, as witness the Soviet Union. It is when the state loses its justification that it is conquered and occupied because it could not look after its people, only a tiny ruling elite. Pakistan was not made for a tiny elite; it was made for all of its citizens as equals as a homeland for India’s Muslims.

Just that the condition of Indian Muslims is even worse than ours is neither justification nor cause for celebration. You can win all the hockey and cricket matches you like against India, it will not make a jot of a difference to our human condition except for a passing moment of joy. I would rather that Pakistan were a progressing country in which all human beings had their fundamental rights and highspeed upward mobility even if we lost every game. When 54 percent of your people are living in abject poverty and some 75 percent are living in poverty, when 55 percent children of Balochistan are malnourished, dying like flies in thar due to lack of medical care, food, water and shelter, when not one person has all his fundamental rights except the tiny ruling elite that is above the law, what right do we have to be proud of ourselves?

Nawaz Sharif only symbolises the system that causes human and national degradation. He or any other product of this system is neither here nor there. Imran Khan catalyses change of government, not change of system.

If we are not sensible a catalyst could become a cataclysm.

Change means a period of a reform government

‘Nawaz Sharif only symbolises the system that causes human and national degradation.

He or any other product of this system is neither here nor there’ based on existing power realities that comprises specialists with good credentials legitimised by the Supreme Court with clout from the military. Sad, but this is our reality. the other option is to let this system continue to evolve, but what is the guarantee that it will evolve for the better, not worse or even cause state collapse? In a fragile state like Pakistan that many consider to be as artificial as any europeancreated state out of their former colonies, like India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria et al, it could collapse in an unchecked evolutionary process.

Perhaps that is where we are all headed, towards the equilibrium of natural precolonial states created largely on linguistic or tribal lines, but that could take long and would certainly be very painful. It would in a sense be defeat too for it would mean that we cannot progress to a pluralistic multilingual, multi-ethnic, multi-faith state. there are still people alive who saw states disappear and new ones formed after the two World Wars and the Cold War when the Soviet Union and eastern europe collapsed and we saw the demise of many states artificially cobbled together by hegemons to exploit their natural resources. America and the west’s interest in the creation of Pakistan was not to give the Indian Muslims a homeland else it would not have been “moth eaten” in which many Muslims got left behind but to create a buffer between “creeping Soviet communism” and India where the ideology had already “alarmingly crept in”. they could see then that China would most likely go “red” and they couldn’t afford the three largest landmasses of Asia going communist. So they decided to ‘save’ India, even if they had to truncate it.

It is good to see that more and more people are understanding this, that the fault lies not in our stars but in ourselves that we accept alien systems and the horrible governments they produce. God save Pakistan by showing its people the correct path.

Now Imran Khan is after a “New Pakistan”. Wouldn’t it be better to call it “renewed Pakistan”? “New Pakistan” has bad connotations for people my age.

As it is, most adult Pakistanis including myself think that they have the answer. No one does, but if they try to improve things with good intent and wage the struggle in their own way, there is no reason why they will not see their dreams come true one day. that is all man can do. the rest is up to the Almighty, but know that He says that He helps those who help themselves. g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

Modi cannot fix India

credentials, patently, she has the image of a hindu state. Lately, a junior minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told a public rally in New Delhi that those who did not follow the hindu god Ram were “bastards”. ever since the ascension of BJP to power, several conversions have taken place forcing the Christians and the Muslims to hinduism.

In the southern Indian state of Kerala, 30 Christians were converted to hinduism. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, around 100 Muslims converted to hinduism. This forcible conversion of minority population continues by the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal and the members of the Vishwa hindu The writer is a senior journalist, former editor of Diplomatic Times and a Parishad, or World hindu Council. former diplomat. This and other articles India suffers from a host of endemic by the writer can also be read at his blog problems that cannot be fixed soon, not even www.uprightopinion.com

by Prime Minister Modi, attributed to be an economic maverick. The most outstanding of these problems are galloping population, he euphoria that erupted high rate of corruption, poor and woefully following the victory of BJP in the inadequate and ramshackle socio-civic recent Indian general elections infrastructure. Other bottlenecks hampering and the appointment of Narendra rapid or sustained advancement of India are Modi as the prime minister seems religious, racial and caste based deep and to be abating. The defeat of BJP in the unbridgeable prejudices and discords.

Kashmir valley elections is a potent There are other grave issue that by any indicator that BJP could measure cannot be suffer similar setbacks in fruitfully and the time to come.

‘In the southern Indian state expeditiously addressed The monumental

by Modi in his term if of Kerala, 30 Christians were office. Some of these are backlash that has been witnessed from the inadequate education converted to Hinduism. In Muslims and moderate facilities, environmental the northern state of Uttar hindus alike on the move degradation, grinding Pradesh, around 100 of forcibly converting poverty, woeful health Muslims and the conditions and the Muslims converted to Christians to hinduism is burgeoning crimes like Hinduism. This forcible yet another devastating rape, dowry deaths, and stunner that can whip up a conversion of minority flurry of suicides, sexism gigantic upheaval to population continues by the and domestic violence. debase Modi and his party.

The main reason Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal behind the rampant Narendra Modi is a hindu nationalist and a poverty is the and the members of the member of the Rashtriya mushrooming population Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or Swayyamsevak Sangh that of late stands at 1.27 World Hindu Council’ (RSS). Since his election, billion. The pace of social the right wing hard-line and economic group Sangh Parivar (an development remains far umbrella of organisations), is aggressively behind and out of sync with the scale at championing the concept of hindutva. which the population is growing. Some 456 The Sangh Parivar comprises million people live below the international organisations such as the Rashtriya poverty line. Around 236 million make less Swayyamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata than a paltry amount of Rs 20 per day.

Party, Vishwa hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal According to available statistics, the and others. These right-wing extremist groups sanitation and public health are even worse in have become overly active and are openly India than many of the African countries. It is calling for the transformation of India into a reported that barring 31 percent of population hindu nation state or hindutva through utilising reasonable sanitation facilities, the conversions by force or enticements. rest of the population, more-often-than-not, Modi remained the chief minister of defecates in public or in rivers. It has been Gujarat from October 2001 to May 2014. he further estimated that one in every ten deaths should be given credit for various far in India is linked to poor sanitation. reaching reforms that greatly streamlined One of the odious curses in India is the governance and markedly improved quality debt bondage mostly practiced in the of life in that state. however, the Gujarat agricultural areas. The farmers take small riots of 2002 blemished Modi and his party loans from the rich cartels and individuals BJP for mass killings of Muslims. and keep paying interest on the loans that Despite India’s democratic and secular even exceeds 100 percent of the loan per year.

Saeed QureShi

T

opinion Too many problems, too few solutions

The economy of India cannot be gained international media attention after adjudged as healthy or robust because India the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha Valley has one of the largest budget deficits in the resulted in the deaths of around 24 Indian developing world. excluding subsidies it National Congress leaders, including the amounts to nearly eight percent of its GDP. former state minister Mahendra Karma and India deems China as the real contender the Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand or a matching rival or model for economic Kumar Patel ”(Wikipedia). development. China is now emerging as In the part of Jammu and Kashmir valley number one economy for its miraculous under her control, India has kept a large economic achievements even beating United chunk of army for decades now. The Indian States. But India, by any stretch of imagination, controlled Kashmir erupts in periodic cannot reach even half way the economic agitations and protests marches for miracle of China for very cogent reasons. liberation and against the grave human China has a one-party system and the rights violations perpetrated by the Indian decisions made cannot be challenged by security forces to suppress Kashmiris. rival political parties. The decisions are Reportedly, since 1989 in Indian implemented within the stipulated time. occupied Kashmir more than 68,000 Moreover, China doesn’t have the level of Kashmiris have been killed, maimed and corruption that one can see in developing abducted. The Indian army also gets its nations like India and Pakistan. The share of casualties at the hands of the rebels. projects and plans are completed in the A non-binding United Nations Security given time frame under strict conditions of Council resolution, adopted on April 21, quality and durability.

1948, calls for a plebiscite to decide the fate India is possessed by a deep seated of Kashmir that India has been thwarting. culture of corruption, poor infrastructure, Similarly, Sikhs may not forget the 1984 paucity of funds; abominable caste culture, massacre in Golden Temple and then bureaucratic tangles and political bickering another one after the murder of the then cannot attain the dizzying heights scaled by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi the same the Peoples’ Republic of China in economic, year. The Sikh separation movements such military social, health, education and other as Akali Dal may have gone dormant after domains of human and the huge crackdown that social development. followed the assassination In India another of Indira Gandhi.

‘Besides internal daunting problem that Nevertheless, the demand insurgencies India has keeps wrecking the for Khalistan, a separate atmosphere of internal homeland for Sikhs, is territorial disputes with all social peace for a rapid still alive. its neighbours ie China, and sustained multiBesides internal dimensional progress and Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh insurgencies India has rapid uplift is scores of territorial disputes with and Sri Lanka. Over the domestic insurgencies, all its neighbours ie either for separation from disputed territory of Jammu China, Nepal, Pakistan, and Kashmir, there have the federation or Bangladesh and Sri attainment of autonomy.

Lanka. Over the disputed been three wars between There are roughly 30 to territory of Jammu and India and Pakistan’ 40 insurgencies that pose Kashmir, there have been a constant threat to the three wars between India unity of the federation of and Pakistan. Apart from India. These cause human casualties on Kashmir, both India and Pakistan have both sides and there seems to be no let up contentious claims over Sir Creek, Siachen in their anti India activities.

Glacier and Kargil.

The mighty Indian army remains busy in With China, India fought a brief war in combating these insurgencies, posing dire 1962. “The cause of the war was a dispute challenges to the territorial integrity of India over the sovereignty of the widely separated at a huge cost of money and the hassle of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border deployments. Let us take stock of the three regions. In February this year, Modi main insurgencies and how these are operating. warned China to drop its “territorial For one, the Naxalite Maoist insurgency mindset” and said his “country’s weakness apace now for decades has entrenched itself had encouraged China’s army to enter into the rural terrain of Central Asia. In Indian territory last year”.

2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh The fundamental question is, that in the called the Naxalite insurgency as the “single face of these colossal internal and external biggest internal security challenge ever threats, would it be possible for Prime faced by our country”. There is no respite in Minister Modi to move a magic wand and the casualties between the Indian army and take India out of the quagmire of poverty, Naxalite rebels. The Naxalites operate in 60 hunger, civic mess, poor quality of life and districts in India with epicentre in usher her into the fold of developed nations?

Chhattisgarh. It claims to be supported by It seems improbable during his five years the poorest of the rural population. term in office. he may not even return to “The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency power in the next elections. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 07

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

oPinion

Pakistanis and their delusions of grandeur The enemy is us

population has no access to basic sanitation, healthcare and education. the UNICEF Annual report 2013 has provided some stunning and heart rending figures. It says; 15 percent of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition, which is above the international emergency threshold. Nearly half of children suffer from chronic under-nutrition which leads to stunted growth. Pakistan is one of nine countries globally lagging behind in terms of access to education. An estimated seven The writer is an IT Executive in million children of primary age and 25 financial industry, having extensive million of secondary age (lower and upper) experience in technology innovation are out-of-school. Pakistan is also on top in for modern banking. He is currently child and maternal mortality. researching on Modern Monetary According to the World Health Theory and International Financing Organisation (WHO) report 2013, 460 for Third World Economies. children died in Punjab and 300 children died in Sind due to measles, a virus which t is better to embrace an ugly truth is said to have spread rapidly due to than to find comfort in a beautiful lie. unhygienic and unhealthy living conditions Regrettably, our case is upside down. in rural areas. Recent reports from We dwell in delusions of grandeur, international media have confirmed at primarily based on rhetoric and least 250 child deaths in tharparkar due to contradictory dogma. Collectively we have malnutrition and several children died in created a functional niche, where ignorance various hospitals of Punjab due to nonseems to be a key prerequisite, along with availability of health facilities. Super floods denial. We have surrendered our hit the rural areas of Pakistan, year after discernment, free will, personal authority year, leaving behind millions of shelter-less and moral integrity to a group of people, deprived of basic amenities while plunderers. the paradigm has become a nothing has been done so far to prevent nepotistic, closed loop, revolving door, this from happening in future. three ring circus where nothing but the situation is beyond alarming, it is corruption trickles down and only scum surreal. While oligarchs are living in can rise. From one administration to the palatial mansions and travelling in their next, no matter shiny SUVs, what it is called, accompanied by we are being led police squad cars, ‘Economic Cooperation and towards the deprived totalitarian Development (OECD) has placed people, their entire dystopia, but we families along with Pakistan among fragile states due are in a state of kids are to extreme level of inequality, normalcy bias, committing underestimating suicides due to conflict of interest and rapid the probability as poverty, hunger growth of the shadow economy’ well as the possible and joblessness. effects of the According to disaster. Ironically, newspaper and the academia and the civil society are media reports, government had to ban ratindulged in intellectually dishonest killer pills because many people, attempts to justify the unjustifiable, while particularly household women, were using the corporate media, the tricksters, those pills as easy and cheap way to end through effective trance induction, are their life due to poverty. During past years, constantly humanising the elite villains, liberty tower (Minar-e-Pakistan) in Lahore blowing off steam, winning them sympathy became favourite place for suicide of masses and justifying the status-quo. committers and considering it an Within this process, our aggregate embarrassment, the government had to consciousness has become erroneously stop the electric lift service of the tower to attached to, and vicariously identified with, decelerate this flow. this is a clear example our abusers, while completely dissociated of shameless denial by the ruling elites as from reality. well as the society. Recently, quite a few Let’s be realistic, putting aside the people have committed suicides, being delusion of inflated self-significance, and unable to pay the utility bills. the most think for a moment. Being the citizens of alarming aspect of extreme inequality and this country and a part of this society, we rising poverty is that people living below hold a collective identity, through which we the poverty line, insecure, devoid of all are recognised in the global community. means and hope, become targets for this identity is not just limited to a few recruitment by taliban and other jihadi thousand elite oligarchs or few hundred elements. After all, this concept of thousand well settled, well off opportunists recruitment is nothing new for the country or the diminishing middle class, rather it and its myopic ruling elites who, with their includes all 180 million people who live in ill-thought policies, have contributed the this country. the global community sees us most in creating this ghost of terrorism as a rogue nation in a state of decline, that haunts the world today. being led by the most unmeritorious, It is ironic that inequality is not just devoid of any aspiration, and we have limited to income and wealth, rather it’s provided them every reason to believe so. rampant in terms of human rights, law and Some of us may feel offended by this security too. Extreme level of insecurity statement but let’s ignore the resent for a and discrimination is apparent in our while and check out the facts and figures. society, which has become highly Economic Cooperation and vulnerable to street crimes, extortion, Development (OECD) has placed Pakistan illegal occupation, random shooting, among fragile states due to extreme level of sectarian violence and terrorist activities. inequality, conflict of interest and rapid the poor citizens, being the victims of growth of the shadow economy, which has street crimes, often fail even to get the FIR increased three times in size as compared registered. Law enforcement agencies, to regular economy. According to UNDPinstead of protecting citizens, are acting as Human Development report (2013), we a hired mercenary force for the ruling have successfully managed to orchestrate elites, riding in their squad cars or the largest income inequality gap in the standing outside their palatial mansions. country, where 49.4 percent Pakistanis live Recruitment of police has always been the in multidimensional poverty while 11 prerogative for the ruling class. Criminals percent are at risk of being pushed into the and unmeritorious individuals, hired on category. 27.4 percent Pakistanis live in the basis of political affiliations, are usually severe poverty while 21 percent are below involved in criminal activities and the dirty the poverty line. Intensity of deprivation is work of harassing and humiliating the 53.4 percent and half of the country’s opposition or at times in extra judicial

Junaid Malik

I

08 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

the PML (N) regime, through IMF’s killings. In this country, common citizens Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). get stopped, checked, inspected, those measures were bound to further humiliated, arrested, beaten, and deteriorate the living conditions of sometimes kidnapped by law enforcement workers and the poor. the conditions agencies, while the oligarchs break laws imposed by IMF were; cut down in and get saluted for it. Courts and judiciary, subsidies causing increase in utility under extreme political pressure, have prices, devaluation of currency causing become more or less ineffective in subsequent expansion in volume of debt, defending people’s civil and human rights. and privatisation of public assets. the According to Human Rights Report 2013 by the US Department of State, the government has agreed to; increase most serious human rights problems in electricity and gas prices for domestic Pakistan are extrajudicial and targeted users by 30 percent, devalue Rupee at an killings, sectarian violence, average of 110 rupees to one US dollar and disappearances, and torture. Other human privatisation of additional 30 state-run rights problems included poor prison enterprises, apart from 35 already chosen. conditions, arbitrary detention, lengthy the more our governments borrow on pre-trial detention, a weak criminal justice our behalf, the more indebted we get. Why system, lack of judicial independence in are objectives and terms of loans taken in the lower courts, and infringement on the name of the people, not debated with citizens’ privacy rights. Freedom of the people, so secretive? And where has all expression is restricted and right to this money gone? A nuclear power whose information unavailable in Pakistan. natural resources including gold, copper World Human Rights Watch Report 2013 and concrete at Riko Diq alone are has pointed to attacks on civilians by estimated at a value of around $300 militant groups, atrocities against billion, which owns gold and copper at minorities, growing electricity shortages, Saindak and boasts 185 billion tonnes of rising food and fuel prices, and continued coal reserves at Sind, is borrowing from political dominance of the military as IMF in the name of the people while major human rights Issues in Pakistan. imposing strict conditions on the same the report particularly focused on abuses people, forcing them to die of hunger, by the Pakistani police, including diseases or suicide. extrajudicial killings throughout the Who is responsible for this situation? country, target killing of Shi’a Muslims, the answer is simple. We are responsible. especially the Hazara community, by As Walter Kelly said; “We have met the Islamist militant groups and the most enemy and he is us”. We have become our serious human rights violation in own enemy. We are confined within a Baluchistan including continued abuses, comfortable complacency and swallowing ongoing torture and ill-treatment of dominant myths under the influence of criminal suspects, not to mention intimidated brainwashing by the worst of unresolved enforced disappearances of the worst; insatiable opportunists, with no terrorism suspects and opponents. As per objective merits to lead. Corruption has the 2014 Global Slavery Index, our country become a norm in our consensus. is ranked third in terms of proportion of Whatever could be “legally” gotten away the population that is enslaved. with, has been tolerated. the latest report by transparency International ranked the other side of the coin displays a Pakistan among the top most countries completely different picture. While more where corruption has gone rampant and than two-thirds of the population is living right to information doesn’t exist. the in extreme deprivation, Pakistan is report expresses concern over how considered one of the best clients by IMF unaware citizens are of their rights. and other international creditors. the We need awareness. We need to country has never disappointed its examine reality and understand that creditors, never stopped the debt servicing representation by a crime syndicate can and never requested any debt relief, even never be an honest representation for the during the worst crises. victims of its malfeasances and atrocities.

According to period-wise figures We will have to rebuke intimidation from released by the Economic Affairs Division criminal regimes and quit subservience to (EAD) and the Ministry of Finance at 2013 ideologies, demanding our rights as briefing to Special Committee on Debt; in humans, citizens and individuals. the last 28 years Pakistan economy has relied problem isn’t the politicians or on reckless borrowing, which could not bureaucrats or establishment, the problem solve the economic problems of the is the system itself. A system that doesn’t country. the current foreign debt stands at value life, dignity, self-respect and well$63 billion (as of June 2013) and the being of the common man, a system that domestic debt is about $75 billion. During doesn’t provide justice, equality, equity, Gen Zia’s regime, from 1985-88, the total peace and security, cannot last for long foreign assistance received by the country and get sobliterated. was $6.37 billion. During Benazir Bhutto’s there is no first regime, $4 short term billion was solution to the received from ‘It is ironic that inequality is not multidimensional IMF. During the just limited to income and wealth, problems we are first regime of facing. Education Nawaz Sharif rather it’s rampant in terms of and awareness are 1990-93, a total of human rights, law and security too’ key prerequisites $7.5 billion was for the change, received. In which can only be Pervez achieved through a long term process.

Musharraf’s regime 1999-2008, a record Instead of being selfish we will have to total of $23 billion loans were received by revive our faith in self-sacrifice for the the country. During 2008-2013 the common good. Instead of accepting an previous PPP government received total unequal educational system, we will have foreign assistance of $14 billion. Public to educate all the children, the next debt figures quoted by EAD are quite generation in this country, without shocking. Public debt is government debt discrimination. Education doesn’t mean generated through borrowing from banks reading, writing or getting a degree and and issuing bonds/bills; in short; printing finding a job. It means learning to see money. According to the figures, through the façade of pretence. It means successive governments over the last 60 attaining knowledge and wisdom; years accumulated Rs 6,040 billion of knowledge to understand what’s going on public debts while the previous PPP and wisdom to change it. Let’s give it a try regime alone added Rs 8,215 billion in just and hope that our next generation, once five years. Where did all that money go? educated and enlightened, will stand In September 2013 the International against injustice and inequality, showing Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the latest the oligarchy the exit door and replacing it bailout loan of $6.64 billion under the with capable individuals in the decisionExtended Fund Facility. In exchange, strict making process. g austerity measures were demanded from

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

oPinion

Re-gendering Pakistan Flaws in social construction of the nation are the core challenge for Pakistan structure where women are fully dependent on men and are considered their commodity.

According to Jone Johnson Lewis, “Gender relations in Pakistan rest on two basic perceptions; that women are subordinate to men, and that a man’s honour resides in the actions of the women of his family.”

Patriarchal structure of the society has provided man with all the authority and rights to suppress women. According to the report of Amnesty International, “In Pakistan 42 percent of women accept violence as part The writer works for an Islamabad of their fate; 33 percent feel too helpless to based think-tank. stand up to it; 19 percent protested and four percent took action against it”.

So called patriarchy is the main reason n Pakistan, plenty of daily news items that women are lagging in our society. highlight events based on corruption, Males are not ready to break the male sectarian divides, radicalism, genocide, hegemonic patterns of society. Even in the sexual abuse, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, 21st century political participation of women militancy, etc. The citizens may not like in Pakistan is very low. Every third woman these issues to engulf the serenity of their is victim of domestic violence, and lives but the question is how. The strangely the rate of domestic violence is government is formulating and higher in our urban areas as compared to implementing policies and strategies to rural ones. Pakistan is portraying the true mitigate the structural and social flaws. picture of “tough men and tender women”.

However, the identification of the actual The Human Rights Watch report reason still seems to be a far cry. Who is the estimates that “up to 90 percent of women real culprit to sow seeds of hatred and make are victims of domestic violence in the us reap a harvest of blood and tears? country where in every one out of three Generally, a number of external forces households there is violence against women.” are blamed for crafting Another fault line in and aggravating social this respect is xenophobia. problems in Pakistan. On The term means “fear of ‘Gender, which is the social closer look into the realm strangers”. Pakistani construction of an of international politics, nation has an emotional one can easily attachment towards their individual, plays a crucial comprehend that no one belongings. To some role in the development can exercise a control in extent it is a positive sign of any nation. If the foreign territory without and creates a strong bond an internal support. of nationalism while on upbringing of individuals There are in fact the the other hand it has does not take place in a loopholes in our own given birth to racism and social structure and extremism. For instance, positive way, it can lead practices which provide one might say that the the nation towards the strong roots to the debacle of East Pakistan existing fault lines. Unless path of destruction’ was the result of we realise this reality by insecurities based on following firm policies, xenophobia and less we are all ready for a social catastrophe. accommodative behaviour of people living Gender construction of the society is the in the two regions. first step to address this issue. Gender is a Similarly, rigid social organisation in common terminology usually used to describe Pakistan’s tribal areas make them an gender biases. The terms “gender” and “sex” exclusive society which cannot bear foreign generally appear synonymous but actually intervention, thus follows their cults they are not. Sex is the natural biological religiously, which resulted into anarchic makeup of human beings while gender is a setup and so many evils interwoven with the social construct. nature does not distinguish culture and tradition of tribal groups such as us by gender and we all are born gender free shelter for terrorist, illegal trade of arms, human beings. It is society that transforms an human and drug trafficking, etc. Sectarian individual into a masculine or feminine role. schism and zero-tolerant behaviour of The upbringing of an individual and the social people towards other sects is another environment decide his or her behaviour. challenge which has caused loss of hundreds The social environment has direct and of innocent lives in last two decades. strong physiological impact on one’s Shi’a genocide and mushroom growth of personality. It can be easily observed by the madrassah culture is injecting poison of difference between the varying actions, hatred in the vessels of nation. Unfortunately, personality traits, and mood strings of a every one of us is adding oil to this fire person from ancient traditional Rajput family directly or indirectly. This problem is not and an individual from a Buddhist community. confined to Muslim sectarian groups but It is the familial and social organisation now non-Muslim minorities are also the around a person that transforms a Rajput into a warrior, who is strongly inclined towards war and violence, and a Buddhist into a nonviolent person, a preacher of peace.

Gender, which is the social construction of an individual, plays a crucial role in the development of any nation. If the upbringing of individuals does not take place in a positive way, it can lead the nation towards the path of destruction. It may result in the origin of various fault lines in the form of political and social instability.

Flaws in social construction of the nation are the core challenge for Pakistan.

Our society is patriarchal in nature, patriarchy does not mean male dominant society but it is a form of society where masculine members are considered not only the guardians of women but also the guardians of young male members of the society. In Pakistan, unfortunately, patriarchy is considered as the power exercising

Sidra Jamil BaJwa

I

victims of tyranny. Recently, a couple was Islamic state such as Pakistan”. burnt alive in a brick kiln. That was not the If we will not take the initiative to counter first case, it has happened before for number these ugly practices, their strong and tightof times and people were found misusing clipped jaws will engulf everything, and the Article 295-C of Pakistan’s Criminal Code to storm created by them will take almost every exploit alleged blasphemy offenders. The aspect of social life in its way, and will affect conditions of Hindu minority living in Sindh the women the most, which is considered the are an eye opening reality, but unfortunately weak segment of our population. governmental bigwigs stay silent.

Above mentioned are the few dimensions Social taboos are rigid values of any that are affecting the society directly or culture and are acceptable by the majority of indirectly. Gender transformation of the the people of that social organisation and nation is very important. Without it we will individuals of society normally hesitate to talk not be able to maintain stability in the about them. These taboos vary from culture society. All those nations which have labelled to culture; some are moderate and help in themselves as custodians of human rights strengthening social organisation but some and claim themselves racism free sovereigns are inhumane in nature. For instance, as put a lot of effort to bring about reforms in fashion label, the trend of Golden Lotus was their public and social sphere. The process of introduced in China to confine the activities transformation has three dimensions: of women inside the boundaries of the house. psychological; changes in understanding of Similarly women were encouraged to come the self, convictional; revision of belief out of the houses in the name of freedom systems, and behavioural; changes in lifestyle. during industrialisation. Time to time, Unfortunately, we lack all three in various tactics were used to suppress them. In practice. Social transformation from Pakistan, women are considered as second individual level to societal level is very gender, there are many taboos to target the important to lead Pakistan on the path of women such as honour killings, satti and development and prosperity. We should stop wani, etc. It is our culture that confined the manipulating women in the name of Islam. activities of women with the boundaries of Islam considers a woman to be equal to a man the house, and those who are working or as a human being and as his life partner. getting education are facing problems and Women have been created with a soul of the societal pressures. They are not taught about same nature as that of a man. Collective their basic rights and contribution of male and usually people avoid female has maintained the talking about sensitive balance of life on earth.

‘On the lawmaking front, issues or discuss them with Allah has blessed woman the Domestic Violence hesitation and hiccups. with Jamal (quality of In Pakistan, religion (Prevention and Protection) beauty) and man with Jalal always runs high on (quality of strength). Allah Bill which was tabled and demand and is the made man Raziq (feeder favourite appetite for the and guardian) and woman passed unanimously by the nation, and therefore this as Khaliq (mother). In National Assembly back in demand becomes more Quran Allah says 2009 disappeared in superficial when an “…And live with them ordinary national wants to murkiness before it honourably…” (4:19) seek refuge for his “The believers, men could become a law’ misdeeds beneath the and women, are protecting huge canopy of religion. friends one of another; Hence starts exploitation they ...” (9:71) in the name of religion, where it becomes an Although religion gives safety, security, easy way to hold and easier to discard the freedom and honour to women, women religious norms if and when required. There should not misuse these rights. Freedom are many other ironies which we witness in should not be misinterpreted as an escape our daily lives. Evil practices in the name of from duties. Women are the supreme pillar culture and tradition, which are accepted by of any nation, they should perform their most of us consciously or unconsciously, duties full heartedly and they should pay have penetrated deep in our society and have respect towards male portions of the society. now almost become a national identity.

On the lawmaking front, the Domestic According to Human Rights Watch, “A man Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill was tried for killing his daughter and a young which was tabled and passed unanimously man as they married against the will of their by the national Assembly back in 2009 parents. The sessions (trial court) judge disappeared in murkiness before it could sentenced the father to life imprisonment, become a law. In the same year, Pakistan and a fine of Rs 20,000. The case came was elected as member of the executive before the Lahore High Court, which reduced board of the newly created United nations the sentence to five years, and the fine to Rs Entity for Gender Equality and 10,000. In its judgment drastically reducing Empowerment of Women (Un Women). the defendant’s sentence, the appellate court The presence of laws is not enough for indicated that his actions were justified resolution of problems. There is a need to because his victims were engaged in immoral develop accountable and transparent behaviour that could not be tolerated in an mechanism to address the issues from grass root level to national level. We need to challenge and transform existing flaws in the society, and individual attitudes that started accepting the fault lines as normal unconsciously.

There is also a need to mobilise all the social institutions which are foundational to family, community, and society to act to prevent clashes and conflicts, and to put popular pressure on the public institutions to formulate and implement transparent policies and to bring together diverse local, national, regional, and international efforts working towards ending conflicts.

Being the nationals of Pakistan, we should stop playing hide and seek and try to tear the smokescreens that are justifying ugly cults and evil taboos. Debate and discussion is not enough, there is urgent need for action. This is the time to break our silence and stand united for the country. Only unconditional devotion and effort will change our fate. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 09

C M YK

IntervIew: Senator S M Zafar

‘the judIcIary haS alSo faIled’ This is a test of the leadership

By MIan aBrar

S

enator S M Zafar is one of the more dynamic members of the legal community; combining the political, academic, social, cultural and, of course, the legal in one man. He understands the politics of the law ministry. He is no stranger to the constitution. and he knows as well as anyone how Pakistan’s legal system has failed the public at large. and since these are extraordinary times – there is a war going on – he is in much demand to help explain how the centre-point of the government’s new counter-terror policy, military courts, will shift the delicate balance that holds institutions in place. or, at least, the way it is supposed to hold things as they are.

In an exclusive talk with Dna, he explains how sometimes in war the law must adjust. and why he is willing to compromise on some of his own principles in the larger interest.

Question: the PML-n governments and Prime Minister nawaz Sharif has a history to shifting difficult civilian matters to the army seeking for solutions.

First the mess in ministry of water and power was handed over to the army for monitoring, then ghost schools’ busting was tasked to the military, then foreign policy and now fight against ttP. What do you have to add to the list?

SMZ: It is true that nawaz Sharif has a chequered past vis-àvis relations with the army. But the recent attacks of terrorists have changed the scenario altogether. rather, I feel that Prime Minister nawaz Sharif was caught napping and it was the army chief who rang the alarm bells after the attack on aPS Peshawar. even then, the PML-n

10 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

government took a decision very late which reflects their weakness. their dillydallying tactics over the formation of military courts are hampering the country’s progress to track down terrorists.

It’s inappropriate to make a comparison between the present scenario and Sharif’s past decisions of shifting the government’s job to the army. this is an extraordinary situation we are faced with today.

Q: What’s your take on the recent statement of former CJP

‘It is true that Nawaz Sharif has a chequered past vis-àvis relations with the army.

But the recent attacks of terrorists have changed the scenario altogether.

Rather, I feel that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was caught napping and it was the army chief who rang the alarm bells after the attack on APS Peshawar’ Iftikhar Chaudhry, that military courts were unconstitutional and the constitution could not be amended for setting them up? experts also say that the Supreme Court has given a judgement that independence of judiciary was a part of the fundamental structure of the constitution. Since military courts would hamper that independence, the constitution may not be amended.

SMZ: the recent judgements of the Supreme Court suggest that the points raised by Iftikhar Chaudhry and most of other

experts are valid. the court in its recent judgments, including one bench headed by Iftikhar Chaudhry himself, also passed a judgement stating that amendments must not be made which harm the fundamental structure of the constitution. and independence of the judiciary is a fundamental part of the constitution.

But the judiciary, on the other hand, has also failed and one has to try military courts as the terrorists are hell-bent on eating away the state of Pakistan. So any amendment into the constitution for installing military courts should be with a sunset clause and it should be mentioned that the amendment would be for a short period of time.

Q: What is the longer term solution for this problem?

SMZ: terrorism is an international phenomenon. there is a need for the government to look for out of the box solutions to the problem. either we will have to take stringent measures without caring for fundamental rights or we will suffer. It is a bitter pill to swallow. the US, UK, India – all have taken stringent measures in violation of fundamental rights. So Pakistan would have to make arrangements according to its own circumstances and environment.

It’s a good omen to see consensus among politicians in the all Parties Conference (aPC) over setting up of military courts to bring the terrorists to justice.

But the government should know that if it is the defence of the country, the responsibility rests only with the government, which has the mandate of the people of Pakistan. Political consensus that leads to a compromise does not benefit anyone. the government

needs adopt stringent measures. the politics of compromise is good but a compromised government cannot defend the country. the government would have to be courageous and show its will to go after terrorists.

Q: How should the head of state react in such a situation?

SMZ: When abraham Lincoln suspended parts of the US constitution, he did not consult anyone. though he was criticised severely by the US Congress for not being consulted over the suspension of parts of

‘The US President did not ask anybody for establishing the detention centres and all was done under an executive order by the US President. It was not only the infamous Guantanamo Bay Prison but the Americans established prisons all over the world – in Egypt, Germany and in Afghanistan’ the US constitution, abraham Lincoln said, “to me my country is more important and the constitution comes later”. He also established military courts. after the 9/11 attack the americans, instead of establishing military courts, kept people in detention for more than 3–4 years, torturing them, and inflicted insult on them without any remedy or recourse of the court. the US President did not ask anybody for establishing the detention centres and all was

done under an executive order by the US President. It was not only the infamous Guantanamo Bay Prison but the americans established prisons all over the world – in egypt, Germany and in afghanistan. Bagram base was the biggest prison facility which was illegal under the US Constitution. all these detention centres were black holes and not a word of information could be leaked out. this was not only a violation of the US constitution or the spirit of the US constitution but a violation of the human charter to which the US is a signatory. therefore, it means that during a state of war, norms are different from measures taken during peace time. and some deviation from the fundamental rights, though temporary, is required to meet the extraordinary challenge.

Q: How should rights organisations react to such measures?

SMZ: Prime Minister nawaz Sharif, both publicly and in the parliament, has said that the country was in a situation of war.

So the scenario has changed. and let us change our minds too and adjust to the realities of the new situation.

I am a human rights activist and I hate to say whatever I have said. But for the sake of peace in my country, I am ready to take this bitter pill because this is not the time to play to a gallery but to save the public from the menace of terror.

I know that all decisions are not popular but correct decisions are finally upheld by history. our parliamentarians, cabinet, and the prime minister should have the sagacity, efficiency and the will power to meet the challenge the country is facing. they will be remembered in history. g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 11

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

opinion

Jingle bells, jingle all the way What was the buying spree all about?

Hassan aslam

Hassan Aslam (Dealer – Fixed Income) is an alumnus of Manchester Business School (MBS), a money market dealer, social entrepreneur and a soccer enthusiast. He can be contacted at: hassanaslam145@gmail.com

T

he year 2014 started on a mixed note for the Pakistan economy.

Some of the negatives inherited from 2013 included: headline inflation notably picking up, foreign exchange reserves dwindling to precariously low levels exerting pressure on the rupee, interest rates rising to double digits following an increase in policy rate and tighter liquidity conditions. however, completely defying the earlier said negatives and to some extent, economic fundamentals, the stock market extended the earlier gains and hit new highs with the benchmark KSe-100 Index rising by 5,345 points or 27 percent to 25,261 level since May 2013 general elections.

At the start of 2014, the million dollar question was how the domestic financial markets would perform. As investors hunted for yields, Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) ascertained to be the trophy. PIBs are medium to long term government securities ranging from 3 to 30 years issued

by the government. For the first Banks with larger book size time in Pakistan, banks and local remained most active in the investors have invested a record buying extravaganza that took Rs2.2tr in the PIB auctions place in June 2014. It was not only (9M2014). the temptation for high yields but The buying spree an added oomph for lending funds With a gloomy CPI (consumer without the menace of price index) number of 9.18 percent delinquency. PIB investments of and hostile macroeconomic ABL shot up to Rs179bn (562% up indicators in January, the yields of YoY), UBL at Rs245bn (96% up), sovereign bonds plunged NBP at Rs278bn (266% up) and incorporating the added risk factor. hBL at Rs224bn (145% up).

The maximum yields recorded What was this panic buying during the year all about? were 12.52%, The PIB 12.93% and saga unfolded ‘Banks with larger book 13.45% offering later in size remained most active a fixed coupon October, when rate of 11.25%, on the back of in the buying extravaganza 11.50% and a global that took place in June 12.00% for 3, 5 meltdown in and 10 years crude oil 2014. It was not only the respectively. prices (Oct14: temptation for high yields Return 14%MoM and but an added oomph for famished Nov14: investors did 20%MoM) the lending funds without the not take long CPI took a menace of delinquency’ to capture this nose dive opportunity (3.96% Nov14) and that is forcing the when we saw a buying spree. The discount rate to cut 50bps. money market floor went bizarre!

Resultantly, the lower CPI This was the first time ever I saw dragged down the money market the verso, of perceived to be yields offering the PIB investors composed and unruffled, money heavy gains. The yields on 10-Year market. Speculations, rumours PIBs declined at a slower pace and the buy buy, sell, sell stock than medium and short-term gimmicks started dictating money yields. 10-Year PIBs yield fell by market yields that sprung up and 92bps to 11.65% while 5-Year and down erratically.

3 Year PIBs yields dropped by

151bps and 120bps respectively.

During the said period, 11 PIB auctions were conducted with a total target of 880bn and a massive participation of Rs.2.7tr was observed against the target while the acceptance was Rs2.35tr. Moreover, Treasury Bills yields were down by a 40 bps, 38bps and 50bps for the tenor of 3-Month, 6-Month & 12Month respectively. The government conducted 24 T-Bills auctions and accepted Rs4.24tr cumulatively in all tenors.

The secret recipe however, this engaging break did not come as a surprise to me.

To recall, the yield spread (6month T-bill versus 3-year PIB), which averaged 57bps during 2009-13, had widened to 246bps during the year. It is to note that such a wide spread between the DR and the long term bonds has never been created in the history of Pakistan. The only cause behind this spread was government’s move to re-profile its debt from

short to long term due to IMF guidelines. There was an empirical evidence of market correction.

Now, only two odds could shrink this hailing spread: either, the discount rate going up to 13%-14% (which was highly improbable through the contemporary regime) or the yields to drop down to an ingenuous level. The latter evicted to be the obvious riposte.

During this period of colossal yield oscillation in PIBs, investors regarded it as the safest investment haven with a sizeable return that guarantees principal protection; hence a mounting momentum of secondary and primary market trade was realised.

As the inflation rate is expected to remain subdued with the outlook remaining positive on the foreign reserves front, we may see SBP to slash the discount further in the upcoming MPS in mid-January. Investors must consider PIBs and T-Bills as a promising investment prospect still alive. g­

Qur’anic origins of the Just War theory not just when, but how, to fight

naima sHaHab

The writer is a student of Defence and Diplomatic Studies at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Islamabad. She blogs at: http://nbshahab.wordpress.com.

B

ACK in the seventeenth century, before the state system as we know it today was even established, hugo Grotius – the father of international law – gave the Just War theory. Just, as in justice.

The Just War theory is a point of reference for the discipline of international relations, as it traces military ethics and humanitarian law to its origins. It is a criteria that judges the legality of war based

12 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

on two principles, Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello. The former refers to justice in going to war, and the latter, to justice in conduct of war. Or in other words, Jus ad Bellum determines whether the reason a war was waged was just from a legal-ethical point of view, while Jus in Bello determines if the manner in which it proceeded once it had begun, was legally-ethically just.

The spirit of the theory is that war, being a matter of life and death for millions, should not be resorted to unless it is absolutely necessary, and once it is, there should be a ceiling to the extent military tactics to gain the upper hand are executed.

To a student of international relations, the origin of a theory is more or less irrelevant, so long as he can apply it sensibly to contemporary political developments. however, to give credit where it is due, it is worth pointing out that long before the Age of enlightenment even dawned in europe, the foundations of the Just War Theory were laid in the holy Qur’an in the seventh century Ce. “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.” So goes the decree in verse 190, chapter 2 –Surahe-Baqarah. It manifests the Muslims’ argument that Jihad is a conditional phenomenon, where it expands the decree

to fight, to include “those who fight you”. It is not, contrary to the stereotypic worldview, a religious obligation that calls for all followers to be in a perpetual state of war.

Correct as it is, the argument is incomplete. For, by referring to only twothirds of the verse, it singles out an extremely important detail. That detail is not only a further expansion of the initial decree, but an expansion of the limitations to that decree.

It warns the Muslims to ‘not transgress, for indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.’

Where the first condition covered the events before Jihad by setting aggression by the enemy as a threshold for waging the fight, the second covers the events during and after Jihad. It is a caveat to the Muslims against resorting to war crimes. These would include destruction of natural habitats and flora, victimisation of non-combatants, rape, mutilation and maltreatment of prisoners of war (POWs). Or, to put it in international-legal terms, where the first condition dealt with justice in going to war, the second deals with justice in the conduct thereof, thus the two principles of Grotius’ theory, Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello.

The caveat makes another appearance, albeit rather gently, in verse 194:”So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you.” This is what modern military jargon identifies as proportional response, which again, is a sub-principle of Jus in Bello.

For men charged in the name of

religion, going overboard with revenge is a norm. If the aggressor ends up on the weaker side, the victor considers himself entitled to avenge the aggression twofold.

Ultimately, he does unto the aggressor worse than what the aggressor had done unto him. Same goes for people charged in the name of nationalism.

This, again, is forbidden in Islam. The only course open to the mujahideen as regards their enemy – be he on the battlefield or in the former’s prisons – is reciprocity.

Or retribution, as the Qur’an puts it.

Logically speaking, the war that began with the enemy’s aggression should end with his surrender. And so it does. Or should. Verse 192 states this in no equivocal terms:”And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is forgiving and merciful.”

There is little point in reiterating that the people who occupy centre-stage in defining the Muslim identity, today, do not come even close to epitomising Islam. But it is a distinction that should be made nevertheless. The strength of the Muslim lies, or should lie, not in his ability to coerce, but in his ability to convince. From that perspective, members of armed militia groups from Boko haram and Da’ish, to alQaeda and the TTP, are some of the weakest Muslims the world has ever seen. Their disservice to the Muslim identity in particular, and humanity in general, has put the wisdom of one of the world’s greatest religions into question. g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

IntErnAtIOnAL

It’s lonely being the global policeman

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK

T

In These TImes

owards the end of september, after declaring war on IsIs, President obama gave an interview to “60 Minutes” in which he tried to explain the rules of Us engagement: “when trouble comes up anywhere in the world, they don’t call Beijing, they don’t call Moscow. They call us. …

That’s always the case. america leads. we are the indispensable nation.”

This also holds for environmental and humanitarian disasters: “when there’s a typhoon in the Philippines, take a look at who’s helping the Philippines deal with that situation. when there’s an earthquake in Haiti, take a look at who’s leading the charge and making sure Haiti can rebuild.

That’s how we roll. and that’s what makes this america.”

In october, however, obama himself made a call to Tehran, sending a secret letter to ayatollah ali Khamenei in which he suggested a broader rapprochement between the Us and Iran based on their shared interest in combating Islamic state militants. when the news of the letter reached the public, Us republicans denounced it as a gesture of weakness that can only strengthen Iran’s arrogant view of the Us as a superpower in decline.

That’s how the United states rolls: acting alone in a multi-centric world, they increasingly gain wars and lose the peace, doing the dirty work for others—for China and russia, who have their own problems with Islamists, and even for Iran—the final result of the Us invasion of Iraq was to deliver the country to the political control of Iran. (The Us got caught in just such a situation in afghanistan when their help to the fighters against the soviet occupations gave birth to the Taliban.)

The ultimate source of these problems is the changed role of the Us in global economy. an economic cycle is coming to an end, a cycle that began in the early 1970s with the birth of what Yanis Varoufakis calls the “global minotaur,” the monstrous engine that ran the world economy from the early 1980s to 2008. The late 1960s and the early 1970s were not just the times of oil crisis and stagflation; Nixon’s decision to abandon the gold standard for the Us dollar was the sign of a much more radical shift in the basic functioning of the capitalist system. By the end of the 1960s, the Us economy was no longer able to continue the recycling of its surpluses to Europe and asia: Those surpluses had turned into deficits. In 1971, the Us government responded to this

decline with an audacious strategic move: Instead of tackling the nation’s burgeoning deficits, it decided to do the opposite, to boost deficits. and who would pay for them? The rest of the world!

How? By means of a permanent transfer of capital that rushed ceaselessly across the two great oceans to finance america’s deficits: The United states has to suck up a half-billion dollars daily to pay for its consumption and is, as such, the universal Keynesian consumer who keeps the global economy running. This influx relies on a complex economic mechanism: The United states is “trusted” as the safe and stable centre, so that all others, from the oil-producing arab countries to western Europe to Japan, and now even China, invest their surplus profits in the United states. since this “trust” is primarily ideological and military, not economic, the problem for the United states is how to justify its imperial role—it needs a permanent state of war, offering itself as the universal protector of all other “normal”—as opposed to “rogue”—states.

However, even before it fully established itself, this world system based on the primacy of the Us dollar as the universal currency is breaking down and is being replaced by … what? This is what the ongoing tensions are about. The “american century” is over and we are witnessing the gradual formation of multiple centres of global capitalism: the United states, Europe, China, maybe Latin america, each of them standing for capitalism with a specific twist: the United states for neoliberal capitalism; Europe for what remains of the welfare state; China for authoritarian capitalism; Latin america for populist capitalism. The old and new superpowers are testing each other, trying to impose their own version of global rules, experimenting with them through proxies, which, of course, are other small nations and states.

The present situation thus bears an uncanny resemblance to the situation around 1900 when the hegemony of the British empire was questioned by new rising powers, especially Germany, which wanted its piece of the colonial cake. The Balkans were one of the sites of their confrontation. Today, the role of the British empire is played by the United states. The new rising superpowers are russia and China, and the Balkans are the Middle East. It is the same old battle for geopolitical influence.

The United states is not alone in its imperial stirrings; Moscow also hears calls from Georgia, from Ukraine; maybe it will start hearing voices from the Baltic states.

There is another unexpected parallel with the situation before the outbreak of world war I: In the last months, media continuously warn us about the threat of the world war III. Headlines like “The russian air Force’s super weapon: Beware the PaK-Fa stealth Fighter” or “russia Is ready for shooting war, will Likely win Looming Nuclear showdown with Us” abound. at least once a week, Putin makes a statement seen as a provocation to the west, and a notable western statesman or NaTo figure warns against

US Army Sgts Anthony Limon (R) and Aaron Hestand keep watch during a patrol near Sangar, Afghanistan. file photo

russian imperialist ambitions. russia expresses concerns about being contained by NaTo, while russia’s neighbours fear russian invasion. and on it goes. The very worried tone of these warnings seems to heighten the tension— exactly as in the decades before 1914. and in both cases, the same superstitious mechanism is at work, as if talking about it will prevent it from happening. we know about the danger, but we don’t believe it can really happen—and that’s why it can happen. That is to say, even if we don’t really believe it can happen, we are all getting ready for it—and these actual preparations, largely ignored by the big media, are mostly reported in marginal media. From the Centre for research on Globalisation’s blog: america is on a war footing. while a world war Three scenario has been on the drawing board of the Pentagon for more than 10 years, military action against russia is now contemplated at an ‘operational level.’ we are not dealing with a ‘Cold war.’ None of the safeguards of the Cold war era prevail. The adoption of a major piece of legislation by the Us House of representatives on dec 4, 2014 (Hr 758) would provide (pending a vote in the senate) a de facto green light to the Us president and commander in chief to initiate—without congressional approval—a process of military confrontation with russia. Global security is at stake.

This historic vote—which potentially could affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide—has received virtually no media coverage. a total media blackout prevails. on december 3, the Ministry of defence of the russian Federation announced the inauguration of a new military-political entity which would take over in the case of war. russia is launching a new national defence facility, which is meant to monitor threats to national security in peacetime, but would take control of the entire country in case of war.

To further complicate matters, the competing new and old superpowers are joined by a third factor: the radicalised fundamentalist movements in the Third world, which oppose all of the superpowers but are prone to make strategic pacts with some of them. No wonder our predicament is getting more and more obscure. who is who in the ongoing conflicts? How to choose between assad and IsIs in syria?

Between IsIs and Iran? such obscurity—not to mention the rise of drones and other arms that promise a clean, high-tech war without casualties (on our side)— gives a boost to military spending and makes the prospect of war more appealing.

If the basic underlying axiom of the Cold war was the axiom of Mad (Mutually assured destruction), the axiom of today’s war on Terror seems to be the opposite one, that of NUTs (Nuclear Utilisation Target selection), i.e., the idea that, by means of a surgical strike, you can destroy the enemy’s nuclear capacities, while your anti-missile shield protects you from a counter-strike. More precisely, the United states acts as if it continues to trust the Mad logic in its relations with russia and China, while it is tempted to practice NUTs with Iran and North Korea. The paradoxical mechanism of Mad inverts the logic of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” into the “selfstultifying intention”: The very fact that each side can be sure that, in the case it decides to launch a nuclear attack on the other side, the other side will respond with full destructive force, guarantees that no side will start a war. The logic of NUTs is, on the contrary, that the enemy can be forced to disarm if it is assured that we can strike at him without risking a counter-attack.

The very fact that two directly contradictory strategies are mobilised simultaneously by the same superpower bears witness to the phantasmagoric character of

this entire reasoning.

How to stop our slide into this vortex? The first step is to leave behind all the pseudo-rational talk about “strategic risks” that we are required to assume. we must also jettison the notion of historical time as a linear process of evolution in which, at each moment, we have to choose between different courses of action. It is not just a question of avoiding risks and making the right choices within the global situation, the true threat resides in the situation in its entirety, in our “fate”—if we continue to “roll” the way we do now, we are doomed, no matter how carefully we proceed. we have to accept the threat as our fate. so the solution is not to be very careful and avoid risky acts—in acting like this, we fully participate in the logic which leads to catastrophe. The solution is to fully become aware of the explosive set of interconnections that makes the entire situation dangerous. once we do this, we should embark on the long and difficult work of changing the coordinates of the entire situation. Nothing less will do.

In a weird precursor to President obama’s “that’s how we roll,” when the passengers of the United airlines Flight 93 attacked the hijackers on 9/11, the last audible words of Todd Beamer, one of them, were: “are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” That’s how we all roll, so let’s roll, we may say— and bring down not only a plane, but our entire planet. g Slavoj Žižek, a Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst, is a senior researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, in Essen, Germany. He has also been a visiting professor at more than 10 universities around the world. Žižek is the author of many other books, including Living in the End Times, First As Tragedy, Then As Farce, The Fragile Absolute and Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism?

He lives in London. www.pakistantoday.com.pk 13

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

iNtERNAtioNAl

Asian banks in trouble

Many South-East Asian countries were forced to undergo painful reforms following the 1997 economic crisis. Here a May 1, 1998, photograph shows Thai workers carrying a banner in a procession taken out as part of the National Labour Day celebrations in Bangkok. File photo

C P CHANDRASEKHAR Frontline Magazine

E

merging Asia, analysts argue, is all wrapped up in debt.

For some time now, they have warned about the dangers involved in the rising volume of private debt — both corporate and household—in Asia, as a result of a reversal of the tendency to reduce debt and repair balance sheets that began immediately after the South-east Asian crisis in 1997. Stated otherwise, the effects of the 1997 and the 2008 crises on Asian debt—the one that primarily affected a few countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the other that affected the centres of developed capitalism —have been very different. While the 1997 crisis was followed by debt reduction, the 2008 crisis was followed by a rise in corporate leverage in emerging Asia, which “may represent a ‘fault line’”, as noted by the 2014 issue of the international monetary Fund’s (imF) regional economic Outlook.

While there have been multiple sources from which this debt was incurred, bank credit remained the dominant and important source.

Consider, therefore, the ratio of domestic bank credit to the private sector (BCPS) to gross domestic product (gDP) across the main emerging market economies (emes) in the region, that is, China, india, indonesia, Korea, malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. in terms of a point of time picture, in 2013, indonesia and india recorded relatively lower bank credit to gDP ratios of 34 per cent and 53 per cent respectively, while the others had notched up ratios that stood well above 100 per cent (varying from 121 per cent in Thailand to 140 per cent in China, with the rest distributed among

14 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

countries in between).

These substantial differences in the level of exposure are also accompanied by differences in trends over time in the ratio of BCPS to gDP. indonesia is again an outlier, with its lower absolute ratio being accompanied by relatively moderate increases in that ratio, of around 30 per cent during both 2000-07 (before the global crisis) and 2008-13. The remaining countries fall into two categories.

On the one hand, india and South Korea saw relatively large increases in credit to the private sector during 2000 to 2007 of 61 and 87 per cent respectively, followed by either a low increase (7 per cent in the case of india) or a fall (of 9 per cent for Korea) during 2008-13. On the other hand, Thailand, malaysia, Singapore and China recorded a fall in the ratio in the first period, followed by a significant increase in the second. in sum, if a generalised statement is to be made for the period since 2000, it would be that except for indonesia, the rest have been characterised by relatively high levels of bank credit outstanding and by much volatility, with periods of bank credit expansion giving way to periods of moderation or contraction, or vice versa.

While seeking to understand these trends, it may be useful to keep three features of the region in mind. First, all emerging markets in the region have been liberalising regulations governing their financial sectors and easing monetary policy, and both moves have increased the flexibility of the banking sector while making lending decisions. This provided the basis for an important commonality across the region: expansion-contraction or even boom-bust cycles in credit provision, which all these countries (except indonesia) have experienced to differing degrees.

An overenthusiastic banking sector is forced to correct either because of balance sheet stress or a full-fledged crisis.

Secondly, liberalisation came earlier to South-east Asia, which experienced the 1997 crisis that left China and india relatively unaffected. So, india’s credit boom and China’s moderation during the first period require explanations that are independent of the last major crisis that affected the Asian region. Third, in the aftermath of

Although China and India have not taken a hit of the kind the South-East Asian countries did in 1997, the two countries have been registering rapid increases in their private credit to GDP ratios over different periods since 2000. (Above) The headquarters of the People's Bank of China in Beijing. File photo

the 1997 crisis, South-east Asian countries adjusted differently in terms of both the restructuring of the banking sector and the regulation of capital flows, leading to the variations in experience that are observed.

IndonesIa’s experIence indonesian exceptionalism since 2000, reflected in the low level and the gradual growth of bank lending to the private sector, is explained largely by the damage suffered by its banking industry during the crisis, which necessitated huge loan write-offs and recapitalisation. indonesia was hit the hardest by the late 1990s crisis because of the dramatic expansion of banking and bank lending during the 1990s. This was the result of a series of liberalisation measures adopted since the early 1990s, starting with the removal of interest rate and credit ceilings and leading up to the comprehensive “reform” of 1998 when private bank entry and branching were liberalised.

Together with liberalised lending norms, this led to a sharp increase in bank credit to the private sector, from 47 per cent of gDP in 1990 (which is well above today’s level) to 61 per cent in 1997, just before the crisis. Sectorally, increased lending was directed to the commercial real estate and retail segments, including lending for consumption and speculative investment in the property market. Lending to the property sector rose from 6 per cent of gDP in 1993 to 16 per cent in 1996. not surprisingly, when the crisis hit the region, banks in indonesia were badly affected, necessitating a change in banking practices, which explains indonesia’s exceptional experience in terms of both the level relative to gDP and the growth of that ratio after 2000 when compared with the other emerging markets in the region. in sum, indonesia experienced earlier what other emes in Asia have been troubled by more recently.

The adverse impact of the crisis was visible in Thailand as well where the private sector credit to gDP ratio, which peaked at 165.7 per cent in 1997, fell sharply to 96.9 per cent by 2001 and remained close to that level for a decade. it was only in 2012 and 2013 that the ratio registered a sharp rise to 121 per cent, generating once again fears of a bust. in the case of South Korea, on

the other hand, lending continued to rise quite significantly after 1997, with the private credit to gDP ratio increasing from 55 per cent in 1997 to a peak of 148 per cent in 2008, only to decline to 135 per cent in 2013. Banks here have implicitly served, or were used, as countercyclical instruments. But now, fears of a household debt crisis have been expressed over the past couple of years, forcing banks to restructure household debt at the instance of the government. chIna and IndIa China and india have not as yet taken a hit of the kind the South-east Asian countries did in 1997 even though they too have been liberalising their financial sectors. But they have been registering rapid increases in their private credit to gDP ratios over different periods since 2000.

China leads in terms of the level of the ratio of credit to gDP and has registered a continuous increase in the same except, interestingly, during 2003 to 2008 when the ratio fell, precisely during the years when it rose in india.

However, bank credit to the private sector has exploded since the global financial crisis, as part of the government’s stimulus effort. This has led to growing concerns about the state of the banking system because of its exposure to the housing market bubble and to local government financing vehicles, which have borrowed to invest in huge projects without the appropriate revenue model to meet the interest and amortisation commitments involved.

As for india, although the level of its BCPS to gDP ratio is much lower than in other Asian emerging markets (except indonesia), it too experienced a sharp increase in the ratio during the high growth period between 2003 and 2008. As a result, signs of stress in bank balance sheets and fears of increased default and speculative bubbles in property and other markets now pervade discussion in these two countries as well.

Overall, therefore, while there are significant differences in the volume and growth of bank exposure to the private sector across emerging markets in Asia, they are all confronted with signs of bank fragility owing to overexposure to a few markets such as the retail sector (especially housing), to real estate

and capital-intensive projects in infrastructure and industry. in all these countries, therefore, debt is now a source of much concern, as the projects financed have not been faring well.

This impact of liberalisation on domestic credit is in most cases combined with the fragility generated by the excess exposure to the external debt of the private sector. The September 2014 issue of the Quarterly review from the Bank for international Settlements (BiS) argued that from the supply side the absence of adequate yields in developed country markets had resulted in enhanced financial (especially debt) flows to emerging markets, including those in Asia.

The flip side was that corporations in these countries were overexposed to foreign currency debt and therefore to currency risks. The share of Asian emerging markets in international bank claims on all emerging markets rose from 30.4 per cent in Q4 of 2008 to 52.5 per cent in Q2 of 2014. external exposure of this kind implies that a depreciation of the currency in any of these countries can result in stressed corporate balance sheets. And since domestic banks have also lent heavily to these corporations, any balance sheet pressure on corporations could also affect banks adversely. These feedback loops can give the problem a systemic dimension.

This raises a question: why do countries stick with elements of liberalisation that encourage or induce the banking sector to sharply increase their credit provision over short periods to an extent that increases the volume of stressed assets and generates bank fragility? The principal reason seems to be that with governments increasingly adopting a more conservative fiscal stance and emphasising socalled “fiscal consolidation”, credit-financed private consumption and investment have become crucial to sustaining demand and delivering growth.

Among a host of ideological and other factors that explain the persistence with financial liberalisation despite the fragility fallout is the fact that along a neoliberal trajectory there is a trade-off between growth and fragility, and countries thus far have chosen growth and ignored fragility. That may not be possible for long. g

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

opinion

PPP in the wilderness needs to reconnect with the worker DurDana najam

The writer is a Lahore-based journalist. She can be contacted at: durdananajam1@gmail.com.

I

n a rare development, Pakistan saw the transition of power from one democratically elected government to another in 2013. It was a historymaking moment and the credit goes to the political parties, especially the bigger ones, who had shown maturity in not allowing the so-called third force to intervene and disturb the applecart of democracy. The PPP government faced many hiccups in completing its tenure, but it adhered to the policy of strengthening parliament and making the office of the prime minister stronger.

The 18th Amendment cleansed the constitution of clauses that had strengthened the hands of dictators in the past. However, the parliamentarians were unable to attend to the 8th Amendment. In other words, the so-called veneer of Islamisation was left as it was. It is another story that Senator Farhatullah Babar does not tire of tracing the evils of terrorism and extremism in the country to the forces of religion, that according to Babar, the state has been using to

its advantage. Some of the power the PPP gained after 2008 was lost to intrigues, while the rest evaporated because of its own mistakes. The result was that the party was hardly visible in the 2013 elections; whitewashed completely from Punjab, grabbing a few seats in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while gaining a facesaving victory in Sindh. Why the party was painted in the corner after having spent five years in power is a story of not respecting the consent of the governed.

Even today, while in opposition, the PPP is more concerned about having the PM and his ministers showing up in parliament and senate than finding a way out of the multitude of problems inflicting the people, especially those dying in Thar or in other parts of the country for lack of basic health and other facilities. not a single hearing has been held to assess the political failure of the PPP government in Sindh in the Senate, that claimed the life of nearly 290 children only last year.

Though the politicians keep musing over the reason why the third-force keeps intervening in politics, they rarely lend their intelligence to the argument that it is the performance and the ability of the governments to prioritise policies that elevate them in the eyes of their constituents and make intrigues difficult to succeed.

The formation of the military courts not only reflects that the judicial system has failed, it is also an indication of the incompetence of subsequent governments to revive institutions. The PPP’s loss is collateral though, it has performed

‘The formation of the military courts not only reflects that the judicial system has failed, it is also an indication of the incompetence of subsequent governments to revive institutions’ poorly, it has concentrated power in the hands of party’s top echelon, and it has given wrong people the reigns to control the party in Punjab — the heart of Pakistan’s politics. Disenchantment within the party’s cadre resulted in dispirited workers with no desire to defend the party or promote it.

Speaking to DnA, PPP’s leader and former minister of information, Qamar Zamman Kaira, was candid in describing his party as almost on its knees for lack of vision and disorientation.

“The party is not in need of reinvention in Punjab only, it requires being re-invited at the country level, in fact. The fissure within the party is due to the fractures in the party’s ideology, its philosophy and its political structure. We have to work on these areas before there is any hope of regaining a foothold in the political landscape of the country. The party desperately needs to set straight its political direction”, he said.

On the question of not doing popular politics (which could be one reason why Bilawal has become aloof from his father), Kaira retorted to the oft repeated

argument of supporting democracy.

He said Pakistan is not in a position to face challenges posed by the political class. “Already the country is plagued by unhealthy interventions that are eating at its economic and social imperatives”.

He acknowledged that neither PPP nor any other political party has ever given respect to the constitution. In fact he said that Pakistan did not have the culture of respecting the constitution.

So what was it that bought bad blood between Bilawal and Zardari? Talking to Senator Jehangir Badar, who has been appointed as the political advisor to Bilawal, muddied, instead of clearing, the waters. Being not straightforward for his failure to groom the young politician, Badar eluded most of the questions on the pretext of avoiding bad press. His politics in Punjab has often been criticised for its duplicity and his strategy to rule the party by creating division in its ranks and file. He had to face a rowdy crowd on PPP’s foundation day in Lahore in november last year. He has been allegedly accused of giving away party’s position in Punjab to the PML-n in the 1988’s elections that saw the PPP routed out of Punjab and did nothing to revive it to date.

Delving into the reasons of why Zardari’s reconciliation mantra failed the party, Dr Mehdi Hassan, a renowned political analyst attributed it to the party’s separation from its political worker and by extension from the labour class.

“In its first election in 1970, the PPP won 62 out of 83 national Assembly seats from Punjab. In 1988 it grabbed 62 out of 115

‘PPP’s reinvention depends largely on its ability to reach out to the downtrodden, which can still happen, provided party’s leadership is willing to get out of the elite cocoon’ national Assembly seats from Punjab. This differential was the result of the party’s indulgence in the politics of wealth where people like Jahangir Badar made hay without qualms. Manzoor Ahmed Watoo’s inclusion in the party is the narration of the same thinking the PPP began harvesting in 1988 ie the politics of wealth”, he said.

According to him, PPP’s reinvention depends largely on its ability to reach out to the downtrodden, which can still happen, provided party’s leadership is willing to get out of the elite cocoon.

“Propagandising Bhutto’s legacy has not and will not be enough for the PPP to regain its lost ground,” said Mubashar Hassan, PPP’s old stalwart and Pakistan’s former finance minister. Unless the PPP revisit its policies and reunite to the ideology of Bhutto that hinged upon democracy and socialism, there is little hope for the party to revive. The Punjab is already swayed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and PMLn. Time is critical and perhaps not enough to be wasted in squabbles and internal skirmishes. g­

pakistan still struggles with 16/12 incident

Tolerance for extremism destroyed the nation

aisha noor

The writer is a freelance writer. She can be contacted at aishaz99@gmail.com, Twitter: @aishaz99

p

AKISTAn witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks on December 16, 2014, when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan gunmen stormed Army Public School Peshawar and massacred 150 people, mostly school children, in a revenge attack for ongoing military operation in north Waziristan. Violent extremism continues to plague Pakistan, as the government struggles to combat militant groups that contribute to political, economic, and social instability. The civilmilitary leadership, in shock after the massacre, vowed to take strict action against the militants. Leaders met on Dec 24, 2014 in Islamabad to discuss the progress made so far in chalking out the

national action plan against terrorism.

Interior Minister Chaudhry nisar outlined some of the key points that would form the action plan against terrorism. The All Parties Conference unanimously accepted the implementation of special trial courts.

Quid pro quo response to militants has become unavoidable now. When the court awards punishment, quick action should be taken according to the trial.

Countering terrorism requires not just to a forceful response to acts of terror but also a comprehensive combination of hard and soft power. Social, psychological, economic and political means, all are essential. Military forces have conducted large-scale operations against militant groups. To what extent can the military deal with these elements? Military measures include targeting militant and terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries, and cutting off their command and control setups. The defence forces need to work together in order to counter this threat against humanity. A strong police force, under the control of judiciary, should be ensured. The police as a department does not require to be trained in handling the

‘Violence has more space when there is poverty, unemployment, under-development and backwardness’

problem. It should be its job to secure the scene of crime. Sufficient requisite staff must be on permanent duty in every police station, monitoring the movements of strangers. Training and filling vacancies in the department must be done on a war footing and the latest equipment must be provided to them. Moreover, retired armed forces personnel should be inducted.

Intelligence measures can help in countering the planning and operations of terrorist groups while judicial measures can ensure prompt hearings and punishment to those found guilty of acts of terror. There is an urgent need for information sharing amongst various intelligence agencies and to procure new technologies for forensic testing and other capabilities. All of this will require resource commitment. Technological advancement has given an edge to western nations, which have achieved great success in controlling terrorism after 9/11.

The proper protection of borders including communication jammers is extremely necessary now. The passports and immigration system needs to be strengthened and the validity and authenticity of passports issued to various individuals in Pakistan should be checked.

Violence has more space when there is poverty, unemployment, underdevelopment and backwardness. Poverty, lack of education, unemployment, corruption and mainly injustice are major causes of terrorism. One way to deal with

extremism and radicalisation in society is to promote social harmony, mobility and interaction among different social groups.

By promoting literacy and better education, one can defeat the elements that take advantage of ignorance and illiteracy and promote extremism, militancy and terrorism. Educational Institutions should become free of all kind of politics, especially in Fata. Disillusioned youth get attracted to the evil path when nothing is left and fall prey to evil people.

Money has to be spent on education and jobs have to be generated. There is a need to reduce the unemployment rate, and injustice and manage proper system of education. Industries should set up in remote and backward areas to make them developed and prosperous.

Tolerance for religious extremists has not just destroyed lives and alienated entire communities; it is destroying Pakistani society and the nation. Illegal mosques with their funding should be checked. Moreover, implication of Shari’a is the foremost need of Pakistan. True implication of Islamic laws can solve many problems, internal and external. g

‘Technological advancement has given an edge to western nations, which have achieved great success in controlling terrorism after 9/11’ www.pakistantoday.com.pk 15

C M YK

Sunday, 04 - 10 January, 2015

OpiNiON

Historical mosques Our educational of Lahore and moral crisis Architecture is a visual art and buildings speak for themselves

physician to Shah Jehan and governor of Lahore. He was commonly known as “Wazir Khan”, a popular title bestowed upon him (the word wazir means ‘minister’ in Urdu and Persian). The mosque is inside the inner city and is easiest accessed from Delhi gate. The mosque contains some of the finest examples of Qashani tile work from the mughal period.

The masjid is made of bricks and faced with gaily-collared glazed mosaic tiles. The use of inlaid pottery decoration in the wall Mahnoor Shahid, Warda Naeem and Mirah Samran are students at COMSATS Institute panelling is remarkable. The grills of the of Information Technology, Lahore. mosque are in terra cotta.

Within the inner courtyard of the mosque lies the subterranean tomb of Syed He history of an area is always rich, muhammad ishaq, known as miran always colourful and always Badshah, a divine who settled in Lahore plentiful. it signifies all that is worth during the time of the Tughlaq Dynasty. The importance, not only in a specific tomb, therefore, predates the mosque. present day era but in all the eras Moti Masjid that area has witnessed. Without history moti masjid, one of the “Pearl mosques”, there is no heritage, no traditions, no is a 17th-century religious building located cultures. Without history you cannot see what inside the Lahore Fort. it is a small, white was and predict what will be. marble structure built by mughal emperor Lahore is a living example of such an Shah Jehan, and is among his prominent extraordinary mix of the new, the old, and extensions to the Lahore Fort Complex. the ancient. modern architecture blends The mosque is located on the western side almost homogeonisingly with that of one of Lahore Fort. after the demise of the hundred years ago. mughal empire, the mosque was forcibly The historical mosques of Lahore are yet converted into a Sikh temple and was another architectural feat. The feelings, renamed as Moti Mandir during the period of emotions and actions are visible to all in the Sikh rule under Ranjit Singh. When the their traces so carefully preserved. The British took over Punjab in 1849, they minarets, the calligraphy on the walls and discovered precious stones wrapped in bits of even the basic structure boasts great thought rags and placed in velvet purses scattered inside and compassion that was put in making the mosque, along with other inventory. those blueprints into a reality.

The structure is typical of mughal This city has a culture that mixes the old architecture of Shah Jehan’s times. it is and the new with superb ease. completely built of white marble that was The Badshahi Mosque brought from makrana. The facade is composed The Badshahi mosque of cusped arches and in Lahore, commissioned engaged baluster columns by the sixth mughal with smooth and fine ‘The Badshahi Mosque in emperor aurangzeb in 1671 contours. The mosque has Lahore, commissioned by and completed in 1673, is three superimposed domes, second largest mosque in two aisles of five bays, and the sixth Mughal Emperor Pakistan and South asia a slightly raised central Aurangzeb in 1671 and and the fifth largest mosque pishtaq, or portal with a completed in 1673, is in the world. epitomising rectangular frame.This fivethe beauty, passion and arched façade distinguishes second largest mosque in grandeur of the mughal era, it from other mosques of Pakistan and South Asia it is Lahore’s most famous the similar class with landmark and no doubt a three-arched facades. The and the fifth largest major tourist attraction. it interior is simple and mosque in the world’ is located in iqbal Park in plain with the exception of Lahore, Pakistan which is ceilings that are decorated one of the largest urban and designed in four parks in Pakistan. different orders, two arcuate, and two trabeated.

This mosque is built with Red Stone.

Conclusion Construction is very unique eastern type. it The architecture of Lahore reflects the remained the largest mosques in the world for history of Lahore and is remarkable for its more than 300 years. now it is second largest variety and uniqueness. These buildings left mosque in Pakistan and fifth largest in all from the centuries ago rule of the mughal over the world. it can accommodate 100,000 Dynasty, the Sikh empire, as well as from the worshipers at a time. its design is a mixture era of the British Raj, show a blend of the of islamic, indian, Persian and Central asian styles of Victorian and islamic architecture design. One must see this beautiful mosque often referred to as indo-gothic. with a great design and architecture.

Lahore’s architecture consists of the in 1993, the government of Pakistan mosques mentioned above as well. an atypical recommended the inclusion of the Badshahi style of all the major buildings was that they mosque as a World Heritage Site in were surrounded by beautiful gardens.

UneSCO’s World Heritage List, where it has By an architectural point of view, been included in Pakistan’s tentative list for therefore, Lahore is essentially a mughal city, possible nomination to the World Heritage its golden period being by and large the List by UneSCO. period of mughal rule. The Wazir Khan Masjid emperors added much to The Wazir Khan the city of Lahore making ‘The structure is typical of mosque in Lahore, it a beautiful and cultured Mughal architecture of Pakistan, is famous for its city. Today, no architectural extensive faience tile work. work can be compared to Shah Jehan’s times. It is it has been described as ‘a the grand style of the completely built of white mole on the cheek of mughal. They have left Lahore’. it was built in an unprecedented mark marble that was brought seven years, starting that cannot be matched from Makrana. The facade around 1634–1635 aD, no matter how hard one is composed of cusped during the reign of the tries. g mughal emperor Shah arches and engaged Jehan. it was built by This column was baluster columns with Hakim Shaikh ilm-ud-din co-written by Mahnoor ansari, a native of Chiniot, smooth and fine contours’ Shahid, Warda Naeem who rose to be the court and Mirah Samran.

MAhNOOr ShAhid

T

16 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Curiosity is the engine of discovery and innovation

Prize in Science and 1.6 billion is the total number of muslims in the world.

One is mightily pressed to ask when it was that a muslim country ever produced anything like the iPhone? Or the wireless tablet? Or a search engine that beats google? What about space probes sampling extraterrestrial matter? interestingly, closer to home in Pakistan, every year the Shawwal moon offers a divine spectacle when it marks The writer is an engineering the end of Ramadan – the month of consultant in T-Mobile, NY. He is fasting. it’s a two in one package also a freelance writer/blogger. because it comes accompanied with an In addition to that, he is currently equally arresting spectacle: a group of writing a novel about a young bearded elderly gentlemen from the elite Pakistani man’s conflict with Ruet-e-Hilal committee wielding religion and modernity. He can be ancient binoculars and staring reached at tahanajeeb01@gmail.com. frantically into the heavens to sight the moon. all this, incidentally, continues to magine you’re in a room full of go on while the Hubble telescope is busy educated people discussing the scanning outer space for the cosmic latest developments in the field of background radiation from the big bang. science. encouraged by the polite When confronted with this nods, amiable smiles and the underwhelming reality many muslims overall congeniality of your present defensively point to the golden period – company you suddenly decide to express a legitimate argument had the said your long suppressed doubts about the period not occurred a thousand years existence of gravity and proceed, ago. This begs the question: instead of animatedly, to propose your own digging your own backyard looking for alternative theory that refutes gravity and lost gold, why not explore new frontiers? instead claims that our pull to the earth’s When will this treasure hunt end? surface is nothing but the impressive The truth is that curiosity is the work of magical goblins in the our planet’s engine of discovery and innovation. all it core. Such a radical statement is likely to took, after all, was a moment’s reflection prompt a wide range of reactions from – why does an apple fall downwards and the assembled lot, but a deafening chorus not sideways — by a man (isaac newton) of approval is unlikely to be one of them. sitting under an apple tree that lead him now change a few things in the said to pioneer the laws upon which the whole hypothetical, for instance swap educated edifice of Particle Physics stands today. with religious, gravity with evolution, Or when the physical differences in and goblins with some creation myth finches living on different islands caught and fewer people will doubt your sanity. the imagination of a young 22 year old in fact, based on recent poll data only 30 (Charles Darwin) visiting the galapagos percent of people in Pakistan think islands and who, so moved by this humans have evolved. The majority observation, wrote the Origin of Species believe that evolution never happened – the bedrock of the theory of evolution. while some are still on the fence. never more importantly, it must be mind the fact that we share our genome recognised that science is not just about with other species, or that there is a space technology and fancy gadgets, but mountain of fossil record and other is also radically changing how we view findings that reveal predictable gene life’s deeper questions like variation across time, all of which consciousness, morality, etc. unequivocally points to a common Consider neuroscience. We now have ancestry of all living things. a much clearer understanding of the This is because many religious people relationship between our brain and view science as a threat to their beliefs, behaviour. MRI scans of psychopaths especially when the reveal reduced activity two are in conflict. in the amygdala – the in his renowned part of the brain that ‘A mindset that privileges booked, The controls emotions and uncritical conformity Incoherence of the empathy. We also Philosophers, alunderstand that like over curiosity, while ghazali — considered any other organ the leaving its victims one the most brain is vulnerable to vulnerable to high levels influential muslims of heritability and other all time — expressed factors we don’t of groupthink, is, as we his scepticism necessarily control. know all too well, towards philosophy Such findings are and science. His radically challenging dangerously regressive treatises were our conventional and divisive’ received and notions of free-will circulated widely and moral among his followers. accountability.

The traditionalists who were already Without a robust understanding of opposed to the rationalist (Mutazilite) such matters , we are left with troubling school of thought were especially keen moral attitudes of the sort reflected in on such a worldview and lapped it up. survey results like these: 90 percent So influential was ghazali’s work that people in Pakistan believe many consider it to be one of the most homosexuality is wrong and even more damaging blows to any attempt at – 91 percent — think drinking alcohol is reconciling islam with science. morally wrong but only 45 percent think a mindset that privileges uncritical that executing women accused of conformity over curiosity, while leaving adultery is never justified. Such jawits victims vulnerable to high levels of dropping trends and statistics should groupthink, is, as we know all too well, sound the alarm bells in our ears for the dangerously regressive and divisive. desperate need of aggressively Consider this: Two is the number of confronting the educational and moral muslims ever to have received the nobel crisis that afflicts us in Pakistan today. g

TAhA NAjeeb KhAN

i